Chapter 49 Santorini (3) Anchor point in this world. ...
She finally understood the other person's hint, but was this the same street she had been to before?
She also saw the little cat ghost not far from that street, but unexpectedly, the place where the ghost was lingering was closer to the person she was really looking for than she had imagined.
“Let’s search one by one,” Chichi said to the little cat ghost.
When it came to finding someone, the streets took much longer than when we were just strolling around. Thinking of the aunt who fed the cats in the square every afternoon, we took the little ghost cat to Lola's yard first.
The gate was closed and no one was inside. He hesitated for a moment, then jumped onto the wall and peeked into the house, where he saw figures moving around.
She summoned the little cat ghost, jumped down from the wall, and found a suitable angle to observe the humans doing housework inside together: "So, what do you think? Is that her?"
The little cat ghost floated to Chichi's side, its single blue eye gazing intently at Lola.
"She's not the person I'm looking for."
Although I was a little disappointed, it also eliminated one option.
Seeing the little cat ghost's somewhat disappointed expression, she hesitated to comfort it, saying, "It's okay, we'll keep looking. There are still many other homes."
Although the street seemed to be home to many families, some courtyards had their gates locked and their windows closed, so they could be easily ruled out. After visiting several more courtyards, the little cat ghost became increasingly frustrated.
Chichi's heart sank little by little.
They had reached the end of Anafi Street, with very few houses remaining. Just as they were beginning to doubt the directions they had been given, they reached the end of the alley.
The dark blue gate, with peeling paint, was unlocked. I led the other person closer slowly. The yard was still messy, with haphazardly painted artwork piled up, and a faint smell of turpentine.
The bedroom curtains were drawn, and there was no one in the living room.
Chichi jumped to the window and saw the simply furnished living room, with picture frames still in the corner, and blank canvases on the frames.
The kitten stopped in its tracks at first glance and said to the kitten ghost, "I think we should have found it."
On a small side table against the wall was a clean lace cloth with a black photo frame on it. In the photo, a pure white kitten with only one bright blue eye was tilting its head and looking over.
In front of the photo is a ceramic bowl filled with cat food, next to several worn-out fur balls and a cat toy with feathers tied to them.
With the addition of a few low candles, a small cat-shaped mourning hall was set up.
"Was that...me?"
The little ghost cat could also see the scene inside through the window: "My photos, the toys I used to play with."
The other person stared blankly at the photo, remaining silent for a long time before finally asking, "Did you remember anything?"
"I remember now."
The little cat looked longingly at the once-familiar yard and home: "My owner loves to paint. The day I met her, it was raining and very cold. I was trapped in this street by several cats, and my eyes were hurting terribly. She ran out with an umbrella and chased those cats away for me."
The other person's figure shifted slightly, as if returning to the past.
"She knelt down and touched me. She didn't think I was dirty or that it was strange that I only had one eye. Her hands were very warm. She wrapped me in her clothes and took me to the hospital."
"I ended up living here." Its gaze shifted to the house.
"When she was drawing, I would lie down next to her and play, or sunbathe. Sometimes she would draw until very late, and I would sleep next to her to keep her company. After she put down her brush, she would carry me to the bedroom to sleep together..."
The little cat ghost lowered its voice: "A few years later, I fell ill again, and this time I was very sick."
“My vision is getting blurrier and blurrier, and I can’t eat. She spends more time with me than before, which makes me happy, but then her tears wet my fur, and then I become unhappy.”
"And then... I died."
Chi Chi listened with a heavy heart: "What do you plan to do? Are you going to stay here?"
The little cat ghost nodded: "Although she can't see me or hear my voice right now, I want to stay with her quietly like this."
"Okay, then come find me if you need any help. I'll be waiting for you on the rooftop where the lemon tree is last time."
He watched for a long time as the cat ghost's semi-transparent figure passed through the door and merged into the bedroom.
She withdrew her gaze, leaving them alone, and nimbly leaped onto the wall, returning along the familiar route to the rooftop overlooking the street scene.
Chichi found a sheltered corner to lie down, gazing at the blue sky in the distance, and said to 1221, "It saw the person it wanted to see and regained its memories. Is it really that magical?"
The ball of light gently spun around her: "Its memory is only temporarily lost. As long as it returns to its most familiar environment and sees familiar people, the sealed images will naturally resurface."
"Simply put, some things are the keys, such as the lemon scent in its memory, long hair, and fragments of playing with humans."
He seemed to be deep in thought for a long time.
"Why can't I remember?" the honey-eyed kitten asked, a hint of melancholy in its voice. "Don't I have a home to go back to?"
Before she encountered the system, she didn't know where she came from or where she was going. She only had some vague feelings about warmth and companionship, but no concrete images.
The ball of light paused for a moment, then cautiously began to speak: "Actually, what 'he' said isn't entirely unreasonable."
"What?" Chi Chi asked, puzzled.
"Some memories are not suitable for a happy and free kitten, so it doesn't matter whether they exist or not. Maybe not having them will make life easier?"
"Why are you all saying the same thing?" Chi Chi said sullenly, burying her face in her paws. "I don't feel relaxed, I feel very confused."
What was initially just occasional, slight confusion grew larger and larger after encountering the little cat ghost and hearing about its story.
She looked up at 1221: "It knows where it came from and where it is going. Although it is about to disappear, the memory remains, which is reassuring."
“Traveling around the world is great, and it’s fun to meet different people and see different scenery, but I always feel like someone is waiting for me, or no one is waiting for me, and I wonder what I’m waiting for. This feeling is not easy at all.”
"I'm sorry," 1221 said honestly, "I didn't think from your perspective."
He shook his head slowly.
Before, she simply experienced life as a kitten. Now, she has come into contact with more and more humans and has a richer understanding of emotions. She has gone from observing to integrating into the world, and only then did she belatedly realize what she was missing.
I don't want to just be a passerby in this world anymore.
“I understand.” 1221 radiated a stable and warm light. “You’re not dissatisfied with the status quo; you just want to find your anchor in this world again.”
It nodded slowly and forcefully, its tail unconsciously slapping against its paws.
After she understood what connection and belonging meant, she began to think about what would happen after her trip ended, where she would settle down, and where she could truly stop and come to rest.
“Perhaps I should—” ask him.
"Delayed."
She slowly raised her head, and the little cat ghost anxiously floated in front of her, its voice broken: "My master saw the drawing board I scratched before, and she's crying again."
“She had eye surgery and can’t cry for too long. If her eyes are damaged, she won’t be able to paint.”
"Don't rush," Chi Chi said. "Take us over there to take a look."
Returning to the last courtyard on Anafi Street, the bedroom window was open, and a young woman with light brown hair and blue eyes was seen, her cheeks streaked with tears.
She was holding a drawing board with a few faint claw marks on it.
With no paper at hand, the human raised the back of his hand to wipe his eyes, which became even redder and more swollen. He touched the marks left by the kitten on the drawing board.
"She started crying as soon as she saw this," the little cat ghost said remorsefully. "I should have known better than to scratch things randomly."
"1221," Chichi asked the system, "Is her eye alright?"
1221 scanned the screen and concluded: "According to the system, the cornea is not in good condition, and the eye is severely congested. Continuous use of eye drops is required."
"This one?"
The little cat ghost floated to the head of the bed and pointed to the small empty bottle on it: "She used to do it all the time."
She glanced at the eye drop bottle; it was very dry, and she didn't know how long it had been since it was replaced. "Then let's go buy her a new bottle of eye drops."
"But we don't have any money," the little cat ghost said worriedly. "Even if we had money, we wouldn't be able to buy anything."
"I'll help you find the money."
"Now we need to calm her down and stop her from crying," 1221 said.
He knocked on the window for a while, remaining crouched on the windowsill until the other person looked up and gazed out the window in surprise.
Zoe was slightly taken aback when she saw the kitten outside the window, but when she touched the other colors and eyes of Chichi, she realized that it was just a strange kitten, and her tears were interrupted.
He knocked on the window again, making a gesture as if he wanted to come in.
The other person hesitated for a moment, then slowly put down the easel in their hand, came over, opened the window, and cautiously asked, "Pearl? Is that you?"
“Pearl is my name,” the little ghost cat said.
Chichi let out a soft meow, and while the other was still in a daze, it scurried in through the windowsill, picked up the empty eye drop bottle, and jumped out.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the little cat ghost used all its strength to make its figure slightly clearer for a moment.
Seemingly sensing something, Zoe stopped crying.
"She seems to sense me," the little cat ghost said incredulously.
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