"Mira-san, what's your future dream?"
Leo casually asked.
Mira fell silent. She tried to write something in her notebook, then stopped.
Sora noticed. "Was that a difficult question?"
Mira nodded slightly.
Leo showed interest. "Why? Having dreams is natural, isn't it?"
"I don't know my dream," Mira said quietly.
Sora opened the notebook. "That's not uncommon."
"Many people lose sight of their true wishes."
"Lose sight?" Leo tilted his head. "Of something they once had?"
"Yes," Sora explained. "As children, we have pure wishes. But in the process of growing up, we hide them."
"Why hide them?"
Mira answered slowly. "Because they're not realistic. Because I'd be ridiculed."
Sora nodded. "The gap between social expectations and your wishes."
"What parents, teachers, and others around you want differs from what you really want to do."
Leo thought. "So you store your true wishes deep in your heart."
"Suppression," Sora said. "An important concept in psychology."
"Pushing inconvenient emotions and desires deep into the unconscious."
Mira listened quietly.
"But," Sora continued. "Suppressed wishes don't disappear."
"They appear in other forms. Vague dissatisfaction, emptiness, loss of direction."
Leo listened seriously. "How can you find your true wishes?"
Sora suggested. "First, be honest with yourself."
"Ask 'want to' instead of 'should.'"
Mira wrote. "'Should become a doctor' vs 'Want to draw.'"
"Good example," Sora acknowledged. "The difference between social expectations and inner voice."
Leo asked. "Mira-san, what is your 'want to'?"
Mira hesitated. After a long silence, she said in a small voice.
"I want to make picture books."
Sora and Leo waited quietly.
"But that's unrealistic," Mira continued. "It's not a stable job."
"Who said so?" Leo asked.
"Parents, teachers, everyone around."
Sora said gently. "That's their values. Not your values."
"But I can't ignore them," Mira objected.
"You don't need to ignore them," Sora answered. "But you shouldn't ignore your wishes either."
Leo supplemented. "Balance. Consider both social reality and personal wishes."
Sora explained. "In self-actualization theory, pursuing true wishes leads to mental health."
"Continued suppression decreases life satisfaction."
Mira asked quietly. "But the risk is high."
"True," Leo admitted. "But not taking risks also has a cost."
"The cost of not living your true self."
Sora suggested. "You don't need to change everything right now."
"You can start small. Draw picture books as a hobby. Gradually polish skills."
Mira thought. "Can I balance both?"
"You can," Leo asserted. "Many people realize dreams gradually."
Sora supplemented. "What's important is acknowledging the wish. Bringing it out from deep inside."
"Nothing begins while it stays suppressed."
Mira wrote in her notebook. "I want to become a picture book author."
When written, the wish gained some reality.
"That's the first step," Sora smiled.
Leo encouraged. "Having wishes is not embarrassing."
"Rather, it's courage."
Mira said quietly. "Thank you. I could say it out loud for the first time."
Sora answered. "Wishes hidden deep inside are waiting to be found."
"Acknowledging them is the first step to living as yourself."
Outside the window, the sunset faded. Suppressed wishes slowly emerged into the light.