10 years of life written in 3,677 words

my apologies for that

 

The 3rd and final part of my long 10 year journey.

School soon became a mundane task that i no longer had an interest in. With a million thoughts running through my head at any given moment, i found hard to concentrate on my studies. Pretty soon my grades were not as good as they used to be, but for some odd reason my teachers understood that i was going through a very difficult time. Their pity and extra help was in vain as i started to develop a habit of not showing up to school. This was a very odd move on my part since i had always been a good kid with no desire whatsoever to do something bad.

This desire to rebel grew stronger as i started to miss school more frequently and finally got to the point were the letter 'F' was all i saw on my report cards. Deep inside me i knew that in a way i was making my mother cry wherever she was. I knew that this was not the path she would of choose for me, but i continued on with these little acts of rebellion. Skipping school was something i would of never dreamed of doing while my mother was still alive, the fear of seeing her dissapointed face kept me from doing it as well as the beating i would of received if caught. But now things were different, I was different and the world as i knew it made no sense anymore. I soon realized that the example i was setting for my younger brothers was not a good one so i decided to straighten up, but i was too late as the school year was coming to end.

My chances of passing dropped as the days of summer grew closer, and as the days passed so did my hope for passing 4th grade. The news of me fucking up at school reached my estranged father, he wasn't happy to say the least but like my teachers he understood my struggle. This pissed me off because to me none of these people that supposedly said they understood what i was going through really didn't! I mean how many ten year old's have their mothers murdered a few months after there house got blown away by nature. But this wasn't nothing to brag about as my situation is one of many that happen daily across the globe. Wilfredo liked he promised kept in touch with Bryan and I via telephone, Teresa seemed not to like the idea of us talking to our father very much. She felt like my mother's death was ultimately my fathers fault, for had he not left I'm sure she would still be alive. In her mind he was just as bad as the man who pulled the trigger 7-9 times.

Her little tension with my father reached a new peak when Wilfredo's phone call were no longer to ask how we were but if my brother and i wanted to move with him to Florida. Teresa told Bryan and I that moving to Florida was not going to fix anything, and that leaving hector behind was a selfish thing to do. She was 100% correct when she spoke those words, but she was also 100% wrong in thinking that staying in Puerto Rico would change anything either. So our bags were soon packed and the plane tickets bought, destination Florida. This section is known as "Rebellion"

On the way to the airport i reminded my grandmother that us going to Florida was going to be a temporary thing. My father convinced my brother and i to come spend some time up in florida and then make a decision to stay or go back to the island. She wasn't buying it and the closer we got the airport the more freaked out she got. I guess that deep down she knew we would not return, she knew that my father would try his hardest to keep us in Florida. She walked my brother and i to the gate and started to cry. I felt for her i really did, she was my second mother and i loved her very much so seeing her in pain made me second guess the decision. She looked at us both and said 'i love you two very much and i am very very proud of you' a hug and kiss followed her words. With tears running down my cheeks i bent over and gave my baby brother hector one last kiss and hug, bryan did the same. One last look back was all it took for my heart to finally break as i saw this fragile old lady holding a baby dissappear into the crowd of people.

A mix of fear and anxiety came over me as Bryan and i boarded the plane. I had never flown before so i was shitting bricks to say the least, but my brother seemed to be super happy with his window seat. I remember thinking that this was a blessing, a new start in a new world with a new language. The fear subsided as i engulfed my brain with happy thoughts of what was to come. The sacrifice of leaving my blood behind for an opportunity at a better life was something that i understood was going to take a long time to get over but had to be done. The airplane landed in Tampa, Florida airport some hours later, where my brother and i were greeted by our father and his wife. I could tell my father and now step mother Judith were very happy to see us, and to be honest so was i. It must of been the fact that i was in a new place because almost as soon as we landed the feeling that 100lb weight had been taken off my shoulders.

My new parental units walked us back to their car where my brother and i were greeted again by sister Valerie, my step brother and my step grandma. I remember thinking to myself "Jesus there are enough steps in this car to build a ladder to the moon." My sister and Step-brother were previously introduced to us years back when one day my father showed up to Wanda's house out of nowhere wanting to take me and Bryan out. I gave my sister a big hug and my older step-brother a handshake. The car ride was quiet enough for me to think clearly, I now had chance to start over which was good and all, but I missed my little brother terribly. Someday I hoped he would understand that Bryan I leaving him behind was not done out hate or anger, it was done because it was the most logical choice at the time. The days and weeks that followed our arrival were some of the best in my life. Wilfredo tried his hardest to make up for lost time, he did that by taking us to every theme park orlando and disney had. He continiously talked about how much better the air was in the states and how much better the schools were. I got to give to the guy he really showed us a good time up here, such a good time in fact that when the day came and he asked us for our decision bryan and I didn’t hessitate in agreeing.

With the decision made we reluctantly informed my grandmother of our decision, she wasn’t happy to say the least. but as I said goodbye to her and hug up the phone, the feeling that I closed a chapter in life came over me. It was a happy feeling, a very soothing and warm feeling. Finally after years of misery I now felt happy for the first time since I was born. I now stood at the end of a long road and up a mountain which over looked the new road ahead of me. Slowly but surely the world and the things in it started to make sense again.

PS: There you have it GC 10 years in 6,695 words. Might not be long enough for a book, but hey i have another 11 years to write about
Thank you all for reading i know it's been long, also thanks alot to all of you for the great feedback i didn't expect it. Don't be afraid to ask questions if something does not make sense. Again thank you GC

 

grandma is still kicking and hector turned 11 this past january, they are both doing great

 

things are great im college trying to become something, i been with a wonderful girl for 3 years so im pretty happy

and to everyone else thank you for the comments, i never thought i would get this great feedback from this, makes me wish i wrote it sooner.

 

damn i wish i had all of you telling me these good things back then hahah would of made so much easier but thank you to all of you

 

maybe add some more