Lament
TITLE: Lament
CHARACTER: Shige
SUMMARY: Meeting a kitten for the first time is not the most pleasant of experiences for Shige.
When Shige is five, his neighbors buy a kitten. The only child in the family - a girl in middle school, leans over the fence one afternoon and smiles, saying that Shige-chan is more than welcome to come over and play with the kitten. Shige stares up at her, child-sized soccer balls in his hands, grinning like an idiot.
He runs inside, and falls at his mother feet, begging her let him go over and play with the kitten. She laughs, lifts Shige to his feet and says it's okay, but to be gentle with the kitten. The neighbor-girl is still waiting outside when Shige comes back.
"Be careful not to scare the kitten, okay? She's just a baby."
Shige promises, saying he'll be very gentlemanly. The neighbor-girl laughs.
When they get inside, he's led into the living room and greeted by the neighbor-mother.
"Shige-chan," the mother says. "You must be excited, huh? Kittens are a lot different from puppies."
Shige smiles and nods, giddy.
At some point, the neighbor-girl has left, because she's now walking into the room, holding a little ball of fur against her chest and kneeling down on the floor. She beckons Shige over and he kneels down too, and blinks several times, his eyes feeling funny and watery. Slowly, he reaches out and pats the top of the kitten's head. The kitten turns, trying to sniff Shige's hands. He laughs, ignoring the burning feeling in the tips of his fingers.
He leans closer, ignoring the discomfort of being so close, studying the patterns in the fur and the kitten mews again. Shige's vision blurs and the neighbor-girl asks, "Shige-chan, what's wrong?"
He opens his mouth to say, "Nothing," because he really wants to play with the kitten, but all that comes out is an airy squeak, the words getting caught in his throat and don't make it out. The girl calls out to her mother, and Shige scratches behind the kitten's ear, and it pushes itself closer to Shige.
The mother looks at Shige for a minute, her face a nearly-shapeless blob in Shige's vision. She takes a deep breath, about to say something, when Shige breaks down in violent coughs, tears finally spilling.
"He's allergic!" The mother yells, and the neighbor-girl immediately takes the kitten out of the room. "Go next door! Get his mother!"
Neighbor-mother fetches tissues for Shige, and wipes the tears off his checks, but his throat is still tight, and that scares him enough that he keep crying. A second later, his mother is there, looking panicked and talking at shotgun speed with neighbor-mother. In the next minute, he's in his mother's arms, and she's running down the street to the neighborhood clinic.
Everything clears up with a little adrenaline shot, and the nurse gives Shige a candy for being such a brave little boy. He wants to go back and finish playing with the kitten, but his mother is holding him close while she talks with the doctor.
"I never would have though he could have been allergic," his mother says. "Neither my husband or I have allergies."
"Genetics have nothing to do with allergies, Katou-san. Regardless, though, cat dander seems to be an especially strong irritant to his system, so please do your best to keep him away from cats." And then he hands her a prescription.
At the pharmacy, his mother is given a funny looking pen, and the man behind the counter spends a long time talking. She puts it in her purse, looking defeated and sad. She carries Shige the entire way home, even though he feels perfectly fine.
When they turn the corner onto their block, neighbor-mother and neighbor-girl are there, and they both begin apologizing profusely. His mother waves them off, saying they shouldn't feel guilty, because even she didn't realize her son was allergic.
"Auntie," Shige says, and neighbor-mother looks at him, "Can I play with the kitten again some time?"
The three are silent and Shige's mother squeezes him closer. "Hon, you can't play with the kitten any more.
"Why not?"
But she doesn't reply, just shakes her head, and decides to take Shige home so he can rest. He sits in the living room, colors for a little bit, and pets their old dog on the head while he sleeps.
"Why can't I play with the kitten any more?" He asks again, and this time, his mother answers.
"The kitten made you sick."
"But it was really cute."
She kneels down next to him on the floor and pulls him into another hug. "I know, sweetie. I know."
CHARACTER: Shige
SUMMARY: Meeting a kitten for the first time is not the most pleasant of experiences for Shige.
When Shige is five, his neighbors buy a kitten. The only child in the family - a girl in middle school, leans over the fence one afternoon and smiles, saying that Shige-chan is more than welcome to come over and play with the kitten. Shige stares up at her, child-sized soccer balls in his hands, grinning like an idiot.
He runs inside, and falls at his mother feet, begging her let him go over and play with the kitten. She laughs, lifts Shige to his feet and says it's okay, but to be gentle with the kitten. The neighbor-girl is still waiting outside when Shige comes back.
"Be careful not to scare the kitten, okay? She's just a baby."
Shige promises, saying he'll be very gentlemanly. The neighbor-girl laughs.
When they get inside, he's led into the living room and greeted by the neighbor-mother.
"Shige-chan," the mother says. "You must be excited, huh? Kittens are a lot different from puppies."
Shige smiles and nods, giddy.
At some point, the neighbor-girl has left, because she's now walking into the room, holding a little ball of fur against her chest and kneeling down on the floor. She beckons Shige over and he kneels down too, and blinks several times, his eyes feeling funny and watery. Slowly, he reaches out and pats the top of the kitten's head. The kitten turns, trying to sniff Shige's hands. He laughs, ignoring the burning feeling in the tips of his fingers.
He leans closer, ignoring the discomfort of being so close, studying the patterns in the fur and the kitten mews again. Shige's vision blurs and the neighbor-girl asks, "Shige-chan, what's wrong?"
He opens his mouth to say, "Nothing," because he really wants to play with the kitten, but all that comes out is an airy squeak, the words getting caught in his throat and don't make it out. The girl calls out to her mother, and Shige scratches behind the kitten's ear, and it pushes itself closer to Shige.
The mother looks at Shige for a minute, her face a nearly-shapeless blob in Shige's vision. She takes a deep breath, about to say something, when Shige breaks down in violent coughs, tears finally spilling.
"He's allergic!" The mother yells, and the neighbor-girl immediately takes the kitten out of the room. "Go next door! Get his mother!"
Neighbor-mother fetches tissues for Shige, and wipes the tears off his checks, but his throat is still tight, and that scares him enough that he keep crying. A second later, his mother is there, looking panicked and talking at shotgun speed with neighbor-mother. In the next minute, he's in his mother's arms, and she's running down the street to the neighborhood clinic.
Everything clears up with a little adrenaline shot, and the nurse gives Shige a candy for being such a brave little boy. He wants to go back and finish playing with the kitten, but his mother is holding him close while she talks with the doctor.
"I never would have though he could have been allergic," his mother says. "Neither my husband or I have allergies."
"Genetics have nothing to do with allergies, Katou-san. Regardless, though, cat dander seems to be an especially strong irritant to his system, so please do your best to keep him away from cats." And then he hands her a prescription.
At the pharmacy, his mother is given a funny looking pen, and the man behind the counter spends a long time talking. She puts it in her purse, looking defeated and sad. She carries Shige the entire way home, even though he feels perfectly fine.
When they turn the corner onto their block, neighbor-mother and neighbor-girl are there, and they both begin apologizing profusely. His mother waves them off, saying they shouldn't feel guilty, because even she didn't realize her son was allergic.
"Auntie," Shige says, and neighbor-mother looks at him, "Can I play with the kitten again some time?"
The three are silent and Shige's mother squeezes him closer. "Hon, you can't play with the kitten any more.
"Why not?"
But she doesn't reply, just shakes her head, and decides to take Shige home so he can rest. He sits in the living room, colors for a little bit, and pets their old dog on the head while he sleeps.
"Why can't I play with the kitten any more?" He asks again, and this time, his mother answers.
"The kitten made you sick."
"But it was really cute."
She kneels down next to him on the floor and pulls him into another hug. "I know, sweetie. I know."