It was around Thanksgiving break. My mom, who never texts me, texts me saying to go to my aunts house after school which was really strange. I had no idea what was going on, I was completely clueless. Then my mom finally broke the new to me saying that my grandpa was in the hospital. When I first heard my grandpa was in the hospital my first thought was, why? Why didn't he tell anyone? What was wrong with him? Was he going to be okay?

A couple of days later my mom sat us at the table an d gave us the devastating news. “Grandpa Angel passed away,” she says. At first i was stunned my heart skipped a beat. I didn't know what to think, I thought she was lying but no one would lie about something like that. We broke down balling our eyes out, tears ran down all of our faces. It was the saddest day ever.

At the viewing, my grandpa was hardly recognizable. He looked swollen. He didn't look like himself. My aunt Lita and my little cousin Jazyah were the closest people to my grandpa. They were devastated. My aunt Lita was crying hysterically, it broke my heart. Seeing her so vulnerable was one of the most heart breaking experience ever.

My cousin Jazyah, who was the youngest out of all of us was so sad. But he still put on a brave face and told us, “Grandpa is in a better place now.” And of course it was sad hearing a 4 year old say that. But it still made everyone feel better. It was a comforting feeling.

His death made me realize that death is a natural, every one dies but they always stay in your heart no matter what. My grandpa was an amazing person. When I was young he would always take care of me and give me candy. We had some good times. The last thing he said to me was, “Mija, stay in school keep playing basketball and get good grades.” It was like he knew it was his time to go, him saying his last goodbyes..