The Winners Take It All | Chishiya [English]

Short Story: A little miracle

The nausea came faster than I could count to three.

The trigger was my bento box that was lying in front of me in the break room. The strong smell of my lunch, which I had quickly thrown together this morning, made me gag.

Obiki, who was sitting across from me with his cell phone, frowned at me as I jumped up hastily, almost tripping over my chair as I aimed for the toilet.

Not a second too soon, the next moment my breakfast ended up in the toilet bowl. All that remained was the sour taste on my tongue, making me gag again.

It was strange: I had been feeling weird for the last few days.

Every time I got up, I had an unpleasant, sinking feeling in my stomach. I hadn't told Shu yet, but he asked me about it yesterday morning because I had been so pale.

I had shrugged and said that I had probably just caught some stupid virus.

But now I wasn't so sure anymore.

It wasn't a virus; I could feel that. I felt completely normal, except my stomach was going a little crazy. Maybe I should ask Shu to do an allergy test on me, after all he was finally a "real" doctor. Nine months ago, he received his approval and was now in further training.

"Ayu?", the door to the women's toilet opened and I knew that it was Hinata who had just entered the room. I quickly wiped my mouth and flushed down the half-digested bits of food.

It was better if she didn't find out - she had enough on her mind at the moment, so I didn't have to burden her with my own problems too.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" I asked her as I stepped out from behind the toilet door and made my way to the sinks. My friend looked at me as I washed my hands next to her, but of course I didn't miss her sharp gaze.

"Obiki said that you rushed to the bathroom head over heels," she bounced her left foot up and down, "What's wrong with you lately, Ayu? Are you okay?" I nodded at her, smiling.

"Yeah, don't worry," I replied before drying my hands and then holding the door open for her in a welcoming manner. She looked at me one more time before strolling ahead of me back into the break room. I followed her.

My bento was still where I left it. I immediately felt sick again when I saw the fried noodles.

Nope, I would probably have to skip lunch today. I quickly held my breath before locking the bento box again and carelessly throwing it back into my locker. Maybe Shu would still be hungry later, then I could give it to him...

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The realization hit me the next day, in the afternoon to be precise.

I was cleaning the bathroom in our apartment while Shu was somewhere in the kitchen poring over some patient files.

This sudden realization was triggered by my period products that I had in my hand while I was cleaning up. I must have sat on the cold floor for several minutes while I tried to go through my cycle.

When was the last time I actually had my period?

The question immediately popped into my head and my eyes widened briefly before I quickly reached for my phone and opened the calendar.

32...

33...

37...

I was almost eleven days overdue... That couldn't be right, I was taking the pill... I wasn't pregnant, was I...