The Unlucky Black Cat

chapter 3

Summer was about to leave, to depart from the city where she had lived her entire life.

To leave behind this house that held half a lifetime's worth of memories. Yes, she was moving away. After her husband passed away, her children planned to take her to live elsewhere. Their reasoning was that it might be inconvenient for an elderly person like her to live alone here. Summer did not refuse; in fact, she could not find a reason to refuse.

Especially when she sat alone in the empty room, when she tended to the sunflowers by the windowsill alone, and when she waited at the silent dining table alone. Summer would always understand more clearly that she no longer belonged here.

Unfortunately, she no longer knew where she belonged.

The person she loved all her life, who also loved her all his life, had left. As an elderly person who did not want to disturb her children's lives anymore, Summer seemed to have become an extra person, someone no longer needed. She was no longer an indispensable part of anyone's world, nor was she anyone's constant companion.

Yes, though it might sound cruel, the children already had their own families. They could not remain in the past as she did; they still had to hustle for their other family members. She would no longer be anyone's everything, even for a brief moment.

Half of Summer's world was gone, a part unique to her that could never be replaced. So she prepared to leave, compromising in the most ordinary and common way an elderly person could. She would try to follow her children's arrangements to avoid causing them any more trouble.

Though Summer actually did not want to leave here, where almost everything she loved was hidden...

But what could she do? As one grows old, there are some things that cannot be avoided.

Her aged hands slowly closed a photo album. Sighing, Summer caressed the cover before placing it into a cardboard box for packing.

If only time could rewind. How she wished to wait for her husband to come home once more, watching him sit in the living room, reading the newspaper while scolding the three little ones. The eldest was playful, the second was curious, and the youngest was timid. Whenever the trio caused a commotion, her husband could never rest. And at this moment, she should tie on an apron and go cook in the kitchen. Thinking, let them play. Yes, let them play. But in the blink of an eye, how could he be gone... How could home be gone... Summer sat alone in the unlit room. Next week, her youngest daughter would come to take her away. Afterwards, this old house would be listed with a real estate agent for sale.

Then, her connection to this place would be completely severed. Perhaps people are like this, coming and going empty-handed, unable to take anything with them. Just like she spent decades here but could now leave without looking back. ... "Meow~" Suddenly, a voice broke the silence in the room. It came from outside the window, a sound that should be common yet now seemed unexpectedly out of place.

A cat? Did I hear a cat? Summer first doubted her ears. After all, she was old, and her hearing had long declined, not as sharp as a young person's. "Meow~ Meow~" Until the second and third meows sounded, Summer confirmed her judgment. Thus, she turned her head in confusion toward the direction of the sound. Through the side window with the curtains half-drawn, a black cat squatted there. Its mouth held a gray-brown box, and its paws scratched at the closed glass, whimpering as if trying to get inside. Summer lived on the second floor, not very high, but wild cats had never appeared on her windowsill before. This made Summer pause. But then she came to her senses, smiling as if she had guessed something. Are you hungry? She thought, then stood up. She walked to the window carefully, as if preparing to welcome a guest.

Gently, she opened the window for the cat. "Please wait a moment," the old lady smiled, reaching out to stroke the black cat's head. It felt very soft, carrying a bit of comforting warmth and the unique breathing of life. For Jiang Sheng, the old woman's hand was dry and steady, carrying a hint of old age and the slowness that comes with years. Without a doubt, the black cat standing before the old woman was Jiang Sheng. It had come to deliver something. However, Summer seemed to misunderstand its intention, paying little attention to the box in its mouth.And after petting it twice, she turned around to prepare something inside the house. Xiazi remembered that she still had some uneaten dried fish at home, which could now be used to feed the cat. The elderly from their generation were generally like this, always preparing some pickled or air-dried food at home, but people nowadays rarely have such habits. Looking at the old woman's back, Jiang Sheng also jumped into the house without any hesitation. Its movements were very light, almost soundless. The room was dimly lit, but because the curtains weren't tightly closed, a few beams of sunlight shone in, landing on the ground and leaving slightly glaring patches of light.

Jiang Sheng tilted its head in thought for a moment, then placed the jewelry box in its mouth under a beam of sunlight and opened it. The golden ring silently sparkled. Jiang Sheng sat behind it, quietly licking its paws. This was clearly not very clean, but perhaps due to its feline nature, Jiang Sheng would subconsciously make similar movements. Fortunately, it didn't really care about it. "I kept you waiting." In a gentle tone, Xiazi approached Jiang Sheng with a plate of dried fish. But just as she handed the plate full of fish to the black cat, the old woman finally noticed the ring Jiang Sheng had brought. That golden ring, though not particularly eye-catching, now firmly captured her attention. Because its design was almost identical to Xiazi's wedding ring. Then, Xiazi looked at the iron plate embedded in the brocade box. The incomplete text on it made her lean down in a daze, slowly kneeling on the ground, and even her voice trembled slightly. "Is this... for me..." She muttered to herself, unsure whether she was asking the black cat or someone else. "Meow~" Jiang Sheng lowered its head to eat the dried fish, responding as if taking a break. At the same time, Xiazi also saw the signature on the iron plate. That name made her body freeze. Then, the old woman's eyes began to unconsciously moisten. "Is it?" Xiazi extended her wrinkled hands tremblingly. "Thank you so much..." She said, gently taking the ring out of the box and putting it on her finger. "Does it look good?" the old woman asked with a smile. Tears fell one by one onto her fingers, wetting the wrinkles.

For a moment, they seemed to wet her years.

"Meow~" The black cat continued to struggle with half a piece of dried fish. On this day, Xiazi found something she could take with her from this world. It was a promise, an expectation. Something that should be able to be carried in her heart, boarding the unstoppable train of life, heading towards the next life.