[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the City Scenery (Episode 44: "The Usual Alley, An Unknown Scent" / "Eyes Through the Window, and Shadows in the Alley")

Side A: "The Usual Alley, An Unknown Scent"
—From Bunchan's Perspective

　The scent of Sasebo's alleys changes when night falls.
　The smell of the tide fades a little, and the wind mixes with alcohol, tobacco, and laughter.

　I walked through that scent.
　Since there are many people around, I always walk in the shadows of the alleys, a little distance away.

　Today, too, I was in the alley one street over from the usual arcade.
　As I passed by an old foreign bar, a sweet scent drifted by.
　The smell of a cocktail.
　Beyond that, there was another new scent.

　—What is this?

　I stopped and twitched my whiskers.
　A small shop through the glass.
　A wooden counter and a world map on the wall.

　It seems to be written as "World's End".
　—Lately, I've also
　started to understand human letters a little bit.

　Inside, there was one young man with black hair.
　He was wiping the counter.
　His back was slightly hunched.

　I stared intently at that window.

　The man suddenly looked up.
　His eyes met mine.

　For a while, there was silence.
　I didn't move. The man didn't move either.

　But his eyes looked a little uneasy.

　Before long, the man looked away and returned to the counter.
　I quietly started walking again.

　—Who is that guy?

　That night, I went around to the back entrance of the shop.
　The smell of food faintly remained at the alley's trash collection spot.

　One bag was open.
　Inside were the leftover crusts of bread.

　I sniffed the scent and took a quiet bite.

　At that moment, there were footsteps.

　"...Huh? A stray cat?"

　It was a man's voice.
　I took a step back.

　But the man didn't come closer.
　He just watched me from the back door of the shop.

　"...Things aren't going well..."

　I heard him mutter to himself.

　I stared intently at his face.
　His eyes looked lonely, as if he were lost in something.

　The wind whistled through.
　The man let out a small sigh and quietly closed the door.

　I stayed there for a while, staring at the door without moving.

　——You're lonely, aren't you?

　Thinking that, I wandered around that alley again that night.
　Just like always, I'll be here quietly.

[End]

Side B: "Eyes Through the Window, Shadows in the Alley"
——From Shota's perspective

　The night wind is cold.
　Even when I open the shop door, the alley is deathly quiet.

　"World's End"
　When I opened this small bar, I was full of dreams.

　A place where people from all over the world would gather.
　Sasebo has long been a town with many foreigners.
　I thought that here, like in a foreign movie, foreign languages would fly about,
　and laughter would echo across the counter——.

　But reality was different.

On the first day of opening, my friends came to celebrate, but that was the only time.
The foreign bar next door is always lively.
Meanwhile, my shop sits quietly all alone.

While polishing the counter, I suddenly looked out the window.

—Hmm?

Across the alley, our eyes met through the glass.

A white cat with brown patches.

It was staring right at me.
Expressionless... but those eyes seemed to see right through me.

I instinctively looked away.
As I rearranged the glasses, a sigh escaped me.

"...Things just aren't going well, are they..."

The night deepens.
Customers come in trickles. Even when I'm asked to make a cocktail, my heart doesn't seem to be in it.

As closing time approaches, the few regulars leave, and the counter falls silent.

I wiped the counter, put away the glasses, and gathered the trash for the back door.
When I stepped outside, I felt the cool night breeze.

On my way to the trash area, something caught my eye.

—That cat again.

The white and brown patched cat was peering into a trash bag.
It sniffed around and was nibbling on a crust of bread.

"...Huh? A stray?"

I called out to it.
But the cat just took a step back and kept staring at me.

Big eyes.
It wouldn't run away, but it wouldn't come any closer either.

—What a strange cat.

I stood there for a while.
Didn't I come out here to take out the trash?

The cold wind brushed against my cheeks.

"...Things aren't going well..."

The words slipped out.
The cat is watching me intently.

How embarrassing... to have a cat hear me complaining.

I sighed and headed back to the back door.
Before closing the door, I took a quick look, and the cat was still there.

"...Sorry about that."

I muttered, and quietly closed the door.

That night, I finished cleaning up and sat at the counter.
When I glanced at the window, a white and brown shadow flickered across the alley.

——Are you keeping watch over me?

I gave a bitter smile and picked up my glass.

A night alone.
But knowing that guy is in the corner of that alley somehow puts me at ease.

I still don't know if this town is kind to me yet.
But that cat seems to always be there.

[End]

(Reference) Real foreign bars in Sasebo are introduced here ▼

• Bunchan (deformed version) LINE stickers are now available 🐾 ▼

• 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 Flower Shop of Words"

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

• Episode 4: "I'll Be Waiting" / "The Scent of the 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 Properly Become a 'Father'?"

• Episode 10: "Fish Voices, Father's Back, Cat 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 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 again today, 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." / "Voiceless voices, I can hear them clearly"

• 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 if I have no proof" / "I didn't exactly go to see you—though you probably won't believe me if I say that"

• Episode 21: "The One 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 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 the 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 longing remains here"

• Episode 27: "Someone was definitely here, you see" / "Because they were here"

• Episode 28: "Because that hand was gentle" / "Ever since 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 don't say anything, there are things that are understood"

• Episode 30: "I'm glad you're a police officer" / "There was a gentle presence in the shadow of your hat"

• Episode 31: "What Bun-chan reminded me of" / "Because 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 with the wind, and Bun-chan" / "Under the cherry blossoms, while 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 I conveyed, and Bun-chan" / "The wind scooping up the tide, and the sound of a prayer"

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

• Episode 40: "The Sound of Unraveling, and with Bun-chan" / "The Sound of Passing Through the Wind, and the Scent of the Sea"

• Episode 41: "The 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 Clean Path"

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

Afterword

Thank you for picking up this book.
And I offer my heartfelt gratitude for walking with Bun-chan and the town of Sasebo this far.

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 scenery of Sasebo—which is somewhat nostalgic yet has certainly changed—and the lives of the people 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' as a medium.
The protagonist, Bun-chan, is a white and brown calico 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 chosen as a symbol of Bun-chan's way of being, and of 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 ChatGPT as 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 rhythm of the story and the lingering resonance of the 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 a harbor.
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

🧭Thinking Navigator

Biography: Graduated from Kyushu University, Faculty of Engineering (Materials Engineering) => Engineer at a metal materials manufacturer in the Chukyo region (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 graduated from university 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 "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 working in university and education-related fields, 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 one "new perspective" after reading them.
Feedback is also very welcome!