Chapter 6.2

Friday, Toshio received word from the National Hospital in Mizobe that Katou Yoshihide whom he'd had transported in had died late last night. 

Before lunch time, Gyouda Etsuko from Kami-Sotoba came in to the hospital. She too had apparent anemia. He prescribed iron supplements and vitamins, an antibiotic, and just in case a full blood transfer. It was a literal shot in the dark. 

"Lately it's like the doctor has become totally high-string."

The one to say that over lunchbreak was Shiomi Yuki. 

"It isn't like I don't understand though," Yasuyo was the one to say. "It's busy isn't it, lately. And without anything to show for it."

That's right, said Kiyomi nodding. She opened her catered and delivered lunch box and sighed. "It's because the essential patients aren't coming in until it gets bad."

"But, that the doctor would shout at the patients, I was surprised," Isaki Satoko added with her own sigh. "Ah, it's making me so nervous now, I'd thought then."

"Katou Yoshihide-san? ....That's right," Yasuyo nodded. "He was told that he was given a decoction because it was a cold... That'd just make him want to fall right over!"

"Is that how it is?" It was Towada who asked. Yasuyo shrugged her shoulders. 

"The truth is there is no such illness as a cold. We say cold-like symptoms, these days. It's actually an upper respiratory inflammation. It's inflammation that occurs in the upper half of the respiratory tract. Cold air or allergies can stimulate an inflammation but most of the time it's viral inflammation isn't it? If that's the case then no matter how much you drink of any medicine, it won't help."

"Heh."

"In the case of a cold, there's nothing you can do but recuperate. Eat, sleep, and build up your strength. What they call cold medicine is something to help with that. Since there isn't any particular medicine for attacking a cold, taking it shouldn't be enough to put your mind at ease. But, the elderly especially tend to think it's something that can be cured by taking something.  They say 'one shot of this will do it!' Even though you won't get better no matter how much medicine you take if you don't recuperate."

"That's right," Towada said with a forced smile. "There are things like that in every family. Old family remedies, they call them."

"Right, right," Yasuyo laughed. "Cooking egg nog or garlic; those are, well, at least useful for warming the body up and raising your constitution, it's not useless, but some of them have ridiculous things in them! The 'old family remedy' is by no means the panacea it's expected to be. But they think that whether it's a cold or a stomachache, it can cure anything and everything, don't they! Then when you take off the lid and see what it is, it's medicine for women's ailments!"

The nurses crumbled into laughter. 

"Well, as long as it's not made of anything harmful, it's medicine for the mind, which can be a good thing in itself. But, that's only if you also have proper recuperation. It wasn't something that was fine with just taking medicine and resting; whatever his state, she should have seen that it had gotten worse than the day before, should have made sure he was eating well, she should have seen the significance in that and noticed, you would normally notice something was strange before cyanosis occurs, wouldn't you? Ultimately, I think it must have been that attitude: 'if you take this medicine it will all be okay' and dropping your guard that did it."

"I see, that'd do it."

"Even so, it's no use yelling at the patients or their families. But, as far as his feelings, I can't say I don't understand. Lately we've been so busy. On top of that, so many are dying off one after another like this, so isn't it all for nothing? If the patients at least cooperated and it was no good even with their help, we could move on, but."

"But really, they are increasing lately, aren't they? Not just the deaths but the patients." 

Towada looked to Mutou. Mutou made a sullen face as he nodded. "In the end, everyone's uneasy. The number of deaths recently just isn't normal. It looks like it's becoming a rumor that there might be some kind of bad disease going around, so even if they'd normally sleep it off, they can't relax until they've been seen by the doctor, like, I guess."

"And on the other hand, we have the people who take a decoction and keep an eye on it."

"It's a tough one on all of us, this disease," Yasuyo brought her teacup to her mouth. "After all it looks like the ones affected go into a daze and don't make a big fuss. If the person complained that this hurts, if they answered how this or that was feeling, we know that it is what it is and don't need to worry. But,  the person themselves doesn't seem to notice they're sick, do they? Thanks to that lately we've been able to tell by looking at their faces."

That's true, Kioymi nodded. "They look like it's somebody elses problem."

"Right, right. So we're depending on their families. People look but don't really see more often than you'd expect, even at their own family's faces."

"That's true."

"Do you think Gyouda Etsuko-san may have it, too?"

To Ritsuko's questions, Yasuyo nodded. "Probably, yes? She had that face."

Looming silence fell over the break room. For them the word 'it' meant a hopeless disease someone was presently suffering and couldn't be saved from. 

"Kinda... scary, isn't it?" Yuki alone spoke, plunging them into a deeper silence. As they all let out a sigh, the phone rang.  Ritsuko who was nearest answered it. 

"Uhmm, this is Takano, but." The voice on the other end said. It was the part-timer Takano Fujyou. She had called first thing in the morning to say she would be taking the day off. "The doctor is out now, isn't he?"

"Right now he's with a patient. Shall I call him?"

"Aa... then, it's fine," Fujyou said, falteringly. "Uhm... Could you relay something to the doctor for me? ...I, was thinking that I'd like to be allowed to quit there, today."

"Fujyou-san?"

"I'm sorry, I really am sorry when you're busy. But, I just can't take it, being so scared, so afraid..."

Ritsuko had no words. Fujyou had always complained of her uneasine. And, with the situation increasing in scale, she showed no signs of coming to ease.

"So many people one after another are dying! When I think that, why, I might be next, I..."

Ritsuko didn't have any words to offer in return. She could by no means blame Fujyou. Even if she tried to forget the sense of dread from being on the front lines, it wasn't something one could forget. If that was the case for Ritsuko and the nurses, then it must be all the more for Fujyou who came to clean and do odd jobs.

"The doctor says it's all right but the truth is he doesn't know if it's all right, does he? When I take out the garbage or some such, I think, what if a needle is sticking out, and my heart just races! So..."

".... Yes, ma'am."

"I'm so sorry."

"I will inform the doctor."

Please do, Fujyou said, hanging up the phone. Ritsuko hung up the phone and looked over all of the faces, which were giving her a dubious look.

"It was Fujyou-san. ...It seems she has quit. She's afraid, she says."

Kiyomi breathed a heavy sigh. "It can't really be helped, can it? We can't say it'll be all right--that's an empty promise we can't really give."

Everyone nodded wordlessly. ---They could not do but nod.