Author: Hālau ʻĀha Hūi Lanakila

Farewell Letter
by Gabriel Garcia Márquez

‘If for a while God forgot that I’m a puppet and gave me a piece of life, probably I wouldn’t say everything that I think, but definitively I would think everything that I say.

I would give more value to things not because of what they cost but because of what they mean.
I would sleep less and dream more. I understand that for each minute that we close our eyes, we lose sixty seconds of light.

I would walk when the others stopped, I would wake up when the others slept, I would listen when the others spoke, and how much I would enjoy a chocolate ice-cream!

If God gave me a piece of life I would dress simply, I would lie on the sun, “showing” not only my body but my soul. My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on the ice and I would wait for the sun to rise.

My God, if I had a piece of life… I won’t let a single day pass without saying people I love how much I love them. I would convince every single women and men that they are my favorites and I would live in love with love
I would prove people how wrong they are to think that they stop falling in love when they get older, without knowing that they get older when they stop falling in love!

To a kid… I would give him wings, but I let him alone to learn how to fly. To the elder I would teach them that death does not arrive with being old but with forgetting.

There are so many things I have learned from you, people… I have learned that everybody wants to live in the pick of the mountain without knowing that the true happiness lays in the way ‘you get into it’. I have learned that when a new born grasp his father’s fist for the first time, he caught him forever.

I have learned that a man has only the right to look down to another when he has to help him to stand up. There are so many things I have been able to learn from you, but actually they won’t be that worth, because when they keep me into this suitcase, unhappily I will be dying. Always say what you feel and do what you think.

If I knew today as the last time I’m gonna see you sleep, I would hug you so strong and I would pray the lord to be able to be the guardian of your soul. If I knew this is the last time I’m gonna see you going out through that door, I would give you a hug, a kiss and I would call you again to give you more. If I knew this was the last time I am gonna hear your voice, I would record each one of your words to be able to hear them forever. If I knew these were the last moments I see you I would tell you “I love you” and I wouldn’t assume, stupidly, that you already know it.

There is always a tomorrow and life gives us the opportunity to do things right, but in case I’m wrong and today is the only thing we have left, I would like to tell you how much I love you, and that I’m never going to forget you.
Nobody has for sure a tomorrow, young or old.

Today can be the last time you see the ones you love. So… don’t wait more, do it today, because if tomorrow never comes, you will for sure regret the day you didn’t take time for a smile, a hug, a kiss, and that you were so occupied to give them their last wish. Keep the ones you love near you, tell them in their ear how much you love them and treat them good. Take time to tell them ‘I’m sorry’, ‘forgive me’, ‘please’, ‘thank you’, and all the love words you know.

Nobody will remember you for your secret thoughts. Ask God for the strength and the wisdom to express them. Show your friends how important they are for you.’