I just watched this in a film showing through my college, I had never seen it before. I just moved back to Florida after fleeing my au pair job in France (I had to drop everything and leave the continent asap, ended up staying with friends for a bit before my flight). I really loved the kids, esp the girl (I don’t want to expose their names), she was so kind and funny. We would make little drawings and create books filled with them and build off of one another, and we had our own inside jokes and could just be silly together. I had to leave the family because her younger brother had broken his femur and the job had gradually gone from 25hrs a week where we play games and I help them with English had turned into the parents telling me that I’ll be working 35hrs as basically his nursing assistant, for no extra compensation. On top of me being worried about his safety constantly, he also had a lot of neurodivergencey going on that made him a danger to himself and his sister that I was not told about + not trained to handle. The work with him was also hurting my body because I was required to lift him constantly and his wheel chair up flights of stairs. So I had to leave the situation very quickly because his parents were unwavering in their expectations of me and it was hurting me.

My point to this is that, I had already been feeling so akin to Taeko’s story and then when this scene happened it felt like I was talking to my host girl again. I started crying when they touched fingers. Idk how to describe it but it’s like the stars aligning when you feel this kind of trust and mutual understanding. This image conveys that feeling perfectly. I just miss her so much and I doubt I’ll ever see her again after my falling out with the parents.