Sonreir

Sonreir

There was a time, long ago, when the Earth was colorless. Human emotions were bland—they only consisted of sadness and anger—and people walked with their backs hunched over like wilted flowers. Flowers never bloomed and the sun never shined. The world was plagued with gloom. In the middle of the Earth was a village. In the village lived a boy named Sonre. The boy was rebellious at heart and was sick of the norm; he was sick of being sad or angry and nothing else. He knew he needed to change things, so one day he set out to find a solution. After weeks of hardship and accomplishing nothing, Sonre was ready to give up. He sat under a willow tree feeling sadder and angrier than before when a young girl approached him. Although sadness was evident in the young girl’s eyes, she wasn’t as gloomy as his fellow villagers. “What’s your name?” She asked as she sat down next to him. “Sonre, yours?” “Happy,” she replied. “What are you doing here?” Happy curiously questioned. “I was looking for a solution,” he began, “something to make everyone feel…good.” Although he knew what he wanted, he couldn’t think of the right way or words to describe it. “I think everyone already has things to feel good about; they just can’t express it,” she said. “That’s what I’m looking for; a way for people to show their good feelings. That way we aren’t trapped forever being sad or mad,” he exclaimed. “Then let’s do it!” “I tried and failed,” Sonre admitted, making him sadder. “You can’t give up, we can do it,” Happy pushed, even though she too was doubtful. For a second, Sonre felt a warm sensation in his chest, but it quickly vanished. Happy stood up and offered her hand to Sonre. He quickly accepted it and they began. First, knowing it made them feel “good,” they spent time with their families, but no matter what they did they couldn’t find a way to express themselves, so they tried something else. They decided to prepare their favorite meals, but no matter how delicious they were, they were still unable to show what they were feeling. They tried many other things, but each attempt ended in failure.
“We’re never going to be able to do this!” Sonre shouted in frustration and defeat. “It’s okay,” Happy pleaded with him, “please don’t be so upset.” “Well it’s impossible not to be because we’re failures!” Sonre yelled. Happy grabbed him by his shoulders, looked into his eyes, and kissed him. Suddenly the corners of their lips turned upwards and with that color returned to the land, flowers bloomed, and the sun’s rays appeared in the sky. Amazed with their new ability, Sonre and Happy traveled the Earth teaching everyone how to curve their lips upward when they feel good. And to this day there has been many ways to describe the upward curving of the lips. One of the most famous, Sonreir, is a derivative of the young Sonre himself. A new emotion was also created that day. An emotion used to describe the way we feel when we feel good. An emotion we use to explain the feeling we get when our lips curve upwards. An emotion we know today as Happy.

The End