Three Days of Happiness

209
The next morning, I headed to the old building with my
replacement observer.
The place where Miyagi and I first met.
And there, I sold thirty days of my lifespan.
In truth, I was going to sell absolutely all of it. But they wouldn’t let
you sell those final three days.
The observer looked at the results and was shocked.
“Did you come here knowin’ this was gonna happen?”
“Yep,” I said.
The thirty-some woman at the counter who audited me looked
bewildered.
“...I honestly can’t recommend this. At this point, money can’t be
that much of a concern, can it? After all... in the next thirty days,
you’re going to paint pictures that end up in art textbooks for years
to come.”
She looked toward the sketchbook I held at my side.
“Listen carefully. If you leave here without doing this, you’ll have
thirty-three days left to fervently paint. In that time, your observer
will always be there, giving you courage. She absolutely won’t
blame you for your choice. And after death, your name will survive
in the history of art forever. You should know all that yourself,
shouldn’t you? ...Just what about that dissatisfies you? I can’t
understand.”
“Just like money is pointless once I die, so is fame.”