The Cry of the Cat, Part 1/3 [Modern Hyakumonogatari: Kowai Hanashi 1/99]

The Cry of the Cat (猫が啼く) Part 1/3

By Nishiurawa in "Modern Hyakumonogatari: Kowai Hanashi"

   "Every night it's nya, nya, nya, nya! I can't take it!"

   Suzuki was really giving his girlfriend Natsumi hell during breakfast.

   He had been crashing at her place so often they were practically living together.

   If they liked each other, a few problems here and there shouldn't matter, he thought. But after being around her so much, he started to realize there were a lot of things about her he didn't like.

   "The thing I hated most was her love for stray cats. She left them food here and there in case they came by, so of course it became a gathering spot for them."

   For someone like Suzuki who thought of them as pests, he couldn't understand how anyone could want those things around.

   That day they once again got into an argument about the cats.

   Even after Natsumi had left for work, he could not contain his anger.

   Suzuki mixed rat poison into the cat food that had been left out by the window.

   When evening came, he could hear the sound of the cats writhing around on the ground outside of the window.

   "The effect was immediate and soon enough there was silence. Of course I thought I'd try to clean them up before Natsumi got home but luckily they weren't there when I checked."

   Ever since that day not a single cat came by.

   Because they had stopped showing up so suddenly, he was prepared to be asked for a reason by Natsumi.

   Of course she would ask, so he thought he would just feign ignorance.

   But, for some reason, she never said anything about it.

   It was the middle of the night and Suzuki woke up with a start to the sound of Natsumi's voice.

   In his groggy state he slowly turned over and went to check on her.

   Natsumi was sitting on the kitchen floor holding her knees to her chest.

   Like a child facing a wall and talking to herself, she was saying something while looking into space.

   Her voice was quiet and he couldn't make out what she was saying.

   Suddenly she let out a shrill laugh.

   "Myaaaaaaaaaaow!"

   A chorus of cat cries sounded from within his futon as though they were laughing along with Natsumi.

   He quickly rolled it up.

   But there were no cats.

   In the kitchen Natsumi kept on laughing.