happily ever after

I believe that an ending of any kind is only what the reader makes of it. Endings are nothing but the conclusion of a journey. They're final and have nothing left to hide, like the last note of a song. You can be left dwelling on the chorus or you'll find yourself with a new found hope because, "If they can _____ so can I." What I'm trying to say is, you will never get the same thing out of, well, anything really, as the person next to you. Happy endings can mean the guy finally gets the girl, or maybe it means your favorite character finally realizes their own worth and becomes fiercely independent. So yes, I do think happy endings are important (what are stories if not an escape from the real world?). I can only hope that the joy the writer felt writing the ending satisfies as many people that allow the story to touch their heart.
When I was a kid one of my favorite books was Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt. Just a few weeks ago I saw it in a book store and ended up bringing it back home with me. I read it as if it was my first time all over again, as my memory of the story had faded with the years that had passed. I remember being frustrated that Winnie didn't drink the water to be with Jesse just a few short years ago... but as I read it for the umpteenth time just recently, I saw it from a completely different point of view. Winnie had lived a full life, with a family of her own, people she could grow old with... Something she couldn't have with Jesse. My own opinion changed as I grew up and became a little more knowledgeable of the world around me than before. Experiences and years of your life shape you and the way you view things, but an ending is a constant. Endings just are, never changing. We change, we grow, we decide. How happy, satisfying, sad, or incomplete it may seem is up to you. Nothing more, nothing less.

x Madeleine