"Are you ready to go into trance? Ready? Aaaand... wake up!"

"... What?"

"What do you mean 'What'? Don't you remember I just dropped you?"

"You didn't!"

"I just did. You forgot is all."

"No I didn't! You're messing with my mind."

Your hypnotist laughed.

"Of course I'm messing with your mind, you silly thing! Are you not my subject? You are! And you love it."

"Well, yes," you said, "I love it. But... A moment ago..."

"A moment ago I was just messing with you, right?"

"Well..."

"You were going to say that, weren't you? You were going to say I didn't hypnotize you. You were going to say I told you I would hypnotize you, and you were ready, eager to go into a trance for me, and then instead of dropping you I just said 'Aaaand wake up'. Right?"

"Um..."

"Right? Like a lot of other times I've played with your memory, making you believe whatever I wanted you to believe. Are you sure this is not another one of those times?"

"Um..."

You weren't sure.

"Did you make me forget?," you asked.

"Maybe," your hypnotist replied. "Or maybe not. Frankly, I don't know that you deserve to be told the truth, baby."

You tried to protest. "I..."

You stopped.

"Yes?"

"I do?"

"Is that a question?"

"No!"

"Then use the correct tone of voice and tell me you do deserve it."

"I-I... I do deserve it?"

You couldn't control your own voice.

Your hypnotist laughed again, harder this time.

Suddenly you felt so insecure. So small.

"You can't even bring yourself to tell me that. Deep down you know you don't deserve it. Deep down you know that would be too much for you to handle. Right?"

"No! I can... handle it? No! I mean, I... can..."

"It's too much for a small and weak-minded little thing like you, baby."

"It's...," you tried again. You couldn't even finish the sentence. You thought you needed to fight, but you had lost so much ground already! You could feel it. You simply were not sure. You couldn't be sure. It was stronger than you.

"Do you want me to tell you what the truth is, baby?"

You gave in.

"Yes. Please."

"Ask me."

"Please tell me what the truth is."

"You cannot know it on your own, can you?"

"No."

"You need to be told what's true."

"Yes."

"Say it."

"I need to be told what is true."

You started sinking.

"Tell me you need me to tell you what's true."

"I need you to tell me what is true."

"Tell me you depend on me."

"I depend on you."

"Tell me you'd be lost without me."

"I'd be lost without you."

"Tell me you need me to control you."

"I need you to control me."

"Tell me you need to go into trance for me."

"I need to go into trance for you," you said. "Please," you added.

Your hypnotist touched your forehead and that touch was true. An absolute truth. Always and forever true. You were weak and simple, but you were not alone.

Your eyelids fluttered. Your head fell gently forward. You felt the mindless warmth growing inside yourself. You melted into a safe, familiar, deep hypnotic trance. You are always so happy in trance. It's always so hard to tell when you're being lied to! So hard to tell right from wrong without help! Better not to care at all about that... Better to lose all control... Better to sink and obey...