[Novel] I Was Here—The Cat Says Nothing, But Sasebo Knows the Townscape (Episode 21: "Those at the Boundary" / "I Can Tell Both Departures and Arrivals by the Scent")
Side B: "Those at the Boundary"
—From the notes of the Sasebo Station Master
This is Sasebo Station.
The JR Kyushu Sasebo Line and the third-sector Matsuura Railway Nishi-Kyushu Line.
For both lines, this is the terminal station and also the starting station.
And this station is also a transfer terminal where two railways intersect, spread out above the elevated tracks.
The structure allows you to go to either platform after passing through the ticket gates and going up the escalator.
Thanks to that, the morning congestion reflects the "rhythm of people" better than one might think.
Commuting office workers, students in uniform, travelers, and familiar local faces.
Even though they are taking different lines, they stand in the same place for a brief moment.
This station is a place that contains such "passing by" moments.
—And, in such a place like an intersection,
there is "another commuter."
It's a cat. Its name is "Bun-chan."
I don't know who named it.
But when the air at the ticket gates begins to stir in the morning,
it always appears.
This morning, too, it entered the concourse from the station's east exit.
If you pretend not to notice, it slips through the JR ticket gates as usual.
"Good morning, Bun-chan. You're on time again today."
Even if I speak to it, there is, of course, no reply.
But I know my voice reached it.
The tip of its tail stands straight up.
Normally I should chase it away, but for some reason,
there is an atmosphere about this cat that makes me not do that,
that makes me feel I don't have to.
It was also a handover from the previous station master.
"Bun-chan is... well, she's like a beckoning cat, a lucky cat."
I was surprised because he was a senior who was twice as strict about discipline as anyone else when he trained me as a rookie.
In fact, there have never been any complaints from users.
I saw them go straight up the stairs to Platform 2.
They were likely heading toward the Matsuura Railway platform.
I watched them go quietly.
This station is a place with many "flow lines."
However, there is not just one "destination."
People heading to the JR platform,
people heading to Imari or Hirado on the Matsuura Railway,
people stopping by the shopping mall or bus center.
—And, there are certainly people who just come to see Bun-chan.
This cat does not cross the tracks, moving only within the station premises.
And yet,it stands as if nestling against the "boundaries" between people.
For example,
beside the back of someone pulling a heavy suitcase on the morning of a job transfer.
Beside the sound of footsteps of high school students absorbed in talking about today's match on their way home from club activities.
Seeing Bun-chan sitting at the edge of the platform,
I love the moment when passengers smile and say, "Oh, you're here today too."
Just like the timetable we station staff check every morning,
Bun-chan's presence,
might be setting the"heart's schedule"for the people of the town.
The train departs, and the platform becomes quiet for just a moment.
At that timing, Bun-chan starts to walk slowly.
The sound of the escalator, the voice of the announcement,
the lingering echo of the departure bell.
Even though all of these should be ordinary,
when they overlap with Bun-chan's movements,mysteriously, meaning is born.
—This station is both a terminal and a starting point.
Bun-chan is always at that boundary.
Before we even notice,
he might be the trigger that sets 'someone's today' in motion.
The bell for the next train rings.
The flow of people returns to the ticket gate once again.
I should head back to my post, too.
Today, just like every day, Bun-chan is right on time.
That alone is enough for the morning at this station to begin properly.
[End]
Side A: "I Can Tell Departures and Arrivals by the Scent"
—Bun-chan, at Sasebo Station
I am a cat. Bun-chan.
My day begins in the shadows of 'Rokuten-dori' on the first floor of Sasebo Station, where the champon shops are lined up.
Before the station building was rebuilt, they say these were popular shops located in the underground passage connecting the station and the bus center.
Since it's before business hours now, the shop curtains are still down.
This station is a little special.
If you go up to the platform above,
JR trains and Matsuura Railway diesel cars
are parked as if they are happily standing side by side.
For both of them, this is the terminus.
But there are also people boarding from here.
In other words—it's a place where endings and beginnings intersect every minute that's what it is.
I can tell that 'scent'.
The scent of arrival is a bit damp,
and the scent of departure is just a little sharp.
I slip past the Sasebo Burger shop,
and enter the concourse with a nonchalant face.
It's the usual thing for the girl working at the convenience store to wave at me.
I just glance at her for a second.
When I passed through the JR ticket gate, the stationmaster,
said while adjusting his uniform collar slightly.
"On time again today, Bun-chan?"
I flicked my tail slightly in response.
Not answering here has somehow become our signal.
It is also the unspoken agreement that allows me to enter the station premises.
The stationmaster's voice suits the morning platform.
Even on days when he seems a bit tired,
he walks the platform earlier than anyone else,
and sees off the departure bell later than anyone else.
The "temperature" of such a person's voice reaches me clearly.
When I slipped into the shadow of the pillar next to the escalator,
high school students on their way to school passed by, laughing.
"Bun-chan, heading to work today too?"
"This guy is always here, isn't he?"
"There's a rumor that if you pet him, you'll pass your exams."
Hmph... I don't know about such occult things, but
I don't mind being petted.
I climbed the stairs to Platform 2, stepped out onto the platform,
walked nonchalantly over to the Matsuura Railway platform,
and sat in the corner by a pillar.
The breeze that passes through here feels good.
Once, a young man was standing on the platform.
He was in a suit, with a carry-on case.
I could tell right away by his restless feet.
His gaze, looking out at the harbor across the platform, was distant.
Was he being transferred, or perhaps returning from a visit home to the city where he works?
Either way, he had the scent of someone prepared to leave this town.
At that moment, I quietly approached his feet.
He says nothing. He is just "there."
The man seemed surprised for a moment, but then he smiled.
"...It's kind of healing. Sasebo, this is the kind of town it was."
A diesel train pulls into the station, its engine humming with a low sound.
I give my tail a flick, and
start walking back into the station yard.
This station smells the most when people are "about to move."
The station master knows this too, so
he always watches them go quietly.
I, too, just watch them go.
Feeling the scents, the presence, and the unspoken thoughts.
Sasebo Station.
It is the end of the line for trains, and
it is also a "transfer station" for people's feelings.
[End]
* This is a work of fiction. Normally, cats are not allowed to enter station platforms on their own!
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 Flower Shop of Words"
Episode 3: "The Tail's Map" / "The Tail's Arrow"
Episode 4: "I'll Be Waiting" / "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 Old Man's Back, a Cat's 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 Presence of Distant Mountains Behind the Scent"
Episode 13: "I Was Waiting at the Exit of the Night" / "The Few Minutes It Takes to Return to Myself"
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 21: "Those at 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 Without Sound, There Are Those Who Can Hear" / "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"
Episode 25: "Today, There Was No Sound of a Broom" / "When He Is Silent, 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 Certainly Here" / "Because They Were Here"
Episode 28: "Because Those Hands Were Kind"
Episode 29: "The Scent of Dried Nets and Silent Kindness" / "Even If You Say Nothing, There Are Things That Are Understood"
Episode 30: "I'm Glad It Was a Police Officer" / "There Was a Gentle Presence in the Shadow of the Hat"
Afterword
Thank you for picking up this book.
And I would like to express 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 went on to work 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 who live there, as seen through my eyes now that I have "returned to live in this town again," throughthe 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 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 collection was chosen as a phrase that symbolizes both 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 ChatGPTas a creative partner.At first, I consulted it about the plot with a light heart, wondering, "What kind of stories could 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 the 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 shaping 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 the same 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
Biography:Graduated from a national university in Kyushu (Faculty of Engineering, Materials Science) => 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 (<- currently here). A person in their 50s living in Nagasaki Prefecture.
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, centered on the serialized column series "The Science of Thought." I am exploring "free knowledge design" that transcends existing frameworks. My motto is "Imagination opens up the world."
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!
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「クリエイティブの世界へようこそ！」
創造・表現することが好きで、日々新しいものを生み出しています。応援が次の創作の力になります！