On a Sunday Morning

After a night of heavy partying, WILLAM, a college sophomore, is awakened from his drunken stupor by his sister, RITA, who is a freshman at the same university. Rita is also a high-functioning autist with a number of phobias. She wants Will to accompany her to the off-campus church she attends every Sunday to please her mother. Will, however, is too hungover and refuses. She reminds him of his promise to their mother to go with her every Sunday and protect her, but he throws her out. Later, showered and shaved and feeling a bit remorseful, Will heads to the church, intending to walk Rita back to the dorms. Once there, he finds out she never arrives and sets off to find her. The first place he looks is her dorm room, where he learns from CELESTE, Rita’s roommate, that Rita has not returned. Together, the two set out to find Rita. They search the dorm, followed by the library, the student lounge, and finally the cafeteria, but find no trace of her. They head back to the church along a lonely county road running through some woods. The church is empty by now, and there is no one to ask, so they head back. On the way to the dorm, they spot some papers in the woods, and Will recognizes them as ones Rita carried with her. After finding signs of a fight near the papers, they call the police. That evening, with the police still finding no trace of Rita, Will’s parents arrive. His mother berates Will for breaking his promises and for being a good-for-nothing son. In a rage, she disowns him. Ten years later, William is a desolate drunk. When Celeste comes by to tell him Rita’s killer has finally been caught, he refuses to let her in.