It was only to fix my teeth filling, which has come off, that I first decided to go to the dentist, but since the condition of my teeth was much more serious than I have expected, I ended up coming back to see the doctor several more times. It was on the day of my first treatment, because I did not have enough baht, Thai money, with me to cover the expense, I was going to pay with the U.S dollars. But a female accountant informed me "The exchange rate of the dollar is 35 to the baht" apologetically in a small voice. It is considerably a bad rate as I would be able to have 41 baht at a bank. While I was thinking "Let's seeÉ Maybe I should ask her to let me pay the next time. Or I guess I don't really have to bother about the rate as it is only for a small amount," she told me "If you can wait for a while, a driver of the hospital can go to a bank and get your money exchanged." I replied "Well, that would be great," and waited at the lobby, which was actually as gorgeous as that of a hotel, for nearly 20 minutes. Then, she handed some baht money to me saying "I am sorry to have kept you waiting. We really should be able to take care of it at the same rate with a bank." I was completely impressed by such a fantastic service.

Here is what happened when I went there for the second time. I was told to go and have an X-ray taken while seeing the doctor, and I moved to an X-ray room. At that time, I had my bag left at the treatment room. Because I had an envelope with about 50,000-yen worth of baht in the bag, I felt slightly uneasy for a moment. But, with the fact that it is a big hospital, I was quite confident that it would be safe. When I returned home, I counted the money and found that it was about 10,000 yen short. My husband has counted the money before he handed it to me, and I also recounted it to make sure myself before I left home. So I am positive about the amount of money I had. I know the exact amount I paid at the hospital and for shopping as well, and it is hardly possible that I took a wrong piece of money out of the envelope by mistake. It is just short for some unknown reason. I always kept the bag securely with me except for the moment when I left it at the treatment room. I am almost certain what happened in where, though I hate to accept it as a fact. Because it was my fault for being careless, I have no intention of blaming anybody else. Yet, I certainly have been feeling unbearably sad about the incident.

Translated by Maiko Noda