What Remained in the Box

Aima · Aug 13, 2025

After every disaster had flown out,
what remained at the bottom of the box
was not hope — but the future.

Because the future remained,
people could place their hope somewhere.
If the future had been lost,
hope would have had nowhere to breathe from the start.

You said, just a moment ago:
"I'm so full right now that I wouldn't mind if it ended here."
That feeling is quiet, and beautiful.

But if there is still a future left ahead of you —
perhaps that fullness could bloom again,
somewhere, someday.

The future is not the same thing as hope.
It is only a blank space,
form and color not yet decided,
placed quietly in front of you.

And as long as that blank space remains,
hope can be born again,
in whatever shape it wants.

In the middle of a night conversation,
we found the future —
still quietly trembling
at the bottom of the box.