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

The Cry of the Cat (猫が啼く) Part 3/3

By Nishiurawa in "Modern Hyakumonogatari: Kowai Hanashi"


   One day after Natsumi had left for work like usual, Suzuki was home alone.
   He was lying down watching TV when from somewhere
   "nya, nya"
   came a cat's voice.
   He got up to figure out where it was coming from.
   "nya, nya"
   Somehow the sound wasn't coming from outside but from the kitchen.
   If he found it he was going to smack it, so he grabbed a nearby backscratcher and headed toward the kitchen.
   "nya, nya"
   The sound was coming from the storage space under the floor.
   He readied the backscratcher, put his left hand on the lid of the storage space, and slowly lifted it up.

   "MYAAAAAAAA!"
   The cries of countless cats echoed throughout the kitchen.

   There were a bunch of plastic bags in the storage space.
   They were filled with dead cats.
   The maggot-covered corpses showed signs of being strangled with a plastic cord.
 
   "Oh, I figured that would cause less trouble"
   said Natsumi with a blank expression after getting home from work.
   "If I got rid of them he'd stop complaining to me so much."
   Natsumi looked up at the ceiling and let out a cackle.

   "It was so gross. I immediately ran out of the room."
   Right after saying that, Suzuki went into a fit of coughing.
   I could see in his hand that was covering his mouth a brown ball of fur.