A letter to my son
by Christian Martinez
It only feels like yesterday, when in fact years and years have come and gone, moving ever so silently at warp speed. I held you as an infant, and now when we stand up straight you look at me straight in the eye. Oh, as they say, time moves by so damn fast! It brings tears to my eyes whenever I think about how much of a man you’ve become. I just can’t be prouder. You show wisdom with everything you say. There’s no other truth, since wisdom is something that cannot be replicated nor imitated. You’ve grown to be confident, you laugh so carelessly, you are polite, impossibly intelligent and always helpful. You are kind. You are bold yet gentle – how is that even possible? For all of these, you are respected, and for only having lived half of my years, I am not even half the person you are.
I want to let you know that for whatever storms you might be experiencing right now, you are never alone. Of all the problems that human beings bear, nothing, and I mean nothing, seems heavier than those brought about by love. You could be broke as a joke, in excruciating pain or lashed by enduring chains of your happenstance inferior social circumstance, but none of these would affect you more than the troubles of love. As well, you could be the richest man in the world, be in life’s constant cradle of pleasure and blessed with all the advantages of your happenstance superior social circumstance, yet none would still matter more than the troubles of love.
She is indeed a treat. I have gotten to know her, and I actually even love her. Before I go on, I must point out that love is a word that I never use lightly. I implore you to believe that although it might seem in your eyes like she is a perfect person, no one is. It’s no secret how I feel towards “you and her,” but I have decided long since not to interfere; for what kind of a parent would I be if I don’t let you learn by yourself the errors of your ways? After all, there is no better teacher than a mistake. This is not to say that the actors involved in the play of your life have deliberately decided to ruin you or cause you pain. People are constantly manipulated by their emotions, and not all – in fact only a rare few – are capable of controlling them. I’m not convinced that the pages of her book were entirely turned. I’m not even sure they’ve all been read. Yet she proceeded on with a union with you, enamoured by your merits.
To the matter of this outsider, who never really was an outsider: I know that he evokes anger in you. By his very sight or even by the casual mention of his name, your blood boils. You are not to blame for this. He lives by the motto, “All is fair in love and war,” and is too much of a dunce to realize. He does intrude, and he never possessed enough sense in his soul to learn of his own stupidity. He is a crazy, disillusioned idiot. The troublesome part is that crazy people don’t know they’re crazy, disillusioned people don’t see that they’re disillusioned, and idiots don’t think they’re idiots. So many times I’ve wanted to lay down the law and cause this person’s ruin, yet my feeling of duty to help you grow as a stronger, better person always triumphs.
There comes a point, however, when a devoted father simply cannot help but rush to his child’s side. In spirit of letting you grow as a person, I have always committed to letting the natural laws of human nature take its course. But if the thug deliberately causes you pain, disregards your humanity and is so blatantly arrogant about it; if he laughs as though he did nothing wrong or opens his mouth in his usual routine of idiotic verbal diarrhea; if he marches around victoriously around your fallen spirit and dances in the midst of your anguish, I promise to all the guardians of heaven that he will learn his lessons. Thunderously sing the hymns of war, fire a thousand cannons, point the rifle, shoot. My cavalry shall march. My cavalry shall wreak havoc. I will ingrain in him the value of respect, the virtue of goodness and the true beauty of love. It will always be etched in his soul, forever and ever, the meaning of selflessness.
Lastly, let me tell you that all will be well. This is always the case with the truly righteous, with no exceptions. I am always here for you. Be happy, my son, and rest assured that life has nothing to throw at you that you can’t handle, of this I can’t be surer. I know you. Your head is strong, and your soul will always soar like an eagle in the endless sky. In the worst of circumstances, at the very least, you can count on the fact that I am but a short reach away. Just call and I’m there. Say the word and I’ll run.
Believe these always and always,
Dad
