Case File · A-039: The Orange Cat at the Residential Compound's South Gate, Whom Humans Call 「Director」

the residential compound's South Gate (tur)

This instalment of the file was compiled from two weeks of on-the-ground records kept by this newspaper's History Desk. The History Desk works slowly, but its records are complete — which is precisely the quality that archival work requires.

Observation record (excerpts)

Over fourteen consecutive days of observation, the individual held the South Gate during the two periods above, administering a 「nodding consolation」 to humans passing in and out: eye contact, one slow blink, gaze withdrawn. The full sequence takes about three seconds.

The intensity of the human reaction to this action exceeded this newspaper's expectations. Recorded reactions include: relaying to another human that 「the Director looked at me today」; taking a three-hundred-metre detour past the South Gate; and leaving a single dried small fish beside the stone bollard while pretending, within thirty minutes, not to have left it.

This newspaper confirms: the individual has entered into no formal contract with any human. The so-called 「healing」 is a unilateral act of procurement by humans, and it has not been paid for.

File assessment

Rating: operating well. The individual's attendance discipline is better than that of most of this newspaper's columns, and his relationship with humans rests on a basis that neither side states aloud — which is precisely the most stable relational structure this newspaper has seen in twenty years of reporting on humans (converted to turtle calendar).

This newspaper reminds residents of the South Gate: healing is billed both ways. Please feed in accordance with local regulations, do not use a flash while he is on duty, and — post advance notice before changing his food.