Chapter 6

At the beginning, until it was revealed I could understand and speak Italian, everything was spoken in Italian and repeated for my benefit in English.

Charles began his act and I followed him.

“What brings you to Italy?”

“Business.”

“Any time for pleasure?”

“None during the day. Some nights perhaps.”

“Have you been to Italy before?”

“No. I arrived this morning. And I’m tired. I’d like to go back to my lodgings and go to bed to sleep.”

“Then I’d better move on.”

“Please do. I’m afraid this is all going to be a huge disappointment.”

“Bear with me, if you’ll excuse my double meaning.”

“I won’t be baring anything, Charlie.”

Laughter.

“Of course not. We are here just to have a little fun. All harmless. Have you ever been hypnotized?”

“Three have tried. None have succeeded. All have looked the part better than you.”

“You will let me try?”

“I don’t think so,”

“I’ll take that as a yes. What have you to be afraid of? You haven’t ever been hypnotized and if I do manage to put you under I would not be able to make you do something you really couldn’t possibly do. For instance, no hypnotist has ever been able make their subject pick up a gun and shoot someone. All a hypnotist does is get rid of your inhibitions and do something you actually deep down want to do. Or do something silly, but harmless, like pretend you’re a cow and “moo”.”

I pretended to think this over. Then I nodded.

“What are you going to wave at me and make me stare at? An old watch on a chain? Or perhaps your penis?”

When that was translated it brought much laughter.

“Would you like me to do that?” Charles asked with a straight face.

“You would have to hypnotize me first, Charley, to say ‘yes’. Perhaps something bigger. Your finger?”

That got more laughter and although Charles went along with it I could see his mind working on how to get back at me.

He put his hand in his pocket and brought out what I thought was five playing cards. I was wrong.

“I wasn’t going to use these but you have forced my hand.”

With a very professional sweep of his hand he showed them to the audience like they were a fan.

They clapped. He folded the cards back into one.

“Now sit down on the bed, my dear, and relax,” George instructed me. I obeyed, puzzled. What the hell was on those cards. I found out immediately. He placed the cards face down on his hand.

“I want you to take the top card, place it within six inches of your eyes and stare at it hard for ten seconds, then place it on the bed beside you face up. I will count down the seconds. First, though, you must empty your mind of everything. Everything. Close your eyes.then nod when you’re ready.”

I pretended to do this. It was a good job I did. After what I thought was long enough I nodded and opened my eyes. The cards were right under my chin. I took the card, turned it over and stared at it.The picture was a spiral. A hypnosis spiral. All in black.

Encouraging the audience to join in, he counted to ten.

I placed the card on the bed and involuntarily shook my head and blinked.

“Relax,” he said. “Don’t fight it. You are strong willed, I can tell that. Let’s just have some fun. Although there are cameras you have my word and our benefactors word it is not being taped. No one here has been allowed in with cameras, cell phones, smart phones, etc. what goes on here stays here. It’s for our protection as well as yours. If I get you to undress -”

“You’d better not!”

“If I tell you to undress and you really don’t want to you won’t.However, if I get you to undress, I’ll undress. So if photos or video was taken I would be compromised too.”

He stopped and waited for me to answer. I nodded.

I took the next card. It was another spiral but this one was colored and my eyes were making me believe it was moving. The spiral was drawing me in. I could feel sweat forming beads on my forehead. I was relieved when the count reached ten. I knew that this next card had to be the last one. I would have to fake it that I was under otherwise I really would be. I had to tell him that somehow and hope he wouldn’t press on.

I reached for the next card and deliberately dropped it making it look like I was almost under. As he stooped and swiftly picked it up I whispered in his ear, masking my mouth with a limp hand, “Last one. Keep to script.”

There was no acknowledgement he heard me.

We went through the same drill as before. Another black picture but a totally different spiral. I had to concentrate very hard not to be drawn into the maze. I heard the ten count but I pretended I didn’t and kept staring at the card.

Charles waited another ten seconds before taking the card from me whilst I thought of the food I last ate and how I was to act this charade out. I was an accomplished amateur actor having performed in community theatre from my teens and my last stage appearance was only three years ago. One of my performances was playing a woman constantly being hypnotized by her husband to commit murder and then suicide in a stage play based on the movie, “Sleep My Love”. I was fairly confident I could convince the audience, at least in the beginning, I was actually hypnotized.