"Mira-san, why don't you speak?"
Leo asked directly. Typical foreigner's frankness.
Mira remained silent. As usual, she tried to write in her notebook.
"Not by writing, but with words," Leo continued. "Why are you afraid to speak?"
Sora intervened. "Leo-san, that's..."
"It's okay," Mira said in a small voice. "Being asked makes me think about it for the first time."
Leo waited. Sora also observed quietly.
"When I speak, I'm evaluated," Mira said slowly. "That's scary."
"Evaluation?" Leo confirmed.
Sora opened the notebook. "Anxiety about social evaluation."
"When you express yourself, others judge you. That fear prevents self-disclosure."
Leo thought. "But you can't avoid being evaluated. Why are you so afraid?"
Mira thought for a moment before answering. "If I'm rejected, it feels like my existence is denied."
"Interesting," Leo said. "You identify your opinions with yourself."
Sora supplemented. "This is a common cognitive distortion."
"Opinion being denied ≠ yourself being denied."
Mira listened quietly.
Leo gave an example. "I came from Germany. I sometimes make mistakes in Japanese."
"But poor Japanese ≠ I'm worthless."
"That's different," Mira objected. "Language is ability. Opinions are yourself."
Sora intervened. "I understand how Mira-san feels. But Leo-san's perspective is also correct."
"Opinions are part of yourself. But not the whole."
Leo nodded. "Humans are multifaceted. One opinion doesn't determine everything."
Mira said quietly. "But being judged is still scary."
"That's a natural emotion," Sora acknowledged. "Fear of showing vulnerability."
"Vulnerability?"
"Disclosing your inner self," Sora explained. "That means accepting the possibility of being hurt."
Leo said seriously. "But without vulnerability, true connection cannot be born."
"Psychological research proves it too," Sora added. "Self-disclosure is the foundation of intimacy."
Mira looked doubtful. "But what if I'm rejected?"
"That can happen," Leo admitted. "But you can also be accepted."
"If you don't speak, neither happens."
Sora wrote in the notebook. "Fear of self-expression consists of two elements."
"Anxiety about evaluation and anticipation of rejection."
"Both are speculations about future events."
Mira thought. "I'm afraid of things that haven't happened yet."
"Yes," Leo said. "Is that rational?"
"I don't know," Mira answered honestly. "But emotions aren't rational."
Sora smiled. "Exactly. You don't need to rationalize emotions."
"But you can challenge them."
Leo suggested. "Shall we start small? Try telling us something now."
Mira hesitated.
"This is safe," Sora said. "We won't evaluate you."
Mira took a deep breath. "I... like drawing."
Leo smiled. "That's wonderful."
"Were you evaluated?" Sora asked gently. "Negatively?"
Mira shook her head. "But this is a small thing."
"All beginnings are small," Leo said. "Even big self-expression starts from small steps."
Sora supplemented. "Fear of self-expression can be reduced through practice."
"Little by little, in a safe environment."
Mira said quietly. "Will I be able to speak more someday?"
"Absolutely," Leo asserted. "But you don't need to speak perfectly."
"At your own pace."
Sora said finally. "Being afraid of self-expression is human. But you don't have to be bound by it."
Mira closed her notebook. Today, she spoke a little. It was a small but certain step.