A story should have a beginning and end, no doubt. Everyone knows that.

It is what happens between them that’s important. There should be a plot. There should be climax. There should be people thrown in together, there should be people getting separated. There should be misery, there should be happiness. There should be pain, anger, emotions, there should be something extraordinary. There should be crises, devastation, and there should be survival.
There should be hope. There should be Life.

In other words, there should be *something* happening. People should change.

There should be some of these, or there should be all of these.

Without them, it would remain two hundred pages or two hours of happily ever after.
Then it does not become a story.