"Mira, you're looking at your phone a lot again."
Sora called out with concern. At the cafe, Mira was frequently checking messages.
Mira nodded with a tense expression.
Hiyori approached. "Is it from someone?"
Mira wrote in her notebook. "Friend. Gets angry if I don't reply."
Leo frowned. "Is that a healthy relationship?"
Mira looked troubled.
Sora observed. "Getting angry if you don't reply is a form of control."
"Control?" Mira wrote.
Hiyori explained, "Making the other person act as you want. Using fear or guilt."
Leo added, "In psychology, this is called a controlling relationship or codependent relationship."
Mira stared at her notebook.
Sora gently asked, "How do you feel when you're with that friend?"
Mira thought a bit, then wrote, "Tired. But I don't want to be disliked."
"That's the core of the problem," Hiyori said. "Fear of being disliked makes you sacrifice yourself."
Leo analyzed, "This is abandonment anxiety. Excessive fear of losing the other person."
Mira nodded. It was spot on.
Sora explained, "Controlling people exploit this anxiety. They make you think 'You can't do without me.'"
Hiyori said calmly, "But true friendship doesn't bind the other person."
Mira looked surprised.
Leo continued, "Healthy relationships have boundaries. They respect each other's personal time and space."
"Boundaries," Mira wrote.
"Yes," Sora nodded. "Protecting the boundary between yourself and others. The line of 'I can accept this far, but no further.'"
Hiyori asked, "Where are your boundaries, Mira?"
Mira pondered. Then wrote, "I don't know."
"That might be because your boundaries have been continuously violated," Sora analyzed.
Leo proposed, "Let's practice setting boundaries. Like conveying 'There are times when I can't reply immediately.'"
Mira wrote anxiously, "They'll get angry."
"You're afraid of making them angry," Hiyori understood.
"But is it okay to be controlled by that fear?" Sora asked.
Mira fell silent.
Hiyori said gently, "Setting boundaries isn't selfish. It's your right to protect yourself."
Leo added, "Real friends respect boundaries. If they don't, that's not friendship."
Mira slowly wrote, "But I'm afraid of being alone."
"I understand that feeling," Hiyori empathized. "But isn't being in a controlling relationship even lonelier?"
Mira had a realization.
Sora explained, "A relationship where you can't show your true self is a false connection. It only hides true loneliness."
Leo encouraged, "Being alone and loneliness are different. Valuing yourself isn't isolation."
Mira was thinking.
Hiyori suggested, "Little by little is fine. First, try taking a bit more time to reply. The world won't end."
"And observe your own feelings," Sora continued. "Anxiety might come. But you can overcome it."
Mira wrote, "I'll try."
Leo smiled. "That's a courageous choice."
Hiyori added, "If you feel anxious, please consult with us. Don't hold it all in."
Sora nodded. "Escaping control is scary. But it's worth becoming free."
Mira slowly nodded. Then put her phone in her bag.
"Now, I want to value the time I'm here," Mira said in a small voice.
The three were surprised. It was rare for Mira to speak out loud.
Hiyori smiled. "That's a wonderful choice."
Leo added, "This is the first step toward freedom."
Sora watched quietly. Escaping a controlling relationship isn't easy. But reclaiming yourself is always possible. Today, Mira began walking that path.