2/27/13
SOUL ABDUCTION
Chapter 1 – THE CRIME
It is May of 1963. Reporters, photographers, armed guards, and the staff were gathered together on the steps of Briarcliff awaiting the arrival of the new prisoner. His name was Frank Stuart, aged 22. According to the news reports and the authorities, he had murdered his fiancée, Rachel McKinley, and burned her body in their fireplace. He claimed that he was innocent of the crime and that she was murdered by a ghost that haunted their mansion. Of course, that was ludicrous, so the judge ordered him to be held at the Briarcliff Insane Asylum for evaluation until his trial.
The people who knew the couple were shocked and deeply saddened when they heard the news. They described the couple as extremely happy and very much in love. They looked forward to their wedding, which was to take place in June. Every detail of their wedding was planned to perfection. Devout Catholics, they were going to have their wedding at the Holy Trinity cathedral, the large mammoth church that they have just started attending since they had moved to Massachusetts. For the reception, they would have it in the courtyard that they have just renovated behind their home.
"Gardening was one of the things that Rachel loved to do," her sister Claudia had said during an interview. "Getting her fingers in the dirt relaxed her so."
It was true. Ever since Rachel was little, she loved gardening. She used to help her mother in the garden and she liked the way that soil, moist or dry, would feel through her fingers. She also loved to watch as little sprouts grew into fruitful plants or gorgeous flowers. As soon as it was March, she and Frank immediately got to work in giving their once gloomy and deserted courtyard a makeover. When it was finished, people were amazed at its breathtaking beauty.
"That's where we plan to hold her memorial," her mother said tearfully. "We're going to call it Rachel's Garden. She was one of the most creative people I have ever known."
While gardening was Rachel's passion, she was a professional photographer by trade. Although many people commented that she should be in front of the camera instead of behind it – she was gorgeous! – taking pictures was something that she loved to do. She believed that beauty was only on the inside of people, and she wanted people to see the inside of her rather than outside. This was why she choose photography as her profession; it was her way of expressing how she felt about life, whether it was capturing precious moments between people or beautiful scenery. Someone had joked that she should be the photography of her own wedding, but she chose to have a colleague do it instead.
People who knew Frank described him as friendly and vivacious. He always had a ready smile for anyone who came his way. Like Rachel, he was also creative, but he had a different career. He was a children's author/illustrator and a graphic novelist. He loved to draw since he was a kid. He grew up reading Superman comic books and enjoyed playing superhero games with his brothers and neighborhood friends. He also had a serious side. He served as an altar boy at his church and his parents raised him to have love and compassion for other people, esp. those who are less fortunate and those who are viewed as outcasts in society. Who knows, they used to tell him and his brothers. They could be in that category themselves one day. No one could ever have imagined that he would one day be accused of murdering his fiancée and end up in one of the most notorious insane asylums ever known in the country.