Freedom of Self

Chapter 4

By the time the exam session ended, Arata's health had deteriorated to such an extent that he collapsed and needed to stay home, nurturing a high fever. Two days after the symptoms debuted, there seemed to be no change in the young man's condition and on Sunday evening, he called Fujita-san to let her know he wouldn't be able to come in to work.

Arata felt foolish. He had overworked himself and now endured the consequences. While the young man passed the finals with flying colors, his ambition had pushed him further than what his body could handle.

Although he had no choice but to stay in bed all day, Arata didn't get to rest properly. Every muscle and inch of skin hurt to touch. At a temperature of 39°C, his pulse increased significantly in order for the blood to reach skin level faster and cool down. With it, the much-needed nutrients and leucocytes were delivered to help his body fight the fever. However, the young man's heart ached slightly from the tremendous effort it made to beat faster.

Pestered by a throbbing headache, Arata felt horrible. His limbs weighted a ton and with so little strength left in his knees, he could barely get out of bed to grab himself a bite to eat. The few antipyretics he had bought days before were used up and his only comfort was a box of cooling pads.

All alone, the young man was getting rather anxious. He was in no state to take care of himself and wondered whether he should call home.

No, they're busy. I doubt they'd come, he thought to himself, quickly discarding the idea. Ever since his parents had divorced four years before, Arata's relationship with them had been ebbing away, the young man closing himself off, much like a hesitant, quivering snail retracting into its shell.

Still, the problem remained and his thoughts ran errant. What if his condition worsened? Would he need to call an ambulance?

No..., Arata tried to clear his mind and encourage himself. Surely, it wouldn't come to that.

# # #

On Monday, Matsushita-san stopped by Kame Restaurant once more. As he stepped inside, his eyes instinctively started searching for Arata. It became his habit to check up on the boy whenever he got the chance. Every time, he anticipated seeing him drop that utterly exhausted look on his face and welcome him with a little smile.

Much to his own surprise, Matsushita-san found himself following Arata's every move, clinging on to every precious bit of personal information that managed to slip past his lips, no matter how insignificant.

However, this time around, Arata was nowhere to be seen in the restaurant. Rather disappointed, Matsushita-san decided to ask the manager after their meeting.

"Oh, he's not well at all." Fujita-san answered with a look of compassion in her eyes. "I wonder if I made him work too much."

Seeing the man's eyebrows furrowing in confusion, she couldn't help but share her worries with him.

"Actually, Wakahisa-kun called me yesterday to ask for a few days off." she continued. "He sounded absolutely terrible."

Concern washed over Matsushita-san's face. His eyes seemed to darken slightly as his lips parted. The man felt anguish claw at his heart as words got caught in his throat, his mouth suddenly dry.

"I'm quite worried because he lives alone but at the moment I don't have the time to check how he is doing." the woman elaborated apologetically, gesturing towards the tables packed with customers. "It's hectic without him."

The man faltered for a second, trying to gather his thoughts. He scrambled to lift the cuff of his sleeve and check the time. It was already a quarter past four. And he still needed to go back to the office and submit the report he had been working on. A sense of urgency stirred inside him and threatened to bubble out of his chest.