Hidemi’s Rambling No.405

It’s April, and yet it has snowed hard here in the region where I live. The snow still lies about four feet. Under those conditions, though, I caught a pollen allergy out of the blue. I came home from shopping one evening and developed symptoms of a runny nose, sneezing and a thick head. At first, I thought I had caught a cold. As a person who fears pretty much everything, I always dread having a cold. I haven’t had it since 2005, by taking vitamin supplements daily, gurgling right after coming home and sleeping well. I couldn’t accept a cold despite those unremitting efforts. Besides, I didn’t have a fever or a sore throat. My partner told me those were typical symptoms of a pollen allergy, which he suffers every spring. That explained it, as I felt itchy in my eyes and Japanese cedars with reddish leaves have appeared out of the snow in places on the nearby mountains. I had never had a pollen allergy in my life. When I have it, it’s acute and so early. Even my partner hasn’t had it yet this year. Until I moved in here, I had had pleasant spring every year while my partner spent it miserably with sneezing and sniffling. Not to develop the allergy, I had used extra caution by wearing a medical mask outside even though I hadn’t had it yet. My long-term precautions didn’t pay off. Living in the mountains brought my efforts naught…