Chapter 1 At the crossroads
Story by Pachi Inkblots
Art by Anya Kumarawati
& Nguyen Duc Manh
People in the story
Tama – the narrator of the story, a Siamese Flame Point cat
Nozomi – a girl about 10 years old
Ojiji or Jiji – Nozomi’s father.
Setting of the story
This story is set in old Kannawa, an onsen district of Beppu, Japan. This area is known for its many hot spring resorts. The stone-paved alleyways of this district are filled with steam that is streaming from vents under the ground. The Jigoku Mushi Kobou is a geothermal steam-cooking workshop, where local foods are cooked with steam. This area is also known for its many friendly, local cats.
This is the story of my previous life. Before becoming Kinako, I was called Tama—a pretty typical name for a Japanese cat-—and my last day as Tama started with a struggle as bloody Jiji pounced on me and put me in my bamboo pet carrier. It was always Jiji who put me in there, and when he did, it meant I was going to the animal hospital. The first time he took me to the animal doctor, the lady stabbed me with sharp needles! We didn’t go to the animal hospital, though. Jiji and his daughter, my sweet Nozomi, took me to lunch with them at the old Kannawa Jigoku Mushi Koubou.
The mushi koubou was at the heart of old Kannawa’s charming stone streets and was an old steam vent cooking workshop. The front entrance was near the crossroads of the Kannawa Bus Station. It was an unseasonably sunny day in May and was just warm enough to sit outside. Ojiji and Nozomi sat at the table outside the building, eating steamed crab, sweet-potatoes, and lotus roots.
Ojiji was planning to take us on a bus ride after lunch. The bus would be arriving in 40 minutes and would make a brief stop before leaving for Beppu Station. I listened to their conversation as if I were a fly on the wall. In reality, I was just a cat in a cage.
“What should we drink?” Nozomi asked. She had taken off her knitted cap and stuffed it in her pocket.
“It’s pretty warm,” said Ojiji.
“Let’s have wheat tea, Daddy!” said Nozomi.
At first, the waitress looked at the British man, but then shifted to Nozomi, who spoke Japanese. “Mugicha, futatsu, kudasai” she said.
“Would you like small or large?” the server asked in Japanese.
“One large and one small, please,” Nozomi clarified.
[Continued in Chapter 2]
© 2023 Pachi Inkblots
Illustrations for this story were partly funded by JSPS Grant (20K13154)