"Is this really sadness?"
Sora murmured absently. At the cafe, Mira and Leo sat across from her.
"What do you mean?" Leo asked back.
"I cried watching a movie. But I don't really know if I was sad or moved."
Mira wrote in her notebook. "Emotions are ambiguous"
"Yes, exactly," Sora empathized. "It's hard to put a name to emotions."
Leo showed interest. "There's a concept called alexithymia. A trait of having difficulty recognizing or expressing emotions."
"Alexithymia..." Sora repeated.
"Greek for 'unable to put emotions into words.' Everyone has it to varying degrees, but for some people it's a prominent characteristic."
Sora thought. "I might be like that too. I can't be certain what I'm feeling."
Mira nodded. Then wrote. "Me too"
Leo continued explaining. "Recognizing emotions involves several steps. First, feel bodily changes."
"Bodily changes?"
"Heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, stomach sensations. These are called interoceptive awareness."
Sora recalled. "When I watched the movie, I felt a tightness in my chest."
"That's a physical response. Next, you label that response with an emotion."
"Chest tightness = sadness, like that."
"Yes. But here problems can arise," Leo continued. "The same physical response can correspond to multiple emotions."
Mira drew a diagram. From one circle, multiple arrows extended.
"Increased heart rate can occur with anger, fear, or excitement," Sora understood.
"Exactly. So you need to judge by combining context and thoughts too."
Sora asked. "But what if you still don't know?"
Leo answered. "That's normal. Emotions aren't black and white."
Mira wrote. "Gradation"
"Good expression. Emotions are continuous and mixed."
Sora felt a little relieved. "So it's okay not to know clearly?"
"Rather, accepting ambiguity might be a sign of maturity."
Mira wrote on a new page. "Why can't I trust my feelings?"
Leo thought. "There are several reasons. One is past experience of having emotions denied."
"Denied?" Sora asked.
"'Don't get angry over that.' 'Don't cry.' 'You're too sensitive.' If told this repeatedly, you stop trusting your own emotions."
Sora remembered. "As a child, I was often told 'you worry too much.'"
"When that accumulates, distrust toward emotions develops."
Mira nodded. She seemed to empathize.
"Another thing," Leo continued. "Emotions change easily. What you liked yesterday, you dislike today."
"Inconsistent," Sora said.
"Human emotions are inherently fluid. But accepting that is difficult."
Sora asked. "How can I come to trust my own emotions?"
Leo answered. "First, don't seek correct answers in emotions. What you felt is the truth of that moment."
"But it might be wrong."
"There are no wrong emotions. Actions can be appropriate or inappropriate, but feeling itself is value-neutral."
Mira wrote. "Allow yourself to feel"
"Yes. Not 'should feel this way,' but accept 'I'm feeling this way.'"
Sora started writing in her notebook. "Right now, I have complicated emotions. And that's okay."
Leo smiled. "Good practice."
Mira gently touched Sora's hand. Then wrote. "Your emotions are real"
Sora's eyes moistened. "Thank you."
Leo said, "Practicing verbalizing emotions is also effective. Keeping a diary, talking to someone."
"Does putting it into words make it clearer?"
"Not necessarily clearer, but you can face it."
Sora made a decision. "I'll try starting a diary."
Mira also nodded. Then wrote. "Together"
Leo said, "Emotional uncertainty is also a richness of being human. Because it's not clear like a machine, it's deep."
Sora smiled. "Enjoying the ambiguity."
"Exactly."
The three left the cafe. There are days when you can't trust your own feelings. But it starts with accepting that. There are no correct answers in emotions. They just exist. Acknowledging that is the first step in self-understanding.