Micro-story: The Laughter Yoga Menu (by Tonkabean)

 

Ah Fan had been practicing Laughter Yoga for three years. He decided to take an advanced course to upgrade himself.

A week later, the teacher handed him a "Laughter Yoga Menu" and asked him to think carefully about how he wanted to spend his next year in Laughter Yoga.

"You cannot choose everything on this menu. Your budget is only five dollars or less. Whatever you choose will be how you live your laughter days for the coming year." With a half-smile, the teacher clapped and cheered, "Very good, very good, yeah!"

Ah Fan looked at the menu:

* Hearty Laughter – $3

* Relaxation – $2

* Stress Relief – $2

* Infecting Others – $3

* Losing My Image – $2

* Pure Joy – $3

* Childlike Playfulness – $3

* Laughing from the Belly – $1

* Breathing Along – $1

* Eye Contact – $1

* Gratitude – $1

* Mimicking Animals – $2

* Exaggerated Body Movements – $2

* Lasting Friendship – $2

He wanted "Pure Joy" ($3) and also wanted "Childlike Playfulness" ($2)—but that would be $5 in total, But he would not have Stress Relief or Hearty Laughter.

So he put "Pure Joy" and "Childlike Playfulness" aside and switched to "Hearty Laughter" ($3) and "Relaxation" ($2). He remembered his wife always telling him that his laugh looked too fake. He thought to himself, *Getting some hearty laughter wouldn’t be bad.*

But then, his eyes caught "Lasting Friendship" ($2). He thought of him, her, and all of them. If it weren't for him, her, and them, he would never have taken the Leader course, let alone traveled to India for the Teacher training. Most of his happiness came from him, her, and them. This $2 was something he absolutely could not save.

Ah Fan chose "Lasting Friendship."

Now, he had $3 left. If he chose "Hearty Laughter," his budget would be full, and he couldn’t pick anything else.

"Laughing from the Belly" ($1) and "Breathing Along" ($1) were only one dollar each—very good value. Ah Fan already struggled with making decisions, and now he felt even more frustrated!

Before he could decide, a burst of laughter suddenly echoed in his ears, "Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha! VGVG Yeah!"

The teacher said, "When a person feels down or hesitates, instead of sitting around waiting for a good mood to happen, it’s better to take action first. Your mood will naturally follow and change."

"I am feeling very down today."

"I learn from my mistakes! I learn from others' mistakes!" the teacher talked to himself.

Then, a group of people burst into hearty laughter. The teacher laughed even louder. He looked completely relaxed, not at all like someone who was feeling down.

Ah Fan froze for a moment. The teacher was just saying he felt down a second ago, and the next second he was leading the laughter. Ah Fan suddenly recalled a psychological therapy mentioned in his notes called Behavioral Activation. The manual stated: "Participating in activities related to happiness—such as laughing, playing, or socializing—can truly boost your sense of joy."

Ah Fan finally made his decision and filled out his Laughter Yoga Menu:

*Lasting Friendship ($2) + Losing My Image ($2) + Gratitude ($1).*

Because he believed that one true, lasting friendship could offset everything else: hearty laughter, relaxation, stress relief, pure joy, childlike playfulness, eye contact, mimicking animals, breathing along, laughing from the belly...

End

*This story is entirely fictional. The laughter we share online every day is completely free.*

Date：13 July 2026

Illustration: Ai-Bean

Written by: Tonkabean

Besides writing micro-stories, I also create audiobooks. I hope we can get to know each other.

Do you like my stories? I hope to have your support, likes, or shares. Let me know that you are with me on this creative journey.

Story Collection

https://tonkabean2016.blogspot.com/

https://matters.town/@tonkabean/collections

Micro-story: International "Riso a Gosto" Festival 2026 (by Tonkabean) / 巴西國際大笑節

Micro-story: International "Riso a Gosto" Festival 2026 (by Tonkabean)

Inside a Central office elevator, the air feels like frozen meat—cold and stiff. Ah Chan stares at the flashing floor numbers. Surrounding him are dark grey suits. Every mouth seems calculated, curved at a precise, mechanical angle. In this city, facial expressions are assets; they must not be wasted.

His phone vibrates. It’s an international email: "Invitation to the  International "Riso a Gosto" Festival 2026”—Record a 10 to 20-second laughing video to spread joy to the world."

"Why are there so many Laughter Yoga messages lately?" Ah Chan mutters to himself. He can't even remember what he liked or what forms he filled out.

Ah Chan scoffs in his mind. Ten seconds? In a city where hundreds of thousands of dollars are made every second, ten seconds of unconditional laughter is completely ridiculous! Doing something with zero return on investment will definitely get him scolded by his mom, kicked out of the house by his wife, and fired by his boss.

The elevator doors slide open. Everyone files out like programmed robots.

Ah Chan walks into the restroom. He stretches, takes a deep breath, and smells a foul odor. He looks in the mirror. The 50-year-old face staring back is stiff, like a piece of dried, mystery meat. Why mystery meat and not premium beef, fish, or pork? Ah... this city is just too polluted. "The last time I laughed for no reason feels like last century," Ah Chan mutters to himself again.

Driven by some strange impulse, he locks himself inside a toilet stall, pulls out his phone, and starts recording.

"This laugh is for the Riso a Gosto Festival!" he whispers to the camera in a tone that feels almost criminal. The first part rolls off his tongue smoothly: *"This laugh is for the..."*

"Riso... Gosto..."* He gets stuck immediately.

"Am I pronouncing this right?" "Riso... Gosto..." Switching back and forth between his social media and notes app, he just can’t remember the full sentence.

"Can't even handle one simple sentence, and yet I claim to make hundreds of thousands every second."

He opens his eyes wide to read the details clearly—turns out it's Portuguese, hosted by an organization called ABRARISO. The rules: record a 10 to 20-second video in vertical format, say "This laugh is for the Riso a Gosto Festival!" to the camera, post it as an Instagram Story, and tag @abrarisooficial. The main online event will take place on Zoom on August 22nd. That’s it.

Ah Chan takes it so seriously that he pulls off two squares of toilet paper and uses a pen to copy down the exact sentence: "This laugh is for the Riso a Gosto Festival!"

Then, he tries to laugh. A dry cough, a twitch—nothing comes out. Looking at his own indescribable expression, if someone said he looked constipated, he wouldn’t deny it.

Right then, inside that tiny toilet stall, he actually bursts out laughing. It is a genuine, unstoppable laugh. He laughs at his endless overtime work, laughs at the crazy housing prices, and laughs at this city where even breathing costs money. He laughs until tears stream down his face.

Fifteen seconds. Done.

He hits send, tossing his video across the globe to that distant Brazilian festival.

Stepping out of the restroom, Ah Chan puts his dark grey mask back on.

But he knows that on the other side of the world, someone is watching his moment of pure madness.

This is probably the least economically viable thing he has done all year—yet, it is the one that made him feel truly awake.

Date：9 July 2026

Illustration: Ai-Bean

Written by: Tonkabean

End

Story to my friend Maria-Brazil

Knowmore/知多一點

Official website of https://abrariso.org.br/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/abrarisooficial/

微故事: 巴西國際大笑節 (東加豆)

中環電梯裡，空氣像冷藏肉，又冷又硬。（亞陳）盯著電梯數字，身旁都是深灰色西裝，每個人的嘴角都彷彿經過計算，弧度精準，不多不少。在這個城市，表情是資產，不能隨便浪費。

手機震動了一下，收到一封國際郵件："邀請參與 2026 國際大笑節——拍下一段 10 到 20 秒的大笑短片，向世界傳遞快樂。"

"為什麼最近那麼多大笑瑜伽的訊息？" 亞陳自言自語，他都忘記了按過什麼讚，填過什麼表格。

亞陳心裡冷笑了一聲。10秒？在這個城市，每秒幾十萬上落的地方，10秒的無條件大笑，簡直是荒謬！做這種毫無投資價值的事情，肯定會被阿媽鬧，被老婆踢出家門，比老闆炒魷魚。

電梯門開了，大家魚貫而出，像設定好程式的機器人。

亞陳走進洗手間，伸懶腰、深呼吸，一陣臭味。他照著鏡子，鏡子裡那張臉五十歲，僵硬得像一塊風乾的雜肉。為什麼不是牛肉、魚肉、蟹肉或豬肉，而是一塊雜肉？喔...這個城市太污染了。上次毫無目的地大笑，好像是上個世紀的事。亞陳又自言自語。

他鬼使神差地鎖上廁所格子的門，拿出手機，點開錄影。

「This laugh is for the Riso a Gosto Festival!」他壓低聲音，用近乎犯罪的語氣對著鏡頭說。非常順口 "This laugh is for the... "

"Riso....Gosto..." 他馬上卡住。

"會不會讀錯？" "Riso....Gosto..." 因為在社交媒體和記事本應用程式轉換之間，亞陳總是記不起整句句子。

"那麼簡單都抓不住的一句，還口口聲聲說自己每秒幾十萬上落。"

他瞪大眼睛看清楚——原來是葡萄牙文，一個叫ABRARISO的機構主辦的。拍攝要求：十至二十秒短片，直式，對著鏡頭說：「This laugh is for the Riso a Gosto Festival!」，發佈到 Instagram Story，標籤@abrarisooficial。活動會在8月22日線上舉行。就這樣。

亞陳竟然認真到拿出兩格廁紙，用筆在廁紙上抄下整句句子 "This laugh is for the Riso a Gosto Festival!"

然後他試圖笑。乾咳、抽搐，笑不出來。他看著自己那副難以形容的樣子，如果有人說似便秘，他不會否認的。

此刻，在廁所格仔裡，他自己都笑了出來。那種笑，是真正的、忍不住的那種笑。他笑自己每天加班、笑樓價高、笑這個連呼吸都要計錢的城市，笑到眼淚流出來。

15秒。錄完。

他按了發送，把短片丟進那個遙遠的巴西大笑節。

走出洗手間時，亞陳重新戴上那副深灰色的面具。

但他知道，在世界的另一端，有人正看著他剛才的瘋狂大笑。

這大概是他今年做過最沒有經濟效益，卻最清醒的一件事。

完

日期：9 July 2026

圖: 人工智豆 (Ai-Bean)

文: 東加豆 (Tonkabean)

我除了寫微故事，還製作有聲書，希望我們能互相認識。

喜歡我的文章嗎？盼得到您的支持、點讚，或分享我的文章，讓我知道創作的路上有你陪伴。

Besides writing micro-stories, I also create audiobooks. I hope we can get to know each other.

Do you like my stories? I hope to have your support, likes, or shares. Let me know that you are with me on this creative journey.

關於我 /About me ：https://tonkabean.me/

故事選集 / Story Collection

https://tonkabean2016.blogspot.com/

https://matters.town/@tonkabean/collections

微故事: 笑肌, 重啟中… (東加豆) Micro-story: Smile muscles: Rebooting... (by Tonkabean)

微故事: 笑肌, 重啟中… (東加豆)

Micro-story: Smile muscles, Rebooting... (by Tonkabean)

 

阿丁做了十一年客戶經理。他最大的技能不是談生意，而是（捲）。把一張臉捲成恰到好處的弧度，不冷不熱，不真不假。

捲了十一年，臉終於罷工了。

某天早上，他發現自己的嘴角卡在上揚的位置，放不下來。吃早餐是這樣，看新聞是這樣，連睡覺被老婆踢醒也是這樣。他像一個永遠在說（歡迎光臨）的蠟像。

客人給他留言："皮笑肉不笑，不如唔好笑。" 一星。

阿丁計算過，一顆星可以抵銷二十顆五星。系統評核他的平均值是三星半，身為一位客戶經理，這個結果，簡直不能向任何人交代，上司、下屬、阿媽、老婆、阿仔。

絕望之下，他重上大笑瑜伽課。導師沒說大道理，只叫大家做（獅子大笑）——伸脷、瞪眼、從喉嚨深處吼出來。阿丁照做，臉上的肌肉撕扯著，像在拉一條生了鏽的拉鏈。

他發現，原來笑不是從臉開始的。筆記說，一次大笑能把肺裡1500毫升的廢氣擠出來。他不知道1500毫升是多少，但他覺得自己的肺像被清空了一樣，然後灌進了新的東西。

阿丁非常享受這種奇妙的感覺，導師說："Inhale...!"

他吸吸進去的，有地鐵的廢氣，老細的晦氣、客人的怨氣，以及自己那口難以吞下的烏氣。

大笑瑜伽卻讓這些像垃圾般的氣體，像嘔吐一樣，把你生活中被迫吸入的種種烏氣，一次過吐出來，長長地呼出一口氣。

每次客人說他笑得假，他就趁機推廣大笑瑜伽。講（內部慢跑）、講（橫膈膜震盪）、講（氧氣大掃除）。本來是皮笑肉不笑的笑容，因為講得太多，竟然帶著幾分莫名其妙的熱情。

那麼，那張卡住的臉呢？還在的，但阿丁已經不在意了。笑下笑下，不知不覺就鬆開了。有時候，早上還會卡一下，Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha...x 2 YGYG Yeah！也就沒事了。

完

Micro-story: Smile muscles: Rebooting... (by Tonkabean)

 

Ah Ding had been an account manager for eleven years. His greatest skill wasn't closing deals; it was crafting the perfect "corporate smile." He could roll his facial muscles into a precise angle—neither too cold nor too warm, neither completely true nor completely fake.

After eleven years of doing this, his face finally went on strike.

One morning, he woke up and found the corners of his mouth stuck in an upward position. He couldn’t bring them down. He looked like that while eating breakfast, while watching the news, and even when his wife kicked him awake in the middle of the night. He had become a wax figure that was forever saying, "Welcome!"

A client left him a review: "A fake smile is worse than no smile at all." One star.

Ah Ding did the math. One single star could wipe out twenty five-star reviews. The system now rated his average at 3.5 stars. As an account manager, this score was a total disaster. He couldn’t face anyone—his boss, his team, his mother, his wife, or his son.

Out of sheer despair, he went back to a Laughter Yoga class. The instructor didn't give any deep lectures. She simply asked everyone to do the "Lion Laughter"—stick out your tongue, widen your eyes, and roar from the depths of your throat. Ah Ding followed along. The muscles on his face stretched painfully, feeling like a rusted zipper being forced open.

That was when he realized that a real laugh doesn’t start from the face. The class notes said that a single hearty laugh can push 1,500 milliliters of stale air out of the lungs. He didn't really know how much 1,500 milliliters was, but he felt as if his lungs had been completely emptied, and then filled with something brand new.

Ah Ding thoroughly enjoyed this magical feeling. The instructor called out, "Inhale...!"

What he breathed in everyday was the exhaust from the subway, the bad mood of his boss, the complaints of his clients, and his own swallowed anger.

But Laughter Yoga allowed him to throw up all these toxic gases like vomit. It took all the bitterness he had been forced to swallow in life and let him spit it out in one long, deep exhale.

Now, whenever a client complained that his smile looked fake, he used it as a chance to promote Laughter Yoga. He would talk about "internal jogging," "diaphragm vibrations," and "the oxygen deep clean." His smile started out fake, but because he talked about it so much, it accidentally took on a strange, genuine passion.

So, what happened to his stuck face? It still gets stuck sometimes, but Ah Ding doesn’t care anymore. As he laughs day after day, the muscles have naturally loosened up. Occasionally, his mouth might still jam a little in the morning. He just goes, "Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha... x 2, YGYG Yeah!"—and just like that, he is totally fine.

End

日期 Date：6 July 2026

圖 Illustration: 人工智豆 (Ai-Bean)

文 Written by: 東加豆 (Tonkabean)

我除了寫微故事，還製作有聲書，希望我們能互相認識。

喜歡我的文章嗎？盼得到您的支持、點讚，或分享我的文章，讓我知道創作的路上有你陪伴。

Besides writing micro-stories, I also create audiobooks. I hope we can get to know each other.

Do you like my stories? I hope to have your support, likes, or shares. Let me know that you are with me on this creative journey.

關於我 /About me ：https://tonkabean.me/

故事選集 / Story Collection

https://tonkabean2016.blogspot.com/

https://matters.town/@tonkabean/collections