"Of course." was the ready answer. Just as he had expected.

"I might be a little late, though." A pause. Then, a hesitant question. "Would that be OK?"

"Of course," he replied. Sometimes, Tohma couldn't help but think that Mika was trying too hard. He hung up his phone without saying goodbye. After he pocketed his mobile phone, he turned his attention to his car. He shook his head. It might be one of the top of the line models but just like any ordinary car, it wouldn't work without fuel. If only he cared to stop by one of the gasoline stations he passed by earlier, he wouldn't be stuck here. But as it turned out, he didn't.

Maa, maa. The meeting wouldn't start without him anyway. Tohma looked around and began to weigh his options. By some twist of fate, he ended up in a small park. He never noticed the park before despite the fact that he passed by the same place on his way to work a thousand times before. He did notice that the park was weird. There weren't any bus stops near the said park despite the fact that usually, that was the case. Tohma estimated that the next bus stop would probably be in the next mile or so. Which why he had to ask Mika to pick him up.

Just so that he had previously eliminated the option of walking to the next bus stop, he had only two choices left: to sit and wait for his wife, or to take a walk around the area. To his standards, the two were the same; both were to waste time. As he was already stuck here, he might as well take that walk. It was more appealing than waiting by his car and literally waste time.

With a sigh, Tohma adjusted his coat and hat. It only took him a few steps to decide that the park was nothing special--no wonder it escaped his sight so many times before. The same trees, the same flowers and it seemed that it also had the same layout as any other park that he had encountered before. After several long strides, outlining the park's perimeter, he was back from where he had started. It was that small. Seeing that his wife wasn't there yet, he again retraced his path.

Tohma did not know if he was just unobservant but he was fairly sure that the path that he was staring at the moment was not there the first time when he went about the park. Shrugging, he walked upon the trail he discovered. It led to the center of the park, a clearing. Tohma didn't think there was one, considering his assumption earlier on the park's size. Another thing surprised him. At the center of the park was a fountain. Not that it was beautiful. In fact it was rather old, the paint was hardly white anymore-too dirty to be classified as such. There was a sculpture of a woman in the middle, one of her feet was half-submerged in the water, holding two vases from which water came out. Why would anyone place something like that there, Tohma couldn't tell.

"Anyone there?" a small voice called out.

It was only then that NG president noticed the benches around the fountain. Sitting on one of the said lawn-seats was a boy no more than four years old. Dressed in T-shirt and shorts, the child had a medium build. His complexion was not exactly pale. It was more of like the complexion of someone who didn't go out often. His feet, for he was still small, did not reach the ground and so his short legs were swinging back and forth. His hair was of sandy brown shade and it was trimmed perfectly so as not to obscure his eyes. Although his head was turned to the direction where Tohma was standing, his eyes were closed. How he could pinpoint his position was something that puzzled him. How the child knew he there in there was another thing. And so he replied, "Here."

Eyes still closed, the boy smiled, probably pleased that he was right. "Oh! Company, at last. Would you like to take a seat, Ojisan? You could seat right next to me." He moved his right hand slowly, as if afraid that he would lose his balance if he let it go abruptly, and patted the empty space beside him.

Well. That was another surprise. He had been told that he did not sound his age. He did not even look his age. Yet, this boy who had not opened his eyes could tell his true age. Interesting, he thought. It seemed that this day was full of surprises. So, he did what the child preached and sat next to him. "How did you know that I'm 'Ojisan'?" he could not resist asking.

"You sounded like an 'Ojisan' to me, Ojisan," the boy answered simply. "Although your voice sounded light, something in the undertones told me that you've gone through many things before. Like my dad. He does not sound like forty but when he talks about his work, you could tell that he had so much ex-ex-" he frowned, fumbling for the word.

"Experience?" Tohma supplied.

"Right!" The boy beamed at him. "Experience." He pronounced the word slowly, emphasizing each syllable. "Hey, you're good! I could never get that word out without help."

"I am an 'Ojisan', after all." Tohma smiled at the child even though the latter had not yet opened his eyes.

"Right. And Ojisan knows so many things, na?" With a deadly accuracy, the boy turned to him and smiled back.

Although it stunned Tohma, he quickly dismissed it as a coincidence. Voice recognition was one thing but sensing someone move a muscle or two was impossible.

"So, tell me, Ojisan." the boy began conversationally. "Are you lost?"

Now, that was funny. A child asking someone much older if the latter was lost. So, Tohma threw the question back at him. "You said that I am 'Ojisan'. Therefore, I should be the one asking you that. Are you lost?"

"Oh, no. I'm waiting for my parents," he replied. "They've gone shopping. Inside buildings, things look the same to me. I'd rather stay outside where things vary, where things are more interesting. Besides, " his voice dropped an octave lower, as if he was imparting a secret, "I think my parents have been spending too much time with me that they don't have time to be alone together. So I gave them the op-oppor-" With a sigh of defeat, he changed his words. "So I gave them the chance."

"Oh, I see."

"So, are you lost, Ojisan?" he repeated.

"No, I'm waiting for someone."

"Oh." The child grew silent for a while. Then, "Well, just so that you are already here, would mind helping me? This is my fourth time outside and my first time here in this park and no one told me what the clouds look like. Could you describe to me the clouds? Could you describe the surroundings?"

"If you open your eyes, you can see for yourself." Tohma pointed out reasonably.

"I don't think that's possible, Ojisan. You see, I have a little trouble with my sight." He turned to the man beside him and opened his eyes.

"Little trouble" would have been an understatement. The boy's eyes were light gray in color.

Blind. The boy who could tell his age just by his voice, who could sense his presence immediately was blind. And that was not all. The child was probably born blind. That or his situation was grave. Despite his inexperience in such things, Tohma could tell that the only way to restore the boy's sight was a transplant.

"You're-"

"Blind? Yes. That's why I need your help." The boy slipped his eyes closed again. "Don't take pity on me, Ojisan. I just lost one of my senses. The others are still working perfectly. I have enough. Those with complete set of senses, they have more than enough. That's just the difference between us. My mom told me that." He was smiling again, proving that there was neither trace of self-pity nor bitterness in him. "Hey, I maybe blind but I'm still smart. Don't you agree?"

It was heartbreaking to hear such brave words from a child. "Yes, very smart indeed. How else can you tell that I am older than what I seem?"

"Heh." The boy looked pleased. "So you'll tell me about the clouds, then?"

How could you describe a world that you've known by sight to person who was deprived of sight the moment he was born?

Tohma was a musician, true. He may have had written a song or two but lyrics were Noriko's forte. Besides, he himself had not noticed the clouds before the boy asked him to describe them.

Tohma looked up and thought of the proper words to depict what he saw. "Well, clouds are big white things." he offered.

"What's white? And that really didn't give me much," the boy complained.

"Well, clouds are big fluffy things. On some parts clouds are big. On other parts they appear to be like strand like. As for white-" Tohma stopped. He had no idea how to describe white.

The boy was silent, visibly disappointed. Tohma couldn't blame him.

"You know," the child started after the hearty pause. "Sometimes I feel gratified beyond words that I am blind. Most people who have eyes, like you, Ojisan, tend to take most things for granted just because you always see them there. I maybe blind but I can see properly."

His words crashed through him like tidal waves. That was he had been doing all this time, wasn't it? That was why the trees, the flowers, even the park looked the same to him. That was why he had overlooked this park so many times before. He had taken most of the things, even people, for granted thinking that they would always be there.

And Mika-

Mika.

Mika had always been his victim, hadn't she? The way she spoke to him earlier, they way he had spoken back and hung up on her without a decent goodbye, that knowing feeling that Mika would always give in to him-they all add up to one thing.

God, I am such a bastard.

And Mika wasn't trying too hard as he had assumed. She was being his wife. And what had he been in return? A manipulative bastard, that was what he had been. But she never left him. Not once and he assumed that she never would. And he had used this to his advantage. Perhaps unconsciously, perhaps not. But it wouldn't matter now, would it. Now he was aware.

All thanks to the blind boy who had given his sight back.

Paradigm shift-something inside him gave way and changed. Now he could see.

Now he could now tell the trees apart, how they differ in sizes. He could tell the difference between the flowers, could tell that the park was not at all small. He now understood why that sculpture was there in the middle of the fountain. It was no ordinary sculpture, after all. The woman's face could be compared to a real woman's face. The hair looked like it was flowing, looked soft. From the way the robes were carved and how intricately the creases were done, it looked like silk to him.

Now his standards changed. Taking a walk in the park was not wasting time, not now when there were many sights to behold. Waiting for someone was not wasting time either. Especially if that someone was home.

Now, he could give the boy a proper portrait of what a cloud was.

"Fluffy is like when you hug a pillow. You know how it feels like to hug a pillow?" When Tohma saw the boy nod, he proceeded, "Strands are like your hair. You notice how thin they feel? Some clouds like that. Sometimes, if one would take a closer look, he could see that some clouds form shapes. And there's one like that now."

"What does it look like?" the boy asked eagerly.

"I think it's a cartoon character. You happen to know a character with big circular ears?"

"Mickey Mouse!" he was delighted. "Ojisan, how could you not know Mickey Mouse? And here I thought Ojisan knows everything!"

"You know better than me. Now, as for white, can you recognize light and dark?" When the boy affirmed, he took his phone out of his pocket. He punched several keys to activate the backlights. He pressed the main screen gently against one of the boy's eyes. "Now, open your eyes. Do you see that blinding light? That's white."

The boy grinned. "I can see them! I can see the clouds. I can see through your eyes, Ojisan!"

Tohma smiled as he replaced his phone back in his pocket. Just as the boy asked him to describe the area, he told the boy of his previous observations and the latter was very happy.

They were in a deep conversation when the boy suddenly shouted, "Mom!" Just like before, the boy recognize the presence even before it made itself known.

Tohma watched as the boy jumped off the bench and ran towards his mother. The mother embraced her son and whispered something in his ear. Then, the boy made a dash to whom he assumed to be his father.

Tohma couldn't help but noticed that the mother had dark brown hair and the father blond.

The mother bowed. "Thank you for taking care of Kimitaka. Thank you for lending your eyes to him."

Tohma shook his head, smiling. "His blindness could still be remedied, I think. I could-"

"No," she refused the offer even though it had not been verbalized. "Kimitaka is still young. He might not make it if he undergo operations at this moment. Besides, doing that will just prove that there is something wrong with his sight. Honestly speaking, I don't think there's anything wrong with his eyes. If anything, he can see better than all of us combined."

"I see. I agree. Then, I'll be leaving now."

"Ojisan!" Kimitaka called before he could leave the clearing. He disengaged momentarily from his parents. "Where are you going?"

"To my wife." An overwhelming feeling came with that statement, he didn't know what. But he wanted to keep it there even though he didn't understand why.

"Oh. She must be beautiful, then."

"Yes, very beautiful." There was no doubt in his mind.

"Well, you better go now. Bye!" Kimitaka waved at him, at his direction. Then, he ran to his waiting parents.

And Tohma waved back, knowing that deep inside, Kimitaka could really see him. He retraced his tracks towards his car. Mika was already there, her car was parked behind his. She had her arms crossed across her chest and was glaring at a young police officer. Even from Tohma's location, he could tell that the poor officer was sweating. Also, every time that Mika talked back to the officer, the latter seemed to shrink away from her. If this went on further, the officer might die of a heart attack. He chuckled inwardly. Mika had that effect on people sometimes.

It was only when the officer left that Tohma approached his wife.

"The nerve of that officer!" Mika huffed. "He wanted to issue me a ticket! When I wasn't even over speeding this time."

Tohma wanted to say that she probably was over speeding but didn't. He had more pressing things to take care of. Before his wife could react, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her gently, apologetically. "I didn't say goodbye over the phone properly," he whispered, their mouths only spaces apart.

Mika, albeit shocked, managed an "It's OK."

Tohma kissed her again, this time deeply. This time, Mika responded though timidly, as if she wasn't sure that this was happening. Sensing her daze, something inside him broke. With this, he felt that need to prove to her that this was real. And so, he kissed her harder.

When they finally broke apart, he asked, "Want to have lunch, Mika-san? It's almost time for it anyway." He caressed her cheek, noting its pink color.

Mika looked confused. "I thought you had a meeting."

Tohma broke away from her to take out his phone and called his office. "Please cancel the meeting. And also cancel the rest of my appointments for this day. Thank you." He turned to Mika and smiled. "What meeting?"

His wife looked even more confused. "What happened to you? Did you bump your head or something?"

"Never felt better. Let's take a walk while we look for some place to eat, shall we? It's such a beautiful day and it's been a while since I have my sight back." Then, he smiled at her, really smiled. A smile that reached his eyes.

Mika gazed at him, as if gauging how much of this was true. But he had already expected this. He knew that she would not make things difficult for him, that he need not say it out loud. He knew that she had understood him, what he was trying to do.

That was why she returned his smile.

That was why when he took her hand in his, she did not pull back. Rather, she entwined her fingers with his.

That was why she said, "Of course."

end.