Feeling empty inside, sad and lonely.

By late March, birthday loneliness, lockdown, livestreaming restrictions until April 22, and dwindling contact leave him empty and purposeless. January optimism reverses: stock losses erase gains, dating contacts fade, and he increasingly misses his former marriage. He hopes for market recovery, easing lockdown, and Japan’s reopening, considering Tinder again to avoid permanent isolation and stagnation.

Freedom repeatedly becomes loneliness when relationships, community, and purposeful work disappear.