Three Days of Happiness

clinging onto a hope deep in my heart, I think for an instant my face
lit up with expectation. I instinctively thought that my childhood
estimate of 3 billion was right on.
The woman, seeing my face, made an awkward look and scratched
her cheek with her index finger. Seemingly feeling that she couldn’t
tell me directly, she looked to the computer screen, rapidly tapped
some keys, and placed a printout on the counter.
“These are the results of your evaluation. What would you like to
do?”
At first, I thought the number “300,000” on the form was the value
of one year.
With eighty years of lifespan, that would be 24 million in all.
“24 million” repeated itself again and again in my head.
I felt like all the energy left my body. Surely that’s too cheap by any
means?
I began to doubt the shop a second time. Maybe this was a setup
for a TV show, or a psychological experiment. No, maybe it was just
a nasty prank...
But as much as I tried to make excuses, it was futile. The only thing
having a hard time was my common sense. Every other of my
senses told me “She’s right.” And it’s my belief that when faced
with something irrational, those are the ones you trust.
At any rate, I had to accept this number of 24 million. That alone
took quite a bit of courage.
But the woman faced me and told me the crueler truth.
“As it turns out, your per-year value is 10,000 yen, the bare
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