Mira held a book in the library. The title was "Memory and Trauma."
Sora and Leo approached.
"Mira, researching memory again?" Sora asked.
Mira nodded. She wrote in her notebook. "There's something I can't forget"
Leo sat down. "Negative memories tend to remain stronger than positive ones."
"Why?" Sora asked.
"From an evolutionary psychology explanation, remembering danger was advantageous for survival."
Mira turned the page. There was the term "negativity bias."
"Negativity bias," Sora read. "The tendency to preferentially process negative information."
Leo explained. "For example, if there were ten good events and one bad event. People remember the bad event more vividly."
"Seems unbalanced," Sora said.
"But as a survival strategy, it's rational. Forgetting danger means repeating the same mistakes."
Mira wrote on a new page. "Betrayal"
Sora was slightly surprised. "A memory of being betrayed?"
Mira quietly nodded.
Leo said carefully, "Betrayal becomes a particularly intense emotional memory. Because the foundation of trust collapses."
"Emotional memory?"
"Memories accompanied by emotion are strengthened in a brain region called the amygdala. When adrenaline is secreted, memory consolidation is promoted."
Sora understood. "So frightening experiences and sad experiences are hard to forget."
"Yes. The brain recognizes them as 'important events.'"
Mira stared intently at the book. Leo said gently.
"But memory isn't fixed. It's reconstructed."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"Each time you recall a memory, it changes slightly. New information and perspectives are added."
Mira looked up. She was showing interest.
Leo continued. "So even the same event can have different meanings as time passes."
Sora thought. "Can memories of betrayal also change?"
"They won't completely disappear. But interpretation can be changed."
Mira wrote in her notebook. "How?"
Leo answered seriously, "First, face that memory. If you keep avoiding it, it becomes fixed."
"Facing it is painful," Sora said.
"Of course. So in a safe environment, little by little."
Mira wrote. "Is here safe?"
Sora smiled. "Of course it is."
Leo continued explaining. "Next, try viewing that event from different perspectives. Why did it happen, what were the other person's circumstances?"
"Does that mean forgiving them?" Sora asked.
"You don't have to forgive. Just try to understand. That alone can reduce the emotional intensity of the memory."
Mira pondered.
"One more important thing," Leo said. "What did you learn from that experience? Find positive aspects."
Sora supplemented. "Post-traumatic growth. Growth after psychological trauma."
"Well-informed," Leo acknowledged. "Through difficult experiences, people can sometimes grow."
Mira wrote. "What I learned from betrayal"
Then after thinking for a while, she wrote again. "Don't trust people easily. But there are also trustworthy people."
Sora read and nodded. "That's an important learning."
Leo said, "Memory isn't just a record of the past. It's an element that shapes the present self."
"So changing your relationship with memory means changing yourself."
Mira smiled. It was the first time they'd seen such a calm smile.
Sora asked. "Mira, has that memory become a little lighter?"
Mira nodded. Then wrote. "Won't completely disappear. But no longer dominated."
Leo acknowledged. "That's a healthy relationship. Coexisting with memory."
"Not forgetting, but integrating," Sora summarized.
Mira closed her notebook. Memories of betrayal remain. But their meaning can be changed. And with people to support you, the weight of memory becomes a little lighter.
The three quietly left the library. The past can't be changed. But your relationship with the past can be. That's what it means to live with memory.