Voice of the Night Pharmacy: Third Night: The Nameless Habit
The Voice of the Night Pharmacy
appeared by chance
on the night of a day where "nothing much happened."
I wasn't particularly busy,
nor had anyone thrown harsh words at me.
It was just that I felt like taking a slightly longer way home, and I happened to arrive here.
She opened the door
apologetically,
"Excuse me,"
she said, entering with a small, murmuring voice.
I gave a slight nod
and offered her a chair.
She sat there
hesitantly,
without taking off her coat.
If I asked if she was tired,
she would surely answer, "No, not really..."
So,
I decided to just watch over her
without making conversation tonight.
While I was focused on tidying up,
I accidentally dropped a piece of paper
from the counter onto the floor.
She noticed it,
stood up quickly,
and picked up the paper.
"Sorry, you dropped this,"
she started to say, but
my
"Thank you"
cut her off
just a split second earlier.
Hmm? Why did she
try to say "sorry"?
Thinking that,
she handed me the paper
and returned to her chair.
Inside the shop,
nothing had changed.
Even so,
the silence of the shop
felt more comfortable than before.
In this shop,
there is a little more
"thank you"
than "sorry."
Neither is necessarily correct.
However,
a "thank you" makes
both the person who said it
and the person who heard it
feel just a little bit warmer.
— Tonight's Prescription —You don't have to force yourself to fix it.
Just try
changing "sorry"
to "thank you"
a little bit.
Before long, she stood up,
gave a clear nod this time,
and left through the door.
I returned home,
took off my shoes,
and turned on the lights.
Looking back on the day,
there was nothing
to regret.
Even so,
that moment from earlier
remained quietly in the back of my heart.
The many times I have piled up
"sorry"s
that I didn't need to say.
A night where I
realized that.
I don't think I'll force myself to fix it.
But,
if the same situation happens again,
I feel like I can
hold my head a little higher.
Just that alone
makes today not so bad.
The next morning,
when I went to open the door as usual,
someone let me go first, saying "Please."
She
smiled
and said, "Thank you very much."