Responses
To be honest "What is happiness" is a question that a lot of us have not answered. I myself have still not found the answer after having all the traumas with the depression and anxiety. Everything you have listed out is true. Maybe I have not found the answer because I have gone numb and reactionless or I just can't bear the thought of my "happiness" being taken away. I agree with you all together.
it seriously made me remember one of the first questions my professor asked in my high school philosophy class: what is happiness? then reading dozens of theories, philosophies, beliefs on the human condition and interpretation of what it means to be happy. and what i have found (with life experience) is that true happiness doesn't actually come without sacrifice, suffering or some sadness. with this, one can appreciate and understand the complexities of real happiness (as opposed to a child whose mental faculties are not as advanced, and can only enjoy happiness on the purest and most basic of levels). i believe the tags on this story are pretty spot on in every respect: sci-fi, tragedy, romance. i mean for every living being, there will inevitably be an end. wouldn't that end (of course it may not be as dramatic as an atomic bomb blast or whatever) be more worthwhile/acceptable having had the change to love at least once? in whatever form that love comes? honestly i could build a class and curriculum on this story alone. i certainly find it tragic, but the idea of being with the one you love in death is incredibly romantic and undeniably happy. if i had a choice, i would pick that.