Clear blue skies weren’t exactly a thing in Niigata, and clouds dotted the otherwise sunny day. Even at 9:00 am in the morning, the temperature was beginning to soar, and the fiery sun quickly sapped the strength from Kai’s sleepless body.
After walking around aimlessly for a little while, Kai found himself at the train station. With no plans of taking a train anywhere, he bought a sports drink at the nearby convenience store and decided to set a destination for himself. Misako had told him to walk until his mind was empty, but at this rate he was prone to collapsing. His usual lack of fitness was multiplied by the all-nighter status condition, so Kai wanted to find a place to sit down and rest.
Ten more minutes of walking led him to a sizable park. It was apparently a community staple, as a children’s pool had been appended next door, and the largest library in the area was also nearby. The park served simultaneously as a relaxing spot for the denizens of the town and as a playground for the elementary schoolers on summer break, who were playing baseball with soft rubber balls and plastic bats. Kai caught them in the corner of his eye as he took a seat on a bench beneath the shade of a large tree. He was either more exhausted or out of shape than he had previously thought, because he felt his hips melt into the bench as he sat down.
“...Phew,” Kai unconsciously exhaled. The red hotness in his face had subsided, but now his entire body was overheating. He regretted not having bought ice cream at the store.
“Excuse me, young man.”
“Yes?” he turned toward the sudden voice to find an elderly woman with a hunched back pushing around a stroller.
“Have you seen a cat around here?”
“A cat?” he echoed.
“She’s a black cat with golden eyes. And her tail is like this,” she said while making a right angle with her hands. “It’s all bent up.”
“I haven’t seen her. Um, if you’d like...” Kai rose to offer her the bench.
“Oh, you’re too kind.” The old woman moved frame by frame in slow motion until she finally came into contact with the seat.
“Did she disappear?” he asked.
“We were out on a walk, you see.”
“A walk?” he asked. “With your cat?”
“We always come out to this park together. Both of us are reaching our final years... Before I knew it, the days would fly by with us cooped up inside. Miyo rides on this,” she said, eyeing the stroller, “and I push it to the park. When I take this collar off of her, Miyo’s free to walk around the park, and she comes back after a little while...”
“But she hasn’t returned yet?”
The gray woman slowly nodded. “Maybe she went on without me.”
“No, come on.” What is this lady saying? he wondered uneasily. But out loud, he said, “Um, if you come here often, then she’s probably still somewhere within the park. I’ll go look around for her.”
“...Mister,” she responded with a wrinkly smile, “You’re a good man. How would you like to marry my granddaughter?”
“U-Uh, that’s a bit...” Kai floundered. “Um, I’m gonna go look for her.”
“Ah, wait,” the old lady said. “Take this collar with you. If you put that on her, Miyo will know it’s time to go home.”
“Your cat must be very smart,” he commented.
“Ha, ha, ha,” she cackled. “I wonder if there’s any animal smarter than a cat out there. She’s got eyes like a full moon and fur like a beautiful night sky, so you can’t miss her.”
I see, Kai realized. The Japanese ‘Mi’ for beautiful and ‘Yo’ for night were probably the basis for her name.
“Sorry to ask this of you,” she said as he walked off.
Kai didn’t get any leads from the kids playing baseball, so it seemed unlikely that Miyo was sunbathing somewhere out in the open. He began to ignore the open areas to focus on the more hidden spaces, and began his search from the corner of the park.
“Miyo-chaaan,” he called, and stumbled upon her quicker than he had expected. Right after raising his voice, a meow came back in response. On the other side of a few small trees, he could see a black cat clearly meowing atop a fence in his general direction. She wasn’t that high off of the ground—she was perched a little above head-height for Kai—but according to the old woman, the cat was getting up there in age. The chances are that she had gotten stuck up there, he realized.
Kai pushed his way past the shrubbery, which caused Miyo to flinch back in surprise. Praying that she wouldn’t run away, he walked up with his arms outstretched, to which the cat responded by stepping into his embrace. He could feel her warmth on his stomach as he carried her like that all the way back to the woman.
“Excuse me, is this the one?” he asked.
“Ohh,” the old lady marveled, her mood visibly improved. “Miyo.” As soon as her name was called, Miyo hopped out of Kai’s arms and climbed onto the bench to lay down on her owner’s lap. The cat replied to her master’s summons with a comfortable purr and then balled herself up. The woman offered her gratitude by saying, “Thank you, young man.”
“No, I found her right away, anyway... I’m glad she’s back.”
“Miyo, say thank... oh, she’s tuckered out. Looks like it’s time to head home,” she said, while loading Miyo onto her carriage. “Alrighty, mister, thanks for everything.” The cat was still comfortably balled up in the stroller as the woman rose up from the bench and left.
...And left.
.........And left? The elderly woman had frozen up like a bugged out game character. Kai could have sworn that a minute or so had passed before she sat back down and laughed heartily.
“Ha, ha, ha,” she cackled again. “Looks like I’m all tuckered out from looking for Miyo, too.”