I don't think anything might have been. What is, is.
God knows, there's enough to worry about without worrying about worrying about things.
What is, is, and what might have been could never have existed.
Not everything in life can be interpreted metaphorically; that's because things fall out on the way.
More is happening out there than we are aware of. It is possibly due to some unknown direful circumstance.
I have given up considering happiness as relevant.