The Hypomosis Experiment

“Papah, look into my eyes,” Aria said suddenly.

Oren stopped eating his eggs and looked at her.

“What, Ari baby?”

Aria’s tone made Mama pause what she was doing and glance subtly towards them. Something was definitely going on here, of that, she was sure.

Aria’s eyes sparkled with determination. She raised her tiny fingers and waved them slowly in front of her dad’s eyes.

“Look into my eyes, Papah! I am hypomosing you. You will now forget about me,” she said, deadly serious.

Her dad blinked. “Forget about you? But…”

“Shhh…,” Aria whispered. “Close your eyes and count to ten.”

“One… Two… Three…” Her dad’s eyes slowly closed.

Mama crouched nearby, amused. “That’s wonderful, Aria. Can you tell me what you’re trying to do?”

“No, Mama. I am going to hypomosis you too. Wait, let me complete Papah’s first,” Aria said, frowning with focus.

Under her breath, she added, “Once you both are hypomosized, then you’ll forget about me. Then you won’t call Ms. Rosemary. Then, I can play all I want and eat cake.”

Her mom raised an eyebrow in surprise, then glanced at Oren. He was pretending to be in a deep trance, but under the table, he tapped a message on his phone.

Mama’s phone chimed beside her.

Text message: “She’s been so good lately. Let’s just indulge her today. Whatever she wants.”

She smiled.

Work could wait. It always could, if it meant keeping a promise they’d made the day Aria was born:

Nothing is more important than her. Ever!

“… eight… nine… ten!” Dad finished counting. He opened his eyes wide.

“I’m hypnotized. I don’t remember Aria. I don’t remember Ms. Rosemary.”

Aria grinned with delight.

“Mama, now it’s your turn. Look into my eyes and count to ten.”

Mama did the same, and after counting, said in a dreamy voice, “I am hypnotized too. Who is Aria? I need to call Ms. Rosemary to tell her she doesn’t need to come today.”

She walked into the living room, phone in hand, while Oren started clearing up after breakfast, deliberately ignoring Aria.

He called out, “Well, we’ve both had our breakfast. We don’t need to make anything because… there is no one else here, right?”

Mira returned just then, slipping her phone into her pocket. “You are right. No one else to feed. That also means we can work from the living room instead of the office space.”

Aria was beside herself with glee. “You can play with me!” she said, bouncing up and down on her chair.

But both of her parents ignored her, trying very hard not to laugh.

“Oh right… I forgot,” Aria said, settling back in her chair. “They don’t remember me.”

Then her eyes lit up. “That means… ice cream for breakfast!!!”

She ran over to the fridge, pulled out a tub of ice cream, and peeked over her shoulder. Mama had curled up on the couch and opened her laptop. Dad had settled in on a desk with his laptop open too.

Aria’s heart soared.

They really didn’t see her. They really didn’t remember her.
She could do anything she wanted.
This was going to be the best day of her life.