“—–I…. It’s like I can no longer…. Identify the faces of people… other than Nee-sama and Hime-sama.”
The shocking words had come from my lovely Koma who I love.
Coupled with the fact that she collapsed, naturally I immediately reported the incident to the Koma’s and my homeroom teacher, and asked the teachers for us to leave early today, even though I had just arrived at school. After getting a taxi, I took Koma to the university hospital where Koma had been admitted for a full examination.
“—-Mako, I’m sorry, Shuu… No, I got my editor to drive me there, but I think we’re going to be quite late.”
“Aah, Aunty…”
I contacted Aunty Meiko while Koma was undergoing a full examination at the hospital. Half an hour later, Aunty arrives with a grim look on her face, escorted by Editor-san.
“It’s fine. You’re not late at all. I’m sorry to call you out of the blue at work, Aunty. Even though you’re supposed to be quite busy at the moment…”
“Whaat, don’t mind that at all. If I had to choose between my job and Koma, isn’t it obvious that I’d choose my cute niece. Actually, I’m glad. Because I can legally play hooky ‘Hou…?’”
“…N. Thank you. And then… I’m also sorry to Editor-san. You were in the middle of an important meeting with Aunty. And thank you so much for driving Aunty here.”
“What are you saying, Mako-san. Please raise your head. This much is no problem at all. We don’t have time for meetings on such a big occasion. Then I’ll make up for today’s delay by having Meiko-sensei giving up on her next ‘Eh ……!’ so there’s nothing to worry about. Right now, the only thing Mako-san has to be worrying about… Koma’s situation. Is that fine?”
“Yes!”
“No, wait a minute, Editor. I almost let it slide, but I heard you saying giving up my holiday, ‘there’s nothing to worry about’, nothing to worry…!?”
The adults who smile at me and implicitly tell me ‘don’t worry about us’… I’m really thankful to you. The appearance of these dependable adults made me feel a little less nervous.
“Leaving that aside. So? I can’t really understand the situation over the phone… What the hell happened to Koma, Mako?”
“… That’s, right… To tell you the truth, I heard about it from a friend of mine, so to be honest, I’d like to know what happened to Koma, but…”
~Mako explaining~
“— That is what happened. The current Koma, apparently could only recognize my and then one of my friends faces…”
“I see… So she can identify only some people. That seems more serious than I thought.”
I answered as much as I could in a few words to Aunty, who immediately asked for an explanation.
“… Mako-nee-sama. Also… Aunt Meiko-sama and Editor-sama…”
“Ko, Koma!”
Just as I finished explaining, my beloved Koma appeared with the doctor from the examination room. I rush to Koma and hug her as much as I can.
“Koma… Koma! Was everything okay!? What were the test results? Are you okay!? Does it hurt anywhere!?”
“Wa, wa, wa… Please calm down, Mako-nee-sama. Because I’m fine… For most.”
“For most!? No, for most what!? For most is not good enough, Koma! Doctooooooor! Explain! I request an explanation! My cute, lovely, angel Koma! Will she be fine!?”
“Aah, yes. Eetoo… That’s right. In the meantime, let’s not talk while standing here. I’d like to give you and your family a full explanation, so let’s head to the examination room first…”
I’m hugging Koma while demanding an explanation from the doctor with flaring force. In response to my request, the doctor tells me this (with a slightly taken aback expression) and leads me and Aunty into the examination room.
“Eeh, let me start by explaining the results of Koma Tachibana’s full examination. She said she collapsed at school, so I immediately carried out an MRI scan and other tests, but there were no abnormalities anywhere.”
After leading me and Aunty into the examination room (Editor-san, by the way, read the mood and dismissed it, saying, ‘It’s not something I, as an outsider, am allowed to hear.’) the doctor says that first to break the ice as if to warn me.
“Blood tests and vital signs were also carried out as a precaution, but those too were fine. It’s not likely to be life-threatening for Koma right now. You can rest assured about that.”
“I see…!”
Most worrying thing at the moment—- The safety of Koma’s life is assured, and I am deeply relieved. I’m glad… I’m really glad…!
“I would now like to move on to an explanation of what is happening to Koma… Before that, Koma-san”
“Y, Yes…”
“’Unable to recognise the faces and facial expressions of others’—- I heard that from your Onee-san. I know it’s not something you want to talk about too much… How is Koma-san seeing with her eyes now, and conversely, what is Koma-san not seeing—- Could you please explain that part in more detail?”
“……Yes”
Koma seemed a little hesitant to answer the doctor’s question, but. She began speaking quietly.
“Eyes, nose, mouth and ears… I’m seeing the facial parts normally. However… But when I try to see the whole face… Immediately, the face of the person in front of me becomes blurred… as if there is noise in my vision. No matter what I did, it became blurred… and what the person looks like… I couldn’t make anything out of it at all…”
“You don’t understand who’s who… is it?”
“Yes, that’s correct… At least when I was at school, I couldn’t identify anyone in school except for Mako-nee-sama and Hime-sama… classmates, homeroom teachers and nurse… I don’t see them even though I meet with them regularly…”
“… I understand. By the way, are you able to recognise me and the nurse here at the moment?”
“…. I’m really sorry. I can’t, it seems…”
Me and Aunty are looking at each other after hearing Koma’s explanation of the situation. Hearing it from her again… It’s chilling. Suddenly not recognising familiar classmates or teachers. And she doesn’t recognise the face of the doctor who is talking to her just now, or the nurse next to her.
… I think it’s great that Koma is listening to the doctor so calmly now. Let’s imagine it. How would I react if I was in her situation? Would I be as calm as Koma is? … Impossible. I’m sure I’d go blank and get distressed…
“I’m sorry for making you tell us this distressing story. Thank you very much, Koma-san.”
“Doctor… Did you understand something? Koma… Koma’s body… what happened to her…? Is it a disease of some kind? Or maybe…”
I ask the doctor a question, who was listening sincerely to Koma’s story, while I cling to and being more distraught than Koma herself. The doctor, for some reason, gives me a difficult look, but tells me the rest of the story.
“I think… From what she has told us about her symptoms, this is considered to be typical prosopagnosia.”
“Soubou… shitsunin…?”
She says unfamiliar and unheard words. I mutter them like a parrot instinctively.
“Are you unfamiliar with the term? This is a form of apraxia, also known as face blindness. You may have heard it called like this.”
“Aah, yeah, yeah. I see, face blindness. I can understand that too.”
Aunty, who was standing behind me and Koma, mutters approvingly. I don’t even know it when it’s called that… Is it maybe a well-known disease…?
“Prosopagnosia— Face blindness appears itself just like Koma-san herself describes it. Face blindness is a condition in which the individual parts of the face, such as the shape, eyes and nose, are recognisable, but the face as a collection of parts is no longer recognisable.”
“No longer recognizing…”
“Because they cannot recognise faces, it can be difficult to read the facial expressions of those standing in front of them, and it can also be difficult to distinguish between men and women.”
“Facial expressions, too…!?”
… No, wait a minute. Isn’t that really burdensome? In today’s communication-driven society, it is dangerous to be unable to read the faces and expressions of others. Just the taste disorder she’s still suffering from at the moment is hard enough, but this is not even a joke…
“Uhm, Ms. Doctor? May I ask you one question?”
“Ah, please do so. Ask me anything, Koma-san.”
“Thank you very much. I’ll make it short. As you said earlier, I’m lucky. Nee-sama and Aunt-sama. Then there’s the fact that I can recognise the face of Editor-sama and one of my friends without any problems. For my part, I am happy, but this difference between visible and not… What makes it so…?”
Koma asks that question suddenly. Now that she mentions it, it is strange… I’m happy for that too, but I wonder why Koma can recognise my face and Aunty’s face but not other people’s faces?
“Aah, I see. That’s a fitting question. Eeh, face blindness, you see. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, you may only recognize very close people to you. For example, family members, lovers, friends, people you respect and care for—- There are reported cases of patients with face blindness who can identify such people”
“… I get it now. Is that so… I can recognize people close to me…”
…Hohou. Basically, by that logic… For Koma, I count as someone who’s dear to her. I know it’s inappropriate, but Onee-chan is a bit happy.
“Then, doctor? Can that propa-whatchamacallit be cured? Is there a cure? And, how long will it take to heal? It’s going to be a problem in her life and as for me, I want my little sister to get better as soon as possible. “
I ask the doctor this while slapping my smirking cheeks and scolding myself.
Well, there’s an official name for the disease, and it’s so well-known that Aunty knows the alias as well. So it’s not like a disease that can’t be cured. That’s what I thought, and why I asked so casually…
“…..”
“? Uhm, doctor? What’s wrong?”
For some reason, contrary to my expectations, the doctor looks awkward and at a loss for words… Eh? What’s with that reaction?
“Ah, ahaha. Doctor? Why do you look so serious? It’s not like it’s a disease that can’t be cured, right? Please don’t stay quiet and tell us the method to cure Koma!”
“…. ABout that. It’ll be very distressing to hear it, but…”
“Huh?”
I’m having a faintly unpleasant feeling of foreboding. The Doctor, opened her mouth gravely, and continued
“In cases of face blindness, there are two types: congenital and acquired. In Koma’s case, she was able to recognise other people’s faces until yesterday, so there is no doubt that she has acquired face blindness.”
“Y, yeah. That seems to be the case.”
“So, back to that for a moment. I said it earlier, I’m sure. ‘We were told that she collapsed at school, so we immediately carried out an MRI scan and other tests, but there was nothing wrong with her.’”
“… What’s the problem there?”
If you don’t see any abnormalities, then shouldn’t you be pleased? Then why does the doctor look so grave…?
Please stop it… If you make a face like that, I’ll get worried too…
“Exactly. In this case, if it is acquired face blindness, it is a little more problematic than ‘no abnormality is seen’”
“Wh, What do you mean by that!?”
“Most cases of acquired face blindness are caused by some kind of damage or disorder to the brain, head or blood vessels. Therefore, once such damage or disorder has been corrected, face blindness would be healed… However. Koma-san had been examined… I saw no such anomalies anywhere. Do you get what this means?”
“Eh, eh?”
Means…? Etto… Etto… I tried to wrap my head around the doctor’s riddle, but it didn’t work… I don’t get it. What does it mean? What are you trying to say, doctor?
“Fumu. In other words… You’re saying that you don’t know the cause of Koma’s face blindness?”
“I see. And because the cause is unknown, does that mean we can’t treat my face blindness?”
“… Yes. That’s how it is. Unfortunately, we can’t treat… Koma’s face blindness at this moment.”
“……Eh?”
Despite my confusion, Auntie, Koma and the doctor continue to talk matter-of-factly… Hah? Right now?
There’s no treatment? The doctor said that? …. Hah? Hah?
“Why did she suddenly get face blindness? We have no idea why or what caused it. This makes treatment impossible. If there is anything I can do for Koma-san now… It would be to write a letter of referral to a psychosomatic clinic and to conduct a full examination of Koma-san again at a later date to see if there is anything wrong with her… I’m really sorry that I’m not able to do anything.”
The doctor bows her head, saying this with regret. In my head, I look at such a scene as if it were some other person’s problem. As I gazed at such a scene as if it were somebody else’s issue… the doctor’s line, ‘I can’t treat her’, kept echoing in my head.
Author’s notes: Digression Mako is worried deathly serious, but as far Koma is concerned, her response is now quite relaxed: ‘As long as I can recognise Nee-sama, there’s nothing wrong with that’.
If this makes Mako’s face unrecognizable… Koma will be in all sorts of trouble.
Tintan 