Perceptions

Before he met Ryo, Dee would have never considered himself a blind man. He saw life for everything it had to offer him. There were plenty of good-looking men and women for him to feast his eyes upon and their company to keep him satisfied until the next thrill came along.

Everything changed after Ryo had become his partner and Dee began to see the angel and heart of gold hidden within dark eyes and a quiet demeanor. Suddenly, those other people were no longer quite as beautiful, and he wondered why he had bothered with them. Ryo had truly opened his eyes, given him his sight back, and he felt reminded, often painfully, of the one friend of his who never got the chance.

Dee dusted off the box securing the pictures from his childhood he kept hidden away in his closet. They were precious few, given he grew up in an orphanage, but there were some all the same. Most of them had been given to him by Arnon's mom a few weeks after his death. In looking at them, Dee often wondered what could have been, if Jess had not introduced Arnon to the scum who eventually would be the cause of his tragic death. Then he would shake himself out of his reveries and his wishings. Ryo and Arnon would be great friends, if Arnon were still alive. That much Dee knew. They were both excellent at giving a man new sight.

He raised his beer in toast as he came across Arnon's picture.

"To the two greatest friends a guy could ever have."