What is Forgiveness?

Part 2

Harumi happily hopped up and down as she exited the little coffee shop. She was eager to tell Lloyd about her great endeavor.

"Let me guess: you did it?" Lloyd already saw the whole thing through the window, but he wanted to hear Harumi's side of the story.

"I did it!" She jumped up and gave Lloyd an embrace of gratitude.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she buried her face into his neck.

Lloyd couldn't help but hug her back. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered into her ear.

Realizing how close they were, Harumi pulled away from his embrace. "I'm sorry," she said shamefully. She was afraid that their closeness would remind Lloyd of the horrible memories he had with her.

"No no no, don't worry," he said comfortingly.  "You've hidden this cute character of yours for so long, it's time to let it out."

She grinned shyly and a light blush appeared on her cheeks as she looked away in embarrassment. He let her have a few moments to recover before he spoke.

"So, how did it go?" he inquired.

"When I stepped inside, the sounds of the people chatting and the smell of coffee beans somewhat felt comforting, and knowing you were outside waiting for me, I -- I don't what to say. All of my worries went away and I was able to order with ease."

"Are you proud of this accomplishment?" She was indeed able to order with confidence, but the real question is was she proud of herself? All this would be worthless if she didn't get anything out of it.

"Well, yes," she started after a moment's pause. "I never thought I would need this experience until I saw how much I was able to achieve. For the past couple of years, I have learned to accept that people have choices and forgiveness doesn't come easily although you strive to show you're worthy of it."

They are now inside Lloyd's car (which Garmadon bought for him as a way to make up for being a bad father at the beginning of his life). Lloyd wanted to say something, but Harumi seemed she had more to say, so he gave her some time before she continued.

"I don't understand why you of all people would treat me like -- like nothing happened."

"I don't treat you kindly because I have forgotten," he corrected. "To be honest, it was hard for me to treat you the way I'm treating you right now. I struggled to understand how forgiveness can work for people like you and my Dad. But I believe love surpasses all things, even the effort it takes to finally forgive someone. And because everything comes from love, I believe all things are forgivable, as long as whoever I'm forgiving is willing to never commit the same mistakes again," he finished, looking at Harumi. "As Master Wu says: 'Love keeps us all together,'" he added. "That's why I'm treating you to a cup of coffee."

"Oh. . ." Harumi whispered in realization. She took a deep sigh. "Please don't think otherwise with what I'm about to say, but, do you love me?"

Lloyd was taken aback by her question. He knew she did not mean how he felt for her when they first met; he threw away those feelings a long time ago. But she never asked if he loved her, even in the past. "I do," he said quietly. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you told me that love surpasses all things. Since you've been treating me kindly for the last two months already, I assume you would feel that way about me."

Lloyd chuckled. "So you got me," he said sheepishly as he started the car.

"Maybe you should say the same thing to your father. He really needs help understanding the concept of love," teased Harumi.

Lloyd's awkward smile left his face. He hasn't been treating his father the same way as Harumi. "You are right, Harumi," he said in realization. "I'll talk with my Dad when I get home." Hypocrite, he silently scolded himself.