The Museum of Happiness

The Museum of Happiness was established at the end of the last century, before the Great War. It held on through that, surviving on the glimmers of optimism that had flickered and gone out only to be re-ignited again. After that it offered free admission through the Great Depression and then charged a minimal amount per ticket. The second world war hit and the premises suffered shelling. But the owners re-built it and re-imagined the exhibits. No-one touched the hole in the ceiling, but mounted a glass mosaic that covered everything with chinks of rainbow light. When the sun shone. It had its hey day in the peace-loving sixties. As the fear of nuclear war rose and subsided, there were hard times to be had. At the start of the next century, as his parents became in capable of caring for it, Stan took over. He met Emily on one of his research trips, brought her home and married her. They had a son who outdid every other joyful exhibit they had. For ten years. Then the pandemic hit, raging through every family on every continent. Having a weak constitution, their son could not recover. At that time, because of human neglect and carelessness, the sun stopped shining. Plants stopped growing. Animals died. For ten years Stan stayed inside with Emily, fearing the pandemic, unable to even form the word 'hope'. The story opens as Stan faces a turning point. For the first time since before things got bad, he decides to see if there is any way of reviving the Museum. He knows if he succeeds, then he will be close to saving happiness, for himself, his wife and, ultimately the world around it.