From that night on, Lin carried a small glass bubble on a string around his neck. Whenever he felt anxious about exams, or angry at the world, or lost in regret—he looked at it.
The other cat spirits—Leopard, Clouded, and Tiger—leaped to Lin’s side. But their claws passed through the Yurei-neko like smoke.
“It has no weight,” growled Tiger. “We cannot fight what refuses to be solid.”
And inside, he saw a tiny cat made of water, sleeping peacefully, dreaming of cherry blossoms falling forever.
At the end of the alley stood a small, crumbling shrine. And sitting on the torii gate was a cat spirit he’d never seen before.