This is about a minor who graduated high school and is working. We met at Universal Studios around April and have gone on about ten dates.
Her family consists of her younger brother, a high school senior preparing for exams, and her emotionally unstable, unemployed mother.
The girl works and even prepares meals for her family.
Her dream is to get her driver's license, buy her own car someday, and go driving, since she loves cars.
She received offers from several other people, but things never worked out because they asked her to take the pill and have unprotected sex. Right now, I'm the only one she's seeing.
She used the allowance she'd saved to start attending driving school.
Then one day, her mother fell for a phishing email, had her Amazon account compromised, and apparently lost around two million yen to fraud.
The credit card company wouldn't cover it, saying there was also a possibility that a family member was responsible. Her hysterical mother reportedly accused her, saying, "You stole it, didn't you?!"
She was forced to cancel driving school, and when the cash she'd hidden was found, it was taken away.
When she resisted, her mother threatened to cancel her phone as well. If that happened, she would lose contact with her friends and me, so she feels she has no choice but to endure it.
Her mother also took control of the account her salary is deposited into.
Apparently, she had been paying for her brother's allowance, utilities, and even the side dishes for dinner herself, and now she has no idea what to do.
She considered running away from home, but gave up because, as a minor, she would probably be found and brought back immediately.
The stress has made her unable to eat.
If I give her money, her mother may suspect that she is still hiding money somewhere and treat her even more like the culprit.
Or perhaps her mother has a vague suspicion and is trying to make her daughter earn even more.
I may also have made things worse by buying her a few outfits, since she always wears the same clothes.
But she looked so genuinely happy when she received them.
She'll turn 20 in six months, so I keep encouraging her by saying, "Don't give up—just hang in there until then. I'll make sure you get back to driving school. Once you get your license, let me ride shotgun while you drive my Mirā-go."
Other than saying that and patting her on the head, there's not much I can do.
Women are strong, so even though she's a minor, I wonder if she'll somehow manage to get through this...
It's been a long time since I've felt so heartbroken. I woke up before dawn after having terrible dreams.
With adults, I can say something tough like, "You're responsible for your own life," but I can't do that with a minor. It's not her responsibility.
I know there's probably nothing I can do, so I'm not expecting a solution. But I'm worried that this is going to cause me secondary trauma, so could someone tell me something fun or uplifting? Thank you.
Maezawa from the president’s office here as well.
Thank you for your question.
> She apparently considered running away, but gave up because she’s a minor and would probably be found and taken back right away.
Even if she’s a minor, at 19 I don’t think she’d necessarily be taken back that easily. I believe that applies more to those under 18. It seems like she could leave home without too much trouble.
At that age, some people are already living independently, so instead of saying she ran away, wouldn’t it help to leave a note saying something like, “I’m moving out and living on my own”? The police might not even treat it as a runaway situation and say, “She’s an adult, after all.”
> If I give her money, they might suspect that I’m hiding money somewhere else and treat me even more like the culprit.
I’m not sure how giving her money would lead to suspicion, but perhaps she could open a bank account without her parents finding out.
Alternatively, she could get something like a Visa prepaid card, and you could put the necessary allowance on it. That seems like it might solve the problem to some extent.
That certainly doesn’t sound like Mac-san at all.
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Last night, my wife told me, “Go buy some sliced bread—I’m making French toast.” I woke up excited this morning, only to find… huh? No French toast in sight?
When she saw me looking around, she said, “Everyone ate it, so it’s all gone.” I was really looking forward to it… This is Paper Airplane, eating breakfast alone in vain.
It’s also unclear how much of the story is actually true…
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I’m a confused woman in my 60s.
Is this really you, Mac? I’m surprised—it’s the complete opposite of your usual energy.
If the Mac Shelter can’t be used, I suppose all we can do is wait and see how things go for a little longer…
As for something fun to talk about… I’ll be going to Nagoya toward the end of this month, but that alone isn’t quite enough, is it? (^◇^;)
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I’m Flag Maker, a column writer.
I’ve recently started studying tarot, lol. I’m still a beginner, so I’ll be consulting a guidebook as I go.
It feels a little scary, but would you like me to do a reading about her as well? I’ll have to borrow my wife’s tarot cards, though, so it’ll probably be tonight or sometime Monday.
If you’d rather not have a reading, just let me know ^^
[Update: Tarot reading results]
To get a general sense of the situation, I did readings for her and Mac on their respective【current situations】and【feelings】, as well as their【current relationship】and【future relationship】.
【Her current situation: Nine of Cups (upright)】
This suggests she is satisfied after receiving a satisfactory reward or achieving the results she wanted.
【Her feelings: Four of Swords (upright)】
This suggests a temporary pause or period of rest.
→Maybe what she’s telling Mac is a “lie,” and she’s satisfied with the allowance she’s received from him and wants to take a temporary break from papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan). Or perhaps she wants to use that “lie” to get even more allowance from Mac before taking a break from papa-katsu.
【Mac’s current situation: The Tower (upright)】
This signifies an unexpected disaster, collapse, or lightning-like shock, and serves as a warning.
【Mac’s feelings: Four of Cups (upright)】
This suggests dissatisfaction with the current situation, feeling unsettled, and brooding over things.
→This is just my guess, but it may be dangerous to accept everything she says at face value. Although this card suggests being troubled, it can also mean that carefully sorting through the situation may reveal a clue about what to do next. If you calmly review her words and actions up to now, does anything come to mind?
【Current relationship: Two of Cups (reversed)】
In reverse, this suggests distrust or a breakdown in the relationship, and in a romantic context, the possibility of breaking up.
【Future relationship: The Emperor (reversed)】
In reverse, this suggests trying to dominate the other person through force in order to justify oneself.
→It seems the trust between them has been damaged. She may be piling lie upon lie to justify her words and actions so far. However, the two cards have one meaning in common: “self-interest.” It can also be interpreted to mean that, if they knowingly continue a relationship based on mutual calculation, things may still work out.
【Summary】
I’m still a beginner, so my interpretation of the cards may be shallow and I’m not very confident. On the other hand, the cards were quite consistent overall, so part of me also feels that “maybe this is actually accurate.” I hope you’ll find it helpful.
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I’m Date◎Yume, a male member.
Mac, what’s with the defeatist attitude?
Marika, the female member who answered the question about “male members who were judged to be annoying,” went out of her way to say, “I have to admit, I’ve gained a new respect for the papas—they’re mentally strong and admirable.”
So this is where you need to “stay true to your principles!”
Please keep supporting her until she’s able to establish a stable situation.
We tend to be seen as providing nothing but financial support, but if that money helps someone who wants to turn things around actually do so, wouldn’t the women involved in papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan) feel that it’s “money plus something more”? (laughs)
If that’s the case, I think we’re making the most effective use possible of the money we have.
If you think of it as “a form of social contribution only the wealthy can make,” even your manhood should be able to rise to the occasion—up to 120 degrees! (laughs)
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I’m Tetsu, a male member.
That’s a seriously tragic story—it made me wonder, “Is this really Mac?” I don’t mean to make light of it, but I get the feeling that even Mac was completely put off. If I were in that situation and heard something like that, I’d lose interest and probably be unable to do anything. But I couldn’t help imagining whether Mac would still be able to go through with things.
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I’m in Seattle.
For that 19-year-old, meeting Mack is much happier than any of those misfortunes.
This is exactly the kind of situation where I’m eager to help. Making someone like that happy really gets me fired up.
P.S.
I’m more of a “quality over quantity” type. For the few who stay with me, I’ll look after them until they reach a natural stopping point—even graduation. But when there are a lot of them, it’s impossible to make every single one happy.
I hope they somehow stay well until they turn 20.
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