01/04/2025
When life gives you tangerines😍
I can’t help but wonder—of all the fruits in the world, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴? Why not apples, which are crisp and firm? Or grapes, which grow in clusters, always together? Why was this story named after something so small, so delicate, so easy to peel away?
I thought about that. But after watching the entire drama, I realized why.
Maybe… 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.
Life does not always give you what you want. Sometimes, it gives you sweetness—love that stays, laughter that fills the room, moments so beautiful you wish you could bottle them up and keep them forever. And sometimes, it gives you bitterness—goodbyes you never prepared for, dreams that never reach your hands, people who leave even when you swore they never would.
A tangerine tree does not bear fruit all year round. There are seasons when the branches are heavy with golden tangerines, sweet and ripe, as if the world is telling you, 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘉𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦. But then there are seasons when the tree is bare, when no matter how long you wait, nothing comes.
And that is the hardest part. The waiting.
I have stood beneath my own tree, arms open, eyes searching the sky, waiting for something—someone—to stay. And sometimes, life was kind. It gave me tangerines so sweet they made me forget every bitter thing I had tasted before. A love that felt safe. The warmth of someone’s hand in mine. A dream that felt so close, I swore I could reach it if I just tried hard enough.
But life does not always give. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴.
One day, the hands that once held mine let go. The love I thought was certain turned into a memory. The people I swore would always be there became stories I tell myself at night. I looked up at my tree, and it was empty. No tangerines. No sweetness. Just silence and the ache of things I could no longer have.
I used to wonder why life couldn’t always be sweet. Why it had to hurt, why it had to break us, why we had to keep losing what we love. But maybe that is the way it has to be.
Because if tangerines were always in season, we would stop appreciating their sweetness. If life always gave us what we wanted, we would never know how to cherish it.
So when life gives you tangerines, hold them close. Savor them. Love deeply. Laugh loudly. Take every moment and let it fill you completely, because nothing—nothing—lasts forever.
And when life gives you nothing, do not despair. Your tree is not dead. It is simply waiting. The seasons will change. The sweetness will return. And when it does, you will know to hold it closer than ever before.
Ctto
