A week of tears

I believe in expressing your feelings, showing emotions, and being transparent. It is, I believe, what makes us humans disconcerting, touching and interesting.

Men can not be “humans”. They are the pillars of our society. The world rests on their shoulders and they elevate us with their rationality. They can not fall, they can not fail and they can certainly not show any sign of weakness. Since rulers realised our world was being held back by men’s feelings, their ego always getting in the way of decisions, they instituted new laws : the week of tears. Our society is structured on a law that begins shaping boys’ lives from the moment they reach puberty.

At puberty, every man is given a mask. It is cold and expressionless, hiding everything inside. Women, left without masks, continue to show their emotions freely. Some boys dread the moment it will be forced upon them, while others even wish they had been born girls, spared from the mask demands. Mothers secretly grieve their son’s tenderness, while fathers train them to suppress feelings until, at puberty, they disappear. For many children, the only time they ever glimpse their father’s true face is during the week of tears. Once a year, for a single week, men are allowed to remove their masks and reveal the feelings buried beneath months of silence. Joy erupts, grief spills out, and anger long suppressed can no longer be contained. No one can predict what will happen when so many hidden emotions are finally set free. Festivals are organised centered on specific emotion : one for anger, one for joy, one for sorrow… For a week, the world is animated by a confusing cacophony before it falls silent again. Yet beneath the celebrations lies a constant fear: joy may heal, but rage can just as easily destroy, and each year risks tipping into violence.

Men, regarded as the unshakable “pillars” of society, are pushed into politics, science, and other fields demanding reason and authority. Their masks reinforce the idea that they are best suited for logic and decision-making. Women, on the other hand, are seen as the heart of the community, entrusted with roles of care and emotional intelligence. They shape the spiritual life of society, pushed into teaching, healing, and the nurturing roles. It is incredible how women endure fifty-one weeks of silence for a single week of true love, convincing themselves it is enough. Many grow so dependent on women’s companionship that they often marry each other, unable to imagine loving beings so closed off and unreadable. Men’s hidden feelings make relationships fragile and unpredictable. Revelations, confessions, long-awaited tears… marriages and friendships are almost decided during this week.

Rationale : The “week of tears” exposes that repression is cultural, not natural. It forces us to wonder how much of our own world still treats emotions as weakness. The masks make visible what is usually invisible: the everyday pressure of toxic masculinity, the distance it creates in families, and the way it damages relationships. In showing how women learn to endure or turn to each other for affection, the scenario also questions the cost of emotional absence in love.