"There are things you just can't forgive, right?"
Kaito said suddenly. On the rooftop, the four were spending their lunch break.
Leo showed interest. "What happened?"
"Someone I trusted betrayed me once," Kaito looked into the distance. "I still get angry when I remember it."
Sora quietly asked, "When was that?"
"In middle school. It was four years ago."
Hiyori said gently, "But you still can't forgive them."
"Do I need to forgive?" Kaito resisted. "They're the one who was wrong."
Leo thought. "Maybe forgiveness isn't for the perpetrator, but for yourself."
"What do you mean?"
Sora explained, "Continuing to harbor anger and resentment means continuing to hurt yourself."
Kaito fell silent.
Hiyori calmly asked, "Every time you remember that incident, you suffer, don't you, Kaito?"
"...Maybe."
"That means the past event still controls you," Sora analyzed.
Leo added, "Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting. It just means not being dominated by that event."
Kaito pondered. "But if I forgive easily, doesn't that mean not acknowledging that they hurt me?"
Hiyori answered, "Forgiveness isn't justifying the other person's actions. It's just liberating your own heart."
Sora wrote in her notebook. "Forgiveness ≠ justification. Forgiveness = self-liberation."
Kaito looked at it. "Self-liberation..."
"In psychology, continuing to hold unforgiving feelings is called rumination," Sora explained. "Repeatedly thinking about the same anger."
Leo agreed. "That has negative effects on mental health. It causes depression and anxiety."
"So what should I do?" Kaito asked.
Hiyori proposed, "Start by acknowledging your emotions. It's okay to be angry, it's okay to be hurt."
"You don't deny the anger?"
"Emotions are natural reactions," Sora answered. "The problem is how to deal with them."
Leo asked, "What do you want to say to that person? If you could meet them now?"
Kaito thought a bit. "...I want them to know how much they hurt me."
"That's an important feeling," Hiyori acknowledged.
Sora continued, "But whether they understand that is beyond your control."
"So?"
"Focus on what you can control. That's your own mindset."
Kaito listened quietly.
Hiyori said gently, "Forgiveness isn't something that happens in an instant. It's a process."
Leo added, "There are stages. Acknowledging anger, expressing sadness, and finally letting go."
"Letting go?"
"Choosing the freedom of not being bound by that event," Sora explained. "By forgiving the other person, you become free."
Kaito slowly nodded. "I forgive for my own sake."
"Exactly," Hiyori smiled.
Leo asked, "You don't need to forgive right now. But do you want to be able to forgive?"
Kaito thought. "...Honestly, I'm not sure yet. But I hate being controlled by this anger."
"That's an important realization," Sora acknowledged.
Hiyori suggested, "It might be good to write your unforgiving feelings in a journal. By externalizing emotions, you feel a bit better."
Kaito asked, "Does that really work?"
"It's a method used in psychotherapy," Sora answered. "By verbalizing emotions, the brain processes them more easily."
Leo encouraged, "You don't need to forgive perfectly. Little by little is fine."
Kaito stood up. "I'll try. As it is now, I'm only losing out."
Hiyori smiled gently. "That realization is already the first step."
Sora added, "Forgiveness is a gift to yourself."
The four left the rooftop. Facing unforgiving feelings is painful. But when you overcome them, true freedom awaits.