Thousand Winters.

Chifuyu, which translates to “A Thousand Winters”, was also the name of a girl who, though not very feminine, had a very special charisma. It wasn’t that she enjoyed dressing like a boy, but her outfits provided the comfort of a girl who was not influenced by fashion trends or the need to dress well. She preferred functional clothing to the need to look cute.

It was normal for her to wear long leggings, some even reaching her knees, paired with skirts and loose-fitting sweatshirts. Baggy pants and t-shirts were also a regular choice. It wasn’t to hide her femininity, it was just to be careless and not conform to traditional notions of girlishness. Sometimes the baggy pants she wore were tight around her hips, and the T-shirts clung to her body, revealing traces of her developing figure. Still, hints of her impending transition from girlhood to womanhood were already evident. Her blonde hair cascaded down to her hips in a tangled mess (you could say she resembled a minimalist version of Rapunzel). While she often let her hair hang loose, she occasionally braided it haphazardly and draped it over her shoulder.

Her rough and brusque demeanor occasionally made her the object of ridicule among other eleven-year-old girls. Boys, however, found her cool. Chifuyu often sought confrontation, defending those who were the targets of ridicule at school. She often took on boys associated with a gang, believing them to be pathetic and outdated. She confronted them fearlessly.

Her circle of friends was small. There was Takemichi, Emma and Hinata. It wasn’t that she despised spending time with girls her own age; it just wasn’t her norm. But these three girls were her closest companions. While she could hang out with others, her social circle was generally mixed.

“Damn it,” she muttered to herself, sitting on the damp ground that had been soaked by the incessant rain. “They’ve come and brought more people.” She had been the victim of a cruel prank by a group of girls, only two to be exact, but that day those girls approached Chifuyu accompanied by two other boys.

Suddenly, she heard a strange sound coming from a cardboard box. The girl approached the box and, driven by curiosity, tried to uncover its contents. Inside was a small black cat with a scar on its head. Soaked and thin, the wetness made it appear even smaller than it actually was. All in all, it was a tiny creature, probably about four months old.

The little kitten wanted to get the girl’s attention and stood on its hind legs, peeking over the edge of the box. Chifuyu was immediately touched by the sharp sound of its meow, and she gently stroked its head.

“I see, you’re a warrior too,” young Chifuyu said as she picked up the cat. “I know,” she added with a broad smile, “I’ll call you Excalibur.”

When her mother came home, she made a fuss when she saw her daughter disheveled, with dirty clothes and many scratches on her face and hands. It wasn’t the first time she had scolded her daughter for getting into trouble, and it made Mrs. Matsuno very angry. Chifuyu was her only child, and she had been widowed when Chifuyu was very young. She worried that her daughter wouldn’t grow up to be a well-behaved, delicate, and feminine eleven-year-old girl like others her age.

“You’ve been fighting again!” cried Mrs. Matsuno. She was a slender woman with blond hair and bright, expressive eyes. In a few words, she resembled an older version of Chifuyu, but more reserved, delicate, and feminine. “Wait a minute! What are you holding?” she added, noticing that Chifuyu was hiding something under her sweatshirt. However, the girl quickly distracted herself and ran into the bathroom to take a shower, laughing out loud as her mother chased after her. But since Chifuyu was more agile and faster, Mrs. Matsuno couldn’t catch her and watched in resignation as her daughter locked herself in the bathroom without even being able to say anything.

“Why couldn’t this girl be like her cousins?” Mrs. Matsuno wondered and let out a long sigh as she walked back to the kitchen. In her excitement, she had forgotten to prepare dinner and was afraid it would burn.

After choosing some clean and dry clothes, Chifuyu returned to the bathroom where she’d left Excalibur for a moment to make sure he wouldn’t escape while she chose her clean clothes in peace. With everything ready, she turned on the shower and began to bathe herself, as well as the kitten she had rescued from the rain.

“You’re so dirty, Excalibur,” she said as she shampooed the cat. “You’re really black. Will you turn into a white cat when you finish showering?” she asked innocently. All she got in return was a few scratches from a frightened cat who just wanted to run away. Still, Chifuyu was determined to give the poor little creature a bath. “All right, I give up,” she concluded, leaving behind a wet and dirty cat that Chifuyu found amusing, as it resembled a wet chupacabra.

Soon after, she finished her own shower and stepped into the tub. The kitten climbed on top of her and shook itself, leaving Chifuyu completely splashed. But instead of getting upset, she found it even more amusing, since the kitten looked like a wet sponge at that moment.

“Oh, my wounds hurt and itch,” she complained, though she didn’t seem bothered - rather, she seemed relieved. “You know, Excalibur,” she said, taking the kitten in her arms, “I’m sure my mother will ask me to take you back, but she’ll give in one way or another. She always does.”

After finishing her bath, she quickly dried her long hair, leaving it in a disorderly and fluffy mess. Her mother used to nag her for not combing it, to which she would reply, “Why bother? Anyway, as the hours go by, my hair just gets fuzzy again. And that was always the case. Chifuyu combed her hair every morning, but it didn’t last long. As the day progressed, her blonde hair tended to puff up like a lion’s mane. Eventually, she gave up and just stopped combing it in the morning. Because of its length, however, she decided to brush it at night and braid it into two sections on each side before bed to keep it from tangling.

“Absolutely not,” her mother said a few moments later while Chifuyu sat at the kitchen table and introduced the new family member. Faced with this refusal, the girl looked away, a pout forming on her lips. “Are you really going to take care of him yourself?” the woman asked.

“Yes,” Chifuyu replied.

“Just so you know, young lady, I will not be helping you,” her mother warned.

“All right,” the girl replied.

“And I won’t forgive you if you do it halfway,” her mother added.

“Yes,” Chifuyu agreed. After a short silence, she continued, “... tell me, Papa... Papa never left anyone alone when they were in trouble, did he?” The girl wanted to know, causing her mother to stare at her in surprise. “Excalibur was wet,” she explained. “And in trouble.” Then she looked at her mother and smiled broadly. “I’m Papa’s daughter, so I’m sure we’re alike.” Chifuyu asserted as she petted and hugged the kitten, who responded warmly and gratefully to her new owner’s gestures.

“It’s hard to be ‘Excalibur,’” Mrs. Matsuno commented as she watched her daughter feed the cat. “So change his name.”

“Huh? But I think it’s cool, it’s from a warrior like me. Isn’t that right, Excalibur? Don’t you like your name?”

“Girls your age shouldn’t say things like that, it’s not appropriate for a young lady. You’ll never find a good husband and have a family of your own,” her mother scolded her. “And his name isn’t cool.” Having said that, Mrs. Matsuno left the kitchen.

“Husband? Family? I’m only eleven, I’ll be twelve by the end of the year, and I don’t need a family yet,” the girl said, looking at the kitten as it ate. “You are my family now and from now on. I’m sure we’ll get along fine.”

A month had passed since then, and Excalibur had adapted quickly to his new home. Every night, he slept in a pet bed that Chifuyu (or rather, her mother) had bought, and sometimes he slept with her at the foot of the bed. Chifuyu fed him at night and bathed him when she showered.

Sometimes, however, Chifuyu would arrive home after five, while dinner was still being prepared. This meant that she couldn’t always feed her pet at the same time, and this time was no exception. She had returned from Emma’s house, one of her best friends, since they had agreed to meet there for a group project. When she got home, she didn’t know if her kitty was hungry or not.

“Mom, did you feed Excalibur?” Chifuyu asked.

“No, and change that name already!” her mother replied from afar.

“You like being called Excalibur, don’t you?” the girl said, ignoring her mother’s comment as she put food on a plate for the kitten, who ignored her. “How strange, doesn’t he want to eat?” she observed, “but he hasn’t eaten since this morning.” Quickly, the kitten jumped onto the balcony, leaving Chifuyu somewhat confused. “Ah! Wait,” she exclaimed, leaning out of the window. “Where are you going, Excalibur?” she called. The kitten was standing on the balcony of the apartment next door. “I wonder if he’s sick. Did he find food somewhere else?” She watched as he jumped again and climbed up to the balcony of the apartment above. “Huh? Where did he go?” Excalibur was no longer in sight as he climbed a few more floors and entered the neighboring apartment through an open window.

Jumping to the balcony above, Excalibur entered through the window of a room belonging to a boy a few years older than Chifuyu. He had long hair, almond-shaped eyes and a deep gaze. He was listening to music with his headphones while reading a manga, stretched out on his bed. He noticed the cat entering his room when he suddenly heard a noise at the window. The boy smiled when he saw him.

“Give me a moment,” he said, getting up from the bed and going to his closet. He took out a cat food bowl from the back, which he had prepared beforehand. “Here you go, little friend,” he continued, offering it to the kitten. “Peke J,” the young man added, stroking the cat’s back and then smiling. “The house cat, I wonder who you belong to.”

Almost half an hour had passed since Excalibur had climbed the building’s balconies, and Chifuyu was very worried. She imagined the worst possible scenarios for her cat. She didn’t know that on other occasions, her pet had ventured out as far as she would allow - only to the balcony of her room, but under supervision. The fact that her pet had escaped was unexpected. She left the window open, hoping that he would return at any moment, and to distract herself from her worries, she grabbed one of her favorite shojo manga to read again.

“Chifuyu!” called Mrs. Matsuno from outside her daughter’s room. “I’m going up to the fifth floor to greet the new neighbors who just moved in, okay?”

“Fine,” Chifuyu replied vaguely and without much interest as she continued reading.

Credits: Original characters by Ken Wakui Cover made by Talita Erised Cover illustration by @Gabbstrock Story written by Talita Erised.