by Hiro Arikawa
As the van pulled into a parking lot big enough for about ten cars, a man Satoru’s age came out to greet us.
‘Sugi!’
Satoru gave him a wave and unloaded his bag from the van.
‘Is this your only bag? I’ll help you.’
‘Apart from Nana, I only brought a change of clothes, as it’s just the one night.’
Sugi took hold of his friend’s bag, and Satoru carried me in my basket, and together they climbed the gentle slope to the B&B entrance.
‘What a wonderful place this is. Is that a dog run?’
On the way up the slope was a fairly large fenced-in space with what looked like a kennel near the back.
‘I wanted a space where my dog could run free.’
‘A Kai Ken, isn’t it? I remember you saying you had one.’
From inside the basket, I sniffed at the air. A disgusting smell that belonged to that perennial rival to cats.
I squinted through the bars and watched as a hard-faced brindle dog sprang to his feet and stared challengingly in my direction.
‘Yeah, his name is Toramaru.’
‘Is he okay living with a cat?’
‘Of course. We have Momo, you know. And lots of guests bring their cats.’
‘Ah, that’s right …’
I’d already heard from Satoru that they had a middle-aged female cat named Momo. She was twice my age, he’d said. I was still fairly young, so would we get on?
‘Hey there. Hello. Glad to meet you, Toramaru,’ called Satoru, holding his hand over the fence.
Hold on a minute! Don’t go speaking to that dog! I glowered from inside my basket.
This Kai Ken who went by the name of Toramaru cast a sharp glance our way and growled and bared his yellow teeth.
‘Is he in a bad mood then?’
The instant Satoru inclined his head – ruff! – the dog barked at him.
‘Whoa!’
As you might expect, Satoru quickly pulled his hand back from the fence.
Hey! Knock it off, hound!
Every single hair on my body was now standing on end.
If you’re going to pick a fight with Satoru, then I – a cat with a strong sense of pride – am not going to just sit here and take it! If you don’t want that nose of yours cut to shreds, then apologize right this instant, you mangy mutt!
‘Tora!’
Sugi scolded him, but the mutt didn’t stop his miserable yammering.
Satoru tried to soothe me, too.
‘It’s okay, Nana. Just hang in there.’
He was holding the door of the basket closed from the outside because he knew I was quite willing to have it out with that stupid dog if I had to.
‘I’m really sorry,’ Sugi said. ‘He’s not usually like this.’
‘No, it’s okay … I wonder if we did something to upset him.’
‘What’s going on?’ A woman hurried out of the front door. A pretty woman wearing an apron. ‘Is Tora angry?’
‘It’s no big deal. Hi, Chikako. How are you?’ This from Satoru, who waved his hand at the woman.
‘Satoru! I’m so sorry. Is everything all right?’
‘No worries. I’m not used to cats or dogs getting angry with me, and it startled me for a second.’
That’s true. From an animal’s point of view, Satoru was a pretty stress-free human, the kind that passing dogs and cats found no reason to pick a fight with.
An impudent dog like this leaping out at him was definitely a first.
‘I’m so sorry. I really am,’ Sugi apologized, making another knock it off gesture at the dog. Toramaru let his curled tail droop. Serves you right, you stupid hound.
‘It’s fine. Really,’ Satoru said, trying to smooth things over. ‘He seems like a good, dependable dog. Maybe I look a little dodgy to him?’
Satoru tried again, reaching over the fence to scratch the dog’s neck. The mutt quietly allowed him to stroke him, but it was obvious to me he was still sulking. Try flashing those gnashers at Satoru again for even a split second, mate, and you’ll have me to deal with!
Through the bars, the dog and I exchanged some seething, hostile looks, but Satoru was then shown inside the house, so there was an unavoidable pause in the action.
We were shown a lovely sunny room on the second floor.
‘After you get settled, come down,’ Chikako-san said. She turned and went nimbly down the stairs.
Well, I’ll take a look around the room, then. I easily unlatched the door of the basket from the inside and slipped silently out. The neat little room had wooden flooring, and from a feline point of view looked perfectly cosy.
‘Oh, hello there, Momo.’
At the sound of Satoru’s voice, I spun around to face the doorway. A small, dignified, brown female tabby was sitting quietly in the corner. Double my age, but still quite limber, from the look of things.
Nice to make your acquaintance, Momo greeted me, in a dignified voice quite in keeping with a dignified tabby. I hear you and Toramaru have already squabbled.
I let out a sniff. That dog has no manners. Baring his teeth at humans who try to say hello to him – he couldn’t have been well brought up.
I was thoroughly sarcastic in my comments, and Momo smiled wryly.
Please forgive him. Just as your master is precious to you, so Toramaru’s master is precious to him.
Your master is precious to you so you bark at your master’s friend? That doesn’t compute. At all.
As if sensing my displeasure Momo gave another wry smile.
I’m really sorry. I believe our master is not quite as strong a character as your master.
I still didn’t get it. I refrained from objecting, though, because I didn’t want to be disrespectful to an older lady.
‘HE SEEMS TO be getting on well with Momo.’
Satoru had come down to the lobby-cum-lounge and, with a smile, he was pointing upstairs.
‘They’re in the bedroom, getting to know each other better. Now, if only Toramaru could be friendlier. Maybe he’s angry that I brought a cat along?’
‘He should be used to guests bringing cats by now.’ Chikako tilted her head, puzzled, and offered them some herbal tea.
‘Darling, you did explain things to Toramaru, didn’t you?’ Chikako scolded Sugi jokingly.
‘Of course I did,’ Sugi pouted, his tone a little snappy.
You be on your best behaviour, okay? Sugi had said, as Toramaru gazed into his eyes. So why did he then bark at Satoru?
Maybe Toramaru had detected some discomfort in Sugi?
‘Wow, this is delicious,’ Satoru said as he sipped his tea, and Chikako beamed.
‘I’m so happy! Our guests seem to like it, too. The herbs are from our garden.’ Chikako looked over at Sugi sternly. ‘The first time I made herbal tea for him, he said it was like drinking toothpaste.’
One silly slip of the tongue back when they had first got married, and Chikako still bore a grudge. Thinking about this, Sugi had often wished he could follow Satoru’s lead and be shrewder in dealing with things. But, in truth, Sugi found openly praising anyone a bit embarrassing.
‘It’s slightly sweet. What do you put in it?’ Satoru asked.
‘Stevia.’
‘Ah, that makes sense.’
‘This is why I enjoy talking to Satoru, because we can talk about things like this!’
‘Your business seems to be doing well,’ Satoru said, clearing his throat.
‘It is. Targeting guests with cats was a smart move,’ Sugi said.
‘All my idea,’ Chikako returned.
‘Indeed. Entirely the wife’s doing,’ Sugi added. ‘But what about you? Are you doing okay? Giving away your cat … all of sudden?’
Sugi had found it hard to ask this question in an email, so he had planned to do it when they were face to face.
‘Yeah, well … you know …’ Satoru gave a troubled smile, and when he did, he suddenly looked very old.
‘I heard the business
group your company belongs to has started to lay people off.’
‘It’s not really that … There are other things involved.’
Chikako gave Sugi a stealthy wink to signal him to stop. Okay, he signalled back.
‘I was so relieved when you said you’d take Nana for me. I’ve asked quite a few people now, and taken Nana to see them, but somehow it just hasn’t worked out.’
‘There’s one thing I’d like to say upfront, Satoru,’ Chikako said, sitting up straight. ‘We’re thinking of it as temporary. We’ll take good care of Nana, of course, but if things work out for you so you can take him again, we’ll have no problem if you come back for him, any time.’
Satoru looked as though this had really struck a chord, and for a moment he pursed his lips and looked at his feet.
That face – lips pursed, trying his best to keep his feelings in check – was one both Chikako and Sugi had seen before.
Suddenly Satoru looked up and smiled.
‘Thank you. I’m sorry to be so selfish, but it really makes me happy to hear that.’
SATORU HAD BECOME a mutual friend, but Sugi had been the first one to form a bond with him.
In the spring of their first year in high school, the three of them were all in the same class.
In their new form room, students from their previous junior high tended to group together, weighing up the situation, wondering who to make friends with. Satoru wasn’t hanging out with anyone. There didn’t seem to be anyone else from the school he had just come from.
They learned later that he’d arrived from another prefecture during the spring holidays and had taken the transfer exam, which was why he didn’t know a soul.
It was during one of the periodic exams that they became friends.
Sugi had crammed all night for the exam, and his head was stuffed with mathematical equations and English vocabulary. He was on his bike, heading to school, pedalling as gently as he could, in case some unexpected jolt or vibration drove all the facts he’d memorized from his brain.
Along the road to school, he spied a face he knew. That looks like Satoru from my class, he thought, as he drew closer. Satoru had got off his bike and was standing beside a wide ditch.
The ditch was the width of a stream, an agricultural irrigation channel lined with concrete on both sides, about as deep as a child was tall. Satoru was staring down at it, a serious look on his face.
Sugi wondered what he was up to, but didn’t have much time to spare before school started. Their eyes had met, so he thought he’d just give him a nod and pass on by, but he began to feel that that would make things awkward later, so after he’d gone on a little bit, he stopped.
‘What’re you doing?’ Sugi asked.
Satoru looked over at him, as if surprised. He must have thought Sugi would just cycle by.
‘Um, I found something a little troubling, that’s all.’
Satoru pointed down at the ditch, where Sugi could now see a small dog shivering. The dog had managed to scramble on top of a tiny sandbar where gravel and dirt had piled up, and his thick white-and-brown fur was soaked and plastered to him.
‘It’s a Shih Tzu.’
Sugi knew the breed, because Chikako’s family had one. They ran a fruit orchard, loved animals, and ever since she was a young child they’d had several dogs and cats, which was something that drew customers in. And Sugi had always envied their attitude to animals.
Sugi’s family lived in company housing; his father was a middle-management company employee, and because of his mother’s allergies, the only pets she would allow were hairless ones such as goldfish or turtles. His dream had always been to have a dog, but this was never going to happen in his own house, so being with Chikako’s family at least came close.
‘He must have fallen in.’
‘I guess so,’ Satoru said, nodding. There were no steps down to the ditch that they could see.
‘He’s not the type of dog you’d expect to be a stray, so I reckon he must have wandered away from his home and got lost …’
At Chikako’s, during the day they let their dogs run free in the orchards so the customers who came to pick fruit could enjoy their company, but at night they always made sure they were brought inside the house.
‘Go on ahead. You don’t need to stick around,’ Satoru urged him, but for Sugi it was a delicate decision. If it emerged later that he’d ignored a poor little dog that had fallen into a ditch, then Chikako would be pretty upset.
‘Yeah, but I’m worried about him.’
Glancing at his watch, Sugi got off his bike. He was going to be late for school, but if he got there before first period he’d still be able to take the exam.
‘Let’s sort this out as quickly as we can.’
Satoru smiled. ‘You’re a good guy, Sugi.’
All he’d been worried about was Chikako’s reaction, and he found this praise from Satoru embarrassing.
‘If we go down there, our ankles will get soaked.’
The sandbar where the Shih Tzu was standing was too far away to leap to from either side of the ditch. The water was full of algae and grass so they couldn’t see the bottom, and they were reluctant to take their shoes off in case there were any pieces of glass.
Sugi noticed a pile of boards left on the side of the road, the remnants, perhaps, of some scaffolding. He ran over and pulled one out.
‘If we angle it down near the dog, he might be able to use it as a bridge and climb along it.’
‘Maybe.’
But even with the board right in front of it, the Shih Tzu didn’t react.
They tried calling, but the dog just stood there trembling, not taking a single step.
‘Maybe it can’t see it,’ Satoru said, a serious look on his face. ‘If you look at him closely from the side, his eyes are a bit cloudy. He might be getting cataracts.’
It was hard to tell the age of the baby-faced dog, but its coat was definitely a bit worn.
‘Amazing that the little guy made it this far!’
There was a busy motorway nearby; it was a miracle the dog hadn’t been run over. Perhaps it had fallen into the ditch because it couldn’t see properly.
‘I’m going to go down. If I use this, I won’t get wet.’ Satoru put a foot on the board they’d stretched out towards the dog.
‘Be careful, it’s dangerous.’
The board was old and weathered. It might not even hold a dog’s weight, let alone that of a high-school boy. Just as these thoughts were going through Sugi’s head, the board let out an ominous creak.
‘Whoa!’
Satoru swayed on the board, and in an instant, it had split completely in two and collapsed into the ditch. There was a loud splash and a spray of water as Satoru landed on his rear in the ankle-deep stream.
Woof woof woof. The Shih Tzu barked, and started to splash his way blindly through the water.
‘Wa-wait!’
Satoru scrambled to his feet and tried to follow him. But his splashing only scared the Shih Tzu even more, and he didn’t stop. You wouldn’t know he was old and half blind, the way the dog tore through the water.
‘I’ll run ahead and climb down! We’ll catch him. Don’t let him get away!’
Sugi hared down the road, past the fleeing Shih Tzu, and took a flying leap into the ditch.
There was an explosion of water. The Shih Tzu leapt into the air and screeched to a halt. Then he spun around and started to race back the way he had come.
‘He’s coming back your way. Grab him!’
Satoru leapt towards the dog like a goalie. The Shih Tzu made a tight turn, trying to slip past, but Satoru managed to snag a hind leg. Panicked, the dog chomped down on his hand.
‘Ow!’
‘Hang on! Don’t let go!’
Sugi whipped off his blazer, threw it over the Shih Tzu and grabbed him. Swaddled, the dog finally gave up his struggle.
‘You okay?’ Sugi asked.
Satoru smiled wryly. ‘Thi
s could be pretty serious,’ he said, showing his hand. Spots of blood were bubbling up. For such a little creature, the dog certainly knew how to bite.
‘You’d better get to the hospital.’
No chance I’ll make that exam now, Sugi thought.
They took the dog to a police station beside the motorway, but when they went to the hospital there was a problem. Satoru didn’t have an insurance card. Being high-school students, they didn’t have enough cash either, so they ended up handing over their school ID cards and promising to come back and pay – and finally Satoru was treated.
By the time they got to school, second period was just finishing.
They went to the faculty office and explained to their form teacher what had happened. The whole thing sounded like a joke, but Satoru’s resemblance to a drowned rat, and his bandaged hand, must have convinced her, for the teacher accepted their version of events.
‘What happened to you guys?’ asked Chikako, playing the concerned older sister as the boys returned to the classroom.
When she heard about the rescued Shih Tzu, she wanted to see him, so they stopped at the police station on their way home from school. Satoru was concerned about the dog, too, so the three of them went together.
The old Shih Tzu with his cloudy eyes was on a lead in the corner of the lobby, bowls of dry dog biscuits and water next to it. No one had reported a missing dog.
‘He really is quite old. I don’t think he can see well at all.’ Chikako knelt down in front of the dog and waved her hand in front of his eyes. The Shih Tzu was slow to react.
‘I was wondering if we could ask you to take him,’ said a middle-aged police officer. ‘Looking after lost dogs isn’t really a policeman’s job, so we can’t keep him here for very long.’
‘If you can’t keep him here … then what will happen to him?’ Satoru asked.
The officer tilted his head. ‘If the owner doesn’t appear in the next few days, he’ll go to the pound.’
‘How could you!’ Chikako snapped. ‘You know they’ll put him down! If the owner doesn’t turn up in time—’
Satoru, pale and silent, nudged Sugi in the ribs. ‘How about keeping it at your place?’ he suggested. Instead of arguing with the officer, Satoru seemed to be looking for a practical solution.