[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the City Scenery (Episode 56: "A Story That Needs No Voice" / "Reading Without Words" / "A Story in the Palm of Your Hand")

Side B: "A Story That Needs No Voice"
—From a mother's perspective

　As I opened the page,
　a small hand moved as if tracing the picture.

　Along a tributary of the Sasebo River, on the stone steps beside the library.
　Today, too, it's just my daughter and me. We sit quietly and open a picture book borrowed from the library.

　"...Once upon a time, in a certain place"

　I don't say it aloud.
　My fingers dance in the air along with the pictures.
　My daughter nods.

　This child cannot hear.
　So, reading aloud is always done in sign language.
　It takes a little time for things to get across, but,
　because of that, I've started to think more about my "words."

　But you know, sometimes I can't help but wonder.

　—Is my sign language awkward?
　—Is it really reaching her?

　That was when it happened.

　My daughter suddenly pointed toward the river.
　When I tilted my head in a "?" gesture,
　there was a cat.

　White and brown patches.
　One ear was slightly chipped, and its eyes were fixed straight ahead.

　Quietly, as if it were reading the rest of the book,
　it sat right there in front of my daughter and me.

　—Could that be the famous Bun-chan?

　My daughter waves happily.
　Bun-chan doesn't even blink.

　Seeing that, for some reason, my heart felt a little lighter.

　My sign language,
　might not be very good.
　But this child is smiling.

　Even without a voice,
　there are things that truly get across.

　The sound of the river. The sound of the wind. The movement of fingers turning the pages.
　And the warmth of someone beside you.

I continue the picture book, telling it with my hands again.
My daughter smiles and nods.

Beside them, Bun-chan quietly wags his tail.

[End]

Side A: "Reading Without Words"
—From Bun-chan's perspective

The stone steps beside the library, along a tributary of the Sasebo River.
I felt like coming here today.

The sound of the wind brushing the river surface, the shadow of a bird passing swiftly over the waterfront bridge.
A time when there are few people, a quiet place.
I really like that.

A parent and child are sitting on the steps.
I found them.

The person who looks like the mother rests her fingers on the open picture book,
facing the child with gentle eyes.

However, no voice comes out.
Her hands are moving quietly in the air.

The child watches that,
and nods happily.

I quietly approach them,
and sit down on the stone steps.

Then, the child notices and points at me.
The mother also makes eye contact with me.

But, no one is surprised.
I stay still, pretending to look at the picture book.

The wind turns the page.
Along with that sound, the mother's hands move again.

—A reading without words.
Within it, there were many sounds.

"It's okay," "Isn't this fun?", "Try smiling."
That is being conveyed properly through hands and eyes.

I wag my tail slowly.
Because here, there were feelings being shared.

My mother looked at me and smiled a little.
The child smiled even more.

—That is fine.
Even without a voice, it reaches you just fine.

I stood up quietly and left the stone steps behind.
The sound of the river was flowing gently.

I was here.
Right beside the voiceless voice, I was truly there.

[End]

Side B': "A Story in the Palm of My Hand"
—From the daughter's perspective

Mom's fingers
move fluffily in the air.

I cannot hear any words.
But, I can clearly see the "story."

A big tree, a small bird,
a person laughing.
The story the fingers tell slips right into my heart.

Today, too, on the stone steps by the river,
I opened a picture book with Mom, just like always.

That was when it happened.

Something moved toward the river.

A white and brown calico cat.
It walked over slowly,
and sat down right next to us.

I felt happy,
and slid my finger
from the corner of my mouth toward my cheek.

When I say "cat" with my hands, I do it like this.

Mom smiled gently and nodded.

The cat says nothing.
But I felt like it understood our words just fine.

Mom's fingers began to dance in the air again.
I nodded,
and while looking at the picture book, I smiled.

Even without a voice,
it is properly conveyed through the palm of your hand, your eyes, and your heart.

The cat swayed its tail softly,
and walked toward the river again.

I waved my hand.
The wind blew gently,
and I felt as if it had told me, "It reached me just fine."

[End]

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

• Previous episode ▼

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

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

• Episode 2: "The Letter Shop Below the Hill" / "The Word Florist"

• 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, My Father's Back, 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 Has Yet to Ring" / "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 Curtain" / "Bun-chan, It's Not Over Here Yet"

• Episode 18: "I didn’t say it out loud, but you heard me." / "The Voiceless Voice, I Can Hear It 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 Without Any Reason" / "I didn't 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 Both Departure and Arrival by the Scent"

• 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 No Sound Comes Out, There Is Someone 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" / "Mother, 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 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" / "Someone was 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 policeman" / "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 Bunchan" / "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 Bunchan"

• Episode 38: "The Scent of the Tide, the Words Conveyed, and Bunchan" / "The Wind Scooping the Tide and the Sound of Prayer"

• Episode 39: "Thoughts Swaying on the Water's Surface and Bunchan Again" / "The Scent Along the River and the Shadow of Prayer"

• Episode 40: "The Sound of Unraveling and Bunchan" / "The Sound of Passing Through the Wind and the Scent of the Sea"

• Episode 41: "Damp Cobblestones 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 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: "A Stopped Clock and Moving Scenery" / "The Wind and the Sweet Scent of Candy"

• Episode 48: "Accumulated Frustration and Quiet Hairballs" / "Shadows of Steel Frames, A Quiet Nap"

• Episode 49: "Things I Can't Put Into Words" / "What I Want to Say, 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 Breeze 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 Seashells"

• Episode 54: "Just Speaking Isn't Enough to Convey It" / "Beside the Stopped Feet"

• Episode 55: "The Feeling That Wants to Bloom Is Still Here" / "The Wind Carries the Sound of Trying to Bloom"

• Episode 56: "A Story That Needs No Voice" / "Storytelling Without Words" / "A Story in the Palm of Your Hand"

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 people living 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 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 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 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 ChatGPT as a creative partner.At first, I started 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 these themes into something 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.
Both the scenery that has changed and the air that remains the same 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 => Staff at an educational institution (<- 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 series "The Science of Thought." I am exploring "free knowledge design" that goes beyond existing frameworks. My motto is "Imagination opens up the world."
In my main profession, 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!