Reaching over, he places his hand on top of mine. “My sweet granddaughter, continue to blossom like the beautiful rose you are, and promise me you’ll never stop chasing your dreams.Te amo mucho, mi rosa.”
I nod, my eyes brimming with tears. “I promise.Te amo mucho, Abuelo.”
Mom and Ollie walk in, and we all huddle together in bed.
Abuelo wraps his arms around mine and Ollie’s shoulders. “I am so blessed to be a part of this family. And you all are the greatest gifts I could ever ask for.”
Ollie rests his head on Abuelo and he sobs onto his chest. “I don’t want you to die, Abuelo. You can’t leave us. There’s still so much we need to do together. Still so much we need to talk about.”
I’m unable to stop the flood of tears from bursting through upon seeing Ollie break down.
Mom wraps her arms around her middle, to try to preventherself from crying, but she breaks down as well. “We need you here, Papi.”
A single tear trickles down his cheek. “I’ll always be with you,” he whispers.
I can feel him slowly slipping away. His heartbeat slows, and his breaths become shallower and more ragged.
He draws in one final breath, and his heart stops completely.
I cry out in agony as he leaves this world and leaves me behind.
I had finally managed to escape from the relentless rip current I’d been caught in, and I was so close to reaching the shore, where happiness awaited. But now I’m being dragged back into the water, drowning and drifting away into the abyss.
Every day I wake up hoping this is a horrible nightmare, and that Abuelo is still alive and healthy. When I saw his cold, lifeless body in the casket, that’s when reality hit. This isn’t a nightmare—this isreal. He lost his battle with cancer, and he is gone forever.
I’ll never get to argue with him again when he’s being overly stubborn, or go on strolls with him through Golden Gate Park during the springtime.
I hate this cruel world for taking him away from me. There was so much I wanted to do with him, but now I will never have that chance.
The days following his death were spent in bed. I would sleep even if I wasn’t tired, and would only leave to go eat or use the bathroom.
Now, Tsuki lays her head on my chest, letting out a whimper. I rub her soft head as I scroll through my phone, looking at pictures and videos of Abuelo.
I’ve been staying with Maddox for the last couple of weeks.Mazi and Serena have been texting me to check in, but I’ve been avoiding them.
I click on the video I recorded of Abuelo last year on his birthday, before he got sick.
Candles shaped like the number sixty-five are placed on top of the tres leches cake I made for him. He’s sitting at the table with a huge smile on his face as we sing “Happy Birthday” to him.
Sixty-five. That’s the age when most people retire and find the freedom to do whatever they want and spend more time with their loved ones. Abuelo only got to enjoy a few months of retirement before he was diagnosed with cancer.
My heart aches thinking about the life he could’ve had. He wanted to start traveling more—since he’d only traveled to a few cities in America and Canada after moving here from Cuba—and pick up gardening. But now he’s six feet under ground and only exists in my memory.
“Oh, Abuelo, I miss you so much.” I wrap my arms around Tsuki, sobbing onto her.
The sound of the front door opening and closing fill the quiet house.
Maddox appears in the doorframe with a duffle bag on his shoulder and carry-on luggage in his other hand. “Hi, Rosie.”
Tsuki’s head perks up and she leaps out of the bed to greet him, panting and wagging her tail excitedly.
His suspension is over now, and he just got back from Houston. The Phoenixes are still in the lead, but if the Dragons can win the next two games, they’ll move on to the finals.
I wanted to be there for him to support him, but I didn’t have it in me to go.
“Hi,” I reply flatly, my eyes staying glued to my phone. I open up the Instagram app and scroll through my feed.
He sets his duffle bag down and walks toward the bed, leaning down and giving me a quick kiss.
