The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

Author:Hiro Arikawa [Arikawa, Hiro]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2023-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

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* * *

Immediately after we’d finished eating, we set out in search of cats.

“Maybe we should bring some food for them?” I said as we stepped out of the house, the thought just occurring to me.

“Great idea!” Dad said. I don’t think he was all that confident the cats would take to him.

Naturally there was no designated cat food in the house, so we rummaged around for something the cats would like.

We picked out some chikuwa fish cakes and processed cheese, which Haruko cut up into small pieces and placed in a plastic ziplock bag. We then set off on our rental bikes.

“The tires can get stuck in the sand, so be careful not to fall,” Dad instructed me, though with his camera bag slung over his shoulder and single-lens reflex camera hanging from his neck, he looked like the one who was about to topple over.

The sand along the alleyways lay quite thick, and we couldn’t glide down as on a paved road. On both sides, our tires would sink into the sand, making ruts and slowing us down. We were heading to a particular beach that was said to have a lot of cats. It was about five minutes by bike from our house. Once we’d got out of the village, we emerged onto a paved road that encircled the island. Over time this road, too, had begun to crack and weeds were shooting up.

We carried on pedaling, over a stretch of compacted sand. Just beyond, we caught sight of the sparkling blue water. We parked our bikes, close to the water’s edge, near a mini arbor. As we walked closer, we saw them. Over twenty, at least. Kittens and grown-up cats. Everywhere. As many as thirty of them.

“I see them, I see them!”

Dad rushed toward the arbor. The cats, cooling off in the shade, began to creep stealthily backward at the sight of this excited old guy intruding on their space.

“Damn, they don’t like me.”

Haruko and I walked tentatively toward them; the cats didn’t move a whisker.

A black-and-white tuxedo cat lay flat on a nearby bench, its paws folded under. Haruko stroked it lightly with her fingertips; the cat waved its tail once in response.

“Oh, that’s what I would like to do. Just casually pet them,” Dad said.

“Then just go ahead,” Haruko said, laughing.

Dad reached out, but the tuxedo cat furrowed its brow, turned its head away and leaped off the bench.

“See. I don’t know why, but they always do that to me.” It was hardly surprising—he was too forceful about trying to pet them. “Ah, but today I have a secret weapon.” Dad took out the plastic bag filled with food from his camera bag.

I was the one who’d suggested bringing food along, Haruko was the one who’d prepared the food, but Dad was the one who made use of it. He was quite shameless about taking a piece of the action. He wasn’t even aware of it. I guess that’s what you had to expect from a child.

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