"I distanced myself again."
Mira wrote in her notebook. Hiyori and Leo looked worried.
Hiyori asked gently, "Did you get close to someone?"
Mira nodded. "A classmate. They were kind to me. But..."
"But?" Leo prompted.
"I got scared and avoided them."
Hiyori understood. "You're afraid of getting close."
Mira nodded strongly. Tears were about to overflow.
Leo opened his notebook. "That's a phenomenon explained by attachment theory."
"Attachment theory?" Mira wrote.
"Relationships with caregivers in early childhood affect interpersonal relationships in adulthood."
Hiyori supplemented, "People with secure attachment don't fear intimacy."
"What about people with insecure attachment?" Mira asked.
"They seek intimacy while also fearing it," Leo explained. "They hold contradictory feelings."
Mira nodded empathetically.
"Mira, you might be fearful-avoidant type," Hiyori said gently.
"Fearful-avoidant?"
"You want intimacy. But you fear getting hurt and keep distance."
Mira wrote with trembling hands. "Exactly that."
Leo asked, "Why do you fear getting hurt?"
Mira thought. After a long silence, she answered. "Long ago, someone I trusted betrayed me."
Hiyori held her hand. "That must have been painful."
"Since then, getting close is scary," Mira cried. "I might get hurt again."
"That's a natural reaction," Leo acknowledged. "One of the defense mechanisms."
"But," Mira wrote, "loneliness is also painful."
Hiyori said gently, "It's a dilemma."
"What should I do?" Mira sought help.
Leo began explaining. "First, understand your attachment style."
"After understanding?"
"You can notice patterns," Hiyori said. "You can recognize 'I'm trying to distance myself again.'"
Mira nodded. "But does just that change things?"
"It won't change immediately," Leo answered honestly. "But it creates room for choice."
"Choice?"
"Instead of automatically avoiding, you can consciously choose to stay."
Mira wrote anxiously. "Staying is scary."
"Being scared is natural," Hiyori acknowledged. "But you can start with a small step."
"A small step?"
Leo suggested, "You don't have to completely open your heart. Just try staying a little."
"When someone is kind to you, don't run away immediately," Hiyori gave a concrete example. "Just say 'thank you.'"
Mira thought. "Just that?"
"Even that is a big step," Leo said.
"But what if they come closer?"
"You can communicate boundaries," Hiyori answered. "'I want to become close slowly.'"
Mira looked surprised. "I can say that?"
"Of course," Leo nodded. "Respecting your own pace is important."
Hiyori continued, "People who truly care about you will wait."
Mira looked a bit relieved.
"One more important thing," Leo said. "People from the past and people now are different."
"I know that," Mira wrote. "But my heart can't believe it."
"That's natural too," Hiyori said gently. "But by trying little by little, your heart also learns."
"Learns?"
"From experience, you learn 'there are people it's okay to get close to,'" Leo explained.
Mira pondered.
"You don't have to trust everyone," Hiyori added. "But if even one person becomes trustworthy..."
"Loneliness decreases," Mira understood.
Leo encouraged, "Mira, you already trust two people. Us."
Mira looked up in surprise.
"You're talking to us like this," Hiyori smiled. "That's proof of trust."
Mira nodded while crying. "Maybe so."
"Little by little is fine," Leo said. "You don't have to force change."
"But I want to change," Mira wrote.
Hiyori hugged her. "That feeling is already the beginning of change."
Mira cried in relief.
After a while, Mira asked, "Will the pain of intimacy disappear?"
"It might not completely disappear," Leo answered honestly. "But it becomes lighter."
"And," Hiyori continued, "you can also know the joy of intimacy."
Mira thought. "Joy?"
"The security of having someone you can trust. The happiness of understanding each other."
Mira smiled a little. "I want that."
"Then it's worth the challenge," Leo acknowledged.
Rain began to fall outside the window. Intimacy is scary. But that's how valuable it is.
"From today," Mira wrote, "I'll try staying, just a little."
"Wonderful resolution," Hiyori applauded.
Leo nodded. "We'll be by your side too."
Mira took a deep breath. Getting more intimate becomes more painful. But beyond that pain, there might be warmth. It's worth trying.
"Thank you," Mira wrote.
"Anytime," Hiyori answered.
The three quietly watched the rain. The journey toward intimacy had just begun.