BrightScarlet

there was once a young girl who cried everyday.

the minute she woke up from sleeping, she would burst to tears.

the minute she smiled, she cried.

the minute she laughed, she cried.

the minute she touched her food, she cried.

the girl would cry for anything and everything.

nothing and no one could stop her overflowing tears.

no one understood why she cried.

not even she had an idea of why she cried.

that frustrated her even more and made her cry.

"Why am I always crying?" she would sob.

this continued for ten years.

one day, on her eleventh birthday, she came across a boy.

"You're the girl that weeps all the time, right?" he asked.

the girl nodded tearfully; a new batch of tears ready to be shed.

the boy was alarmed and waved his hands.

"Whoa there! Don't cry! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked it like that."

the girl began to wail.

"I'm sorry! I can't help it! I'm so weak! I know you only meant to ask out of curiousity. I'm sorry!"

the boy didn't know what to do, so he did what he wanted to.

he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and warmly said,

"It's not that you're weak, you know? It's just that you happen to have more tears than normal people.

Plus, since you cry even when you're happy, those tears show that you're grateful.

Haven't you noticed that before?"

the girl stopped and thought back to all those times she had cried on happy days.

on halloween she was given candy.

she was happy.

on thanksgiving she had a feast with her loved ones.

she was happy.

on christmas she got gifts and gave gifts.

she was happy.

and all those times she was grateful.

the boy was right.

"See? No need to apologize."

the girl quickly rubbed off her tears and began thanking the boy.

"Thank you! Thank you! You're so kind! I never realized that at all, but thanks to you, I know! Thank you!"

the boy blushed; he wasn't used to being thanked so garrulously.

"Um, you're welcome."

the girl continued to thank him.

after saying goodbye, the two walked their own separate paths.

the boy with a scarlet face, and the girl with a bright face.

the end