"Do you think the past can be changed?"
Haru asked while looking out the library window.
Simon closed his book. "As a fact, no."
"But?"
"Interpretation can be changed."
Mio spoke for the first time. "The past is fixed, but its meaning is fluid."
Haru showed interest. "What do you mean?"
Simon gave an example. "Say you were scolded by someone ten years ago. At the time, it was a painful memory."
"But looking back now, you might think it helped you grow."
"Same event, different meaning."
Mio nodded. "The facts of the past don't change. But how you narrate that past can be changed."
"Narrate?"
"We understand our lives as narratives," Simon continued. "The plot of that narrative is constantly rewritten from the present perspective."
Haru was surprised. "So the past is created by the present?"
"In a sense. Nietzsche showed the idea of 'hermeneutic circle.'"
"Past and present mutually influence each other."
Mio said quietly. "So regret also changes."
"Regret?"
"What you regret now, your future self might find different meaning in."
Simon supplemented. "Or what you're proud of now might turn to regret."
Haru pondered. "Isn't that unstable?"
"It is unstable. But that's also what makes us human."
"When values change, the evaluation of the past changes."
Mio turned a page. "What matters is not being trapped by the past."
"The past can't be changed, but your relationship with the past can."
Haru nodded deeply. "Like forgiving or accepting the past."
"Yes. Heidegger used the concept of 'thrownness,'" Simon explained.
"Thrownness?"
"We are thrown into situations we didn't choose. The era we were born in, the place, our family."
"Those can't be changed."
"But how we take them on is free."
Mio closed her eyes. "Resenting the past or being grateful for it."
"Same past, but meaning changes with attitude."
Haru wrote in their notebook. "So we don't 'rewrite' the past, we 'reinterpret' it."
"Good expression," Simon acknowledged.
"One fact. Countless interpretations."
Mio quietly added. "But interpreting too conveniently is also dangerous."
"Why?"
"Because it leads to self-deception."
Simon nodded. "Beautifying the past too much or demonizing it too much both lose sight of reality."
"Balance is needed."
Haru asked. "How can we maintain balance?"
"By incorporating others' perspectives," Simon answered. "Facing the past alone leads to bias."
"Talking to someone creates new interpretations."
Mio smiled slightly. "That's why we dialogue."
"Sharing the past enriches its meaning."
Haru crossed their arms. "The past can't be changed, but the future can."
"And when the future changes, the meaning of the past also changes," Simon said.
"It's circular."
"Time isn't linear. In the layer of meaning, it circulates."
Mio stood up. "Let's go."
The three left the library. The book called the past shows new meanings each time it's read.