Fear of Disease on a Summer Day

It was a bright shiny morning in late summer, and Takashi was shouting into his mobile phone because a nurse apologized to him for double-booking. Pigeons at the wooden fence outside the window sang in harmony as he gasped from time to time and took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, but would it be possible to reschedule your consultation?” the nurse said.
“No, definitely not!” he said. “I have a business meeting this afternoon. Call me between six and eight o’clock.”
He hanged up and went to a mega bookstore where it took him usually half an hour by train. He planed to go to work after lunch that day and kill time somewhere near the office.

He got on a train and checked email on his phone when he heard a loud thump behind him. He turned around and saw a man in a fedora hat falling down on the train floor. Takashi crouched down beside the man and asked him if he was all right. After a short while, the man took out a little blue plastic box from his bag with shaking hands. It was a portable insulin cooler box, and a woman next to him helped him to inject insulin. Takashi stood up and was there in a daze for a few seconds. When the train arrived at the last station, he got down and headed for the bookstore.

Takashi couldn’t distract himself in the bookstore because he was so anxious about test results whether he had diabetes like the man he came across in the train. He should have known test results the previous night, but he had had a sudden headache at that time that he had not been able to stay there anymore.
He found himself standing in front of a bookshelf where he saw several medical books and leafed through some of them. How much would it cost to treat diabetes? How long would it take to cure the disease? His heart pounded violently.

After the business meeting, however, Takashi recovered his composure because it turned out to be a success with his deal. He passed by a nice looking bar, and through glass windows, he saw people clinking champagne glasses cheerfully. He probably couldn’t do that anymore, but he wouldn’t care. Instead, he would work harder and make money for his daughter’s education. He got on the train and went directly home. On arriving home, he asked his daughter, whose name was Takako, if she was good at school when he heard his phone ring. He got a call from his doctor, and the doctor told Takashi he didn’t have diabetes.

He told Takako about his test results, and she was very glad to hear that. She said:
“Our math teacher fell down flat on a train this morning. He said he had worked so hard that he couldn’t take care of himself for a long time.”
Takashi asked himself why he was in danger of diabetes. Takako was right. Business success at the cost of your health was inutile. He thought he would confront his stress from now on so that he could keep not only himself but his family safe.
(532 words)