Finding the courage and the strength
Chapter 13. About how cigars and how they explode
Lomas de Cuernavaca, Temixco, Mexico
Grandfather stared quietly at me, lost in thought. His face had this most distant and sad expression as he silently gazed upon me. Today, as an adult, and many, so many years and life experiences after, I can still see that look in his eyes with an uttermost clarity that time itself has not managed to fade.
“My dear kiddo, how I wish that you never happened to feel fear at such a young age in your life. What kind of world do we live in that you and I are having this bitter conversation. For you, I would have wanted nothing less than the happiest of lives.”
“I cannot protect you from fear, my dear. That is something that we all must live and face at some point in our lives. I am not going to lie to you. I won’t tell you that I’m not terrified moments before I take off. I am beyond feeling scared. I feel petrified and without the will to carry on.”
“But then, how do you do it? How do you manage to take off if you’re feeling so scared?” I asked, frightened at the mere thought of my Grandfather actually feeling scared about anything.
Because I’m more frightened by the fact of my not being able to do my share. At the end of the day, I’m more scared of letting fear control me and losing myself to it. At that moment, I grab the Rosary beads that your Grandmother gave me, and I breathe in deeply. From some deeply hidden part that we all carry inside ourselves, I find the courage and the strength that I need to do what I have to do, if only, for the last time!”
In the land of volcanoes’ Chapters Purchase the book