Miguel slowly opens his eyes and waits for a moment for his vision to clear. He wipes his eye lids with the palms of his hands. He felt a little better having slept through most of the night, with one or two minor nightmares. This was the most he had slept since he died. He just sighed and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. All of this felt like a dream, that he could just close his eyes and wake up in his own bed in the Land of the Living.
Unfortunately, this was true. He died and needed to slowly face the reality, not the past. Miguel stretched and climbed out of the spare bed. He opened up the curtains on the right hand side of the bedroom, and looked out at the beautifully colored scenery. Skeletons were everywhere, walking, chatting, going into buildings, etc. Even spirit animals were a main attraction in this world.
Miguel smiled a little bit, remembering how much fun it was to be in this world and all it's amazing beauty and sights. He turned around and walked out of the room, down the hallway, downstairs. He heard faint chatting coming from a room that looked like the kitchen. He decided not to go in there right away, and explore his new home. Miguel figures since he is staying here, he might as well get used to the place.
Back in the kitchen, Hèctor, and his wife, Imèlda, Coco and her husband, Julio, were standing and talking to one another. Rosita is in the cooking space, making some breakfast for the family, hoping this may cheer Miguel up a little.
"Ok, so we're all agreed," Hèctor says, wrapping up the long conversation about Miguel's state. "No mentioning his death, and treat him like any normal kid. Treat everything as if it was a normal day."
"We don't want to upset the poor child," Coco added in sadly as Hèctor gave her a nod and a small smile.
"Sí, he's gone through enough," Imèlda says as they heard a noise from the entrance of the kitchen. The family turned their heads and saw a clearly emotional Miguel standing in the door frame. There was a moment of silence between all of them. Their minds were wandering and going to a blank seeing him as a skeleton, again.
"I-I took a look around… I hope that's ok," Miguel says breaking the silence, in a depressed tone, playing with his fingers.
Hèctor's face melts for the child, "Oh sí, Chamaco, this is your home."
He walks forward and places a hand on Miguel's shoulder, squeezing gently. Miguel looks up and smiles small, as a tear trickles down his cheek. He wipes it with the back of his hand and sniffles a little.
"Would you like some breakfast, Miguel?" Rosita asked softly, putting together plates of food on the counter.
Miguel thought about it, and really didn't feel all that hungry. He didn't want to disappoint Rosita if he refused, like what happens if he did that to his Grandma. He also didn't want to make his family worried for him. That's the last thing he needed, is to be a burden. So, he forced a small smile and nodded.
"Sí, Mamà Rosíta," Miguel replies, trying to sound cheerful and calm in front of his family. He walked over to the dining table in the kitchen, across from the counter. Pulling out a chair, he slowly sits down and moves the chair in. He takes a deep breath, looking at the utensils and the placemat. Miguel wasn't sure if he would eat, he hasn't tried since he came to the Land of the Dead. What will it feel like? Will he be sick? Resting a hand on his skeleton ribcage, he begins to worry a little bit.
The family walks over to Miguel and takes their places around the dining room table. Hèctor and Imèlda sat on either side of their grandchild, and Coco was across from him, next to her husband. Rosíta came in setting down the plates of breakfast for the family.
Miguel looks at his plate filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, and buttered toast. It all looks good and he knows he'll enjoy the food, but it just worries him about eating for the first time with a skeleton body.
Hèctor turns and sensed his grandchild's worries and sighed.
"Mijo, what's wrong?" he softly asked Miguel who huffs, letting a bunch of thoughts enter his mind.
"It's just that… when I--" Miguel tries to say, through his nervousness, his hand slightly shaking as he picked up his fork and breaks off a piece of the scrambled eggs. He couldn't finish his sentence without his throat causing a huge lump to prevent him from speaking.
Hèctor sighs and knew exactly what was bothering Miguel. It didn't take a mind genius to figure it out. He looks up at Imèlda and sighs, then to Coco and the rest of the family.
"You don't have to worry, sweetie," Coco says, with a small smile to her grandson. "Eatin' is just the same here."
"The food dissolves and turns invisible," Imèlda adds on, rubbing the small of Miguel's back, who still feels tense. She is trying to explain this to Miguel in a simple way that he'll understand, and take in without feeling overwhelmed. "Your digestive system won't change, and that includes usin' the washroom."
"You're goin' to be ok, chamaco," Hèctor finishes, in a soothing tone. "We won't let anythin' happen to you. I promesa."
Miguel nods slowly and raises his fork with scrambled eggs towards his mouth. He was scared, and still feeling nervous about this new experience. He slightly opened his mouth and put the eggs inside, chewing slowly. The eggs did taste good, with a little salt seasoning. He swallowed, closing his eyes, scared of what was going to happen. But to his surprise, it felt exactly the same as eating in the Living World.
Miguel opened his eyes and looked around to see that his family was waiting for him to give a signal that he was ok. He smiled small, and let out a soft chuckle. It wasn't forced, it was a true chuckle of how silly he felt of being nervous to eat again.
"Do we have any more?" Was the first words out of Miguel's mouth as he dove in for more of his breakfast. The family all felt a sense of relief that Miguel was alright after having his first bite of his meal. They also felt happy to see that Miguel was showing a positive attitude. Seeing that smile and childhood personality again touched their hearts.
The family chuckled and smiled at one another, as they were watching Miguel eat.
Miguel didn't realize how hungry he really was. He didn't feel hungry and food was the last thing on his mind since he died. But he felt this strong urge of hunger washing over him like the wind breezing through a field.
As they all began eating, Hèctor looked at his grandson and smiled a bit.
"Hey Chamaco, slow down, you'll choke if you're not careful," Hèctor chuckled in between his words. Miguel took one last bite and put his fork on his plate. Facing his grandfather, he blushed a little embarrassed for eating so fast. He didn't realize he was gobbling down his food that quickly.
"Sorry, Papà Hèctor," Miguel apologized giving a cute puppy dog look when a child feels bad for doing something wrong. Hèctor smiled seeing how cute the kid looked.
"No, it's alright," Hector says with a smile as Miguel sighs in relief that he wasn't in trouble. "This is your first meal since you…" He was going to say died, but caught himself before he had a chance to say the word, so he quickly rephrased himself. "Came here."
Miguel's face faded from a hint of joy to sadness since Hèctor mentioned his passing. He frowned and looked down to his lap and fidgeted with his fingers.
Hèctor saw Miguel's immediate change in facial response, and felt guilty for even bringing up his grandson's death. He and their family just agreed not to say a word about Miguel's death, and he just did. Seeing that he is the reasin for his grandson to go back into depression, made him feel awful. Hèctor had to find some way to fix this mistake he just made.
"Hey, mijo, I was thinkin'... maybe we can go an' buy some pintar… an' turn the guest room into yours," Hèctor suggested as Miguel's head shot up and eyes sparkled with a little excitement. He smiled small and lips tightened to hold in any energy that was about to burst. "Give us some time to catch up. If you're up to it."
"I-I'd love to, Papà Hector," Miguel says between joyus sobs as he leaped off his chair into his grandfather's arms. He buried his face into his chest, and squeezed his arms around him securely. He really did miss his grandfather a lot in the past year. Since he doesn't exactly have a father anymore… Hèctor is the closest relative to a father figure he's got. This made him feel better, and a distraction of thinking about his own grief for his parents.
He whispered as tears rolled down his cheeks, "Gracias… for everything."
Hèctor felt his own eyes glass over with tears of joy and sadness, feeling Miguel's loss of his contact with his living family. But joy was mixed in, feeling grateful that Miguel took him up on his offer, wanting to bond more with his grandson. He pulled in his skeleton grandson in further and rubbed his back.
He looked up at the family who's hearts melted at Miguel's touching gesture towards him. They really did have a special bond. Imèlda smiled tearfully and placed her hand on top of her husband's, stroking gently.
"De nada, Miguel," Hèctor replies in a soft tone, planting a kiss on Miguel's head as he relaxed his arms.
Hèctor knows that this will be an emotional road for Miguel, and there will always be ups and downs. But,t in the end, he'll be ok. Everything will be ok for them and their family, eventually.
Next chapter, Miguel and Hector bond and takes the time to catch up and resume their close relationship.