The Witch's Lament
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
13. INT: HOSPITAL
Mother and Father have arrived to sign papers for discharge. Mother shows enthusiasm with hugs while Father displays stoicism. The Father has a word with the doctor aside.
DR. EVANS:
Well, Jimmy, I know that you are happy to be leaving us. It’s going to be
important for you to continue with your medications. Mental Health has a
new medicine which has much fewer side effects.
MOTHER:
Thank you, Dr. Evans, for all your help.
14. INT: APARTMENT
The door to the apartment closes behind Father, Mother, and Jimmy. The apartment is nearly empty. There is one coffee table with nothing on it. A love seat and a long sofa face the coffee table. There is one lamp at the end of the sofa. A bookshelf is also against a wall in the living room, but it holds no books.
FATHER:
We fixed it up as best we could, considering I just signed the lease
yesterday.
JIMMY:
It’s nice. Not quite as nice as the hospital bungalow I’m used to, but . . .
MOTHER:
I thought we’d go catch a matinee while we still have time, unless you
have something you wanted to do with Jimmy.
FATHER:
No. You two go to the movie. I’ve gotta be back at the office. But
we do need to talk, Jimmy because you’re going to be working with me
for a while. So I’ll call you in the next couple of days.
Father leaves. Jimmy goes to the bathroom, splashes water on his face and looks at himself for a long while in the mirror.
15. INT: APT.
MOTHER:
So what do you think of this apartment, huh? Pretty great, huh Shug?
I really think you’re going to like it here.
JIMMY:
I find it stale and boring.
MOTHER:
Don’t be so cynical. Let’s make a cup of tea and then we’ll sit and chat
for a few minutes before the movie.
Jimmy stays in the loveseat while his mother brews the tea. She is singing an old lullaby, “The Golden Vanity,” in the kitchen.
JIMMY:
I recognize that song.
MOTHER:
That’s right. You used to love for me to sing this song when you were
little.
Jimmy is still dazed from the psychotropic medication.
JIMMY:
I liked that song.
MOTHER:
So, what are your plans? Wake up in the morning, do some exercise, play
some tennis?
JIMMY:
Who am I gonna play tennis with, Mom?
MOTHER:
Maybe you could start writing again.
JIMMY:
I have nothing to say.
MOTHER:
Apparently your father is going to give you some part-time work.
That should help you get into a routine.
JIMMY:
Things will never be the same.
MOTHER:
But you have a chance to make a new start.
JIMMY:
I DON’T WANT A NEW START! I WANT MY LIFE! MY MIND!
MINE!
Jimmy’s mother is on the verge of tears.
MOTHER:
Jimmy, what your father and I did, we did because we love you.
JIMMY:
I’m not so sure about that, Mom.
MOTHER:
What other motives could I possibly have?
JIMMY:
I just want you to leave.
MOTHER:
What about the movie?
JIMMY:
I don’t feel like it.
MOTHER:
Promise me you’ll go see the county’s doctor next month.
JIMMY:
I’m not making any promises.
MOTHER:
Jimmy.
16. INT: APARTMENT
Jimmy paces back and forth. Then he stops at his guitar and opens the cover. He picks the guitar up and sits on the loveseat, making a slow deliberate C-chord, but it sounds wrong, and Jimmy puts the guitar back down and goes into the cabinet of the bathroom and ferociously attacks the bottles of medication.
He stamps on a vial and crushes some of the pills, then goes and lies down. Woman, in a short nightgown, joins Jimmy on the single bed and strokes his hair from behind.
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Book Details
About the Book
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.
About the Author
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.