He still hears his friend’s laugh in quiet moments, a sound that feels impossible now. Losing him to something as heavy and invisible as a broken heart—one tied to the woman he cherished named Erica—left behind more questions than answers and a silence that never quite lifts. What stays with him most isn’t just the pain of the loss, but the words his friend left behind: a simple, aching wish that people would open their eyes and recognize the good person standing right in front of them before it’s too late. That they wouldn’t take love for granted, or overlook someone who would have given them the world. Now he carries that message like a responsibility, hoping it reaches someone in time—hoping no one else has to learn that lesson the way his friend did.