Chapter 31

I ran for around 1 hour. During that hour I talked to the others of what happened: And while talking I remembered the conclusion of said task.

Hoshi died. Even though we fought a Yokai hidden beneath the city who held Hoshi captive, Hoshi died. Or well, he probably was dead already. We could not actually fulfill the task.

I stand in front of the old lady’s house. I have no idea how to tell her that her beloved cat died… But she does need to know this.

But how will I tell her? Is she not an already old woman whose only joy in life was that very cat, Hoshi? Was it not precisely because she loved that cat - and only loved that cat - that she put up the task in the first place?

How can I go to her home and proclaim ‘Miss, your only friend in life is dead.’? Proclaiming this would not only inform her of the death, it would inform her of the end of social life as well, if it is still alive at this point that is.

What I am getting at is the following: The woman would be devastated. But lying to her isn’t an available option either, is it? After all she would keep on clinging to the hope of her cat returning… She would possibly even keep on putting up new tasks due to that hope… She would live her whole life, hoping to reunite with Hoshi… just for it to never happen. Is a life, kept alive by a lie, even worth it?

I decided to tell her. Thus I am here. The question is just: How do I tell her? How do I tell this poor woman that the being she has dedicated her life to, the being that is (probably) responsible for most of her happiness has passed away? I do not know.

I do not know a single way to tell her such a revelation in a harmless way. I gather up my courage and knock on the door. If I do not find a way to tell it to her in a harmless way I will simply speak the harshest of truths to her: While the truth may seem violent at first, it is still the truth. And I would rather spend my life in truth then spending it in meaningless bliss held up by a single lie.

The old woman opens the door.

“Who areya? Whatcha doin here, eh?”

She does not seem to remember me. Of course that may also be due to it being late evening - some may even call it night at this point - and her eyesight is simply not that good. This makes the situation even worse: A person she has no knowledge of shows up out of nowhere and tells her that the very being she is alive for does not exist on this planet anymore. In other words; An unknown boy at midnight will tell the poor woman that her life serves no purpose anymore.

I quiver. Can I really do this? Am I the one who should decide whether or not this poor woman's life serves a purpose? Because if I am honest to myself… I do not think I am.

Yet, at this very moment. It can either be me or Uyeno. And if I am given this choice then I will be the one to deliver upon her those news. After all, Uyeno is not used to this. While neither am I, I believe the process of me mercilessly slaying my opponents to be similar. Is it wrong of me to see this old woman who I will hurt emotionally in the same way as I see brutal yokai? Wait, should I perhaps simply kill her? She would be reunited with her cat and she would not have to live with the pain of losing her purpose…

No, what was I saying? I could not simply rob someone of their life! Though is that not exactly what I am doing if I take away her purpose of life?

Well, metaphorically killing someone and literally killing someone is still a largely different thing… Maybe not as different as I think but it is far from being the same!

I gather up all my courage - once more - and slowly speak.

“I… I am sorry to…”

“Wuzzat?? Speak up, aye!”

Don’t make this harder for the two of us, old woman. I’m trying my best here!

“I am sorry to announce to you the following:”

Dramatic pause. Maybe it’s not actually a dramatic pause but actually just me gathering my courage up one last time.

“Your cat, Hoshi, is dead. I am sorry.”

The old woman looks at me quietly. She seems to think about the words I just said. Once. Twice. Thrice.

“okay.”

Okay.

She said okay.

“Wuzzat all? I’m tired, boy!” And thus she shut the door again.

I keep standing there, flabbergasted.

Huh. She did not seem affected by it at all.

Sooo… she did not really care?

…

Uhm… So… did I just… overthink it?

Was she too old to care for Hoshi?

Was she simply good at handling such moments?

Was she perhaps too senile and forgot Hoshi altogether?

Was Hoshi never that important to her?

Because after those last moments…

He was important to me.

I go home.