Three Days of Happiness

As she continued, she sounded more disinterested than before, as if
she were talking about someone else.
“My mother died when I was ten. It’s unclear what exactly caused
her death. However, it was clear she was killed by one of the people
she observed. As much as you may extend your lifespan, injury and
illness are another issue entirely. When I first heard it, I wondered if
I wasn’t being swindled.
“...The man who informed me of her death told me something else
of importance. “You have a debt,” he said. “An enormous debt your
mother left. There are only three ways for you to pay it back - sell
your lifespan, sell your time, or sell your health.” My mother had
sold nearly her entire life’s worth of time to extend her lifespan, but
died before she could work off the time she sold. The debt thus
passed to her nearest relative, her daughter. And if I could not pay
it back on the spot, I would be forced to choose one of the three.”
“And you picked time,” I said.
“Indeed. I had to sell a bit more than thirty years of my time to pay
back the debt. ...And so I now work as an observer. It’s a lonely line
of work with many dangers, but for what it’s worth, it has given me
deep insight into people’s lifestyles and the value of life. Once I do
finish paying the debt, I feel I would be able to live a more “proper”
life than anyone. Thinking of it in those terms, it’s not such a bad
job.”
She talked about it like it was her salvation.
But no matter how I looked at it, Miyagi’s life was sheer tragedy.
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