Aiko

``Mew...''

``Oh! It's Aiko!'' Yuki said as she squat down, careful to hold her skirt down as she did so to avoid those horrible voyeur shots she's been hearing about. The calico tabby walked up to her and purred as she rubbed itself on Yuki's stockinged legs. She smiled at the cat and scratched her at the scruff of her neck before patting her on the head.

Aiko was a fixture of the Shinjuku train station. No one really knew where she came from, she just appeared one day like that. There was little doubt that she had an owner---Aiko wore the most darling little red ribbon collar that one has ever seen. And Aiko was a very friendly tabby, unlike some of the more feral strays that would hiss and bolt away from anyone who came by. Aiko was never afraid of people---she loved them.

And Yuki thinks that Aiko loved her most of all, because each time she came to Shinjuku train station, Aiko would seem to know and practically drop down whatever she was doing and make her way up to her. It was quite blatant at times that it made Yuki blush with embarassment, even though it warmed her deep inside. She was at the station with a group of her friends meeting up with another group who had already arrived at the station. The second group was playing with Aiko when suddenly she just ignored them and made a beeline for Yuki, ignoring even the other girls who were with her. It made her friends jealous, and they started teasing Yuki about Aiko being the reincarnation of her boyfriend or something. She protested at that allegation, but secretly wondered if there was indeed a deeper connection between Aiko and her.

Yuki pet Aiko on the head a few more times before smiling at her and standing up. Despite being a stray, Aiko had always been well groomed, like how all cats were, and Yuki didn't find it weird to be touching Aiko all that much. But then, it was time to head off home from Shinjuku. The tabby mewed a few more times in understanding before sitting there patiently to watch Yuki go. Yuki smiled at the tabby and skipped off into the station to head for home.

For the next few days whenever Yuki was walking through Shinjuku, she was half-expecting to see Aiko come greet her, but that never happened. In her mind she wondered if Aiko just found a new place to hang out, and was therefore not at Shinjuku any more. She shrugged and moved on in life.

One day, out of curiousity, she found herself walking up to the notice board placed in the station. She never really went there, but there was an unmentionable force that seemed to compel her to approach it. As she scanned the notices on the board, she found one that brought a tear to her eye.

``Road accident near Shinjuku station. Pedestrian hurt, and lamp post was damaged. A calico tabby was found nearby, crushed underneath the wheel of the offending car. Witnesses wanted.''

(Based on an exercise generated by WriteThis - 29-Mar-2014 10:03:30)