in light of recent knowledge, i did a little research on the internet. mumps ain’t so old; in fact there are existing, albeit rarer, cases every year. there wasn’t a vaccine until 1967, and up until then there were 200,000 new occurences every year.

i wake up this morning to a beautiful, fall-like day. the sun’s shining bright and clear with a tiny nip in the air. the morning news states the high will be around 31°C, about 88°F, still hot for this area. it’s one of those mornings where you wake up feeling like the day has promise. the sun in conjunction with the nippy, fall feeling gives me a vague memory of old days gone by when there wasn’t a worry in the world. when i was oblivious and happy. well, i’m happy now, but it’s a different kind of happiness – could it be childhood happiness i’m reminded of? one of those ideal days you read about. by 7:45, i’m sitting on the outside stairs of my apartment, waiting yet again for the school nurse to come round to pick me up. i can tell the day is going to be hot because it’s already starting to broil. good thing i’m not doing my normal bike, train, and walk a kilometer 30 minute trip to school; i’d be sticky sweaty by the time i shuffle into the teacher’s room. i don’t want the students to see me like this anyway – with a growth and all. the school nurse, here on out referred to as kasahara, pulls up in the sparkling brilliance of the day. she and i chat about how my swelling hasn’t gone down, do i have a temperature, could i eat breakfast, did i sleep and so on. we chat about inconsequential things such as our families, the weather, and a fall related word in japanese requiring a long explanation because it was nonexistent in the dictionary – kouyou. it’s the process of the leaves changing from green to red, orange, and yellow in the fall. by the way, according to kasahara, it’s happening soon here in joetsu city, and watch out because it’s pretty.

after a brief pitstop at our school, the workplace, we head to the hospital and are there by 9:00. i inwardly sigh with relief as we sign in, we’re here early before the major crowds; it’s going to be a short doctor’s trip!! i can be back at my apartment with some good medicine, having an easy living breezy monday. oh no. oh no no no. by noon, i’ve been through endless pronunciation practice with kasahara of english medical jargon, i’ve started my first reread of the harry potter book one, i’ve stared off into space, letting thoughts drift in and out of my head, i’ve watched the various annoying, screaming kids abuse the tired-looking, washed out moms, i’ve looked up countless words in the dictionary and taken notes for future study sessions, and i ‘ve seen what it seems like a ton of people come and go, disappearing in the doctor’s office and reappear almost just as quickly. maybe they have an appointment, i think to myself, trying to quell any annoyances. finally, after hours of waiting and some blood work, i’m pulled into the straight-backed, uncomfortable patient’s chair to hear the results. with the doctor a foot away, 2 nurses hovering around, and kasahara there as my savoir, he tells me my condition. first he shows me my blood work test results and explains how most things are ok; my white blood cells could be a little higher. what i gather is after my sickness, they should rise on their own. getting a little nervous, my heart beat quickens a tad. my expression morphs to one of alarm. pretty soon, he gets to the jackpot. he starts to write on my test results – m-u-m-p-s v-i-v-u-s, ‘vivus’ meaning virus. i have the mumps. the damn mumps. i thought that disease was extinct!

and here are the doctor’s orders: i must stay enclosed in my apartment until the swelling has gone down; he projected anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. i’m contagious, enough so to keep me cramped up in my hot, little apartment for a miserable week or two. hello movies. hello internet. goodbye fun. goodbye freedom . . .