Long ago, in the ancient, pre-historic time of the 1970’s, there was a town in the midwest called Wrileville. Wrileville was big enough to be a spot on the map, but a road trip away from any famous city.
To the north, south and west of Wrileville sat open fields spotted with farms and hay rolls, and to the east was a little forest that kids would build camps or ‘run away’ to.
As any small town does, Wrileville wanted to be known for something so bad. And they were, they were known for something super bad.
A man by the name of James Mighton, went on a rampage and murdered fifty people before being caught. Once the town found him they were devastated, but not as devastated as his poor wife and son, Timothy Mighton.
People avoided this family like they had chicken pox. They weren’t allowed to shop at either of the markets, or go to any of the festivals. They barely let Timothy go to school.
It didn’t help that Timothy had started to have anger issues. Most stayed away from Timothy, but those who had seen his wrath were forever terrified of him.
The townspeople discussed what they should do about him, and the mayor decided only one thing could be done. To balance evil with kindness must be the option, and the mayor went on his way to retrieve Debby.
Debby was a calm girl, known for putting the people she came across at ease. Debby spent most of her time in the fields meditating or working in her garden, as she could not afford to buy the processed foods from the market. She barely had enough money to do her hair, so it was left as a fuzzy flop of curls puffed up high above her head and fell back past her shoulders. She was surprised that the Mayor asked her to work with the most feared boy in town.
The mayor explained she would be some sort of a therapist, getting Timothy to blow off steam so he would not be so angry and tempted to do something unpleasant.
She certainly did not want to meet Timothy, and can you blame her for it!? When the day came her heart was racing as she went to the highschool he went to.
Unlike what her friends said, she did not see a red-eyed monster with sharp claws that gashed people. She saw a man with droopy eyes and an afro sitting at a table all by himself.
She sat across from him. Studied him.
“I’m Deborah.”
Timothy barley glanced at her. “Everybody knows who I am, so there’s no point to even-”
“I know, that’s why I didn’t. Come with me after school.”
Now he was studying her. “Why would I- who are you?”
“Just come!”
And so that’s how they ended up on farmland, planting seeds.
Timothy huffed. “Why are we standing in a field planting rabbit droppings?”
“These are not rabbit droppings! These are broccoli seeds, which are way smaller than rabbit poop.”
“I didn’t ask what they are. I asked why we are doing it,” Timothy said, glaring at the setting sun.
“You don’t find planting things calming? I love it,” Debby said, closing her eyes, and letting the wind stroke her face while she listened to cows moo and pigs squeal from not far away. “I thought you would think it’s calming too.”
“Honestly, I’m baffled. No one’s ever asked me to do anything with them,” Timothy admitted. “Everyone is so afraid of me. They avoid me at school, at work. No one ever picks me for ball games. It makes me angry. I never get anything. And for what, because of my father!? I was too young to know what was happening! Anyhow, he’s been gone since I was three and everyone acts all mousey and scared when they come by me, and it’s driving me insane!” Timothy, dropped the rest of his seeds into the last dirt hole, and threw the sack into the ground.
Poor thing Debby thought. She picked up both the broccoli sacks and did a nod. “Well, I’ll talk to you. You’re just as normal as everyone else.”
To her surprise, Timothy had the prettiest smile! His whole face lit up and his cheeks rose to his eyes, and Debby thought about that smile the whole way home.
The mayor payed Debby for her ‘acts of bravery’ and Debby was elated. She had never gotten a check like this before! Finally, she could pay for some new clothes and a special treat from the grocery store. When the Mayor asked her to visit Timothy again, she gladly agreed, and it went on just like that. Every week Debby was given an allowance for checking up on Timothy. He had started to be much calmer around town, and happier, as he looked forward to afternoons he could spend watering plants or brushing horses with Debby.
“Say, Debby, do you really like Timothy?” people would sometimes ask, and to that Debby would say, “Yes, he’s much nicer and kinder than people think. He’s just been painted the wrong way. It’s really no chore to hang out with Timothy,” Debby appreciated the money she was gaining from this, but she liked being with Timothy even more.”
It really was such a shame then, what happened one calm Saturday afternoon, when things fell apart. Timothy had asked Debby to the school dance, and she accepted.
Debby and Timothy were just walking in the hot sun around town, laughing at silly posters or people.
Then the mayor walked up, and thanked Debby for giving Timothy a good therapy and how well he acted now. He even told her this week’s payments were on his desk.
Debby was silent as she moved out of the way for the mayor. She cringed and turned to Timothy, who nodded and smiled as if he had known about her job the whole time and understood her plight.
I’m kidding. This man was turning the corner of this block.
Debby yelled after him, but Timothy was gone, gone into the fields spotted with hay roles that ran for miles. The fields they used to lay and count stars in.
Timothy’s mind was filled with anger, sadness and confusion. He had talked to Debby about his thoughts, his dreams, everything. Debby and he had worked on farms together. He had even carved their names into the big oak tree behind Debby’s house.
Was it all fake? Was he just a paycheck to her?
Timothy never looked for Debby any more. He did work on other farms and worked alone.
One night he was watching a boxing match on TV. He heard a knock on the door, but didn’t make any moves for it. The knocking became a white noise rhythm until his Mom went to get it, and shortly after he was called to the door.
“Why didn’t you get that? That girl is out there waiting to talk to you.” His mother harrumphed and left.
Timothy opened the door to see Debby, in a pink, ruffly-sleeved dress. “Timothy! You said you’d take me to the dance! You said you would!”
Timothy shook his head. “You don’t care about me, remember!? You just want to hang out with me so you can keep getting those fine clothes and such!”
“THAT’ S NOT TRUE!” Debby yelled, eyes shiny and porch creaking as she shook in place. “I told the mayor to stop paying me! I used to need it, but I don’t need it anymore. I need you, Timothy. Please. Please take me to the dance. I’ve missed you since I last saw you.” She sniffled and waited. Besides the clinking of plates and the muffly boxing match, there was silence.
Then: “I’ve got no suits.”
“I don’t care.”
Timothy took Debby to the prom in a plaid shirt and jeans. Debby was just happy that wonderful smile was back on Timothy’s face as the two grooved and boogied to the ballads and disco songs that rocked the highschool.
People stopped being afraid of old Timothy.
He and Debby went on to tour America in an old Volkswagen they put their money together and bought, and had three children: Tara, Michael, and Bobby.
Every once in a while Timothy would think about how he and Debby first met, and how he’d found out about her being paid to see him at first, but he didn’t let such things hurt their love. After all, Debby had never been a wealthy girl, so he guessed he understood. Besides, how could you judge someone solely from their family circumstances?
Hey there! I’m Shila! I’ve loved books since I could read, and decided I would write books I wanted to see written for others! Check my children’s book Imagination on Amazon!
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(Image is AI generated.)
What a brilliant story, everyone deserves to be loved, it is so sad that some people find it hard to be loved because of their financial status and other factors, good thing they later shared genuine bond.
Thanks for reading!
It's a pleasure.
This story felt a little rushed, and an edit would have gone a long way to securing a higher level of curation. There was also some author intrusion which felt out of place and broke the rhythm of the story. It is usually advisable to refrain from this :-) Otherwise, it was a sweet story of a young man's healing from his tragic past. Thank you for writing in The Ink Well, @restcity. We look forward to your next piece.
Thanks for the criticism and thanks for reading!
The twist that Debby was initially paid by the mayor to be Timothy's "therapist" adds an intriguing complexity. When Timothy discovers this, it understandably shakes his trust before Debby convinces him her feelings are real.
Thanks for reading!