Will I Be Remembered - Taniyn Quest

Even under the sheets, Fatima could see the artist's hands rattling. He was cold - much too cold for a hot summer day. It wasn't a good sign. But Montblanc took it in stride - despite his understanding that he didn't have much time left in the world, he was always all smiles. Even when he could barely pick up his paintbrush, or get down the stairs without help, he had a joke for the Songstress and his caretakers. The artist puzzled Fatima. Normally those on their death bed were ready to cling to life, desperate to get one more minute, one more hour, one more day. But when curiosity finally overtook Fatima and she asked the man how he was able to stay so positive in the face of death, he smiled at her. "Look around us, Songstress." The woman did as he asked. The room was filled with Montblanc's art. Sketches of weapons and monsters, paintings of former lovers. There were pieces that showed the man's love for his city, beautifully rendering a sunset at a cafe, or the view from the nearby mountains. There were sculptures of toys for his nieces and nephews. Even meticulously put together models of the airships that flew into the docks. It dawned on Fatima. She turned back to the man. "You've lived." The smile on Montblanc's face grew even bigger, and Fatima couldn't help but smile along with the artist. "My dear, when I was younger, I feared death. I didn't want to be forgotten. When I first began to study the arts, it was to throw myself into a passion that would help me forget the horrors of the world, the empire, all of it. But it helped me realize something. As long as my art exists, even if only one person cares for it...I will never truly die. Do you see?" When the artist passed, Fatima learned that she had been granted something in his will - a sketch the size of a postcard, of her. She carries it with her to this day.