This story has been in my mind and soul since my father passed away recently. This is a story that will be a part of my heart for the rest of my life. It is not that I need proof of or reassurance that the things that have happened around me are coincidence but are in fact miracles. Whispers from heaven? I think of them as a rug being pulled out from under me by angels when I continue to be stubborn and go off my path. Today is my 50th birthday and I have come along way in my life. I am very pleased with all of my decisions in life, the good ones and especially the bad ones. All have made me who I am today. No regrets!
Why am I sharing this now? Yesterday was my mother's birthday. She would have been 84. She passed in 2003. It was abrupt and tough on all of us especially my father. My father and mother had what most would call a perfect romance except until one passed. Which happened and my father lost his mind! He was born in 1933 and she was in 1936 when they were just teenagers they fell in love. As you assume there usually is a monkey wrench in all situations and in this love story we are talking 1950's CUBA, Pre-Castro period. Life was not about living but survival. They were already in love but my dad had a chance to make it in the United States so he had my mom wait for him and he came to America, Miami to be exact. Upon arrival he immediately went to work. Saving every penny to one day send for his sweetheart and together they could begin their life together in America. After some time alone on the island my Mother most likely got worried that my father may have forgotten her so she somehow was able to send a song to him to remind him of her love for him.
The song,
En Las Tinieblas by Nico Membiela
(Translated in English)
In the Darkness You left me in the shadows of the night And you left me without any guidance And with your kisses you were caught here, on my lips The sweet-sour of despair Night after night, waiting and waiting And I'm so lonely and so tired of waiting That you return the light to my darkness And let my eyes rest from crying I wait for you, my love, I wait for you Because in the darkness I can't live I wait for you, my love, I wait for you Because if you don't come back, my love, I die
So there you have it. A song sent 90+ miles from a young lady in love from a little town, Caraballo, Cuba to the mainland, Miami USA. A reminder that I am still here on the island waiting for you, loving you, missing you. Do not forgot me. The story as shared with me is that once he received the song it must have broken his heart, he loved her with all his heart so he married her over the phone so it would be easier to send for her from Cuba. Soon they were together and after some time they moved from Miami to Bridgeport,CT. and once they became settled they had three boys. Life went on as normal as you can imagine until my mother passed in 2003. It broke all of our hearts but destroyed my father's heart and shattered his mind. It took him years to move on and begin to live again. A few years later he chose to move to Miami. A part of him died with my mother but he still found the strength to live on. Although my father always found the energy to move forward. He fought with Cancer during his last years but he never lost hope. During his last few days my father was hospitalized. By now cancer in his esophagus was making his life unlivable. At this time in his life he had met a wonderful woman, an angel on earth. She loved him, supported him and stayed by his side until the end. She was the witness of this miracle of love. My father at some point earlier in their relationship did share with her all of his memories he shared with my mother including how they met in Cuba and the story of this song. A song that neither my brothers or I never knew about. At this point my father laid in his bed suffering basically waiting to die. At some point during the day a group of volunteers walked into his ward. The room had a few patients including my father. The volunteers had instruments and began to cheer up the patients around him. His girlfriend informed me that it was beautiful. She then recalled a young lady with long beautiful hair approached my fathers bedside and began to play songs a few she recognized mostly modern. My father alert but motionless laid in his bed most likely enjoying the music. His girlfriend said to me that the young lady began to get up and asked to play one more song. They agreed that she would play one last song. The song....Las Tinieblas by Nico Membiela. A song recorded by a small town musician with not much following. As she played nothing was said except in the tears my father quietly shed. Upon his girlfriend hearing this extremely old Cuban song, she immediately recalled the song and the story my father shared with her about this song. My father soon passed. My mother once again using this song to remind my father that she waited and loved him. A miracle in my eyes. Love knows no boundaries. It is more than the romantic feeling a couple have for each other. This is love on an energetic level. A force strong enough to penetrate through the veil which divides the dead from the living and somehow found a willing young musician to be the transmitter of this song from my mother to my father. Did this young lady ever realize what she had done? Why did she chose to play this song. I guess some doubters will still think it is a coincidence. I beg to differ. I believe in God. He is the universe. He is infinite intelligence.
My parents in spirit are together again and it is times like this that I feel Gods power and know beyond any doubt that I am blessed.
To hear the actual song...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJREhn8teh4
Thank you for taking the time to read this story.
Raquel & Tomas Gonzalez (my parents)
