An Open Letter to Dearest 'Happiness'

Dearest Happiness,

I am slow to set boundaries — a problem I admittedly have trouble solving — but I finally am writing to you to express some things I should have long ago. Know that this decision has been incredibly difficult for me. But, it must be done, lest the buried resentments fester into a most foul wound.

You and I have failed to create a relationship that pleases and benefits us both, and not for a lack of effort on my part. You are but a fleeting and fickle thing, yet people praise you for the briefest of moments that you appear. You know not if you are to stay or to go; Shall you never make up your mind? Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so they say. But the more that you stay away, the less I desire to welcome you back. For what foolishness it is to become a servant to a master that does nothing but lead you astray! What fortune I have that I shall never be in your company long enough to savour your warmth! It is better that you and I depart from each other forever, rather than play a continuous and tiring game of hide and seek. Comfort comes where there is familiarity. You have never stayed long enough that I should come to know you. People praise you and your allure, but I do not see the point.

You are cruel, dearest Happiness. All you do is disrupt my daily routine. You never even make a point to send a letter in advance to notify me of your visit. You also have a habit of visiting during the most unexpected of times! People tell me that your unpredictability is what makes each moment with you even more divine, but they lie to me. Or perhaps they’re simply echoing your lies that they grew to believe.

Dearest Happiness, if I should ask you only one more thing, then I ask you this: I ask that you make your choice. Do you stay, or do you go? I am tired of being the one who always chases you. Better to arrange a more permanent relationship between you and I, than to keep on this cycle that does nothing but bring me more grief.

And so then, dearest Happiness, I await your answer. Please make a choice, not for your sake, but for mine. I view you as someone cruel, someone who plays games. If you truly are worth the praises people sing you and more, then you will know to respond to me once and for all.

Your servant (but hopefully no longer),

Me