“I need one more participant,” he says. “A special someone.” I settle comfortably in my seat, determined for it not to be me. I watch his finger slowly move toward us and I grow uneasy. His arm continues its journey across the auditorium, landing decisively in the middle of my forehead. Connor juts in front of me, wildly raising his hand trying to get Hypnotist Jerry’s attention, but he adjusts his finger so it is on me again. I move my head to the left and right several times, which doesn’t stop Hypnotist Jerry from following me. He doesn’t speak. He just points and stares.

“It’s you,” Bryce whispers in my ear. “You’re the one he wants. He won’t give up. Just go up there. Promise it will be fun.”

I begrudgingly drag myself up to the stage. Once we are all standing next to Hypnotist Jerry, he begins speaking to the audience as if we aren’t there.

“Who you are is evident in everything you do. The way you walk and talk. How you respond to life’s challenges. Few of us know how to access the treasures buried inside. We are strangers unto ourselves, blind to the truth of what we came here to do. What a shame.” He shakes his head in disappointment. “Tonight is about digging deep… Let us begin, then.”

Hypnotist Jerry turns his attention back to us, the scapegoats he has volunteered to be hypnotized in front of a live audience. “One of you used to love to dance. You imitated performers you saw on TV, especially Selena. She was your favorite. You were always moving until your eighth-grade dance teacher said you lacked grace and that ‘no company would hire you.’ She couldn’t see what I see. When I snap my fingers, you will show us your seven-year-old dance routine. They,” he says, pointing to the audience, “shall call you the Dancer, honoring your true purpose.”

The audience begins to clap and chant, “Dancer! Dancer!” Hypnotist Jerry snaps and Gina, the short, dark-haired Latina woman standing next to me, begins dancing innocently like a child. Her movements are simple, sweet, and slightly uncoordinated, like she’s just learning what it’s like to have a body. “Yes,” Hypnotist Jerry growls, “that’s it. Dance for us! Remember why you came.” Gina’s dancing matures right before our eyes. Her choreography becomes sharper and more complex, until it looks like she has been dancing professionally all her life. She spins, pirouettes, and even lands a backflip. Everyone in the room erupts into applause. I am stunned. Gina takes a bow as Hypnotist Jerry moves on to the next person, whom I pray is not me.