The Witch's Lament

By William Gregg

Jimmy has been struggling with schizophrenia for quite some time. He has been in and out of the hospital before, but he is still stuck in a level of denial that is difficult for anyone to grasp, especially himself. When he is submitted to the hospital yet again, several factors come into play. He rationalizes discontinuing his medication compliance. He justifies brash, unsuitable behavior. He victimizes himself. He refuses help from others.

Then a beautiful woman comes into his life. She is the representation of Jimmy's every desire, and he falls for her in every way. She inspires him to become an even greater man than he believes he can be. He would never let go of such a woman. No man would.

But she tempts his soul in ways that only the most beautiful temptress in the world possibly could. She challenges his belief in everything. She creates a need in him for her that only he can fully comprehend. She seems to hold the key to his integrity and his sanity. Because of this woman, Jimmy is able to accomplish goals he never thought he could achieve. Because of this woman, he has a renewed perspective on life. Because of this woman, he has a severe confidence that no one can take away. But, because of this woman, Jimmy is slowly reverting back to a state of paranoia, fear, anguish, and despair.

Eventually, schizophrenia catches up with him again and this puts him at odds with the ones who love him most. He is tormented by his past, and he can not see a way into the future. Somehow he must do the one thing that he never can seem to do. Somehow, he must see himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456740245

William Gregg

William Gregg currently resides in his home-state of Virginia. At the age of twenty-four he acquired schizophrenia. Having battled this disease for more than a decade now, he sees that there is an opportunity to express what it means to be schizophrenic in today's world. His hope is that he can captivate an audience of people who suffer both directly and indirectly from this mental illness. For every schizophrenic person out there, there is a father and a mother. It is quite likely that this same person also may have a sibling or two. Grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, not to mention friends, are also to be considered when calculating the impact of this disease. William Gregg holds a personal belief that by telling the truth, although perhaps in a creative way and fictional manner, many of these people can be helped to understand schizophrenia on a deeper level. The better the understanding of it, the better the ability of all involved to cope and manage life with this disease. William Gregg has a mental illness, like many other people in this nation and this world. By writing about it, he hopes that his creativity can be a remedy to those who suffer from it. He hopes that people who know people that are schizophrenic will open up the lines of communication and delve deeper into the meaning of their relationships with each other. He hopes that people will gain greater awareness of themselves and others and, thereby, move toward a better perspective and an increased acceptance of those who suffer from schizophrenia. William Gregg is also the author of Yellow Buses From Costa Rica.

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The Witch’s Lament

William Gregg

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2011 William Gregg. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 6/21/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4567-4024-5 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4567-4025-2 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011903630

Printed in the United States of America

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

1. INT: APARTMENT; DAY

A twenty-something man shuffles through a coffee table for something.

OVERVIEW shows that he is in the middle of a living room. A long couch and a loveseat are present, but he has chosen a wooden, wicker desk chair to sit in. Eventually, through the piles of coins, magazines, textbooks, candles, he finds a guitar pick.

The lights dim, except for a spotlight which shines from the corner onto an unopened guitar.

He carefully picks a guitar up out of its case. Spotlight is completely on the man; now, there is a slow, deliberate placement of a C-chord on the fret board. He begins and finishes playing Rose Connelly.

CUT TO:

2. INT: DIFFERENT APARTMENT; NIGHT

The sound of KNOCKING FADES IN to the scene.

The KNOCK is upon an apartment door. The door is primarily a rectangle of glass with wood surrounding it. Four men can be seen from the inside view of the door, standing outside.

From inside the apartment, through the glass door, Jimmy speaks.

JIMMY:

What are you doing here, Dad?

MAN 2:

We’re with Ready Intervention. May we come into your apartment?

FATHER:

(Overlapping)

Jimmy, you need some help. Let us come in and talk to you.

JIMMY:

Who the fuck are you? What the fuck are you doing, Dad? I’m calling the cops.

Jimmy leaves the door and walks down the hall of a different apartment to his bedroom where he picks up a telephone off a different coffee table in a different room. CLOSE-UP is dialing 911.

RECEIVER:

What is your emergency?

The four men have somehow made it into the apartment, and are standing just outside the open bedroom door, father first.

JIMMY:

Yes, I have some intruders on my property. (Away from the receiver):

GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! (Into the receiver): One is my father, the other three I don’t know, but none of them are welcome on my property.

RECEIVER:

Dispatch is on the way to 2405 Thomas Ave.

JIMMY:

Thank you.

Jimmy hangs up the phone. Then he walks over to his father and shoves him. The three men turn to leave. The father turns as well. Jimmy follows them up the hall.

JIMMY:

GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!! GET THE FUCK OUT NOW!!

The four men walk out of the building, and Jimmy sits in the living room waiting for the police to show.

When they knock, Jimmy speaks through the locked front door, making it clear that he wants no one but the two patrolmen entering his house. Jimmy faces them from the fireplace in the living room.

JIMMY:

I want these people removed from the premises. I’m under –

COP 1:

(Overlapping)

Well, sir, apparently these Ready Intervention people have a legally-binding document called a TDO, meaning Temporary Detainment Order.

JIMMY:

So what? What’s that?

COP1:

The order entitles them to legally submit you to a psychiatric facility.

JIMMY:

You can just come onto my property and take me for no reason?

COP 2 holds up two black-gloved hands indicating he does not want trouble.

COP 2:

Apparently the doctor who issued the TDO has substantial evidence that you may be of danger to yourself or someone else, so –

JIMMY:

But I’m on my property.

COP 2 holds up his black-gloved hands again.

COP 2:

Look, we’re just doing our jobs –

JIMMY:

I thought your job was to keep the peace. I mean, what about my constitutional rights?

COP 2:

You can make this easy, Mr. Wilson, or you can make it hard.

JIMMY:

This is fucking ridiculous!! I called you to get trespassers off my property, and I’m the one that gets arrested. No fucking way.

The cops approach Jimmy, after looking at one another, from either side of the table. There is a short scuffle between the three of them, and Jimmy is forced to the ground