Emily was sitting at the playground on a warm afternoon, quietly watching the other children play. She was frowning and her eyes looked teary.
"What's wrong, Emily?" asked her friend James, looking concerned.
"I'm feeling really sad today," Emily replied, her voice quivering.
"Why?" James asked with a furrowed brow.
"I don't know," Emily sighed, sniffing a little. "I just woke up feeling this way."
"Do you want to talk about it?" James suggested.
"I don't think it'll make it better," Emily mumbled.
Moments later, Emily's father arrived at the playground, having noticed her absence from play. He sat down next to her and asked, "Emily, what's going on? Why aren't you playing?"
"I'm just not feeling like it," Emily replied softly.
"It's okay to feel sad, my dear," her father said, gently putting an arm around her. "Sometimes we all feel a little down, and that's completely normal."
"But I want to feel happy," Emily whispered.
"I know, sweetie," her father said, smiling warmly. "Let's try something fun together to help chase the sadness away, okay?"
Emily nodded, feeling a little hopeful.
They decided to go to the store and buy some art supplies. At home, they spent the afternoon painting and creating colorful drawings, taking their minds off the sadness. As they hung their artwork on the refrigerator, Emily felt a smile tugging at her lips.
"See, Emily," her father said, pointing at the colorful pictures. "We did something fun and creative, and it helped, didn't it?"
Emily nodded, feeling a little lighter in her heart. She realized that doing something she enjoyed had taken her mind off the sadness even just for a little while.