They held my hand firmly. “You ready?”

I pressed down firmly. “Y-yeah, it’s just… I’ve never done this kind of induction before.”

“That’s okay. You’re sitting on a bed and I’m ready to catch you and push you back down. I won’t let you get hurt. Now take a couple deep breaths.”

I obeyed. I had seen this rapid induction plenty of times online; street hypnotists catching someone passerby off guard and putting them into a quick trance, to the mirth and surprise of their spectating friends.

But I was more used to slower inductions. A pocketwatch hovering just above my line of sight. A well-designed spiral on a computer screen. A countdown from 100 to whatever number I lost count with; it was never anything below 60.

The only time I was put into trance quickly was following a slower induction. A sudden trigger word, meant to fractionate me into oblivion. Slower sessions always felt more intimate to me, and I wondered how a hypnotist could hold my attention after-

“Sleep.”

They let go of my hand.

My arm lurched forward, and they gently pushed me forward towards them. Was their hand always resting on my back…?

My eyes closed, my mind not knowing what to latch onto-

“Very good,” they gently cooed. “Just drop deeper and deeper for me…”

They rocked my body back and forth, my body still reeling from the shock as it fell into a stupor. Their voice commanded my attention.

“You’re going to lie down on the bed and relax for me.”

They pushed my body onto the bed, and it fell limply in soft compliance with their words. I landed with a soft thud, shaking whatever loose thoughts lingered in my mind out and away.

“Very, very good…” Their words dripped slowly from their mouth like syrup into my mind. “You’re doing so well for me… Deeper and deeper down…”

I sank completely into trance for them, and they began our session in earnest.