"Recently you guys told me that sometimes good things happen to good people.
Well, I kept thinking about this and came to the conclusion that good things happen to me every day, in fact every single time that I'm writing with you.
Thanks for being there for me." - Akira7 February 9 2018

This picture is dedicated to the memory of my good friend  Akira7 who passed away on March 26 2018. He was 26 years old.
As I had written in the journal I posted about his passing, I wanted to draw something to honor his memory.
Thanks to other close friends of him, I was able to get insight into an idea, he had developed.

He was a fan of the Tomb Raider games and admired the natural beauty of the Ik Kil cenote located at Yucatán, Mexico.
In the description of his idea, he had detailed what kind of clothes and details his character would have and I did my best to try and do it justice.
I think he would have liked this picture.

Working on this has been equally soothing and devastating for me. One the one hand, it gave me something positive to focus on.
I could create something in memory of him that would inspire positivity and a warm feeling.
On the other hand, due to being so used to communicate with commissioners and friends I draw pictures for, the harsh reality hit me more than once.
Whenever a part of the picture was finished, I had the urge to share it with him and talk about it - only to realize that he wasn't there anymore.
It made me stop work on the picture for two days and draw something else, just so I could regain the strength to continue.

In the end, I am very happy with the final picture. I looked at photographs of the cenote to get an idea for the look of it and added ruins amidst the water, just like Akira7 had described.
Looking at it now, it makes me feel as if he is there right now - exploring unknown caves and temples, going on a long adventure. And when he returns, he would have so much to tell us.

I plan to put this picture as the center piece of my panel in this years Eurofurence art show.
People will be able to bid on it and I will donate the entire amount to this years convention charity - The Lemurs of Madagascar.
That way, not only will a part of Akira be at Eurofurence, but also the picture will help to do some good. And I'm sure he would have liked that.

Thank you all who have been so very supportive over the last few weeks.
You've really helped me come to terms with the whole situation.
And I thank all of the friends of Akira7, who have shown him love and care. He will be sorely missed.

Thank you.

"Recently one of my patients asked me:
"What's the most important thing in your life? What do you value the most?"
I answered his question with just one word:
"Friendship"." - Akira7 March 9 2018