It was almost a year later when Elmer saw his story on the big screen. It was an animated short before the main feature. The man, who’d been pleasant enough, had made Elmer out to be a buffoon! At first, Elmer was a confused. The portrait that the man had drawn of him had aspects of the truth but was so incomplete as to comprise a big lie. Elmer was not this bumbling cartoon. He couldn’t believe the cruelty. He was a complex human being. He had feelings and, at that moment, Elmer felt betrayed. Something he cherished had been turned into something idiotic. He was deeply hurt.

One day, sometime later, Elmer was entering the break room at work and he overheard a co-worker; someone whom he’d thought was a friend, making fun of his speech impediment. Elmer had never been able to pronounce his “R’s” quite right. There was the real Elmer, in the doorway, with a shocked and hurt look on his face and there were his so-called friends and coworkers who suddenly could not look him in the eye.

After that day, he put up defenses. He lacked trust in his fellow man. Perceiving this, other people began treating him differently. Elmer had erected a shield the effect of which was to put everyone else on guard as well. Sometimes, when he would have to talk, people; clerks, bankers, complete strangers; would start to laugh a bit before catching themselves, especially if he were introduced by name.

He actually considered changing his name.

He stopped hunting on weekends. Oh, he had tried going out a few times, but the joy was gone. The hunting clothes he once wore with pride had been transformed into a clown suit. His hunting cap now looked stupid.

Eventually, Elmer began a long, slow descent. The bottle became his best friend. He began to neglect his appearance. He was moody and short tempered. His health suffered.

The quantity and quality of his work fell off. His boss, an old colleague that Elmer had brought into the company and had trained, finally had to let him go. It was a sad moment for both of them.

One sunny day Elmer walked out into the woods that he had once loved so much. He put his hunting rifle into his mouth and, with tears streaming down his cheeks; he blew his head off.

He lay there for days before being found. Once, a rabbit hopped into the clearing and crept gingerly up to Elmer’s body. The rabbit stared at the splattered mess that had been Elmer. He sniffed a few times at the air and hopped leisurely away, satisfied that he was in no danger.