A voice spoke through the speakers.  It said, âI cannot disobey my master⌠I will not disobey my master.â
Strangely,
Sara found herself repeating the odd message. âI⌠cannot⌠disobey⌠my
masterâŚâ she said slowly.  "I will not⌠disobey⌠my master.â
The voice went on, âI feel so wonderful⌠my mind is refreshed.â Sara found herself repeating each phrase very slowly.
âAll my worries have floated away⌠all my fears have disappeared.â
âI
cannot turn my eyes away⌠I will not let them close.â Sara didnât want
to repeat this phrase, but somehow was able to repeat anyway, even more
slowly than she had been.
âIt doesnât matter that they are so
heavy⌠so tired⌠so ready to close⌠the colors are too pretty to watch.â
At this point, Sara didnât repeat; she couldnât open her mouth anymore.
âAnd it doesnât matter that you feel so tired⌠so sleepy⌠you must keep
your eyes open.â Sara yawned as she began to fall asleep to the calming
voice. âBut you canât, can you?â the voice asked her. Â Sara shook her
heavy head as much as she could, and it was true. Â The more she stared
at the pretty, swirling colors, the heavier her eyelids became. Â She
felt even sleepier now, as she noticed how rapidly her eyes were
blinking.
âSo close them⌠but not yet,â the voice said. âYou will
wait.  You must wait until I count down from ten⌠then, and only then,
your eyes will become so heavy that you wonât be able to keep them open
any longer. Â When they close, you will feel ten times as relaxed as you
feel now⌠and you will give in to that very sleepy feeling, and fall
asleep immediately.â Sara nodded her head slowly. Â She wanted nothing
except to do whatever the voice told her. Â To do so made her feel dizzy
and numb, but the feelings were surprisingly pleasant. âGood,â the voice
said, âYouâre doing so well now, and⌠Ten.â Saraâs already heavy eyes
blinked even more as they began to get even heavier. âNine.â Her mind
began to float away. âEight.â She yawned again, making her feel even
more tired. âSeven.â Her legs started to ache a little bit. Â When her
legs ached, she knew she had to go to sleep. âSix.â The pretty colors
began to fade and become blurry. Â Each time she blinked, it became
harder for her to see. Â The voice lowered, giving Sara goose bumps.
âFive,â the soothing voice said. Â The music and white noise began to
fade away, making Sara concentrate more and more on the beautiful colors
and the wonderful, calming voice. âBackground noises are not importantâŚ
Four.â Sara could hardly hear the music. âMy voice is more important,
so much more important⌠Three.â Sara now only heard the voice, as she
felt herself slipping. Â The voiceâs volume dropped down to a whisper.
âYou can hardly stay awake any longer, with twoâŚâ Saraâs heavy eyes were
almost closed and blinking very rapidly now. âSo heavy⌠so sleepyâŚâ
Sara slowly, very slowly, nodded her head again.  "Giving in⌠only
giving in⌠thatâs all you can do now, with one.â Saraâs eyes closed
tightly. Â As her breathing slowed and deepened, she drifted off into a
deep, peaceful sleep.