Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I think I’m feeling emotionally secure enough to weather another stab directly in the heart, meaning it’s obviously time to revisit the sumptuous melancholy of Journal With Witch. Asa’s journey through grief has so far been articulated with precision and compassion, as her reflections on surviving the intolerable are balanced against Makio’s struggles with merely surviving. You never really “figure it out” as a human being, never get handed a rulebook that makes sense of our unfulfilled longings and daily tragedies. You just keep living, one day after another, while making sure to offer whatever kindness you can spare to the companions who make that march tolerable.
Our last episode offered a fine contrast of two such companions, as Asa’s feelings of betrayal towards her friend Emiri were assuaged through Makio’s reflections on her long-time friend Daigo. Makio’s assertion that “fighting is reserved for outgoing people” could be taken in two equally appropriate ways – either emphasizing how Makio lacks the social batteries to engage in such exhausting theater, or how the solitude of the introvert means that every single relationship is that much more precious, and worth more than the fleeting vindication of indulging your anger. The future seems endless from a teenager’s eyes, but in truth, we don’t actually get that many second chances in this life – and for particularly precious treasures like “friends who knew you before you were you,” one chance is often all you have. It’s a tough world out there; we must do all we can to make sure we face it together.