For Rebeca - 11 years

We don't always reach the light in a single lifetime, but there are human beings who are illuminated from the moment they are born into this world. Such was my daughter, an enlightened and warrior spirit. In every moment of her life, with rare exceptions, she always had a smile on her face and was full of love to share.

When she was born, I thought I wouldn't be able to care for her, given her fragile condition. I kept rethinking what to do, what to decide, and how to love. I raised my hands to the sky and cried... I cried a lot, because I didn't know if I would be worthy of such a mission. Then, as on many occasions in my life, an inner strength made me get up, wipe away my tears, and move forward, because I knew that my dear wife would need me more than ever, as well as my dear daughter.

We went through many difficulties, trials and also many joys. It was almost ten years of much dedication, love, and overcoming challenges. Certainly, my Rebecca was the person who taught me the most in my life, not academic or social lessons, but lessons of the soul, of charity and of peace. If I am the person I am today, with virtues and flaws, I owe much to her, for she taught me what true love is, the kind we carry with us wherever we go.

I went through many hardships before, during, and after her passing, but I never stopped admiring the beautiful souls that were my daughter and my wife, who is certainly with her, leaving their traces of love and charity wherever they go, and who made me a loved and cared-for being.

I also cannot fail to thank my parents for their example, who were always by my side in life's endeavors, in their acceptance and the light of their teachings and their love for me and my family.

I was and am a privileged person because I was graced with the greatest gift that God and life gave me: to be loved and to love. From this point on, to err and to succeed, to cry and to smile, to dream and to learn, to live and to relive... always in faith, in love, and in the hope of being by everyone's side when I am no longer here, by the grace of the Father.

To those who walk beside me, sharing my presence in their lives, I thank you from the bottom of my soul and heart, for with each step I take, there is an indelible mark of each of you, a new lesson and a new reflection.

To my daughter, Rebeca, I thank you for the heart you gave me, the light you gave me that illuminates my soul in moments of darkness, and the certainty that what matters in life is the love we carry with us. I dream, my daughter, of being able to share the love I carry and that I owe to you, with other souls, and perhaps find another who can understand mine and always be by my side, as you always have been.

May your light shine, my daughter, on the highest mountains of paradise and illuminate the darkness of our world, as it has illuminated and continues to illuminate my heart throughout my humble life.