![]() She stirred there was an ache in her back and in her legs and feet, one that certainly hadn't been there yesterday. With that, the alebrije spread her wings and took off, as the morning sunrise cast deep shadows on the stage behind them. The alebrije immediately lay herself on the ground, spreading a wing out invitingly.Ĭareful not to drop Héctor, Imelda settled herself on her alebrije's shoulders. Nodding, Imelda lifted Héctor up into her arms and stepped up to Pepita, whistling. "We'll take care of it, Mamá Imelda," Julio said, pulling his hat back onto his head. Imelda looked down at Héctor again, brushing the hair from his face. It was just as well-they would deal with this and whatever had happened to de la Cruz later, after. With a muffled bark, he fluttered away, still carrying the baton with him, and the officer followed after with a shout. Pepita snorted in his face, and Dante suddenly jumped at him, biting his baton and yanking it out of his grip. "S-Señora, if everything is all right now-" The officer, who'd been hanging back, took a hesitant step forward. I'm not sure," Imelda admitted, feeling his forehead. "W-will he be all right?" Rosita took a hesitant step closer, wringing her hands. supposed to happen? Would he disappear soon? Or had Miguel.? He did not answer, but no more shimmering spasms came. But his eyes were shut, and she wasn't even sure he was conscious. "Héctor?" she whispered, pulling him back so she could see his face. He'd stopped flashing, and his breathing had evened out. Though her gaze initially saw the terrified man in a blue uniform, it was suddenly pulled to the others-Óscar and Felipe, Julio, Rosita, and Victoria, who all stared at her in amazement. Still she looked up anyway, glaring at the officer who had dared to approach during what might be her final moments with. Pepita answered for her, roaring into the man's face. " Señora," a firm unfamiliar voice said, and Imelda's hands gripped Héctor closer to her. The silence was broken by footsteps, and a spike of tension broke through the heavy veil of sorrow. Though her family stood near, all she could feel was him, his cold, trembling bones in her arms, his uneven breathing against her chest. She held him in the relative silence of the balcony, the murmur from the crowd beyond the curtain seeming as far away as the Land of the Living itself. The shimmering attack continued-far longer than any of the others had-and Imelda drew him closer to her, lifting his head to press it into her chest, and leaning her head onto his, whispering desperately: "Don't leave me again." That now that she had finally listened to him, he would be taken away from her, nothing but golden dust in her arms. the fact that he'd been murdered by their own friend, the fact that he could never visit them, the fact that she'd turned him away time after time. Not a single part of this was fair-Héctor's departure, the extension of the tour, the fact that he'd left them alone. Imelda's chest tightened, and she squeezed his hand harder. And then another golden shimmer erupted through his body, more violent than before. kn." His brow furrowed slightly, and his eyes opened a fraction, but his vision was unfocused. But both he and Imelda knew the state her daughter was in-she could barely remember her own family most days, and now. I won't let Mamá Coco forget you, Miguel had insisted, half a second before he left. There is one person who holds his memory. This isn't up to anyone on this side of the bridge. This isn't up to him, the logical part of her said. "Héctor, por favor." With one hand she lifted his head, and with the other she squeezed his hand. The only way she knew he could still feel it was that his breathing stuttered again. His body seized up, but his face barely reacted, not even wincing from the pain of it (if it was pain, or just weakness, or something worse-she didn't know. "Héctor-?!"īefore she could say anything else, another brilliant spasm shook Héctor, his frame flashing the same color as the marigold petals scattered around them. d-di." he slurred, his hand going limp in Imelda's grip.Īlarmed, Imelda leaned closer. Looking up, she found he could no longer keep his eyes open he hadn't even been able to see Miguel leave. On the ground beneath her, Héctor let out a shuddering breath. "It's done," she breathed, still feeling a heaviness in her chest in spite of the weight that had lifted off of her shoulders. Behind her, the sun ascended above the horizon. ![]() Miguel disappeared in an explosion of marigold petals.Ī deep breath of air released from Imelda's rib cage as she lowered her head and her hands.
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