I didn't know how to comfort this cat, or rather, this cat-like girl, who had been with humans for too long, had a heart like a human.

It took a long time for Tsubaki to regain her composure, she took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, I was careless..."

I waved my hand to say it was okay, and she continued.

"After my friend finished speaking, I noticed that Lao Qu often took medicine, and he was easily tired, and he often fell asleep while playing with me, and his walking became slower and slower. Tsubaki's eyes looked at the corner of the table, and his brows furrowed slightly, "The day before yesterday, he squatted beside me and said to me, Xiao Tsubaki, maybe this is the last birthday you will spend with me." ”

"So, you want to prepare a special gift. I remembered what she meant, "It doesn't matter if he finds out he's a youkai? ”

"Well, yes, after all these years, I felt like I should give him a gift. Tsubaki looked at me, "Please help me find a gift that will make him happy, please." ”

I nodded and looked at the time, "Well, I'll do my best, it's not too early, you can come back tomorrow night." ”

Tsubaki turned back into a white cat and looked back at me before leaving, just like he had just looked at me from the rooftop.

It was just eight o'clock in the morning, and I carefully opened the old man's little worn-out box for me, for fear that it contained something equally worn, but after opening it, there was still a layer of box inside, but compared to the one outside, the box inside was really exquisite.

The dark green tin box, the lid has white flower lines, and after opening, there is a layer of red gold velvet inside, "It's really tightly packed." I complained, layer by layer, unveiled this layer of gold velvet, a golden pocket watch imprinted into the eye, the style should be many years ago, but it does not affect its exquisiteness, the carving is meticulous, and the seams are smooth and fit.

"Pocket watch, what is this old man doing? I muttered, took out the pocket watch in the box, and looked up and down, left and right, it was indeed exquisitely made, and it looked classy enough, but it was not distinctive, and besides, who still wears a pocket watch.

I opened the lid of the pocket watch, but I didn't see the imaginary hands, there was only a circular spring on the dial, "It's okay now, it's not even a watch, it's purely decorative." I sighed helplessly and turned the clockwork on the dial with the attitude of trying it out.

Clear, translucent music reverberates through the room, and it is the melody of La Vie en Rose.

I listened to this melody, looked at the music box in the shape of a pocket watch in my hand, and couldn't help laughing, "This old man just loves to sell Guanzi." ”

"Hello, may I ask anyone?" There are guests again? It is really rare for a second guest to come early in the morning, and I hurriedly got up to receive it.

"Welcome, what do you need?" I looked at the guest in front of me, still a man, not very tall, wearing a simple shirt and slacks.

"Is your boss here?" the guest asked, in a gentle and comfortable tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, our boss has something to do at this time, you can tell me if you need anything. I replied to him.

"Are you?" the customer hesitated, probably not a regular customer, although I sometimes have to go back to school during the day, but most of the time I am still in the store.

"I'm a clerk at Takita groceries. I replied politely.

"Oh, so let's do that, can you please pass this letter on to your boss. He took out an unwritten envelope from his pocket and handed it to me, feeling very thin.

Although he had some doubts, he still promised him, "Okay, I'll pass it on, do you need anything else?"

"No thanks. With that, the guest walked out of the store.

As a result, nothing was sold in the morning, and it was already one o'clock in the afternoon when the old man returned.

"Boss, you're back, or I'll be late for the afternoon class again. I picked up my backpack and prepared to go out, "By the way, there's a letter on the table that says it's for you." I'll go first. ”

In the groggy afternoon, I didn't listen to any of what I was saying, I just wanted to sleep, and I talked to Tsubaki for too long last night.

When I returned to the store, the old man was sitting at the cash register with reading glasses and wiping the music box, and his fat body was already sinking into the chair.

"Why did I come back," was the old man's first words to me, "and I was hungry." ”

"You can cook and eat by yourself, isn't there a small induction cooker in the warehouse? I put down my bag and went to the warehouse to fetch water and wipe my sweat, "But how many amazing things do you have in this warehouse, and then again, how did you find this music box? Or is it La Vie en Rose?

"Don't want to do it. You guess. Don't tell you. No. ”

"Can you answer more concisely?" I said helplessly.

"Yes. ”

"Well, you won! Eh, you didn't read the letter?" I looked at the unopened envelope on the table.

"Nope. ”

"Don't you ask me who gave it to you?" I don't think the old man was going to read the letter.

"Don't ask. This letter is not for me. ”

"But they said I'll pass it on to you!"

"Just because you handed it over to me doesn't mean it was written for me. The old man wrapped the music box in gold velvet and put it back in the tin box, "It's for the white cat." ”

"What do you mean ????" I was confused by the old man's words.

"The letter is for the white cat, the person who wrote the letter is the owner of the white cat, he didn't know how to find this place some time ago, and as soon as he entered the door, he asked me if I could adopt his fifteen-year-old cat. The old man took off his glasses and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"So, the man who delivered the letter today is the owner of the white cat? What kind of letter did he write to the cat, where can he read it? "I couldn't figure it out more and more.

"The cat can't read it, so I'll let you read it to her." The old man left a sentence impatiently, shook his fan and said, "Okay, you can take care of the store yourself, I'm leaving." ”

At three o'clock in the middle of the night, Tsubaki arrived as promised.

"Come on, look at this. I took out the dark green tin locket and handed it to her.

Tsubaki opened the box and saw the red gold velvet inside, "What is this?"

"Open this floor as well. ”

Tsubaki opened the gold velvet like peeling an orange, took out the golden "pocket watch" inside, and looked at me with a questioning face.

"Don't worry, open it and take a look. "The clockwork old man was already ready, and I looked at her with a smile and waited for her reaction.

As the lid of the "pocket watch" snapped open, the sound of the music box floated out, and the notes of "La Vie en Rose" jumped in the store.

Tsubaki's expression went from surprise, to smile, to tears welling up in her eyes.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you really...", she kept repeating.

"This gift, do you give it yourself, or will I send it to his home for you. I handed her a tissue.

"Send it to my home, I can't give it to him directly. Tsubaki replied.

Later, the white cat didn't come back for a long time, and five months after I sent the music box, Tsubaki came to my shop again.

"Long time no see. I poured her a glass of milk, and Tsubaki nodded, sat down in her chair, and didn't say a word. It was already a little cold, but she still wore very little.

"Does he like the gift?" I asked her, wanting some good news.

"Well, love it, thank you. She didn't look up, she looked at the table quietly, "Thank you for helping me find such a nice gift, and thank you for sandwiching the letter with my paw prints in the music box." ”

"When he saw the paw prints, he should know that you sent them. "Tsubaki's handprints, in the eyes of ordinary people, are kitten's paw prints.

"Well, he's also very happy, and the music box has been with him until the end. Tsubaki said slowly.

"Uh... He is such a good person, he will definitely go to a better world. Don't be too sad, life expectancy is indeed short. I didn't know what to say, and suddenly remembered the letter, "By the way, Lao Qu came to our store a few months ago and left you a letter. ”

Tsubaki's head was raised suddenly, her blue eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly, and after a few seconds, she said again: "Give... My?" The voice visibly trembled.

"Well, give. I dug out the unopened letter and handed it to her.

Tsubaki took the letter with both hands, but she didn't open it for a long time because of her shaky hands, and the moment she opened the letter, her tears fell big, "That's right, it's his taste, it's him..."

"Do you need me to read it for you?" said the old man, who could not read the cat.

After getting Tsubaki's permission, I took the letter and read it to her word by word.

"Tsubaki:

It's strange that I'm writing to you, and I don't know why I'm doing that, but I probably think you can understand it.

A few months ago, I learned that I didn't have long to live, and my first reaction was what are you going to do, who will take care of you. Later, I laughed to myself, you are just a cat, and you are such a beautiful cat, there will definitely be good people to take you in.

However, later events made me dismiss the idea.

You seem to feel that my body is not as good as day by day, you are spending more and more time with me, several times when I am confused, I see that there is a girl in the family who will turn on the microwave, will help me boil the bath water, will turn on the stereo to play "La Vie en Rose", I don't know why, I think it is you, you must think I am crazy, but that feeling is too real, like real.

I think you are not an ordinary cat, the first time I saw you, I thought your eyes could speak, yes, you and my wife have the same beautiful eyes, she is a gentle blonde, I met her on the French avenue, and then we got married, but within a few years she left me first, and I met you when I was at my most depressed, so I gave you the same name as her, Tsubaki.

Tsubaki, you who live to be fifteen years old and still energetic, may really be sent by God to save me, but God doesn't seem to leave me much time, one day I accidentally passed by a grocery store, it was really a dilapidated grocery store, but I can't say why, the owner of the grocery store always gave me a feeling of acquaintance, I asked him if he would like to give you a home after I left, he agreed without thinking about it, if you are an angel sent by God, then maybe, there are other people waiting for you to warm up.

I always feel like I've been talking about all kinds of inexplicable things, who knows if you can see this, but even if you do, you can't understand it, but I don't know where I got a fluke, I just think you must be able to understand my thoughts.

Xiao Chun, in the future, you have to eat well, don't always be picky eaters, listen to your new family, don't always grab people's quilts in the middle of the night, be gentle, don't show your claws at every turn, try to live, there are still many interesting things in the world...

Tsubaki, the fifteen years I have been with you have been redeemed for fifteen years, and the fifteen years that I deserve to remember forever, you, are my favorite Tsubaki.

Goodbye, my little white kitten. If anyone can read this to you, it will be the fulfillment of my last wish. ”

I closed the letter and looked at Tsubaki for a while crying and laughing, "So he really knew it was me, so he said I knew it was you who didn't say it casually, so he finally hugged me and kept saying thank you, so he really knew..."

"You've got a good master," I said back, "so what's your next plan?" ”

"I'd like to go to France," Tsubaki said, wiping away his tears, "and I think he'd like to see it again." She put the letter in a small bottle, hung it around her neck, changed back to her white cat appearance, and when she reached the door, she looked back at me again.

"Don't go too long, come back when you want to. I touched her head, and this time, she didn't dodge.

Later, Tsubaki didn't know where to go, but from time to time I would see all kinds of small things in front of the store, sometimes a flower, sometimes a piece of candy, sometimes something else, but whatever it was, there was always a piece of paper with a kitten's paw print pressed underneath.