It was January of 1519 in southern Spain. Tulio wrapped a tattered blanket around himself, trying his best to keep warm; it was unusually cold this day considering the region of the world he lived in, and he could not afford any winter clothes. Shivering, he grabbed a pair of loaded dice he had just bought from a dealer in the market. Tulio hoped that the dice would finally make him wealthy, and tomorrow, he would put them to the test.

Suddenly, a blond haired man with a beard entered the make-shift shelter. Tulio sighed and began to speak to him.

"Any money today, Miguel?" he asked. Miguel shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. Actually I, well..." Miguel began to look sheepish. "I lost our money."

"What?! Miguel, you id-" Tulio stopped himself; he knew how sensitive Miguel got when others called him stupid. He sighed again. "You should have known better. Well, it doesn't matter if you lost all of the money, because tomorrow we'll be five times as rich!"

"What do you mean?" asked Miguel. Tulio pulled out a pair of dice.

"Um... they're just dice, Tulio. We already use dice."

"Ah, but not just an ordinary pair of dice! Observe," Tulio rolled the dice ten times, and it seemed to land on the same number each time.

"Tulio, they're loaded! Don't you think someone will eventually notice?"

Tulio scoffed. "What, these cretins here? Of course not, they don't have the mental capacity to tell the difference between regular dice and loaded dice. Look, all that matters is that we're going to be filthy rich in a matter of days. We can buy an actual house, eat better food, buy some land..."

Miguel sighed and nodded. "Okay, okay. We'll use them." Tulio smirked.

"Now that's more like it!" He put the dice away, much more happy than he typically was. Miguel leaned back, looking thoughtful. Tulio noticed this, somewhat puzzled.

"What are you thinking about, Miguel? Our new lives?"

Miguel chuckled slightly. "Heh, no. I was just reminiscing. You know, it was today that we first met each other nine years ago."

Tulio rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You did this last year, too, and the year before. Do you always have to get nostalgic when it's January 16th?"

"I just like thinking about that day, Tulio. We were a lot more naive then, weren't we?"

"Actually, I'd say you're still the most naive person I've ever met. But... it's kinda charming, really. Your childlike optimism somehow complemented my cynicism... damn, now you've got me reminiscing."

Miguel laughed. "I'll never forget that day, Tulio. Remember how it happened?"

"Oh, of course I do, Miguel. It was only nine years ago."

"Nine is one year off from being a decade, Tuli. I wouldn't say it was only nine years. Besides, knowing you, I have a hunch that you forgot a lot of the details."

Tulio put a palm on his face. "Oh God, Miguel, please don't tell me you're going to tell me this all over again."

"You guessed right," Miguel said. Tulio groaned, but decided to listen anyway.