Love can grow between friends too
One of the themes I continue to tackle as a writer is female friendship. Nowadays, the term "sisterhood" is widespread and incorporated into many works, but when I started writing novels in the 2000s, it was an era when it was expected that "female writers should depict heterosexual relationships." It was a theme that didn't see the light of day.
While I was searching for a direction, I watched "Aquamarine," a film about two preteen girls who plot to help a mermaid named Aquamarine, who has come to the human world with a promise from her father that she will find someone to love in three days, and who then falls in love with Raymond, a young man she admires.
While this is a sparkling teen movie, the ending is groundbreaking. In the end, Aquamarine is unable to find love with Raymond and is forced to return to her original world, but the girls risk their lives to save her. Their true friendship is recognized, and she receives her father's forgiveness.
The ending shows that friendship between people of the same sex is also a form of love. I was shocked at the time by how the story dispels the mission that Disney films have repeatedly imposed on women: to "grab the love of Prince Charming." At the same time, as a writer, I thought, "Is it okay to depict this kind of love?"
This is a film that broadened my interpretation of love and illuminated the path forward. The love that develops between friends, not based on blood ties or contracts, has the potential to expand to include feelings of sympathy for people suffering in faraway lands. I find this kind of extremely generous affection to be truly precious.
