Chapter 1

The first night


Miguel had trouble sleeping the night of the third of November. What would you expect after having lived through what he had the night before? Yes, he had had lots of fun in the Land of the Dead, singing with Papá Hector, and was glad to have met Mamá Imelda and the rest of his family. Of course he was proud for helping Mamá Coco remember her dad and he couldn't be happier after having discovered a whole new world and after having learned the true value of family.

But even all that good didn't take away some other things like, I don't know... discovering that Miguel's hero, the person he most looked up to, Ernesto de la Cruz, had murdered his great grand father and taken all the credit for his work? Or maybe the fact that he had been seconds away from dying twice, one of those times by his so called hero? Being dropped from a high building isn't exactly the most recommended experience for a twelve year old, or for anyone in any case. Neither is slowly turning into a skeleton, knowing that once the transformation is complete you won't be able to return to your home or even your actual life for that matter.

No, Miguel could not sleep that night. He may have been extremely tired after having been running around for two days and one night but every time he closed his eyes he saw something that made him jump up right on his bed and hold his head in frustration. Sometimes it was Ernesto's face sneering and throwing him off a building and him falling endlessly, never reaching an end. Others it was Hector singing a lullaby and fading away and knowing that he wouldn't return. Once he imagined himself trying to cross the Marigold Bridge back towards the land of the living, just to find that it was as if he was trying to walk through honey... useless.

Miguel gave up on sleeping after that last one. He decided that he didn't want to figure out what those dreams meant, not even think about them.

He got out of bed without making a single noise as to not wake anyone up. He went out of his room and decided to pay a visit to the still standing ofrenda. After all the commotion with Mamá Coco, his abuelita never had the time to take it down. When he arrived he saw Dante and a cat sleeping just outside the entrance to the room where the ofrenda stood. With great care he passed them and went inside. He sat down on the floor, not really caring about how cold it was, and stared at the fotos of his relatives. He memorised their every feature and compared them to the skeletical version of them he had met. Without realising it, he started humming and mumbling bits and pieces of all his favourite songs, ending up just singing recuérdame in a never-ending loop.

He sat there in a trance. He didn't realise when Dante and the cat had come in and had sat by his side. Nor he had realised when tears had started falling from his eyes. Nor how the hours had passed and the sun had come up. He didn't realise any of those things and never broke out of his trance. Not even when a very surprised abuelita had come into the room to take down the ofrenda, first thing in the morning.

Elena stayed there staring at her grandson and wondered what on earth could have happened last night to leave him in such state. She didn't dare to approach him, at least not until his mom or dad had come to see him. So she silently stood there, hearing the beautiful melody he sung over and over again.

As more family members came to say their good mornings to Elena, she sushed them and pointed to the seated figure of Miguel. No one moved or made a sound. Soon, there was a crowd at the entrance of the room.

At last, it was Miguel's mother who approached him, tapped him on his shoulder and asked, "Are you alright mijo?"

Miguel blinked a few times and looked up. His mother's eyes widened at the sight of Miguel's eyes, which were red and still wet from tears. But what surprised her the most was when he lounged forward and embraced her in a tight hug.

"I've never been better," he answered, before his mom returned his hug. "Gracias, mamá, por estar siempre ahí por mí."

"De-denada Miguel" she answered back uncertainly, but sweetly nevertheless.

All too soon, he broke the hug. He went up to his dad and said, "Gracias, papá, por ayudarme a ser el mejor Rivera que puedo ser."

His dad simply smiled as Miguel turned around to his abuelita.

"Gracias, abuelita, por quererme tanto." He kissed her cheek and took some steps back to see his whole family, with the exception of Mamá Coco who was still sleeping.

He chucked at their dumbfounded expressions.

"Gracias a todos por ser mi familia."

He crouched down to take hold of a single marigold petal, and held it carefully.

"Nunca olvidemos la familia."

With that last frase he let go of the petal and let go of his fears. He had been so scared and traumatised after the events of el Día de Muertos, but now, after a night of meditation, he had come to the realisation that everything would be alright as long as he had his family. And he knew that his family, dead or alive, would always be there for him no matter what.

The petal seemed to shimmer as it fell to the floor.


Later that day, Miguel went to visit Mamá Coco in her room.

They chatted for a while. They looked at her album. They sang some songs.

His abuelita called him for dinner.

He stood up, gave her a peck on her cheek and said, "Gracias Mamá Coco, por escuchar."

"De nada, Miguel"

She smiled. He smiled too, and then rushed out of the room.


Later, that night, Miguel had no trouble sleeping.


Translations (translated as best as I can)

Gracias, mamá, por estar siempre ahí por mí ~ Thanks, mom, for always being there for me.

Denada ~ You're welcome

Gracias, papá, por ayudarme a ser el mejor Rivera que puedo ser ~ Thanks, dad, for helping me be the best Rivera I can be.

Gracias, abuelita, por quererme tanto ~ Thanks, grandma, for loving me so much.

Gracias a todos por ser mi familia ~ Thanks everyone for being my family

Nunca olvidemos la familia ~ let's never forget family

Gracias Mamá Coco, por escuchar ~ thanks Mamá Coco, for listening


A/N

Hiiiiiii I hope you have enjoyed this first chapter even if I had no idea of what I was doing. I'm thinking about making this story about little things that happen between Miguel's return from the Land of the Dead and that one year later and if things go well then possibly more. I'll possibly cover things like Mamá Coco's death and Socorro's birth, some school stuff and Miguel singing in the Plaza. Possibly the reveal of Hector's story to the world. If you are reading this and you have ideas that you want me to write, please comment and I'll see if I add them on! That is if anyone's reading this. I'm open to all kind of critics and suggestions.

Someday I'll update

Byeeeee