Cats are cute but it's surprising that some parents are willing to give their kid a cat and/or dog before they even reach double digits since it is like a decade commitment unless they're fickle and end up re-homing it within a month or so tho i'm surprised some ppl would even have the time to spend/walk a dog with school and such depending on the schedules even if cats are chill/independent versus a dog feeling cooped up
It's possible if she didn't took off, if she died, they didn't find her body b/c other than the son being esp sensitive, it almost seems cruel to give him false hope and NOT have a funeral if she really is dead versus 'distracting' him with a road trip or so and being in denial or so even tho it's hinted he's more aware than he seems
I was curious so I went and reread the old chaps to see if I could find any important hints:
In chap 1:
NPC lady: " Did she run away from home?"
Dad: "Um, no, I think you can get the picture?"
Then the son and father cross a traditional japanese bride over a river to make a wish, heavily symbolizing the classic Japanese myth of "crossing the river of the afterlife".
Now in chap 5 confirms a year has passed since her alleged death, which in Japan is still not long enough before they declare a missing person legally dead. I googled it, and in Japan it can take years before they legally declare someone dead, google says 7 years, this could explain why they have not yet shown a funeral, cause they may not know if she is truly dead or not.
I think they are heavily implying mommy is dead and gone, but for some reason the father assumes the son does not know she died, implying he was not there when it happened.
In chap 3:
The dad's friend is talking to him on a phone call asking if he is ok, implying the mother's death was something traumatizing to him, which could just be natural grief too I guess.
She could still pop up alive with these current hints though, at least with the facts we have now, we still don't have full confirmation of her death.