A tale of a sensitive teenager and the trap of addiction
Chapter One: When the King Fell Asleep
Once upon a time, inside every human being,
there is a kingdom.
With mountains and rivers and skies.
With the schoolyard and the sound of rain.
With the dark room of night and the faint glow of the moon.
Inside every person lives a king.
And, of course, a minister.
The king is made of kindness.
He smiles easily, forgives quickly,
and when someone cries,
his heart trembles.
But sometimes,
the king grows tired.
And he falls asleep.
And then,
the minister—
who had lived in the shadows for years—
takes control of the kingdom within.
Chapter Two: A Crowded School, A Silent Heart
The teenager was one of those.
He felt everything more than others.
The school bell made him jump.
The shouts of the principal pressed on his chest.
The sadness on his friend’s face broke his heart.
Even in others’ happiness,
his eyes filled quickly with tears of joy.
He was highly sensitive.
But no one knew this.
Not even himself.
He wanted to be normal.
He wanted to be strong.
He wanted to be like everyone else.
But he was tired.
The minister,
who now ruled inside him,
grumbled every day,
grew angry,
and whispered dark words into his mind:
“You are too much.”
“These feelings are ridiculous.”
“Hurry, shut them down…”
And the teenager—
he didn’t know what to do.
Chapter Three: The Handsome Serpent
One night, on the edge of sleep,
when the teenager’s body was heavy with exhaustion,
and his mind, like his room, cluttered and dark,
a serpent slipped quietly out of the shadows.
Not with fear, not with rage,
but with a gentle smile, a soft voice,
and a dance like smoke.
It said:
“I’ve lived here for years.
For generations I’ve been a friend
to your father and grandfather as well.
I know you are tired.
I know you feel too much.
I know you wish you could feel a little less…”
The teenager said nothing.
The serpent continued:
“You are clever.
And clever, sensitive children
always suffer more.
But I can help you.
Just a little. Only a taste… a sip… a puff…”
For the first time,
the teenager believed this voice.
Not with reason,
but with the pain inside him.
Chapter Four: The Dark Party
He had been invited many times before and never went.
But this time, he agreed.
At the party, the lights were dim,
the voices loud.
Laughter that wasn’t real.
The teenager shrank back.
He felt small,
but he didn’t want to be “different” again.
The serpent was beside him, whispering:
“If you take a puff,
you’ll laugh more easily.
You’ll tremble less.
You’ll seem more normal.”
And he did.
One puff,
and then another…
The serpent smiled.
But the king,
fell into an even deeper sleep.
Chapter Five: Chaos in the Kingdom
The teenager now stayed up late.
Woke with difficulty.
His heart was empty of study.
The money his mother left in his bag disappeared.
His eyes grew tired,
his lips fell silent,
his laughter turned strange.
The kingdom within
was in ruins.
His father said:
“Leave him alone. Let him learn by himself.”
But he too, years before,
had been deceived by the same serpent,
and feared facing his old wounds.
His mother saw in her son
the empty space of her absent husband.
The palace of her dreams was collapsing.
She was afraid.
She shouted.
She wept.
And the pressure grew heavier.
The serpent, softer and stronger,
tightened its hold.
And the teenager,
grew lonelier and more exhausted.
Chapter Six: A Counselor with a Lantern
One counselor at school
noticed his silence.
His falling grades.
The lips that spoke no words,
the eyes that seemed to have lost something.
The counselor knew about being “highly sensitive.”
Knew that this teenager was not “too much”—
but delicate.
Like a rare plant.
She came closer, gently.
With no judgment.
Only with listening.
And words born of the king’s own spirit.
She said:
“I know you feel deeply.
And I know these feelings are gifts.
You only need to learn
how to hold them.”
And with those words,
the king within the teenager
began slowly to open his eyes.
Chapter Seven (Final): The King Awakens
The king awoke,
with a faint light.
Not with noise or command,
but with a quiet sigh,
and a gentle gaze upon the ruined land.
The serpent slid back into the curtains.
Not forced away,
but fleeing from the light.
The teenager wept for the first time in months—
not from anger,
not from fear,
but at the sight of the king’s return.
The counselor said:
“Everything in you is still whole.
You were complete all along—
just lost.
And now, you are found.”
The teenager sighed.
Closed his book.
Turned off the lamp.
And whispered:
“Tonight I don’t want to stay awake.
I won’t let myself be wasted.
Sleep now, O king…
I know you are watching over me.”
And within his heart,
a bright blossom grew.
And the kingdom within
was at peace.
🌙 The End
But in truth, this ending
is only the beginning—
for every sensitive teenager
who still wonders:
“Why do I feel so much?”
And perhaps this story
may rescue a few more hearts
from the dark.
Minoo parniani