[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 61: "Pride in the Sunshine" / "I Won't Give Up the Warm Spot")

Side A: "Pride in the Sunshine"
—Bun-chan's perspective

The sun is shining on the warehouse roof.
Mixed with the warm breeze, the smell of fish gently tickles my nose.

That was my spot.
A special seat for sunbathing.
The best roof for dozing off while listening to the sounds of the harbor.

But today, a black shadow was sitting there first.
Kurosuke the crow. Spreading his wings, looking majestic. It's as if he's telling me, "Don't come any closer."

I look up. For a while, I just look up.
No words are needed. "That's my spot, isn't it?"
Even though I tell him that with my eyes, Kurosuke doesn't budge an inch. He spreads his wings wide and tries to intimidate me.

I curled up under the roof.
It's not that I backed down. I don't intend to give it up either.
I just chose to "be" there. Even in a place where the sun doesn't reach, warm memories still do.

Kurosuke soars into the sky.
A shadow passes quickly and falls on my face. Is he provoking me?
But I closed my eyes. A flick of my tail. —"I'm sunbathing right here."

A quiet time flowed by. The wind and the tide were changing little by little.

"Caw..."
Just one cry from the sky. Kurosuke flew away. —No, he's just sitting on a nearby utility pole, watching me intently.

I slowly climb onto the roof and sit in my old spot.
Warm. As expected, this place is great.

Neither of us gave in. But because neither of us backed down, there must have been something we understood about each other.

In the light of the harbor, I curl up.
Kurosuke on the utility pole also quietly stops the sound of his flapping wings.

I was here.
There are things you can understand even without words.

[End]

Side B: "I Won't Give Up the Warm Spot"
—Kurosuke's perspective

Today, too, the harbor breeze carries the scent of salt.
The warehouse roof—this is my "warm spot." The sun hits it just right, and both my feathers and my heart begin to relax.

It was just when I had finished flapping my wings on the roof and sat down neatly.
I happened to look down and saw him. A white and brown tabby cat with a small nick in one ear—Bun-chan.

He was staring straight up at me. I don't know why, but he was putting silent pressure on me, just watching.
"What do you want? I got here first," I thought, as I spread my wings with composure. Even so, Bun-chan didn't back down.

"How annoying," I thought, and took to the sky once. I cast my shadow under the roof and teased him a little, but
Bun-chan just closed his eyes and didn't move. His tail just swayed softly.

What a stubborn cat.
We don't have words for each other, but our feelings are well understood.
"Move," "I won't"—sparks of pride were flying in that silent exchange.

The sun gently pushes against my back.
I finally took off from the roof.
"Caw..." I let out one cry; I'm retreating for now, but I'm not leaving.

From the top of a nearby utility pole, I watch Bun-chan.
Then, Bun-chan climbed onto the roof, curled up, and lay down.

The wind is gentle. The sun is warm.
Neither of us gave in, but—well, this is fine too.

I was here.
Even without words, that's enough.

[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 Mission"

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

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

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

• Episode 5: "The 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 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 Old Man's Back, and Cat Footprints" / "Standing in My Old Man'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 Has 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 the 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, you know"

• 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. I have no proof, though" / "I didn't come to see you—or so I'd say, but you wouldn't believe me, would you"

• 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 with 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 deep in the eyes" / "Mom, the cat, and a stranger" / "Halfway up 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 affection remains here"

• Episode 27: "Because someone was definitely here" / "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 Silent Kindness" / "Even Without Saying Anything, There Are Things That Are Understood"

• Episode 30: "I'm Glad You're a Policeman" / "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, 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, Prayers, and 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 Prayers"

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

• 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 Stone Pavement and a Gentle Voice" / "A Thank You Left Unsaid"

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

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

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

• Episode 45: "Wood Shavings and Sighs" / "A Playmate in the 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 Cannot Be Put Into Words" / "Things I Want to Say, Things 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 White Shells"

• Episode 54: "Just Speaking Isn't Enough to Convey It" / "Beside Your 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 Words" / "Reading Aloud Without Words" / "A Story in the Palm of Your Hand"

• Episode 57: "Two Bouquets" / "Because I Was There Beside the Flowers" / "One More Bouquet"

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

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 collection of short stories began with the 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 again," using a quiet lens called 'a cat's perspective'.
The protagonist, Bun-chan, is a white and brown calico cat.
He doesn't 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 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 consulted it about 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 harbors.
The scenery that has changed and the air 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

🧭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 live with my wife.
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 job, while being involved in university and education-related work, I value carefully observing the moments when "people come to like something" and "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 always welcome!