[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Town Scenery (Episode 46: "Tears and the Swaying of a Tail" / "The Place That Can't Be Found")

Side A: "Tears and the Swaying of a Tail"
—From Bunchan's Perspective

Near Sasebo Station.
A back street a little ways from the road where human voices and car sounds mingle.

I entered the parking lot behind the apartment building.
The smell of cool concrete and iron.

Under the dim sky, a boy was standing.
He was hunched over, staring intently at the ground.

—Something heavy is making a sound, isn't it?

I stared at his back from a little distance away.

The sound of sobbing faintly mixed with the wind.

"...Why... why me..."

The boy muttered softly.
His voice was trembling, and his eyes were red.

I approached slowly.
But I didn't go right up to him.

I kept a little distance and just watched him.

The boy didn't notice and crouched down.
He covered his face with both hands and was crying softly again.

I moved forward quietly.
I sniffed his hunched back lightly.

—You're lonely, aren't you? You're crying.

The boy looked up.
His teary eyes found me.

"...Huh?"

I slowly lowered my eyes.
But I didn't go closer right away.

The boy stared at me for a while.

"...Cat...?"

I stepped a little closer and sat down softly at his feet.
I swayed my tail gently and lightly touched my nose to his shoe.

The boy wiped his tears again.
But the tears wouldn't stop.

"...At home, I'm always getting scolded... and at school, too..."

I listened to his voice quietly.

The boy looked down at me from time to time.
But I kept my eyes closed.

—I'm here, you know.

The boy sniffled softly again.

"...Even if I cry in a place like this... nothing will change, will it?"

I felt his voice become just a little lighter.

I stood up quietly and tapped a nearby dead leaf with my front paw.

Rustle.

The boy looked at the leaf and gave a small smile.

"...What was that for..."

I rolled the leaf once more and slowly swayed my tail.

"...Thank you, cat."

The boy stood up.

"...Will you... come back?"

His voice was a little warmer.

I glanced up at the boy and let my tail sway gently once more.

The boy gave a small smile and walked away from the parking lot.

I watched his back intently, then started walking slowly again.

The night wind was a little cold, but my feet felt warm somehow.

—Quietly, I was here.

[End]

Side B: "The Place Where I Can't Be Found"
—From the perspective of a middle school student

The parking lot behind the apartment building.
No one ever comes here. This is my "place where I can't be found."

Home is always stifling.
"How were your tests?" "Did you do your homework?" "Why are you always looking at your phone?"

My mother expects me to study.
My father frowns every time I touch my phone.

My older sister gets good grades.
I shouldn't compare myself, but the words "Your sister is so amazing" sting.

School is just school, always superficial.
They show me a video and say, "Hey, have you seen this?" and I laugh,
but I've actually already seen it. Still, I pretend it's my first time seeing it.

I even force myself to laugh at my classmates' jokes.
—The real me is nowhere to be found.

That's why this parking lot is my hiding place.

I crouched down on the dim concrete and covered my face.

"...Why... why is it always me..."

My small voice vanished into the sky.

Just then, something brushed against me softly.

"...Huh?"

I looked up, and there was a cat at my feet.
A white and brown calico cat was staring right at me.

Why... is it here?

"...A cat...?"

I wiped away my tears.
But the cat didn't run away.

It gently pressed its nose against my leg and swayed its tail softly.

What is it... with that feeling...

"...I always get scolded at home... and at school too..."

The words slipped out of my mouth.

The cat stayed still.
It didn't run away, and it didn't ignore me.

I wiped my tears again.
This cat... is really looking at me.

"...Crying in a place like this... won't change anything, will it?"

When I said that, the cat tapped a leaf with its front paw, rolling it over.

"...What was that for..."

The cat rolled the leaf again and swayed its tail.

How ridiculous... but somehow...

—I was able to smile, just a little.

I stood up.

"...Thanks, cat."

The cat stood up slowly and gave its tail a soft flick.

"...Will you... come back?"

A small voice escaped me.

The cat glanced at me and gave its tail another soft flick.

—Yeah.

That’s what it felt like.

My steps felt a little lighter as I headed back to the apartment.

I might still hate going back to that cramped house.
But that cat... it will surely be here again.

I had a feeling it would.

[End]

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Series Title List: (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" / "Scent of the Wind, Sound of Curry"

• Episode 5: "The 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" / "The Me Who Still Doesn't Understand"

• 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 It Takes to Return to Myself"

• Episode 14: "Before the Sound Has 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 the Silence Turns Into 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." / "A voiceless voice, I can hear it clearly, you know"

• Episode 19: "The Winner Who Doesn't Cry 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'd come. I have no proof, but still" / "I didn't come to see you, really—though you probably won't believe me if I say that"

• Episode 21: "The one on the boundary" / "I can tell both departures and arrivals 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's no sound, there's someone who can hear it" / "Beyond the sound, there is a heart"

• Episode 24: "The sound of unraveling is not in the voice, but deep in the eyes" / "Mom, the cat, and the stranger" / "Halfway up the slope, I felt as if two winds had overlapped"

• 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 sound of the bell, the wind is still blowing" / "Even if the bell doesn't ring, the scent of feelings 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" / "There are things that are understood even without saying a word"

• Episode 30: "I'm glad it was a police officer" / "There was a gentle presence in the shadow of the 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: "Drinks, 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 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 Bun-chan again" / "The scent along the river and the shadow of a prayer"

• Episode 40: "The sound of being untied and Bun-chan" / "The sound of passing through the wind and the scent of the sea"

• Episode 41: "Damp Cobblestones, 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 Path"

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

• Episode 45: "Wood Shavings and Sighs" / "A Playmate in the Wood Shavings"

• Episode 46: "Tears and the Swaying of a Tail" / "The Place That Can't Be Found"

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 somewhat nostalgic, yet certainly changing scenery of Sasebo and the lives of the people who live there, as seen through my eyes now that I have "returned to live in this town," using a quiet lens called 'a cat's perspective'.
The protagonist, Bun-chan, is a white and brown calico cat.
He doesn't 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 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 consulted it about 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 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 a truly indispensable process for this work.
Sasebo is a town of slopes 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
Author

Profile | Kazuomi Matsunaga

🧭Thinking Navigator

Biography: Graduated from Kyushu University, Faculty of Engineering (Materials Science) => Engineer at a metal materials manufacturer in the Chukyo region (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 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, centering on the serial column "The Science of Thought" series. 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 leave you with a "new perspective" after reading them.
Comments are also very welcome!