"Ahhh, there it is! You ever think we would end up back here, amigo?"

The two scrappy looking teenagers were walking down a dusty road staring straight at the entrance of their hometown of Santa Cecilia. The same dusty path they had walked to seek fame as musicians just a couple years prior.

"I don't know what about this place you love so much," grumbled Ernesto adjusting the suitcase to his other hand.

"Ha! That's an easy one, it is home, ya know," Héctor grinning from ear to ear.

Ernesto rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Aye, Héctor.."

It was quite obvious that Héctor was itching to run through the streets of Santa Cecilia and shout at the top of his lungs he was back! Ernesto, on the other hand, never thought he would be caught at his old stomping grounds so soon. It had been two years since he walked the old cobblestone streets. Héctor had finally given in to all the nagging to join Ernesto and venture out to make their dream of becoming the most famous musicians in Mexican history a reality! They had been friends since they were small boys, Héctor always trailing after Ernesto like a little brother would do. Which is why it frustrated Ernesto that it had taken him so long to convince Héctor to join him on the road. Héctor was happy with the simple life Santa Cecilia offered, but why? Why not go for something bigger. They both had talent and Ernesto was not going to waste it there.

Now here they were, walking back with nothing to show but defeat worn on their faces, and have the very folks who said they were too ambitious for their own good rub salt in the wounds.

Oh how he wanted to see those same people eat their words and gravel at him as he walked through those streets with well earned pride beaming from his face. The very thought made Ernesto smile faster than a child sneaking candy before supper.

But today was not that day.

Ernesto pouted the entire trip back. From scraping money to buy the train tickets, to the ride itself, to the three and a half mile walk from the train station to the gates of Santa Cecilia, he had a sour taste in his mouth thinking of his lost chance at stardom. He wasn't ready to call it quits, but Héctor had grown homesick and he knew there was only so far he could push his friend. Héctor had gone along with every plan, every scheme. But when days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and those months to now two years without a bite, Ernesto knew they had to start making their way back to where they started.

Héctor had taken notice to his friends awful mood. "Cheer up, Ernesto, we gave it our best! Did you think we were going to get famous on our first try?" He said as he wrapped his arm around Ernesto's shoulder.

Of course he thought he would be famous. But, Ernesto didn't say a word. He didn't want Héctor to think he was that upset. Unfortunately, he couldn't put anything past him. They had been through everything together. He was his best friend and like a brother. He never saw Héctor without a smile, or being optimistic or cheerful. He was happy to be able to play his guitar for anyone who would listen, even if he was just playing for himself. He always wanted to bring a smile to everyone. He had always been this way.

Seeing his failed efforts to fix Ernesto's less than pleasant attitude, Héctor grabbed his guitar from his back and started to play an upbeat tune to lighten the mood.

Ernesto cracked a smile. Héctor was right, they did try. They had taken a chance. And having tried was better than never leaving Santa Cecilia at all. They had been able to open for a real musician, performed in several music competitions and venues. So, for what it was worth, they were not coming back empty handed.

Dancing to the music Héctor sang out, "Do you think anyone will remember us, it has been a while?"

Yes, it had been a while. But everyone in town knew of the two best amigos who, no doubt, had big dreams and a bright future on stage ahead of them. With a snarky grin Ernesto replied, "How could they not?! With our talent, who could forget?"

They walked down the main street of Santa Cecilia and people instantly knew who had returned. Instantly the whispers started swirling. It wouldn't take long for word to spread that Ernesto de la Cruz and Héctor Rivera had come back and no, they were not famous. The only thing that changed were they had aged some. Héctor now almost seventeen and Ernesto nearing twenty. Though they hoped the reason why they had come home wouldn't spread as fast. The amigos waved and shook the hands of those who did remember them and made small talk where they could. But where they were both anxious to get to was the plaza.

The plaza was the heart and soul of Santa Cecilia. And it was just as they left it. The music, the venders, the crowds, everything and everyone came alive as they walked through. There was a grand fountain right in the middle where several children would play on hot days, and mariachis played for all who would listen and secretly hope a few coins would be tossed their way. Venders lined up along the sides of the buildings selling their best pick of the day. One could smell the fresh fruits and vegetables several blocks away. It happened to be Sunday and church had just ended for the afternoon, so everyone was out at the plaza gathering and preparing what they needed to start off their week.

They were home. Even if Ernesto didn't want to admit it, he couldn't deny how much he missed this place. He missed the familiarity and comfort of the plaza. He most certainly couldn't let on that Héctor was right. But, this is where it all started. Since they were small and Héctor could carry his guitar without it dragging the ground, they played here. Playing for anyone who wanted to listen. Ernesto could not ignore that a small part of him was happy to be back.

They took their time walking around the plaza, letting memories from their childhood swim around their minds. "Nothing has really changed!" Hector beamed. "Say let's get to the cantina and get something to drink, kick our feet up a while."

"Wonder if old man Sergio still owns the place?" Ernesto questioned. They walked straight into the bar. It really was the gem of the plaza. Everyone went to Sergio's place. Whether it was a good day or bad, he would happily greet all who stopped by. He had always been kind to the two boys growing up. Seeing them play their music out at the fountain when they should be in school. Sometimes he even let them play in his cantina so they could try to make a little money.

Sergio was a gentle old soul of a man. Being Santa Cecilia's only bartender, he never met a stranger; older, younger, new, leaving and in between. No one would expect it any differently, he was a friend to any who needed one. Also with this position came knowledge of all Santa Cecilia. He knew everything there was to know about everyone in the small town. But, unlike the old gossips, he never spoke an unkind word to anyone or spread what he heard.

Héctor and Ernesto chose a seat with a perfect view of the fountain. The whole place was empty. That was new, they had never seen Sergio's place so scarce, it was always full of folks having a good time, singing, dancing, drinking, it was always a party. But, it was Sunday and probably no one wanted to be seen drinking right after the sermon. That would be perfect food for the gossips.

Suddenly a loud voice came from the back of the cantina. An average looking, grey peppered haired man was coming over to greet the two chamacos.

"What will it be?" Two ginger ales and waters?" laughed the old bartender. Knowing good and well they were young even though he knew they probably could use a real beverage.

"Si, waters all around!" Héctor laughed waving his hands gesturing to the empty room. It is a blistering day out there and we are exhausted from traveling in it. So as much water as you can spare, Sergio!"

The bartender's eyes grew big like he had just seen a ghost. A huge smile grew on his face and he slapped both boys on their backs.

"WAIT! Is it really you two? The wondering músicos! HAH! Back so soon?!"

Ernesto cringed, irritation building in his eyes, but Héctor stepped in quickly before he could say anything he would regret.

"Yes! You see, we were getting so popular we needed to retreat for a while. The audience couldn't handle the musical talents of Ernesto de la Cruz y Héctor Rivera!" Hector looked over at Ernesto seeing the tension ease from his face.

The man gave a hearty guttural laugh. Almost insulting.

"Well, good to have you back home! Glad to see you amigos are still alive. The plaza has been pretty quiet since you two locos left." Sergio said trying to be encouraging and boost their confidence.

Ernesto nudged at Héctor "See, I told you they would remember us." He whispered with a confident smile.

His mood perking up.

"It has been a while, yes? One and a half, two years? What brings you back?" Sergio said over his shoulder as he poured two large glasses of water.

Hector saw the tension rising again. Sergio was only asking the obvious questions. And he knew they were going to be asked why they had returned empty handed.

But that did not mean it was helping Ernesto's ego. If it were up to him, they would still be on the road trying for any gig they were offered. They made some money but it was only enough to scrape by everyday. And some days they just went without. Ernesto knew they couldn't live like this much longer before Héctor would be asking if they could return home. He left his life behind in Santa Cecilia to pursue this crazy adventure for fame with Ernesto and he knew it. He owed it to Héctor to do him this favor.

Sergio pulled up a chair and sat with them as they told of their days on the open road traveling from city to city. He admired their bravery packing up a single suitcase and facing a world outside Santa Cecilia to go after their dreams. He always thought he would hear of them making it big, not coming to sit in his bar telling of what ailed them. But he wasn't going to damper their spirits. They were still young and had plenty of time to make their dreams come true, whenever or wherever that may be.

"Well, this was just the first attempt. You have your whole future ahead of you! You never know what awaits." He said with that good papá love behind every word.

"We may have jumped the gun in the beginning, but we have experience, REAL credibility now. We have played on several stages!" Ernesto said proudly.

"Si, not just playing here in the plaza everyday," Héctor murmured as he guzzled his water.

"Real stages, in big cities," irritability hammering in Ernesto's voice.

"If you consider the sidewalk outside a music festival a real stage!" chuckled Héctor playfully punching Ernesto in the shoulder and Sergio laughing right along with him but also catching Ernesto's gaze.

Ernesto clearly was not enjoying Héctor's jokes. He had hit a nerve. To his defense, there was one night they saw their luck come to a peak. Ernesto was flirting with a stage manager who had gotten them backstage. He had seamlessly convinced the poor girl the band needed an opening number. Someone to get the crowd going! Who better than them, of course!

As the starry eyed girl started to speak, the two of them rushed the stage before anyone could stop them. Héctor immediately started playing, he grabbed the audiences attention and Ernesto wasn't letting go. The feeling of being on such a large stage, bigger than either one had dared to be on, having the lights shining down and the adrenaline pumping through their veins was enough to make neither of them ever want to stop playing.

It was an incredible short lived feeling as no sooner had they started playing they were trampled by security and escorted away from the stage.

With glaring eyes from Ernesto, Héctor decided to drink his glass of water, sit back and listen to the tales keeping his comments to himself.

Let him talk, this was his dream for as long as Héctor knew him. All he ever talked about was performing. Ernesto longed for the cheers, the screaming fans, the fame, the attention.

Héctor just tagged along the coattails of his amigo's dream, being pulled wherever Ernesto wanted to go writing the songs. Yes, fame would be nice, fans would be wonderful, but it wasn't his dream. Music was in his bones, and he thrived when he played his guitar. But he was happy writing songs and performing in his home town. That is why it took some hard convincing from Ernesto to get him to leave. Something was telling him to stay, but how could he deny his best friend. As much as Ernesto wanted to get away, Hector was just as eager to return.

"You ok there, muchacho?"

"He is fine, he always gets lost in thought like this" said Ernesto. "We are both exhausted, honestly."

"Its just been a long few days of trav-"

Héctor had turned to gesture toward the window, when something caught the corner of his eye.

Not a face, but singing. As he hurried to the window tripping over a bar stool in the process, he saw a young woman walking by wearing a deep purple shawl draped over her head and just over her shoulders singing the last few notes to the song playing in the plaza. She wasn't the usual soprano he heard in cantinas or when they played whatever gig Ernesto had gotten them. She was a rich alto. Absolutely endearing voice. And his eyes lit up.

"Who is THAT?!" He said as he gathered his composure trying to cover up his sudden curiosity.

Ernesto had heard her too, but ignored the distraction. He wanted to finish his story of the time they were cheated out of the win at a music competition he just knew was their big break.

Sergio just smiled as he watched Héctor scrambling around. He realized the time and got up from the table. "Well muchachos, thanks for entertaining me this afternoon. It always does an old soul like mine some good." He huffed as he stood. "It is past closing time."

"Past closing time? It is still early." Ernesto was confused as to why the only cantina in town would close when there was clearly a huge crowd of people standing right outside.

"I don't sell alcohol on Sunday, hence why you got water." The man said with a wink.

"Wait wait wait!" Héctor knew he was being ignored tripped again walking toward Sergio. "Who was that señorita?!"

Sergio stared at the clumsy young man and sternly said, "I'm closed."

"You must know her?! You know everyone," Héctor said as his curiosity, tweaked with a bit of confusion, steadily climbed as he stumbled back over the chair toward Sergio.

Why could he not get an honest answer?

"I said closed…" Sergio was trying to hide his smirk as he grabbed the glasses and flipped his chair on to the table top.

Héctor knew he wasn't going to get his answer. He wanted to know more, but didn't want to get on the bad side of the friendliest person in town. He relented and reached for his guitar and swung it on his back.

Ernesto just rolled his eyes, Héctor could be so dramatic.

As the two of them started to pay, the old man waved his hand, "on the house. You save where you can." Then Sergio asked, "Wait, where are you staying tonight?"

Neither Héctor nor Ernesto had thought that far…where were they staying?

Seeing they had no clue, Sergio dug into his pocket and tossed Héctor a set of keys.

"Here, these are the keys to Señor Jose's place, you know him? The charro? You remember where his hacienda is, right?"

They vaguely remembered, but had a good idea of where he lived. Even though they had been on the road, surely they could navigate their hometown.

"He's left home for a while, and I am watching his place until he comes back. You are welcome to stay there as long as you don't make a mess. And that will help me out by keeping me from walking over there each day."

Sergio hadn't changed at all. He really did do what he could for people.

"Gracias, señor." They said in unison.

Héctor adjusted his guitar again and Ernesto grabbed their suitcase and headed out the door.

As he waved to them as they left, Sergio retreated past the bar to the back of his cantina. Lost in thought, he just shook his head and smiled to himself, thinking of how intrigued Héctor had gotten seeing the young girl, "Who knows, my boy, your dream maybe in Santa Cecilia after all."

"Héctor, Señor Jose's hacienda is THIS way!" Ernesto huffed. "Where are you going?"

Héctor was in his own world. Completely oblivious to anything Ernesto was trying to tell him.

"Did you not hear her, amigo?!"

"Hear what? The noise? The yelling? The music from the plaza?" Ernesto asked as he threw his hands up in frustration.

Héctor looking completely smug. "No no no! The singing! From that girl!"

Ernesto rolled his tired eyes. "It was just a few notes, how did you even pick it out from the chaos? Besides, I was paying no attention! I was trying to tell all my best stories to Sergio! I'm sure he was happy to hear stories outside the boring ones of Santa Cecilia for a change!"

Héctor was not going to be ignored. Any time a girl walked past, Ernesto was guaranteed to take a quick glance.

"I know you saw her, amigo. Did you happen to see what she looked like? I, eh, sort of tripped and didn't see her before she left…" the look of embarrassment written all over his face.

Ernesto stopped and turned to his friend and sighed.

"Like I said, I was deep into telling my story. Even Sergio didn't pay you any attention."

Héctor just rolled his eyes and adjusted his guitar strap more securely on his shoulder. "I was just curious is all."

"What you should be thinking about is finding this house, not some mystery singer. Besides, like you said, you don't even know what she looks like, she could be anyone. And I am sure there are plenty of girls in this town who can carry a decent tune."

They continued walking, Ernesto picking up his pace thinking he finally knew where they were going.

"Wrong, I noticed her long braid going down her back and she was wearing a purple shawl and a white dress and-"

"Si, I am sure that is not the only thing you noticed seeing her walk off." Ernesto tried to say without laughing. Getting a rise out of Héctor was too easy.

Héctor turned a dark scarlet red, but even he had to admit Ernesto was right and he started to shove him forward.

"What can I say, we have been on the road a while!" A good laugh is what they both needed.

Ernesto knew he was being too harsh, he could not blame his friend. They were still men. He had his share of girls falling over him but Héctor always stood back playing his guitar. Compared to him, Ernesto considered himself the catch, but never had any intentions of settling down. His dream was his muse. The ladies were just a fun distraction.

"Look, let's just find this place and I promise we will keep an eye out for your mystery girl, huh? Deal?"

"Deal."

What harm could this do, anyway? Ernesto thought. Entertain Héctors' plan to find this girl, get Héctor back to writing music, Héctor forgets all about her.

"Finally!" Ernesto said looking up at the small but quant hacienda. It was a lot further than they thought, but at least they made it at a decent hour. They got in and settled for the night. Thankfully this place had two beds.

"Here is the plan, tomorrow we head back to the plaza, see where we can advertise, see who we nee-"

"Can we not take a couple days to rest?" whined Héctor desperate for sleep and wondering where Ernesto got this sudden burst of energy.

"What?"

"You know, rest? Something we haven't done in two years?" Héctor said with a sarcastic tone. "Plus we need to make our rounds and let everyone know we are back."

"People saw us today, and I am sure Sergio will let it slip we are back."

Héctor agreed. He was just so happy to be home. Getting comfortable in bed, he cut his eyes towards Ernesto.

"Speaking of that old man, I bet he did know who that girl was." He said quietly.

Ernesto flopping down on the bed, "Aye aye aye, amigo! Didn't I say we could ask around? Go to bed Héctor, you're getting delirious."

Héctor just smiled. He turned toward the window looking at just how beautiful a night it was and whispered to himself as slumber took over his body, "She isn't just any girl, I have heard that voice before."