Shadows of the Past: A Supernatural Suspense Mystery (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 1) by Nellie Steele (read aloud .txt) 📗

Josie was quick to answer, “Oh, no, he stays, even during this.”

“Okay, if that’s what makes you comfortable, Josie. I’m going to dim the lights a bit.”

“Okay. Do I lay down or what?” Josie said, a bit nervous.

“No, that’s not how we’ll approach this. I will start this pendulum here. I want you to follow that, just focus on that, try to shut everything else out and listen only to my voice, okay?”

“Simple enough,” Josie said.

“Okay, let’s begin, Josie,” the doctor said, starting the pendulum moving. “Now just try to relax, let your body sink into the chair, relax. Your limbs are beginning to become tired and heavy and your eyes are starting to close. You’re starting to feel completely relaxed, and when I count backwards from ten, you will become even more relaxed. When I finish counting, you will be completely relaxed and asleep.” The doctor counted backward from ten, pausing after each number. When he finished, Josie was under.

She sat motionless in the chair, eyes closed, limbs slack. “Josie,” the doctor began, “I want you to find a safe place, a place where you are happy. Tell me when you’ve found one.”

“I have one,” Josie murmured after a moment.

“Good. I want you to remember this safe place. If you become afraid while we’re talking, I want you to go to that place, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Josie, I want you now to recall the dream you described to me earlier. Can you remember that?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to remember that. I want to stay here.”

“Josie, you can go back to your safe place anytime you want, but right now I want you to recall the nightmare you’ve been having. Tell me when you remember it.”

“Okay,” she said, after a momentary pause, “I’m thinking of it.”

“Can you tell me what you see? Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s dark. I’m running; the walls are cold and wet, like a cave. I’m scared. I have to get out of here. He’s coming. I can hear him. He’s coming behind me. I have to run.” Josie began to breathe harder. She pinched her eyes shut and wrinkled her forehead before speaking again. “Aidez moi, aidez moi. Il arrive. Aidez moi. Mon Dieu, aidez moi.” Josie panted, gripping the chair, her voice rising to a fever pitch.

“Josie, Josie, you’re okay, it’s just a dream.”

“Non, non, il vient. Je dois partir.”

“Josie, please speak English.”

“HE’S COMING, I MUST GO!” she shouted, tears rolling down her face.

“Josie, you’re safe. It’s just a dream. Can you tell me more?”

“NO! NO!” she shouted, wincing in pain as the tears continued to stream down her face.

“Josie, go to your happy place. Tell me when you are there.”

In an instant, Josie’s demeanor changed. While tears still streaked her face, her breathing slowed and the pained look left her face. “Are you in your happy place, Josie?” the doctor prompted.

“Yes, I’m there.”

“How do you feel now, Josie?”

A smile crossed her face. “Happy, at peace.”

“Good. Now, Josie, I’m going to wake you up. I want you to forget about the dream and I want you to remember how you are feeling at this moment, okay?”

Another smile. “Okay,” she said, content.

“Okay, Josie. I’m going to count backwards from ten and when I am finished, you’ll wake up as content as you are right now.” The doctor began his slow count backwards.

When he said the word “one,” Josie’s eyes opened. She blinked a few times, glancing around the room. “What happened?” Josie asked. Realizing she had tears on her cheeks, she wiped her face with her hand.

The doctor answered, “Well, I was able to hypnotize you, and we did induce the dream.”

“Did you find anything about what’s causing my nightmare or what it means?” Josie asked.

“No. We witnessed firsthand how upsetting it is to you.” Josie frowned, let down. “It takes time, Josie. This is a process. We’re not going to solve this in one session.”

“I was hoping to get SOME information,” Josie said.

“We got some. But like I said, this takes time. It was upsetting to you, so we want to keep trying until we can get to a point where you can discuss the dream without becoming frightened. We’ll get there. I’d like to see you back in a week; you can make an appointment with my receptionist. Until then I want you to relax, don’t push yourself to overthink the dream. Would you like me to prescribe a sleep aid for you?”

“No, thanks, I’d rather not get into medication. I’ll do my best, and if it’s still an issue, we can address it next week.”

“That sounds like a good plan, Josie. Do you have any questions for me this evening?”

“No, thank you, Dr. Reed.” Josie stood to exit the office, along with Damien. After making an appointment for the following week, she left the office with Damien and Michael.

“Okay, so what happened in there, D?” she asked as soon as they were in the car.

“I’d like to know the answer to that myself,” Michael chimed in from the driver’s seat.

“Um, well,” Damien started out, unsure, “you were having that dream or whatever. I mean first he asked you to find like a happy place where you felt safe and remember it so you could go back there if you needed to.”

“Happy place? You had the dream? Did you go to sleep?” Michael said, rapid firing questions at them.

“No, he hypnotized me. And then I had the dream. I don’t remember anything. Although, I woke up serene, nothing like when I wake up from the dream at night.”

“Yeah,” Damien said, “yeah, he hypnotized her, and like I said, he had her find this happy place and then he asked her to remember her dream and then when she got super upset he asked her to go back to the happy place and forget the dream when she woke up.”

“What did I say about the dream?”

“Should we be talking about this, Jos? He said