Silence.
That's what Sadness noticed the most as they all stared out the hole. The deafening silence.
Riley had just opened her report card late into the night, right before bed. All grades in the high 90's. Everyone was happy, but of course Joy was going ballistic. She leapt and danced and kissed Sadness more than a few times. But then they all heard a "Whoa!" and turned around just in time to see Joy's yellow glow disappear out of the hole in the glass Disgust had made to save them all that time ago. They all rushed to the hole, and were now peeking out, looking down into the dark pit where memories go to die. Anger used some of Riley's new swears, and Fear was violently shaking. "How do we get her out?" Disgust said, panic etched into her voice. Sadness barely heard. She was too busy caught up in the thought of never seeing Joy again. Never feeling her thin arms around her, never being able to rub the porcupine hair…
Sadness felt a drop on her cheek and looked up. She was making a rain cloud again. Wait! Her rain cloud! Without a second thought, Sadness leapt through the hole, intent on finding Joy.
Joy sat on the pile of memories, tears running down her cheeks. This pit always seemed to make her cry, but this time she didn't make a sound. She was too busy thinking back to all the good times she had with her friends. And Sadness. They hadn't been more than friends for long, but the time they had was one of the best times of her existence. She could almost hear her voice…
Wait. She could hear her voice. "Joy!" Joy looked up and saw Sadness gliding in on her rain cloud. As the blue emotion landed, Joy ran up to her and hugged her as hard as the yellow emotion could. Or at least, she tried. Most of her right arm was gone. Sadness grabbed Joy's good hand and said "Don't worry. I can get us out of here on my cloud." Sadness concentrated, thinking all the negative thoughts she could, but her cloud simply would not form. Concerned now, Sadness tried again, but again to no avail. The truth struck her like a slap to the face. It was Joy. The feeling of the taller emotion's hand in hers, the simple physical closeness of the pair meant that no matter how hard she tried, Sadness would never be able to become sad enough to make a cloud. But, like most people in love do, she chose to ignore the truth and keep trying, even after Joy had realized the same thing.
"Sadness."
Sadness pretended not to hear, frantically trying to avoid the conversation she knew would come.
"Sadness. It won't work."
Just like that, it was over. All of Sadness's hope rushed out of her like air out of a balloon.
"Look at me Sadness," Joy said, choking out a sob before the "please."
Sadness turned to look, and saw that Joy's arm and shoulder were gone, and her neck was vanishing fast. Joy quickly pressed a kiss to Sadness's lips, primarily to get lost in the feeling one last time. But also, to assure something to herself. Joy's radiant glow began to fade, dulling so far down that when the two emotions separated, her glow was no more than a tiny spark inside her being. She looked Sadness in the eyes one last time, and said "I love you." as she dissolved into the wind.
The wail could be heard throughout all of Riley's mind. Even Riley herself, unaware of the events that transpired, shuddered and gripped the blankets tighter around herself without waking, desperate to ward off the chill she felt in her heart.
Sadness shot up into the air, her cloud powered by her grief at losing the person she cared so dearly for. The other emotions watch led her rocket by, unable to do anything as she settled near the roof of Riley's mind. They gave up on calling for her and went to rest after the first hour. And she didn't descend down and re-enter Headquarters for another three. And when she did, she only padded over to her room and locked herself in. She numbly gazed into the mirror hanging on her wall, not really seeing anything until she saw a familiar color that crushed her even more. It was Joy's glow. Only it wasn't Joy's glow now. It was hers. Sadness gazed into the mirrors she put the pieces together. The way Joy looked before she…she…her glow was dimmed down to nearly nothing. And Sadness would bet money on the fact that having Joy's glow meant that, while she herself didn't change, she could make Riley happy like Joy herself did. Thinking of Joy while looking at the glow in the mirror was too much for Sadness. She collapsed on the floor, crying again. She didn't want Joy's glow, she wanted Joy herself, wiping the tears away and telling her that it would be OK. But Joy wasn't here. And she never would be again.