[Novel] It Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 1: "The Cat on the Hill" / "The Delivery Man's Mission")

Side B: The Cat on the Hill (Part 1)

...It's here again today.

Nishiyama-san parked his truck halfway up the hill and rested his elbows on the steering wheel.
Just like always, that cat is sitting neatly in front of the house. The way it sits on the muddy cobblestones, calmly grooming itself, is somehow quite dignified and lovely.

Whose cat are you?

Muttering to himself, he opened the truck door.
Nishiyama-san is in his mid-forties and still single. He runs a small delivery business near Sasebo Port. His daily routine is basically commuting between home and work, with a weekly visit to a snack bar.
However, he has been acquainted with this cat for about two weeks now. At first, he just happened to see it on his way back from a delivery, but since then, it has been there every morning at the same time and in the same place.

Why are you... waiting for me?

The cat didn't answer, but just swayed its tail and looked up at him.
It had a white and brown mottled pattern and a small scar on its ear. It was very used to people; it didn't run away when he approached, but rather rubbed against him.

...Hey, you're so cute, why do you look like a stray?

Curious, he looked up at the house on the hill.
It was a two-story wooden building with tiles peeling off in places. The storm shutters were half-broken, and there was no sign of anyone living there. Yet, the cat was there every morning. And always on the stone steps in front of the house.

As Nishiyama-san held the cat, he suddenly thought,

...Could it be, is it trying to tell me something? It's not like some ghost story, is it?

He laughed it off, but a small seed of curiosity had sprouted somewhere in his heart.

And the next day.
After his delivery, Nishiyama-san passed by the stone steps where the cat was sitting and went around to the back of the house.

It was a small garden. It was overgrown, but looking closely, it seemed it used to be a flower bed.
He found a single rusty tin can buried among the weeds. The cat stopped right in front of it.

What is this...?

The lid of the can looked as if someone had left it there wanting it to be opened.
Inside was an envelope. The characters written with a brush pen were blurred by the passage of time.

"To Nishiyama-kun—To your future self"

He was so surprised that his breath hitched.
The sender's name was,Fumio Yamazaki—his high school teacher. The one who should have passed away more than ten years ago.

The Cat on the Hill (Part 2)

Nishiyama-san held the envelope gently with both hands.
The sound of the wind hummed vaguely in the back of his ears. The cat hadn't moved for a while. It was staring at him intently, as if to say, "Read it."

What came out from inside was a single sheet of stationery written in careful handwriting.

To Nishiyama-kun

If you are reading this, it means you have grown up at least a little.
Well, maybe you haven't, but I'm going to hold out hope for that. Haha.

I was writing this letter when you were a third-year high school student.
Do you remember when I got angry at you for dozing off in class, saying, "Are you planning on sleeping in the middle of society?"

But, honestly, I was actually a little happy at that time.
It meant that the classroom had become a place where you felt safe enough to fall asleep.

You always used to say, "I don't have any redeeming qualities."
But you know, Nishiyama-kun, everyone has the power to find something.
It might not be a great invention or a grand dream.
It's those discoveries in everyday life where you think, "Oh, that's nice."

If you are thinking right now that your life is empty, I want you to remember this letter.
If my prediction is correct, this letter should have been guided to you by a cat on the hill.

Well then, take care of yourself.
—Fumio

Before he knew it, Nishiyama-san's eyes were a little teary.

"…Teacher, that’s just not fair…"

His embarrassed voice leaked out like a murmur to himself.

The cat had climbed onto his lap at some point and was purring.

"…So you were the delivery agent?"

Saying that, Nishiyama-san gently stroked the cat's head.
There was a spring breeze on the hill. He could hear the sound of a ship's whistle in the distance.

From that day on, Nishiyama-san started waking up a little earlier every morning to go see the cat.
The house he thought was abandoned actually belonged to the city, and it seems there are plans to reuse the vacant property.

"Maybe it would be good to turn it into a cafe. Something like 'The Cat on the Hill'."

When he said that, the cat meowed as if in agreement.

Nishiyama-san smiled softly.

Even in the days he thought were empty,
—it was just that he hadn't noticed, but there really was "something" there all along.

[End]

Side A: "The Delivery Person's Mission"—A story on the hill seen through the eyes of a cat

　I am a cat. I do not have a name yet.
　Well, I probably had one a long time ago, but things like that just flew away somewhere with the wind on the hill.

　On the hill in this town, there is an old house.
　Even though no one lives there, the plum tree in the garden blooms properly when spring comes.
　And, in the backyard of that place, something important is hidden.

　——A letter.
　But, it is not just any letter.
　A promised letter that was supposed to reach the future, just a little bit late.

　I thought, "I have to deliver it."
　Why? ...Because even cats have what you might call a mission.

　The first one I found was "a middle-aged man with a slightly tired face driving a big truck."
　He comes up the hill from the port, every morning at the same time, on the same route.
　Within that rhythm, I could see something like a "gap".

　Humans, even when they walk around with busy faces, sometimes have a void in their hearts where they are "waiting for something."
　——This man had that.

　So, I decided.
　I will have this person deliver it.

　Every morning, at the same time, I tried sitting in front of the house.
　At first, he looked at me with suspicious eyes, but little by little, he started to take notice.
　He started to pet me.
　He started to talk to me.

　"What... are you... waiting for?"

　That's right, I'm waiting. Sir, it has finally arrived for you.

　One day, he finally came to the backyard.
　I waited patiently in front of the rusted can. All that was left was for him to open it.
　Yes, my role ends "here."

　After that, the words, the memories, and the things inside your heart will write the rest of the letter.

　Since then, I have become a bit famous in town as "the cat on the hill."
　I even heard talk that it might become a cafe.
　——Honestly, the man gets carried away easily, but I don't dislike that about him.

　Ah, that's right.

They gave me a name. "Bun-chan."

—They said they took it from the name of that teacher who wrote the letter.

Honestly, humans are creatures that slowly, bit by bit, stain your heart.

Well, that's fine.
I'll keep waiting here on the hill, sniffing the scent of the wind, for the next delivery.
Because there's always something that needs to be delivered, to humans and cats alike.

Purr, purr.
The wind feels good today, too. The top of the hill really is the best.

[End]

Next 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 Hands"

• Episode 9: "The Night I Couldn't Say 'I'm Home'" / "Will I Be Able to Become a Proper 'Father'?"

• Episode 10: "The Sound 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 Scent of a Distant Mountain Deep Within"

• Episode 13: "I Was Waiting at the Exit of the Night" / "A Few Minutes to 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 the 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"

• 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 ignites between the two of you" / "I knew you'd come. I have no proof, but I just knew" / "You wouldn't believe me if I said I didn't go there to see you, would you?"

• Episode 21: "Those who dwell on the boundary" / "I can tell by the scent when someone leaves or arrives"

• Episode 22: "Even when you fall, your eyes are still looking forward" / "I wanted to tell you that I did it"

• Episode 23: "Even on days when there is 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" / "Mother, the cat, and the stranger" / "On the slope, I felt as if two winds had overlapped"

• Episode 25: "Today, there was no sound of a broom" / "When he is silent, I feel like the garden grows 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 without saying 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" / "The scent of memories rose up around the wooden box"

• Episode 32: "The Last Spring Delivery, and with Bun-chan." / "The Smell of the Bus and the Rules of Spring"

• Episode 33: "Drinks, the Night Breeze, and with Bun-chan." / "When the Tempo is Off, Listen to the Sound of the Wind"

• Episode 34: "A Mountain of Lucky Bags and the Smell of That Day" / "Beyond the Smell of the Mountain of Lucky Bags"

• Episode 35: "A Waltz Mixed with the Wind, and with Bun-chan" / "Under the Cherry Blossoms, Scooping Up the Wind"

• Episode 36: "The Smell of Water, and with Bun-chan" / "The Smell of Water and the Sound of Footsteps"

• Episode 37: "The Smell of the River, a Prayer, and in the Silence of Spring" / "The Smell of the River, a Vow, and with Bun-chan"

• Episode 38: "The Smell of the Tide, the Words Conveyed, and with Bun-chan" / "The Wind Scooping the Tide and the Sound of Prayer"

• Episode 39: "Thoughts Swaying on the Water's Surface, and with Bun-chan Again" / "The Smell 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 Smell of the Sea"

• Episode 41: "Damp Cobblestones and a Gentle Voice" / "The Thank You I Couldn't Say"

• 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 Shadows in the Alley"

• Episode 45: "Wood Shavings and Sighs" / "A Playmate for 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" / "Shadows of Steel Beams, a Quiet Nap"

• Episode 49: "Things That Cannot Be 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 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 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: "A Gaze Found at the Morning Back Door" / "Overlapping Memories 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" / "I Remember, So I Am Quietly Here"

• Episode 61: "Pride in the Sunshine" / "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" / "Because I'm Just 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"

• Episode 69: "After the Rain, Along the Coast, Just Running" / "On the Bricks Where the Scent of Rain Lingers"

• Episode 70: "In the Garden Where Letters Bloom" / "Quietly, I Was 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 went on to work 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 my desire to depict the scenery of Sasebo—which is somewhat nostalgic yet has certainly changed—and the lives of the people who live there, as seen through my eyes now that I am "living in this town again," using the quiet lens of a 'cat's perspective'.

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 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 by casually discussing the plot, wondering "what kind of stories would be born with a cat and a town as the setting," but before I knew it, my days became a process of carefully exploring the rhythm 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," and "memories of the town that disappear without being told"—
I feel that being able to give shape to these themes through collaboration with ChatGPT, sometimes like poetry and sometimes as stories, was an essential process for this work.

Sasebo is a town of hills and harbors.
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
The 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 his 50s living in Nagasaki Prefecture. Both children have left the nest as university students, and I live with my wife.
A writer who lets his thoughts play 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 "The 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 a "new perspective" after reading them.
Feedback is always welcome!