Summary

In “Keenly,” Eriko found her cat Maow while listening to the radio one day. After Eriko started feeding Maow, Maow visited regularly.

Around “that same time,” Eriko and Nishino had their “first conversation” (112). They “had been neighbors for at least five years,” but had never spoken (112). Nishino noticed Eriko feeding Maow, and remarked upon the plate she was using. Eriko noticed feline similarities between Maow and Nishino.

After their first interaction, Nishino started visiting Eriko. Once they began seeing each other, they joked that Maow was Eriko’s lover and Nishino was her “good friend” (114). Though Eriko had “started to fall in love with Nishino,” she “refused to love him” (115). Her failed marriage had made her “much more watchful” when it came “to love” (115). When Nishino asked why they could not be lovers, Eriko said it was because she could not “be...