Tomoka added, “Why don’t you go back there once more? The doctor’s very weird, but if you meet with him, just talking to him might spark something in you. Apparently, if you truly want their door to open, it will. So why not give it another visit?”
Tomoka looked serious. Abino knew where “there” was without asking. But she knew things wouldn’t be different. She had been back to that old building many times.
“Oh?”
With a start, she realized she’d wandered down the street, lost in a daze. Abino chuckled to herself as she turned from Takoyakushi Street onto Fuyacho Street. Despite knowing it might be fruitless, she decided to visit the place again—for Tomoka’s sake, who had shown her such kindness.
Once again, she’d walked past the building. When she turned back, she found herself on Rokkaku Street. The surroundings felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Unsure of where she was, Abino stopped in her tracks.
There was an alleyway between two buildings. It was dark and difficult to see into its depths. But she found herself drawn in.
At the end of the dim and damp alley stood the narrow and tall Nakagyō Building. When she entered, she was met with a vaguely familiar layout and was able to climb the stairs to the fifth floor without getting lost. She’d visited this unit and cried outside its door countless times. Until now, she’d never had the courage to turn the doorknob. It would surely be locked anyway.
Yet, with just a little force, the door swung open easily. The interior was different from before. It was no longer an empty room. There was no one at the reception window by the entrance.
A nurse appeared, her slippers making a tapping sound against the floor. She was a pale woman, probably in her late twenties.
“It’s Ms. Ami Takeda, right? We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Well, yes…” Abino was surprised. She hadn’t made an appointment, so why had they been waiting for her? Also, how did they know her real name?
“Please take a seat,” said the nurse curtly.
What about this nurse? Abino couldn’t shake the feeling that she had met her before. This face. This voice. Who could she be?
Puzzled, Abino sat down on the sofa. The room was narrow but bright and clean. Tomoka had been right—without her knowing, this place had turned into a clinic.
A male voice rang out from behind the door of the examination room. “Please come in.”
Abino went through.
Inside, a man in a white lab coat sat facing her.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Ms. Takeda. It took you a while, didn’t it?”
“You’re…” Again, Abino couldn’t help but stare blankly. She knew this doctor. “I’ve met you at Dr. Kokoro’s animal hospital a few times. If I remember correctly, you’re Nikké’s owner.”
She’d crossed paths with him in the waiting room of Suda Animal Hospital several times. He was the man who adopted the black cat who had been rescued from this very room just as Chitose had been. She didn’t know the man’s name, but she knew the cat was named Nikké. Confused, Abino sat on the chair, prompted by the doctor’s extended hand.
The doctor smiled kindly. “What brings you in today?” he asked.
“What brings me in?” Abino didn’t know how to respond. Apparently, the man before her was a real doctor. The consultation had already begun.
She had no answer to the doctor’s question. Nothing was bothering her. Her life was going smoothly, and she was healthy. She herself didn’t know why she’d come. Still, she muttered, “My cat won’t come home.”
“Understood,” said the doctor with a smile. “We’ll prescribe you a cat.” He spun around in his chair, and with his back facing Abino, he called out, “Chitose, can you bring the cat?”
“Chitose?”
The curtains flew open, and the nurse from earlier walked in. She was holding a pet carrier. The simple plastic carrier was just like the one they had first placed Chitose in at Suda Animal Hospital.
“Chitose? Is it Chitose?”
Doubtfully, Abino grabbed the carrier with both hands. Inside was a round-faced light brown cat.
The doctor asked the befuddled Abino, “Do you live with your family, Ms. Takeda?”
Abino faltered at the unexpected question. “Uh…yes. Well, I mean, I’m not sure.”
The doctor chuckled. “Which is it?”
“They’re not my real family, but I live with people who are like family to me.”
“I see. It’ll be better if you live with some kind of family. This cat can be quite intense, so his effect might be too strong for one person. Please adjust your dosage accordingly.”
“Oh.”
“Also, his habits are quite dominating, so the people you live with might feel his impact, but that’s neither here nor there. For now, give it a try for ten days. I’ll write you a prescription, so please pick it up at reception on your way out. See you in ten days.”
“Oh,” replied Abino as she gazed at the light brown cat. The cat stared back at her with his round eyes.
When she left the examination room, she sat down on the sofa in the waiting room. The weight of the carrier on her lap felt familiar. Chitose, too, had weighed about the same in the beginning.
“Ms. Takeda?” the nurse called out from the reception window.
Abino handed the prescription form to the nurse, and the nurse gave her a paper bag in return. “There’s an instruction leaflet inside, so please make sure to read it carefully. And if you finish taking the cat and you find that your symptoms have improved, you don’t have to come back.”
