Hidden Masks Chapter 1
Imelda stared after her grandson in shock and sadness, watching as he ran off towards de la Cruz's grand mansion. She never counted on having another musician in the family, nor had she counted on Miguel becoming so upset over the music ban. Pick sides? That was the last thing she wanted him to do!
Blinking back tears, Imelda turned around and headed out of the alley. She began humming La Llorona but caught herself. Why did families have to be so complicated? Why couldn't Miguel see her point of view in this? She didn't want him to end up like…well like that musician. She didn't want Miguel to be so unhappy either. What a mess.
When he left decades ago, Imelda had sworn to never let the music get in the way again. She thought that she had purged all music from the family. That plan didn't exactly work. Ay, welcome to the 21st century and all technology.
Imelda was so deep in thought that she didn't notice someone lurking in the shadows. Turning around, Imelda saw a shadow duck and run out of the alleyway. Suspicious, Imelda got ready to take off her boot in case of a fight, but in this case Pepita had her covered.
"Quién está allí?" Imelda asked. "Who's there?"
When no one answered, Imelda slipped her boot off and turned the corner. Nothing. Hmmm. That was odd. Whoever was there must have left without a trace. Even getting past Pepita. And also heard her singing. Which hadn't been for nearly eighty years. Not being seen was nearly impossible since Pepita noticed everything. And everyone. I must be going out of my mind, Imelda thought.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Imelda slid her boot back on, heading back down the stairs. Once she arrived at the entrance to the alley, Pepita welcomed her with an encouraging nuzzle. Out of all the family members in the Rivera house, Pepita was Imelda's confidante and safeguard and the only one that Imelda felt comfortable showing her feelings around except maybe her brothers.
When Imelda was feeling upset or angry, Pepita was always there to comfort her. Allowing her a safe shelter to allow her to break down away from the eyes of her family. When Imelda first arrived in the Land of the Dead decades ago, Pepita was the first thing that greeted her. Whenever he attempted to contact Imelda or tried to see her, Pepita would scare him away with the same level of ferocity as Imelda's temper.
"Ay, Pepita," said Imelda as she climbed onto Pepita's back. "He took off again. I wish he could try and understand. He's going to get himself killed."
Pepita purred in agreement, taking off to the skies, heading for the small plaza. Imelda looked down, scanning the skies and the streets for any sign of the wayward 12-year old. Spotting the plaza where the other dead Riveras waited, Pepita landed with a soft thud.
"How did it go, hermana?' asked Felipe.
"Did you convince him to come back to his family?" added Oscar.
"Is he ok?" asked Rosita.
"Where is he?" asked Julio. "Did he make it back to the Land of the Living?"
Imelda shook her head, furious with herself for letting her grandson ruin his life. "Sin suerte en absolute," she responded angrily, causing the other Riveras to step back. While they all wanted to find Miguel, the others agreed that getting on Imelda's bad side was not a good idea.
But that didn't stop Victoria, who had inched her way forward. Out of all the Riveras, Victoria had inherited her grandmother's courage and determination to get to the point. Elena, on the other hand, had inherited Imelda's temper and resourcefulness.
"Abuelita, qué pasa con ese extraño buscando xolo perro que estaba con él?" she said. "That xolo always follows him around, looking for scraps or something."
Despite the fact that Victoria had only seen Dante for a few minutes, she remembered that Elena always complained about the local stray dogs, especially after a stray got caught marking his territory in the workshop and when one of the strays ruined a pair of shoes for a customer. After that, Elena chased all stray dogs from the Rivera home and any dog that dared show up faced la chancla.
"Or looking for someone else as his meal ticket," said Oscar, cowering when Imelda shot a glare in his direction.
"I am not going around the Land of the Dead looking for a xolo, hermano! Our boy's life is at stake!" Imelda snapped.
"Sí Imelda, but Dante-"
"Ay, you're worse than Miguel! Never name a street dog!"
"But we…" said Oscar
"Didn't name it, Imelda!" finished Felipe.
"I don't care if you named it or not! It's a street dog! Why Miguel named it is beyond me! I'm surprised Elena even let him name it!"
"Street dog or not, Dante is the only way that we can find Miguel, Abuelita," Victoria said.
Sighing, Imelda pinched her eyes with her fingers.
"Oh, esta bien. I'll track down Dante. Everyone else stay put until I come back with Miguel." Imelda said as she climbed onto Pepita's back, preparing to take off.
As Pepita was about to take off, a bark caught everyone's attention. Sure enough, it was—
"Dante? Eres tú Dante?" Julio asked. Barking affirmatively, Dante ran forward and tugged on Imelda's dress with fervor.
"¡Hey deja de hacer eso! Sueltame!" she cried as she attempted to get her dress out of Dante's mouth. But Dante wouldn't give up, tugging on her dress with everything he had until Victoria and Rosita pulled him back.
"Dante, do you know where Miguel is?" asked Victoria. Again, another affirmative yip.
"Can you take us to him?" asked Julio. Yip.
"Show me." Imelda spoke up. Dante climbed up onto Pepita, causing a slight growl from the large alebrije. "Pepita, está bien. He's going to help us find Miguel."
Pepita lowered one of her wings, allowing Imelda to climb up on to her back. Dante climbed up to take the front row as the giant alebrije took off, leaving the other Riveras behind.