“Don’t think about it, Sarah!” her brother begged, “Don’t think about it! Think of something else!”

Sarah tried. So hard, she tried. She tried to think about other things instead. Elephants. She could hear them! They were crashing through the yard. Yard. Mud. Ice. Winter. Snow. She could imagine snow falling, and there it was, right outside her window, replacing the confused elephants who began fading from existence as her mind wandered. She watched as beautiful white flakes began to coat her yard. How strange would the neighbors find it, this snow in the midst of July?

“Good, Sarah. Think about elephants. Think about snow. Just don’t think about it...”

Why did he have to say that? Didn’t he understand that telling someone not to think about it made them think about it?!

She could sense it manifesting, forcing its way out of her thoughts and into the real world.

“No, no no no! Sarah, no! Make it stop! Make it go away! Stop thinking about it, Sarah!”

She couldn’t stop. Now that it was there before her, it was all she could think about!