Questions
Xibalba awoke to find that his wife had already arisen from bed. It was extremely early in the morning, but the two of them had slept more peacefully than they had in eons. It had been a few days since their reconciliation, the day that Manolo Sanchez married Maria Posada. There was an endless fiesta held for the two gods in the Land of the Remembered, where he was once again welcome. He hadn't stepped foot in the Land of the Forgotten since, but knew that barely anything bad could happen. The King slipped a purple robe onto himself and stretched, too lazy to put on his armor this early in the morning. He searched for La Muerte until he saw her standing out on the balcony of their castle bedroom. Following her out, he surprised her when his hands touched her waist from behind, and he kissed her gently on the cheek.
"Good morning, mi amor," he whispered quietly.
La Muerte nearly melted at his touched. She leaned back onto him and returned the kiss, placing a hand on the side of his face.
"And Buenos Dias to you, my darling."
She knew he was a sucker for the way she touched him.
Xibalba looked out towards the Land of the Remembered. Their realm was not immune to the concepts of day and night. Its citizens began to rise and greet each other as they did every morning, preparing for the next fiesta that they were all so fond of.
"Are we continuing today with our public appearances?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her. "Or can I just keep you all to myself today?"
La Muerte giggled. "You can be so selfish, Balbi," she teased. "You're so cute when you're selfish."
"Oh come on dear," he whined. "I'm allowed to be from time to time."
The Queen turned to her husband and put her hands on his chest. "I don't know mi amor… I'm very busy… I do have a schedule you know."
Xibalba frowned. "Am I not a priority, my dear?" He ran his long, thin fingers through her hair. She must have spent extra care brushing it this morning, he thought, it's softer than ever. How long had she been up? He was slightly concerned.
La Muerte stroked his beard teasingly and brushed past him towards the balcony door. She turned and winked at him. "I'll see if I can fit you in, my love."
She grinned as she entered back into their bedroom, and Xibalba skulked behind her. She sat on their unmade bed and held out a small hand, while giving him her most innocent eyes. He couldn't resist. He grabbed her hand and she pulled him down next to her. He placed a hand on her neck gently and she leaned in to kiss him.
"Maybe I can find a minute or two," she joked before pressing her lips against his. Xibalba closed his eyes and took in her sugary taste, the taste he hadn't stopped loving since the day they first kissed. The two of them inched closer together. His hand curled around the back of her neck, as if to keep her as close as possible to him. He began to lean back onto the bed, as she pressed both of them down.
Unfortunately, they were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door, followed by, "Your majesty? I apologize if I had awoken you, but there is a matter I feel you must address."
La Muerte stood without question and fixed herself. Xibalba groaned and murmured, "You've got to be kidding me." She opened the door to find one of her many workers standing there. He was one of the greeters of the realm, the one who would take newly deceased souls to their rightful place in the Land of the Remembered.
"Your majesty," he said quietly. "We have two new arrivals… a young woman holding a newborn child… I fear they may have both died together. She's very afraid. As for the baby... it is a very strange case… We are not sure of what to do."
La Muerte breathed in slightly, she couldn't bear to hear the news of a life taken so young. She hurried out the door and followed behind her greeter. Xibalba plopped onto their bed an laid there, knowing better that to involve himself in affairs she was an expert in.
La Muerte met the mother, young, brown haired thin woman who clutched a little white bundle at her breast. There were quiet noises coming from the blanket, neither of distress or sorrow, but curious little sounds that an infant would make. Her name was Josephina, and the child's name was Antonio. La Muerte took them both inside the grand hall and attempted to calm the mother down.
"My husband…" she cried. "He must be devastated… He wanted to meet our baby more than anything."
La Muerte sat the poor woman down and gripped her hand while glancing at the child. "Your husband will remember you, Josephina, and your precious little boy. He will remember you until the day he too comes down here. As long as you will stay with us, in the Land of the Remembered, we will do everything we can to make sure you and your baby will have the most amazing experience. It's what we do here."
Josephina wiped her eyes and peered down at her baby boy. The little child cooed up at his mother, and then caught a glimpse of the goddess. He began to gurgle excitedly and reached for her with his tiny hands. La Muerte smiled and extended a finger, which he grasped immediately.
"Have I failed?" Josephina asked quietly. "My son will never know what it is like to live… I brought him here with me because I failed to even give him life.."
La Muerte's smile soon faded into a look of sorrow. She pitied the two, and sensed the mother's uneasiness.
"Is there anything…" she begged. "Anything you can do to help my son? Forget me… I want his father to meet him. They have to be together… My husband must be so broken…"
The goddess peered down at the baby boy, who had not let go of her finger since. She would have to consult the ancient rules to be able to bring him back from the dead. And consulting the ancient rules meant consulting at least the husband, or the candle maker. She had to do it quickly too, or else too much suspicion in the Land of the Living would arise.
"Give me one moment, Josephina." She stood quickly and transported back to her bedroom. Xibalba had dressed himself in his daily armor and was casually eating the from a bowl of caviar. The look on his wife's face caught his attention immediately.
"Mi Corazón," he asked. "Is everything alright?"
"I want to give someone life," she said blatantly. "I need you to be there with me."
Xibalba creased his eyebrows. "My darling… who is this someone, exactly?"
"I want to send an infant boy back to the Land of the Living," she sighed. "He perished with his mother in childbirth… the poor woman wants nothing more to reunite her son with his father."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, picking at his teeth. "Once you start making exceptions, it's very hard to stop."
"Xibalba!"
"It's true, my darling!"
La Muerte grabbed her husband's hands frantically and gripped them.
"Please, Balbi," she begged. "It's just this once. I've never seen a woman so willing to let her child see his father."
Xibalba sighed and nodded. "Alright, fine."
He didn't even realize how quickly his wife transported them back into the grand hall. Josephine looked up at the god and curled back slightly, obviously reluctant to let her child glance at him. Baby Antonio did so anyway, and Xibalba was surprised to find him giggling. He turned to his wife.
"By the ancient rules, my dear?"
La Muerte nodded and Josephine handed her the bundle. "By the ancient rules…"
He took her free hand and together, they said to the child, "We give you life."
Right before the flash of light, Xibalba noticed how tenderly La Muerte held the bundle in her arms. There was a specific softness in her eyes, one much different than those he was used to. As the light disappeared, La Muerte sighed slightly and took Josephina away to comfort her and to show her the Land of the Remembered. Xibalba knew that her face was strong for the young mother, but there was a different emotion lurking below. He wouldn't dare call her out on it now. But he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking, and hoped she wouldn't keep it from him.
They met for lunch in the dining hall of the castle, as they usually did. La Muerte was quiet and picking at her plate, while Xibalba grabbed whatever was on the table as he pleased. He looked up and tried to eye her, but found she was lost in her own train of thought.
"Mi amor," he asked. "What's wrong? You've been like this since the incident with that woman. You're never bothered by cases of new arrivals."
"No, it's not that…" La Muerte set down her fork and turned towards her husband. "Balbi… we married centuries ago. I know we've been apart for so long but… But…"
"But what, Muertita?"
"How come we've never had children?"
Xibalba nearly dropped the grapes he was holding and froze. His brain rambled for words to respond with, but shut down instead. He never had to think about such a topic before.
"Uhm… darling… well…"
La Muerte bit her lip and rose from her chair suddenly, disappearing before him. She regretted asking. And Xibalba regretted not having a better answer.