Non fiction

A feeling of frustration

I was walking through the red gate surrounded by the trees of cherry blossom and my heart filled with high hopes. Now that was just a distant story. Only 4 months have passed though, it seems to have happened so long ago. When the cherry blossoms were fully coming out, I didn’t doubt that I would be a great person who contributes to Japan. Who expected this kind of life to happen to me?

All I do in my days is drinking and gambling now. I haven’t attended any classes for 3 months since I failed one of the law classes. At that moment, my motivation to studying and get a good job collapsed. Although you may not believe it, I really did hear the sound of my brain breaking down. It was the first time I was frustrated. Before that, I had always been at the top at schools, football clubs, anywhere. I passed the exam for the top university in all Japan. The only thing I hadn’t known before I stepped forward into the new world of ‘Tokyo University’ was that there were countless people who were cleverer, cooler and more brilliant than me in the world.

One special hot day in August, while choosing a cold drink in a convenience store as usual, I got a call on my mobile. It was from my mom.
“Hello? Mom? What’s up?” I answered lazily.
“Shota, listen to me calmly. Dad was hit by a car. The doctor said tonight will be critical for him.”

My mind went blank. I thought it was a bad joke. But mom was completely serious. I hastened on my way to the hospital, unable to think anything. I just prayed for dad’s safety. “Please wait, dad. Please don’t pass away. I haven’t repaid you. Please don’t…” I was almost crying in my bitter disappointment.

Suddenly I bumped into someone in front of the hospital. “So sorry!!” I looked up at him. He was the person who I knew very well.
“What are you doing, Shota?”
“Dad?! What about your condition?”
“My Condition? You’re overreacting! I just ran into a bicycle!”
“A bicycle? But mom said it was a car…!”
Mom turned up apologetically from behind dad’s back. She explained everything. She seemed to jump to the wrong conclusion. I felt half of anger and half of relief.

However, I came to know how happy I was and how selfish I was thanks to the importance of my family. I decided to try harder again even if it’s tough for me to face difficulties.

One month has passed from that day. It is the 15th of September today. I woke up early and I got ready to go to school. It is half pass eight. I’ve opened the door and taken the first step to restart my life from here.

Reflection

This is a story about a boy who has the first frustration in his life but gets over it thanks to one event related to a person of great importance to him.

The main character, Shota, is one of the first year students in Tokyo University, which is the top one in Japan. After starting his study, he knew there were a lot of brilliant students and he lost his confidence and chose delinquency.

However, he noticed he has precious family and he hasn’t shown his parents his gratitude yet. The moment he noticed it was during the loss of his father.

In the story, Shota was never told anything by his parents like “you should go to school” or “why don’t you study as hard as before?” In order to depict the characters of his parents, which is optimistic, I don’t include the exact scene where Shota noticed his wrong attitude and decided to start his life over.

There are chances for people to be spoiled and get over difficulties anywhere in our daily lives. And at the same time, they are usually slight things. I wanted to express this such kind of ‘awareness’ in my short story.

Chika Mukai