Miguel can't remember much after his death, or even laying there in the middle of the street, dying. Slowly losing oxygen, eyes getting heavy, sight going blurry, and feeling like he was going to pass out; those were all the feelings he remembers feeling before he died. When he closed his eyes and took that last breath, he instantly woke up in a place that looked like a boarding gate at an airport. It took him a minute to regain his eyesight.
Miguel touched his head and rubbed it slowly in circles, wincing in pain. He groaned with such a massive headache. Looking around the room, he saw big flat screen TV's above a long length of lines. It looked somewhat similar to the security area at the bridge crossing to and from the Living World.
He finally rose to his feet, and saw skeletons appearing in the room like a puff of smoke. A little after dust slowly faded away. Miguel figures that this is the first place where people go in the Land of the Dead after death, to check in and fill out forms… all that paperwork. He walks over to a line ahead of him and waited for his turn after one by one go through the gate.
When he reaches the front, he turns to the male skeleton sitting behind the desk, looking at the small computer system on the table.
"H-hi," Miguel chokes out with tears forming in his eyes. He tried as hard as he could not to burst out crying in public. The last thing he wanted to do is embarrass himself.
The skeleton turns to the boy and gasps silently. They don't have many children passing through to the Land of the Dead. This was one of very few he had to register as a citizen in this world.
"Hey kid, sorry you had to wait, the system jammed up temporarily," the skeleton explained as softly and casual as he could in front of the child. Miguel nodded, using his hand to wipe away his dry tears off his cheeks. "Since you are a child, we'll have to take you to another room and proceed there. Alright?"
Miguel nodded again as the skeleton got up from his chair and led him down the hall into a private room. The room had a desk, a computer and two chairs with a bunch of colored papers in neat piles. The skeleton got behind the desk and logged on. Miguel made his way to the other chair and sat down; his mouth quivering. He didn't want to talk or do anything at all. All he wanted to do is cry.
"Ok… so, we'll just go through the death application," the skeleton says before facing the boy. "It's pretty straight forward with lots of basic questions. Should only take a few minutes."
Miguel nodded, fidgeting with his fingers and took a deep breath. He really didn't want to do this. He was barely able to form any words or choke out a single sound. It was very hard to keep a straight face and fight back his tears, but he knew he had to be brave and get it over with.
"Ok, full name?" The Skeleton asked as he began typing on the computer in front of him.
"M-Miguel Rivera," he responded in a raspy voice as a tear trickled down his cheek.
The skeleton eyes bugged out of his head and gasped. His jaw fell off his face and onto the table. It's the kid from a year ago, the one who exposed Ernesto De La Cruz to the world of who he really was. The kid who changed everything in this world.
"The living boy?!" The Skeleton replied, with such shock and surprise that he could faint at any moment. He nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"B-b-but.." he started but shook his head knowing the boy is probably in a very emotional state at the moment. He didn't need him going into a state of shock. The skeleton took a breath and relaxed a bit, pulling himself together. "You know what, nevermind. Let's just keep going." He looked back at the computer to proceed. "Age?"
"Thirteen."
The skeleton closed his eyes temporarily, saddened. That is too young an age to die at. The kid should've lived a much longer, healthy life. His life cut off short like this? It's absolutely unbelievable and sickening in the stomach. The poor boy, now he understood why he could barely talk. The kid must be so shaken up over this death experience.
"Cause of death?" the skeleton asked next, collecting himself again.
"H-hit by a car," Miguel spoke in a sad tone. The whole experience of getting hit by the car replayed in his head. It was just awful. One second he was moving his baby sister out of the street and the next thing he knew, the car hit him and the breath was knocked out as he struggled to breathe, sliding down the road. His stomach was in so much pain, gasping for air, crying intensely to himself, unable to move.
Miguel snapped back to reality as he saw that the skeleton was trying to get his attention for quite some time, now. How long was he daydreaming for? It didn't seem that long to him, but it must've been, seeing the look on his face.
"I'm sorry, I was thinking of something else," Miguel apologized, through his light tears. He was a little embarrassed for having to daydream in the middle of the registration process. But, it was hard not to think about the car accident that caused his death. "W-What was the question?"
The skeleton sighed knowing that this was obviously too difficult for the boy to continue.
"Look kid, why don't we just skip this for now, and we'll just call your familia?" the skeleton proposed. "You can have a seat on the couch. I'll get Rachèllè to get you somethin' to read and some water."
Miguel attempted to refuse by shaking his head slightly and sniffed back his tears. He wanted to continue with this application and other paperwork he needed to fill out. He didn't want to back out.
"You've been through enough, kid," The skeleton tried to reason with Miguel in a way that he'll be able to understand. "Don't push yourself more than you have to. It's ok if you're not ready, amigo."
Miguel finally gave up and started quietly sobbing, uncontrollably. He clutched his arms with hands, as if he was giving himself a hug. That was just the gentle words that he needed to break down his guard. Now since he started sobbing, he doesn't know if he can stop.
The skeleton called his secretary over and she helped Miguel to the couch. She sat him down and put her arm around his shoulders.
"It's alright, amor," Rachèllè says softly to the young boy who started sobbing harder as he pulled up his legs onto the couch and hugged them against his chest with his arms wrapped around. She looked up at her boss who sighed in empathy for the boy. "You better contact his familia."
"Sí."
After an hour of uncontrollable cries, into the pillow, stretched out on the couch, Miguel managed to calm down a bit. He was just resting on the couch, afraid to go to sleep and have nightmares of his death experience along with other memories. He regained a breathing pattern that helped him to settle down. Tear stains were on his cheeks and chin, and eyes were extremely red. He clutched onto the cushion underneath his head and stared into thin air. He didn't know what to think anymore.
Rachèllè walked in from the next room and saw that the kid finally managed to relax and just rest. He needed that more than anything, right now. She turned to her boss and huffed.
"Did you call his familia?" she asked almost in whisper, not wanting to disturb the peaceful boy on the couch.
The boss nodded, "Sí. They should be here any minuto."
When Rachèllè was about to respond, a knock on the door occurred. A woman skeleton walked in with a clipboard under her arm.
"The Rivera familia is here for the boy," she informed the two skeletons. The boss nodded and stood up from the chair behind the desk.
"Gracias, send them in," he replied to the woman skeleton who smiled small and opened the door for the family. Hèctor walked in slowly along with his wife, Imèlda. They noticed their grandson stretched out in the couch, resting. They could instantly tell that he's been crying hard due to the tear stained face and red eyes. He was slightly shaking, trying to take steady breaths.
Miguel didn't even take notice that his deceased family is in the room. He heard some faint noises, but didn't care in the least. His eyes kept forward, feeling like he was going to throw up and be sick. He knew he wasn't sick, but tell that to his stomach which has been upset since he arrived.
Hèctor couldn't even begin to describe the feeling he felt when he saw his grandson as a skeleton. He was face painted last year, and almost turned into one, but this was a completely different story. Miguel is dead, and he could barely even acknowledge that. He felt a shooting pain in his chest when he saw how devastated Miguel looked. The poor boy probably doesn't even know how to process death. This sight broke his heart into a million little pieces. He should not be here this soon. Not now, not when he had so much to live for and a whole life ahead of him. He was just navigating his teen years, barely one to begin with. Miguel is just a child, who was taken way too soon.
"Hola, Mr and Mrs Rivera," The boss skeleton quietly says shaking both their hands, greeting them. "We've taken care of him since he arrived. He was in no condition to do the registration forms. So one of you will have to do it on his behalf."
Hèctor nodded and turned to his wife who was trying not to cry, and put on a stubborn and brave act. Only he could see past that act.
"Mi amor, you stay with him, I'll do the rest of the registration," Hèctor says as he rested a hand on her shoulder. She weakly smiled and nodded. He planted a kiss to her forehead as they parted ways. Hèctor sat down with the boss as Imèlda went to comfort her grandson.
She sat down beside Miguel and placed a hand in his bony rib cage. Touching her grandson's bones made a shiver run down her spine. This was very hard for her to process as well. Her own grandson, died. A tear trickled down her cheek as she rubbed his side in small circles.
"Mijo, amor, it's Mamà Imelda," she spoke softly to her grandson who twitched, in acknowledgement that she was there. "Papà Hèctor is here too."
Miguel weakly turned his head to face his grandmother. Her hand travelled to his stomach has he moved over onto his back. He felt his eyes water instantly and started crying as he launched himself to her. He buried his face into her chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her. They were the only family he had left and it broke his heart.
"Oh Mamà Imelda," he choked out as he squeezed his eyes shut and sobbed harder and more intensely. He started wailing and began to scream silently as he felt her tighten her grip around him. She planted a kiss on his head, and felt her own eyes water.
"It's going to be alright, amor," She spoke to her grandson and she rubbed small circles behind is back, letting him release his cries.
When Hèctor finished the registration process, he turned around to find his grandson crying heavily into his wife's chest. He let out a tear of his own grief for him. He walked over and sat down on the other side of Miguel on the couch. He put a hand on his upper back and sighed.
"We better get him home," Hèctor said to his wife who nodded in agreement. He turned and gave a small smile to the two skeletons. "Gracias, we appreciate everything you did."
"No worries, Hèctor," the boss replied.
He slowly pulled Miguel away from Imelda, and lifted him into his arms as he stood up. Miguel wrapped his arms around his grandfather's neck and cried into the crook of his shoulder, as if he was going to be ripped away from them.. Fear of losing his deceased family as well, scared him so much that he screamed out in tears, clinging to Hèctor.
"You're safe, mijo," Hèctor whispered in a soothing voice, in Miguel's ear as he still cried into his shoulder. "I got you."
They walked out of the building, with Hèctor still holding onto his grandson. As they walked home, the cries became less intense and fading away. He and Imelda shared glances as they approached their neighborhood. The walk took about a half hour from the new arrivals building.
The way Miguel clung to Hector and cried hurt him emotionally on so many levels. He turned to his wife with light tears glassing over his eyes. Imelda sighed and shared the same feelings as him. She reached over and rubbed his shoulder gently, knowing how hard her husband must be taking this news.
Walking up the steps to the front door of their house, caused much distress of how the rest of the family is going to take the news when they see Miguel. They are both standing at the front door, trying to collect themselves as much as possible. Taking last few deep breaths of composure, Imelda opened the front door, letting Hector walk in first since he was carrying their grandson.
"We're back," Imelda says breaking the silence as she closed the door behind her, trying not to startle Miguel in any way.
The family immediately ran in the front room in all different directions, full of concern. Some gasped and others had tears already in their eyes. It was just so heartbreaking to see Miguel crying into Hector's shoulder quietly. They just couldn't believe their eyes.
"W-what happened… I mean, how did--?" Julio asked, but he couldn't finish his sentence without choking up with sadness. Coco sighed and placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.
"Hit by a car," Hector explained, as Miguel's cries became more silent and turned into little sobs. He didn't want to talk to anyone in his deceased family, everything was just too much for him to handle. "He saved his sister's life."
The family went silent and shared glances with each other. It was so brave and an act of courage to take his life in order to spare another's. No words were spoken, because their expressions said it all. Everyone knew.
"You better get him up in the spare room," Imelda says turning to her husband. "He should rest. That's all he really needs right now."
Hector nodded and headed up the stairs to the spare room on the second floor of the Rivera house. He's relieved that Miguel's cries has simmered down and started to relax a bit. He rubbed his grandson's back with one hand, while holding him with the other arm. Opening the door with a hand, he walked in and laid Miguel down on the bed. He covered his grandson with the blankets and fluffed the pillow a little bit.
"H-Hector?" Miguel whispered through his light tears, looking up at his grandfather.
"Yes, Chamaco?" Hector replied, with a small smile, sitting down next to him on the edge of the bed.
"I.. I'm scared… to sleep…" Tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Well, there's nothing to be afraid of," Hector says in a soothing tone. "You're safe, and with a familia that loves you very much."
"B-but w-what about… Estreno De La Cruz…?" Miguel asked, as more tears streamed down his cheeks, his body shaking slightly. Hector sighed and took his grandson's hand in his. "
"Don't worry about him, mijo," Hèctor replied. "He's now the most hated skeleton in the Land of the Dead. He won't have much longer to go."
Miguel relaxed a little, relieved to hear that. He squeezed his grip on his grandfather's hand.
"But what if he tries to hurt me?"
The thought of Estreno coming after his grandson made his blood boil with emotion and rage. He refused to let Miguel see how he was feeling. He forced a smile, and rubbed Miguel's hand with his thumb. He decided to lighten the mood and put in some humor to make his grandson feel better.
"If he even comes near you, your Mamà Imelda will beat him with a shoe."
Miguel had to chuckle at that, because it was true. She had an anger and witty side to her, and she would beat anyone tries to hurt her family. She's a strong and powerful woman with a lot of personality. Miguel likes that about his Grandma. Her defensive spirit provides the family's protection when she can. She can pick a fight and probably win in a second. Miguel likes having Imelda as his grandma.
"There's that smile," Hector says as Miguel smiles, but it was getting harder to maintain it. "I know it's hard right now, but things will get better. I can promise you that."
Miguel's smile faded and nodded, as Hector stood up from the bed. He leaned over and brushed his grandson's bangs away from his forehead. Hector placed gentle kiss on his skeleton head, and started making his way to the front door. Once he got there and opened the door, flicking off the bedroom light.
"Hector?"
"Yes?" Hector responded, turning around, standing in the door frame, with a hand on the knob.
"You know… it's not so bad… to die… when I have you and the family on the other side."
Hector's heart warmed and melted with sadness and joy at his grandson's confession. He blushed a faint amount that Miguel couldn't notice. He smiled at Miguel. Now he knew for sure that his grandson will eventually be ok and move on from this tragic event.
"Gracias… Miguel."
Miguel forced a small smile back, as he closed the door so he can try and get some rest tonight, and prepare for his new life in the Land Of The Dead.