Memories of grandpa are a brilliance of light in my mind. He was my father figure, and my friend. Though not every man is like Achilles, with close to no weakness and lives forever. He was a good person to me. He never struck me, and his outside was as dark and gloomy as fog at midnight. But inside, his emotions, his actions, his entire being was as sun kissed as Florida but his diabetes was uncared for. He had a heart attack while my aunt was caring for him. I was in a residential; I never got to see his body. It was just a story, told by my aunt herself.

It was sunny outside. I heard I had a visitor and soon enough I found aunt Bobbie in a meeting room. She told me about my grandpa’s death. His heart attack, how she couldn’t do anything about it. My world started to fall apart. Earthquakes were shaking my nerves. Tidal waves of sadness and anger flooded my body. Waterfalls of tears careened down my cheeks on splashed onto the floor. Thunderstorms and lightning battered and shocked my soul.

I lost the only one I had truly loved in my family, save for my little brother.

I think I had also lost a part of me. He said he didn’t want to be buried. He wanted to be cremated. And put into the spot below the tree on the hill he went hunting at

Then…one night… as the darkness took me into the warm embrace of slumber. I dreamed of my grandpa. I dreamed of him and I going up the hill to our friend’s house one last time before he had to go. He said what he had always said…

“I know grandpa.” And now is where the road splits. And when the road splits, we must part as my road continues and your road ends. And even as those rain and lightning storms cloud my soul, soon the sun will shine, sending rays of light through my center and purifying my mood.

Though rainstorms come and go, such is they way of life eternally. I will always love you.