The path down to the stream was slick with rain.
Water trickled between the stone steps, and raindrops still clung to the low wall.
Chichi went down first.
“Here!”
Garam called out immediately.
“Don’t go too far!”
“I won’t!”
That was what she said, but she was already pretty far away.
Boss passed by Garam’s side and said,
“That’s not far by her standards.”
“Her standards are the problem.”
Goro was already moving somewhere between Chichi and Boss.
With his black fur blending into the shadows of the wet stone wall, he disappeared from sight in an instant.
Beside Garam, the child was gripping the leash tightly.
In the other hand, she held Bori’s tag, which they had found a little while ago.
“Bori!”
The child called out.
Her voice carried over the stream.
There was no answer.
“Bori!”
Again.
The sound of running water.
The sound of a car passing in the distance.
And the sound of leaves trembling in the wet breeze.
That was all.
Garam looked around the stream.
The water wasn’t very deep.
The spring rain had only made it a little higher than usual.
There were walking paths on both sides of the stream, with low grass and small trees stretching out behind them.
There weren’t many people around.
It seemed the rain had only just stopped, and few people had come out for a walk that morning.
“There are a lot of places to hide here.”
Garam said it aloud.
Boss nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Is Bori scared of water?”
The child answered right away.
“He doesn’t really like it.”
“Then it’s probably less likely that he went into the water.”
Garam looked at the child’s face and added,
“But we still have to check.”
The child nodded.
Boss went down to the edge of the walking path.
He didn’t sniff the ground.
Instead, he slowly surveyed the area.
Places where the reeds had been flattened.
Patches where the wet soil was exposed.
Narrow gaps people rarely went near.
Garam followed his gaze.
A little ways off, Chichi suddenly stopped.
“Garam!”
Garam moved at once.
“What is it?”
Chichi was standing in front of a patch of grass.
“Something passed through here.”
Garam approached.
Several blades of grass had been pressed to one side.
Mud stained the ground.
And on top of it were faint paw prints.
Four slightly larger paw prints.
The child’s breathing quickened.
“Bori?”
Garam crouched down.
“It’s possible.”
Boss came over and looked around.
The paw prints led into the grass.
But after a few steps, the tracks faded.
Chichi immediately tried to go in.
Garam called out,
“Wait.”
Chichi stopped.
“Why?”
“If he’s scared and hiding, rushing at him might frighten him even more.”
Chichi lowered her ears.
“I’m not going to rush him.”
Goro said,
“You’re fast by nature.”
Chichi glared at Goro.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Boss looked toward the grass.
“Let’s be quiet.”
Garam said to the child,
“Try calling Bori’s name slowly.”
“Okay.”
The child took a breath and said,
“Bori.”
A little more quietly,
“Bori. It’s me.”
There was no answer.
One step.
Then another.
Garam and the child slowly made their way alongside the grass.
Boss went ahead.
Goro took the opposite side.
Chichi walked beside Garam, unusually quiet.
That was when they heard it.
A low growl.
“Grrrr.”
The child stopped.
“Bori?”
The sound came again from within the grass.
“Grrrrrr.”
Garam stopped moving too.
Chichi’s fur puffed up slightly.
Boss said in a low voice,
“He’s there.”
Garam slowly lowered himself.
Between the blades of grass.
Brown fur came into view.
Then two eyes.
A large body was crouched low.
“Bori.”
The child sucked in a breath.
She tried to run to him.
Garam caught her arm.
“Wait.”
“It’s Bori.”
“I know.”
“He’s right there.”
The child’s voice trembled.
Garam looked at Bori.
He looked nothing like the dog in the photo, the one grinning with his mouth open.
His body was completely tense.
His ears were pinned back.
His tail was tucked against his belly.
His body was wet in several places.
The red collar was still around his neck, but one of its decorations had come off.
Garam spoke very slowly.
“He’s scared right now.”
The child bit her lip.
“Doesn’t he recognize me?”
“I’m sure he does.”
Garam didn’t make a careless promise.
“But he might be more afraid than anything else right now.”
Bori growled softly again.
The child’s face fell, hurt by the sound.
“Is he mad at me too?”
Garam shook his head.
“He’s probably not mad at you.”
“Then what is it?”
“He’s scared, so he’s telling us not to come any closer.”
Garam watched Bori.
He couldn’t understand what the dog was saying.
The sounds Bori made were nothing more than growls.
But his ears and tail.
The way he was hiding his body.
The tension in his front paws.
Those things were obvious even without understanding cat speech.
Garam said to the child,
“Let’s sit down.”
“Here?”
“Yeah.”
The two of them slowly sat down a good distance from Bori.
Garam looked at Chichi and Boss.
“Back up a little.”
Chichi asked,
“Why?”
“If there are too many cats, he might become even more wary.”
Boss immediately stepped back.
Chichi followed reluctantly.
Goro had been almost completely out of Bori’s sight from the start.
Garam said to the child,
“Try putting the collar on the ground.”
“Why?”
“It smells like you, right?”
The child stared at the collar for a moment.
Then she carefully set it down in front of her.
“Now call him.”
The child turned her eyes back to Bori.
“Bori.”
Her voice was quieter than before.
“It’s okay.”
Garam said nothing.
“I’m right here.”
Bori didn’t move.
The child continued.
“I won’t scold you.”
A brief pause.
“Let’s go home.”
Bori’s ear moved ever so slightly.
The child noticed.
“Miss.”
“Yeah?”
“His ear moved.”
“Yeah.”
Garam had seen it too.
“Keep talking.”
The child continued, her voice trembling.
“Mom is looking for you too.”
Bori’s nose twitched slightly.
“Dad too.”
A little more.
“I’ve been looking for you this whole time.”
The growling stopped.
Garam let out a very slow breath.
The child didn’t move.
She was doing well.
Then Chichi spoke from behind them in a tiny voice.
“Hey.”
Garam only turned his head.
A brown cat Garam had never seen before was sitting beside Chichi.
Chichi whispered,
“This one says he was near Bori earlier.”
Garam’s eyes widened slightly.
“What did he say?”
Chichi exchanged a few quick words with the brown cat.
“He’s been here since last night.”
“All this time?”
“He moved around a little in between, but he came back.”
“Was he hurt?”
Chichi asked again.
The brown cat looked at Bori and said,
“He wasn’t limping.”
Garam felt relieved.
At least it seemed Bori had no serious injuries.
Chichi added,
“But he kept hiding whenever people came.”
Garam looked at Bori again.
Then what Bori needed wasn’t to be caught.
It would be better to let him come out on his own.
Garam spoke quietly to the child.
“Let’s wait a little longer.”
“Okay.”
Time passed.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Bori was still inside the grass.
But he wasn’t curled up as tightly as before.
His head had lifted slightly.
The child didn’t move a muscle either.
Garam asked,
“Is there a word Bori likes best?”
The child thought.
“Walk?”
“If you tell him it’s time for a walk, he might run away again.”
“Treats?”
“Does he like food?”
“Cheese.”
Garam looked at the child.
“Dogs like cheese?”
“I only give him a little.”
“Did you bring any?”
The child’s face stiffened.
“No.”
“That’s okay.”
Then Chichi spoke from behind them.
“I have treats.”
Garam turned his head.
“Your treats are for cats.”
“They smell good.”
Boss said,
“We could use them.”
Garam thought for a moment.
He had no intention of feeding Bori cat treats.
But if all they did was use the smell to get his attention…
“Chichi.”
“Yeah?”
“Give me one.”
Chichi’s eyes went wide.
“Mine?”
“Yeah.”
She looked shocked.
“Why?”
“To help find Bori.”
“My treat?”
“One.”
Chichi didn’t say anything for a while.
Garam waited.
Very slowly, Chichi asked,
“Do I get two later?”
“One and a half.”
Chichi narrowed her eyes.
“You said that before.”
“Then two.”
“Deal.”
The negotiations ended in an instant.
Garam took one of Chichi’s treats from the bag.
When he opened the wrapper, the scent spread through the air.
Bori’s nose twitched.
Garam didn’t hold the treat out in his hand.
He set it down on the ground a short distance away.
“We’re not trying to feed him.”
He said to the child,
“Just let him smell it.”
Bori lifted his head a little higher.
The child called him again.
“Bori.”
Silence.
“Let’s go home.”
Bori moved one paw.
The child’s eyes widened.
Garam gestured for her to stay still.
Bori moved another paw.
One front paw emerged from the grass.
His ears were still pinned back.
But he wasn’t growling anymore.
The corners of the child’s eyes turned red.
“Bori.”
Bori stopped.
Then he sniffed the air.
The child’s scent.
His collar.
A familiar voice.
A little farther.
One step.
Another step.
At last, half of Bori’s body emerged from the grass.
Garam still didn’t move.
Bori looked at the child.
The child slowly extended her hand.
The back of her hand first, not her palm.
“Bori.”
Bori came closer.
The tip of his nose touched the child’s hand.
At that moment,
The child’s lips began to tremble.
“Bori.”
Bori suddenly lowered his body and took another step toward her.
The child couldn’t hold back and opened both arms.
For a moment, Garam wondered if he should stop her.
But Bori pressed against the child first.
“Bori!”
The child wrapped both arms around him.
Bori went rigid for a moment.
Then he relaxed.
His tail moved very slightly.
Once.
Twice.
The child began to cry.
“Why did you run away?”
Bori couldn’t answer.
Garam couldn’t hear any words from him either.
Only a small whimper.
But the child kept talking.
“I looked everywhere for you.”
Bori licked the child’s face.
She laughed through her tears.
Garam quietly watched them.
Boss didn’t move either.
Goro sat in the shadows.
Chichi looked at Garam with her tail raised.
“We found him.”
Garam smiled.
“Yeah.”
This time, they really had.
When they checked Bori over, there were no noticeable serious injuries.
He had a small scrape on one paw, and his fur was a mess, but he didn’t seem to have any trouble walking.
Even so, Garam said,
“Take him to the vet when you get home.”
The child nodded repeatedly.
“Okay.”
“He’s been outside since yesterday.”
“Okay.”
Bori seemed a little uneasy when they put his collar back on, but he didn’t try to run away.
Instead, he pressed himself against the child’s leg.
Chichi circled around Bori.
“Are you going home now?”
Bori looked at Chichi and gave a short bark.
“Woof.”
Garam still couldn’t hear any meaning in it.
Chichi nodded.
“He says he’s going home.”
Garam smiled.
“Really?”
The child immediately asked,
“What did Bori say?”
Garam looked at Chichi.
“He wants to go home.”
The child’s face crumpled as if she might cry again.
“Really?”
“That’s what Chichi heard.”
The child bent down and hugged Bori around the neck.
“Let’s go.”
Bori obediently followed.
On the way back up from the stream,
The child walked a little ahead this time, with Bori beside her.
Garam and the cats followed behind.
Chichi kept weaving around Bori and talking to him.
“How far did you go last night?”
“Woof.”
“Why did you go in there?”
“Woof woof.”
“Are you really that scared of thunder?”
“Woof.”
After listening for a while, Chichi said,
“He was super scared.”
Garam asked,
“Of what?”
“He thought the sky was breaking apart over and over.”
Garam nearly stopped walking.
“That’s how he felt?”
“Yeah.”
The child had been listening too.
“Did Bori really say that?”
“That’s what Chichi heard.”
The child looked down at Bori.
“I’m sorry.”
Bori lifted his head.
The child shortened her grip on the leash.
“I won’t let you get away next time.”
Hearing that, Garam spoke up.
“You didn’t lose him on purpose.”
The child looked at Garam.
“Still.”
“Then next time there’s thunder, check the front door first.”
The child paused, then nodded.
“Okay.”
That was better.
Instead of feeling sorry.
Deciding what to do next time.
By the time they returned to Garam Bookstore, it was nearly lunchtime.
When Garam opened the door, Kkami lifted his head from the window.
“You found him.”
Kkami said it when he saw Bori.
Garam smiled.
“Yeah.”
Gramps opened one eye from his armchair.
“That the mutt?”
“Yeah.”
Once Bori entered the store, perhaps because there were so many cats, he hid a little behind the child.
Kkami narrowed his eyes.
“He’s a scaredy-cat.”
Boss said,
“He’s been like that since yesterday.”
Gramps stared at Bori for a long while.
“As long as he made it back alive.”
Garam nodded without saying anything.
After thanking Garam several times, the child left with Bori.
Garam watched until the two figures disappeared beyond the glass door.
“Two treats,” Chichi said from his feet.
“I remember.”
“Now.”
“Wash your paws first.”
Chichi lifted one paw.
“I don’t wash.”
“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.”
Kkami said,
“He talks like it’s the first time every time.”
Chichi looked at Kkami.
“It’s not the first time?”
“That’s even more of a problem.”
Garam returned to the counter.
He opened his notebook.
Bori. Five years old. Male.
Below that,
He wrote one final line.
Case closed.
As he set down his pen, Gramps said,
“So this time you found a dog too.”
Garam answered,
“He was lost.”
“You couldn’t understand him.”
Garam thought for a moment.
“Even if I can’t understand what he says, I can still find him.”
Gramps narrowed his eyes.
Garam closed the notebook.
He hadn’t been able to hear Bori directly say that he was scared.
He couldn’t know where Bori wanted to go.
But he could see the way Bori curled in on himself.
He could see his ears move at the sound of a familiar voice.
And more than anything,
The other cats could ask for him.
Garam took a bag of treats from beneath the counter.
Chichi came running over at once.
“Two!”
“I know.”
“Really two?”
“Yeah.”
Chichi’s tail stood straight up.
“Today was a good day.”
Boss said from beside him,
“Better than finding Bori?”
Chichi thought for a moment.
“Both.”
“How much?”
“Finding Bori was a little better.”
Garam laughed.
“A little?”
“Treats are important too.”
Gramps clicked his tongue.
“Child.”
Chichi turned around at once.
“I’m not a child!”
“You’re two.”
“Two is all grown up!”
The inside of Garam Bookstore grew noisy again.
The rain had stopped completely,
And the late-spring sunlight shone across the wet alley outside the window.
Today, one more had returned.
This time, it wasn’t an object.
It was someone who hadn’t been able to find the way home on their own.