Tissues | Teen Ink

Tissues MAG

May 30, 2009
By shirl yang BRONZE, Hsinchu, Other
shirl yang BRONZE, Hsinchu, Other
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Call me sentimental, but I like happy endings.

There are countless movies that, through their poignant or even tragic endings, reveal profound truths about life. These movies, experts tell us, are true masterpieces. These are the movies that truly matter. These are the movies that leave you red-eyed and sniveling, groping frantically for a tissue, trying to blow your nose quietly enough so that no one else notices what a soft-hearted sucker you are.

I'm always the one groping for tissues.

Perhaps the plugs responsible for staunching water leaks in my body have a mysterious defect. Perhaps I'm allergic to tragic endings the way some are allergic to pizza or chocolate-covered peanuts. Or perhaps, as I often assure myself, my soppiness is a sign of a tender, sensitive heart. But whatever the reason, sad endings always send me into a downward spiral of tears and tissues.

The DVD had been resting on the table innocently enough, with its boring black casing and title stamped across the front in bold text. The title contained none of the warning signs I had come to recognize over the years. So when my little sister shoved the DVD into the player and collapsed into the armchair, I didn't leave the room, even though I could feel the tension emanating from her tightened muscles and clenched jaw. My sister doesn't like being in a room with me. Most days, she stalks right past the living room and storms up to her room. Maybe it's one of those stages moody teenagers go through.

But the mysterious movie intrigued me. She would have to endure my company for a few hours. I sprawled out on the couch, resting my head in the crook of my arm. An impatient sigh came from the other side of the room. Ignoring her, I snatched a box of Twinkies from the shelf behind me, selected one, and tore the wrapper open with zest.

By the end of the film, the Twinkie wrappers beside me had multiplied into a towering mound, my nose was blotchy, my eyes felt as if they had been wrung through a washing machine, and I had dissolved into blubbering mass of jelly.

Briefly, I considered the possibility that my sister had brought this movie home on purpose to watch me dissolve into tears and then triumph in my humiliation. Big sisters like to maintain an appearance of careless superiority in front of their younger siblings, but my mask had slipped. I had to find someone to blame.

But I knew my sister would never go to so much trouble on my account. After all, she had done her best to cut me out of her life. She no longer crept under my covers at four in the morning so she could tell me about a rampant dinosaur that had invaded her dreams, or checked my bowl of cereal to make sure she was eating the same kind. She no longer gazed at me with fervent admiration when I explained why rain fell or what made leaves green. Sometimes I longed to whack her on the head. Who was this cold stranger who ended every sentence with an exasperated sigh, or rolled her eyes impatiently whenever my parents asked her about her friends or lunch? Other times I wished that I could throw my arms around the sister I had once known and never let go.

In reality, I had already let go. Once my sister began to treat me with less reverence, I, too, started to withdraw. Dinners were now punctuated only by the scrape of a spoon or the creak of a chair – pride forbade me from speaking to a person who would only answer with a roll of the eye or a brusque nod. When was the last time we discussed her new crush or giggled over the latest gossip?

My tears had now mingled with the half-chewed Twinkie in my mouth, and my tongue tingled with a bizarre sweet-and-salty tang. With an enormous yawn, I began blinking furiously, as though I was simply trying to remove a particularly stubborn eyelash.

Then I peeked across the room. She was sitting at an awkward angle, her legs draped over one arm of the chair, her body pressed into the seat, her face turned away. Good. She hadn't seen me with tears and snot smeared all over my face. I rubbed my soggy eyes and reached for the shelf, fingers searching desperately for the box of tissues I had placed there the day before.

The tissues were gone.

And then I saw it, resting on the table beside her, tantalizingly close yet unreachably far. I tried to stem the flood that blurred my eyes, but it was no use. I would have to get my hands on that tissue box. Inching slyly along the couch, I reached – and then she shifted. My arms hastily stretched toward the ceiling instead. Another theatrical yawn. The snot flowed backward, and my graceful yawn ended in a hacking cough.

She twisted around, and I prepared to fend off any insult with a sharp retort. Yet, she remained silent. She had a puzzled look on her face, and looked more relaxed, more vulnerable than I had seen her in a long time. The perpetual frown was gone.

As I watched, a tear trickled down her nose.

We stared at each other in embarrassed silence, both faces washed clean of expression, though sticky with tears. No mask of superior indifference or inexplicable annoyance. Just me and my sister, peering at one another through newly adjusted lenses.

And I knew that underneath the eye-rolling and sarcastic comments, she was still there. I just had to dig a little deeper.

Whether a story will end happily ever after is something beyond our control. The most we can do is grasp the opportunities we are given. I decided to take the first step.

“Pass the tissues, please.”


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This article has 17 comments.


on Mar. 30 2012 at 12:53 am
Aeliss-Novak-the-Zombie-Space-Pirate BRONZE, That Place With All The Trees And Stuff, Oregon
1 article 3 photos 150 comments

Favorite Quote:
Impossible is not a word, just a reason not to try.~Kutless<br /> <br /> I&#039;m going to smile and make you think I&#039;m happy, I&#039;m going to laugh, so you don&#039;t see me cry, I&#039;m going to let you go in style, and even if it kills me - I&#039;m going to smile.~Anonymous

This is great, I have never felt that way because if anything I have grown closer to my sisters in the past couple years. :D

bwriter24 said...
on Jan. 24 2012 at 6:24 pm
just absolutely loved it!

on Jan. 2 2012 at 10:07 pm
AnabelleDucrois, Las Pinas City, Other
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Paper is more patient than man.

I really loved it! This was so touching and lovely. I don't have an older sister, so I can't really relate, but I really really loved it. :)

on Sep. 14 2011 at 6:07 pm
singinginthegardn GOLD, Cowell, Massachusetts
16 articles 2 photos 158 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.&quot; ~Ana&iuml;s Nin

THIS IS AWESOME!! I can relate..I guess I am the li'l sis.. :)

on Sep. 14 2011 at 4:58 pm
Rocinante SILVER, Wexford, Pennsylvania
7 articles 1 photo 386 comments
Sweet story :) Love it!

KelcyLynn GOLD said...
on Aug. 1 2011 at 5:57 pm
KelcyLynn GOLD, Columbus, Georgia
12 articles 3 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
I will not be labled average -Rachel Joy Scott

I loved the story!

on Jun. 6 2011 at 2:02 pm
SamIsSmiling GOLD, Rimbey, Alabama
10 articles 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.&quot; Albert Einstein

I loved it! I guess I'm kind of like the little sister :P But its now bugging me, what movie was it? haha

on Mar. 18 2011 at 12:10 pm
Chitra.I PLATINUM, Dubai, Other
44 articles 2 photos 131 comments

Favorite Quote:
Everything makes sense if you think too much about it.

Absolutely adorable. :) I have a little sister too...but she's hanging on to my every word yet.

paperflowers said...
on Dec. 2 2010 at 12:45 pm
paperflowers, Imaginary, Indiana
0 articles 0 photos 176 comments
aww :) my sister and I are too far apart in age for this... or at least, we should be, but she's already like a teenager at the age of 8.

Dayne22 SILVER said...
on Nov. 16 2010 at 9:58 pm
Dayne22 SILVER, Las Cruces, New Mexico
6 articles 31 photos 82 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication&quot;- Leonardo DaVinci &quot;Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are&quot; -Markus Zusak &quot;I&#039;m just trying to be me... Whoever that is&quot; Unknown

awwwwwwww this is sooooo cute! i wouldn't relate to it cuz well i don't have a sister i have pure brothers...but its so sad i cried cuz i have a tender sensitive heart!

on Apr. 26 2010 at 9:25 pm
VioletsandVoice, Spiritwood, North Dakota
0 articles 0 photos 170 comments
sounds a lot like me and my sister even though its fiction except that im the one who rolls her eyes and i dont tend to cry at movies :)

on Mar. 5 2010 at 7:05 pm
SBloodClassicAlice BRONZE, Butler, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Truth passes through three stages:<br /> First, it is considered absurd and is ignored or ridiculed.<br /> Next, it is considered dangerous to the status quo, and viciously attacked.<br /> Finally, it is considered wholesome, indeed, self-evident.&quot;<br /> -Arther Schopenhau

I couldn't tell that the story was fiction, until I read these comments and rememebered that I had clicked on the 'Fiction' section, lol.

Beautiful job. Love, despise, and a little despair entwined to make a pretty, colorful story.

Koodos... lol

on Feb. 15 2010 at 5:33 pm
Mykindapeopledontcarewhatyouthink BRONZE, Gueydan, Louisiana
2 articles 0 photos 124 comments
awwwwww it reminds me of my cousins but we were so close you could of called us sisters

Mishifishi13 said...
on Jan. 5 2010 at 8:27 pm
Mishifishi13, East St. Paul, Other
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, the courage to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference&quot;

Your writing is really good. it reminded me of how me and my sister used to be. Even though this story is fiction it sounded is so real i had to remind myself it wasn't. good job :-)

TPgrange123 said...
on Dec. 30 2009 at 3:54 pm
When I read this, I see my younger sister and me during one of the rare moments when we are united by a common interest, just as if I was 8 and she was 6 again. Whether its a sappy movie or our horrible math teachers, we can still find points of connection, despite our differences. Thank you for your beautiful story.

Prd101 BRONZE said...
on Dec. 29 2009 at 12:12 am
Prd101 BRONZE, Middletown, Delaware
2 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
life&#039;s too short not to live

Wow that story was really good. The details were great! This was a geat peice of realistic fiction! Keep writing :)

on Jun. 19 2009 at 7:49 pm
bcookie PLATINUM, Ashville, Ohio
27 articles 5 photos 46 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;Don&#039;t cry because it&#039;s over, smile because it happened.&rdquo;

That was super good! I really enjoyed it and it almost made me cry. Great god on the details! It was awesome! Please read my work as well. I'm luvtwilight from Ashville, OH. Some of my pieces include Memories, A Fox Tail For Me, West Virginia, Best Friend and more. I would REALLY appreciate feedback.