A Stray Day: One Cat's Record - 迷い猫、一日の記録

Koenji before dawn was still quiet. Only the glow of streetlights fell on the alleyways, and no one was on the apartment stairwell. In the door on the third floor, there was a small gap.

Through that gap, a single tabby cat slipped out. It placed its front paws on the concrete landing and stopped there for a while. It stayed still, moving its nose, as if checking the morning air.

The cat slowly descended the stairs and came out onto the alleyway. For a Koenji morning, it was unusually still, with no wind and not even a fallen leaf stirring. The cat began walking along a wall and slipped into the garden of the neighboring house.

The garden had flowerpots lined up, and the cat walked carefully between them. No matter how small a sound, the cat's ears reacted immediately. When the laundry pole swayed slightly despite there being no wind, the cat froze right where it stood.

After a while, the cat started walking again. Passing through several alleyways, it came out into the covered shopping arcade of Koenji. Amid the rows of shuttered shops, the cat walked slowly down the middle of the arcade.

Beyond the far end of the arcade, there was a small shrine. The cat climbed the stone steps one by one and entered the grounds. There were several pigeons in the grounds, but upon seeing the cat they immediately flew away. The cat sat beside the pedestal of a stone guardian dog and looked around for a while.

During the morning, the cat's owner noticed the gap in the door. Upon realizing the cat was not in the room, she immediately went outside and began walking through the neighborhood, calling its name. No matter how much she called, there was no response.

When afternoon came, the sky suddenly darkened. The rain started as a light drizzle but quickly grew stronger. The cat ran under the shrine eave and sheltered there from the rain. The space under the eave was narrow, but the rain did not reach it.

While the rain continued to fall, the cat tried to return to the arcade. However, at the arcade exit there was a stray dog. It was large-bodied, and having noticed the cat, it was turned toward it. The cat could not move.

The cat turned back and went around to the rear of the shrine. From there, unfamiliar alleyways continued. Even if the rain were to grow stronger, the cat had no choice but to keep moving forward. It turned down a narrow alley, then turned again, and gradually came further and further away.

The owner searched for the cat in the shopping district as well. When she called out to a man who had worked for many years as a shopkeeper in the arcade, the reply was, 'I haven't seen any cat.' Even in the shopping arcade, which was fairly large, the cat's figure was nowhere to be found.

Even as evening approached, the rain did not stop. After a long detour, the cat came back again to the shrine grounds. When it entered under the eave, there was still a place there to shelter from the rain. The cat curled its body and settled down there.

The owner headed to the shrine one last time. Telling herself that no matter how tired she was, giving up the search was not necessarily the right thing to do, she climbed the stone steps. When she entered the grounds, she could see a small shadow under the eave.

'There you are.' The owner said so in a quiet voice. The cat was staying perfectly still under the eave. The owner approached quietly and slowly reached out her hand. The cat did not run. The owner picked up the cat and wrapped it in the jacket she was wearing.

The owner, still holding the cat, retraced the way she had come. Streetlights were beginning to come on in the alleyways of Koenji. The rain was still continuing, but the cat inside the jacket was staying dry. When they arrived in front of the apartment, the owner climbed the stairs.

Upon returning to the room, the owner immediately locked the door and also attached a new latch. As a cat, freely roaming outside is no longer something this cat can easily do. However, whether the cat understands that is not necessarily certain.

The cat sat by the window, gazing outside. In the town of Koenji, streetlights were coming on one by one. Raindrops ran down the window glass, and beyond them, lights blurred softly. The cat continued to sit there, slowly moving its tail.