Free Aris Returns by Devin Morgan Page A

in the window creating long shadows on the floor. Carlos
     relaxed as he sat in the recliner, a smile on his face.
    Sarah used the peaceful moment to broach the subject of Carlos’ family. “Before we
     begin hypnosis today, I’d like to ask you a few more questions about your upbringing.
     Would that work for you?”
    “You really crack me up.” He laughed. “You think I’m relaxed this afternoon so you
     can hit me up about my home life.”
    “It’s important that I know everything you feel safe enough to tell me. Unless I do,
     I’m working in the dark and all the regression work doesn’t mean a thing. What happened
     in the past is dead history without a present anchor. Does that make any sense at
     all?”
    “Yeah, you always make sense whether I like it or not.” He leaned back into the chair,
     closed his eyes and folded his hands on hischest. “What do you want to know?”
    “You said your parents came here from Mexico. Your father was from a wealthy family
     and your mother was peasant stock. Do you know anything about their history?”
    “Sure. It starts out romantic but turns to crap. They met in a farmer’s market. My
     mother was beautiful and my father fell for her. His family was dead against them
     being together because she was poor so they eloped.
    “After they were married, my grandparents said they forgave him so, being old school,
     my father took my mother home to live with his family. My grandmother hated my mother.
     She treated her well when the family was together but like a dog when they were alone.
    “My mother got pregnant and lost the baby. My grandmother got meaner and meaner. After
     a while, she began to poison my father’s mind against my mother.
    “My mother told him about my grandmother’s rotten treatment but my father was a macho
     business man and didn’t want to get involved in women’s bull crap. He said it was
     up to them to get along. Well, it didn’t happen. It just got worse.
    “Then my mother got pregnant a second time and lost that baby too. She had just come
     out of surgery when my father walked into the hospital room unannounced. My grandmother
     was screaming at my mother. He finally saw the truth.
    “That’s when they moved to the states. They settled in California. Because my father
     had been successful in Mexico, he didn’t see any reason he couldn’t be successful
     here. So he was. And still is if you measure success by how much money a guy makes.
    “Anyway, his father disowned him but his mother kept in touch. She wrote letters and
     called him all the time. Soon after they moved here, my mother got pregnant again.
    “About the same time, my grandfather got really sick. Mygrandmother kept calling and telling my father that it was his fault his father was
     wasting away, that his marriage to my mother was killing the old man.
    “As it got closer to the time for my mother’s delivery, my grandfather went downhill
     and fast. My father left for Mexico. While he was gone, I was born. Then, my grandfather
     died. Man, my grandmother worked my old man over. He came back to us not even sure
     I was his son.
    “He started drinking, then the fights started. He accused my mother of messing around
     on him and using him to get out of the poverty she grew up in. I don’t know what all
     came down, just that he was always shouting at her and she was always crying. It just
     kept getting worse.”
    There was no sound in the room except for the wind whistling around the corner of
     the building. Sarah sat quietly. She was grateful for the information Carlos had given
     her about his past. It still didn’t make a great deal of sense to her but it was another
     step on the journey.
    “You know Sarah, I’ve never told that story to anyone. It feels good just to get it
     off my chest.”
    “That’s what this is all about, Carlos; coming to an understanding of your actions
     and motives. Once we know why you respond the way you do we can change the