Short Story: Repaying Kindness Now
I am waiting in line at the bus stop to catch the first bus of the day.
It is a freezing cold day, and my breath is visible. I can see the morning sun over the hill. I am the only one in line so far.
Come to think of it, this morning my mother gave me a thermos of warm tea and a hand warmer.
"Do your best. But don't overdo it."
My mother, who saw me off with a slightly worried look, was a bit pale, perhaps because of the cold.
"Mom, you look a bit pale. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Maybe it's just my low blood pressure?"
She was still in her pajamas, having woken up early to make my lunch and breakfast.
It has been three years since I became a tax accountant. I am still a beginner, and the work was so dizzyingly busy that I almost wanted to give up the profession I had finally achieved after ten years of hard work while working part-time jobs. With many requests for tax returns coming in, this time of year was even busier.
In fact, I was scheduled to start working first thing this morning as well.
I take a sip of tea from the thermos, open the package of the hand warmer, and shake it.
Come to think of it, I have only ever caused my mother trouble.
My mother, who works as a supermarket cashier, would sometimes bring home travel agency brochures and talk to me about how she wanted to go on a trip someday. When I was a student, such talk never came up. In fact, I don't have many memories of my mother being at home. She worked desperately morning, noon, and night to raise me.
I, too, always think about wanting to take her on a trip, but I am so busy with work that I keep putting it off.
The bus arrived. When I got on, I was indeed the only one.
I arrived at the office, worked busily, and just as I was about to leave, the director called me over.
"Hara-san, thank you for your hard work lately. If you'd like, here are some travel vouchers; why don't you take your mother on a trip?"
"Huh? Are you sure?"
"It's fine. You can take some time off, so let me know when you figure it out.
You've been working hard, and I'm sure your mother thinks her daughter is being worked to the bone from morning till night. Haha. I want to put your mother's mind at ease, too. And I don't want you to quit."
While making jokes, the director chuckled and handed me two travel vouchers.
I didn't put them in my bag or my pocket, but gripped them tightly as I boarded the bus to go home.
I did it! People are watching! My daily efforts are being noticed! Thank you, God, thank you, Director!!
When I arrived home, for some reason, the front door was unlocked.
Click. When I opened it, my mother had collapsed in the entryway.
"Mom!!!"
There was no response.
"Mom!"
I checked her pulse, held my hand under her nose, and pressed my ear to her chest, but I could not hear her heartbeat.
Her body was cold, too. I hurriedly called an ambulance.
She must have collapsed on her way home from work. From my mother's fallen bag, travel agency brochures
spilled out again.
"Why did it have to be today?"
Tears overflowed and would not stop. The travel agency brochures scattered in the entryway and the travel vouchers I was holding.
"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. If only I had done it sooner..."
I want to remember these tears forever.
Repaying kindness should be done when you think of it. Do not put it off. Do not assume that everyone will always be alive.
#ThreeSentenceStoryChallenge #HandWarmerTaxReturnFirstBus
I participated in this again this time 😊
Please read this one too 😊