Sorry

I was born in Puerto Rico, in Mayaguez, in a small town where everything was literally mountains. When I was a baby, my dad went to jail because he did something bad.  At that time, I was about a year old, I don’t remember much about him, and I have no memories of what he looks like. My mom always talks about my dad, she says he was a good boyfriend and a good Dad. When I was almost six years old my mom took me to jail because I was always saying that I really wanted to see my father. I wanted to see what he looked like. Everyone said that I looked like him when he was a baby, we have the same eye color, the same shoulders, and the same nose. When I saw him for the first time, I was amazed because he was so good looking. I remember that he started to cry, just like me, my younger sister, my little brother, and my mom. I miss him so very much; I wish he was here with me.

A few years passed before I saw my dad again. I was 7 or 8 years old. He looked the same as before, but you could see in his eyes that he was very sad. After half an hour passed, I gave him a kiss and a very strong hug because I knew it was the last time that I would see him.  He said “My son I love you with my life as I love your brother and sister.”  Then we went to our house and after a while he called me, he said that he missed us and that he wanted to get out of jail to be with us again. After a few months my mother told me that she was going to the United States to find a better job, better education for us, and better resources for everyone in the family. My mother was gone for almost a year, but she called me every day to see how we were and to check if we needed anything.

After almost a year, my mother called me and told us that she had a good and stable job, and a house where we all were going to be better. We got the tickets and we came to the United States. When we arrived at the airport, I saw her from afar. My brother and sister and I began to run to her to hug her. She gave us a big hug and gave us a kiss. She said she was so happy we were with her and my grandparents again.

After a while we started studying at school it was a bit difficult for me because I didn’t know English but some of my friends helped me with many things that I didn’t know and felt safe. As the years went by, my dad called me and told me that he missed us and that he wanted to see us. He always asked me to send him money if I could because life inside the prison was not easy and you never knew if one day you would show up dead.  My mother got a call this September and she was told that my dad was in the hospital in Bayamon Puerto Rico.  The next day she bought tickets and we went to Puerto Rico to see my dad but it was too late. He was already dead. According to what we heard; my dad was in his cell one night.  He asked for help because he felt bad and the police told him to go to sleep because it was very late. Then the next morning when they saw him on the floor almost dead, they took him to the hospital but it was too late because he died. I could not say goodbye. His last words were that he loved us so much.

Value your parents because you never know when you will see them or talk to them for the last time.