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Chapter 6
Hello there," the old man called out.
The large, elderly black tomcat raised its head a fraction and wearily
returned the greeting in a low voice.
"A very nice spell of weather we're having."
"Um," the cat said.
"Not a cloud in the sky."
"... for the time being."
"Is the weather going to take a turn for the worse, then?"
"It feels like it'll cloud up toward evening." The black cat slowly
stretched out a leg, then narrowed its eyes and gave the old man another good long
look.
With a big grin on his face, the man stared right back. The cat hesitated
for a time, then plunged ahead and spoke. "Hmm... so you're able to speak."
"That's right," the old man said bashfully. To show his respect, he took off
his threadbare cotton hiking hat. "Not that I can speak to every cat I meet, but
if things go well I can. Like right now."
"Interesting," the cat said simply.
"Do you mind if I sit down here for a while? Nakata's a little tired from
walking."
The black cat languidly rose to its feet, whiskers atwitch, and yawned so
tremendously its jaw looked almost unhinged. "I don't mind. Or perhaps I should
say it's not up to me. You can sit anywhere you like. Nobody's going to bother you
for that."
"Thank you kindly," the man said, lowering himself down beside the cat. "Boy
oh boy, I've been walking since six this morning."
"Um... I take it, then, that you're Mr. Nakata?"
"That's right. Nakata's the name. And you would be?"
"I forget my name," the cat said. "I had one, I know I did, but somewhere
along the line I didn't need it anymore. So it's slipped my mind."
"I know. It's easy to forget things you don't need anymore. Nakata's exactly
the same way," the man said, scratching his head. "So what you're saying, Mr. Cat,
is that you don't belong to some family somewhere?"
"A long time ago I did. But not anymore. Some families in the neighborhood
give me food to eat now and then, but none of them own me."
Nakata nodded and was silent for a time, then said, "Would you mind very
much, then, if I called you Otsuka?"
"Otsuka?" the cat said, looking at him in surprise. "What are you talking
about? Why do I have to be Otsuka?"
"No special reason. The name just came to me. Nakata just picked one out of
a hat. It makes things a lot easier for me if you have a name. That way somebody
like me, who isn't very bright, can organize things better. For instance, I can
say, On this day of this month I spoke with the black cat Otsuka in a vacant lot
in the 2-chome neighborhood. It helps me remember."
"Interesting," the cat said. "Not that I totally follow you. Cats can get by
without names. We go by smell, shape, things of this nature. As long as we know
these things, there're no worries for us."
"Nakata understands completely. But you know, Mr. Otsuka, people don't work
that way. We need dates and names to remember all kinds of things."
The cat gave a snort. "Sounds like a pain to me."
"You're absolutely right. There's so much we have to remember, it is a pain.
Nakata has to remember the name of the Governor, bus numbers. Still, you don't
mind if I call you Otsuka? Maybe it's a little unpleasant for you?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I suppose it isn't all that pleasant.... Not
that it's particularly unpleasant, you understand. So I guess I don't really mind.
You want to call me Otsuka, be my guest. I'll admit, though, that it doesn't sound