Page 18 of The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

THE SECRET HELD IN A NAME

After seeing the former train driver off, the girl put Ten Nights of Dreams back to where it belonged, then picked up the copy of I Am a Cat , which was stored right next to it. As usual, she pretended to clear her throat before opening the book.

‘“I am a cat. My name is yet to exist?—”’

But just as she began to read, she abruptly pressed her lips together and turned back to the cat, uncharacteristically knitting her eyebrows. It was as though she’d suddenly remembered something important.

‘Hey, Kobako. You want to hear a really embarrassing story about me?’ she said. ‘You do, don’t you? I know you do.’

Although the cat held her usual loaf pose, she opened one eye. Not all the way, but just enough to betray a flicker of curiosity. Her whiskers gave a single twitch.

‘After I heard this opening line, for some time, I was convinced that the cat’s name was “Yet-to”.’

Seemingly disappointed by the story, the cat replied with a soft yawn.

‘I suppose I first learned the line through my ears. I’m almost sure that it was my dad who read it to me. His intonation was probably a little off.’

The girl puffed out her cheeks.

‘Had I been reading the text with my eyes, I don’t think I would’ve made such a silly mistake.

Also, I was far too young. I hadn’t even started elementary school.

You see, Dad wasn’t the type of person who thought about these things.

Perhaps there’s no such thing as being too young to read Sōseki, but Botchan would have been more suitable for a pre-schooler. Don’t you agree?’

The cat didn’t utter a sound. The girl put I Am a Cat back on the shelf, then, clasping her hands behind her back, she began to roam around the shop.

‘And since I’m already on the subject, I’ll just go ahead and say it. When I first met you, the name that immediately came to mind was “Yet-to”.’

At this, the cat sprang to its feet, pulling a face like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over its head. The hair along the cat’s spine had bristled.

‘What do you think? Do you kind of wish that your name had been “Yet-to”?’

By the time the girl finished speaking, the cat was lashing its puffed-up tail back and forth, thumping it against the surface of the table. Clearly in a foul mood, the cat looked moments away from launching an attack.

‘Oh, sorry. Are you … upset? Is it really that bad?’

The girl didn’t seem to be particularly bothered. Instead, she approached another bookshelf, and holding her finger in front of the spines, she began moving it across. It was time to pick a new book.

‘Do you remember the day we met? You were sitting in your loaf pose, but as soon as I said hello, you did what you’re doing now. One brave kitty you were! You weren’t shy about trying to intimidate me, even though you were only this big.’

Now facing the cat, the girl stretched her index finger and thumb as far apart as possible.

At most, it was about ten centimetres. The cat gave a short growl as if in protest. There’s absolutely no chance I was that small!

Then, apparently feeling calmer, the cat suddenly tucked its front and back paws under its body one by one, returning to its signature loaf pose.

‘From the grey steel of the mental image,

The chocolate vines entangle in the clouds.’

Before long, a stream of words began to flow from the girl. Perhaps she was speaking to herself, but as if lost in a trance, she appeared to be unaware of her own voice.

‘Thickets of wild roses and wetlands rich in humus.

Patterns of distortion all around.’

The cherry blossoms in the shop had begun their quiet swaying. But then, the cat gave another brief meow when the girl’s fingertip passed above a particular book.

‘I guess this one is next?’

Kobako meowed again, this time for a little longer. It sounded like she was pleading for something.

‘This is a pretty lengthy book, though. Which bit do you want me to read? The part where the children take off into the sky? Perhaps the Mermaids’ Lagoon?’

The girl crouched down toward the cat as she spoke. The cat widened its eyes, directly meeting the girl’s gaze. Then came a series of hmm sounds like nods of agreement, not from the calico cat but from the girl herself.

‘I see. We’re having two guests, then. And they’re coming together? That’s unusual, isn’t it? Not quite the same as the husband-and-wife pair who were here earlier. Hmm, hmm. All right, then.’

With that, the girl pushed herself up, and, holding out the book reverently, she turned the cover. Letting out her signature ahem , she lowered the tone of her voice a notch and began reading out loud.

‘“The rock was very small now; soon it would be submerged.”’

The rhythmic beat of Boléro resonated alongside the girl’s voice, steady as the ticking of a clock.