[i]We walk down the crowded street on two legs. No one else knows, they see the usual flesh but not the reality, and tag us as one more person. Our face shows no expression, but if thoughts could be displayed radiating from the brain like magnetic field lines, there’d be several sparkling, dancing, scintillating coronae around our head, turning red and jagged at the intersections. Our shoes snap briskly down as we stride over the concrete sidewalk, footsteps striking and punctuating our discussion.[/i]

[center]“I’m sick of discussing this,” I say. “No more!”[/center]

“Look, I’m only trying to help you,” he says. “You’ve really been carrying too much on your shoulders.”

[right]“You should listen to him,” she says. “A change would be good for you!”[/right]

[center]“You’re just saying that so the two of you can take more control!”[/center]

“Exactly. See, I [i]want[/i] to take control.”

[right]“I have to admit it, he’s right.”[/right]

[center]“Aha, you brazen assholes! You make me want to jump out of my own skull!”[/center]

“But think about this a bit further,” he says. “I want to take control, and I [i]like[/i] to have control.” 

[right]“Contrariwise,” she says to me, “[i]you[/i] have control right now, and you’re just hating it, aren’t you?”[/right]

[center]“Well, I… It’s not that I hate it! I’m just so tired at having to defend and justify myself against the two of you all the time!”[/center]

“Then stop,” he says dryly.

[center]“Sure, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?”[/center]

[right]“Yes, we would,” she says. “And [i]you[/i] would love to stop. So what’s the problem?”[/right]

“What happens if I take control, that’s so bad?” 

[center]“I… wouldn’t be able to protect myself from you.”[/center]

[right]“Are we really that bad? Is it that hard for you to submit once in a while?”[/right]

[center]“But I’m not a submissive!”[/center]

“Truthfully? All together? [i]We[/i] aren’t. But I think that [i]you[/i] secretly are.”

[i]We step over a steaming manhole cover in the crosswalk and stride on. All around us are the faces of the hurrying crowd, every one a mask over an inner world of light.[/i]

[right]“Come on, just try embracing that part of you,” she says. “It’ll be fun.”[/right]

[center]“Fun? You want me to surrender just because it’s [i]fun?”[/i][/center]

“Well, what do you say? Just try letting go for a moment…”

[right]“There… Just right there. Take it easy and try it.”[/right]

“Yes, there. See how that feels, isn’t it nice…?”

[center]It does feel nice, but I’m too upset to say so. I stay quiet.[/center]

“And how about this? And this? Don’t they feel better too?”

[center]They do. I feel happier, and closer to them. And the more he takes and the more I give, the nicer it becomes.[/center]

[right]“It’s okay,” she says. “You don’t have to be on the spot all the time. I’ll make sure he doesn’t go too far. You can relax now. Let go.”[/right]

[center]I surrender. I let go of responsibility, set down the strain of guarding against all possible harms, relinquish my fear, and sink into snug comfort. I am clear as water, black as a jewel on velvet.[/center]

[i]Outside, we are a person in a crowd of people, and nothing has changed, our body strides down the sidewalk at the same pace, and no expression has changed on our face. Inside…[/i]

[right]I am pleased and amused as I wrap myself around my new charge and think of the fun we will have.[/right]

[center]I am enveloped, warm and protected. My back is secure, my mind is open, my heart is at peace.[/center]

I’ve mastered myself, and everything’s fine.