I am writing you this special letter even though you have passed away to The Most Beautiful City. I miss you dearly and I know that you are in a very special place of eternal rest, peace, and hope. Today, I am celebrating my 12th year birthday in Old San Juan. Today, we traveled from San Juan to our new destination 119 miles east to Mayaguez to celebrate my birthday. Miss Runfio gave me a surprise celebration at the Sea Restaurant in Mayaguez. Well, let me tell you, she hired a group of Mariachi singers to come to the table to serenade “Las Mañanitas” (Spanish Birthday song) to me with special desserts of flan de Coco and cheesecake guayaba Wow! What an unexpected blessing in disguise!

I will always have sweet memories and never forget about how you would get my classmates’ attention by shaking your maraca and by saying to us “Hands on top, and we would say that means stop. Also, how could I forget your extreme generosity when you bought everyone in our class free Ipads.

My mom took me to the most beautiful beach in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. I have never experienced the awe, mystery, and splendor of the palm and flamboyant trees, which covered the outskirts of this paradise island called La Isla Del Encanto. There I saw the lovely and extravagant flamboyant trees. Miss Runfio took many photos of me standing next to the fiery red tree that glowed and blossomed so magnificently over my head and shoulders. It was a sight to behold! I even broke off a branch off the red sparkling flowers as a safe keep reminder of my encounter with it. I had read before that the flamboyant trees are only grown in such tropical places as Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other well-known tropical places around the world.

I saw the beautiful sea gulls that glided through the deep, dark, blue sea, and the sound of ocean waves rolling onto the sea shore was like hearing echoes from hollow caves. I used my binoculars to see children playing safely in the waters as their parents held them securely with life jackets and other inflatable objects. There was a clear, deep, blue sky on the horizon. With all this excitement and majestic view of God’s creation, I felt weary so my mom sat up a hamaca and took it from one end of a flamboyant tree to the other. She swung me back and forth many times as she sang my favorite lullaby called Duérmete, Mi Niña and suddenly I fell asleep.