Strawberry Cherry Blossoms

“Spring’s almost here, isn’t it, Nao?” I rubbed the soft white fur of her underside, smiling as she purred and flailed her paws around. The air was still cold despite the impending spring, bitter winds and snow-filled driveways causing me to wish I could jump to the up and coming spring that was bound to have the most beautiful cherry blossoms. Nao doesn’t seem to mind the cold though, maybe because she likes how her fur matches the color of the snow. 

She’s eating more than usual today, finishing nearly all of the bowl of tuna brought to her when she usually only eats half. If I think about it clearly, she’s probably a lot bigger than she was when I first found her in this box on the side of the road. I hope she likes the scenery of the hidden backside of the school more than the bustling cars and loud noises. 

I also hope she likes her actual caretaker, the high school boy who comes to take care of her everyday. I come to visit too, although I haven’t done much for her besides bring her here to let someone else care for her. In a way, I feel bad, as for some reason she can see me even when no one else can, and might be wondering why I don’t try to help too. But it’s not like I can do much without a body, you see. He, on the other hand, can give her what she really needs. 

As expected, nearly five minutes after school releases the students, he’s already here, fishing around in his school bag for a blanket, looking as if it’s hand-knit. 

“It sure is cold today.” He says, setting the blanket over Nao and wrapping her into it as she nuzzles against his arm. “I hope you’ve been okay.” 

He pets her on the nose, laughing as she flips around and pressing more of herself into the fabric as if she finds joy in seeing him smile. In that way I can relate to her. 

He’s a lonely guy, strawberry blond hair falling over his face that’s borderline pink under the bright sunlight from afternoon hours. I don’t know his name actually, so when referring to him I use either him or strawberry. I wonder if he’d laugh if he knew I did that. 

If I could find out his real name, I would want to, but my soul is trapped here, in the small expanse of the place no one visits behind this high school. Except him, he comes to visit and I smile when he does. 

Today I find it a bit harder to smile at him when his face is bent into something just short of a frown, a lingering sadness behind his eyes that makes me want to ask what’s wrong. 

“You know,” he starts, frown fading into a gentle smile but that look in his eyes staying the same, “today marks our one year anniversary.” He stroked the clump of fur standing straight up on Nao’s head. “It was so odd to find you here on the day I needed you the most.” 

I was sitting beside him now, staring at him even if he would never know it, so close it was almost as if I could reach out and touch him if I wanted to. 

“The girl-- or uh, Nao was her name, yes, just like yours, I named you after her actually, died a year ago today too.” His eyes were glassy and he looked fragile enough to shatter if someone were to so much as breathe on him. “She had the lightest hair I’d ever seen before, almost white, just like you. And she really loved the springtime because of the cherry blossoms...said she’d never love anything more than them and I think I could’ve said the same thing about her.” He laughed, a light, airy laugh that was nothing more than a sigh as he lay down and covered his forehead with the backside of his hand. 

“Who would’ve known that I wouldn’t be able to tell her that, hm?” I watched as Nao made her way over his chest to lay down. “We used to come here a lot,” he pet her for the fourth time since she had laid down where she was and I continued counting, “I think that’s why I can’t seem to leave.” Six, seven, eight, and he stopped to place his hands under her arms and lift her until she was face-level with him. 

“I think she’d want me to move on, don’t you?” he whispered, tilting his head and waiting for a response from the cat that he was never going to get. 

“She would.” I said, whether he could hear me or not didn’t matter. “Or, I would, I mean.” I was smiling again as he picked up his school bag with Nao balancing herself in one hand, shuffling his belongings and the blanket previously enveloping Nao into the open zipper before closing it and hurling it over his shoulder. 

“I told my parents about you and they said I could bring you home if I wanted.” He was already leaving, strawberry blonde hair a bit more tousled than it had been before, face a little brighter, smile a little happier as he feet followed one another down the path. Nao was holding herself up facing me with her front paws pressed into the fabric on his shoulder, watching as if waiting to either say her farewells or receive one from me. 

“Goodbye!” I shouted, laughing at the way it looked as if he heard me as he turned around so swiftly only to shake his head in confusion when no one was there. 

He stopped visiting after that, but the cherry blossom tree hanging loosely over the grass had begun blooming its brilliant pink buds as the spring finally came and I couldn’t help but remember the color of his hair as they did. He was right, I would think as I reached my hand up to pull at one, I really do love these more than anything.