Timmy almost missed out on the hiking trip that day. His grades had been slipping, he had been rude to his parents and teachers, and just the day before, his mother caught him smoking a joint. His parents considered dropping him off at his grandmother’s before heading on to the trailhead so he could spend the day reflecting on his bad behavior.
Timmy thought such a punishment would be wildly unjust, but he knew better than to say that spending the day with his grandmother would be boring, and he knew better than to complain about the smell of the various ointments and creams his grandmother used to alleviate her arthritis. Instead, he promised his parents that he would do better and that he would make them proud.
Everyone knew Timmy wasn’t really being sincere. Timmy knew it, and his parents knew it. But Timmy’s parents loved him, and they didn’t want him to miss out on a family outing. So they determined that the fresh air and exercise would do him good. Timmy sat in the backseat of the family car and grinned with satisfaction.
He stayed in his parents’ good graces until they had almost reached the summit, but then a strange thing occurred. A marmot ran across Timmy’s path, and he stopped to watch the cute, furry animal. His parents hadn’t noticed the marmot or their son’s interest in it, so they continued to climb the trail. When they were out of earshot, the marmot stood and introduced himself as Mr. Wetzel. Timmy was understandably taken aback.
When Timmy’s parents realized that their son was no longer behind them, they went back to look for him. They spent twenty minutes searching for him. Long enough for both of them to become frantic. They worried that the boy had gone off trail and slipped over a cliff. But just as the two loving parents were about to give up hope, Timmy reappeared. At first, his parents scolded him for scaring them, but then they said they couldn’t be angry with him because they were so grateful he was alive. They cried as they hugged him and kissed him. They told him they didn’t know what they would have done if something had happened to him.
Much to his parents’ surprise, Timmy apologized for frightening them. There wasn’t a hint of irony or sarcasm in his voice when he did this. He was not being self-serving or manipulative. It was as if he understood the emotions his parents had felt in a clear and adult way, and he was truly sorry for having caused them.
Timmy was different after that day. He stayed out of trouble and started studying more. There were times when he disagreed with his parents and times when he didn’t do as he was told, but he explained his opinions and actions in a way that was honest, and sincere and never sarcastic. He had reached a new level of maturity that served him well throughout high school, college and veterinarian school.
When his parents celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary, Timmy came to visit them, and one night when the three of them were reminiscing about old times, Timmy finally told them what really happened that day on the mountain.
Mr. Wetzel told Timmy that he was a very special boy and that his help was needed in a far off land, and Timmy readily agreed to go with Mr. Wetzel. He didn’t think about how his disappearance would affect his parents. He didn’t ask how he and Mr. Wetzel were supposed to get to this far off land. And he didn’t ask how long he would be gone. He thought it would be fun to spend some time with a talking marmot, so off he went.
As it turns out, this other land had a time all its own, and even though to his parents, Timmy was only gone for a few minutes, for Timmy, it had been more like ten years. Long enough for him to become a man and to fall in love after experiencing many harrowing adventures.
Timmy told his parents that it was difficult to pretend he was still a boy when he returned, but he understood that his parents needed him to remain a boy for a while, so he made the effort for their sake.
Of course, Timmy’s aging parents were curious about Mr. Wetzel and the time their son had spent in the far off land, but Timmy explained that his great adventure had only lasted about twenty minutes. It had only seemed longer at the time, and after thirty-five years, many of the details were gone from his memory. But there was one thing that Timmy was sure of, his encounter with Mr. Wetzel had been transformative. He had gone up the mountain a boy, and he had come down a man.
Fictional short story by Gary Cottle
Photographer and subject unknown
