**Chapter 3: The Unraveling Thread**

As my mom's eyes continued to clear, I couldn't help but notice the faint creases of concern etched on her face. She looked like she was trying to piece together a puzzle, but the more she thought about it, the more elusive the answers seemed. I decided to reassure her, to downplay the entire experience, but her gaze lingered on mine, searching for something more. "Hey, it's okay, Mom," I said, attempting to sound calmer than I felt. "You just had a little hypnosis session. It's all over now." But she didn't seem convinced. She kept staring at me, her eyes probing for a deeper truth. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, feeling like I was trying to hide something from her. The room seemed to grow quieter, the air thickening with an unspoken tension. Suddenly, she sat up straight, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and curiosity. "What did I do?" she asked, her voice low and urgent. "What did I say?" I hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. But something in her expression told me that I couldn't hide the truth. "You, uh, you clucked like a chicken," I said, trying to sound nonchalant. Her face went pale, and she looked like she'd been punched in the gut. "What else?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. I sighed, knowing that I had to tell her the rest. "You sang 'I Will Survive' in a disco voice, and you...you acted like a cat." Her eyes seemed to glaze over, and for a moment, I thought she was going to faint. I reached out to grab her arm, but she shook me off, her movements jerky and agitated. "What's happening to me?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "Why am I doing these things?" I felt a pang of guilt and worry. Had I pushed her too far? Had I unlocked something that I couldn't control? I tried to reassure her, to tell her that it was all just a product of her subconscious mind, but she didn't seem to be listening. As she continued to stare at me, her eyes filled with a growing sense of fear and uncertainty, I realized that I had disturbed something deep within her. And now, I had no idea how to fix it. The room seemed to darken, as if the shadows themselves were closing in on us. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I realized that I had no idea what I had unleashed. And as I looked into my mom's haunted eyes, I knew that I had to find a way to unravel the thread of her sanity before it was too late. The silence between us grew thicker, heavier, until it felt like a physical presence in the room. I knew I had to say something, to break the spell that had been cast. But as I opened my mouth to speak, I realized that I had no idea what to say. All I could do was sit there, frozen in uncertainty, as my mom's eyes continued to bore into mine, searching for answers that I wasn't sure I could provide.