(Photo: Hatagaya Fudoukan)

Day 297: Sunday, January 01, 2012

In the afternoon, while my friends and I were in my kitchen eating zoni, a traditional Japanese food for New Years, an earthquake hit. While the house shook and I did my best to keep the fish tank steady, I thought that because it had been a while since we had a quake, especially a big one like today’s, maybe it was God’s dirty joke that even with the New Year here, it’s not over yet, or at least a reminder that we should not forget.

After the party and all the guests had left, Tomo and I opened all the doors and windows to let some fresh air in. While we were cleaning the house, a lot of people kept stopping by to ask about the photo of Willy on our gate, which I hung outside in her memory after she had died. When we informed one woman on our block with her four-year-old son about what happened to Willy, they asked if they could come inside to pay their respects. Afterwards we gave them some chocolates and they told us some stories about our cat. One was regarding her two-year-old son:

Whenever the mom and her two kids left the house or came back home, Willy would often be outside hanging out. The two-year-old son would always point and yell, “Willy da! Willy da! (It’s Willy! It’s Willy!)” Now, when the son sees some random cat on the street- even if it’s a black, white, fat, or skinny one- he will point and yell, “Willy da! Willy da!” every time.