[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 12: "Beside a Warm Tail" / "The Presence of Distant Mountains Behind the Scent")

Side B: "Beside a Warm Tail"
—A Record of a Nepali Student's Night

　It rained today.
　There were many sounds of umbrellas at the station rotary, and everyone was walking quickly.

　I was straightening the bread shelves inside the convenience store.
　My part-time job is three hours long. Always from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
　I come straight here after school, and when I finish, I go home and cook rice.

　Two years have passed since I came to Japan.
　I have gotten a little used to the language and the classes.
　But my heart is still not used to “the me who is here”.

　My Japanese at the register has become smooth, and
　I have become able to talk and laugh with the neighborhood regulars.
　But I still don't have anyone "as close as family."

　When I finished my shift and went outside, the rain had stopped.
　The ground was sparkling, and the streetlights were reflected on the wet road.
　I folded my umbrella and took a deep breath.

　That was when it happened.

　There was a cat.
　White and brown patches. It was sitting flat near the flower bed in front of the station.

　When I approached, it looked straight at my face.
　It didn't meow. But it didn't run away either.

　"Good evening."
　I found myself saying to it.

The cat tilted its head slightly and gave its tail a soft flick.
For some reason, I sat down on a nearby bench.
The cat sat down next to me, keeping a little distance.

For a while, I looked up at the sky.
The sky in Japan seems different from the sky in Nepal, yet it is very similar.
And suddenly, a deep part of my heart felt a little lonely.

"I want to see my family."
It was strange that the words came out in Japanese.

The cat narrowed its eyes and looked at me.
It didn't say anything.
But that was very warm.

"It's going to be okay."
I felt as if it had said that.
In a quiet feeling that was neither Nepali nor Japanese.

Before long, the cat stood up and held its tail straight up.
Then, it trotted off toward the station.
It was as if it were saying, "I'll be here again."

"Thank you, Bun-chan."

I didn't know its name,
but I remembered the neighborhood children calling it that.

Tonight, I received a little"night without loneliness."

The cat was just there.
But I feel like a warm light has been lit inside me.

Perhaps that cat is a magician.
It quietly finds lonely people and comforts them not with words, but by"being by their side."

　Will we be able to meet again?
　Surely, yes. Surely.

[End]

Side A: "The Presence of Distant Mountains Behind the Scent"
——Bun-chan and the International Student's Night

　I am a cat. Bun-chan.
　I wander through the town of Sasebo, following where the wind blows, following where the presence leads.

　Tonight, near the convenience store in front of the station, the air after the rain tickled.
　The smell of concrete. Damp asphalt.
　And, deep within that, a little bit of the scent of distant, nostalgic mountains was mixed in.

　The owner of that scent was still a young human.
　Black hair. A straight back.
　But, deep in his eyes, a little bit of "time alone" was submerged.

　I walked out in front of him and sat down flat.
　He didn't seem surprised and said in a gentle voice:

　"Good evening."

　——More than the meaning of the words,
　the softness of that voice reached my ears.

　He works at the convenience store in front of the station.
　Every night, he neatly straightens the shelves and rings up the register with a smile.
　But, deep in his heart, the presence of his family in a distant country is always close by.

　I sat down neatly on the bench next to him.
　He sat down too.
　Human and cat, just sitting side by side without exchanging words.

　——That is fine.

After a while, he muttered.

"I want to see my family."

Mixed into that voice was
the remnants of the rain, a little warmth, and a small amount of courage.

I narrowed my eyes and gave my tail a soft flick.
I didn't say "it's okay" or "I'm here with you."
I simply conveyed all those feelingsfrom my feet.

Before long, he gave me a small smile.
Seeing that smile, which was like warm light,
I stood up gracefully.

Then, with my tail held straight up, I began to walk back into the night wind.

He will surely have things to worry about in the future, too.
But,if he could just once feel that he wasn't standing alone in this townon a night like this,
then that is enough.

I am a cat.
But sometimes,I make someone remember the memory of a distant mountain.

Because that is my job.

[End]

Previous episode▼

List of Series Titles: (To be posted sequentially)

• Episode 1: "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: "Tail Guide" / "A Cat in Sasebo"

• Episode 6: "The Sound That Unravels Me" / "The Sound of Trying Too Hard"

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

• Episode 8: "The Reason I Cried That Time" / "Mother's Heart, 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 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 Behind the Scent"

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

• Episode 14: "Before the Sound That Hasn't Finished Ringing" / "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 Silence Turns to Sweat" / "You're Here Today Too, Bun-chan"

• Episode 17: "The Reason for Raising the Noren" / "Bun-chan, It's Not Over Here Yet"

• Episode 18: "I didn’t say it out loud, but you heard me." / "I Can Hear Your Voiceless Voice Just Fine"

• Episode 19: "The Silent Winner and the Unsmiling Clown" / "The Distance Seen from Above, the Scent Reaching from Below"

• Episode 20: "A Light Ignites Between the Two" / "I Thought You'd Come. Even Without Any Reason" / "I didn't exactly go to see you—though you probably won't believe me"

• Episode 21: "The One at the Boundary" / "I Can Tell by the Scent Whether You're Leaving or Arriving"

• 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 Without Sound, There Are Those Who Can Hear" / "Beyond the Sound, There Is a Heart"

• Episode 24: "The Sound of Unraveling Is Not in the Voice, But Deep in the Eyes" / "Mother, the Cat, and the Stranger"

• Episode 25: "Today, There Was No Sound of a Broom" / "When He Was Silent, I Felt the Garden Grow a Little Larger"

• Episode 26: "Even If You Can't Hear the Bell, the Wind Is Still Blowing" / "Even Without the Sound of the Bell, the Scent of Affection Remains Here"

• Episode 27: "Someone Was Certainly Here" / "Because You Were Here"

• Episode 28: "Because Those Hands Were Kind"

• Episode 29: "The Scent of Dried Nets and Silent Kindness" / "Even Without Saying Anything, There Are Things That Are Understood"

• Episode 30: "I'm Glad You Were a Policeman" / "There Was a Gentle Presence in the Shadow of Your Hat"

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 started working outside the prefecture.
But after several turning points in my life, I am now living in this town again.
This short story collection began with my desire to depict the somewhat nostalgic, yet certainly changed, scenery of Sasebo and the people living there, as seen through my eyes now that I have returned to live in this town,through the quiet lens of a "cat's perspective."The protagonist, Bun-chan, is a white and brown patched cat.
He doesn't speak human language, but by just being there, he gently accepts the small fluctuations in people's hearts and the expressions they show to no one else.
A cat in a 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 collection was named as a symbol of Bun-chan's way of being, and Sasebo as a "place where the thoughts of people who have spent time in this town remain."
Furthermore, in the creation of this book,
OpenAI's ChatGPTwas used as a creative partner.At first, I started consulting on the plot 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,
it became days of 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 the town that disappear without being told"—I feel that being able to shape these themes into something that is sometimes like poetry and sometimes like a story through collaboration with ChatGPT was an essential process for this work.
Sasebo is a town of slopes and ports.
The scenery that has changed and the atmosphere that remains unchanged 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

Biography:Graduated from a national university in Kyushu (Materials Engineering) => Engineer at a metal materials manufacturer in the Chukyo region (Production Technology) => Advertising sales for a local Nagasaki prefecture free paper => School corporation staff (<- Now here). A person in their 50s living in Nagasaki Prefecture.
I am a writer who lets my 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 serial column "Science of Thought" series. I am exploring "free knowledge design" that goes beyond existing frameworks. My motto is "Imagination opens up the world."
In my main profession, while being involved in university and education-related work, 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.
📮 Impressions and messages of support are always welcome!