There was a white film over Barclay's eyes, like somebody had dimmed away the iris and the pupil. To be honest, it looked kind of creepy: had Barclay been able to see, he'd have been amazed that Ashton could look directly at him. But, after the potion had been imbibed and the pain receded, the whiteness of Barclay's eyes began to fade away. The shape of Barclay's irises began to appear.
Barclay could feel the world becoming lighter again, and very slowly, the darkness broke away into vague shapes. Barclay began to smile. "I can see," he said, "it's all blurry, I can see!"
And then he realized how close Ashton actually was. Barclay swallowed, and quietly, he added: "Thanks."