Page 16 of The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

As if on cue, a ball of fur landed on the table.

It was an elegant calico cat with an impressive coat and elegant demeanour.

Shingo watched the cat’s limbs move deftly across the table, effortlessly avoiding the coaster and napkin.

Once it had claimed a spot and settled down, it gave a slightly drawn-out meow.

‘We invited you to the shop today as we’d like you to confirm for yourself the words you’ve been searching for. You might feel a little bit dizzy, but there’s no need to worry.’

Shingo had barely finished hearing the girl’s words when he was thrown off balance, as though the world had suddenly turned upside down.

You said ‘a little bit’! he grumbled inside his head.

But the next moment, Shingo was gasping at the sight before him.

It was Yuriko. Moreover, she looked very young, around the same age as Mai.

The air was thick with cigarette smoke. On the wooden walls were Art Deco-style posters.

Next to him was a young man wearing a waistcoat and a bow tie.

He held a young woman in his arms, her ponytail swaying to the voice of Nat King Cole.

Shingo realised that, alongside other couples, he was also enjoying a dance with Yuriko.

Is this a dream? If so, how long have I been dreaming? Perhaps it began when I was pushed into a wheelchair and taken through the garden. Or could it be when those two women claimed that they were my daughter and granddaughter? Surely, it couldn’t have been before that.

Is it possible that I’m seeing a replay of my whole life? If this is the case, is something trying to tell me that this was the moment my life truly started?

For the first time in what felt like for ever, Shingo’s brain was spinning at full speed. In the meantime, the young Shingo holding Yuriko’s hand gazed into her eyes and spoke his words of proposal.

‘I want to marry you.’

Yuriko said okay, then pressed her face against his chest. Feeling the heat of her skin seep into him, Shingo found himself almost surrendering to the warmth that flooded his heart.

He didn’t know how long they’d been in each other’s arms. The song had changed, and the voice of Cole singing ‘Unforgettable’ echoed through the room.

Finally, his wife pulled away and looked up at him.

‘Promise me one thing.’

As soon as she said it, Yuriko’s face flushed crimson.

‘I’m embarrassed to say it. You won’t laugh, will you?’

‘You can tell me anything.’

It wasn’t clear to Shingo if his past self or his present self had made him say so. The truth was, he didn’t even know where he was. But everything – the weight of his wife’s body in his arms, the warmth of her cheek on his chest – felt too real for it to be a dream.

Yuriko’s voice continued.

‘You know that the kanji characters for my name are “one hundred” and “to come together”, right? I once read somewhere that this could have another meaning: that two people will still be able to meet, even after a hundred years.’

‘I see.’

‘You can’t count a hundred years on your own, of course.

But there are two of us. If we each count fifty years, then together, we can live alongside one another for a hundred years.

So please promise me that we’ll be together for the next one hundred years.

And that we’ll celebrate our golden anniversary by having a dance, just like we are right now. Can you promise me this?’

Right. This was what his wife had said. He’d sworn that he would never forget, yet he had let it slip away from his memory.

Struck by this realisation, he faltered under the gaze of his wife as she stared intently into his eyes.

In that instant, he was overcome by the same disorienting sensation as before.

In a blink, he had returned to the strange place that he assumed was a bookshop.

The girl in the burgundy pinafore dress tilted her head slightly, her hands clasped behind her back.

As though she had just pulled off a little mischief, a playful grin spread across her face.

‘But it takes at least two people to make a promise,’ the girl said, seemingly posing a question to Shingo.

He answered with a nod.

‘So my other guest has been waiting for quite a while. More specifically, since I read Ten Nights of Dreams aloud the other day. But to be honest, here, time is merely a concept. Although it has been a long time, it’s equally true that she only just arrived a moment ago.’

The girl put her left palm in front of her face.

‘We don’t usually do things this way, but I’ll let your wife take over from here.

Also, I’m afraid we won’t be able to play Nat King Cole, but I assure you it’s a fine song for dancing.

Please enjoy your dance with your wife for as long as you wish – well, a hundred years might be a bit much, but if it comes down to it, Kobako will figure something out.

So please, dance to your heart’s content. ’

While the girl continued to speak such nonsense, a figure stood up from one of the seats at the back of the shop and began walking towards Shingo.

As it drew closer to him, the contours of the figure became clearer and clearer until it finally transformed into his wife.

This time, it was the Yuriko he would have last seen five years ago.

Now an elderly woman with silver hair, she and Shingo made the perfect couple.

‘It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?’ she said.

‘Indeed. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’

His wife gave a small chuckle at his response. The way she laughed sounded just like their granddaughter Mai.

‘But I’ve been right beside you, watching all along. Not just you. I’ve been watching Sanae and Mai as well.’

She averted her eyes.

‘I was the one who ended up breaking our promise, wasn’t I? I was regretful about that – so regretful, I couldn’t bear it. Then, the next thing I knew, I’d been called to this place. I’ve been waiting for you here.’

It was then that Shingo remembered that their next anniversary would mark fifty years.

On that day in April, they’d officially become husband and wife.

Amidst the falling cherry blossom petals, they’d walked together to the municipal office and registered their marriage.

As their ceremony was still a little while away, they chose that day to be their anniversary.

Yuriko’s cheeks were tinged with a shy blush, the same pink as the cherry blossoms. He could now recall the colour vividly in his mind.

The dance music playing in the background was in three-four time.

Shingo took Yuriko’s hand into his right hand and brought his left hand to her hip. Slowly, they swayed to the music.

His dancing wasn’t as it had been in his youth, but that didn’t matter. His wife was there, holding his hand – and that was enough for him. And before they knew it, it was as though they had returned to the day they had their very first dance together, at least in each other’s eyes.

* * *

The girl was now seated at the table where Kobako sat. Her chin resting on her hands, she gently rocked her head to the beat of the music.

‘Looks like they don’t need us anymore.’

Letting out a single snort, Kobako closed her eyes.

‘Come to think of it, there aren’t any cats in Ten Nights of Dreams , are there? Just goldfish and pigs. Oh, and thecock crowing was in fact the doing of the evil Amanojaku , wasn’t it? You can’t complain though – Sōseki-sensei featured plenty of cats in his debut novel.’

As she said so, the girl turned her attention to one of the bookshelves, where a large-format edition of I Am a Cat was wedged in. Reaching out, she took hold of the spine and drew it towards her. Then, she returned her gaze to the couple dancing in the middle of the shop.

‘Watching them makes me envious.’

The girl exhaled through her nose. It was a deep and heavy sigh. Sensing this, the cat reluctantly opened one eye and rose to its feet, making a face like it had relented. Then, as though offering an invitation, it extended its right paw towards her.

‘Huh? You’re actually willing? That’s a first.’

Removing her left hand from her chin, the girl held up her index and middle fingers together and touched the cat’s paw pads.

It was the equivalent of a high five. Then, when the cat lifted its other front paw, the girl did the same with her right hand.

Right, left, right, left. As if they were playing a clapping game, they continued to slap their palms and paws with each other in time with the rhythm of Boléro .

‘Well done! Now this side. Here, one more time.’

Little by little, the girl raised her hands higher and higher, eventually making the cat stand on its two hind legs.

‘Amazing. You’ve some talent, Kobako.’

But just when the cat had fully stretched its hind limbs, it abruptly turned away, apparently having had enough.

‘Is that all? That’s a shame.’

The cat had already turned its focus to licking its front paws, completely absorbed in the task. Seemingly giving up, the girl once again turned her eyes to the middle of the shop where the couple was still dancing.

* * *

‘How long ago was it? You told me about the beautiful blossoms on the Yamazakura trees across the station in the mountains. We’d talked about going there some time, perhaps bringing along Sanae and Mai. But before we got round to it, the line closed. And then I fell ill.’

Had I said such a thing? Perhaps I did. But when?

Before he could fully form a reply in his head, the sensation of Yuriko in his arms began to fade. Perplexed, he watched her gradually dissolve into that same shadow-like figure. He tried to call out to her, but his voice was stuck in his throat.

The next thing he knew, Shingo was standing alone in the middle of the shop. Only the strains of music lingered, filling the room with its unwavering rhythm in three-four time. Its tempo had maintained perfect punctuality.

‘So… Did you manage to remember a few things?’