There’s something about Obon that makes time feel a little different.

Most of the time, we keep our eyes on what lies ahead.
But during this season, we naturally find ourselves looking back.

The moment we met someone.
The words we said.
The words we never found the courage to say.
And the love we once believed had already come to an end.

But love is a strange and beautiful thing.

We may believe that the past can never be changed.
And in one sense, that’s true.

But the way we understand and accept our past can change the future we move toward.

That love shaped who you are today.

That goodbye taught you what truly matters to you.

And loving that person showed you just how deeply you are capable of loving someone.

That’s why I don’t want anyone to look at a past relationship and see it only as a “failure.”

When a relationship ends, it doesn’t necessarily mean that every possibility connected to that person has disappeared forever.

The experience remains within you.

It changes the way you choose.
It changes the way you act.
And eventually, it can lead you toward a completely different future.

And sometimes—

the paths of two people who once went their separate ways cross again in the most unexpected place, at the most unexpected time.

Obon is also a season that makes us think about what it means to return.

People return.
Memories return.
And sometimes, our own hearts find their way back to us.

If there is someone you still can’t forget,
you don’t have to force yourself to forget them.

Instead, try looking beyond the person for a moment.

Ask yourself what that love taught you.

What did it reveal about you?
What did it change within you?
And what kind of person did you become because you loved them?

The future is not simply a fixed continuation of the past.

What you feel today,
what you choose,
and the steps you decide to take
can gradually change the direction of where your life is going.

So, this Obon—

say “thank you” to the love you once had.

And then, gently turn your heart toward the future you haven’t seen yet.

Because the time you thought had already come to an end
may still be connected to a future you have yet to discover.

Maybe love is not always about endings.

Maybe sometimes,
an ending is simply the moment
when a new chapter of time begins.

心晴れるまで

土屋梨沙