The Sadness Collector By: Merlinda Bobis Summary The short story, The Sadness Collector is about a girl named Rica who has problems while growing up with her father because her mother works overseas as a domestic helper. After her mother left for Paris she’s uses to send different gifts to Rica just to show her love and her presence. To divert Rica's attention, her father told her a story about a big lady who eats sadness away from houses at night. Her dad told her that if the big lady eats all of their mess, the big lady might grow too fast and burst, so Rica has to be a good girl and save the big lady by not being sad. Ever since her mother left, Rica would be so eager listen to all of the sounds at the kitchen and waiting for the big lady to show up. One night, Rica heard noises again and because of the story that her father made about the lady who eats sadness, she became nervous and afraid that the big lady might burst but unfortunately it wasn’t even the big lady at all,