The story explores the concept of true happiness, suggesting it is found not in material possessions or grand achievements, but in simple joys like family, good food, and shared moments, especially after experiencing loss.
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b2 c1 english story true
true happiness
what's the one place or thing that
brings you true happiness
carol contemplated this question as she
ate a ready meal and looked out across
she was sure she wasn't going to find
true happiness in that office and she
was most definitely sure that true
happiness didn't involve eating another
bland ready meal
carol had just moved into her new flat
with her eight-year-old son and the
property owners hadn't yet finished her
kitchen renovations
she had no cooker no working fridge and
no warm running water so for the last
week she had lived off sandwiches and
salads at home and ready meals at the office
office
this didn't please carol as she liked to
eat a healthy and varied diet and she
particularly enjoyed experimenting with food
food
her son charlie was gluten intolerant so
she had to be incredibly careful with
what she cooked she felt very restricted
by not having a working kitchen but she
was assured by the builders that it
she really hoped that was the case
charlie was already looking forward to
having a hot bath and a lovely
as she ate her tasteless spaghetti
bolognese she daydreamed about what she
wanted to make for dinner she had
visions of creating a delicious homemade
pie with fresh vegetables and buttered potatoes
potatoes
for pudding she really fancied an apple
charlie loved anything that had apples
as an ingredient he'd be so happy if he
could eat an apple crumble while
the autumn knights were drawing in and
carol and charlie loved to spend their
evening snuggled up on the sofa watching
their favorite films in their old flat
they had a big clear wall so carol used
to project films onto it
it was better than going to the cinema
as they had surround sound and there
were no other people making noises or
getting out of their seats and blocking
in the new flat they didn't have that
luxury but they did have space for
carol's amazing new sofa she had also
invested in an up-to-date television now
all they needed was for the kitchen to
be finished so they could really feel at home
for carol having a flat that really felt
like home would make her genuinely happy
she really wanted to create a space for
carol's husband louis had sadly passed
away when charlie was only four
since then it had just been the two of them
true happiness for carol was always
going for long walks with her husband
with charlie in his push chair
she loved to endlessly walk and talk
with louis they would tell each other
silly stories and daydream about their
now carol had to find a new true happiness
happiness
she would always miss lewis any
happiness she experienced didn't eclipse
her past happiness with him
she was trying her best to create a
stable and loving home for both her
carol was interrupted from her thoughts
by her colleague who was making their
seventh cup of coffee of the day
she smiled politely and made idol
chitchat then went back to looking out
of the window and thinking about what
she was so excited to use all her new
cooking and baking equipment
she had decided to move flats as she had
got a promotion and wanted to have a
bigger living space now charlie was
growing up
the flat was a new build and consisted
of two large double bedrooms an open
living and kitchen area a bathroom a
small spare room which carol had set up
as a study one ensuite a lounge and a
a lot of carol's friends couldn't
understand why she didn't want to live
in a house but she wasn't a big gardener
and the terrace was big enough for her
and charlie to sit out and do exercise
if they wanted to
it was also south facing so she could
sunbathe in the summer the sun and warm
weather were definitely something that
having said that she also loved the
autumn as it was no longer too hot to
cook and bake all her favorite things
she was encouraging charlie to get
involved in cooking and to her surprise
he loved it he was rather good at it too
though carol did sometimes get nervous
when he was using the oven she was
carol loved her job she worked as a
volunteer support coordinator for a
large cancer charity it was something
close to her heart as not only her
husband louis but also her father and
uncle had died from the disease
the only thing carol didn't appreciate
about her job was having to go into the
she liked to go in sometimes when they
had team events
or if she was delivering workshops for
volunteers but generally she liked to be
in her cozy bubble at home
working from her study and listening to
carol ate the last spoonful of her ready
meal cleared away her dishes and made
her way back to her desk she could not
stop fantasizing about her new kitchen
and the amazing dishes she would cook in it
back at her desk she plowed through her
work quickly she felt focused and wanted
to get out of work on time so she could
pick charlie up from after school club
she had a little time to spare and
decided to search for some gluten-free
recipes online
she realized that a lot of the recipes
weren't always as exciting as the things
she decided that once the kitchen was
complete she would start posting her
cooking and baking creations on
instagram to try and help other parents
and carers with gluten intolerant children
on the way to pick charlie up from
school she stopped off at the
supermarket and got all the ingredients
she needed to make a gluten-free pie and
a delicious apple crumble
she hid the ingredients from charlie as
she wanted it to remain a surprise
charlie was excited to see her and
wanted to get back to the flat to see
what their new kitchen looked like
as they took the stairs up to their flat
carol felt a sense of apprehension
brewing inside her
she really hoped the builders had done
she opened the door slowly and there on
the table was a large bunch of flowers a
bottle of champagne and a card
carol almost burst into tears the
builders and the property owners had
left the presents to say sorry for
carol and charlie were overjoyed their
new home was so sparkling and new
carol encouraged charlie to go to his
room and do his homework while she
secretly cooked his favorite dinner she
set the table with fairy lights and a candle
candle
then she called charlie
he was delighted he ate every last bit
he knew what efforts his mum went to to
make sure the food he ate didn't make
after dinner charlie helped carol wash
the pots and clear the table
then they put their cosy pjs on and got
themselves comfortable for a night on
the sofa with one of their favorite films
films
they also tucked into the scrumptious
homemade apple crumble
as carol laid on the sofa laughing along
to the film with charlie
she realized that this was her happy place
place
she didn't need lots of money or a
lavish house or a fancy job
all she needed was her family tasty food
and a good laugh
she decided to take each day as it came
and enjoy every second of her lovely
where do you find true happiness
we hope you enjoyed this lovely english story
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