At the conclusion of psycho-therapy, in the 40th anniversary of my life, I decided to travel to Japan, to visit several

locations from my childhood that had greatly influenced my personality. During therapy, I had visited these difficult

places, in my mind and heart, in order to find my own lost little self. When I would find the little one there, I would hold

her hand, to live every "now" together. I told her, "You are safe now with me." This therapy was very beneficial, but

after the last session, I kept wondering: "Are these places actually the dark places I remember? Shouldn't I witness

those places now, in person, as an adult, in order to confirm that these stories belong to my past, and I belong to now?

Might visiting these places bring closure to my therapy?"

l asked my husband to be my witness on this journey. I decided to photograph my self in these environments, as

evidence of my process. With the help of warm, kind people, like my husband, friends, and teachers from my former

schools, I was able to make an important inter-outer journey. The outcome was, is…. so much more than this

photographic evidence, it is a new beginning.

Toko Shiiki