Unlucky black cat

Natsuko is leaving, leaving the city where she has lived all her life.

Leave this room that holds half of her life's memories.

Yes, she is moving out.

After her husband died, her children planned to take her to live elsewhere.

The reason is that it may be inconvenient for her as an old man to stay here alone.

Natsuko didn't refuse. In fact, she couldn't find a reason to refuse.

Especially when she was sitting alone in an empty room, when she was taking care of the sunflowers by the window sill, and when she was waiting in front of the silent dining table.

Xia Zi will always understand more and more clearly that she no longer belongs here.

But unfortunately, she doesn't even know where she belongs now.

The person she loved her whole life and who loved her all her life left.

As an old man who no longer wants to disturb the lives of his children, Natsuko seems to have become a redundant person, a person who is no longer needed.

She is no longer an indispensable part of anyone's world, nor is she a companion that cannot be let go.

Yes, although this may sound cruel, the children already have their own families.

They couldn't continue to live in the past like her. They had to work hard for other family members.

She will no longer be everything to anyone, even for a short time, everything for a moment.

Half of Natsuko's world was cut off, and that was the half that belonged to her alone and could not be completed.

So she was ready to leave, compromising in the most common and common way for an old man.

Try to follow the arrangements of your children so as not to cause any more trouble to them.

Although Natsuko actually doesn’t want to leave here, even though almost everything she loves is hidden here...

But what can be done?

As people get older, there are always some things that cannot be avoided.

The old hands slowly closed a photo album. Natsuko rubbed the book leaf and sighed, then put it into a cardboard box for packing luggage.

It would be great if time could go back. She wanted to wait for her husband to get off work again and watch him sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper and disciplining the three little guys.

The eldest child is playful, the second child is curious, and the third child is timid. Every time the three little ones get into trouble, the husband has no time to spare.

At this time, it was time to put on an apron and go to the kitchen to cook.

I thought to myself, let them go their own way.

Yeah, let them do whatever they want.

But in the blink of an eye, the person disappeared...

Why did my home disappear in the blink of an eye...

Natsuko's figure sat alone in a room with no lights on.

Next week, her little daughter will come to pick her up, and then this old house will be put up for sale by an agency.

After that, her relationship with this place should be completely severed.

Maybe people are like this, they come empty-handed and go empty-handed, taking nothing with them.

It was as if she had spent decades here and now she could leave.

…

Meow~

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence in the room.

It was coming from outside the window, a voice that should have been common, but at this time it seemed sudden.

Cat, did I hear a cat meow?

Natsuko first doubted her ears. After all, she was old and her hearing had already declined, and she was not as sharp as young people.

Meow~meow~

It wasn't until the second and third meows sounded that Xia Zi confirmed his judgment.

So she turned her head in confusion and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

Outside the half-closed side window, I saw a black cat squatting there.

There was a gray-brown box in his mouth, and his two paws were still pulling at the closed glass, and he was whimpering as if he wanted to come in.

Natsuko's family lives on the second floor, which is not high, but there has never been a stray cat running onto her window sill.

This made Xia Zi stunned for a moment.

But then she came back to her senses, and as if she had some guess, she pursed her lips and smiled.

Are you hungry?

She thought, then stood up.

Seriously, as if preparing to entertain visiting guests.

He walked slowly to the window and gently opened the window for the other party.

Can you please wait a moment?

The old lady smiled and reached out to touch the black cat's head.

There is a very soft touch on it, with a reassuring temperature and the unique ups and downs of life's breath.

For Jiang Sheng, the old man's hands were dry and steady, with a bit of old age and the slowness of time.

There is no doubt that the black cat standing in front of the old man's window is Jiang Sheng.

It's here to deliver something.

However, Natsuko seemed to have misunderstood its meaning and did not even pay much attention to the box it was holding.

But after stroking it twice, he turned around and went into the house to prepare something.

Xia Zi remembered that she still had some uneaten dried fish at home, which could be used to feed the cats. The elders of their time were probably like this. They always prepared some pickled or dried food at home, but people nowadays rarely have this habit.

Looking at the old man's back, Jiang Sheng jumped into the house without hesitation.

Its movements are gentle and almost silent.

The light in the room was dim, but because the curtains were not tightened, a few beams of sunlight still shone in and fell on the ground, leaving a slightly dazzling light spot.

Jiang Sheng tilted his head and thought for a moment, then placed the jewelry box in his mouth under a beam of sunlight and opened it.

The golden ring shines silently.

Jiang Sheng sat behind it and licked his paws quietly.

This is obviously not very clean, but maybe because of the nature of cats, Jiang Sheng will always make similar actions subconsciously.

Fortunately, it doesn't care much about it.

Awaited.

Speaking in a gentle tone, Xia Zi walked up to Jiang Sheng with a plate of dried fish.

But just when she handed the full plate to Black Cat, the old man finally noticed the ring Jiang Sheng brought.

The golden ring, which was not very eye-catching, firmly attracted her attention at this moment.

Because its style is almost exactly the same as Natsuko's wedding ring.

Then, Xia Zi looked at the iron piece embedded in the brocade box. The incomplete words on it made her bend down in ecstasy, slowly kneeling on the ground, and then even her voice trembled.

Is this for me...

I don’t know whether he was asking the black cat or something. The old man looked in a daze and muttered to himself.

Meow~

Jiang Sheng lowered his head and ate the dried fish, as if he took some time to respond.

At the same time, Xia Zi also saw clearly the signature on the iron plate.

The name made her figure freeze.

Then the old man's eyes began to moisten unconsciously.

Yeah?

Xia Zi tremblingly stretched out her wrinkled palms.

That's really, thank you...

She said, gently taking the ring out of the box and putting it on her hand.

Does it look good? the old man asked with a smile.

Tears fell on his fingers one by one, soaking the wrinkles.

For a moment, it seemed as if her years were soaked in it.

Meow~

The black cat is still struggling with half a piece of dried fish.

On this day, Natsuko found something that she could take away from this world.

It was an agreement, an expectation.

A piece of luggage that should be carried in the heart and embark on the unstoppable train of life to the next life.