I DO NOT OWN THAT '70s SHOW NOR THIS MOVIE BASED PLOT. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
InSanity
Chapter One
The sunrise was paradisiacal; white birds squawking against the deep sherbert orange sky blended into a subtle salmon pink, contrary to the glistening ruby water it reflected upon with a hovering mist and the dark trees ahead spookily waving with sharp leaves. Jackie buried her wet face in her stained hands there in the canoe in her night-gown, smearing the red splattered dots to irregular abstract shapes, registering what she had just done; and for what reason. She thought to herself as the canoe rocked her like a mother would a baby, pacifying with the wind whooshing all over while they, whatever they were, watched her from land:
"I sit here and I can't believe that it happened. But I have to believe it. Nightmares or dreams? Madness or sanity; I don't know which is which."
July 6, 1979
"Eric, Eric, Eric, stop right here," Jackie slapped the window ecstatically from the brown carpeted trunk of the Vista Cruiser then opened her floral patterned suitcase to retrieve wax paper once he pulled along the curb. She crawled up to the back of his seat, pulling up her white spaghetti strapped top and raked her feathered hair with her fingers before giving him a kiss on the cheek and popping the trunk, swinging her legs out hastily till her flip-flops were placed safely on the asphalt.
Hyde opened the passenger door with Eric mirroring his action until they both were leaning against the olive Vista Cruiser with their arms crossed against their chests, watching Jackie run up the steep hill. "The cemetery," Hyde scoffed with one side of his lip curled, indigo eyes pinched at the corners. "Why the cemetery?"
"She's taken a liking to paying respects to those rested by documenting their tombstones. The etches are pretty deep if I may say so myself," Eric wiggled his dark eyebrows mischievously then adjusted his blue tucked in shirt shortly after.
Hyde couldn't wrap his head around it, why Jackie of all people found that process exciting. "Don't you—ha, look," he rested his arm on Eric's shoulder, "Jackie just tripped. Now she's trying to play it off," he pointed with a chuckle until Eric elbowed him in the rib. "Don't you think that's a creepy thing to do for a former Point Place cheerleader?"
"Creepy? I'll tell you what's creepy; you not wearing sunglasses for a change," Eric wagged his finger while shaking his head animatedly, instigating a smirk across Hyde's stubbled face. "Whether your reasoning is because it was a New Years resolution or because you just grew up out of the blue, I support you—well not before I picked on you but...I do now, don't I?" His curly-haired friend pulled his black grungy shirt up, exposing his happy trail to wipe sweat from his forehead then nodded when the weak cotton fell down with the breeze. "Okay. So I'm supporting her too no matter how bizarre it may be. I'd much rather her skip through a cemetery, gliding her hand across dirty graves than hallucinate or hurt herself. If that's what she enjoys then let it be," he leaned back against his vehicle and crossed his arms. "If it'll keep her mind occupied for the time being, I'm happy. My baby could use a break."
"Don't worry, man, the farm will be a great place for her to mentally cleanse herself of all evil. That apartment in New York was beginning to scare me too," Hyde admitted.
Jackie touched every single tombstone, scouting out a particular one that stood out differently than all the others. She closed her eyes for a moment, supporting herself with the tablets while trudging through the tall blades of grass in open-toed shoes and inhaled the air, misty from the lake and piney from the trees as the gust threatened to rip the paper from her hands. The sky was dull, a grayish-blue and the white clouds milky for it was falling well into the night at six-thirty; but every now and then, the bright sun would grace the trio with its presence, turning on and off like a light switch peeking through the branches of a tree.
"For the first time in months, I'm free. Forget the doctors. Forget that place," Jackie thought. "I'm okay now. We'll start over." She opened her eyes once the inside of her eyelids colored orange from the brightness of the sun then squatted to read the grave her conscience told her to choose. It was about a slave who fought for his freedom; perfect, Eric would love this one.
"Come on, Jackie, before the car ferry closes," Eric called with his hands cupped around his mouth.
"I'm coming, just give me a second," she responded while placing the wax paper against the headstone and rubbing it in, the dirt serving as ink. She licked her lips while peeling it off carefully then when she stood to examine it, she saw a blonde girl in a simple cream tattered dress and what appeared to be a scarf around her neck off in the distance, standing with her arms far from her hips and a look of worry upon her pretty rectangular face. Jackie turned towards Eric and Hyde, only a croak escaping her throat as she came to grips that they wouldn't see the fragment of her possible imagination. When she turned back ahead, the girl was gone, leaving goosebumps on her beach skin and closure that she was indeed not real; then the voices came in an indecipherable frenzy, whispering Jackie's name over and over again. "Jacqueline, now, babe! The house? Our house," Eric added teasingly. "Look, now she's running," he laughed as he opened his car door without the slightest idea what she saw.
Hyde rubbed Eric's shoulder before he could duck into the vehicle with a look of perplexity, hoping it was an appropriate time to ask, "Do you think moving here will help her, man?"
"I don't see why not," he shrugged and relaxed his weight against the door. "I mean, the city can play a big part in one's state of mind; there isn't any stressful New York traffic here too so this place ought to calm her down. We're in the countryside of Jersey, beautiful, peaceful New Jersey. It's a fresh start and...God I sure hope it helps."
"Don't tell them, act normal," Jackie warned herself while sitting fairly silent in the back along with all the luggage as she, Hyde and Eric listened to the seagulls laugh and the waves clash violently as they were transported smoothly to their designated dock, the mist slightly spraying them once Eric rolled all the windows down.
He looked in the rear-view mirror and stared at his partner who seemed worried and confused, hugging her knees. "Jackie, you're awfully quiet back there. Aren't you excited?"
"Oh, yes," she snapped out of her frightened trance of wondering if it was happening again. "Isn't it neat we have to take a car ferry to our home," she squealed, massaging his shoulders then wrapped her arms lightly around his neck, pressing her cheek against his and topping it off with a kiss. Hyde rolled his eyes and scoffed at her remark which made her ask for validation, "Isn't it Hyde?"
"Sure. If we're ever in trouble, we can just paddle our way back. Where is the car that runs on water when you need it, man?"
An old olive-toned, bald ferryman dressed in a green uniform who resembled a bird through his features as well as how he peered noisily through their windows circled around the Cruiser until he was in Eric's window, resting his arms on the door frame. "What have you got under the blanket," the old man asked in a gargley light voice and beady black eyes that made the brown age spots and wrinkles prominent.
"His mother-in-law," Hyde quipped with a serious face which made the old man's jaw drop a tad, believing the trouble maker.
The old man looked at Jackie, who giggled with her hand covering her mouth and one arm still around Eric's neck. "Oh you're just lying," he chuckled along with the gang once they could no longer contain their laughter from his devastated reaction.
"It's just luggage," Jackie confirmed by peeling the cover off a bit. "See?"
The old man nodded with a slight smile then turned his attention back to Eric. "Where are you folks goin'?"
"The other side of Dolore," Eric answered, squinting his eyes from the egg yolk sun. "There's a farm on Novello road called the old Pinciotti Place, are you familiar?"
The man hesitated, glancing at them one by one while swishing his jaw from side to side as he touched a white bandage on his neck which made them all exchange looks with furrowed brows. "Yes I do," he finally responded reluctantly. "You'll all be on the other side very soon."