"Wouldn't expect everything to magically turn into rainbows, so I'd hold off the celebration if I were you." It's a good thing either way that she says this with a lighthearted tone in her voice, rather than carrying the dreary edge of the usual guilt and pain that went along with her nature.

There's a time and place for that, though. Right now, she's just enjoying her friend's company. If that isn't what one would call happiness, then it's at least enough for her.

"But I like this," she adds. "I don't know why, but I do."