Miracles

Dayamis Portobanco

MIRACLES

Dayamis Portobanco 

I believe in miracles. I believe there are miracles happening all around us everyday. There are those small, insignificant ones such as passing your calculus exam with an A or winning the football championship. There are also those extraordinary ones, such as giving birth or surviving a horrific accident. I have been fortunate enough to witness a miracle: the miracle of watching one of the most important people in my life live another day. 

About four years ago, my brother Nelson and his girlfriend, not knowing what awaited them, took a walk on the beach in celebration of their anniversary. On their way back to the car, the two were attacked and kidnapped. In the hours to come, they experienced what only comes true in nightmares. At last, the end came and it was time for the criminals to get rid of the evidence. They stopped their truck and stabbed Nelson seventeen times, slit his throat, and left him in the side of the road for dead. You would think this would be enough to kill someone, but fortunately this was not the case. My brother survived. Somehow, he got a second chance. The true miracle, however, is how he has lived his life since this tragedy. He graduated from high school and is currently working and attending college for his degree in Business.

I believe this was a miracle, however it has also been a second chance for me, a second chance to spend another day with my brother, a second chance to watch him fulfill his dreams, a second chance to argue and laugh with him, love him, and to do all the brother-sister things, a second chance to appreciate the people in my life. I believe in miracles and this is my reason why.  I believe in miracles because my brother did not die on that terrible day.