See the notes at the end of the story.
The worst thing in the world is to wait and to chase.
After opening her own personal lawyer bureau, she almost never came in on Sundays. This Sunday she has a reason to. There is a call she must be prepared for and a task she was assigned not long ago that she must execute impeccably.
“Ding-dong, Floor 21”.
She leaves the elevator and walks to the left, until she finds the lone room awaiting her. Renting the office space in Sendai Trust Tower was quite expensive at the time but it allowed her to arrange her work meetings in the most convenient way, so the price was justified. For the last three years, this tiny office was her place to work — the first workplace she liked in a lifetime.
The familiar beep of the lock recognizing her keycard welcomes her. She walks across the room and sits in her chair in the middle of the room.
“Okay, where is…? Ah!”
She ruffles through the bunch of papers that are lying on the table before her until she picks a green folder, titled “Case 1249”. Opening and scanning the contents of that particular folder with her eyes, she wonders if she researched thoroughly enough and if this was really all of the options she could offer.
Looks like we only have six options to offer, unfortunately.
When she took the request to research this specific topic, she thought that there would be more to consider but the amount of actual research on the subject is far more limited than expected. Guess our modern world isn’t modern enough for this…
Canada. Somewhat far away from Japan and they only established the required legislation the last year. Not the most comfortable option but it’s there.
Colombia. Even more expensive than Canada to travel to. Also the service provided there may not be the best quality.
State Victoria, Australia. Still hasn’t passed the required legislation yet, unfortunately. Not an option.
Luxembourg. Belgium. The Netherlands. Three European countries that are basically on the other side of the Earth, but will be the most accommodating in our case. Guess she’ll have to pick one of those based on her personal preference.
The cost of travel back and forth will be a small fortune but they seem to be willing to spend it to handle things properly.
Might as well open a beer while I wait. It’s still my day off, after all.
Cracking open a cold one from the mini fridge, she looks at the remaining papers from the folder. These ones contain a somewhat detailed plan of executing the deal she was assigned to. From start-to-finish, to the grand finale that she dreads the most.
I only agreed to do this because I want to help them. I want to help him.
...
Patience and stubbornness can do all the tricks.
The day she decided to leave the company, that was designed to be inherited by her, was one of the most terrible days of her life. It was a path predefined by her father. Like everything else, he wanted to control her future to a massive extent.
Trying to dictate how and where she would work for the rest for her life, who she will or will not date, and so on. He always told her that this was how he showed he cared for her and for her sister. She eventually got fed up with all of that.
She knew that she might fail. That the saving she did for the past five years may be not enough. But she was willing to bet on herself, to stand on her own two feet, and to prove that she was worth something.
She went to him with her resignation papers, that he’d unfortunately need to sign-off on, in order for her to leave. It ended, as it often did, in a big shouting match in which she told him everything.
How smothering his attitude towards the family was. How hypocritical he was to disguise his fear for the company’s future as "caring” for someone else’s. How she would do anything just to be herself, not just an extension of his legacy.
He threatened to disown her and she walked away, slamming the door as loud as possible on her way out. They would never meet again.
She started her own small bureau and eventually made it profitable before her savings ran out. Working for herself filled her with pride and satisfaction. She proved what she set out to do and then some.
Her father died two years ago. In his will, he apologised for his behaviour and said that he was proud of her finally becoming self-reliant. He gave her half of his fortune to possess. She took nothing. Instead sending the inheritance to the Yamaku Foundation charity program.
She decided that they needed it more than her and she had worked too long and hard to forge her own path and legacy to break the promise she made to herself; to never fall back on his money.
...
Nothing is eternal under the moonlight.
She flinches when the phone on the table rings.
“Hello, Satou speaking.”
“Hi, Akira. I’m somewhat in a hurry now.”
She exhales, bracing herself for the hardest call she’s taken in a long time.
“How much time do you have left?”
“Two-to-three months, I think. In the worst case scenario; I can wait for half a year but no more. You already saw my medical records and they’re… not good.”
“Okay, got it. I researched the foreign legislation per your request and, unfortunately, we don’t have many options. How do you feel about a little travel to Europe?”
“Guess I don’t have other options?”
“Well, there’s also Canada, but it’s even more expensive. And I don’t think your family have that much money.”
“Well, we do have some money from the music records but it’s definitely not enough to sustain, especially afterwards. On the other hand, I’ve always wanted to visit Europe but never got a chance to. So, maybe it’s an opportunity to make one more of my dreams come true as a nice bonus.”
“Got it. Basically you can choose from Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands…”
Over the next fifteen minutes, Akira relays everything that she found in the last month’s worth of dedicated research. The person on the other end of the line listens intently, sporadically asking one-or-two questions about specific details. Some were more difficult than others to answer, causing Akira to pause a little because it wasn’t covered in her papers.
After finishing describing all the legal details and possible cost of all these options, she asks:
“What place you would like more?”
“Let me think about it for some time. I’ll write you soon. Please, send to my e-mail information about the hospitals in these countries that can work with my case. I’ll need some time to think what option I will pick.”
“OK. Does he know about your detailed plan already?”
“Not yet. I’ll tell him when we’ll choose the final path with you. It will be hard for him to follow this through, but he promised me once, so… I hope he will endure. Keep this in secret as much as you can, please.”
“I always keep secrets of my clients. And my friends.”
“Thank you. You are one of the best friends of the family and I really value your help, especially now.”
“I’m honored to help you, of course.”
“Well, he returned from his morning exercise, so let’s wrap up the call. Have a nice day, Akira!”
...
“Have a nice day, Saki”, says Akira, but the only response was the beeps — she already hung up the phone.
She moves to the window and looks outside. The city is moving slowly with the rhythm of the day. She lights a cigarette — the bad habit that she picked in the university, unfortunately, never died, — and puts it in her mouth. Her hands are trembling slightly.
Guess, I found what is worse than waiting and chasing. The worst thing of all is to be responsible for someone else’s…
“Death.”
Thanks Sharp-O for proofreading (again)!
The music I’ve listened while writing the story is HIM’s live show “Digital Versatile Doom”.