Millie Campbell was at a loss for words, she hadn't backhanded Axel with much force, but the little rascal...
Axel didn't cry, but in his heart, he was sad. Sometimes he was envious of Evelyn Willow because her tears would just flow like turning on a tap.
Evelyn later advised him, "When you're sad, just be sad. If you want to cry, just cry. Don't pretend to be tough. We're boys, and when we grow up, we won't be able to cry even if we want to. So now we should make the most of our time as children and have a good cry."]
At the time, Axel didn't quite understand why boys couldn't cry when they grew up. But later, he found out that the feeling of wanting to cry but not being able to was truly unbearable.
Compared to today's forced bravery, the feelings were totally different.
