Mark stepped out of the white cab and did a quick pat down, making sure he had everything he needed. After handing the driver some money, he walked into the clinic he’d been dropped in front of.
These past couple of days had been eye opening for him. Now that he felt no pain, he realized just how much he’d been enduring for the past few years.
It was as if he had grown 20 years younger, not only physiologically, but also in his mannerisms.
Creak~
The sound of the door creaking open alerted the woman behind the counter that someone had arrived. She raised her head from the computer screen and said a greeting.
“Good Afternoon, do you have an appointment sir?”
“Hi Fiona, I’m just here to see Frank again.” Mark replied. It was clear that he had been here many times by how he responded.
“Er, what was your name?” Fiona asked, feeling a little awkward.
Mark blinked a few times, as if he didn’t understand.
“Fiona, it’s me… Mark. Mark Williams.”
“Oh, Mark… EH!?”
Fiona almost fell out of her chair, feeling an immense shock wash over her.
“M-Mark? What happened to you?”
Mark suddenly remembered that he looked quite a bit different since the last time he visited this place. His face turned up into a grin, somewhat enjoying the shocked expression on the receptionist’s face.
“I’m not sure, that’s why I’m here” He replied playfully.
“A-Ah… I’ll go get Frank now.” She said absentmindedly.
Fiona quickly left the counter and headed out the back, leaving Mark on his own in the lobby.
To be honest, Mark was feeling quite nervous.
While all of these things that had happened to him seemed beneficial, there was a part of him that felt it was too good to be true. After all, who had heard of someone recovering seemingly overnight from Stage 4 cancer?
He didn’t want to get his hopes up in case his diagnosis had not changed. Only now that he saw some hope did his mindset begin to change.
If before he had already accepted his fate to die from this disease, now his will to live was stronger than ever.
A few minutes later, Frank peaked his head out the corner and almost fell back in fright.
“M-Mark!? My goodness, did you find the fountain of youth or something?”
Doctor Frank was an elderly gentleman, just a few years younger than Mark himself. He had thick hair despite his age and a long nose which suited his facial features quite well.
“Heh, are you jealous old man?” Mark replied with a chuckle.
Yet it was clear by Frank’s expression that he was more confused than jealous.
“Come with me.” The Doctor said, waving for Mark to follow.
“Thanks Fiona.” Mark said, tipping his hat.
Once the two arrived in his office, Frank closed the door and sat opposite his friend, his eyes burning with curiosity.
“Before you ask, I have no idea what happened to me.” Mark stated flatly, stopping Frank in his tracks.
“Ah.” Frank looked a little disappointed, but his expression changed a moment later.
“So I take it you’re here for a check up?”
Since Mark had stage 4 cancer, he had opted not to go through with chemotherapy. There was such a small chance of it working, not to mention he would spend what little time he had remaining being sick and frail from the radiation.
Therefore Frank was able to pinpoint his reason for coming.
Mark nodded. He wore a pensive expression, which wasn’t surprising considering the circumstances.
“Alright, let’s go get an x-ray of your lungs then.” Frank said, getting out of his chair slowly.
He watched on as Mark seemingly jumped to his feet, like a man in his 30’s.
“Damn fountain of youth.” Frank muttered under his breath.
The two went into the x-ray room where Mark replaced his shirt with a gown and stood inside of the machine with his arms up.
The process only lasted for a few minutes before the two walked back to Frank’s office.
“The photo will take a little while to print.” Frank said, “But in the meantime, I’ve got some old x-rays here.”
With that, the old man went through his filing cabinet and pulled out Mark’s file, fanning through the documents until he found what he was looking for.
Without a word, he moved over to the light pad and clipped the x-ray onto it.
Even if one knew nothing about x-ray’s, they could tell that there was something wrong in this one. There were tens of white spots of varying sizes spread throughout the lungs, lighting up the photo like a Christmas tree.
Mark began to feel his anxiety spike as he looked at the x-ray. It was this photo that had practically sentenced him to death just a mere 6 months ago.
Seeing that his friend was getting uncomfortable, Frank switched off the lights that illuminated the photo before going and taking a seat.
“How’s the U18 US team going?” Frank asked, trying to change the subject.
“Hmm? Yeah they’re good. We lost to Japan a few days ago, but we still qualified for the finals tomorrow.” He replied. Despite recounting the loss, he still wore a smile.
“Oh? Now that I think about it, wasn’t your late wife from Japan?”
“Yes she was…” Mark’s face dimmed a little, but he still kept his smile.
“Did I tell you that my Grandkids are actually playing for the U18 Japanese National Team?”
“What? Really?” Frank’s voice turned high pitch as he heard this.
He suddenly felt that his own Grandkids paled in comparison to Mark’s. While they were busy mooching off their parents, Mark’s were playing baseball in another country.
“Hehe, Ken’s all grown up now.” He added, his eyes losing focus for a moment as he reminisced of earlier days.
“My son is actually the Assistant Coach for Japan, alongside that old fart.” Mark added, his mood improving significantly.
I hope Grandpa is fully recovered…
Mass release: 9/30
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