Chapter 38
From the next day, he occasionally approached Henry and wagged his tail when he felt like it. It didn’t take long for this to become a habit, leading him to visit Henry every day.
“Snow!”
That brightly smiling face welcoming him was quite a sight to see, and the food he was given was a delicacy he had never tasted before. That’s why he did it. It wasn’t that he had grown particularly fond of him. He had never become attached to a human in his entire life.
Gradually, the time he spent lingering around the boy increased. Naturally, he came to know that the boy had a weak constitution and rarely went outside the mansion in the middle of winter, wheezing like a sick chicken.
A month passed, then two months, and on a winter day when even he had become accustomed to the name Snow. Henry couldn’t even poke his head out the window. After pacing on the snow for a while, tired of waiting, he leaped up to peek into Henry’s room.
Many adult humans were surrounding Henry. Henry’s face, lying in bed with his eyes closed, was flushed red.
“The fever won’t break. This is serious. It could be dangerous if this continues.”
“What should we do? Doctor, isn’t there any way? Please, save our son!”
“Please, doctor.”
“We need this herb that acts as a fever reducer, but the amount I have now is far from enough. To get this, we’d have to go into the forest or obtain it from the village across. Both are difficult tasks in this heavy snow.”
Saying this, the older human showed Henry’s parents a withered root. Snow, peering from outside the window, scoffed at this.
Do they really not know where to find that? Humans always pretend to be knowledgeable, but they know pathetically little.
“This can’t be. What will happen to our Henry now?”
“Don’t worry, madam. I’ll send all the servants in the mansion to search for this herb. I’ll also depart immediately for the village across. We’ll surely find it. Doctor, please take good care of Henry until we return with the herb.”
“I’ll do my best.”
The doctor nodded to the husband who was comforting his crying wife, embracing her shoulders. As Henry’s face, briefly hidden by them, came into view again, Snow’s gaze fell on him and quickly moved away. Snow leaped down and ran confidently.
He ran non-stop, leaving the mansion, passing the snow-covered road, all the way into the distant forest.
-Crunch, crunch.
The snow had piled up high enough to engulf a cat’s paws. Looking up, he saw the tall tree he had targeted in the distance, leaning as if its head was half-bent. The weight of the snow piled on it was the cause.
-Crash!
Snow nimbly dodged the occasional falling clumps of snow in the quiet forest, never stopping his steps. It was cold, dark, and he was hungry, but he had a clear purpose.
Shaking his body vigorously to shed the snow that had accumulated on his back and head, he ran towards the forest again. In the world covered entirely in white snow, only the black cat stood out distinctly.
Before losing more body heat, he quickly crawled between tree roots and started digging underneath with his front paws. The frozen ground covered in snow made it difficult, but he didn’t stop. Focused on desperately digging with his paws and claws raised, he didn’t notice the danger approaching from behind. As he turned around, startled by the sudden chill running down his spine, a terrible pain struck his back.
“Meow!!!”
“Grrrr!”
Terribly frightened, Snow leaped up as if having a seizure and quickly retreated. The pain throbbing through his body was almost enough to make him lose his mind, but avoiding the beast in front of him took priority. It was a wolf with a long snout, sharp teeth, and bloodshot eyes. And it was severely hungry.
As the wolf approached Snow, drooling, his legs weakened. However, he gritted his teeth and leaped onto a nearby tree.
“Grrrrr! Woof woof woof!”
The wolf, lunging at the same moment Snow moved, missed its prey by a hair’s breadth. The cat escaped up the tree in a flash. The wolf’s claws, swung at terrifying speed, struck the empty ground, scattering snow.
While the frenzied wolf barked fiercely below, spraying saliva, Snow crouched as much as possible, hiding in the shadow of a branch. He was injured. The first strike seemed to have gone quite deep. Snow’s black fur was soaked with red blood.
Snow began to shiver all over from the sudden cold. He was cold, hungry, and scared.
‘Snow!’
Henry.
‘If the fever doesn’t break, it could be dangerous.’
Henry.
‘Come here, Snow!’
He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them. He didn’t know how far he could go on his already shaking legs, but he couldn’t give up. Glancing down, he saw the deeply dug ground behind the wolf, which was stretching its neck, drooling.
It was the part the wolf had just dug up. Under the hollowed snow, the small herb he had been looking for was slightly visible. Seeing this, Snow looked around the treetop.
After searching for a while, Snow found what he was looking for and looked down at the wolf under the tree again. The wolf seemed to have lost its mind at the sight of blood dripping from Snow’s back and was barking incessantly.
“Meow.”
“Grrrrrr! Woof woof woof woof!”
“Meooow.”
After meowing a few times, the wolf seemed to get more agitated and started ramming its body against the tree. It showed a strong determination to knock Snow down and eat him. Seeing this, Snow leaped to the next tree, waited for the wolf to come, then moved to another tree.
“Grrrraaa! Grrrrr!”
The moment the wolf, unable to contain its rage, rammed into the last tree, a massive darkness fell upon it.
-Thud!
The terrifyingly thick pile of snow that had accumulated on top of the giant tree fell all at once. With a sound heavy enough to shake the forest, the wolf disappeared into the snow in the blink of an eye.
-Tap tap tap tap!
Not missing this chance, Snow quickly jumped down from the tree, filled his mouth with the targeted roots, and ran. With all his might. Truly, drawing even the strength he had used to suckle milk as a kitten, he ran frantically.
* * *
It was midday when he arrived at the mansion.
It would have been better if it were the middle of the night, but unfortunately, it was bright daylight. The blood-soaked black cat staggering around the mansion was quickly noticed. A servant shoveling snow in the garden attacked Snow in panic, and exhausted, he couldn’t avoid the clumsy blow and collapsed.
Usually, he would have easily dodged it and left, sneering at the servant.
The servant scooped up the limp Snow with the shovel and flung him over the wall. This caused the herb in Snow’s mouth to fall to the ground, and the servant, discovering it, shouted with joy and ran into the mansion with it.
-Thump.
Snow felt his strength leaving his body from the impact of falling to the ground. What his blurry eyes saw was pure white snow. Snow, just like his name. As he gazed at the cold yet soft snow, he saw something small and dusty fluttering in the distance.
Due to the cat instinct he couldn’t shake off even at death’s door, he tried to raise his front paw to catch it, but his body wouldn’t listen.
“Meooow.”
He felt sleepy. His eyelids became unbearably heavy. Henry’s face appeared under his closed eyelids. It was him, smiling brightly, his fever gone and health restored.
– Snow, thank you!
Henry. If you know, treat me well. Pat my fur too. Prepare a warm place and put a soft cushion under my feet. Give me lots of delicious food.
– I survived thanks to you!
I know. So call me again. Call me Snow and hug me. When I’m in your arms, I feel like I can do anything.
Henry.
But this is the end, isn’t it? It must be. But even so, he had no regrets.
* * *
When he opened his eyes again with a flash, even Snow himself was quite surprised.
He thought he was surely dead, but he woke up. It seemed he had some unknown power that even he wasn’t aware of. When he slightly turned his head and licked the part where the wolf had injured him, he felt no pain at all. No, not just no pain, there was no wound at all.
What is this, is this what humans talked about while throwing stones? That black cats have nine lives. He had laughed at the foolish humans who insisted on chasing him away, calling him ominous. Goodness, to think it was true. It really seemed he had nine lives.
Snow shook his head, sighing at this newly proven fact.
-Rustle.
The movement caused something around his neck to make a rustling sound. Only then did Snow realize he had a necklace made of colorful paper around his neck. Crunch, he bit it with his mouth, but spat it out finding it tasteless, and got up.
He was in some wooden box, but fortunately, the top was open. This height was nothing to him.
As soon as he leaped up onto the open box, Snow met the eyes of many humans standing facing him. Surprised, Snow froze, stiffening his body. The humans who saw him did the same.
Then he saw a familiar boy among the humans. Dark brown hair, soft cheeks, round eyes.
“Meow.”
Ah, Henry.
You’ve gotten healthy. I knew it. Although he tried not to show it, his whole body trembled with joy. He came down from the box and ran frantically. Henry always stretched out his arms to hug him when he ran to him. Snow leaped with all his might towards Henry’s embrace. Imagining being hugged tightly.
“Meooow!”
“Ugh, aaaaah! Monster!”
-Thud!
Thrown to the ground by a strong force, Snow was momentarily disoriented. What just happened? Henry had lowered his head and struck him away with both arms.
“Kyaaah! It was clearly dead just now, but it came back to life!”
“Catch it! Don’t let it come near!”
“Kill it, it’s a demon! Spawn of the devil!”
Snow, standing dazed on the ground, looked at Henry while nimbly dodging the humans rushing towards him. His boy was still crouched down, his face pale. He was trembling, held by the person next to him, not looking towards Snow.
“Meow.”
Henry, it’s me.
“Hee, heek!”
Snow.
He jumped here and there, approaching Henry again. But the boy’s eyes that met his were filled with terror. He was shaking all over, just like when Snow had encountered the wolf in the forest.
“G-get away!”
They say human children are lacking in many ways compared to adults because they’re not fully grown, but did he forget me after just a few days away? Snow gazed up at Henry, unable to believe it. No, even with a bad memory, this is almost goldfish level, isn’t it?
“You monster! Disappear!”
But seeing Henry’s face twisted with anger, he had to accept it. His Henry had forgotten him.
Snow, who had been looking at Henry with his mouth shut, turned away after a moment. He ran, nimbly avoiding the shovels and stones swung at him. As he ran forward, he never looked back at Henry.
-Tap tap tap.
Yes, they say black cats have nine lives. Since I have so many, I’ll give you one. I have no regrets. It’s true that your embrace was warm, and I was happy watching your smile. My name has already become Snow, and I quite like it, so let’s call it even.
‘Snow!’
But he missed the boy’s voice calling him. Even as the black cat ran out vigorously, avoiding everyone’s hands, he kept recalling that kind voice.
