February 1, 2100.
Katie begins her day, smiling as usual. She's grateful for all the beautiful things life has given her. She gets up and has breakfast with eggs and french fries. "They're so delicious!", she thought, enjoying this tasty bliss. She dresses up and goes to school.
"I love Mondays! I can see my lovely friends again!", she thought, excited to meet them again. Her watch told her tomorrow will be Luke's birthday. "Great! What does Luke want for his birthday?", she thought. "I'll ask him". The houses were all colorful, and everyone in the street was calm and happy. War is now a distant memory of the past. Now peace and love reign through all the world. All the peoples are united in diversity, learning to respect each other's cultures.
Now that Katie has arrived to school, she has to ask Luke what he wants for his birthday.
"Hi Luke! What do you want for your birthday?", she asked.
"I don't know, it's all the same to me", he replied.
"There must be something you want" . "No, I already have everything I want" . "Are you happy?" . "Yes, I am" . "Do you need anything?" . "No, I do not"
Katie is happy, because Luke is happy. Everyone's happiness is what matters the most.
Luke walks away.
Katie and her classmates follow the lesson, it was about which chemicals are contained in human flatulence. Katie was really interested, she was wondering what would happen if they were 100% poisonous gas. There would be probably some awareness against its dangers. "Good thing they aren't made of poisonous gas", she thought. "Life is really perfect", she thought.
The lesson was really interesting, and everyone has learned something new.
Lunch.
It was time to eat, and Katie ate a plate of baked beans. "They are wholesome!", she thought. Her friend Bob sat near her. "Hi Katie!". Katie smiled and greeted him warmly.
"Do you happen to know what Luke wants for his birthday? It's going to be tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it", she said. "I don't know, I feel like he's very introverted when talking about himself". "Why is he like that?". "I don't know, everyone is different, but we shall love him for what he is. Also, it's no good talking about people who aren't here". Katie smiled and agreed.
It was an awesome day, as usual, and school was over.
"Let's walk together, I like when we do it!", said Katie.
"Sure! I have fun when walking with a cheerful person like you", said Bob.
"Please, do me a favor. Ask Luke what he wants for his birthday tomorrow", said Katie.
"I'll do it", said Bob.
Katie and Bob had to walk different streets at this point.
"Goodbye Katie", said Bob.
"Goodbye Bob, we'll see each other tomorrow!", said Katie, smiling and waving both her hands.
Bob saw Luke and asked him what he wants for his birthday.
"I already have everything I want, I want nothing from you nor from anyone else", he said.
"Understood", said Bob, accepting his opinion.
Bob went to Katie's house and knocked at the door.
"Luke wants nothing from us", he said, walking away.
"Fine", she said.
...
"If he wants nothing new, I'll give him nothing new", she thought, trying to grant Luke's wish.
Katie listened to upbeat music and danced. She was singing her own made lyrics to that music:
Smile! Your lips and eyes go up
You feel the energy in your body
Your mind awakens from its slumber
Every fear and worry has gone away
(Instrumental)
Even if you are still feeling blue
I accept your feelings and love you
Abandon all your sorrow and misery
I'll cheer you up, no matter what
...
Katie was sweaty from all the dancing. She went under the shower, washed herself, dressed up, and she was clean again. Now she wants to feel relaxed. She asked her brother to watch a happy movie with her. He agreed.
Everything was going fine, her life was perfect, and she wanted to live it fully until the day she dies. She doesn't want to waste it by feeling sad, anxious, and miserable. She wants to be happy and to make other people happy. Happiness is the best feeling ever, and everyone knows it because that's what everyone wants to feel: everyone wants to feel happy and loved, no matter what they do. Life 100 years ago could be harsh sometimes, but now every worry is over.
Luke's birthday.
Katie greeted Luke.
"Happy Birthday!", she said, in a joyful tone.
"Thank you", said Luke.
"I know what you want for your birthday", she said.
"What?". "You want to be happy". "That's obvious". "What can I do to make you happy?". "I'm already happy". "Can I play some music for you?". "You can".
Katie took a keyboard and started playing her favourite song.
"Did you like it?", she asked
"It was decent", he replied
Luke's birthday was going very well, everyone was having fun. Luke was playing videogames with his friends and Katie wanted to join.
"Later", Luke said.
Katie was gazing around the place, everything was decored with posters depicting sci-fi covers. She stood still and wondered. Everything she saw was so beautiful and pleasant to her eyes. Does everyone else feel the same thing? Everyone seems to be smiling and happy, is there something in the air, or has nature programmed life to be pleasing? It makes sense, since death is so scary and horrible. She doesn't want to think about bad things, she just wants to live while she's alive, and she'll accept death when she'll die. No point in worrying. Life is beautiful while it lasts, let's all enjoy it, and don't ruin other's lives.
Luke's birthday is far from being over, there's so much to do. Katie started eating chips, and even though nobody wanted to talk to her at that moment, she was talking to herself and was glad she was feeling so good. She didn't feel any sorrow, her heart was pure and filled with positive emotions. She didn't feel nostalgic about her past, she knows that she can count on her friends and herself to recreate those magic moments she lived during her childhood. She and her friends used to run and dance in an empty square near her aunt's house. Everything was so perfect, everything's still so fine. Now that her friends have moved away from her city, those moments are just burnt paper. The physical presence is gone, but the memories of them are still there, somewhere hidden in her neurons.
She went outside and watched the grey sky. It felt like everything was so relaxing, and it felt like being right at home.
"Yes, this is my haven, my home. I belong to this place, and I'm glad I live in this place. Everything here seems to give me serenity and peace. The people, the restaurants, my school, my house: everything here has given me so many memories I could never leave this place, as the lack of memories would be too hard to tolerate. I will stay here with all my friends, but they're all moving to another city, what should I do? Should I follow them? One thing is sure, if Luke leaves, I'm leaving too. I love him more than anyone else. I love all my friends, but Luke is special", she thought, with a bittersweet feeling, but still verging towards happiness.
Thinking about this, she went near Luke and said:"I really like you, Luke, we'll be friends forever and be happy looking up at the sky at night and seeing the stars every night, forever and always. Our friendship will never end".
Luke was a bit embarrassed, but replied:"I... thank you". "No need to thank me, you are awesome and deserve the best in your life. I don't know if I'm good enough for you, but I'll try to be. If you ever feel less happy than usual, don't hesitate to knock at the door of my house. I'll always be there for you". "Don't... don't you think this is a bit awkward?". "It's not".
She turned her head away and said:"I love you all, guys and girls! We'll be friends forever". Everyone's heart was metaphorically melting, they were filled with words of love from a cute, lovely and cheerful girl. Nothing felt better than this.
Katie played the same upbeat music she was singing to the day before.
Smile! Your lips and eyes go up
You feel the energy in your body
Your mind awakens from its slumber
Every fear and worry has gone away
(Instrumental)
Even if you are still feeling blue
I accept your feelings and love you
Abandon all your sorrow and misery
I'll cheer you up, no matter what
Everyone was delighted by her voice. It was obvious that she was singing with all her passion and love. The music filled the whole room with a feeling of cuteness overload. Katie was singing random words as soon as they appeared in her thoughts:
"If you've never experienced pain
Happiness will be much weaker
But if you've never experienced happiness
Pain will still be very strong
(Instrumental)
Your brain will get adjusted
to more feeling-good chemicals
But it will never get over
the pain of a lost friendship"
Everyone clapped in sign of approval. As people were starting to get used to that happy music, Katie thanked everyone for always being friends with her. Katie started thinking about what she sang.
"Hmm... you will get used to happiness, but you will never get used to sadness. Is that true? Is happiness a weaker feeling than sadness? I don't want to believe it. I want to believe, that happiness is as strong as sadness, or maybe even stronger? But I have to be realistic, sadness is much stronger, as many ancient philosophers noticed. If you're happy for an entire day, you're not going to feel it after some time, while sadness can last for years. I don't know if nature has programmed life to be beautiful, but it's worth avoiding the unpleasant and seeking the pleasant. That what life's all about, after all. Let's not be sad, it's such a big waste of time when you're feeling blue. Let's not make others sad, nobody should be", she thought.
Luke's birthday was over, but he went near Katie.
"Katie, I have to tell you something. I love you. I want to be your boyfriend and stay with you forever. I'm unhappy when I'm without you", he said.
"I'll be your girlfriend, Luke. There's nothing better than seeing the pleasure in all our four eyes. Can I kiss you on the lips?".
Katie and Luke kissed and it felt like fireworks. It was the best feeling the two ever had in their whole lives. It's the true feeling of love. A new life awaits them.