Abandoning a Cat

In this meditation on memory and what makes us who we are Haruki recalls his relationship with his father. When Haruki was six his father took him on a bike ride to a nearby beach to abandon their cat. Haruki can no longer remember why his father wanted to do this but when they arrived home to find the cat back before them he recalls how his father respected this and let the cat stay. He goes on to consider how his father’s upbringing and experience as a soldier may have caused the distance that grew between them for twenty years, and only ended with Haruki’s visit to his father’s deathbed.