Tomo

I haven't really hung out with my friend Tomo since I moved to Hatagaya, which was over a year ago. Tomo was my best friend for the first two years that I lived in Japan, but then we suddenly grew apart. Fortunately, because of recent events, we have reconnected and even though it was awkward at first since it had been so long, I could tell that we are both finally ready to get back what we had lost.

When I made the decision last week to spend Christmas in Nagoya, I asked him to come house sit for Willy's sake, but now that she is gone, we decided that he should stay for mine (at least until Yuki and Ian are back). This evening, after he had settled in, he cooked dinner for the two of us, and it finally felt like old times. While he began making a second batch of pasta, I sat back in my chair quite full as well as happy with how things turned out, and it was then my eyes wandered over to the empty seat next to me, which Willy had occupied just three days before. Suddenly, a wave of sadness passed through me once again. While I sat there filled with memories of a dead cat, the sound of Tomo's pasta boiling in the background helped console me.