flashback: my long-dead father

this is an excerpt from an email by my dear cousin maj—
we haven’t been together for so long, decades!
but we did try and been trying to keep in touch,
keeping the thread that holds our families together…
i have known a little about my father,
they tell me i write like him—
how in the world i should know???
but here’s a message coming from my cousin’s heart,
who may have known my father better than i did…

…."It is indeed always a mystery
why there is so much injustice in this world
when humans are naturally blessed with good hearts.
When I hear of deaths, the first person that comes to my mind
is Tio Aling, your father.
Believe it or not.
He was the only close relative I’ve had
whose death I’ve witnessed and seen.
I’m sorry if this brings you memories…
bitter or sweet…but your father was a good person.
His ideals may have clashed with others but God knows
how he holds human rights as supreme to all.
I vividly remember all the confusion in
Mabini Street when news leaked out about Tio
being tortured and brutally killed…
and his body being brought back.
Those are images that continue to surface in my mind,
even at my very young age.
I clearly remember how thousands of people turned out for the funeral
— never seen that huge crowd in town.
Those are people who have loved your father dearly.
It crossed my mind…
if he’s indeed a "bad" guy that others tried to portray,
then why are there thousands of people who have expressed
their condolences and sympathy to our family?
Yes, sometimes life is a mystery.
And sometimes we are confronted with situations
that are beyond our control…."…