Eternal Happiness

By Kazushi Taira

What is love? What is true peace? Is there any alternative to the doomsday? You may find the answers to those questions by reading this story, which featured a Japanese youth who traveled to Sarajevo in 1996. Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Hercegovina and is located in eastern Europe. It is a city where different ethnic groups and religions lived together peacefully even during the former Yugoslavia conflict. This is a science fiction based on my actual visits to the city and the other cities in the Former Yugoslav countries in 1995 and 1996, and fiction featuring two alien groups. One tries to destroy almost all humans while the other tries to save all. Some parts of the story were made on facts. I am sure you can enjoy the fresh teenage drama while thinking about such above mentioned serious themes. You may also wonder a bit about the mystery of the universe after reading this novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kazushi Taira
• Release date: Dec 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393642909

Kazushi Taira

I am a Japanese freelance peace activist, born in 1972. My real name is Takeo Omae. I have been interested in peace since childhood. When I was a student at Hosei University, I visited the former Yugoslavia for about two weeks to learn about the conflict. Presently, I run a website about peace, "JC STATION".

Book preview

Part 1: Mission

Drinking party

It was June of 1996 and the smell of asphalt after the rain mingled with the night air.

Three months after graduating from high school, the neon-colored square of the north exit of the train station opposite the prep school I attended was crowded with people. It was a Saturday, so people were hanging out in the square, waiting for each other. I spotted a few of the usual faces under the clock tower. Once the faces were in place, we walked into the cheap pub chain that we decided to go to. We ordered beers, even though we were underage and asked about each other. Yoshio, Hiroshi, and Shoji have been my friends since junior high. I am Kazushi and we would hang out with each other from time to time because we got along somehow. Yoshio, a member of the judo club, was a well-bred man, perhaps a bit rough around the edges, but he was also kind and self-centered. Hiroshi had graduated from a school that was a higher level than mine. We used to hang out together after high school. He is also fun to be with as we can talk about anything.

After a while, Hiroshi suddenly broaches the subject.

Hey, what's the real reason the world hasn't seen an end to war?

Yoshio responded reflexively.

It's so sudden.

Hiroshi continued.

UN is calling for papers about What is a Peaceful Future? So I've been thinking about the war.

Well, isn't it human instinct? Humans have a fighting instinct. Isn't our destiny to fight? War is unavoidable, said Yoshio.

A little further away, a group of college students or so had begun arguing about what they said or didn't say. It looked like it was about to turn into a grabbing fight.

I responded to Yoshio, who replied that war was inevitable.

Well, there are people who get along well with each other, and in many cases, they don't even have to kill each other when they fight. It's not so barbaric anymore. So, Hiroshi, I'm going to apply for a paper to the United Nations.

Heh Hiroshi replied, sounding uninterested for some reason, and then continued.

Isn't the reason the world hasn't gone out of the war to create tension in the world? It's a hint of something I read in a fantasy novel. In that novel, there is a witch who takes possession of people and starts a war to destabilize the world. Here's what I think; a sterile society will be extinct. Because there is a certain amount of tension, the society becomes stronger instead of weaker, and it doesn't die out as a whole. The world needs war.

Do you approve of the war? Killing each other is so sad. I can't accept that. We should build a world where there are no wars.

I was starting to get a little pissed off so Shoji changed the subject.

Isn't that to cover up the capitalist impasse?

What do you mean?

It doesn't ring a bell with Yoshio and I. Hiroshi has a knowing look on his face. 

Shoji continued.

Capitalism comes with depressions. It encompasses a cycle called the business cycle, and there will always be depression, an excessive recession. In that recession, the discontent was diverted to other sources. During a war, you can't think about the economy because all you can think about is the war. The surplus of people in a recession can be reduced in numbers by killing each other. There will be a shortage, so demand will increase. In the meantime, the economy will recover through the business cycle.

Upon hearing this, I remembered that Shoji was the smartest among the four of us. He had graduated from one of the best high schools. He was athletic and literate. He was also a well-balanced man who said, I must enjoy my high school life, I'm going to go to prep school after graduation, and instead of concentrating on his studies, he studied in moderation and diverted his energy into fun and club activities.

Then why hasn't capitalism gone away? Yoshio had an unconvinced look on his face.

I suppose capitalism is the best thing in the current situation. There are some necessary evils.

Hiroshi also continued.

Sometimes that's just the way it is. And terrorism is a form of tension. There are small-scale terrorist attacks that make a society immune and better able to deal with large-scale terrorism. It's a necessary evil.

I suddenly felt the urge to speak up.

You can't approve war by saying it's a necessary evil. We should get rid of war. Also, what is terrorism? Terrorists kill people, in some cases, by laying down their own lives. If you're going to lay down your life, why don't you lay down your life to help people? We should build a peaceful society where people don't kill each other.

Your logic is right, though.

But what?

Aren’t you missing something?

Let me know if I'm missing something.

No, so I don't understand because the logic is right.

Shoji interrupted.

It's a good theory.

I knew there was no point in arguing, but I also felt that this was a story I couldn't argue with and lose. I wasn't sure what to do about it.

Rather, isn't the real reason why we're fighting the competition for the Earth as a cosmic oasis?

Hiroshi said.

What's the big deal again? That's science fiction, right?

Yoshio responded.

Why, it might be true, I dare say.

What's wrong with you?

And the signs of a split in the EU, the conflict in East Asia, the dissonance with Russia, isn't there something wrong with that?

I don't know.

Yoshio seemed disgusted and suddenly changed the subject.

By the way, I heard you were rejected by Haruko in high school. Hiroshi told me. Well, give it up. She is Shoji's girlfriend now.

I didn't respond directly to what Yoshio had said.

Hiroshi, did you tell him?

Oh, come on. It's the truth.

Hiroshi also had a mean streak sometimes.

What if it's true? Why did you do that?

I blamed him a little.

The group of college students, who were about to start an argument earlier, were now looking at me with great interest.

Hiroshi's drunken smile changed to a slightly sad one.

Why? I don't know why. Sometimes I know I'm asking myself why I'm doing this, but I can't stop myself.

I was ready to forgive him. I realized that I shouldn’t blame him so badly after seeing the sad look on his face.

Seeing me tone it down, the group of college students seemed to have lost interest in us and began to frolic on their own again.

Don't get so involved. More importantly, how did you confess?

It was hard to defy Yoshio. And I felt like I wanted to talk to him somehow.

I'm curious, and I can't concentrate on studying for my exams if I don't. If you'd like, you can come along with me.

And then? Yoshio was curious.

What do you like about me? she asked."

So what did you say?

I hesitated and said, All of you, because I liked her.

Haruko-chan and I were in the English club in high school. She was a pretty little girl with a tiny face and wide eyes. Her name suits her perfectly. Some people said she was acting cute, but to me, she was just adorable. 

There was a time when we went to the community center together to prepare for the English Club’s presentation. She got bored with her studies so switched to playing ping-pong. Before I knew it, I was hooked on Haruko-chan.

All of you. So, what did she say when you got rejected?"

Yoshio asked without hesitation. I answered without any particular resistance.

There was a short pause, and then she said, I just want to be a normal friend to you."

Yoshio's pursuit of me loosened up as I showed a pained look on my face.