Hiro Arikawa - The Travelling Cat Chronicles

‘Mum asked me to buy some blotting paper, but I’ve forgotten which brand she wanted.’

‘Aren’t they all the same?’

Satoru didn’t seem to know one way or the other, so Kosuke said, ‘Why don’t you buy her gift another time?’

‘Okay, I guess I’ll get something for Dad.’

‘Yeah, you should. I’ll get something for my dad, too.’

They wandered around a few shops, and Kosuke was the first to decide what to get. A good-luck maneki-neko cat keyring, the cat with a banner on its back that read ‘Success in Business’. Of course, there was an ulterior motive behind this choice: his father might begin to like cats.

‘Oh – that’s great!’ Satoru’s eyes sparkled at the comical expression on the maneki-neko cat’s face. ‘But we don’t have a family business, so that slogan wouldn’t work.’

‘There’re lots of others besides “Success in Business”.’

Satoru figured that the two slogans on banners that made most sense for his father were ‘Health Comes First’ and ‘Road Safety’. A third read ‘Harmony in the Home’, but he wasn’t exactly sure what that meant.

Satoru ended up picking the keyring with the ‘Road Safety’ banner, because he thought the maneki-neko cat resembled Hachi.

He hadn’t bought the blotting paper for his mother, but said he’d look for some the following day.

But after lunch the next day, Satoru was gone. When their class assembled, their teacher explained that ‘Miyawaki-kun had to return home before us.’

‘Ah – poor Satoru!’

His classmates all murmured to each other how sorry they were. They imagined themselves in Satoru’s place, having to go home early.

‘Sawada-kun, do you know why?’

Kosuke had heard nothing. Satoru had gone home without saying a thing even to his best friend, so something very serious must have happened.

And Satoru hadn’t even bought the blotting paper for his mother. She’ll be disappointed, Kosuke thought, when only his father gets a souvenir.

That’s it! Kosuke had a sudden flash of inspiration.

I’ll buy it for him, that whatchamacallit blotting paper. But how am I going to work out which brand she wants?

As he was puzzling over this, their school group went on a visit to Kinkakuji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. This glittery temple was unique, totally different from all the sober-looking ones they’d seen up till then. There were squeals of disbelief among the students when they saw it. ‘Man, that’s gaudy!’ was the consensus. If only Satoru could be here to see it, Kosuke thought, his heart aching.

During their free time, a couple of girls in his class were hanging out in a souvenir shop, and when he spied them, Kosuke was struck by another flash of inspiration.

The girls will know! Blotting paper is something girls use .

‘Hey!’ Kosuke called over to the girls, who were twittering away to each other like a pair of chirping birds.

‘Do you know a brand of blotting paper? It’s supposed to be kind of famous?’

They both shot back the same reply.

‘You mean Yojiya. Yojiya! They have it in that store over there.’

The girls were about to head over there themselves, so Kosuke went with them.

The cheapest blotting paper was over three hundred yen and, thinking how much spending money he had left, Kosuke hesitated.

But Kosuke felt sorry for Satoru, having to go home in the middle of the school trip. And he was Satoru’s best friend.

Satoru probably feels worse about not getting the gift for his mother than having to go home early, he thought. And Kosuke was the only one who understood that.

He had no clue what was so special about this blotting paper, but he went ahead and bought a pack, with its distinctive drawing of a kokeshi doll on the wrapping. The package was so thin and flimsy-looking he was doubtful that Satoru’s mother would really want it, but that’s what Satoru had decided on.

‘Sawada-kun, did your mother ask you to buy Yojiya paper?’

‘Nope. Satoru’s mother asked him, and he was searching for it in all the shops. But he went back without buying any…’

‘You are such a good guy, Sawada-kun!’ the girls gushed. It was not a bad feeling.

‘Miyawaki-kun’s mum will love it. It’s a famous brand.’

Is it really that famous? Kosuke was surprised, and at the same time relieved. He was convinced now that Satoru’s mother would appreciate the gift, no matter how flimsy it seemed.

I should have bought the same thing for my mother, he thought, but he’d already bought her a present the day before. Buying two presents for her would push him over budget, and he could picture his father’s face. He abandoned the idea.

They arrived home on the evening of the third day.

‘I’m back!’

Kosuke held out the presents he’d bought and was about to tell his parents all about the trip when his father poked him.

‘Stop messing around!’

But all he was doing was giving them their presents. The thought made him want to cry.

His mother had a serious look in her eyes. ‘Change your clothes, we’re going over to Satoru’s.’

‘Satoru had to leave early. Has something happened?’

His mother looked down, searching for how to put it, but his father didn’t mince his words.

‘Satoru’s parents passed away.’

Passed away. The words didn’t register, and Kosuke stood there blankly.

‘They died!’ his father grunted.

The moment Kosuke understood, the tears started to flow. It was as if a dam had broken.

‘Stop your blubbering,’ his father said, poking him again, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

Satoru – Satoru , Satoru … My god…

Kosuke had gone over to Satoru’s just the day before they had left for their school trip. He had been playing with Hachi and Satoru’s mother had said, ‘You have to get up early tomorrow for your school trip, so you’d better be getting home soon. You’re welcome to play with Hachi any time.’ Kosuke suddenly fell silent.

‘It was a car accident. They swerved to avoid a bicycle that came out of nowhere…’

They missed the bike, but the two of them didn’t make it.

‘Today’s the wake, so we should go.’

Kosuke changed into the clothes his mother had laid out for him and the three of them set off. Just as they reached the bottom of the slope leading to the housing complex, Kosuke realized he’d forgotten something.

‘You can get it later!’

He stood up to his father, telling them they could go on ahead, and finally managed to persuade him to give him the house key.

‘What an idiot!’ he heard his father mutter as he trotted on.

The wake was being held at the local community centre.

A couple of women dressed in black scurried around, and Satoru sat vacantly in front of the two coffins at the altar.

‘Satoru!’ Kosuke called out.

‘Um,’ Satoru said, nodding. It was as if his mind was elsewhere. Kosuke had no idea what to say.

‘Here you go.’

Kosuke pulled out a thin paper packet from his pocket. The present he’d run back to fetch when his father had called him an idiot.

‘The blotting paper your mother wanted. It’s Yojiya.’ Satoru burst into tears; he dropped his head while his small body shook with his sobbing. It was only later, when Kosuke had grown up, that he understood the full meaning of the word ‘lament’.

A young woman came over quickly and huddled over him. She spoke in Satoru’s ear, and from the way she was rubbing his back to comfort him, she seemed to know him well.

‘Are you a friend of Satoru’s?’ she asked.

‘Yes, I am,’ Kosuke replied, standing up straight.