If You Stop Crying, We’ll Love You.

And now you’re emotionally stunted.

How many times have you said to yourself: Don’t cry!
and nobody knew?

Crying makes you look weak, ugly, self-centered, and basically it’s not a virtuous thing to do. So you stop yourself.

Of course, there’s a side effect.

Like trying to numb your self with food, doomscrolling, or anything that pushes you away from your sensitivity.

This is a story for the crying kid inside of us.

Open the curtains, and let’s go…

Once upon a time
in the Paper Castle, lived King and Queen Paper.

They had an only child: Princess Paperbag.

She was gorgeous, which made people want to poke her cheeks, but on the downside, she was easily scared.

You could say she was made of paper.

Guess what. Other kids were making fun of her.

Why not? She was an easy target, and she never complained. The only thing she did was run and cry, and that was pretty amusing.

On Thursday, Paperbag went to her father. She told him she was bullied at school. Or was it? Maybe she was exaggerating.

Whatever, she couldn’t bear it anymore.

But King Paper had enough.

How could her daughter, the Princess out of all kids, be mocked?

Besides, she cried for other things too. Cartoons made her cry. Someone raising their voice a little bit made her cry. Even when she was happy, she cried.

King Paper thought: “She’s too fragile. Something has to change”.

So he called his advisor, Butter Fairy.

Butter Fairy looked at Paperbag for three seconds.

Then, with a high-pitched voice, she started singing:

As always, Paperbag was about to cry.

But this time, she looked up.

Her head inclined to a 45-degree position. So the tears couldn’t flow. They got swallowed back into her eyes, just like Butter Fairy predicted.

And there you have it:

Paperbag was not a crybaby anymore.

King and Queen Paper hugged her because finally (finally!),
she was tearless.

The days passed.

When Paperbag was on the verge of tears, she looked up,
and there was Butter Fairy with her wand.

Eventually, her bullies found her boring, so they left her alone.

This habit of lifting her head continued until it became second nature. Paperbag had to look up a dozen times per day, because she was the sensitive type, and not a single tear was shed.

Then one day, in sports class, a classmate said to her:

The question made Paperbag feel something, like that kid had just spoken the truth. So what did she do?

Look up.

King and Queen Paper were so proud of her.

She was calm. Not bothering anyone. Always raising her chin,
like the confident girl she was.

But the years passed, and…

A little transparent bag started forming on her back.

It grew bigger and bigger over the years.

No one noticed. Not even Paperbag herself.

But she was getting heavy, that’s for sure.

One day she woke up, and found herself unable to move an inch.

Her turtle shell, or whatever malformation her body created,
it became too much.

Queen Paper came to the rescue.

She pulled her daughter’s arms
with so much force.

Too hard.
So she called King Paper.

Nghfph! Hmphf!!!, they groaned.

But it was impossible. Paperbag was just too heavy.

“Why the sudden weight?” thought King Paper.

In a state of anger, he called Butter Fairy again.

Was it a curse? Did Butter Fairy say a wrong word in her magic song?
With an embarrassed look, she replied:

“There’s nothing to explain, really. I think Princess just gained weight.”

Silence.

“I mean, this is what happens when we don’t pay attention to, um…
what we consume.”

That’s it! Queen Paper knew it all along.

With a voice of pity, she turned to Paperbag:

King Paper was more agitated.

He wanted an alarm sign, to shake his daughter out of apathy.

Queen Paper visualized the whole kingdom pointing fingers at her daughter, laughing at her.

King Paper had an instant realization.

Her daughter had no sign of curiosity, no vision for her future, no willpower, no joy in her eyes. How could he miss that?

All these years, she seemed fine.

He thought: She needs a hard reality check. It’s now or never.

And Paperbag?

She remained silent.

She thought: Before, I was too much. Now I’m not enough.

All she was hungry for, really, was the validation from her parents. But look how it ended up. What used to be seen as calm and grounding, now became despised as lazy and boring.

And that’s when she noticed a pressure on her chest.

Was it just now, or…Was she feeling tense during all these years,
and she didn’t know?

A tear started forming around her eye.

Gotta swallow it. As always.

But this time,
Paperbag
felt
as
if
her
heart
had
s t o p p e d.

There she was, lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her parents and Butter Fairy alongside her, waiting for an answer.

Wait, she realized.

This is my deathbed.

I’m the shame of the kingdom. Everyone’s shaking their heads in pity. My parents, they think they know me, but they’ll never figure out why my back is getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger…

And that’s when she snapped.

Her heart beat like a drum,
and her life purpose became clear as day: