This story was something special to me because of the way in which it captured the way in which a person might think. I don’t know if I have depression, have had depression, but I know that the feelings I got from the story were exactly how I felt when I didn’t know where I was going.

A beautiful dialogue

At some point everything around me had changed without me noticing. Most of my friends left the prefecture, while the ones who remained got too busy to even meet. I just laughed along with them, while wondering the entire time why I was even there. Since then, it became increasingly more painful to meet with my friends, and eventually, I became all alone...

The internal dialogues, and that with her co-workers and others was something I found was a beautiful representation of how I feel. All her anxieties, fears, self-doubt, were all put on display to demonstrate how a listless person feels in their daily lives and routine. But I think all of it culminated in telling us about the importance of communication.

Did I have something I wanted to do?

Did my attitude show my motivation?
Did I try to be proactive at all?
The answer is “no” to them all.

Life is all about social interactions, we live the way we do because of the way we have been formed by the world around us. In the same way, we are shaping the world. It’s a two-way street that can sometimes easily be blocked by a truck of your own creation. You must be willing to communicate to yourself, and to others clearly. How else do you know about what you wanted to do? How else can you stop yourself from forgetting who you are? How else can you find more of yourself?

Hope in change

The point is that you should take it easy. If you ask me, it's perfectly fine to keep doing whatever until you find what you like

The message of the story was empowering. There were only really 3 characters with significant perspectives, but I found them all to be important.

Izumi doesn’t know herself, doesn’t know why she lives, and wants to feel less lonely.
Kanade is the same but outwardly appears to be more confident, have more energy.
The manager shares similar worries but approaches them with a carefree attitude.

The present I got from Kanade-chan gave me some room to look past my worries for just a little. And from there, I might be able to stumble upon an opening. Even if it’s just a dead end beyond that opening, even if I don’t know where the path leads to, for each path I take, it’s okay for me to take a small detour, right? Because that’s my way of life right now.

Growing up means we find new ways of communicating.
Izumi begins to hatch out of her shell of loneliness by accepting a new friend.
Kanade leaves her senior co-worker behind and finds a friend instead.
It’s a bittersweet picture of change when we lose those we shared so much with in the past. But we can learn so many new things and feel so many new experiences.

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I think it’s okay for me to take a detour too, let’s see what is behind that opening.