You are listening to a Clark's World magazine podcast with your host and narrator, Kate Baker.

Greetings, Clark's World Citizens, and welcome to podcast number five for the month of April 2023 issue 199.

And yes, you've heard that right issue 199. May marks our 200th issue.

Want to thank you for your support. Please go to patreon.com for a slash Clark's World.

You see how you can be a part of the magazine each and every month.

And to help us get to 300, 400, and 500.

Our story is titled Happiness and is by Octavia Cade. Octavia Cade can be found at the website

ojkade.com and is a New Zealand writer and science communicator. She sold around 70 stories to

various markets and her second story collection. You are my sunshine is due out in September

from steleform press. Octavia attended clarion west in 2016. She is currently the Ursula

Bethel writer and residence at Canterbury University where she's working on a book of creative

nonfiction essays about New Zealand ecology. We have a ton of stories from Octavia and previous issues.

I hope you can go back and listen. Border run. You're not the only one. The stone, wetta,

and crown of thorns are all available to go back and read or listen to.

So my dear listener, I hope you can sit back relax and let me tell you a story.

This is a choose your own ending story. All of the endings are good. Everyone dies happy.

You die happy. Always. I can't give you much of a choice about that.

The most I can do is give you a choice as to whether or not you believe it.

Do you believe it? Yes. One. No. Two. One. You've chosen yes. You believe you will die happy.

Good for you. Happiness is such an encouraging prospect. There's no reason why you shouldn't have

some. You have a family you love. They love you. It's the end of a long life, a useful life, a happy

one. And you're lying in the bed that was most comfortable you ever had and there's no pain.

...