Chapter 12 Hawaii (12) He didn't even want to touch his little...
While looking for seashells these past two days, I found a few more coins on the beach. My cat brought them back, and I counted them together with the coins I had left with the parrot.
The number is quite considerable.
This is a considerable amount of pocket money for a human child; it could buy at least several ice creams.
Last time I gave Richie's Crab volcanic rock as an apology, and I've been hesitant to give all the coins to Kara.
However, getting the coins back from the budgies was not an easy task.
Finally, I had to go to the beach and find a few shiny things that were even rarer than coins for the other bird before it would willingly give them to me.
In the afternoon, Kara picked up the shallow dish used to hold water for the kittens under the veranda, preparing to wash it under the tap.
As soon as I straightened up, I saw a honey-eyed kitten squatting in front of me, blocking my way.
The kitten was carrying a small cloth bag that Mrs. Mailer used to use to store scraps of cloth in its mouth.
The cloth bag is old and has already been given to the kitten as a toy.
He shook his head slowly, and the heavy little cloth bag made a crisp, metallic clanging sound.
Kara was puzzled and was about to step over the kitten blocking her way when the kitten lowered its head, the bag opening facing down, and with a "whoosh".
A pile of coins of varying denominations rolled out and scattered on the wooden floor at people's feet, shimmering in the sunlight.
Kara looked at the coins at her feet, then at the kitten with its upturned face and clear eyes.
Remembering that the other party had given Richie volcanic rock last time, Kara touched her nose. Although she thought it was foolish to believe that animals could understand human speech, she still tentatively asked, "For me?"
The kitten nodded and used its front paws to push a few coins that had rolled a little further away toward Kara.
It carries a clumsy yet sincere sense of ritual.
"Thank you for bringing me food. I'm so sorry for trespassing on your property."
It meowed twice, though it was slow.
"I also found some seashells for you. Once Mrs. Mailer finishes weaving her grass skirt, you'll see them hanging beautifully on it."
Kara looked into the kitten's expressive eyes, then glanced at the pile of sand-covered coins, clearly the "savings" the other party had painstakingly collected from the beach time and time again.
A warm current quietly flowed through my heart, washing away the usual cold indifference and aloofness.
She hesitated for a moment, but finally squatted down and reached out her hand to the kitten.
"Thank you."
In the past, when Mrs. Mailer petted the kitten, she always had a preconceived notion that the animal might have invisible bacteria and parasites.
This time, however, she took the initiative to reach out her hand to the kitten.
Kara's hand froze in mid-air.
Unexpectedly, the kitten didn't sniff her fingers for their familiar scent, but instead affectionately nuzzled its furry little head against hers.
The texture was incredibly soft to the touch, unlike the thickness of a blanket or the roughness of grass, and it carried a more vibrant body temperature.
The warm touch made Kara's fingers curl up involuntarily.
Knowing that the other person wasn't used to being close to her, she tentatively nudged him and then tilted her head back.
An unprecedented gentleness appeared on the wheat-colored face opposite him.
“You are indeed a kind and clever little cat, Mrs. Mailer is right.”
Being praised so directly by a cool woman made Chichi feel embarrassed.
He turned around, jumped down the steps, and ran into the yard to run around doing parkour.
The coins the kitten left on the floor were carefully collected by the humans, washed clean, and then stored in a transparent glass jar.
The kitten's gifts to Mrs. Mailer, an extravagant sapphire ring, a frangipani brooch, and a butterfly metal clasp, were already displayed by the window.
Kara placed the glass jar containing coins next to them; the coins refracted a delicate light, creating a unique scene.
Mrs. Mailer was still patiently weaving grass skirts in the house, leaving the half-finished blanket aside.
The unique fragrance of leaves filled the room, and wrinkled fingers deftly moved among the supple leaves, gradually weaving the outline of a grass skirt.
Chichi is a kind-hearted jewelry provider and a cat supervisor.
All the new seashells that were selected and had perfect shape and color were sent to the old lady's toolbox.
The kitten picked up a seashell, and Mrs. Mailer stopped what she was doing, took it, examined its shape carefully, and then chose a suitable place for it.
Use thin ropes to weave the gifts from the sea into a string and attach it to the grass skirt.
Mrs. Mailer held up the unfinished grass skirt, its colorful seashells and emerald green leaves swaying gently.
The kitten nudged the string of seashells hanging down with its front paws.
The round and cute spiral shells added a lot of brightness to the dark green grass skirt, and every shell she painstakingly found served its purpose perfectly!
Except for the prettiest half.
After a long pause, I returned to the familiar beach and found the seashells buried in the sand under the coconut trees.
Seeing her carefully put the seashell back in her mouth, 1221 asked, "No wonder you didn't take it back with the other seashells. Did you want to keep it for yourself?"
He hesitated for a moment, then hummed in response, neither confirming nor denying.
She was just thinking about the young man in the wheelchair. Maybe he disliked animals and humans, but perhaps he would like these little gadgets that could bring people a sense of beauty.
If I told 1221, that neurotic system would definitely start nagging again.
He stopped talking and ran silently toward the park on the street corner.
The kitten was very fast; the transparent ball of light couldn't keep up even when it turned the corner, and could only watch helplessly as the other jumped back onto the overly quiet courtyard.
The sun was shining brightly today, casting dappled shadows on the papaya trees, making it less gloomy than when I came in the evening last time.
He hesitated before leaping onto the courtyard wall, his gaze habitually fixed on the dark-colored window.
Unexpectedly, the heavy curtains, which are always tightly drawn and rarely even leave a gap, were completely opened today.
Inside was an extremely cold and quiet bedroom, furnished so simply that it was almost empty.
A single bed covered with white sheets, an ordinary wardrobe, and a closed book on the desk. Even though the light shines in completely, it cannot dispel the emptiness.
In contrast, Kara's little home is exceptionally cozy.
There was no one in the room, nor was there an empty wheelchair. He looked around hesitantly, his gaze shifting from the interior to the corridor.
Just like when she first saw this yard, she could sense that there were people here, but she couldn't detect any human presence. The intuition that the kitten was always so proud of seemed to always fail her here.
Undeterred, it stood atop the wall, its tail wagging in its focused concentration.
The moment 1221 saw the kitten jump onto the wall, she flew over like a loaded bullet. Just as she was about to earnestly persuade the kitten to leave, she saw the kitten's eyes light up.
There.
Under the densest shade cast by the papaya tree trunk, the silhouette, blurred by shadows, quietly emerges.
The other person remained silently under the tree, seemingly completely enveloped by its shadow, as calm as a reef.
Upon seeing the man, 1221, who was about to persuade the kitten to leave, muted her microphone and stood motionless beside the kitten.
The person under the tree slightly raised his eyes, his profile becoming clearer in the shadows. The sunlight avoided the shadow he was in, only reflecting a cold light on the armrest of his wheelchair.
The afternoon heat was intense, but he was like a piece of jade that could not be warmed; his face and lips were pale, as if they had been washed away by water.
A glance at it can make you forget the sweltering heat.
When he finally met the other person's gaze, his heart skipped a beat, and the lingering feeling he had just deliberately put aside last time quietly spread through his heart, even more deeply.
She felt that the other person had a sense of loneliness and isolation from the world, and she didn't like that feeling.
Chi Chi shook his head, trying to shake off these complicated emotions that were hard for a kitten to understand. He loosened his grip, and the seashell he had been holding so carefully fell off the wall.
Fortunately, the ground below was soft soil and plants, so it didn't hit the hard stone pavement.
After waiting for a long time without any advice or warning from 1221, he thought it over and decided to carefully jump off the wall and land on the soft lawn.
She found a warm-colored seashell among the tangled, dense leaves, carefully picked it up, mustered her courage, and moved it closer to the wheelchair.
Unlike Mrs. Mailer, who smiled and reached out her hand at the sight of the kitten, or Richie, who reacted so strongly, the other person, if not for the fact that their gaze never left her, would have long thought that the other person was blind.
The kitten stopped a step ahead, waiting for the other person to reach out and take its little gift.
Most people wouldn't understand the kitten's intention, but for a long time, they inexplicably felt that the kitten could understand.
Its moist nose almost touched the metal rim of the wheelchair. It slowly raised its head, its honey-colored eyes more lustrous than dewdrops, reflecting the papaya tree and the human face.
She glanced at the other person's hand on the armrest, then gestured with her chin, indicating that the other person should take the seashell from her mouth.
The young man in the wheelchair finally lowered his gaze, which fell on the seashell.
His deep, dark eyes showed no ripples, no surprise, and no displeasure at being disturbed.
His gaze pierced through the seashell and landed on the kitten.
Just when she thought the other party would react, the metal rim rolled backward, creating distance between them.
Complete ignoring it is like a bucket of ice water poured over your head, extinguishing the small flame of hope that has lingered in your heart.
Before, there might have been distance as an obstacle, but this time, even though we were so close, the other person just walked away so coldly... walked away.
The kitten was extremely frustrated.
He didn't want gifts, and he wouldn't even touch himself.
Only cats that are "invincible" in front of humans can earn the title of Miracle Cat, but Chichi felt an unprecedented sense of defeat at this moment.
Once the man entered the house, 1221, which had seemed frozen in place, suddenly emitted a sharp, explosive sound.
"What are you doing down there! Come up here right now, or the disobedient kitten will be caught and eaten by human demons."
I kept remembering the warning from 1221, and I was certain that the other party really didn't like cats.
I should have listened to the system.
He slowly put the seashell in his mouth onto the ground, turned around, and left the shady area with much heavier steps than when he came.
That afternoon, an unusually heavy rain began to fall.
Thick clouds pressed down heavily, and the air was filled with a sultry humidity from early on, until thunder boomed.
The raindrops pounded down, heavy as hailstones despite being just water, forming a dense curtain of rain that swept across every courtyard in the street.
Chichi huddled under Mrs. Mailer's veranda, startled by the rumble of thunder, and shrank back to a drier spot.
The puddles on the ground soon overflowed, and the flowers and plants that Mrs. Mailer had carefully trimmed just two days ago were blown about by the wind.
Even Kara said that it hadn't rained this hard on the island in a long time.
Once outside the veranda, there was no way to open an umbrella, and the caregiver could only stay at Mrs. Mailer's house for the night, to see if the rain would subside.
She suddenly remembered the seashell she had left behind; it was the most beautiful seashell she had ever found.
Such heavy rain...
The kitten gazed in the blurry direction outside the yard. Even the beach would be washed away several times over, let alone a small seashell in the yard.
It should have disappeared the very next second as the rain poured down.
They were swept away by the rain and mud, carried into some dark corner, never to be picked up by anyone again.
A note from the author:
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