Welcome to the Wild$ide [A$AP Rocky Story]

o33.

     As the week continued on, I moped around my hospital room as if I were a zombie. I dreaded to face today. Today was the day that I would be laying me father to rest. Unable to respond to most of the people around me, I sat in the front row of the pew silently while masking my devastation behind a pair of oversized Tom Ford sunglasses. The condolences of the funeral attendees overwhelmed me as they came consecutively.

     Sevyn Joseth Santino was being laid to rest on the south side of Queens where he spent his adolescent years. My father's funeral was huge. If you were just passing by, you would think you had just pulled up to a car show. Every seat in the church was occupied along with people lined against the walls, standing in the foyer, and outside of the church. It was one thing that my father was well known around our way, but people from different states and countries had showed up today to show their respects and say their final goodbyes.

     White roses and lilies surrounded the church as well as pictures that captured memories of my father. My father was a king, my king, and upon making his funeral arrangements I made sure he was laid to rest as one. I order him a custom all white casket with gold trim and diamonds lining it's interior. A diamond encrusted crown was placed on his head along with his favorite pair of Armani shades covering his eyes. I picked out a tailored all white Givenchy suit to grace his body. Only the best for the best.

     The funeral lasted a bit longer than your average funeral, because so many people wanted to speak about my father. Most of them being his business partners and others being people from our neighborhood and surrounding areas whom he'd helped in one way or another.

"From paying electricity bills to buying children toys for Christmas, my father always found a way to give back to the community. That's just the type of person he was; a giver. He'd give his last to anyone in need," I spoke into the microphone as I slowly wobbled to the podium with Rakim's assistance. "Growing up my father was all I had. Rarely do you see a young, black man raising a daughter by himself, but he did it.

Was he perfect? Of course not. In fact, he was the most overprotective person I had ever met, but he had his cool moments. Thinking back, I remember the scowls and looks we got after my father took me to get my first tattoo for my sixteenth birthday. He would always tell people 'let me raise mine the way I want to and I will allow you to do the same.'

Regardless of what anybody thought of Sevyn Santino, he was the best father ever to me. It's hard knowing that I won't have him around anymore, but I do thank God for allowing me to have him for almost nineteen years. I am truly blessed to even have had him at all. Living life without him won't be easy, but I know that my little family will help me through it all. Rest Easy Sevyn Joseth Santino."

     Tears clouded my vision and the inside of my sunglasses filled with fog as I walked away from the podium. My heart was heavy and my thoughts were distorted. I just wanted things to go back to how they used to be; I wanted my old life back. Rakim continued to rub the small of my back as I silently cried. Soon after my speech, Reverend Gant said the closing remarks and dismissed us to the gravesite.

At the gravesite, I took one last look at the casket before it was dropped in the ground and sad a silent prayer. "Dear God, Please welcome my father into your house with open arms. Care for him, love him, and protect him, God. Grant him the peace that he has longed for for years. I know you want him with you, but tell him I will see him soon. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen."

     As the pallbearers began to lower my father into the ground, I walked away and returned to the Rolls Royce I was escorted to the gravesite in. For about ten minutes I was left alone and able to gather my thoughts. I began to think back to the dream I had had about him and my mother. I smiled at the sky, silently thanking God for allowing me that time with him. Regardless of what had happened in the past between us, he died knowing I loved him and I knew that he loved me.