Trapped in a role-playing game by the thoughts in his mind, Gilligan ambled in the gait and bearing of the man he wanted to be. He had never been in the war nor had he converted a radio into a transmitter to defend Guadalcanal, but he had nearly the same pose and mannerisms of the man who had as well as the same dissension and aggravation toward a certain skinny character that often irked him. Feeling the personality of his mentor in his head, Gilligan felt his peace with the world and continued onward toward the cliffs as Mrs. Howell started coming toward him carrying a parasol to protect her from the sun.
"Oh, Gilligan…" Lovee looked the young man over. "Ginger was just asking me where you were."
"No, Mrs. Howell, I'm..." Gilligan postured and mimicked his mentor gesture by gesture.
"She has one of those… oh, what do you call them, scripts?" She searched her distracted mind for the right word. "You know, she just loves doing that acting hobby of hers. I was briefly an actress once."
"Oh, you were…"
"I was the lead character in a production of Little Women at my finishing school." She looked nostalgically upon her memories but instead saw other faces looking back. "Or was it Pride and Prejudice?" She tried to recall. "All I recall is that Erica and I were the darlings of our sorority. You would never steal a boyfriend from your best friend, would you?"
"No, ma'am, I wouldn't" Gilligan reacted with an Oliver Hardy little grin.
"Oh good." She held her umbrella aloft. "You go off and rehearse with Ginger now. You've always been such a good boy for a young man who was once very much like another son to me." She proceeded on with the path to camp. Still trapped in his foreign personality, Gilligan gave a Captain's nod to the lady socialite and then scratched his head.
"The sun must be getting through that parasol of hers." He muttered out loud. Continuing on the path running the circumference of the island, he passed close to the cliffs and onward to the lookout where Ginger sat in a turn to two paths where the view of the cove gave her inspiration. He didn't see her at first, but she found him.
"Hi, Gilligan…" Her sweet honeyed voice made him jump. "Did I scare you?"
"Just a little…" Gilligan beamed to her unafraid of her. "I heard you were looking for…"
"Yes, I was…" She sat on the wide stump looking over the top of the cliff and padded the space next to her for Gilligan to sit by her. She opened her script to a scene she loved to play. It was full of romance, passion and kissing. "In this scene, you're Kevin, a world traveler in search of intrigue and adventure, and I'm Gwen, the love of your life, trying to get you to settle down and be my husband."
"Ginger, I can't do this." Gilligan stood up with a start reading the lines. "I'm old enough to be your father!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Gilligan…" Ginger chuckled a bit. "You're no more older than I am. After all, I'm a girl, you're a boy, a very cute boy…" She began oozing sexuality and chasing him around the large tree stump. Gilligan started looking for a way to run past her.
"Ginger, why do you keep calling me Gilligan?" The New Skipper looked at her. "Can't you tell I'm the Skipper?"
"Gilligan, if you're trying to creep me out, you're…"
"Ginger!" Mary raced into the small turn on the path and hurriedly whispered into the movie star's ear. It only took a few words, but finally the trained actress got the gist of the weird situation.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" She nearly screeched back out loud to the Kansas schoolgirl. "I've starred in TV shows that weren't this preposterous!!!"
"Look at him…."
Gilligan did a double take and removed his cap to rub his hair back. When he did, he took a look at his cap.
"What am I doing with Gilligan's hat?" He asked himself. "Have I been wearing it this whole time?"
Ginger did a slow look to Mary Ann.
"I can snap him out of it." She replied. As Mary Ann watched, Ginger walked up to the skinny first mate, pulled him tight to her bosom and kissed him hard. Mary Ann's lips parted in surprise. Skinny arms flailed around Ginger's figure, Gilligan's eyes widened in surprise and he pushed his way free of her.
"Who are you now?" Ginger gasped to the first mate.
"Not here!" Gilligan raced back down the path. Ginger looked back to Mary Ann.
"It worked in a movie once." She claimed.
"Professor…" Gilligan reached the clearing again. "Something's wrong with Ginger. I was looking for Gilligan and she…"
"Gilligan," The Professor started dangling the pendant at him. "Look, just calm down and watch the pendant, watch it swing back and forth and relax…"
"I don't have time for this." The New Skipper wouldn't calm enough to watch the pendant. "Ginger grabbed me on the path and… here she comes…" He raced off the other way carrying imaginary extra weight on his lanky body.
"Why didn't it work?" Howell wondered.
"I don't know." The educated scholar was perplexed. "I think he's upset about something."
"Professor…" Ginger hurried up ahead of Mary Ann. "I heard about Gilligan. I tried to kiss him back to normal, but…"
"That would do it!" Howell realized the source of the distress.
"Never mind that…" The Professor looked round. "He's racing directly for the Skipper and we got to stop him. Mary Ann, come with me. Mr. Howell, you and Ginger head him off!"
They raced down different paths for the south shore of the island. The Professor and Mary Ann following the lagoon, Mr. Howell and Ginger hastening down the incline to the freshwater creek and up toward the caves. Throwing fresh lobsters and shellfish into a cloth sack, Jonas Grumby hung the catch on a tree and saw a little white cap coming toward him from over the brush.
"I can't let him see me!" He ducked down low and bowed down behind a palm meadow bush. He skimmed around it and dodged round the path to the old voodoo cave. Looking back to his little buddy looking round, he quickly dashed into the vine and plant covered opening. In his haste, his foot jerked on loose vines and part of the loose stones on top started rolling into the beach. Those loose stone freed more vines attached to more rocks. Behind, the Skipper heard the rumble and looked back to his entryway getting smaller. Without thinking, he cried out for help.
Starting to turn away, Gilligan stopped and came to attention. He had heard the cry for help and it meant something to him.
"Skipper, I'm coming." He called out in his own voice and raced back to the source of it. He noticed the fresh rocks and peeked into the small opening left of the cave.
"Are you okay?"
"Gilligan, do you know me?"
"Of course!!!" He started digging the way clear. Behind him, the Professor and Mary Ann came and watched what was happening. Mary Ann wanted to help, but then Hinkley realized that Gilligan was pulling the Skipper from the cave. Mr. Howell and Ginger arrived as well and stood witnessing what was happening.
"I should have figured it out." Hinkley beamed with his arms folded before him to see Gilligan and the Skipper together. "The only thing stronger than Gilligan wanting to be just like the Skipper is his love for the Skipper. Hearing him in danger snapped him out of his amnesia!"
"What would we do without them?" Mary Ann watched as Gilligan tried helping the Skipper up only to be swatted by his cap for stepping on his hands.