Mother and son both turned to look at each other. Then they looked at the mysterious merchant who had brought about this miracle. They still couldn’t see his face, but he tilted his hat forward a little, and they got the feeling he was smiling.
“What did I tell you? Quite effective, isn’t it?” he said, sounding rather satisfied with himself. “I must warn you, though, these few drops won’t be enough to cure you completely. The symptoms have only been relieved. The effect will fade in time. For an illness as strong as this, with your life hanging in the balance…I’d say you’ll need half a bottle for a full recovery.”
Mrs. Ichinose gulped, inspecting the bottle of medicine. Her son cleared his throat nervously and asked the question they were both thinking.
“And…how much does one of these bottles cost?”
The salesman made a show of thinking about it before answering. “I won’t take any money from you. All I ask is a bag of one of your delicious original blends. I’d like to give one to a work colleague of mine, as a kind of souvenir.”
“R-really? That’s all you want…?”
Young Mr. Ichinose could barely believe his ears. He’d been so sure the strange man was about to demand an astronomically high price. But he refused to take even a single yen.
Before he left, he handed Ichinose the bottle and gave him one last piece of advice.
“Ah yes, I almost forgot. This medicine is called…”
The name had an awfully strange ring to it. There were also some rather unique precautions to go with it.
“This is not like normal medicine. It has a very special quality. It’s important that you remember my instructions for how to use it.”
Mr. Ichinose had never heard of anything like this before, but he listened carefully all the same, committing the instructions to memory.
And so, the man with the shadowy face left Ichinose Tea, taking a bag of raspberry-cream-flavored tea in exchange for his miracle cure.
✦ ✦ ✦
After the salesman was gone, the young Mr. Ichinose brewed a new pot of tea and added the medicine just as he’d been told to.
Drip… Drip… Drip…
Drip… Drip… Drip…
Drip… Drip…
He emptied out roughly half the bottle into the tea and stirred it in. When his mother drank it, her complexion brightened up right away. Her face was still thin, but she looked much more like her old self now, like how she was before she’d gotten sick. The sight brought tears to Mr. Ichinose’s eyes, but his mother only gave a derisive snort.
“I think I need to make something clear to you,” she began. “I never wanted you to carry on making the teas I made. I never wanted you to feel pressured to keep the store going after I’m gone, either.”
“Huh?”
“My original blends wouldn’t be worth much if just anyone could make them. No one can imitate them, not even my own son.”
Then she turned to him with a smile.
“But if you really want to make blends as good as mine, maybe even better than mine someday, I guess I can stick around a little longer. I’ll do my part, so give it your best shot, all right?”
“Mom…”
He smiled back at his mother, wiping tears of joy from his eyes.
✦ ✦ ✦
Several days passed, and a new set of rumors found their way to Ninomiya Tea. People were saying old Mrs. Ichinose had made a full recovery.
For Mr. Ninomiya, that wasn’t good news at all. He had to see this for himself.
He made his way over to his rival’s store, and there she was, on her feet again like nothing had happened. It was true.
“O-oh! Hey, it’s been a while. You’re looking a lot better.”
He quickly put on a fake smile and greeted the former owner. She smiled back at him, her face full of life.
“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Ninomiya. Quite a surprise, isn’t it? I was told my illness was totally incurable. Even the doctors can’t explain it. Sorry, but this old thorn in your side isn’t ready to call it quits just yet.”
“Mom, don’t be rude…,” her son said, stepping forward and bowing to Mr. Ninomiya. “I’m sorry my mother’s always so competitive. We really owe her recovery to you, after all.”
“To me…?”
“Of course. You sent that medicine seller over to us, didn’t you?”
Mr. Ichinose stepped into the back of the store and brought out a small glass bottle, still half full of some mysterious liquid. Mr. Ninomiya recognized it—it was just like the one that peddler in the hat and scarf had shown him.
“Thanks to this medicine, Mom’s able to work in the store again. I really can’t thank you enough!”
Mr. Ichinose gave another deep, formal bow.
Mr. Ninomiya, on the other hand, was furious.
Urgh! How could this happen?
Talk about making the wrong call. He’d been so sure that shady guy’s wares were nothing but a useless scam. That was why he’d sent him over to Ichinose Tea in the first place.
Who would’ve thought that bottle really did contain something that could save a person’s life?
Retreating to his own store, he held his head in frustration. If he’d known that medicine would actually work, he’d never have sent it right into his greatest rival’s hands. If only he’d kept his mouth shut, Mrs. Ichinose would have wasted away, and eventually…
Darn it! This was my big chance to get rid of that stubborn old hag!
Blood rushed to his head. His vision blurred. He felt unsteady on his feet.
That was weird… He got the feeling he’d been experiencing these dizzy spells more often lately.
✦ ✦ ✦
A while after that, Mr. Ninomiya went to the hospital for an examination. It turned out he’d contracted some kind of disease. It was serious enough that he could die if he didn’t do something about it, but it wasn’t incurable; the doctor said he’d be fine after some treatment at the hospital. That was something to be thankful for.
But thinking about it practically, all those hospital visits would eat up a lot of time and money. Mr. Ninomiya’s business was going to take a big hit.
He considered the matter as he made his way home from the hospital. Then he remembered the medicine that the shadow-faced salesman had peddled. The miracle cure that could heal any injury or illness.
If I’d known about this back then, I would’ve bought some. Just like Ichinose did…
There was so much he wished he’d done different that day. If he’d bought a bottle, he could get rid of this disease right away. But now that he thought of it, that gave him an idea.
There’s still half a bottle of that medicine at the Ichinose place, isn’t there?
Maybe if he went over and explained things to them, they’d give him some to use on himself… No, that wouldn’t work. People didn’t just give away life-saving medicine to anyone who asked. He didn’t want to go begging his rivals for help, either. He still had some pride.
That left just one other option.