As night gently descended, Yui walked down Yumemizaka each evening. Every time her school skirt swayed in the breeze, her heart felt just a little lighter—because she knew she’d see that cat.
Sleek, black fur. Amber eyes that looked straight into hers. The cat always sat halfway down the slope, never failing to appear. And each time, it would simply look up at Yui in silence.
That night was no different. The cat was there, calmly flicking its tail as if it had been waiting. Yui crouched down and gently reached out her hand. The cat brought its nose close to her fingertips.
Suddenly, her vision shimmered. The world blurred and shifted color.
She found herself in a small shopping street, one steeped in the charm of old Showa-era Japan. The signs were wooden, and aged street lamps glowed softly overhead. Yui recognized the place instantly. She had visited it many times as a child with her grandmother. But it no longer existed—demolished and replaced through redevelopment. And yet, here it was, alive again in the world of dreams.
“Welcome back.”
Turning around, Yui saw her grandmother. Dressed in her usual apron, she smiled warmly. A grandmother Yui could only meet in dreams. Without thinking, Yui rushed into her arms.
“How can I come here?” she asked.
“It’s thanks to the cat,” her grandmother replied. “That one walks between worlds. Because you kept yearning deep in your heart, it opened the path.”
Dream time was always fleeting. When Yui awoke, the cat, her grandmother, and the street would be gone. But she knew she would see them again.
Yet this night was different.
The cat turned partway down the slope and began to walk, as if guiding her. Yui followed—and instead of the usual dream, she saw an old, weathered gate at the top of the hill.
“You have to choose,” came her grandmother’s voice, carried by the wind.
“If you stay here, we can be together. But you won’t be able to return to the real world.”
Yui stopped. The cat looked up at her. Those amber eyes were asking a question.
Quietly, Yui shook her head.
“Thank you. But I still want to live… over there.”
The cat narrowed its eyes and purred contentedly.
When Yui awoke, the cat was gone from its usual spot on the slope. But the breeze gently brushed her hair. She looked up at the sky and smiled.
The line between dreams and reality was still blurred—but she could walk forward now. No more hesitation.
