[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 23: "Even on Days When No Sound Comes Out, There Are Those Who Can Hear" / "Beyond the Sound, There Is a Heart")

Side B: "Even on Days When No Sound Comes Out, There Are Those Who Can Hear"
—The Harbor Bench, Bun-chan, and an Afternoon of Trumpet

　A Sunday afternoon with a slightly strong wind.
　There are few people at the harbor, so it's just right for making some noise.

　I always sit on this bench,
　and when the performance at Arcas SASEBO gets close,
　it's become a habit of mine to adjust my sound alone.

　But today, it's not going well.
　The sound is stiff.
　My breath feels shallow,
　and above all,I feel like the sound just won't resonate.

　I stared at the bell of my trumpet and sighed.
　Since I've been playing since high school,
　I know my own condition well enough.
　My current sound is missing something.

　Maybe some part of my heart is tired.
　Things haven't been going well at work,
　and I can't seem to handle the pressure or the relationships well at all.

　When I think about the concert, I feel excited, but
　at the same time, a small anxiety keeps ringing,
　asking, "What if no sound comes out?"

　That was when it happened.

　With a soft "whoosh," without even making a sound with its footsteps,
　a shadow sat down lightly beside the bench.

　White and brown patches.
　I feel like I've seen it in town before.
　That famous cat—Bun-chan?

The cat just sat silently beside me.
Next to the trumpet case,
flicking its ears in the wind, it stared straight ahead.

I didn't do anything in particular, just held my trumpet again.

I played a note.
…It still wasn't perfect.
But I felt like my breathing had become just a little deeper than before.

The cat said nothing.
But I felt as if it had told me, 'That's fine.'

I played.
Wrapped in the harbor breeze, the ship's whistle, and the cat's stillness,
I carefully spun out each note once more.

Bun-chan
watched the grains of sound emerging from the trumpet's bell as they rose into the sky,
as if intently following them.

And before I knew it,
my heart felt strangely light.

It's not about whether the sound is perfect.
The feeling of wanting to reach someone—if that is properly conveyed to 'someone who can hear,' then that is enough.

The concert is soon.
I'm sure I'll still have my anxieties.
But I think I will keep this quiet time today, along with the sound, in my heart.

Without saying a word,
Bun-chan walked smoothly down the harbor road.

The scent of the wind and the lingering echoes of sound were
left behind on the bench.

[End]

Side A: "Beyond the Sound, There Is a Heart"
——Bun-chan, with the trumpet echoing in the harbor

I am a cat. Bun-chan.
I walk through the town of Sasebo, and with the sounds and scents of the wind,
I am good at finding out "who is standing still right now."

Today is Sunday.
The midday light is warm, but the harbor wind is a bit cold.

That is why,
when that sound reached me—I was a little concerned.

A trumpet.
It is high and sparkling, but
it is wavering somewhere.

The sound is coming out.
But I could tell that deep inside, there was a feeling of "things aren't going well" mixed in.

I walked along the harbor promenade,
and headed toward the bench where the sound was coming from.

There he was.
A young man.
He was sitting with his case beside him.
He wasn't in a suit. He was dressed casually.
But I could tell that tension and fatigue were weighing on his hand movements.

I said nothing and sat down beside the bench.
The bell of the trumpet trembled near my ears.

He looked at me for just a moment.
But he didn't say a word.
That was just right.

I simply 'listen'.
Along with the sound, I also feel the temperature of that person's heart.

After a while, his sound
became a little deeper.

Surely, he must have changed the way he was blowing.
The 'blockage' in his heart had just loosened a little.

When sound comes straight from a person's chest,
it is no longer just technique, but their 'current feelings'.

I know that.

Music has no scent.
However,it has the power to change the air.

A person who possesses that is cool.

The trumpet sound stopped, and
he quietly closed his mouth.

He didn't say anything, but
I looked at him with eyes that said, 'You played well.'

He smiled just a little.

That is enough for me.
I start walking down the harbor road again.

The next time a sound rings out,
that person will likely be able to play more honestly with their own feelings.

I might be nearby at that time,
or I might not be.

But—

I am always listening to what lies deep within the sound.

[End]

Previous episode▼

Series Title List: (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 Flower Shop of Words"

• Episode 3: "The Tail's Map" / "The Tail's Arrow"

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

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

• Episode 6: "The Sound That Unravels Me" / "A Sound That Tries 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: "The Night I Couldn't Say 'I'm Home'" / "Will I Be Able to Become a Proper 'Father'?"

• Episode 10: "The Voice of Fish, My Father's Back, and Cat Footprints" / "Standing in My 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: "Waiting at the Exit of the Night" / "The Few Minutes I Return to Myself"

• Episode 14: "Before the Sound Fully Rings Out" / "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 Stillness 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." / "A voiceless voice, I can hear it clearly, you know"

• Episode 19: "The Winner Who Does Not Cry Out and the Clown Who Does Not Laugh" / "The Distance Seen from Above, the Scent Reaching from Below"

• Episode 20: "A Light Is Lit Between the Two" / "I Thought You Would Come. Even Though I Had No Basis for It" / "I didn't go to see you—or so I'd say, but you wouldn't believe me, would you?"

• Episode 21: 'Those at the Boundary' / 'I Can Tell by the Scent Whether It's a Departure or an Arrival'

• Episode 22: 'Even When You Fall, Your Eyes Are Still Looking Forward' / 'I Wanted to Say I Could Do 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' / 'Mom, 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 Memories Remains Here'

• Episode 27: 'Someone Was Certainly Here' / 'They Were Here'

• Episode 28: 'Because Those Hands Were Kind'

• Episode 29: 'The Scent of Dried Nets and Silent Kindness' / 'There Are Things That Are Understood Without Saying a Word'

• Episode 30: 'I'm Glad It Was You, Officer' / 'There Was a Kind Presence in the Shadow of the Hat'

Afterword

Thank you for picking up this book.
And I offer 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 collection of short stories began with my desire to depict the somewhat nostalgic, yet certainly changed, scenery of Sasebo and the lives of the people who live 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 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 a corner of the 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, in the creation of this book, I have utilized
OpenAI's ChatGPTas a creative partner.At first, I consulted on the plot with a light heart, wondering 'what kind of stories would be born with a cat and a town as the setting,' 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 shaping these themes into poetry at times and stories at others through collaboration with ChatGPT was an essential process for this work.Sasebo is a town of slopes and harbors.
Both the scenery that has changed and the air that remains unchanged 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 free paper in Nagasaki Prefecture => Staff at an educational institution (<- 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, centered on the serial column 'The 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 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 leave you with a 'new perspective' after reading them.
Feedback is always welcome!