"She's still not over it."
Noa said quietly, watching their friend sitting alone in the distance.
Haru nodded. "It's been two months already."
"I wonder if sadness doesn't fade with time."
"What do you think?" Haru asked.
Noa pondered. "I feel like sadness is carved deeper than joy."
"Why would that be?"
"Maybe survival instinct. By strongly retaining memories of danger or loss, we avoid repeating the same mistakes."
Haru started to accept this, then stopped. "But then shouldn't we also remember joy? To know what's good."
"Sharp." Noa smiled. "True, simple survival strategy alone can't explain it."
"So there are other reasons?"
"Sadness has incompleteness." Noa said quietly. "Joy is complete in the moment. But sadness leaves questions."
"Questions?"
"'Why did this happen?' 'What should I have done?' Questions without answers perpetuate sadness."
Haru looked at their friend. "Is she searching for answers too?"
"Probably. But there might not be answers."
"She keeps searching even though there are no answers?"
Noa nodded. "That's human. Because we are beings who seek meaning."
"Meaning..."
"Viktor Frankl said, 'Humans are beings who seek meaning.' We try to find meaning even in sadness."
Haru thought. "But is there meaning in sadness?"
"Not whether there is meaning, but whether we give it meaning." Noa corrected. "Turning loss into an opportunity for growth. Transforming pain into understanding of others."
"Isn't that just convincing yourself?"
"Sharp observation." Noa acknowledged. "But convincing yourself is also part of healing."
Haru crossed her arms. "So sadness remains forever?"
"It transforms." Noa looked at the sky. "Raw pain fades. But it remains as memory."
"That's different from sadness?"
"Closer to nostalgia. A sweet bitterness."
Haru was surprised. "Sadness becomes sweet?"
"Time transforms sadness into story. Stories lose their rawness, but gain meaning."
"By gaining meaning, it becomes bearable."
Noa nodded. "Yes. Nietzsche said, 'He who has a why can bear almost any how.'"
Haru looked at their friend. "She's searching for 'why' now."
"And someday she'll think about 'how' to use that experience."
"Does it take time?"
"Different for everyone. But there's no need to rush."
Haru smiled slightly. "Trying to rush through sadness also deepens it?"
"Philosophical." Noa smiled. "Resistance increases suffering. A Buddhist teaching."
"Accept it?"
"Accepting is different from giving up. Acknowledging sadness. That's the first step of healing."
Haru took a deep breath. "Sadness remains deep. But that's not a bad thing."
"Rather, it might be proof of humanity." Noa said quietly. "Because it's proof that we cherished something."
Their friend stood up. Started walking slowly.
Haru said. "She seems a bit lighter."
"You noticed?"
"Her back, a little."
Noa smiled. "Sadness is gravity. But because of gravity, we can move forward."
Haru nodded. "Carrying sadness, yet still walking."
"That's what living means."
The two quietly watched their friend's back. Sadness remains deep. But it's also proof that humans loved deeply.