✅🎊✂️ Hypnosis Won't Take Me There!! [alternative cut]

Chapter 395: Forced Perspective

Another chapter, this time dedicated to Scot. Thanks for all your support :)

Adi had woken up, staring in incomprehension at the clock on the wall. Not remembering how to read it; and knowing that she couldn't look down at the numbers on her phone anymore because Dean had taken it away. She hadn't been angry, because she knew he'd done it for a good reason. She didn't remember the lessons of the past few days, or even know how many days there had been while she was trapped in the mind of a baby. But she knew that Dean was teaching her to be safe, so he wouldn't need to get angry again.

A little while after she'd woken, he had come in and told her it was time to get up. He called her "my baby girl" today. It sounded a little weird, but made her grin and blush. And she knew it was probably a good thing, because it wasn't the name that would force her back to being a baby. If he didn't notice how much she was taking in, she might be able to feel a bit more grown up. So "my baby girl" was comforting and safe. She could hear that name, and do everything her babysitter said, and she knew that everything would be fine until she eventually started thinking like an adult again.

Breakfast was oatmeal, served in a bowl with a print of a dog from some cartoon and a little plastic spoon. Half of it ended up on her face and half on her clothes, but it seemed like by then Dean was well used to wiping her clean. Lunch was a mix of different things, all in little portions. Baby food, maybe, but with some little pieces of carrots standing up in a glass, and grapes to snack on. Adi felt she was too old for any of that, but it had looked so yummy after a couple of seconds that she couldn't help taking just one piece, then another, and another.

Adi was starting to feel a little more sure of herself by mid-afternoon. Able to hold grown-up thoughts in her head, and to wonder about all the lessons Dean had given her. What was the point in teaching her things on the days she couldn't remember? And then she thought back to Mommy; who must surely be missing her by now. And Mom too, who hadn't gone this long without calling even when she'd first moved into her girlfriend's spare room. She didn't want to worry them, but she knew Dean was doing the right thing. When she was a baby he'd explained everything, and she knew she'd agreed with his plan even if she couldn't recall what it was. He had her safety in mind, but that didn't mean she had to forgive him for making her uncomfortable, and for yelling.

He was making her stay as a baby. It was awkward, and it had made her all confused. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable, but he'd still done it. And now they were on good terms she felt she owed him a little payback. She would make his life as difficult as possible until they got to their new home, so he knew how she had felt. And as soon as she realised how she could do that, she knew it was the right thing to do. Because she'd found the same answer before, and it had worked well right up until she got caught.

* * *

Belle walked across the park, arms swinging at her sides and some catchy song playing in her head. The sun was warm on her skin, and she could just about hear birds singing over the yells of immature boys and their horseplay. Today, she could even imagine she smelled the flowers as she walked past. It was a great place to be, and she would have liked nothing more than to spread herself out on a blanket and catch a little of the late summer sun.

Even running into Amelie and Jocasta hadn't completely soured her mood; though a verbal sparring match with the two wannabe queen bitches of Juiban High School had diminished her desire to relax anywhere near where they were probably still bickering. They'd said all kinds of spiteful things, probably trying to show who was the boss and completely failing to realise that she no longer cared about their self-centred goals.

She looked up towards the sun with a single hand over her eyes, and wondered how long it would last. It couldn't be long before there were clouds to cover the sky again, and the forecasters were already guessing that there would be summer storms within a week. But they weren't sure, and days like this felt like they should last forever. It was one of the most pleasant days she'd seen, and that wasn't just because of how easy she'd found it to be content with everything over the week so far. The weather really was amazing this year; not as good as South Kolechia, but better than she would have expected without travelling. It made her feel less upset about having to stay home over the spring break this year; maybe the world was trying to make it up to her.

Or maybe it was easier for a little kid to be excited, and there were just enough childish thoughts still in her mind that everything seemed wonderful. Well, that would be good too. So long as her babysitters didn't start charging as much as Dean had once collected from Adi's absentee father. She was surprised to realise that she could envision herself returning to that strange nursery room for more of the same. And seeing little kids – real kids – playing around in front of her just made it clear how easily they could have fun.

They were a wide range of ages, and playing on equipment that included odd plastic unicorns mounted on springs that a small child could ride, climbing frames that weren't just improvised from ladder sets, a small swing set, and a variety of ankle-high logs sunk into the ground for kids to test their balance. Everything a child could want to play on, and there were a dozen of them running around yelling now. They seemed so carefree, so sweet and innocent as long as you weren't close enough to hear the words.

Belle wasn't quite sure why she chose to sit near the play area. She wasn't on the benches set aside for parents, looking over the red railings around the area so that they could keep an eye on their offspring without crowding them. She picked a wooden bench a little way back up a rise, with clear turf in front of her and a cluster of trees behind. Maybe she was wondering what it was that allowed the kids to be so excited. Something that could help her better understand why she felt so young again. But seeing the kids at play was enough to drive away any worries from the business she'd got up to earlier in the day. It was a worthwhile place to take a break.

"Almost makes you wish you were young again." Belle nodded and gave a noncommittal mumble of agreement, and watched a kid trying to take his sister's ice cream for a few seconds longer before she realised that the voice had come from someone else, not just her internal monologue.

She turned to see who had spoken, mind whirling as she wondered how she could reply.