It’s been a while since Naho had this much difficulty fulfilling the letters’ advice. Her friends came alongside her, so her tasks have been a lot easier. Her worries haven’t been as much of a focus now that she knows she’s not alone. With their help, she has experienced a great deal more success, too, even if Kakeru has still not opened his heart to them. But they created happy memories together, and for a time, it seemed like they might actually save him.
Speaking of change, right before Naho makes her biggest mistake yet, Naho’s friends make note of how different she’s become, and it’s true. Even though she’s still very hesitant and shy, the letter has pushed her to be far more determined than she was at the start. But although her attitude has shifted, she still has trouble saying the right things, and her inexperience shows. Even though we’re changing, that doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes.
Often, when people become Christians, their lives change very suddenly. They discover that their old desires no longer have the same hold on them, and instead they are filled with a deeper desire to be like Jesus. As we’re all still human, sooner or later, no matter what changes God brings about in our hearts, we’re going to fail. But making bad choices, even repeating past mistakes, doesn’t mean we aren’t being transformed. In fact, if we let our fear of making mistakes control us, we might pass by opportunities for God to use us. Of course it’s better to learn from our past, but if we stumble again, that doesn’t erase everything that God has done in our lives, or prevent us from continuing in our journey with him. It is even certain, in fact, that he will use our actions for good.
In a similar way, though the story of Orange is looking pretty grim now, I don’t necessarily think this means nothing good will come of the letters. They’ve definitely made things worse, but we don’t know how everything is going to turn out. Despite all the sadness, Suwa was able to have the important realization that his friends care about him, and although they all want Kakeru to live, they’re rooting for Suwa as well. Suwa was very selfless by refusing to confess to Naho, but I feel like he isn’t being entirely fair by hiding his feelings from her. Even if Kakeru doesn’t survive the next few episodes, I still hope for a satisfying, if bittersweet ending.
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