Apartment Complex Strange Tales: The Boundary Between Funeral and Rebirth, Episode 2: The Silver Wolf Awakens

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◇Introduction to the Novel
Set in the apartment complex where I spent my childhood in the late Showa era and its surrounding areas, this story is woven as a fantasy novel, intermingling memories of cats, cars, and the gadgets of the time. Please join me on this journey.

Click here for the synopsis, table of contents, and character introductions

I pick up my beloved car at Chiryu Station's parking lot.
There is one car covered with a sheet at the very back of the lot.

There is no dust accumulated on the sheet.
I slowly remove the sheet. A vintage convertible appears.

A silver Eunos Roadster, NA8.

It is a twenty-year-old car that had been sleeping at my parents' house.
I insisted they keep it for me.

During this funeral, I had it thoroughly serviced. I renewed the vehicle inspection, replaced the parts, and it is completely fine now.

I take an old key out of my chinos pocket.
The Eunos emblem glows dully.

I walk around to the passenger side, open the door slowly, and toss in my large bag.
Yes, this guy doesn't have a trunk to swallow a large bag.

I walk around to the driver's seat, open the door, and slide my body in.
I look around the interior for a moment, grip the Mazdaspeed shift knob, and close my eyes.

I can finally drive you. Silver Wolf.

That's his name. Calling him a wolf might be childish, but I consider him a magnificent wolf because of his supple running.

I insert the key and turn the ignition.

Vroom, vroom...

The Silver Wolf slowly wakes up.

With a dull vibration, the silver body begins to slide forward slowly.

"Nice sound."

I look at my watch and it's past 4:00 PM.

"I still have time, let's stop by the office."

I shift into second gear and slowly turn at the intersection.

Should I turn on the lights?

When the Silver Wolf opens his eyes, he gets a slightly humorous face.

"This is how it should be."

Recent cars have strangely sharp faces.
Every time I see them, I miss his round eyes.

From in front of the station, I think for a moment and turn left onto Main Route 1.

I forgot to buy a souvenir.
I'll go buy that.

Speaking of Chiryu City, it's Futo-anmaki.
Should I take Main Route 1, commonly known as Kan-1, and stop by the Fujitaya main store for Futo-anmaki?

Futo-anmaki is a Japanese sweet made by wrapping bean paste in a thin crepe-like dough. It's a Chiryu specialty, and as the name suggests, it's thick. That's all there is to it, but it's delicious.

Come to think of it, it's strange to buy a local souvenir for a local, but since the person wants to eat it, I have no choice. I should have bought it before getting on the N-Line.

At Fujitaya, my favorite fried bean paste rolls were sold out.
There's an urban legend that they fry the previous day's leftovers, but I ate them often when I was a child.

Heading toward the apartment complex, I drive east along Tokai Street. Chiryu was a regional town that had already lost its momentum.

I turn the corner at the agricultural cooperative and the road becomes a straight line.

Feeling a bit mischievous, I step on the accelerator.
The Silver Wolf races through the twilight as if it were flying.

A light appeared in the rearview mirror.
An oddly low ride height. A loud muffler. The headlights are pale blue. It's a Prius. For some reason, it's a Prius.

Is it coming?

I downshift and step on the accelerator. The Silver Wolf growls. The moment we were side-by-side, the Prius ignored the red light and dove into the intersection.
The Silver Wolf stops.

The pale blue lights cut through the corner parking lot just before the intersection and vanished into the darkness. I felt like the two foreign faces in the driver and passenger seats glanced at me and laughed.

There's no way I can chase them. Or rather, I don't even feel like chasing them. That's not the road the Silver Wolf runs on.

—Well, whatever.

Suddenly, a black shadow crossed in front of the car.

“—!”

I slam on the brakes.

The tires scream.

In the glow of the headlights, a cat was looking at me.

Yellow eyes.

It just stares, not running away.

Only its paws are white.

…White tabi socks.

The next moment, it vanished into the bushes without a sound.

“A black cat, how ominous…”

“But wait, that cat just now had white tabi socks and a short tail.”

A Japanese Bobtail…
It was a stray cat with the bent tail characteristic of Japanese cats.

I felt like it resembled Tom.

The cat I used to keep.

Before I knew it, I was already near my parents' house.

Did you disappear, Tom...

——Just like my parents.

I crossed the Danchi Bridge over the Inuwatarigawa River.
The office is at the corner of the apartment complex.

It is the place that used to be a police box.

——As if to keep watch over someone.

Click here for the table of contents