Meagan was right. Laura Ferguson was quite the prude, if her outward appearance was any indication. Long-sleeved white blouse with a high neck, beige ankle-length skirt, barely any make-up, no jewelry (except for a pearl in each ear), and her dark brown hair was pulled back into a bun. She was the embodiment of religious conservatism. It would be a pleasure to corrupt her.
"Yes?" she asked, looking at the old man.
"I'm sorry to inconvenience you, ma'am. But I need to talk to you about something extremely important," he said, holding the spray bottle behind his back.
"What is it?"
"Can I come in?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let someone I don't know into my home. If whatever you want to tell me is important enough, tell me here."
This woman was going to be a problem. But if he was quick enough, he could get to her before she could scream out.
He quickly grabbed the screen door and opened it. And before she could react, he sprayed her in the face with the spray bottle. She dropped to the floor with a thunk. Even after all this time, he was still amazed at how fast that stuff works.
The old man looked around the neighborhood. As far as he could tell, no one was watching. He walked inside, pulled Laura's body further into the house and shut and locked the front door. Then he lifted up the woman's body and sat her down on the living room sofa. She was hunched over ever so unflatteringly. But that could be fixed.
"Laura? Can you hear me?" he asked.
"Yes," she said dreamily.
"Sit straight up."
And she did. Her eyes were still closed, as if she were asleep.
"Now, Laura, you will not remember that we had this conversation. But you will remember everything that I tell you to do. And you will follow all my commands. But you will believe that everything I command of you is coming from yourself. You will believe that everything I tell you to do are your own thoughts, feelings and desires. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Very good." He paused. "You are in a dream. And, when you come out of it, you will have a whole new outlook on life. Tell me you would like that."
"I ... I would like that." Her response was a bit hesitant, but given this woman's lifestyle, that was to be expected. Conservative types, especially religiously-active ones, had a harder time pulling away from their norm than other people. But with the right kind of logic, he could turn Moses into the most depraved person on the planet.
"I want you to answer every question I ask you by saying 'YES'. And, I want you to believe that 'YES' is the right answer to every question. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"It's true that you like to help people, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"You give to charity, help at food drives, that sort of thing?"
"Yes."
"A person who helps people is a nice person. So, you're a nice person, right?"
"Yes."
"And if you're a nice person, you should be nice to everyone. Right?"
"Yes."
"Even to your neighbor Meagan?"
"Y ... Yes." There was that hesitation again. Somewhere deep down inside her, she was fighting his reprogramming. But it wasn't a problem. He's dealt with this sort of thing before.
"You want to be nice to everyone. And that includes people like Meagan. Right?"
"Y ... Yes."
"You want to go out of your way to be nice to Meagan, don't you?"
"Y ... Yes."
"You want to become friends with Meagan. Isn't that right?"
"Y ... Yes."
"Of course it is. It's only right to be nice to everyone, including Meagan. It's who you are. You're a nice person. Isn't that right?"
"Yes."
The old man smiled. No hesitation this time. "Now, listen. When you see me at your door, I want you to let me in, even though you will not know why. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Now, I want you to rest here. You will begin to come out of your dream. You will awaken and feel happy, rested and ready to begin your new life. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
The old man rose from the living room chair and pushed Laura's body so that she rested horizontally to the sofa. He smiled down at the homely brunette. This was only the beginning.
Then he left the house and walked to his car, before driving off to his next client.
