[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Townscape (Episode 59: "The Morning the Blink Returned" / "Because I Blinked Back")

Side B: "The Morning the Blink Returned"

—From the perspective of Ryota Takahashi

A residential area near the harbor.
The morning air still felt a little sleepy.

I couldn't hear the sound of motorcycle engines or anyone's alarm clock.
Pedaling my delivery bicycle, I was out delivering newspapers.

It's been nearly a year since I started delivering newspapers.
At first, it was just to make a living, but once I got used to it, I started thinking about unnecessary things.

—How long am I going to keep doing this?

I dropped out of high school halfway through, and without finding anything I really want to do, I just work because the morning comes.
My parents don't nag me anymore.
They just know I'm doing it seriously, so I guess that's fine.

Around the corner, at the third mailbox.
Bun-chan was there again today in front of that house.

A white and brown spotted pattern.
Every now and then, it would gently sway its tail and just sit there.

At first, I didn't even pay it any mind.
But one morning, our eyes met, and I ended up saying "Good morning" for some reason.

Then, Bun-chan blinked slowly.

—My, it's warm, isn't it.

That was when it started.
The thought that "I want to pass by that place again" started to grow.

Honestly, I don't have any dreams right now.
Even when I see classmates who went on to college posting about their fun campus lives on social media, I just thought it was a world that had nothing to do with me.

But then, one day,
an elderly woman who received the newspaper smiled and said, "Thank you."
At that moment, I felt like, just maybe, I might be useful.

—If I'm supporting someone's morning, even just a little bit,
then maybe this time isn't wasted after all.

Today, Bun-chan was sitting in the same spot again.

I put the newspaper in the mailbox and stopped in front of Bun-chan.

"…You're here again today, huh."

Bun-chan blinked slowly once more.

It was as if she were saying, "I know."

The wind, which had been cold, felt a little softer.

"I'll come back tomorrow, too."

I whispered that quietly and pedaled my bicycle toward the next house.

—For some reason, I felt like I was looking forward to the morning just a little bit.

[End]

Side A: "Because I Blinked Back"
—From Bun-chan's perspective

Before the city lights had even gone out, I was already in that alley.

I sat in my usual spot every morning, flicking my tail in the sea breeze that drifted softly from the harbor.
The shadow of a slightly tilted utility pole. When I'm there, no one bothers me, and I can hear the footsteps of anyone passing by.

This morning, I was there again.
And then, he came.

Creak, creak, went the sound of a bicycle. It was the young man who delivers the newspapers.
His back was a little hunched, and he looked sleepy. But his eyes were looking straight ahead.

At first, she didn't even pay me any mind.
But one morning, she said this in a small voice.

"Good morning."

At that moment, I met her eyes and slowly blinked.

That was all.
But that was when it started.

That girl started stopping in front of me.
She would put the newspaper in the usual mailbox and turn her face toward me just a little.
And then, she would mutter something here and there.

Human language is difficult.
But the atmosphere and the color of her eyes at those times tell me most of what she means.

—You're thinking about something, aren't you?
But you don't have to be in such a hurry.

I just sit there.
I just sway my tail softly and blink back at her from time to time.

Then, that girl says again in a small voice.

"I'll come again tomorrow."

Yeah, that's fine.

With that voice at my back, I slowly stand up and start walking toward the scent of the next morning.

—I'll be here again tomorrow, you know.

[End]

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

• 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 for You" / "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" / "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 Properly Become a 'Father'?"

• Episode 10: "The 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: "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 Silence Turns Into Sweat" / "You're Here Today Too, Bun-chan"

• Episode 17: "The Reason for Raising 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, you know"

• 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: "Light Ignites Between the Two" / "I Thought You'd Come. Even Without Any Basis" / "I didn't exactly go to see you—though you probably wouldn't believe me if I said that"

• Episode 21: "The One on the Boundary" / "I Can Tell Both Departure and Arrival by the Scent"

• 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 is no sound, there is someone who can hear it" / "Beyond the sound, there is a heart"

• Episode 24: "The sound of unraveling is not in the voice, but in the back of the eyes" / "Mother, the cat, and the stranger" / "On the way up the slope, I felt two winds overlap"

• Episode 25: "Today, there was no sound of a broom" / "When he is silent, 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 memories 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 a silent kindness" / "Even if you say nothing, there are things that are understood"

• Episode 30: "I'm glad you're a police officer" / "There was a kind 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 smell 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, 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 Conveyed, and Bun-chan" / "The Wind Scooping 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: "The First Fish, the First Enemy" / "A Black Shadow, a Young Tail"

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

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

• Episode 45: "Wood Shavings and a Sigh" / "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, a Quiet Nap"

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

• 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 Smell of the Tide and a Small Decision" / "The Sound of Rolling Waves and a White Seashell"

• Episode 54: "Just Raising Your Voice Won't Get It Across" / "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 Voice" / "Reading Aloud Without Words" / "A Story in the Palm of My Hand"

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

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

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 because I wanted 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 "come back 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 just by 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 word that symbolizes such a way of being for Bun-chan, 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 used OpenAI's ChatGPT as a creative partner.
At first, I started by consulting 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 being able to shape such 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 Science) ⇒ 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 his 50s living in Nagasaki Prefecture. Both children have become university students and left the nest, and I am living with my wife.
I am a writer who plays with thoughts every day 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 series "The Science of Thinking." I am exploring "free design of knowledge" 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, after reading, sprout one "new perspective" within you.
Any feedback is also very welcome!