[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 68: "When the Shadows in the Basketball Park Grow Long" / "Between the Sunset and the Goal")

Side B: "When the Shadows in the Basketball Park Grow Long"
—Minato Shintani's Perspective

The setting sun shines through the goal net, casting long, thin shadows onto the sandy ground.
The park in the evening is just as it was back then.
But I felt like I was the only one drifting just a little bit further away.

I place my backpack on the bench and look up at the basketball hoop.
The net is a little frayed and the color of the pole has faded, but
this is the place where Kotaro and I have taken hundreds of shots since we were in elementary school.

That moment in the semifinals of the prefectural tournament in July still lingers in my chest.
In the final stages, we were trailing by three points.
When I stepped onto the court at the coach's word, I couldn't stop my hands from shaking.
Even so, Kotaro passed the ball to me, and
I stood at the three-point line—

But the ball that bounced off the rim was picked up by that senior.

And when tears spilled from the senior's eyes at the final buzzer,
we all swore in unison, "We'll win next year for sure."

…A month has passed since then, and just as the second semester is about to start next week,
my dad told me,
"I'm being transferred to Tokyo in October. The whole family is going."

I thought it was a joke, but it was already decided.
My mom and sister are looking forward to it.

—But, me?

I put my hand in my right pocket and clench my fist tightly.
I have to tell him. But the moment I do, I feel like this "now" will change.

Suddenly, a small white and brown shadow enters the corner of my vision.

At the park entrance. A cat walking quietly over the gravel.
A small notch in one ear. Its thin tail sways softly.

It stops in front of me and looks up with a blank expression.
It says nothing, doesn't meow. It just "is there."

“...What is it, you? Is this your first time here?”

The cat sits down neatly and stares at me.
What was reflected in its eyes wasn't my "face," but it felt like the "sound of my heart."

“If I didn't have to say it, I wouldn't have to.
But if I don't, I feel like it will really be over.”

I whispered in a voice no one could hear.

After the cat stayed still for a while,
it looked away, left the park entrance,
and started walking on the asphalt.
As if to say "it's okay," swaying its tail lightly.

As I watched his back walk away, the sound of sneakers echoed from the distant slope.

—Kotaro had arrived.

I stood up from the bench.
In the sunset, that promise came to mind.
"Next year, for sure, the two of us."

...Next year, I won't be here anymore.

But, right now, I felt like I could talk to him properly.

Because I was here.
Because that cat quietly pushed me forward.

[End]

Side A: "Between the Sunset and the Goal"
—Bun-chan's perspective

The scent of asphalt was rising little by little in the heat of the setting sun.
I followed that scent into the small park.

Mixed in with the wind, I felt like I could hear the sound of a ball from long ago.
It was the lingering scent of a sound that someone had repeated over and over again.

In this park I had come to for the first time, there was one basketball hoop.
The post was slightly tilted, and the net was frayed.
But the eyes of the boy looking up at it were straight and true.

He stood there, having left his backpack on the bench.
It was a face that looked more like he was trying to "make a decision" than "waiting."
But from deep within his heart, I could hear the sound of hesitation, like waves crashing in the distance.

I slipped through the grass and quietly appeared in front of him.

He noticed me, his eyes widening just a little, then he muttered,
"...What do you want? This is your first time here, right?"
That voice was a whisper from his heart, not meant for anyone else to hear.

I sat there in silence.
I stared at him intently. A breeze blew softly.

"If I could get by without saying it, I wouldn't have to.
But if I don't, I feel like it will really be over."

His wavering heart bled into his voice.
Even so, there was a sense that he was trying to look forward properly.

I flicked my tail lightly and slowly stood up.
He's going to be okay. Thinking that, I started to walk away.

I don't even need to look back to know.
That something which can be understood without words remained deep in his heart.

That is fine.

—I was here.
Just with that, it seems that child was able to move forward a little bit.

A boy passing by on the slope spots him and runs over with a smile.

[End]

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

• Previous episode ▼

List of series titles: (Scheduled to be posted sequentially)

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

• Episode 2: "The Letter Shop Below the Slope" / "The Flower Shop of Words"

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

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

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

• Episode 6: "The Sound That Unties 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" / "Mother's Heart, Warmth of a Child's Hand"

• Episode 9: "The 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 scent of distant mountains, deep within the smell"

• Episode 13: "I was waiting at the exit of the night" / "The few minutes it takes to return to myself"

• Episode 14: "Before the sound finishes 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 into sweat" / "You're here again today, 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 cry out and the clown who doesn't 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. I have no proof, though" / "I didn't go to see you—or so I say, but you wouldn't believe me, would you?"

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

• Episode 22: "Even if I fall, my 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 it" / "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 the stranger" / "On the slope, I felt two winds overlap"

• Episode 25: "Today, there was no sound of a broom" / "When he was silent, I felt the garden grow 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" / "Because they were here"

• Episode 28: "Because those hands were kind" / "Since the day I touched that child, I feel 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 scent of the bus and the rules of spring"

• Episode 33: "A drink, the night breeze, and Bun-chan." / "When the 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 with 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 the Silence of Spring" / "The Scent of the River, a Vow, and Bun-chan"

• Episode 38: "The Scent of the Tide, the Words Spoken, 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' 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 Shadow of 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 Cannot Be Found"

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

• Episode 48: "Accumulated Frustration and a Quiet Hairball" / "Shadows of Steel Beams, a Quiet Nap"

• Episode 49: "Things I Can't Put Into Words" / "Things I Want to Say, But Don't" / "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 Twilight Back Door"

• 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 Feelings That Want to Bloom Are Still Here" / "The Wind Carries the Sound of Trying 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" / "Another Bouquet"

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

• Episode 59: "The Morning a Blink Returned" / "Because I Blinked Back"

• Episode 60: "Touching Memories from Across the Sea" / "Just Like That Cat Remembered" / "I Remember, So I Stay Quietly"

• Episode 61: "Pride in the Sunbeam" / "I Won't Give Up This Warm Spot"

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

• Episode 63: "The Scent Brings Me Back" / "My Heart Was 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 Staying 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 Wood"

• Episode 67: "tsumu_toco is currently on break." / "Softly, in the Wind of the Bypass"

• Episode 68: "When the Shadows in the Basketball Park Grow Long" / "Between the Sunset and the Goal"

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 short story collection began with my desire to depict the somewhat nostalgic, yet certainly changed scenery of Sasebo and the figures of the people living there, as seen through my eyes now that I am "living in this town again," through the quiet lens of a "cat's perspective."a quiet lens called "a cat's perspective"through which I wanted to draw them.
The protagonist, Bun-chan, is a white and brown calico cat.
He doesn't speak human language, but by just being there, he gently accepts the small fluctuations deep 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 word that symbolizes such a way of being for Bun-chan, and Sasebo as a "place where the thoughts of people who have spent time in this town remain."
Furthermore, for the creation of this book, I have utilized OpenAI's ChatGPTas a creative partner.
At first, I started consulting on the plot with a light heart, wondering "what kind of stories might 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 such themes into something like poetry at times, and into stories at others, through this collaborative work with ChatGPT, was a truly indispensable process for this piece.
Sasebo is a town of slopes and a port.
Both the scenery that has changed and the atmosphere that remains unchanged continue to nurture the memories of 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 Engineering) => 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 "The Science of Thought (Shiko no Kagaku)." 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 leave you with a "new perspective" after reading them.
Any feedback is also very welcome!