[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 67: "'tsumu_toco' Is Currently on Break" / "Softly, in the Wind of the Bypass")

Side B: "'tsumu_toco' Is Currently on Break."

Clang, clink.
A metallic sound that seemed to be sucked into the sky echoed here and there.
Every time the wind blew through, that sound reached far away.
It felt as if someone was telling me, "This is your own time now."

I was looking at my smartphone while walking.
On the app screen was the morning routine video I posted this morning.
With a film-like color grade, bed-making, music, and a small breakfast.
Comments like "So healing" and "I can't believe you're a middle schooler" were lined up.

My mother is a nurse and busy, so the housework I learned naturally came in handy.

My followers have already exceeded 80,000.
I should have been happy, but lately, the numbers felt heavy somehow.
"What should I post next?" "Is this 'Instagrammable'?"
—I had been obsessing over the idea that I had to be someone's "healing."

But today,
for some reason, I closed that screen and put my smartphone in my pocket.

And then, I walked up the hill.
To the sports center on the high ground above the bypass.
I remembered the name vaguely.

I remembered it because during lunch break today,
while chatting with the boy from the baseball team who sat next to me after the seat change,
he laughed and said, "When you want to change your mood, you go to the batting center."

When I was still small—before my parents divorced—
I have a memory of my father taking me to play table tennis.

I had never been to the batting center side.
I had never even held a glove or a bat.
In the first place, I was bad at sports,
and I must have troubled my father by crying because I couldn't play table tennis at all.

But today, I just wanted to go somewhere different than usual.

In the batting cage, an elementary school student was practicing alongside his father.
The sound of coins, the sound of the ball being hit. The smell of sweat.

While glancing at that,
I stood in a cage two spots away and inserted a coin.

Twenty balls.

I didn't even graze it once.

I sighed, stepped out of the cage, sat on a bench, and closed my eyes.

Clang, clink.

The sound of an elementary school student hitting the ball with a crisp, satisfying sound echoed.

The parent and child didn't seem to care at all that I had swung and missed every single time.

—Well, of course they wouldn't.

"They never really look at me anyway, do they?"

The moment I thought that, the tension in my shoulders suddenly melted away.

At that moment, there was a small presence under the bench, at my feet.
When I looked down, there was a white and brown spotted cat.
It had a small notch in one ear.

"Why... are you in a place like this?"

The cat said nothing. It just existed.
Amidst the sound of the batted balls, while being blown by the wind, it was quietly "there" beside me.

I didn't take out my smartphone.
I didn't record a video either.
I felt like it was okay not to leave any record of today.

Bun-chan flicked its tail once and then quietly walked away again.

"I wonder if it's okay to come back again."
I didn't say it out loud, but that feeling welled up deep in my chest.

I gripped the bat once more and inserted a coin.

—Because you were here.
For me right now, that was enough.

[End]

Side A: "Softly in the Bypass Wind"

The wind climbing the hill was softly swaying my fur.
A high ground overlooking the town of Hiu.
At the edge of it, there is a place that makes a hard sound.

Clang, thud.
A sound different from human noise, a straight resonance.
Beyond that sound, I felt a slight tremor in a heart.

As I walked closer, there it was.
A batting center.
The sound of coins, the sound of batted balls, and occasionally laughter.
But—in the corner, there was a girl sitting alone on a bench.

A school skirt. A phone strap swaying in the wind.
Her eyes were looking toward the sky.
With both sound and screen closed, she was simply 'there'.

I walked on the concrete and quietly went to her side.

The girl opened her eyes just a little.
But then, her expression softened in an instant.

"...Why are you in a place like this?"

I say nothing. I just sit quietly.
The wind passes under the bench with a clatter.

That girl's 'sound' was a small one.
It had been moving constantly in places unseen,
and now, it wanted to stop for just a little while.

I knew that.
So, I decided to just 'be' by her side without saying a word.

After a while, the girl put her hand in her pocket.
I thought she would take out her phone, but she stopped.
In that gesture, a very gentle breeze blew.

I flicked my tail softly and stood up.
That was enough for now.

Feeling her gaze on my back,
I started walking back into the wind.

—I was here.
I felt like that girl's 'sound' had become a little gentler.

[End]

• Bun-chan (deformed version) LINE stickers are now available 🐾 ▼

• Previous episode ▼

List of series titles: (To be posted sequentially)

• Episode 1: "The Cat on the Hill" / "The Delivery Person's Mission"

• Episode 2: "The Letter Shop at the Bottom of the Hill" / "The Word Florist"

• Episode 3: "Tail Map" / "Tail Arrow"

• Episode 4: "I'm Waiting for You" / "Scent of the Wind, Sound of Curry"

• Episode 5: "The Tail Guide" / "A Cat in Sasebo"

• Episode 6: "The Sound That Unties Me" / "It Sounds Like I'm Trying Too Hard"

• Episode 7: "The Day I Let Go of That Hand" / "Me, Still Not Understanding"

• Episode 8: "The Reason I Cried That Time" / "A Mother's Heart, the Warmth of a Child's Hand"

• Episode 9: "A Night I Can't Say 'I'm Home'" / "Will I Be Able to Properly Become a 'Father'?"

• Episode 10: "Voice of the Fish, Father's Back, Cat's Footprints" / "Standing in Father's Shop"

• Episode 11: "The Day I Returned to Land" / "A Heart Returning to Port"

• Episode 12: "Beside a Warm Tail" / "The Presence of Distant Mountains Deep Within the Scent"

• Episode 13: "Waiting at the Exit of the Night" / "The Few Minutes I Return to Myself"

• Episode 14: "Before the Sound That Hasn't Yet Rung" / "I'm Sorry. But Thank You." / "Is Staying Behind the Same as Running Away?"

• Episode 15: "Beside the one who prays in silence" / "The prayer of the one who prays"

• Episode 16: "Before the silence turns into sweat" / "You're here again today, Bun-chan"

• Episode 17: "The reason for lifting the noren curtain" / "Bun-chan, it's not over here yet"

• Episode 18: "I didn’t say it out loud, but you heard me." / "A voiceless voice, I can hear it clearly"

• Episode 19: "The winner who doesn't sing and the clown who doesn't laugh" / "The distance seen from above, the scent reaching from below"

• Episode 20: "A light ignites between the two" / "I thought you'd come. I have no proof, though" / "I didn't exactly go to see you—though you wouldn't believe me if I said that"

• Episode 21: "The one on the boundary" / "I can tell by the scent whether it's a departure or an arrival"

• Episode 22: "Even if you fall, your eyes are still looking forward" / "I wanted to say that I did it"

• Episode 23: "Even on days when there's no sound, there are those who can hear" / "Beyond the sound, there is a heart"

• Episode 24: "The sound of unraveling isn't in the voice, but in the depths of the eyes" / "Mother, the cat, and the stranger" / "On the slope, I felt two winds overlap"

• Episode 25: "Today, there was no sound of a broom" / "When he's quiet, I feel like the garden gets a little wider"

• Episode 26: "Even if you can't hear the bell, the wind is still blowing" / "Even if the bell doesn't ring, the scent of feelings remains here"

• Episode 27: "Because someone was definitely here" / "Because they were here"

• Episode 28: "Because those hands were kind" / "Since the day I touched that child, I feel like the town has become a little warmer"

• Episode 29: "The scent of dried nets and a silent kindness" / "There are things that are understood even without saying a word"

• Episode 30: "I'm glad you're a police officer" / "There was a gentle presence in the shadow of your hat"

• Episode 31: "What Bun-chan reminded me of" / "The scent of memories rose up around the wooden box"

• Episode 32: "The last flight of spring, and Bun-chan." / "The scent of the bus and the rules of spring"

• Episode 33: "A drink, the night breeze, and Bun-chan." / "When your tempo is off, listen to the sound of the wind"

• Episode 34: "A mountain of lucky bags and the scent of that day" / "Beyond the scent of the mountain of lucky bags"

• Episode 35: "A waltz mixed in the wind, and Bun-chan" / "Under the cherry blossoms, while scooping up the wind"

• Episode 36: "The scent of water and Bun-chan" / "The scent of water and the sound of footsteps"

• Episode 37: "The scent of the river, a prayer, and in the silence of spring" / "The scent of the river, a vow, and Bun-chan"

• Episode 38: "The scent of the tide, the words I conveyed, and Bun-chan" / "The wind scooping up the tide and the sound of prayer"

• Episode 39: "Thoughts Swaying on the Water's Surface, and Bun-chan Again" / "The Scent Along the River, and the Shadow of Prayer"

• Episode 40: "The Sound of Unraveling, and Bun-chan" / "The Sound of Passing Through the Wind, and the Scent of the Sea"

• Episode 41: "Damp Cobblestones, and a Gentle Voice" / "The Thank You I Couldn't Say"

• Episode 42: "First Fish, First Enemy" / "Black Shadow, Young Tail"

• Episode 43: "First Scent, Warm Hands" / "Beyond the Swept Clean Path"

• Episode 44: "The Usual Alley, an Unknown Scent" / "Eyes Through the Window, and the Shadow in the Alley"

• Episode 45: "Wood Shavings and Sighs" / "A Playmate Made of Wood Shavings"

• Episode 46: "Tears and the Swaying of a Tail" / "A Place That Can't Be Found"

• Episode 47: "A Stopped Clock and Moving Scenery" / "The Wind and the Sweet Scent of Candy"

• Episode 48: "Accumulated Frustration and a Quiet Fur Ball" / "Shadow of Steel Beams, a Quiet Nap"

• Episode 49: "Things That Can't Be Put Into Words" / "Things I Want to Say, Left Unsaid" / "I Was Just Here"

• Episode 50: "Twilight of Hesitation" / "One Path, Two Shadows"

• Episode 51: "Family Growing Distant, the Town Drawing Near" / "Because I Was By Your Side"

• Episode 52: "A Chilly Wind and a Warm Scent" / "At the Back Door at Twilight"

• Episode 53: "The Scent of the Tide and a Small Decision" / "The Sound of Rolling Waves and a White Seashell"

• Episode 54: "Just Raising Your Voice Isn't Enough to Convey It" / "Beside the Stopped Feet"

• Episode 55: "The Feeling That Wants to Bloom Is Still Here" / "The Wind Carries the Sound of Wanting to Bloom"

• Episode 56: "A Story That Needs No Voice" / "Reading Aloud Without Words" / "A Story in the Palm of Your Hand"

• Episode 57: "Two Bouquets" / "Because I Was Beside the Flowers" / "Another Bouquet"

• Episode 58: "The Gaze I Found at the Morning Back Door" / "Memories Overlapping at the Morning Back Door" / "A Gentle Wind at the Back Door"

• Episode 59: "The Morning When a Blink Was Returned" / "Because I Returned It With a Blink"

• Episode 60: "Touching Memories From Across the Sea" / "Just Like That Cat Remembered" / "Because I Remember, I Am Softly Here"

• Episode 61: "The Pride of the Sunny Spot" / "I Won't Give Up This Warm Place"

• Episode 62: "Just Being in the Silence of the Archery Range" / "Looking Further Than the Target"

• Episode 63: "The scent brings me back" / "There was a heart in the steam"

• Episode 64: "Just seeing them off in the sound of rain" / "In the sound crossing the rain"

• Episode 65: "The white ball and a small breath" / "Just being in the corner of the ground"

• Episode 66: "The sound of trees and the presence of a cat" / "Softly, on an afternoon that smells of trees"

• Episode 67: "'tsumu_toco' is currently on break." / "Softly, in the wind of the bypass"

Afterword

Thank you for picking up this book.
And I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for walking this far with Bun-chan and the town of Sasebo.

I was born and raised in Sasebo.
However, I left the town for university and found employment outside the prefecture.
But after several milestones in life, I am now living in this town again.
This short story collection began with my desire to depict the scenery of Sasebo—which feels nostalgic yet has certainly changed—and the lives of the people who live there, as seen through my eyes now that I have "returned to live in this town again," using a quiet lens called 'a cat's perspective'.
The protagonist, Bun-chan, is a white and brown patched cat.
He does not speak human language, but by simply being there, he gently accepts the small fluctuations in people's hearts and the expressions they show to no one else.
A cat in the corner of town.
While that is all he is, he is a presence that is surely remembered as having "been here."
The title of this short story collection was named as a symbol of Bun-chan's way of being, and of Sasebo as a "place where memories remain" for the people who have spent time in this town.
Furthermore, for the creation of this book, I have utilized OpenAI's ChatGPT as a creative partner.
At first, I started discussing plots with a light heart, wondering "what kind of stories would be born with a cat and a town as the stage," but before I knew it, my days became about carefully exploring the breath of the story and the lingering resonance of words through dialogue with AI.
"A cat that doesn't speak," "people who don't want to talk," "memories of a town that disappear without being told"—
I feel that being able to give shape to these themes through collaboration with ChatGPT, sometimes like poetry and sometimes as stories, was an essential process for this work.
Sasebo is a town of slopes and harbors.
The scenery that has changed and the atmosphere that remains the same all continue to nurture the memories of the people and the town.
I would be happy if Bun-chan's story could gently nestle into your heart as one of those memories.
Spring 2025
From the town of Sasebo
Author

Profile | Kazuomi Matsunaga

🧭Thinking Navigator

Biography: Graduated from Kyushu University, Faculty of Engineering (Materials Engineering) => Engineer at a metal materials manufacturer in Aichi (Production Technology) => Advertising sales for a local free paper in Nagasaki Prefecture => School corporation staff (<- Now here). A person in their 50s living in Nagasaki Prefecture. Both children have left the nest as university students, and I am living with my wife.
A writer who lets thoughts play daily at the intersection of "questions" and "curiosity." Recently, I have been writing about my own unique perspectives on themes such as education, stories, psychology, AI, and design, centering on the serialized column series "The Science of Thought." I am exploring "free knowledge design" that goes beyond existing frameworks. My motto is "Imagination opens up the world."
In my main profession, while working in university and education-related fields, I value carefully observing "the moment when people come to 'like' something" and "the scenes where questions sprout."
🧭 I would be happy if I could deliver articles that help a "new perspective" sprout within you after reading.
Feedback is also very welcome!