Yoshihito scrunched up his face and let out a loud wail. Megumi wanted to cry, too, but she held back her tears.
“Mom, listen. Reiko found the cats. There were three of them, and Reiko said if she begged her mom, her mom would definitely let her keep the cat, so Mami and I should do the same.”
“What does Reiko have to do with this? You brought this cat home, so you have to go return it!”
She ignored the trembling Megumi and headed into the house, pausing only to snap at Yoshihito. “Enough with the tears! You’re going to be a big brother soon, so cut it out immediately!”
Yoshihito’s cries grew even louder. His bawling drowned out Yuki’s soft whimpering. Tears spilled from Megumi’s eyes onto the newspaper under her feet. Her mother only continued to frown.
“Go return it to where you found it before it gets dark,” said her mother before disappearing into the kitchen.
Megumi clutched Yuki, wrapped in newspaper, in her arms and slowly made her way to the vacant lot.
Mom is a witch. A mean witch.
Megumi’s tears flowed uncontrollably. Yuki was clinging to her clothes with her tiny claws. It was heartless to abandon a small creature so utterly dependent on her.
When she arrived at the empty lot, she found someone by the cinder block wall. It was Mami, crouching by the box.
“Mami.”
Mami turned around, tears streaming down her flushed face. Inside the box was the kitten Mami had brought home.
Megumi crouched down next to her friend. “I guess it didn’t work out for you. My family won’t let me either.”
“Yeah. My mom said, ‘When your father gets home, he’ll be furious, so go get rid of this now.’ ”
“Same here. My mom’s a witch. I hate her.”
“My mom’s a witch, too. But Reiko’s mom’s a schoolteacher, so she wouldn’t abandon the kittens. Reiko should’ve taken all three of them from the beginning. She was the one who found them, after all.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Mami’s presence significantly comforted Megumi.
After wiping away her tears with her sleeve, Mami stood up. “I have to go home. If I don’t practice the piano, my mom’s going to get mad at me.”
“I’m going home, too,” said Megumi. Not wanting to be left behind, Megumi released Yuki into the box. Yuki and the other kitten were now meowing side by side.
“I’m sorry. Bye,” Mami blurted out before she dashed away.
Megumi hurried after her. The cardboard box and the dandelions in the empty lot disappeared from sight. She parted ways with Mami and ran straight home.
When she got back, her mother was in the kitchen. With her back to Megumi, she asked, “Where did you leave the cat?”
“In the empty lot on the corner where the cherry blossom tree is.”
“I see. I know you have homework. Finish it before dinner.”
“I will.”
Megumi fled to the living room. She had expected the scolding to continue, but her mother was strangely calm, which only scared her more. She decided to avoid mentioning Yuki any further and get on with finishing her homework.
By dinnertime, her mother had returned to her usual self. She scolded Megumi for leaving carrots on her plate and for eating too slowly. She yelled when she and Yoshihito fought over the TV. Megumi was still reeling from what had happened with Yuki, but when she remembered she had a flute recital at school tomorrow, that took over her thoughts. She was saddened that she had to practice the flute instead of watching her favorite cartoon. Her eyes remained teary the entire time she played.
Her father worked night shifts, so she rarely saw him except on his days off. It was always just the three of them—her, Yoshihito, and her mother—during meals and bath time. Only when it was time to go to bed, her and her brother’s futons laid out side by side in the tatami room, was she alone with Yoshihito.
As Megumi drifted off, she was awoken by a sudden noise. What is it? When she turned to look at her brother beside her, she found him fast asleep with his blanket kicked away dramatically. Thinking she might have imagined the sound, Megumi went back to sleep, but after a while she heard it again, this time more clearly. It was the sound of their front door closing. Because their house was old, when the front door slid open or closed, the sound reverberated to the second floor. Someone had come in or gone out.
Is it Dad? She crawled on all fours to the window to look outside, but it was too dark to tell. A chill ran down her spine, and she felt the urge to use the bathroom. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she made her way downstairs.
It was dark on the ground floor. In the narrow living room at the bottom of the stairs, her mother was sprawled across the desk, her face buried in her arms.
When she called out, “Mom,” her mother’s shoulders jolted in surprise, and she looked up. It was hard to see in the dim light, but her mother was wiping her cheek with her hand.
“What is it? Going to the bathroom?”
“Yeah.”
It was her usual mother, but there was something different about her. She seemed somewhat lonely, and her voice lacked strength. Unease came over Megumi. She felt as if her mother was slipping away, and that scared her.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
“What? Nothing’s wrong. Don’t talk nonsense. Go back to bed. If Yoshihito kicks off his blanket, make sure to tuck him back in properly. You’re his big sister.”
It was her usual irritated, fast-talking mother. She felt relieved and angry at the same time. Nonsense. Anything Megumi brought up was invariably dismissed the same way.
