Oomi
We sat in a circle in a clearing within the forest. It was small enough that if you reached out, you could touch the person beside you.
“...Mīko was the white dog Oze-san drew on Ululu’s T-shirt, right?”
Just to be sure, I asked again.
“That’s right. A fluffy mutt of a dog.”
Even Oze-san’s voice sounded a bit uneasy.
I leaned forward and reached into the center of the circle, feeling around.
—No. This is definitely Chammy, the cat.
“You feel like it’s a cat, right? But wasn’t Chammy just a stuffed animal? And aren’t you allergic to cats? The fact that you're fine now means it probably—”
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I cut Oze-san off.
“Just like Mamoru-kun and Oze-san could tell it was Mīko by the footsteps, the feel of the fur, and the licking tongue... I know it’s Chammy, too. Just by touching it. I used to pet this stuffed animal, wishing it could really live. And now, here it is, alive, in this place.”
Aochi-san and Silent-chan, who had been quietly listening all this time, both started to speak at the same time with an “Um—,” then politely deferred to each other. In the end, Silent-chan spoke.
“I think this little one is the rabbit my best friend and I took care of at school.”
“To me, this thing can only be the hamster that died last year at my place.”
For a moment, no one could say anything.
We took turns petting the animal sitting in the center, but none of our impressions matched.
Let’s say, generously, that one could mistake a dog for a cat. But a rabbit? A hamster? The shape didn’t even come close.
And yet, the voices echoing from the darkness, the way each of us spoke, was unmistakably filled with affection for animals we had once loved. There was no way anyone was acting, or playing some prank.
—Enough. I decided not to worry about it anymore.
I reached out to Chammy. She pressed her small forehead into my palm.
Chammy is alive. She came to see me to give me strength. That’s enough.
What matters most is that what we believe in... is here.