The silence continued. We started walking holding hands, but the pleasant conversation earlier was gone.
I had to say something. I tried to think of a topic, but nothing came to mind. I couldnāt help but feel the touch of Saitoās soft, white-skinned hands in our linked hands. All my nerves were focused on her hands, which were clearly different from a manās.
Her fingers were thin and I felt like they would break if I put too much pressure on them. The subtle movement of her fingers tickled me. Maybe it was because we were holding hands, but the coldness I had felt earlier had vanished. My body was slightly hot and my heart was beating a tad bit faster.
When I looked at Saito, I saw her cheeks had turned faint red and her eyes were narrowed. I was surprised to see her happy and soft expression again.Ā Being happy about holding oneās hand isnāt conceited at all, is it? I exhaled inside my heart that it was worth the effort to see her face like this.
After a while of silence, I spotted a cat with brown fur on the side of the road. It was sitting by a plant, wagging its tail.
[Ah, itās a cat!]
Apparently Saito also found it, and she pulled my hand and ran a little closer to it. For a moment, I wondered if it would run away if we approached it quickly. But cat-san seemed to be used to people and didnāt move from its spot.
Approaching the cat, she sat down and began to observe it, her mouth loosening in enjoyment. The cat mewed once in welcome.
[Do you like cats?]
[Yeah, well. I used to have one]
[Is that so. Whatās their name?]
[Her name was Cocoa. Itās the same color as this cat] (TN: The gender is not specified, so Iāll just put it as a her)
[Hmmā¦]
Then I guess it wasnāt at her house anymore, well, I guess that was what it was. I couldnāt think of anything else to say, and when I glanced over to her, she was staring at the cat with nostalgic eyes.
Saito smiling and looking at the cat was somehow warm and soothing to watch. Her love for cats was evident from the way she looked at them. She mustāve taken good care of the cat she used to have. It was easy to imagine her carefully stroking the cat with great care.
Sheās been looking at the cat for a while now. When I wondered if she was just looking at it, she opened her mouth.
[Nya nya?]
Apparently, she was talking to the cat. Of course, there was no way the cat would answer her, it just stared back at her.
[Pffft]
I couldnāt help but chuckle. It was strangely cute that she was trying to have a conversation with a cat with a serious face. I couldnāt imagine Saito as she usually was, but it was so funny I had my mouth open. She turned towards me, and it looked like she heard me chuckle.
[Why are you laughing?]
[No, itās nothing]
She bent down and looked up at me. But she didnāt seem to know why I was laughing. The way she tilts her head curiously is somewhat cat-like.
When I glanced at the cat beside her, it was looking up at me and tilting its head, just like Saito. The catās eyes were beautiful and round, exactly like Saitoās. I couldnāt help but laugh again at how much Saito and the cat looked alike.
[Youāve been laughing for a whileā¦ Seriously, what is it?]
[I told you itās nothing]
She realized that she was being laughed at, and narrowed her eyes questioningly and persistently asking me. But I wasnāt going to tell her, because if I did, she wouldnātĀ act like a cat anymore.