Chapter 2 Kittens like steam clouds
The woman brought two glasses of tea and set them next to the plate of steaming crab and potatoes. Nozomi was looking off into the distance. The puffs of steam were white against the dark brown wooden walls of the old building and then dissipated into the sky.
“I saw Hello Kitty in the steam clouds, Daddy,” Nozomi said. I responded by purring contentedly.
“I didn’t notice,” Ojiji said as he drank his tea.
“No, you wouldn’t. Why are you always so grumpy these days, Dad?”
At this point, I should tell you that I knew Ojiji had good reason to be grumpy. He was trying to raise Nozomi by himself. Although I had never met her, sometimes he talks about Saki, his mate. He says sadly that they loved laughing and drinking sake at the beach. But Jiji wasn’t with Saki that day. And now sake isn’t strong enough.
It’s funny that Ojiji doesn’t see the limitations of their ocean-loving, party-spirit. He prays for her to visit, if only in their dreams, to heal their souls if even just a little. Sometimes at night, I visit the river, and I ask the river spirit to hear Ojiji’s prayer and bring Saki back to him and Nozomi. I am trying to be a good spirit-guide, but being a maneki-neko in the spirit world is rather new to me.
“I can’t keep my head in the clouds, Nozomi” the man said.
Nozomi looked at me in the pet carrier. “No, you are grumpy, Dad. Tama and I can both see Hello Kitty, so why can’t you?”
“Nozomi, I have something to tell you. Tama won’t be keeping any of her kittens,” said Jiji.
“What do you mean, Dad?”
The man motioned for the waitress. The woman came out from inside the restaurant. “Mugijyanakute, nikaidonegai shimasu.” Jiji was trying to change his order from tea to shochu. The waitress looked confused, and again looked to the girl.
“Kare wa, mugicha no kawari ni shouchu mizuwari onegaishimasu,” said Nozomi.
“Yes, please,” said Jiji.
“Daddy, it’s kind of early for shochu. That stuff tastes bad, and you should set a good example for me and Tama.”
“Well, Tama shouldn’t have been allowed to go outside overnight,” he said. “And now her condition has given me more than I can handle.”
“You can handle this, Dad. I am so excited to help. And after the ultrasound today, we will know how many kittens Tama is going to have!”
“Alright, that’s enough, Nozomi,” he said. “I’ve changed my mind. We aren’t going for an ultrasound.”
“What? What do you mean?” asked Nozomi.
“I mean that we are going to ask the doctor to end Tama’s pregnancy,” said Jiji.
Just then, I meowed annoyingly to give Jiji a piece of my mind. I wanted to raise my kittens. This situation was just so depressing.
“She understands, you know. She doesn’t like your idea either.” Nozomi’s heart sank. Her eyes diverted back to the clouds and welled up with tears. “Dad, I don’t want you to take Tama to the vet today,” she said. The girl continued to look across at the steam vents. “The steam looks lovely,” she said. “I didn’t really see Hello Kitty. I just saw the shape in the clouds against the building.”
[Continued in Chapter 3]
© 2023 Pachi Inkblots
Illustrations for this story were partly funded by JSPS Grant (20K13154)