What If Cats Disappeared From the World

01The Unsettling Proposition

In the bustling city of Tokyo, a solitary postman led a life of quiet simplicity. His existence was as unremarkable as the gray uniform he wore, his days filled with the rhythmic sorting and delivering of letters. His only companion was a cat named Cabbage, a creature of quiet dignity and warmth. Their lives, though simple, were content until the day the postman was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The news fell like a guillotine, severing his mundane existence and leaving him with a finite number of days. One day, an unexpected visitor arrived at his doorstep. The visitor was a mirror image of himself, a doppelgänger, but with an unsettling aura that hinted at a supernatural origin. The visitor introduced himself as the devil and offered a Faustian bargain - an extra day of life in exchange for making one thing disappear from the world. The devil, however, would choose what would vanish. Desperate to cling to life, the postman agreed to the devil's proposition. The devil began his game, making seemingly insignificant things disappear. First, it was telephones, then movies. With each disappearance, the postman was plunged into a series of flashbacks, each memory a poignant reminder of the profound impact these objects had on his life and relationships. The telephone, for instance, was not just a device for communication. It was a lifeline that connected him to his estranged mother, a conduit for their reconciliation. Movies were not just a source of entertainment but a shared passion that had sparked a brief but intense romance in his youth. As the devil's choices became increasingly personal, the postman was forced to confront the true cost of his bargain. The devil's next proposition was to make cats disappear. The thought of losing Cabbage, his only companion, was unbearable. The prospect of a world without the soft purr of his feline friend, the comforting weight of Cabbage on his lap, was a price too steep to pay. This heart-wrenching decision forced the postman to reflect on the value of life, love, and the small joys that make life worth living. He realized that life's worth was not measured in days but in the depth of experiences and relationships. The seemingly insignificant things were, in fact, the threads that wove the tapestry of his life. The devil's unsettling proposition thus became a journey of self-discovery and a poignant exploration of the human condition. The postman learned to cherish every moment, to appreciate the irreplaceable value of the seemingly insignificant things in life. His story serves as a reminder that life is not about the number of days we live, but the depth of experiences we have and the relationships we cherish.