Jason was 15 years old when I read the story to him. He happened to be sick, just like I was. It took a lot of convincing to get him to listen to me read, but eventually, he decided to give it a try. We were up to the part where the man in black was scaling the Cliffs of Despair, but without the rope. “Wait wait wait, who is the man in black?” Jason interjected.
“You're going to find out, that's kind of the whole point of a mystery,” I responded.
I continued on with the story, and after an hour of Jason bothering me and asking who it was, we finally got to the part where he says “As you wish.”

“I KNEW IT. I TOLD YOU IT WOULD BE WESTLEY!” Jason suddenly screamed. 

“Calm down Jason, you have a sore throat you’re going to make it worse by screaming. Also, I knew it was Westley. Sometimes you forget that I have read this book before.” I said.
“Let me feel proud okay.” Jason retorted.
I laughed silently. He was always an obnoxious kid, but I finally felt like I was making a connection with him. He was not as big as he used to be, and I hated to admit that Helen was right. He decided to stop eating as much by himself, and not because of my persuading. But that’s besides the point. Westley and Buttercup were about to walk into the fire swamp when Jason interrupted again.
“Wait, aren’t fire swamps real?” He interjected.
“Yes but they’re nothing like this fire swamp.”
“What is the difference?” 

“Fire swamps in real life are just swamps that are set on fire. This one… this fire swamp is much more dangerous. You’ll see as the book goes on. Now please stop interrupting Jason!” I explained. “We can continue reading tomorrow, you should go to bed now.”

The next morning when Jason woke up, I heard him talking to his mom about the book.
“Bill has been reading me this book, The Princess Bride. It is a really good book, but it is also very nerve racking.” Jason spoke.
“Oh how wonderful! Why is it nerve racking though? What is the book about?” Helen worried. 

“Well, it’s about this girl, Buttercup, that needs to be saved from a bunch of people trying to kill her. That is what I know so far. I think it’s about true love, too.” Jason explained.

“Hm, maybe that book is not exactly the most appropriate for children your age. You do not need to be influenced by murderers and lovers. You might end up having bad dreams! I am going to go talk to your dad about reading this book.” 

“No wait! It is a perfectly safe book Mom. Please let me keep reading it.” Jason fretted.
“I can not allow it. I’m sorry Jason.” 

Now I was getting scared, because I did not want to go through the wrath of Helen. She is always talking to me about psychological things and about what’s good and bad for Jason. It annoys me; she is supposed to be so understanding, but she does not understand me.
“Hello Bill, how have you been?” Helen said in a fake sincere tone.
“I have been good. Uhm, I have to get to work now or I will be late.” I tried to escape. 

“Don’t try to escape me. Why are you reading our son a book that will have a bad influence on him?” She said.

“It is not going to lead him to becoming a criminal. It is just a book!” I rolled my eyes at her.
“Still! There is a lot of violence in that book. I do not want poor Jason to be traumatized.”
“He is not that sensitive. I promise he will be just fine. Now can I leave?”
“Fine, you may leave.”

She is not very understanding for a psychiatrist and for a mother. The next day, Jason ran up to me begging for me to read the book to him. I could see Helen glaring at me subtly, but luckily Jason couldn’t see it.
“Pleeeeeeaaaaaaase read another chapter. I love that book!” Jason begged.

“Alright, alright! Get in bed so I can start reading,” I chuckled. 

We started back up with the fire swamp. Jason was being VERY impatient. He would not let me even get to the part where the fire burst out of the floor. He was just so eager for me to explain it. 

“Come on, why won’t you tell me what a fire swamp is?” Jason asked.
“I told you, if you’re patient the book will explain it. Now can we please get on with this book?” I pleaded. 

With a sigh, Jason finally settled down and allowed me to continue. We finally got through the fire explosions, the snow sand, and the R.O.U.S.
“How do the explosions work though? How does the snow sand work, is it endless? How did the rodents of unusual size get to Guilder?” Jason bombarded me with questions.
“Woah, woah, woah! Calm down! I don’t know, ask Morgenstern,” I joked.

“Okay, where can I find his address?” 

“I wasn’t being serious. He’s long dead.”

“Oh.”

“It’s just a book buddy… don’t worry about the technical things.” I laughed.
I do not think he found the joke funny, but that is alright. I put him to bed after that because it seemed like he was getting too worked up about the technical side of the book. I had no doubt that he was smart, though. Most teenagers would not think about things like that. 

The next day when Jason came from school, he ran up to me and hugged me. 

“Dad, can we finish the book, pleeeeaaase?” Jason begged.
This was something very unexpected for me, because Jason and I were never very close. He never called me “dad” much less hugged me. This was the start of a very strong bond between us. I honestly felt that The Princess Bride was a life changing story, literally and figuratively. That night I read the rest of the story to him. Of course, there were quite a few interruptions. At the end of it, he exploded with ideas. 

“Wait what, that can’t be the end of the story!” Jason interjected.

“I thought that too when I first read it,” I explained. 

“This isn’t fair. What happens to Prince Humperdink? Did Westley live? Does Buttercup stay the queen? Does Prince Humperdink ever find them? Did Fezzik ever lose his strength? Does Buttercup stay pretty once she gets old? How does she deal with the wrinkles? Does anyone ever beat Inigo? Do Westley and Buttercup ever have kids? Does Westley continue to be the Dread Pirate Roberts? Does anybody ever find out the secret of the Dread Pirate Roberts? How do they find a home to live in?” Jason kept continuing on like this for a while. 

“Calm down kid. Since you have all these ideas, why not maybe write a sequel?” I suggested. 

“I’ll think about it, I don’t really like writing that much though.”
“I used to never like reading, but look where I am now. I’m a famous author!” I joked. 

“I wouldn’t say famous,” Jason laughed. “I’ll give it a shot though.”

I had found it more fun reading it to him as his father, than just someone else reading a book to a random kid. Jason and I are very close now, thanks to that book. That book also led me to my career today. It brings miracles, it is just as if Miracle Max was here with us right now, curing our friendship.