22,000 days

Girl- 'What is the meaning of life?'
Grandpa- 'I do not know.'
Girl- 'Mommy says to raise a family.'
Grandpa- 'What do you think?'
Girl- 'I think, then what do they do? There is no purpose to that.'
Girl- 'Daddy thinks it is to do good in the world.'
Grandpa- 'What do you think?'
Girl- 'I think that what is the point of making a difference that you will never benefit from?'
Grandpa- 'What about the generation after you, who will benefit?'
Girl- 'There is no time, before, or after, my life.'
Grandpa- 'My, that sounds a tad self centred!'
Girl- 'I don't mean it in a selfish way. It's just how it is.'
Grandpa- 'What about me? I lived for fifty years before you were born. That wrecks your theory.'
Girl- 'I don't know if you did. All I know for sure is that I am here. I am not a figment of my imagination. For all I know, you could be.'
Grandpa- 'So you think, I just started, when you were born, and have been programmed with my memory?'
Girl- 'I don't know if you have your memories. I can't remember them.'
Grandpa- 'So I started when you were born, a figment of your imagination, programmed to believe that I was real, and that I had my own life, and programmed to say I have memories?'
Girl- '… something like that.'
Grandpa- 'So, for all you know, everyone started when you were born?'
Girl- 'Yeah. And they will finish when I die, if not before.'
Grandpa- 'What about buildings and photos and logs and diaries that were written before you?'
Girl- 'A figment of my imagination. I created my whole world.'
Grandpa- 'Whoa!  Your imagination must be pretty full!'
Grandpa- 'And if you created this whole world, why did you make wars? I can remember fighting in a war, and it wasn't pleasant, and I can't imagine a sweet girl like you creating so much violence.'
Girl- 'You don't remember fighting a war. Your programmed to think that. And anyway, I had no chose in the programming of this world. I was put here.'
Grandpa-'So you didn't create it?'
Girl- '…urrr…'
Grandpa-'Ahaha! Got you there!'
Girl- 'Back to the meaning of life. I don't understand the point in suffering through the whole damn thing.'
Grandpa-'Sweetie! Don't say things like that!'
Girl- 'But I don't. I was watching a hospital program with my parents the other night, and I just couldn't understand how they could watch it.'
Grandpa- 'Quite easy. Sit on the sofa, watch the screen!'
Girl- 'Grandpa! I mean, you watch, and you think- my airway could close off. I could get cancer in 37 different places in my body. I could be hit by a bus. I could have a heart attack. Is the biggest factor in life pain? And when the pain get so bad, the body shuts off. How do I know I will leave my body. I could be paralyzed, and buried under the ground in a tiny bow full of creepy-crawly's…'
Grandpa- 'I know they are your fears, paralyzed, buried, and creepy-crawly's, but when I die, you will check that I'm definitely not in there. What will I do anything for?'
Girl- 'Grandpa! Don't talk like that! You're not going to die!'
Girl- 'Jelly babies. You'll do anything for jelly babies.'
Grandpa- 'Right. So when I die, put a jelly baby in my mouth and if I don't start to drool, you will know I'm not in there.'
Girl- '… Ok.'
Girl- 'But what other factors to life are there?'
Grandpa- 'Happiness. Love. Lots of good things.'
Girl- 'The good things will be overrun by the bad. Always.'
Girl- 'And please list the good things.'
Grandpa- 'Love. Happiness. Pleasure. Charity. Relief. Plenty of good things.'
Girl- 'No. To benefit love you must have suffered loneliness. To have happiness you must have sadness, or everything would be happiness. To have pleasure you must have worked. To feel charity you first must have seen suffering. And then there is loss, pain, embarrassment, guilt, greed, envy, fear, boredom, shame, depression, despair, disappointment, shyness and stress.'
Grandpa- 'I'm sure there are plenty of good emotions, too.'
Girl- 'Maybe it would just be best to just stay impassive about everything.'
Grandpa- 'I doubt you would be able to do it.'
Girl- 'I could.'
Grandpa- 'What about when you find love? When you marry? When you get pregnant, when you have a child? When you partner tells you that they love you? When your child goes to school, when they' gets a lover, when they get a child? Will you still feel impassive then?'
Girl- 'Umm… But what about when my partner rejects me, if they cheat on me, if they get ill? If my child gets ill, and dies? If my partner, my child or I gets mugged, or beaten, or attacked? What about when we die? If I feel emotion then, I'll end up getting deppressed, and getting ill, and dying myself.'
Grandpa- 'But if you don't show emotion you will go mad. Totally barmy!'
Girl- 'So I have a choice, yes? Mad or dead.'
Grandpa- 'No! That's not what we're talking about.'
Girl- 'The meaning of life. So, we've figured, it's not to raise a family, not to do good in the world, and there is no point struggling through the whole thing. What else?'
Grandpa- 'To be happy?'
Girl- 'Happy is an emotion. It doesn't come without cancellers, sadness and depression.'
Grandpa-'So for every positive emotion, two negative?'
Girl- 'Mmm-hmm. Like body guards.'
Grandpa- 'Right. But if you make to be happy your main priority, and let the little things in life please you, it should be a breeze.'  
Girl- 'So instead of being please when asked to marry, I will be pleased every time they kiss me?'
Grandpa- 'Not instead of. As well as.'
Girl- 'Oh. Did you?'
Grandpa- 'Haha! You're contradicting your own beliefs here!'
Girl- 'Ok, you win. But did you?'
Grandpa- 'I tried. You had to be optimistic if you were to survive fighting a war.'
Girl- 'You're still hooked on the fact that you fought a war! Well, if you did, why did you do it? I mean, the chance you could be killed, all you friends dying, the pain, the fear, and you had to kill other human beings!'
Grandpa- 'I did it to help the war be over, so I could come home to be with my wife a child, and so the future generation – you – could benefit from it.'
Girl- '! So you have three points to your life?'
Grandpa- 'You don't only have to have one. Hmm… let's see… What would be good targets for you?'
Grandpa- Your good at art- so maybe to get into art collage?'
Girl- 'No, grandpa, I want to be in the CID!'
Grandpa- 'CID?'
Girl- 'Criminal Investigation Department!! I think that's what it stands for…'
Girl- 'I'll be in the CID and I will meet a guy there, and we will fall in love, and have two kids, a girl called Rose and a boy called Jesse!'
Grandpa- 'So you already have a dream, and two targets, both of which you said you didn't believe in! To make the world a better place for the future generation, and to raise a family! What are you talking to me for?! You have your life planed already!'
Girl- '… I guess I do…'
Girl- 'I always believed that would what would happen… And Jesse would become an artist and Rose would be a writer.'
Grandpa- 'But, why? If your world stops when you die, what is the point in bothering if you have so much to lose?'
Girl- 'I dunno… I guess you got me again there, huh? But they all seem so far in the future. It seems my whole life is spent waiting… I wait for parcels… I wait for the school bus, I wait for break time, I wait for lunch, I wait for home time, I wait for the weekend, I wait for holiday… I wait to be eighteen so I can be silly and change my name to something stupid for a dare… It seems I am wasting my whole life away.'
Grandpa- 'Nonsense! You can do stuff while waiting! You are a very intelligent girl! While waiting for the buss, you could write a bit more of your book, in your head, while waiting for break time and lunch, you could draw and doodle and learn new skills.  Teachers have a lot to offer. While you wait for the weekend, you could create a folder of your findings of the week. While you wait for the holidays, play with your friends, develop your skills, do whatever you fancy! As for changing your name… you strange child! Be thinking of a good name! Your old grandpa wants to open the newspaper and laugh! Get yourself noticed, but only in a good way, of course! This would help you get a job.'
Girl- 'But how can I be noticed, grandpa? Unless I am with my best friend, I am just the quiet single girl sitting in the corner reading a manga book. I lack confidence, so I don't want to do drama or singing or dance. What do you suggest?'
Grandpa- 'Contribute to lessons. Go for science and art clubs. Go with every opportunity!'
Grandpa- 'Wow. We've come a long way! From 'why is life' to 'how to spend your life'! Anything else you want to cover?'
Girl- 'I don't think so. So I shouldn't be impassive, or I will go mad or die, I should feel good emotions, however small, always look at the bright side, fill up my days, have a dream and plans and targets, and get noticed in a good way. Anything to add?'
Grandpa- 'Yes. This life isn't forever. No matter how embarrassing, or painful or depressing it is, in about 22,000 days, you'll be dead anyway.'
Girl- '22,000 days?! Is that all I get?'
Grandpa- 'Give or take a couple of hundred, yes.'
Girl- 'Well, I'd better get cracking, hey?!'
Girl- 'Oh, and grandpa?'
Grandpa- 'Yes, me duck?'
Girl- 'Thanks.'