The Girl Who Couldn't Stop Crying

There once was a girl who couldn't stop crying. She cried into her cereal in the morning and into her pillow at night. She cried at home and she cried in public, too. Cried on the bus, cried in Topshop, cried in the Post Office and cried at Lloyd's TSB. She cried whilst waitressing, and the customers would have sent their coffee back because it was full of salty tears but they felt too sad for her so they just heaped a few spoons of sugar in, to even things out. She cried until her eyes were red raw. She cried until she had no tears left to cry, and then she drank some water to rehydrate and cried some more. She cried in the shower, hot tears mingling with hot water and getting lost. She went to the swimming pool and cried underwater. If a tree falls in the forest and there's no-one there to hear it, does it make a sound? If you cry underwater, does anyone care?

One day she was sitting on the train, crying as usual. Making quite a scene, although no-one had the heart to say anything because they were British and British people don't like to say things. It's not in their nature. But everyone sat there in silence, not wanting to interrupt her crying, because that's not in their nature either. Then the train stopped, and a girl got on, and the silence was broken.

Because the girl who had just got onto the train was laughing. She was doubled over laughing; she couldn't stop. She sat down opposite the crying girl and just laughed and laughed and laughed. Making quite a scene, and although no-one said anything, everyone stared, because whilst it's not in their nature to say things, the British do love a good stare. The laughing girl was laughing so hard she was red in the face. Laughing so hard her eyes were watering. Laughing like a madwoman.

The crying girl was staring at the laughing girl, and the laughing girl began to stare back, but she couldn't stop laughing, even though she realised that perhaps her laughter was inappropriate. In fact she laughed even harder, because she knew she probably shouldn't. It's always the way. The crying girl was a little taken aback. So much so, that her tears began to subside. She stopped sobbing. She caught her breath back. She just let out small whimpers which grew fewer and farther between.

The laughing girl laughed harder than ever, because she had gone beyond the point of no return. She was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was laughing so hard that she was, in fact, crying. And suddenly, the crying girl began to chuckle. Her watery eyes creased up, her shiny lips stretched out into a tentative smile. The laughing girl cried even harder.  The crying girl laughed even louder. And the two of them laughed and cried and cried and laughed until they were exhausted, until they had nothing left in them, no more tears, no more laughter. They just looked at each other, both wearing wet, weary smiles and shining, smiling eyes.