Even for just a moment, even if it's just one person

My daughter said she wanted her favorite Japanese teacher to read the article I wrote the other day about "Run, Melos!".

Hearing those words, I felt it wasn't just a simple request to "read it."

I think she wanted the teacher to understand what she had poured into that article.

My daughter experienced school non-attendance.
And starting this spring, she has been aiming to return to school little by little.

It's still a work in progress, and she didn't get here easily.
I know there were many painful times and feelings that couldn't be put into words.

That is precisely why I am amazed that my daughter is now able to organize her thoughts and express them in words to this extent.

When she said she wanted the teacher to read the article about "Run, Melos!", she told me this.

"It was the only way to survive."
"Even if it's just for a moment, even if it's just one person, if there is someone who can empathize with that pain, someone who can carry it with you, that alone is enough to save you. It gives you the strength to take a step forward on your own."

Hearing those words made my chest tighten.

I don't think this is about wanting to justify someone's mistakes.

If you do something wrong, the fact that you did it doesn't disappear.
Sometimes, you have to make amends.

But before that, if there were someone who would pay even the slightest bit of attention to why they were driven to that point, or what kind of suffering they were carrying, people might be able to choose a different future.

Even for just a moment is fine.
Even just one person is fine.

If there is someone who tries to understand the pain, saying, "It must have been so hard for you," perhaps people can be saved a little.

It doesn't mean anything will change dramatically.
The past won't disappear.
The suffering won't all go away.

Even so, that momentary empathy can become a small light that makes you think, "Maybe I'll try living a little longer."

I don't think my daughter wanted the teacher to read this article just to share her thoughts.

I think she wanted the teacher to receive something like her own wish, or perhaps her hope, that she found through "Run, Melos!".

If there is someone who tries to understand the suffering, even for just a moment, even if it's just one person, you can be saved.

I believe those words were directed at the characters in the story, and at the same time, they were words that came from my daughter's own heart.

Having experienced school non-attendance and now aiming for a return this spring,
the fact that my daughter has been able to look into her own heart and put it into words to this extent,
I believe that in itself is already a major step forward.

There are times when people cannot be saved by correctness alone.

Empathy is not about affirming mistakes.

I believe it is about sharing a little bit of the loneliness.

And perhaps it is because of that "little bit" that
people are able to move forward again under their own power.

This spring, my daughter, too, is trying to move forward little by little in that way.

I think that is a very precious thing.

Aru.