Goblin Diaries, Vol 28: The Human Crying Phenomenon
From the 02/20/2026 newsletter:
21st
Day of Snow Moon, 1219th Year, Human Age of Magic …
For those who aren’t familiar with human
behavior, one of the ways the species expresses emotion is through the
phenomenon of crying. A salty liquid, referred to as tears, is emitted
from the eyeballs, often forming into droplets that run down their faces.
A wide range of emotions can elicit this
phenomenon. Humans sometimes cry for joy or in sympathy for others. But the
biggest tears seem to come when they are very sad.
Today I discovered Erin Callen crying
tears of sadness.
It was almost noon, and we had not been on
the trail long, when we crested a low ridge and were afforded a panoramic view
of the desert to the east. After many days of encountering such, I’ve become
inured to the scenery. (As spectacular as it seemed the first time I viewed it,
the endless rolling dunes of sand are now monotonous to my eyes.)
But Erin is wont to stop and gaze at its
expanse at every opportunity, and she did so now, guiding her horse off the
trail and up to the edge of a cliff where the trees did not obstruct the view.
I stood at the side of the trail for a few
minutes, waiting as patiently as I could for her to satisfy her curiosity, when
I noticed the rhythm of her breathing had begun to change. She was taking in
short, spasmodic gulps of air, and her shoulders had begun to shake.
Worried she might be having some sort of
seizure—I’ve seen that happen to humans who’ve fallen ill with some of the
diseases circulating across this world—I approached her and called her name.
She turned briefly in acknowledgment, and
I got a glimpse of her face. The tip of her nose was bright red, her cheeks
were covered in blotches of a similar color, and tears were streaming from her
eyes. She was obviously in distress, and I asked if there was something I could
do.
She turned away quickly, wiping the tears
with her sleeve, and stammered out that it was nothing, that she had just
thought of something sad and needed a moment to herself.
I complied with her wishes and returned to
the trail to give her the requested privacy. Presently she returned. Her nose
was still red, but she had dried the tears, and the splotches on her face were
gone. She apologized for the delay, and we continued on our way.
As we were having our evening meal, I
tentatively broached the subject of the tears. She explained that she sometimes
cries when she is sad, and it is a way to relieve the sadness. I asked if her
earlier tears had helped relieve what she was sad about, and she said that they
had.
But I don’t think she was entirely telling the truth.
