The narrator of “Happy Endings” argues that every story ends in death, but while a character may die physically, a legacy lives on despite the narrator's attempt to keep him disconnected . For example, Fred dies, end of story. Yet it lives on as guilt, depression, frustration and confusion in Madge's mind. Furthermore, with every broken, damaged and destroyed relationship that has occurred, a new one has developed. It may present itself as life with another person, or simply the thought that a single life leads on a new path, but without the "death" of the previous relationship, the new one will never have had the chance to tell its story. The narrator may be right in believing that death “is the only authentic ending,” but through Fred's example, he may need to take this truth one step further. In Poe's words, “...Who can say where the one ends and where the other ends?