A Love Letter to my Grandfather

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bertrayo70.86last monthPeakD5 min read

Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Hello there, full-time weekenders!

Gramps,

I can brag about the fact that there were never words unspoken between us. We used to get into political arguments and that was the dumbest thing we ever did. I understand you were a leftist and wanted to fight for people's rights. But you know those imbeciles you praised so much were as bad as the ones you detested. I don't want to waste more words into those stupid ideas. Politics are a stain in the story of humanity. One that can never be erased.

Now, like the people of Spoon River, you're sleeping. Sleeping on top of the hill under a granite slab. There isn't a day I don't think about you. You never got to know this about me, but it was you who got me into reading stories and poetry. Then, into writing my own. You. It was always you and your love for books. The fresh afternoons sitting in that place nearby the garden. You'd take your shoes off and I would start peeling away the bits that were hanging from the continued use of those sports shoes. And then, you would start telling me about this city. How it was a city of few houses. And how those houses were separated by fields that looked like plains.

And then, it came the characters. Those who are legends of my childhood and the ones I've never met, but know by heart. You mother, your father, Celestino, Tico, the guys from the Military Academy, the fishers, that one Japanese guy you met one time and that your cousin Juan told you about when he came back from Japan. Yes, that guy who recognized your family name, our family name, and knew that the person stepping out of the boat was related to you. "Cortesía. Productos Mar. Cumaná". And tell me about that day when you lost a whole stewed goat and 10 bottles of rum over a bad hand of Truco. You tried to explain me how to play that, but it was too complex.

Three years have gone by and I still remember your stories. I also remember all the nice things you help me understand. Never get in problem with women. Save money, but remember that money needs to be used. Don't be afraid to speak up when it is needed. Lead by example. Keep an eye out for certain people. But the best lessons where those about food. I think your legacy of loving to eat lives well in me. And whenever I have something tasty, I can't help but wonder if you'd have liked it. Every time I go out for chicha, I remember you. It brings me back to that day after going around the market. The first time you bought me a cup of chicha. And it was love at the first sip.

I'm grateful that there were no words left unspoken between us. Not even words of love. Because you had no qualms with saying how much you loved each one of your grandchildren. Never wasting an opportunity to hug us. And that's my last memory of you. That day when I left your house, I remember hugging you and telling you that I loved you a lot. And then, 2 days after, I got the news you had died. It felt horrible. It still does. But you did something you often times wondered if you were going to. Do you remember that one day you told me that you were not sure if you would be alive by the time I graduated college? I still do. And it brings me joy to know that not only you were alive, but you were proud to know that I was the First of the Class. And what did I do to celebrate? Well, I bought Chinese food and came home with my title, medal and a photo of that day. Because I was finally on the terms to be on the wall of fame of Casa Cortesía. And my photo was right there next to my cousin's, alongside the honors of my uncle who went to the military academy, and my uncle who was among the first people to graduate from Simón Bolívar University, and my aunt who graduated as a teacher like I did.

The look on your face was a poem. And I gotta say that maybe you were finally at peace with a lot of things.

I miss you, gramps. I grow bigger than my sadness every day, but it is still there. It is a nice reminder that I had this whole lot of love coming from you. Thanks for being the best grandfather one could have asked for.

PD. You would like to know that I'm not afraid of the dark anymore. As you said that time, "there nothing to fear in there"

Love you as always, Andrés.