BONUS EXCLUSIVE: To be distributed with the NIGHT VIEWS ScreenSaver


A PLAN FOR DANNY

     "You look just like my second wife," Danny said.

     "Impossible," I snapped. "I'm your brother and you've never been married. Silence, Danny!"

     Danny became quiet and still. He always would when I raised my voice to him. I'd hear
nothing from him for hours and today that would be a blessing. His multiple personalities had
become too much for me to handle and finally, it was the day for Danny to be taken to a better place.

     His madness was not always so intolerable. It worsened after our parents were killed, but now Danny would slip into some bizarre or outrageous character at the worse possible moment, making a social life impossible for me.

     A small millhouse in a dying town became quite crowded with the assembly in Danny's head, too crowded for outsiders. Who would want to enter such a home anyway? Strange, foreign scribbling covered nearly every painted surface. The wood paneling in my own room had been scratched and clawed during one of his fits. Nearly everything that was movable had been broken or damaged. I had given up cleaning and repairing years earlier. It was pointless.

     It seemed like days had passed since I had made the call to the Appocksville Mental Hospital. The doctors I had spoken with had been so friendly, so courteous. Kindness was a rarity in my daily life. So few of Danny's identities possessed such qualities. If they had, perhaps this day would have never come.

     I settled into our one-armed recliner, a ragged piece of furniture salvaged from our parents' home. The torn padding in the headrest actually cupped one's head quite nicely, though I'd be ashamed for anyone to see it. I needed the rest it would provide before they came for Danny. He was apparently tired, too. He had, as always, disappeared. He would often curl up under the kitchen table to sleep or just to hide. I could hear him breathing, so I closed my eyes for brief nap.

     "Careful, now," said a voice, as I tried to focus awakening eyes. I knew I'd been asleep but had lost track of time. I focused on the kitchen door, looking for my brother.

     Two large men in white orderly uniforms stood on either side of the recliner. Hands soon grabbed at my elbows and shoulders, lifting me upright. A third man appeared, unfolding some odd piece of clothing, a pale oversized shirt of some sort, decorated with long ribbons and buckles. "I'm sorry," I said, not meaning to interrupt their work. "You must be here for Danny. He's in the kitchen. He's…"

     The strong push forward on my spine stopped my words. I was shoved toward the open shirt, as they bent and twisted my arms to get them into the sleeves. They didn't bother to turn me around first and had to button and buckle the shirt from the back.

     "Danny!" I cried out, then spoke calmly to the strangers. "You're here for Danny. He's my brother. He's in here somewhere!"

     "I'm sure he is," said the youngest of the men and strangely he tapped his forefinger on my temple. My arms were crossed by the men and the lengthy sleeves where pulled behind my back. More suspicious fastening and buckling then took place, and wide straps were pulled around my ankles and knees.

     "All fastened," said the young one.

     "Tilt on three", said another. "One… Two… Three…"

     They pushed me over, one catching my shoulders, another lifting my feet, and carried me sideways through and out of my house. I was gently placed on a soft floor of a large white van. Only a dim, gray light from a tinted sky glass attempted to illuminate my space, but I concentrated on sound rather than sight.

     "One for the books," said an orderly, as I heard the passenger doors close and the engine start. "This guy kills his parents years ago and, after hiding for all that time, actually calls us to come get him."

     "What about the brother?" asked another.

     "Nope. He's an only child."

     I closed my eyes to focus my mind in total darkness. I tried to understand why Danny would have played such a trick on me. I thought of all the things I'd done for him. I had taken such care and tolerated so much, but as the rumble of the road below shook my bound body, I had trouble even picturing what Danny looked like.

Robert Abernethy October 1999