"Why did I say that back then?"
Mira wrote in her notebook. A quiet space in the library.
Hiyori asked gently, "Did something happen?"
Mira continued writing. "A year ago, I hurt a friend. Even now, remembering it is painful."
Sora observed quietly. Mira's handwriting was trembling.
Leo approached. "Do you regret past actions?"
Mira nodded.
Hiyori began explaining. "Regret is an emotion everyone experiences. But excessive regret hinders living in the present."
"How can we forgive the past?" Sora asked.
"There's a process of self-forgiveness," Hiyori answered. "First, looking objectively at what happened."
Mira wrote. "A friend shared their troubles. I couldn't respond appropriately."
"And then?" Leo prompted.
"The friend was hurt. The relationship became strained."
Hiyori continued. "Next, understanding your situation at that time."
"Situation?" Sora asked.
"What state were you in then, Mira?"
Mira thought and wrote. "I was also troubled. I had no capacity."
"That's important information," Hiyori pointed out. "It's not fair to keep blaming yourself when you weren't in perfect condition."
Leo supplemented. "People do their best with the information and abilities they have at that moment. Judging the past with current perspective is cognitive distortion."
"Hindsight bias," Sora wrote in her notebook.
"Yes," Leo nodded. "Assuming you should have known then what you know now."
Mira wrote, "But hurting someone is a fact."
"That's true," Hiyori acknowledged. "Taking responsibility for actions and blaming yourself forever are different."
"Different?"
"Taking responsibility means apologizing, making amends if possible, and learning. Continuing to blame yourself is just self-punishment."
Sora understood. "Constructive or destructive."
"Exactly," Hiyori smiled. "Learning from the past and growing is constructive. Being trapped in the past and unable to move forward is destructive."
Leo asked, "How are things with that friend now?"
Mira wrote, "I apologized. They forgave me. But I can't forgive myself."
Hiyori said quietly, "Self-forgiveness is the hardest. More difficult than forgiveness from others."
"Why?" Sora asked.
"Because you know your inner self better than anyone. And you're your harshest critic."
Mira gripped her notebook.
Leo shared his experience. "I also hurt a friend in my home country. Under study pressure, I was harsh."
"And then?"
"I blamed myself for a long time. But one day I realized. Continuing to blame myself doesn't make amends to that friend."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"True amends is learning from mistakes and becoming a better person. Self-punishment produces nothing."
Hiyori nodded. "Yes. Forgiving yourself isn't irresponsible. Rather, it's taking responsibility for growth."
Mira lifted her face slightly.
Sora said, "Your past self was immature. But that was all of yourself then."
Hiyori continued. "And you now have grown more than then. Acknowledge that growth."
Mira wrote, "Acknowledge growth..."
"Yes. If the same situation occurred, what would you do now?"
Mira thought and wrote, "I'd approach more kindly. I'd also communicate my own state."
"That's proof of growth," Leo acknowledged.
Hiyori said gently, "Forgiving your past self means acknowledging that you also did your best then."
Sora wrote in her notebook. "Embracing the imperfect self."
Mira wrote, holding back tears. "But it's difficult."
"Naturally difficult," Hiyori put her hand over Mira's. "Self-forgiveness isn't completed once. It's a process repeated many times."
Leo added, "When regret surfaces, tell yourself each time. 'I did my best then.'"
Sora asked, "That's self-compassion, right?"
"Yes. Compassion for yourself. Forgiving yourself as you'd forgive a friend."
Mira wrote on a new page. "Past me, I'm sorry. And thank you."
Hiyori smiled. "Good words."
"Thanking your past self," Sora understood. "Because of that experience, your current self exists."
Leo nodded. "You can't change the past. But you can change the interpretation of the past."
Mira took a deep breath. It felt like a weight lifted from her shoulders.
Hiyori said finally, "Befriending your weak, immature past self. That's true self-acceptance."
The four sat quietly. Forgiving the past, living in the present. That was the form of growth.