TUZKIMI, WHICH LITERARILY means ‘looking at the moon,’ is precisely the moon festival, also known as the ‘mid-autumn festival’, or, finally, the ‘potato festival’. It is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, which can fall between the last days of September and early October.
It is a holiday of peasant origin during which farmers, keeping true to tradition, celebrate propitiatory rites for harvests, particularly that of potatoes, to which the festival is dedicated, as the name implies.
City dwellers, on the other hand, see it more as an occasion to gather in the evenings after work, on the main streets of various neighbourhoods, in parks and along canals. These are all decorated with candy stalls, cotton candy, candy apples and numerous coloured lanterns, and everyone always looks for these evening moments to greet the last sunsets of the summer. In particular, in the neighbourhood of T. It is also customary to let these coloured lanterns alone illuminate the streets on that magical night, along with moonlight.
Yet, it is said that strange events can happen during Tsukimi, and there are numerous stories and legends circulating in this regard, which grandparents tell their children the days before the festival, leading them to hope that they are the next protagonists of such adventures.
Among them, Sora, every year, as the long-awaited night approached, imagined incredible events that might occur, making her even more impatient for the arrival of the Tsukimi. She was born, in fact, almost at the end of September, on the day of the autumnal equinox, and had always cherished that coincidence, which she looked forward to for most of the summer. Her mother affectionately called her the daughter of autumn and had created the custom for the family to celebrate the child’s birthday from the equinox until Tsukimi.
‘In this way, you will have many days of celebration, rather than just one, and you can eat as many moon cakes as you like, to take from the moon the energy to face the new year ahead.’ This was the explanation she had once given to her daughter, when Sora had asked her why the celebrations were so long and why the birthday decorations were not taken down until several days after it was over. That time Sora made her mother promise that wherever she was, she would always come back for that occasion and spend all those special days with the child, especially on the evening of Tsukimi. Together they would wander the stalls, eat candy apples and light paper lanterns, each making a wish for the coming year.
And it was precisely at the caramel apple stand in the Cherry Orchard—the largest park in the T. district and the liveliest place of the festival—that, during her sixth Tsukimi, Sora met Tai.
They met just before the start of first grade, the year they had turned six. Perhaps partly because of the events of that night, a special bond came between the two that would never be broken, even in the darkest of times.
That evening, both were standing in line with their respective mothers to buy those much-loved sweets, and, while waiting, the two women had begun chatting.
‘How slow this line is!’
‘Oh really! This year there are even more people than usual.’
‘It must be the weather, it’s been a beautiful sunny week, we’—Sora’s mother pointed to herself and her daughter— ‘have been doing a lot of outings these days, haven’t we, Sora? We took advantage of the still mild weather to go to the hills outside the city. A really nice place!’
‘Oh really! My husband and I were planning to take the children there in the next few days; what itinerary did you follow?’
The two women thus introduced the children, so that they would make friends; then they told each other about those accomplished trips, the work and the various commitments that would absorb them in the coming year. The children both huffed, knowing that the evening of fun would be, instead, a long evening of talking between the two of them.
‘My son will also start first grade. What school will yours go to? Oh, that’s nice, him too! Maybe they’ll be in class together. That would be nice, Tai, so you’d already have a little friend, right?’
‘Mom, I don’t need a little friend. Matt will already be there,’ replied the embarrassed child, not at all thrilled at the idea of risking having a little girl instead of his friend as his desk neighbour.
He, that is, Tai, the lady’s son, was already a tall child for his age: he was very skinny and with thick red hair. He had eyes that reminded Sora of the colour of chocolate, the dark chocolate that his grandmother liked so much but that she found too bitter.
‘I hope he’s nicer than dark chocolate,’ she thought, looking at him from behind her mom, with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. She was very shy, taciturn and loved to spend time alone, losing herself in the stories she enjoyed making up, in plots of knights and princesses, mermaids and pirates, magical treasures to discover or planets to explore. Perhaps that was why she felt so displeased with her mother’s new acquaintance; she saw her little, as she was often away on business, and considered the time they spent together almost sacred. And also sacred was the Tsukimi as they celebrated it, coinciding with her birthday and at least a week long. A week of sweets and surprises.
In short, the prospect of having to befriend that child with eyes like chocolate was not at all appealing!
‘Tai, go sit with Sora on the bench there, the one after the banquet! Now I’m going to buy some moon cakes for Dad and Nessy and join you with his mom.’ Tai’s mother pointed him to a spot lit by spherical, red and yellow lanterns floating on the main channel that ran all around the Garden and from which branched many smaller ones, also decorated for the occasion.
The two children reached the bench in front of that canal and, intimidated by each other’s presence, stood silently waiting for the two women to arrive. Sora lingered a few minutes, which to her seemed interminable, watching a grey mouse cat lying beside them, breathing deeply as if asleep. As soon as she became aware of the little girl’s gaze, the cat turned toward her, beginning to stare at her with its large yellow eyes, in a mocking manner, Sora concluded, with a slight sense of uneasiness.
‘You know... my mom really talks too much! In fact, she makes friends with everyone!’ Maybe precisely to stop staring at the animal and think about something else—but with an unexpected resourcefulness that surprised her greatly she tried to fill that all too-awkward silence by beginning to list all the people with whom they had to stop and converse that day. A cashier at the supermarket; the newsagent at the newsstand near the house; the neighbours, both the one on the right and the one on the left, even the one across the street; then even a strange lady who was on her way home with flowers, too beautiful for her mom not to compliment her and start a conversation about something.
It worked, and Tai assured himself that the little girl with those big beautiful green eyes and curly hair was quite nice, despite the fact that she had seemed so melancholy to him at first. He thought of that word, ‘melancholy’. He had learned it just the night before at dinner, with a hint of pride, proud that he had found the perfect opportunity to use it.
So, forgetting the initial and unfamiliar shyness, which he was not used to feeling, he woke up as if from a stupor, telling Sora about the latest news that had interested him, such as joining the soccer team, or the fantastic shoes his father had specially bought him.
‘You see,’ he told her as he got up from the bench and posing with the air of someone who already knows a lot about life, strutting and in a serious voice—the kind grown-ups use for important speeches, as he later revealed–, ‘the coach said he might even pick me as team captain, because, according to him, I’m a great leader! And I also scored more points than anyone else. Thus, as a reward, my dad bought me new orange and black soccer shoes!’ Again, he was seized with great pride in himself and the shoes, and he hoped his new friend would agree as well.
She, meanwhile, listened to him carefully, amused by all the airs he was putting on, despite not letting him notice, afraid of hurting him. She found him very sweet; a little overconfident perhaps, but yes, also sweet and gentle. Definitely different from the dark chocolate, so bitter and disliked, as she used to tell Grandma when it was offered to her as a snack.
Suddenly, she stopped listening to the child, and her gaze was caught again by the cat, but for a scene that had the unbelievable: the animal, in fact, suddenly stood up on its hind legs, stretching and moving its head in circles, as if to bob it. Then, walking on two legs, it went to one of the lanterns, the yellow one, floating on the canal in front of the bench, and began to move the water with its tail, to bring the lantern closer to itself.
Sora grabbed a flap of Tai’s shirt. ‘Wait, look, look there!’ she said, shaking it from side to side.
Tai turned in the direction indicated to him and saw that cat very naturally, always moving its tail in the water, speaking to the yellow lantern, intimating it to move.
‘So, there you are! Stop wasting time, we have to go. I’ve been looking for you all night, you silly girl!’
The lantern emitted a snort, then leapt forward to get out of the canal water and, once on the ground, rolled back and forth on the spot, until she sprouted two slender little legs, with webbed feet at the ends, similar to those of geese. The cat seemed satisfied, for it stopped scolding her and, still on its hind legs, moved toward the less crowded area of the Cherry Orchard, followed by the lantern.
They headed toward the two bridges that would have led to that part of the park where no stalls were set up, generally little frequented, since it was now close to the edge of the forest and the city.
The two children watched that whole scene in astonishment, incredulous at the animated lantern, at the talking cat, and at the almost human movements of the two.
They did not waste too much time, however, and Tai said decisively, ‘Let’s follow them!’
‘But our mothers will worry if they don’t see us.’
‘Don’t be a wimp, Sora! Come on now!’
He took her by the arm to get her up, then ran in pursuit of the curious duo. She went after them, fearing that he might really think she was a wimp; besides, her mom wouldn’t notice her absence—after all, children’s worries are quite different from those of adults!
They made their way through the thinning crowd as they approached the first bridge. Reaching it, Sora caught sight of the now distant lantern light continuing straight toward the other bridge, which was smaller and older, and less well cared for than the other, precisely because it was sparsely attended. She called out to Tai, intent on looking for them in the other direction, and started running again with him following her.
‘Do you know the story of Alice in Wonderland?’ she asked him, turning to see if he was still behind her.
‘Maybe ... why?’
‘We look like her! She chases the White Rabbit, we chase the ... the Grey Cat.’
They both laughed, excited at the idea that they were about to have a real adventure during the Tsukimi; perhaps an adventure like the ones in the books.
At last, they crossed the second bridge as well and entered a dense thicket, which they had never seen before. Neither of them had ever gone so deep into the Garden, and, partly because of the darkness (made fainter only by the lights in the distance from the party), and partly because they had gone so far away, they began to feel a growing fear.
‘Do you think we should come back?’ whispered Sora, moving closer to Tai, as if to hide from some terrifying apparition. Before he could answer her, however, he saw the cat’s orange eyes glinting in the darkness and staring at them; a little further on the lantern shone again. They seemed to have been waiting for them, so the child took her new friend by the hand and urged her on.
‘Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.’ He felt invested with the big responsibility of making sure nothing happened to her, and although he too was beginning to be afraid, he wanted to show fearlessness and courage.
As soon as the cat turned around, Tai also started walking again, increasingly curious about where he would take them. Sora could only follow him, equally curious, but certainly less eager to continue down such a dark path. At that moment, she thought of the recommendations her mother used to make about keeping away from unfamiliar areas, how dangerous they could be, and the risk of getting lost. But her imagination and spirit of adventure got the better of her.
They passed the trees beyond the bridge and came to a small clearing, in the centre of which stood a pond with a majestic weeping willow. Its leaves, green at the bottom, reddish toward the top, as if spring and autumn coexisted in it, barely touched the water on which they were mirrored, creating a gentle rustle when the wind moved them, like a lullaby.
‘Hurry up, you two! You risk not making it in time to pass!’ Instead, the cat, completely out of place in comparison to that calm atmosphere, seemed to be in a mad rush, and he beckoned to them with his hands, urging them to join him.
Already stunned by the presence of such a tree, which they had never seen before and whose existence seemed to be unknown to anyone else, they were completely astonished when they discovered that yes, those two had been waiting for them and even wanted them to follow them.
But follow them where?
‘What do you think he’s talking about?’ whispered Sora. ‘Where should we pass?’
‘Ssh, look!’
The lantern had approached the leaves of the willow tree, and, jerking them aside, had disappeared behind them.
There was a sudden glow, then again, and again, until, from behind those same leaves, a bluish light came on, growing brighter and brighter, which passed them, placing itself before the tree canopy.
The cat got back on all fours, took one last look at the children, and disappeared behind the light.
‘Shall we go?’ Tai did not pull Sora this time, but waited for her to respond.
He felt that if they passed that glow, something would happen. He didn’t know if something good or dangerous, and for that very reason, he didn’t want to risk Sora feeling forced into an adventure she wasn’t convinced about.
But the little girl looked at him and nodded determinedly, ready to find out where the cat would take them.
Still holding hands, they approached the willow tree. Close, closer and closer, until, beyond its leaves, they stepped right into that blue light.
In the distance, almost inaudible so far away, the howling of a pack of wolves could be heard. Closer, however, the air was filled with festive songs and a merry hubbub made mostly of laughter. It was still evening, indeed, probably late night judging by the blackness of the sky and the height of the moon that, full, illuminated the paths of that forest.
Sora found herself lying on a grassy bed, damp from the coolness of the night. She opened her eyes and, rising again, saw before her one of those paths. It was lit with bright dots, perhaps fireflies (or something similar) of various colours creating two trails on either side of her, as if to show the way ahead. All around were just huge trees, perhaps oaks, which, most strangely, also gave off a faint light, barely visible. Some pink, some green, some yellow. In the background kept hearing that strange sound, a mixture of singing and festive laughter.
Stunned, she looked around for Tai, whom she found with ease a little further on, intent on talking to the cat. They were conversing as if it were natural for a cat and a child to talk, and Sora wondered if it was stranger that that cat, or that her friend was talking to that cat as if nothing was wrong. She finally concluded that, by now, it was all too strange to continue questioning, or even wondering! She thus approached the two to find out what they had to say to each other and whether they knew what kind of place that was.
‘You’ve finally recovered! I didn’t know whether to call you, you know. Ozzy, the cat, he’s Ozzy, he’s quite nice actually,’ whereupon the feline gave a funny bow, meowing his name in a voice that would have liked to be elegant, but that made it all the more peculiar, ‘he says he’s come to call us to the world beyond, that is, our world, to show us something important. Some kind of clock, right, Ozzy?’
‘Miaaao.’ Ozzy cleared his throat. ‘I mean, that’s right! It is too early yet to explain to you how the clock works. Indeed, it is too early to explain the whole general situation. However, my sources asked for at least some of the Guardians to come and... well, I found only you!’
‘Guardians? Sources? Clock? What are you talking about?’ Sora couldn’t understand much, felt increasingly confused, and was also beginning to be worried. ‘But-but what about mother? Tai, if she and yours don’t find us they will worry! Oh, we’re in danger of getting into trouble!’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ continued the cat soothingly, ‘time goes slower over there. Come come come, there’s a full moon here. You have to take advantage of it because only on these nights can you see all the cogs in the clock.’
Ozzy got back on all fours and ran quickly down the path lit by fireflies, or firefly-like things, as the two children then decided to call them.
They looked at each other and, having no more doubts, overcome by curiosity and the excitement of the whole adventure, followed the cat again, this time much more cheerful.
Along the path they discovered that some kind of festival was also being held there, with stalls and lighted rides. That this was the Tsukimi was to be ruled out, but they could see several creatures; they looked like animals, talking and human-moving, as described in fairy tales. But they also had snouts, or paws, or even other body parts quite different from those of normal animals. Then again, if the cat’s companion had been an animated lantern, one can well understand the peculiarities those beings had!
‘What do you think they are?’ Sora asked, trying to distinguish the different creatures laughing or dancing in the trees, eating food that, from the smell that permeated the entire forest, must have been mushrooms and chestnuts.
Tai did not respond, too careful not to lose sight of the cat.
The latter crossed the entire path at a rapid pace until he reached a clearing devoid of trees where the path ended. In front of it was only a rock wall, very high, on the top of which the beginning of a new forest could be glimpsed. Before the wall, however, was a sight that left the children even more surprised, even though they had believed that nothing could astonish them now. Embedded in the ground were a series of gears, some made of bronze, some of copper in motion, positioned in such a way as to form a clock with four hands, at the apexes of which were four holes, the size of barrels. To see them, it looked as if more gears had to be inserted into them to complete the whole mechanism, which seemed jammed and malfunctioning in places.
Nearby stood the goose-footed lantern, hopping in place.
‘Do you want to explain?’ Ozzy turned to it, but he emitted a snort. ‘No? All right, then I’ll do the talking, you big slacker!’
The lantern puffed repeatedly and quickly in protest.
The two children laughed at the scene, especially when this one emitted such a loud huff that it fell on its paws in the air. She rolled close to the gears, and the cat was forced to chase after it to block it and prevent it from falling through, risking being smashed into a thousand pieces.
At last, Ozzy was able to regain control of the situation and, clearing his throat, again standing only on his hind legs, began his explanation:
‘So, what you see here is the key to the Archipelago. It was built by the first Sages a thousand and one years ago. As you will be able to observe, if you come closer,’ and here he motioned Tai and Sora to lean out a little toward the huge, clock-like hole, ‘there are many gears, perfectly fitted and matching each other, that keep the balance between the regions. Almost perfectly. Over the years, in fact, some have jammed and ... well... well, if I remember correctly, they need to be readjusted. Otherwise terrible things could happen. But don’t worry! You won’t have to do it now, or all at once! It will serve just enough to keep the balance here by us, and there by you, too. But not today, don’t worry. This time I have only been instructed to find some of you Guardians to show you everything. So, you will be ready when it is necessary; and, believe me, before long it will be!’
In truth, the two children did not understand much of anything the cat revealed to them. The latter was not very clear, perhaps also because he did not know everything well either. But he felt equally satisfied with the explanation rendered, which he thought was perfect.
‘Great! Now we can go and enjoy the festival of the seasons!’ he finally concluded, rubbing his paws as he fore-tasted all the delicacies he would eat at the stalls in the woods.
As the singular clique made to leave, they heard the long, deep cry of an owl. Sora guessed it must be a huge animal, judging by the piercing noise it made.
She had not been mistaken; following the cat’s example, she looked up in the direction of the forest that rose from the top of the rock face at the end of the path. There she saw a great, immense owl, with feathers of various shades of grey and brown, with immense eyes so large that they reflected both the moon and all the other stars that dotted the sky that night.
It was for a few seconds, however. As soon as he caught sight of it, it opened its wings, which were also huge, and soared through the air, flying in the direction of the forest and disappearing over the horizon in short order.
‘What was that?’ Tai asked, now terrified by the animal’s almost threatening air.
‘He is the Owl. He wanders a little here and a little there around the Archipelago. They say he is older than time and has witnessed the events of this world and the other reflected world. But no one has ever spoken to us. Maybe only the Sages, not me for sure! Don’t worry, he is harmless. At least I think...’
‘How do you think?’ shouted the children in chorus.
‘Ssssssh,’ the lantern puffed again, eager to get back to the party, not at all bothered by the scene that had just occurred.
‘Well,’ Ozzy said in an embarrassed tone, to free himself from the complex situation of having to answer questions she did not know the answer to, ‘which of you wants to celebrate the beginning of the new cycle of seasons? It is the most important celebration in the Archipelago. Come!’
‘But when can we go back?’ Sora asked uncertainly.
‘After the festival! Come, it will be fun.’
Tai instead nodded, then, turning to her friend, reassured her. ‘Come on, Sora, don’t be afraid. The Tsukimi is every year, this one is special instead! Come on, let’s go!’
The little girl took courage, heartened by her enthusiasm, and decided that she would enjoy the end of the adventure. In fact, she would even try to get to know the strange creatures she had glimpsed on the ride to the clock.
They thus turned back along the path travelled just before, and stopped to look at the different stalls scattered across the woods among the luminescent oaks.
One on which there were chocolate cupcakes in the shape of stars caught Sora’s attention. Around it, eating the cupcakes, were three rabbits, one pink and the others red, with features somewhere between animalistic and human. Standing on two legs, just like Ozzy, they were spoiling the cake, chattering happily.
By now the little girl was no longer paying attention to the speaking and thinking skills of these strange beings, so she approached them and, smiling, listened to their talk. They were talking about the weather, about the festival, about some trip they were to make in the next few days, to another region of the Archipelago.
Tai, on the other hand, much more at ease than Sora, had already toured several stalls, trying chestnuts, a chestnut cake, chestnut cookies, and even candy, also made of chestnuts. He was crazy about them, so he had set out without delay toward those stalls that gave off their intense aroma.
‘I think I ate too many chestnuts,’ he mumbled to the yellow lantern that faithfully followed him.
‘I’m starting to get a stomach-ache. And sleepy, too. Sora? Sora! Shall we go?’
He had to call her a few more times before she answered him. She was too busy listening to the strange rabbits discuss the price of cupcakes, too high that year, in the pink rabbit’s opinion.
When she finally heard Tai, she ran to him, disappointed that she already had to go home.
‘Can’t we wait a little longer?’
‘But look, the sky is clearer. I think it will be morning before long.’
She looked up at the sky and noted that indeed, the sun would soon rise. The concern that her mother might be worried resumed, no matter how much Ozzy had denied that she or anyone else would ever notice their absence. However, she did not want to risk being mistaken, so she followed Tai in search of the cat, lost in who knows what stall.
‘Where would he have gone?’
‘Um, maybe to the fish stall?’
‘But there is no fish stall, Tai!’
‘There he is, by that pond! I told you he would go after the fish.’ Leaning toward Ozzy, after a while he managed to get her attention, and, after some persistence and waving goodbye to the lantern, which sadly emitted parting puffs, they were led to the clearing where they had appeared.
Once there, Sora wondered if the willow light was not needed again. Or if perhaps they needed a willow tree at all, of which there was no sign!
‘Well, now what? How do we get back?’ he finally huffed, leaving himself on the dew-soaked grass and soiling all his pants.
‘Just a moment of patience.’ The cat rested his paws on his head and squinted, as if trying to hunt out some idea. In fact, he really had no notion how to make the portal reappear.
‘That’s a good one! You don’t even know how to do that!’ Tai said with a note of annoyance. ‘We’re in trouble! We’re in danger of staying here!’ There flashed before his eyes the image of his mother, who would surely have been angry, but then, not seeing him anymore, in despair she would have cried very, very hard.
‘No, Ozzy, let us come back, we have to go!’ He stomped his feet hard on the ground, then began to walk around, hands on his head and squinting, trying like the cat to hunt for some decisive idea.
Sora watched the scene, amused. As concerned as she was, she could not help but take in all the ridiculousness of those two, so alike—and so different! She sat a while longer, watching now one, now the other, until, behind Tai, toward the opposite side of the clearing, she caught sight of a faint glow that seemed to flash. Dazzling at times, it was quite different from the light of the first rays of sunlight that were beginning to make their way through the branches of the trees.
Sora stood up and slowly moved a little closer to the glow that was becoming more and more intense and difficult to watch.
‘Tai! Ozzy! Look!’ she finally shouted, pointing with her index finger to the spot and shaking her head a little, her eyes half-closed so as not to be blinded.
‘Oh, there, I told you it would appear!’ The cat strutted over, satisfied as if it was to his credit that the light had appeared. ‘Well, gentlemen. I meant to say, children, it was a pleas...’
He did not have time to finish the greeting that they were all sucked into the glow, now no longer a glow but a beam of light as big as that clearing.
Once again, Sora found herself long stretched out on a damp meadow, with the distant hubbub of celebrating people in the background. Opening her eyes, she stood up and felt immense relief to recognise the willow and cherry trees in the Garden, bare for autumn. It was still dark, and judging by the dark blue sky it must not have been too long since they had gone.
Beside him she saw Tai still recovering and, a little further on, Ozzy meowing sadly.
‘What’s wrong, Ozzy?’ she asked him, worried that he was sick.
‘I’m not supposed to be here. I had come with temporary permission from the Sages; I should not have come back with you.’ He turned to look at the willow tree behind him, dark and without any hint of new lights or magic or other oddities. He began to meow again, his muzzle wrinkled.
‘Oh, Ozzy, don’t worry, we’ll take you with us, right, Tai?’
The child, who meanwhile had also stood up, nodded decisively and then asked to go. ‘Here time passes instead. If we don’t come back, our moms will notice!’ He shuddered at the thought of the punishment he might suffer: no soccer practice for a month! And no chance to use his new shoes.
‘We have to hurry up. Come on! You, Ozzy, can’t walk on two legs anymore. Hurry up, come on!’
Without hardly giving either Sora or the cat time to understand his words, he launched himself at the turn of the two Garden bridges and, running like a madman, in a few minutes he was back at the bench behind the candy apple stand.
He saw his mom still talking to Sora’s mom, and decided to approach casually, hoping that they really hadn’t noticed their absence.
‘Tai, there you are!’ Too late, they had noticed all right. ‘Where were you? Sora, you too! You strayed a little too far, don’t you think?’
‘What are you holding, Sora?’ asked the latter’s mother.
‘It’s a cat, mom. Look, how beautiful. We went a little further,’ she made, pointing to a spot behind her, near other more isolated stalls, ‘it’s my fault. I saw this kitten and wanted to pet it. Can we keep him? Look at him come on, he meows, I think he agrees.’
‘Sora… it doesn’t look like a kitten to me. Besides, Grandma doesn’t think she wants an animal in the house. You know how picky she is.’
‘Please, mom, as a birthday present! As a present for our Tsukimi, as a present since you are leaving again next week.’ The little girl lowered her gaze and used the saddest tone she could, the one intended for just that kind of occasion, when she wanted her mother to please her at all costs.
‘Please, I promise I’ll take care of it. I’ll clean it up if it gets dirty, and it won’t bother at all. Just no, I promise!’
Mother looked tenderly first at her, then at the cat, and, after a few more prayers, agreed to take it with her. She hoped, really, to soften for her daughter the idea of her next trip, this time longer than usual.
Sora rejoiced, prancing, still with Ozzy in his arms, around the two women and his new friend. The latter also began to rejoice and then convinced the mothers to let them look at a few more stalls alone.
‘All right, just those up to that lamppost where the potato decorations are, see? Then come back and you and I will go get Nessy some candy. Poor thing, your dad said she still has a little fever.’ Nessy was Tai’s younger sister and had had to forgo the Tsukimi that year, bedridden with illness.
And so Tai and Sora, with the ever-present cat snugly on the child’s chest, relaxed and cuddled by the two of them, set off for the last lap.
‘Do you think we can tell anyone about tonight?’ Tai asked when they were far enough away. The cat let out a worried little cry.
‘I don’t think so, you know—we’ll have to keep it a secret.’
‘Cool! I like secrets like that. They make the adventure even more adventurous.’
‘An adventurous adventure, and to think it was just what I always hoped for!’
They continued to chat about more and less, happy to have a secret that no one—or so they thought—would ever know, and happy most of all about their new friendship.
That evening, when they returned to their two-storey house surrounded by ginkgo trees in the Japanese garden, Sora hurriedly climbed the stairs with Ozzy in her arms and, once in the room, spilled the contents of a wicker basket on the floor, grabbed one of several pillows she had on the bed, a couple of colourful blankets, and prepared a ‘little house’ for her new friend.
‘Here it is. I think it’s comfortable enough. Do you want it by the window?’
The cat, sitting not at all feline, nodded silently, looking sad.
‘I know you don’t want to be here. But there you see, I’ll make sure you’re comfortable and happy! Maybe you can even tell me something about the place tonight.’
‘I rule that out,’ mumbled Ozzy.
Sora made a disappointed expression, but she was not discouraged and pushed the party under the window, with the heater on the right and the desk on the left.
‘I’m sure you’ll get used to it instead! What do you usually eat?’
‘Mmm... Everything but the kitchen sink. Everything.’
‘Then go for anything!’ The little girl smiled and, shortly after, slipped under the covers—whether it was December, August or September, it made little difference: she was always cold, and at least one sheet was indispensable!
‘One last thing,’ she said as she looked at the ginkgo hotel that overlooked the window, ‘if you want, you can go into the garden, climb trees, do whatever you want, in short! But try to behave like, like... like a cat!’
Ozzy meowed something unintelligible, then headed to the basket and squatted down on himself, finally closing his eyes to sleep.
‘That’s right, this is really cat-like behaviour.’ Sora, more satisfied, turned over on the other side of the bed and tried, as much as possible, to sleep—she was still too excited and on edge from all the events of that night. Most of all, she was on a high from the idea of having that cranky kitten all to herself.
