THE WHOLE TRUTH
Bernardo Tercero is on death row and faces immient execution. His son Franklin rememrbers the impact of the death sentence of his father on his life.
My name is franklin tercero, I am the son of Bernarnardo tercero. My father asked me to write about the emotional impact of his absence on my life. I call it the absence of my God. I remember the last time I saw my father, when I close my eyes, I can still see his black jacket, blue trousers and black hat, it was a dark morning and I was scared because there was constant thunderstorms. I was very yound and I was not capable to realize what was happening, wondering why my dad was going, and why he looked so sad. I remember the hours passig by, the tear rolling on the face of my grand ma, silently and I remember that tear, and I could feel an emptiness in my throat. as I was growing older, I was progressively understanding that I would have to grow older on my own. Many months passed by, and it was the day of my birthday, I thought my dad was perhaps going to come that day. … I received small presents and that day ended byt I did not see my dad, he did not come. I asked why: where was he, what was he doing?...I grew up older and my friends invited me to do the homework and they presented me to their parents, their father,who was saying: Ah, you are the son of Bernardo! You look like him, and I was happy. But when I was invited them, I had no father to show..Once my friend asked me where was your dad. And I replied they were going to wrok. My sadness increased and affected me negatively. I grew up with a low self esteem. I felt low, but did not know who to trun to to ask my questions. I had no confidence… I started to withdraw, playing alone, facing problems alone. I grew up too quickly…despite the affection of my uncles and grand parents, I was always wondering where my dad was. When I learnt that je was in prison, my heart started to beat very very quickly. .. One day I heard the voice of my fther on the phone (we had gone yo Chinandega to make the call) I asked him when are you to come back. He said one day, but you have to take care of your self, and the call stopped. I didn’t know whether he was laughing or whether he was crying.
I did not want the others to look at me with sadness. I started to adopt a double personallatiy. The one that was not true and that was showing to others, and the real one, but I kept to myself. I started tp give to my friends the love that I had kept for my parents.
There is a passage in the bible that says: I will not give you what you won’t be able to carry. This has transformed the way I think and has brought me a sense of peace. I had aachieved to become a man who did not follow the ideas of others. Despite the odds, I don’t forget my father. He remains in my heart, we all miss him. I sincerely love you, dad, all I would like is to be able to be next to you again.
I did not want the others to look at me with sadness. I started to adopt a double personallatiy. The one that was not true and that was showing to others, and the real one, but I kept to myself. I started tp give to my friends the love that I had kept for my parents.
There is a passage in the bible that says: I will not give you what you won’t be able to carry. This has transformed the way I think and has brought me a sense of peace. I had aachieved to become a man who did not follow the ideas of others. Despite the odds, I don’t forget my father. He remains in my heart, we all miss him. I sincerely love you, dad, all I would like is to be able to be next to you again.