43
In the dimly lit office, Audra barricaded her thoughts to keep doubt at bay. She needed this to work. She sat by the desk in the corner to observe the session without interfering. A combination of curtains and darkening blinds eclipsed the Wednesday afternoon light.
Reclined on the whimsical couch, Jack followed each verbal instruction. He breathed in and out while focusing on the floral sticker on the ceiling. Dr. Shaw, on a neighboring chair, guided Jack into a mode of relaxation. The man swore it to be thoroughly safe.
He had further explained: If Jack were younger and his “veil” were more open, he could have regressed with casual prompting. In this case, hypnosis could serve as a nudge. Since children pass through trance-like states on any given day, induction would be relatively simple.
Hypnotherapy. One more concept Audra had previously scoffed at.
After the officers’ visit four days ago, she was willing to try even this. She had since contacted other apartment tenants, apologizing for the noise from Jack’s dreams. Most residents had been gracious, but a few had skepticism in their eyes.
Russ had assured her not to worry; if the policemen weren’t satisfied by the “welfare check,” Karly’s Law would have required them to arrange an immediate medical exam for Jack. The fact that they’d refrained implied acceptance of Audra’s claims. This, Russ had said, could help her on the custody front. Or, on the flipside, serve as proof that her in-laws weren’t the only ones reporting suspicions.
Dr. Shaw continued, slow and soothing. “Remember now, Jack, you’re the one in complete control of our journey. I’m going to paint you a scene, but it’s up to you to make any choices. Let’s start with a beautiful house. Imagine you’re inside that house, standing at the top of a staircase. The space around you is filled with warm, yellow sunlight. You can feel it on your hair and your face. Everything around you is quiet and peaceful.”
Audra pictured the setting herself. She felt the sun’s warmth, the room’s tranquility. Her tension dissolved as she sank comfortably into her chair.
“At the bottom of the stairs is a door, and beyond that door is another quiet and peaceful place. It’s full of light and love. But to get there, you’ll need to walk down the stairs. With each step, you’re going to become even more relaxed. Would you like to go, Jack? Good, let’s take a step. Ten, that’s the first one. Your body is already getting heavier. Do you feel how heavy you’re getting? In your arms, your hands, your legs, your feet. Now, we’re going to take a second step. Nine....”
Audra’s eyelids started to drop. She strained to keep them open. Jack’s latest night terror hadn’t come until four in the morning, allowing her just enough sleep to leave her too restless to go back to bed.
She straightened her posture. Listening closer, she hoped for any hint of how to bring the pieces together: Jakob, Isaak, Vivian, the FBI and Nazi spies, the reunion of a couple divided.
Dr. Shaw was on the seventh step down ... now the sixth ... every limb growing heavier.
Audra’s eyes continued to fight her, every blink like the fall of velvety drapes. She could no longer hold them open.
Then her head jerked up. Her chin had dipped to her chest and startled her awake.
Dr. Shaw was standing beside her, his hand on her shoulder. He had adjusted the lighting. The room was slightly brighter.
“Mrs. Hughes, we’re all done.” He wore his practiced smile as he released his hold.
“But—we just started.” Across the room Jack sat on the floor, sifting through the bin of mismatched toys. That’s when she realized it was Dr. Shaw’s hand that had woken her. “You’re kidding me. I fell asleep?”
“Not to worry. I’ve recorded the session, so you can play it back at home.”
She rubbed at her eyes to clear her vision. In doing so, her wrist discovered a trail of saliva by her mouth. She swiped the moisture away as Dr. Shaw settled into his desk chair.
“Could you ... tell me what happened?” she asked quietly, conscious of Jack’s presence. “After the stairs and the door.”
Dr. Shaw pleasantly obliged. “When your son was ready, I guided him into a boat that drifted into a fog. As I mentioned before, past life regression isn’t a specialty of mine. But what I’ve found is that patients who did regress well used the mist as a transitioning point. From there they were able to access memories from a past life.”
Audra still couldn’t believe she had dozed through all of this.
“And,” she said, “what did Jack say?”
Dr. Shaw sighed, shook his head. “I’m afraid he didn’t see anything. That’s not to say those lives didn’t exist. It could simply mean that for one reason or another he wasn’t willing to revisit them. At least not today.”
Discouraged, she sat back. She didn’t have the luxury of unlimited time and money. There had to be a solution they just weren’t seeing. She gazed over at Jack. He pushed a button on a robot, triggering its deep automated voice: “Together, we shall use our secret weapons to defeat Veter Man once and for all.”
Dr. Shaw said to her, “During the next session we could certainly try again. We might have more success with a second attempt.”
Audra nodded, though her thoughts had already seized another option. Specifically, another person. And that person was hiding something. Audra realized this now, looking back. She had missed the connection before today’s mentions of boats, the past, and secrets. Most of all, one’s willingness to access memories.
Now, she just had to figure out which button to press to obtain the information needed.