A Reckoning in Mayberry

Part 8/4 Fall Four

Lacey was especially agitated this day. She was frustrated that no one was listening to her or believing her. Singing William was in danger and so was her friend Lucinda. She told Matthew and she told Sallie Mae and there was still no rescue. Lacey did not like being crazy. No one pays crazy people any mind, she thought. I don't like losing my mind. It is not pleasant, and it is not fun. I want to leave here. I am going to rescue my friends myself and hit the road, and then maybe go dancing, and then maybe go back home, back to my real home.

Lacey broke a couple of plates after breakfast, throwing them at a maintenance man who came to work on her air conditioning vent. She thought he was Luther and she was still mad at him. Luther was used to ducking objects thrown at him, but this Luther was slow and one of the plates nicked his shoulder. For that she was put in restraints. Matty will be mad as fire when he finds out, she thought. He'll have someone fired or worse. Or worse, she hoped. She did not like being tied up. It reminded her too much of the old days. No need to worry - she could get out of this easy enough. Ten minutes later and she was out of the restraints. Time to leave this shit hole. I do not like this crazy house. I am not crazy, just a little confused.

She took a bobby pin from her dresser and unlocked her door. Lacey used a mirror to check the hallway. All clear. She stepped into the hall.

"Wait," came a voice from her room.

Lacey looked back in her room. She stepped back in the room.

"Hey Mama," said Lacey.

"Hey baby girl," said Sarah.

"What are you doing here? I almost forgot what you looked like - where you been? Why did you not come to see me before? I missed you." Lacey was overcome with emotion. She started to tear up.

"I missed you too, but I couldn't come to see you. I died a long time ago, Lacey, in the wreck with your daddy. I'm sorry about that. I only come to see you because I have something important to tell you. Something that needs to be done."

"I already told about singing William and the baby and Lucinda. Nobody listens to me. I'm crazy."

"You are not crazy sweetie, just confused, and troubled, and that is why I came. What I need you to do is for your sake and your real mama's sake."

"You're my real mama."

"Yes, I am your real mama too, but your other mama needs something from you. She needs your forgiveness."

"I can't forgive her," said Lacey. "She didn't love me. Not like you."

"Yes, yes she did, she was just sick, so sick she could not help herself, but she got better and she knowed what she did was wrong. She came to visit you, just like your brother did, when you were little. And after I was gone, you know she tried to do right by you and Matthew when she finally got you back."

"I don't know if I can forgive her."

"Well, I want you to try. You are going to make a trip and you are going to see her and I want you to let her know that you forgive her. She needs to hear it, and you need to say it. It will bring you peace, Sweetie. Will you do it for me?"

"Mama, nobody can make you forgive someone - you have to want to do it."

"I know, sweetie, but I want you to think about it. For your own sake. No one needs to carry around what you been carrying around. It will eat away at you. You are a lucky girl cause you have two mamas. Two mamas who love you."

"Ok, mama, I will think about it. But first, I got to get out of here."

"You're right, It is time for you to go. Be careful," said Sarah, "and I love you."

"I love you too," said Lacey.

Lacey used the mirror again and slipped out into the hall. She tried to use her old skills to be as incognito as possible. She walked with confidence and purpose. She got all the way to the outside door and was surprised to learn that the door had a keypad on it. Well, I could probably break the code, she thought, if I had an hour or two. No time for that. I'll have to think of something else. She slipped back into her room.

Lacey looked around and spotted the window. Only two stories up. The window was locked, but she could break it with her chair, just need to make a rope out of my bedsheets first. Easy enough. She began to rip sheets. Once she got a rope long enough, Lacey barricaded the door, swung her chair and busted out the glass with two swings. She could hear footsteps running down the hall. She threw the rope out the window and swung her legs over the sill. She took one last glance back at the door as an orderly was busting his way in. Lacey started to descend and made the mistake of looking down. Oh lord, she thought, I forgot I'm afraid of heights. She had a death grip on the rope and was frozen in place. She could not move. Oh dammit, I do hate being crazy, I am not making rational decisions. She could hear several voices, some more hysterical than the next, pleading for her to come back up.

"I can reach you," the voices said. "Give me your hand. Come inside where it's safe."

Lacey risked looking up. No, I can't go back to the crazy house, she thought. I don't like being crazy. She risked looking down. She saw freedom. Lacey let go.