The Sunny Chronicles: Prologue
Sunny attempts to get comfortable in her seat for the hundredth time, but it remains impossible. In defeat, she slumps over with a sigh and stares out the window of the speeding greyhound bus. Miles upon miles have passed by without notice, the backdrop of the freeway hidden by the night. All she can see are the lights of passing traffic and of cities over the horizon. She pulls a crushed picture out of her sweat-jacket pocket and fiddles with it, but doesn't look down from the window. As she caresses the picture as a child would a security blanket, her body finally relaxes. Her eyes blink closed; her head nods over.
But just as she finally falls asleep, Sunny feels the bus turn and slow down. Stiffening up, she rolls her now open eyes and stuffs the picture back in her pocket. Just pass the off ramp, she spots a green hi-way sign. PINE VALLEY -- 2 MILES. She takes the deepest breath she's ever taken in her life ... and doesn't even notice. She hasn't had five minutes sleep in over 48 hours. But she is wide awake in an instant.
The bus is in town before she realizes. The buildings of Pine Valley blur before her eyes as the bus takes turn after turn towards the station. Soon, it stops altogether, and the driver squeals open the exit door. She grabs her bag and gets in line, moving slowly towards the door like a new soul would move towards "the light". Once her feet hit the pavement, Sunny has to squint against the parking lot lights to see. She feels disappointed somehow, wishing suddenly that she had actually been walking towards "the light" instead of walking into a situation that could end up being just as final ...
Shouldering her bag, she digs in another jacket pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. It's been four hours since their last stop, and her whole face relaxes into a smile as she takes the first long drag. She stands smoking and shuffling her feet for awhile until the bus driver finally appears. As he is about to pass her, she grabs his arm.
"Excuse me, Sir?"
He stops and smiles sweetly, and immediately she can tell that he thinks she is only a child. She pulls the hood to her sweat-jacket off in an attempt to reveal more of her features.
"Hi. Sorry, but I'm um ... kind of new to Pine Valley, and I was just hoping you could point me towards the nearest motel? Like, a cheap motel, 'cause I'm kind of, like, broke."
He studies her more closely and spots the cigarette burning in her hand. "Well," he says, "if you're new, you may find it useful to know that no one in this town smokes."
She drops the cigarette and smashes it under the heel of her Nike. "Really?" she asks, laughing a little, "that's ... bizarre. Does anyone drink?"
"Sure," he replies, "everyone drinks."
"So ... about the cheap lodgings?"
He points towards the end of the parking lot. "There's a place down the road called the Pinecone Inn. Go left out of the parking lot and follow that road. It's about ... five blocks maybe. Not far... You got business in Pine Valley, Miss?"
"You could say that," she answers, feeling the metaphorical weight on her shoulders again.
"Well, good luck to you," he says with a smile.
Sunny thanks him as he is walking away and turns for the Pinecone. Under the lights of the parking lot, she pulls out the tattered picture once more and stops to study it. She has done this so many times before that she has every little feature memorized by now, but she continues to carry it with her everywhere, out of habit, maybe, or maybe it just makes everything real for her somehow. After all, you can't take a picture of something that isn't real.
Before she puts it away and heads for a shower and a bed, Sunny turns the picture over to make the name real as well. It reads: Greenlee Smythe- Dupres.