“It’s time to go”, Alyssa told Ryan. They had spent the entire day enjoying each other’s company. At night, he had taken her to his house and showed her the new works he had done. He had in his house all his photography equipment and a blue room just for it. The room had blue lights and lots of shelves. As she entered the room, she came to face a table full of pictures, blank picture prints, and some that were hanging on a string with clips, still drying. Many of them were of Alyssa herself and them together. The room although crowded, was very organized. On one side there was a shelf of chemicals he needed for making his pictures. There were so many it was hard to tell which was which. Of course, he himself knew exactly. On the other wall, there were posters and pictures he had taken from remarkable places, people, and settings. She could just stare at those pictures, and imagine a whole story behind it. Alyssa really admired his works, and that was her favorite room in the house.

Ryan was a photographer who had just graduated from college. To him, it was a passion just as much as a profession. He was a good looking guy, tall, with light green eyes that were so deep, she could just gaze at all day.. He had light brown hair, and a perfect smile. Alyssa on the other hand, was still in her last year majoring in clinical child psychology. She was, as well, very pretty. She had round hazel eyes, and a doll face. Her dimples would show when she smiled and friendliness would strike right out. They had met though Ryan’s best friend Stephen, who also went to college with Alyssa. They had fallen in love with each other and Ryan was secretly getting ready to propose. He would carry the ring in his pocket every day until the right time came.

They were ready to go, but Ryan just couldn’t find his car keys. Alyssa and he were so into each other’s company that he didn’t even notice where he had left his keys. As he searched the living room, Alyssa searched the blue room. She finally got a glimpse of the keys, which were on the very last, top shelf. Ryan had put the keys there so they wouldn’t get caught up with all the other stuff. She reached for it, but being too short, she had to get on the tip of her toes. She leaned a little forward, and for a slight second, lost her balance, accidentally hitting on of the bottles. In the bottle was a chemical for making pictures sepia. It contained some kind of acid, that wasn’t strong enough to burn through skin, but would definitely cause damage on sensitive parts of the body. From the living room, Ryan heard a scream, a scream of agony and pain. He knew something bad had happened, and immediately ran to Alyssa.

Alyssa woke up in the hospital. She couldn’t see anything; it seemed like everything was just black. All she heard were voices, those of which she recognized to be her mom, dad, and Ryan himself. “Alyssa?” her mom spoke; “Honey, are you okay?” Alyssa wondered why all she could do was hear them, and as much as she tried, stretching her eyes wide open, pressing them hard, blinking and blinking again, she still couldn’t see a thing. “Mom! Mom! What’s happening? I can’t see!” No answer. They just couldn’t bear to let it out. She became desperate, started crying, screaming, and going crazy over the fact that she couldn’t see anything. The doctors came in and because she was so tense, they put her to sleep. Seeing this was so painful and heart breaking to Ryan. He couldn’t bear to look at her like this. He felt anguish and most of all, guilt. To him, this was his fault. Alyssa had become blind. That moment was the saddest moment any of them had ever been through.

Alyssa’s parents started searching for a donor the very same day. The doctor’s lists were full, but none for what Alyssa needed; an eye transplant. Alyssa and Ryan were still officially dating, and he would visit her every single day at home. It was the only place she stayed. She had quit everything, and was in a deep depression. She had no hope that one day she would find a donor. Alyssa never really talked about it and would tell Ryan tenderly that it wasn’t his fault. She would tell him to just end their relationship because she didn’t want to be a weight in his life. She didn’t want him to have to live with a blind woman, for that’s what she now was. All she wanted was for the man she loved to be happy. There were moments when she would even treat him badly, and yell at him, in order for him to leave her. Afterwards, when she thought she was alone, even though he was secretly still watching her though the gap in the door, she would cry and cry, almost until she had no more tears. This completely tore Ryan’s heart. He didn’t know what to do. He loved her and it was the worst pain to see her go though this agony.

One afternoon Alyssa’s parents finally got a phone call from the doctors. This completely changed everything. Alyssa now had hopes and a reason to be happy. It would be a long surgery, an eye transplant surgery which would take place the very next day. Nervously waiting, Alyssa didn’t even sleep. All she could think of was that her life would finally be normal again. She and Ryan would be together, and the perfect life she once had would be hers again.

Surgery was complete and turned out to be a success. Alyssa could see again. It took a week after surgery for her vision to be normal again, but she was willing to wait for months just to get her vision back. Slowly, her life was back to the way it was with only one exception. Ryan hadn’t called her and wouldn’t pick up the phone either. She hadn’t heard from him, nor seen him. When she went to his house, he was never there.

One day while having nothing to do, all Alyssa could think of was Ryan. She remembered all the things they did together and decided to go get some fresh air. She missed him so badly. She drove to the park where he would take her every week. There they would sit there holding hands, with her head on his shoulders, and he would gently run his hands though her face and hair. They would watch the sunset and talk of future plans, and of one day getting married. It was his favorite place. He loved taking pictures there, and most of all just sit and watch the beautiful lake in front of them, and the trees which seemed to be reaching for the sky. It really was a beautiful sight. And now, Alyssa had sight, and could see again, after missing it so much.

As she parked her car and walked toward the lake, she saw a man sitting by the grass, facing it. All she saw was his back, and she wondered if she would interrupt him. Still, she went. She tried not to stare, but something about him that seemed so familiar, drove her to looking more closely. It was Ryan! He sat there motionless, staring at the lake, the sky so bright with colors, holding something in his hand. Alyssa came closer without saying anything, hoping he would see her. As she got to him, she noticed he hadn’t even turned towards her. She kneeled down beside him quietly and when facing him, she became aware of something that shattered her heart, and brought painful tears to her eyes. Ryan was wearing sunglasses. He was also holding in his hand an engagement ring, which she knew was meant to be hers. Bringing her hands to her eyes and gently touching them, she then understood why they now had a different color. Her eyes were now green like Ryan’s once were.