Page 13 of We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat

“Ouch, ouch, ouch!”

This is the second time.

Tatsuya sprang up from his futon, clutching his left toe with both hands.

“Another cramp! Ouch!”

First, it had been the right foot; now, it was the left. Waking up to the sudden charley horses was panic inducing. He clenched his teeth and rubbed his calf. He was certain it was holding that cat for so long at that clinic that was to blame. Now, here he was at night, his muscles howling with agony from his bad circulation.

The pain began to subside, but there was still a fuzzy sensation in his leg.

“This is not good.”

Tatsuya changed into some clothes lying nearby and left his darkened room. He was worried that if he didn’t move around, both his legs might cramp next. Light and the sound of the television leaked from the living room. It was only nine o’clock, but still, a bit late for an old man to go on a walk. Not wanting to worry his son and his daughter-in-law unnecessarily, he slipped quietly out of the house.

The sky was pitch-black; a few streetlamps illuminated the street.

It was a residential neighborhood, so there were no stoplights, and even during the day, there was little traffic. When Meiko had been around, they had taken walks arm in arm in the early evening, and he seemed to recall that once the sun started to set, it became hard to see in the fading light. Surprisingly, once the sky became completely dark, it was almost brighter out, and there was no need to strain one’s eyes to see.

How many years had it been since he’d walked around at night? He was familiar with all the streets in the neighborhood, so he wasn’t worried. Sooner or later, his legs should loosen up. Instead of going to some weird clinic, a nighttime walk like this was just what he needed. It was a suitable amount of exercise and a nice change of scenery.

Tatsuya stopped walking. He had wandered toward one of the wider streets in the neighborhood. An empty road stretched out before him.

Oh, that’s right.

This was the street he and Meiko used to amble down together. They didn’t really talk about anything in particular on these walks or even enjoy the scenery. It was just part of their daily routine to stay healthy.

Still, it was the same scenery they’d seen every day. He didn’t like recognizing that his wife was no longer in it. He also didn’t want people looking at him pityingly when they saw that the two-person walk had become a solo one.

It was really beginning to sink in. His wife was gone.

He hovered in the same spot for a while. When he finally decided to head back, he noticed a bulletin board. It was the kind of public board set up in every neighborhood by the local government, and it was plastered with a variety of notices and public service announcements. It was under a streetlamp, so he could read the contents clearly, even in the dim light. One particular notice caught his eye.

“Grandpa?”

someone suddenly called out.

To Tatsuya’s surprise, it was his grandson, Hayato, on his bike.

“What are you doing, Grandpa?”

Hayato hopped off his bike and sauntered over. He had earbuds in, a phone in one hand, and a large backpack slung over his shoulder. It looked like he was getting back from somewhere.

“What about you? What are you up to?”

“Just getting back from school. Isn’t it unsafe for you to be wandering around at this late hour?”

said Hayato with a curious look, his tone somewhat childlike. Though they saw each other every day, it had been a while since they’d had a proper conversation.

“School? You go to school?”

“Yeah, I do. At night, though.”

“Since when?”

“For a while now.”

Hayato looked bemused. He turned his gaze to the notice board.

“What’s this? What were you looking at?”

“This? It’s a bulletin board. Do you know when this flyer went up?”

“No idea. I didn’t even know there was a bulletin board here.”

Hayato leaned in closer to the board.

“Oh, it’s about a cat. What about it?”

“Yeah.”

Tatsuya stood at Hayato’s shoulder and gazed at the board.

It was a flyer about a missing cat. It had handwritten details with a picture of a cat stuck on with glue, and even in Tatsuya’s opinion, it was crudely made. It included the owners’ names and phone number.

“Do you know the people looking for the cat, Grandpa?”

“I recognize their names and faces. They’re the Watanabe couple from the next neighborhood over. They might be a bit younger than me.”

“I see. If they’re trying to find their cat, it’s better if they post this on social media. Maybe they don’t know how. No one’s going to look at this flyer on this bulletin board.”

“But we looked at it.”

“Huh?”

“I know this cat.”

There was no doubt it was the gigantic cat from Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul in the picture. The grumpy expression. The long white coat with black patches. She was sitting on her belly on a tatami mat with her hind legs splayed out. On the flyer, it read Name: Ms. Michiko and also that she had been wearing a pink collar when she disappeared.

“It says ‘Ms. Michiko,’ but do you think they wrote ‘Ms.’ on purpose? Do you think they actually call her that?”

“Of course.”

“How classy. That’s pretty cool, actually. So where did you see this cat, Grandpa?”

“At the clinic.”

“That’s good that they found her. You should let the owners know.”

“I should let them know where the clinic—”

Tatsuya had a thought. Would that peculiar doctor and nurse handle things properly? What if they refused to return the cat, claiming she was a hot pack or a low-frequency muscle stimulator device?

“No, I’m going to go to the clinic tomorrow to check.”

Hayato frowned.

“Shouldn’t the owners go?”

“If it isn’t their cat, they’ll be really disappointed.”

“But can you tell whether it’s the lost cat or not? I feel like the owners would be able to tell for sure.”

“No, it’ll be fine,”

insisted Tatsuya.

Hayato wasn’t convinced. In the end, they decided to go to the clinic together.