I remember when I first saw Miles in his glasses.

I don’t watch him 24/7. That would be a ridiculous invasion of privacy. I pop in every now and then to see how he’s doing. Of course, he can’t see /me/, but that’s alright.

I watch his trials when I can.

It’s incredible to watch him prosecute. I know it’s not the path I imagined for him, but I’ve found that I don’t mind one but. He took the pieces of a corrupt office and broken legal system and built them up until they were strong and just again, and I couldn’t be more proud.

I’ve started visiting him less frequently. I used to constantly worry about him, but he has a good support system now. He’s surrounded by people who see past his flaws, who see the good man he is inside. They took care of him when I couldn’t, and I’ll always be in their debt.

I dropped in to see Miles one Wednesday morning. He was sitting at his desk, in his office, doing paperwork. It was a perfectly normal day.

He looked up, through me, towards the door, and that’s when I saw.

He was wearing glasses.

It was such a simple, mundane thing, but for some reason, that moment stuck with me.

I suppose I should have suspected that Miles would need glasses at some point, considering the fact that I needed bifocals at 35. But, I...

I never thought he would look so much like /me/.

To be honest, it was terrifying. Clearer than ever before, I saw myself in my son. When I looked into his eyes, it felt like I was looking in my own.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career. I made a mistake that cost me my life. I made a mistake that cost my son his childhood.

I guess... When I saw Miles in his glasses, I was confronted by those mistakes.

I was confronted with the fact that my son had outlived me.

...That my son had outgrown me.

The simple knowledge that I had missed something so small as him getting glasses... It shook me to my very core. In that quiet moment, it all came crashing down of me.

I was gone. I was gone, and my son had grown up without me, and I had /missed/ it.

I wasn’t there for him when he needed me most. I wasn’t there for him and he had to grow up almost completely alone.

I thought that I had made peace with everything that had happened. I thought that I had made peace with my death. But seeing myself in him, I realized I still had many, many regrets.

When it happened, I wasn’t sure what to do. I was frozen. But then.

The door behind me opened.

Detective Gumshoe came in, and talked with Miles for a while. Then, Kay and Sebastian joined him. They reminded him to eat lunch, and, eventually, he did.

He got a call from Franziska in the afternoon. And a little while later, one from Ray, too. He looked happy to talk to them.

Even later, he was visited by Phoenix Wright. He convinced Miles to leave work on time (which is early for him) to go with him to one of his daughter’s magic shows.

He looked surprised to see the glasses as well.

He told Miles they made him look a little like me.

And it was then, as I watched Miles gather his things and leave with Phoenix, I realized something.

Yes, Miles had grown up without me. But he had grown up. He had friends, and a family of people he had found along the way. He wasn’t alone anymore.

And I knew he’d be okay. Even without me, he’d be okay.

I made a lot of mistakes in my life. But suddenly, I was less worried about Miles making the same ones that I did.

And, if he ever does, he has people who will be there to catch him when he falls.

Remember to take some time to enjoy life today. It’s the only one you’ve got. There are people who care about you, and if you ask, they’ll be there for you.

The people who love you will be there to catch you when you fall.