The Longest Trip Ever

One afternoon, a 16-year son drove his father to the mall and agreed to come pick him back up at 4:00PM. The son then went to the nearest gas station to re-fill the car. When he got to the gas station, he also saw a movie theatre nearby. He checked the time and saw there it was only 2:00PM, so he decided to park the car at the gas station, go watch a movie, then refill the gas, then go pick up his dad.

Unfortunately, the boy completely lost track of time, and before he knew it, it was already 5:30PM. He rushed to refill the gas and then rushed over to pick up his dad. In his mind, he was sure that his dad was going to get angry and scold him, so he thought of an excuse.

When he arrived, he immediately said, “Father, I’m sorry about the delay. The car broke down and it took a while to get it fixed.”

His dad replied, “Why are you lying to me?”

The son said, “What do you mean? I’m telling you the truth.”

The dad replied, “I called the nearby gas station, and they told me the car has been parked there with no one in it for hours.”

The son was caught red-handed, so he was speechless.

The dad said, “I’m very angry, but I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at myself. I raised my son for 16 years, and because he’s afraid of me scolding him, he would lie to me. This is my failure as a father. I need to reflect and improve myself. This trip home, I’m walking.”

The dad then proceeded to walk the 18-mile journey home, which took over 4 hours. The son followed the dad in the car, and he felt it was the longest and most difficult drive ever. At the same time, he also felt it was the best lesson he ever learned from his dad. From that day onward, he never lied again.