Welcome to this tale, dear reader. Now, with the kindest, sweetest inner speaking voice, let us begin…

Once upon a time, a man called Tim was conceived. His parents were delighted beyond their imaginations. What joy! What an honour to know that another human being would be born to continue their likeness, their bloodline, their DNA, their everything! Tim would be welcomed indeed.

So time ticked on and the day finally came when a most important ultrasound would expose Tim and all of his glorious God-given features. Was he healthy and getting stronger? What would he look like? His parents’ fingers intertwined with excitement as they watched the screen with eager eyes…

Ten toes.✅
Ten fingers. ✅
Perfect nose. ✅
Strong legs.✅
Robust arms. ✅

Chins. ✅

Two eyes. ✅

Wait a minute…

Chins?

What was THAT?

Tim’s parents froze. They looked at each other, then to the sonographer, then back at each other again.

Something that looked like a double M, or a horizontal McDonald’s logo, was protruding from the baby’s chin, right down to his neck. It looked like a double chin. Two chins on their Tim? How could that be?

While Tim’s parents were loving, mild Christians, they both simultaneously uttered:

“What the heck?”

Politely and ever-so-sweetly, they asked the sonographer to rescan the child’s head, or if there was some way to zoom into the child’s neck to identify what THAT was. The sonographer smiled at them – with a teeny tiny tinge of sadness – and said it looked like their child had a double chin.

“A double what?”

“A double chin.”

“Is your machinery working properly?”

“Ah, um, yes, it is quite clearly a double chin.”

Awkward silence.

“Is that normal for a baby? He is not yet 50.” said Mamma, slightly shaking.

“Well, it is quite unique for an unborn, but there it is. I suggest madam, and sir, you have a very extra special child indeed! Um… but what have you been eating?” she said, as she looked down with a nervous smile at the wifey.

“Well…” she hesitated, trembling to about 3 on the Richter scale, “vegetables, steamed mostly, zero fat… oh, and I did eat that cheesecake once at midnight when there was full moon and I had an itchy foot, but apart from that I eat every well, thank you very much… It’s not the cheesecake, is it?”

Silence pierced the room for what seemed like an eternity while everyone contemplated the cheesecake, and the sonographer started to salivate slightly (it was lunchtime, after all).

All of a sudden Tim gave an almighty KICK, and snapped them out of their stupor. Mum yelled “Owww!” and gasped. Tim had flipped direction and they could all clearly see… HIS DOUBLE CHIN! It was confirmation, and thus, Tim’s extra blessings were fully revealed.

From that moment on, his parents vowed to love him no matter what. He would have a life of double helpings of everything that was good, to compensate for the suffering that would surely come his way.

The minute he was born Tim got double kisses, double cuddles, double tickles, double nursery rhymes, double rewards, and double helpings of life’s delights, from Chopin to cake (ahem, cheesecake) from his loving parents. You see, they knew deep down that he would suffer because of his looks, and indeed he did not have any friends throughout his childhood, teenage years, and even into young adulthood. His only solace was home, and every day after school he would run back to his house while the children chased him down the street yelling “Tim, Tim with the double chin, his mum ate cheesecake now he can’t fit in.” It was utterly, terribly cruel, and all Tim could do was wobble with his chins down the street.

As Tim grew older his double chin became more bulbous and, according to him, uglier. The relentless bullying he received meant that he rarely felt safe anywhere. A kindly employer at a plant nursery gave him a job where at least the quiet accepting presence of nature brought him great peace. There he could hide from the customers behind the hydrangeas, native trees, and other tall plants. Because his uniform was mostly green when people walked by, he just stood still and mingled with the foliage. He led a quiet life and visited his dear elderly parents often on the way to his small home. His dog, Poko, was his only and best friend. Poor Tim.

Tim enjoyed going for long walks at his local Botanic Gardens, or anywhere where there were trees. He was highly intelligent when it came to plants, and also loved music and singing. He tried out for a choir once with his tremendously rich deep Bass voice, but because his chins got more attention than the Sopranos in their fancy dresses, he was told to leave.

The years flew by, and one day Tim reached a crossroads in his life. He wondered why he had to suffer so much and for so long with such a hideous imperfection. He had considered surgery many times to remove one of his chins, but every time he brought it up his parents cried because they felt his chins were a blessing. He loved them very much so did not proceed with his plans, in order not to upset them. While Tim may come across as a docile doormat, he was a very lovely soul indeed and did not want to hurt anyone, just like he had been all his life.

One day Tim was in sitting on a park bench by a shining lake, when a man came to join him there. Tim made to bolt for the trees, but he caught the man smiling at him gently. He froze on the spot and did not escape. There was something about the man that Tim was familiar with, but could not put his finger on what.

The man started to talk to Tim, telling him things that no one could ever know about his feelings and his life. Tim sat transfixed. “How did he know that, and that, and that…?” he pondered. Several hours later, by the end of the conversation, Tim felt that the man had known him all his life. They shook hands and parted. Tim’s head, and chins, were spinning with curiosity. Totally perplexed, he watched the man walk away while realising that he had missed the opportunity to ask him who he was, and how he had known all of those things about his life. All of a sudden the world around him did not seem so colourless anymore, as he sat and noticed the beauty all around him.

Eventually Tim got up and went home, scratching his head with great wonder in his heart.

Later that night while in bed, Tim heard a gentle crying sound.

“What is that?”, he questioned.

Silence, and then there it was again! Definitely a gentle, sobbing, wailing sound.

Tim pulled the sheets tighter over his chins.

The sobbing only grew louder and seemed to get closer to him.

Tim knew he did not own a cat, and even Poko the dog gently crept up to him quaking, then leapt onto the bed in fright.

Tim slowly peeled back the covers, swung his legs over to the side of his bed, and decided to chin up… I mean, man up.

Tim soon realised that the unusual crying sound came from the smaller of his two chins! What was this!?

Tim found himself having a conversation with his little double chin (let’s call him LDC for brevity’s sake), and gently asked: “Why are you crying?”

Suddenly, LDC replied with a tiny, whimpering voice:

“He didn’t notice me!”

“Notice who?” Tim replied.

“Me!”

“What do you mean, you’ve always been there – everyone notices you!”

“Yes, I’m always being shamed and picked on, but HE did not even see me! And now, I don’t know what to do!”

Tim went on talking to LDC and finally discovered the real reason for his lament. You see, LDC was used to looking and feeling ugly. Even though it hurt, having an identity and a reason to exist in his unattractiveness was something he clung to. Now, to encounter someone who did not treat him like rubbish was too much of a shock. LDC was afraid that he would become irrelevant and lose his meaning in the world.

My goodness, LDC had become such a part of Tim’s life that he had his own personality and feelings! This was a revelation to Tim, and wisdom dawned.

“You have a voice.” Tim found himself saying aloud.

“Beg yours?” said LDC

“You have a voice. That man did not see you. And by not seeing you, or ridiculing you, or bullying you, the world of hate no longer existed for you. Because you encountered love and acceptance – a foreign experience – you felt lost, but conversely found your courage to speak. It was only because of this kindness that you were able to use your voice to fight.” Tim was weeping by now.

LDC was silent.

Tim then recalled a crucial detail about the man in the park. The entire conversation, the man had not even once looked at Tim’s double chins – his lifelong embarrassment – but straight in the eye, treating him like a human being rather than a monster.

Tim told LDC that instead of being an occasion for mourning, this man had given them the gift of respect, humanity, and decency.

Tim stood in peace in his little room. The only sound to be heard was a gentle sigh, and a curious sense of release. Something powerful and dark was leaving the room…

By morning, LDC was no more. Tim’s larger chin and smaller chin had united into one! The mirror in Tim’s room unveiled the full story: there was Tim, standing before himself, with one chin.

So who was the man, dear reader? Only you can guess. Was Tim a real person? Perhaps. Maybe he is you?

You see, one kindly person had given Tim the love, connection, and acceptance we all long for. A ‘deformity’ in the eyes of the world was healed in a solitary soul.

Could it be healed in yours?

What is your ‘double chin’?

What is it that you think is repulsive in your life?

What are your scars?

What is your secret shame or supposed flaw? 

Is there something deeper within, beyond surface encounters?

Ah, but our curses can become a blessing dear ones, and we can be whole again!… if only humanity would notice who we really are inside.

THE END.

Images Credit: Pixabay.com