Happiness

“I should be happy, right?” Vick Gaul lamented as he spoke with his psychiatrist. “I used to be a guy in my early 20s who never applied himself. I dropped out of community college and had a dead end job in fast food. I wanted nothing more than to never work another day of my life. Then the Great Shift happened, and it theoretically gave me everything I wanted. Mrs. Birch was rich -- like billionaire rich -- and she insists on me not working now that I’m in her body. She pays for everything I could ever want, even these sessions. So why am I not happy?”

“Well, Mr. Gaul, let me ask you,” His psychiatrist responded, “Do you suppose happiness is more than what you thought it would be?”

“What do you mean?”

“Perhaps you are more upset about the things you’ve lost than the things you’ve gained. For instance, I might have become forty years younger as a result of the Shift, but being a young woman has destroyed my marriage to my life. Being able to be young and continue my life’s work and research makes me incredibly happy, but not nearly as much as my family did. It’s been a trade off for everyone.”

“I mean, I guess being an older woman sucks, but I’m not even sure that’s too terrible. I wasn’t sure my former body would’ve lived beyond 30 the way I was living anyway. But, I dunno, maybe I do just miss something about it.”