“What I discovered and what my grandfather always
taught me which was really valuable, which was so
important for me, is that one can listen without
asking questions and learn an enormous amount.
–JUNOT DÍAZ

–
INNER CITY STORIES

I’ve never been much of a mommy’s or daddy’s girl. I’ve always been close to my grandfather. When I was little I would always follow him around and go to work with him. I stayed with him and my grandmother while my mom was at school and my dad was at work, so we spent a lot of time together. I was his little twin. I remember when I was about nine or ten, and he was laying down in bed watching the noticias on telemundo and my aunt gave me a dirty diaper and told me to throw it at him, so I did. It hit his face, and it was HILARIOUS!!! He was so mad “ay dios mio puneta,” he said.

I really have endless memories of this man, I love him so much. He was a great man. He worked so hard, and he loved his family. Everything he did was for us. Of course he’s made mistakes, but who hasn’t? On March 6th, 2012, he left us, he really left us, and I still can’t believe he’s gone. He died of liver failure, and I don’t think I’ve ever really dealt with this pain. He was my abuelo, my favorite person in the world, and he just left without saying goodbye…

About a week before this, he spent that week in the hospital, and it was like a cruel roller coaster. One minute he was great and getting better, and the next minute he was terrible, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he was a fighter. The doctors always said that he was supposed to die when I was very small, maybe even before I was born, but he fought and kept fighting for many years until one day my dad called me and said he was downstairs, but his voice was so shaky. I went downstairs and my dad was waiting for me as he said it, but he was crying so I asked him why? He told me to sit in the car, so I did. “He said “welo just died.” I felt my heart shatter into a thousand pieces. I said nothing the whole car ride to MiddleTown. He asked me if I was okay and I said nothing. I was in shock. We entered the hospital lobby and I ran up to his room. It didn’t hit me until I got to his room and his whole body was yellow. One thing I loved about him was that he was always warm/ I would snuggle up next to him and watch novela’s with him when I was little, but when I sat next to him and held his hand, he wasn't as warm as he usually was… I said I love you, but for the first time ever, he didn't tell me he loved me too, and I don't think I’ll ever get over that…

Te amo abuelo, sálvame un punto allá arriba.