A/N: Based on a quote by Albert Camus. Drabble-like one-shot. Hope you enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated.

Happiness

The one thing most humans desire, and I am on the hunt for it. For it has always eluded me in my life, no matter how much I searched. What I want is not material-- it is happiness. That is all I want.

And so it is, each day, repetitious; more alike than other days passed. The ever-growing monotony and cynicism of my character boil to the surface every excruciating moment of every day. So I decided to break the monotony in a very simple way-- change the direction I walk home. It was small, but it was a start.

As dusk settles in my little suburb of a town, I glance at all the tightly boarded houses painted in dull colors that reflect my mood, until one abruptly breaks the chain. Colored in a light, noticable blue, a lovely but somewhat plain girl with chestnut hair sat on her porch, the most peaceful and content smile adorning her face and making her radiate happiness.

And so it was that each day, I would pass her. She was almost always around, doing daily things like hanging laundry or mowing her lawn, or sitting there and watching the people walk by-- always with a happy grin. It drove me insane that she knew how to attain it. So I walk up to her one day and ask her bluntly, "Miss, why are you always so happy?"

She regards me with a questionable stare. "Are you not happy with your life, sir?"

"I'm afraid I'm not," I reply. "As much as I try to find happiness, it doesn't come."

"Do not search for it," she says. "You will not be happy searching for what happiness consists of, nor will you live if you constantly search for life's meaning. Appreciate what you have now; live for today." With that, she excuses herself to her home.

I watch the sunset as it falls. I never realized how beautiful it was.