The Cat That Leaps Through Time: All 10 Episodes — Only the Cat Knows the Gaps in Time
On the slope, there is a gray-and-white cat.
Ryota, pushing his bicycle uphill, one day notices the cat getting ahead of him. His chain comes off, and when he looks up, an unfamiliar town from the past spreads out before him.
People holding on to dreams they were about to give up on. A rival who transferred schools. And himself from one year ago.
The cat says nothing. But each time he climbs the slope, Ryota's time, which had stopped, begins to move forward little by little.
A series of ten inte
The Cat That Leaps Through Time: All 10 Episodes — Only the Cat Knows the Gaps in Time - Things Left Behind: It Wasn't Just the Bell
I had already passed by Tatsuya's house three times. A house with no nameplate, overgrown garden trees. No one lived there, but it still hadn't been torn down.
The fourth time I passed, something was glinting in the corner of the garden. I stopped my bicycle and peered through the gap in the fence.
It was a bicycle bell. Rusted—it probably wouldn't ring anymore. It was in a spot I couldn't reach from outside the fence.
I went around the fence and reached my hand through a gap in the garden. The moment my fingertip touched the bell, the air changed.
***
The garden trees were shorter. Much younger trees than now. From inside the house, I could hear the TV.
Tatsuya was at the front door, attaching a bell to his bicycle. A younger Tatsuya.
"You again?"
Tatsuya said it without looking at me, still working on the bell.
"'Again'—it's not like you invited me."
"I didn't invite you, but somehow I can tell which days you'll be here."
Tatsuya gave the bell a light ring. A small *chirin*.
"There's a family meeting tomorrow."
I stayed quiet. I already knew what the family meeting was about.
"I think once my dad's job is settled, we'll be moving right away."
"Don't say it like it's already decided."
"It is decided. Probably."
Tatsuya let go of the bell and stood up.
"You know, ever since I first met you, you never act surprised."
"About what?"
"You've got this face like you always know when I'll show up."
I couldn't say anything. It was true. I always knew first which Tatsuya this was—which moment in time he belonged to.
"I figured I'd tell you, at least. I haven't told anyone else this."
"Why me?"
"Don't know. Somehow I just feel like it's okay to tell you."
Tatsuya straddled his bicycle and rang the bell once.
"I don't want to move. Honestly."
"Then tell him. Your dad."
"I did. He wouldn't listen."
With that, Tatsuya pushed his bicycle back inside the house. Only the bell remained, left at the front door.
The wind blew, and the sound of the TV faded into the distance.
***
I was standing outside the fence. The garden was still overgrown, the house still empty. In my hand, the rusted bell remained.
I looked at it for a while. I had no memory of climbing over the fence, yet the bell was in my hand. I tried to explain why I hadn't needed to cross it, but I couldn't.
That night, I opened my phone and searched for Tatsuya's name. His contact was still there. I hadn't opened it once in a whole year.
It took me a long time to decide what to write. In the end, I sent this:
"The cat on Harusaka Hill is still there."
No reply came right away. I set down my phone and placed the bell on my desk. Even rusted, if I shook it lightly, it still made a small sound.
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