“Would you like any medicine? I have some very effective treatments here.”
Young Mr. Ichinose, the current manager of Ichinose Tea, stared in bewilderment at the peculiar visitor who had just arrived.
“Are you…a traveling salesman? Wait, did you say medicine? What kind of medicine?” Mr. Ichinose asked.
“These bottles I have here contain a miracle cure that will heal any injury or illness in the blink of an eye.”
“It does what?”
Mr. Ichinose drew in a breath and looked hard at the salesman’s face. Or at least, he tried to. Underneath the hat and scarf, there wasn’t much of a face to be seen. No matter how much he squinted, it remained a shadowy, indistinct void.
The strange man took a step forward, his hat moving in time with the swaying of his head.
“I heard that somebody here is suffering from a dreadful malady. A gentleman by the name of Ninomiya told me.”
“Mr. Ninomiya? From Ninomiya Tea?”
Now Mr. Ichinose really didn’t know what to think. He truly had no idea who this mysterious visitor was. In the back of his mind, he had a nagging suspicion that this man might not even be human.
But if Mr. Ninomiya went to the trouble of sending him here…
Mr. Ninomiya worked in the same industry as Mr. Ichinose and was a familiar face in this neighborhood. If he was the one who’d sent this merchant here, it would be rude to turn the man away. There was something else to consider, too.
A miracle cure… If this guy’s not making it up, then…
His mother’s illness had been deemed incurable. The way things were now, she didn’t have very long to live. The doctors had given up on her, but if there was even the slightest chance Mr. Ichinose could still save her, he was willing to take it.
If this man can save my mom, I don’t care what kind of person he is. Even if he’s not a person at all… Even if he’s the devil himself.
Thinking of his mother again, the young manager pursed his lips tightly. And then…
“Come on in,” he said. “We live on the second floor. The, uh, patient—my mother—she’s up there now.”
He welcomed the strange peddler inside and guided him up the stairs.
“We were told being in the hospital wouldn’t help her now, so she’s staying here, with me.”
Young Mr. Ichinose led the visitor to his mother’s room, where she was dozing in her bed. When her son called out to her, she slowly opened her eyes and turned her gaunt, haggard face toward him. She saw the other man by his side and wrinkled her brow.
“Looks like you’ve brought me a rather strange visitor,” she said.
The salesman didn’t seem offended and simply offered a polite bow.
“I am a traveling medicine seller. I have some very effective treatments with me today.” He opened his bag and took out a glass bottle. “This is my miracle cure. Mix it into tea or water, and you can recover from any injury or illness in the blink of an eye.”
“Hmm. It’s not just your looks, then. Your wares are as shady as you are.”
“Don’t be hasty, madam. If you doubt my medicine’s efficacy, why not try a free sample?”
He turned to his host and asked him to provide “a simple beverage.” The younger man nodded and began preparing some tea.
Mr. Ichinose selected a lemon-and-ginger blend, one of his mother’s few creations still left in the store. He brewed a pot and poured out two cups, then placed one by his mother’s bed, the other in front of the medicine seller.
“Oh my,” said the strange man. “You needn’t have made one for me as well.”
“It was no trouble. Besides, it’s just good manners to provide refreshment for a guest.”
“That’s very kind of you. Far be it from me to refuse such hospitality…” The man raised the cup to his invisible, shadowy mouth and took a sip. “My, what delicious tea. So fragrant, too.”
“Thank you. All our original blends were made by my mother here. Of course, she’s too sick to do that now, and my teas are nowhere near as good as hers…”
Young Mr. Ichinose sighed, his shoulders sagging. The idea that his mother didn’t have long to live was really taking its toll on him. It wasn’t just the pain of parting that weighed on his mind. He was also worried about the future of the store he’d inherited from her.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to keep this place running after she’s gone. It’s bad enough that my skills aren’t up to her standard, but there’s already another tea store in this neighborhood I have to compete with.”
Tears had sprung to his eyes while he was talking.
“I know all too well that I’m not good enough… I feel so pathetic. Mr. Ninomiya runs his store all on his own and does a great job of it. Compared with him, I’m just…”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Ichinose. Everything will be all right.”
The medicine seller spoke gently, holding up the little bottle.
“If you use this medicine, your mother will recover. And once she’s better, you’ll have more than enough time to study her techniques and make those skills your own.”
“R-really…?”
“That’s right. Let me give you a demonstration of this product’s effects.”
The strange man twisted off the cap of the bottle with a squeak. He then tilted the bottle toward Mrs. Ichinose’s tea and poured in some medicine.
Drip… Drip…
“Here you are, madam. Please try some,” he said, holding the cup out to her.
She reluctantly took it and stared at the contents doubtfully. She stayed like that for a while, not bringing it to her lips, but gazing at her reflection in the tea—at her own gaunt, haggard face looking up at her. The tea had started to cool when she finally moved again, heaving a deep sigh. With a resigned shrug, she drank the cup dry.
“…Oh my,” she said. “I actually do feel a little better now.”
The old lady’s eyes widened in surprise. And it was true—she looked a lot better than she had a moment ago. There was a healthy glow in her cheeks, where before her skin had looked pale and dry.