okay, i just wanna clarify a few things:

1. ernesto's still 46 like he is in canon; born in 1896, died in 1942.

2. victoria is 43; born in 1939, died in 1982.

3. everyone else are their canon ages, except since hector didn't die on the way home, imelda and him were able to work on the shop together which took a lot of stress of imelda's shoulders; thus, they were able to die naturally at age 80 just months apart in 1980.

with that out of the way, enjoy!

The sun rose over the horizon – shining brightly, casting its rays of light upon the buildings below. A chilly wind blew through some open windows, past drawn curtains as a new day began.

But in Victoria's eyes, it was merely another day of the provincial afterlife she led.

Life had always been simple for her – she had grown up in Santa Cecilia, the granddaughter of Héctor Rivera and Imelda Rivera, who had ran the family shoe shop after Héctor had returned home in late 1921 from what he called a "short, musical trip", which made him realize that family was more important than music and thus the shop was made to financially support the family. It not only kept them well-fed, but it also started a cycle in shoemaking. When Victoria was old enough to ride a bike, she was taught how to make shoes and thus spent her time in the shoe shop, crafting sandals while her younger sister, Elena, crafted huaraches. When she wasn't crafting shoes, she would head out into town – going to the market on occasions, to buy food and supplies, and even stopping at the book store to purchase some books to read for herself; just the basics.

Her life wasn't really eventful aside from the day of Elena and Franco's wedding, where she had been a bridesmaid along with their aunt, Rosita – but other than that, she had lived a plain life; and sure, she died young at age forty-three due to a lung disease, but in the end, she merely woke up in the Land of the Dead afterwards and was collected by her grandparents, who had died only two years prior to her demise.

Life in the Land of the Dead was the same as life in Santa Cecilia – everyone had their own routine and lived out their own plain, provincial lives in the plain city. The only "new" thing that ever happened was when Día de los Muertos would arrive, and people would cross over the bridge to visit their living relatives – but even then, it was only on one day. Otherwise, it was just the same thing every day.

And it was no different in Victoria's case. As the sun's light shone through the window of her room, she stretched her arms before getting up from her bed to do the usual morning practice – brush and tie her hair into a bun, along with putting on her usual blue and yellow dress and her huaraches, which had been crafted by her sister for her.

Once she was done getting ready, she headed downstairs, to the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, her family was seated down at the table, all chatting it up with one another.

Héctor spotted his granddaughter, as she stepped inside. "Buenos días, Victoria!" he greeted her with a smile on his face, and beckoned for her to join the rest of the family at the table. "Come, sit!"

"Buenos días, Abuelito," Victoria responded, smiling a little as sat down next to her twin great-uncles, Óscar and Felipe.

"How did you sleep last night, mija?" her father, Julio, asked. He sat next to his younger sister, Rosita, across from his daughter and the twins.

"I slept fine," she answered simply, just as Imelda had passed by, placing a plate of Huevos Rancheros in front of her. She looked up at her grandmother and mumbled a quick "gracias" before she grabbed a fork and knife, and began to eat her breakfast.

"De nada, mija," Imelda replied, as she sat down next to her husband. As she watched her granddaughter eat, she added, "And when you head out into town, could you help your tíos with some of the shoe delivery?"

Victoria gulped down some of her food, nodding. "Sí, I will."

A part of her couldn't help but feel a little thankful that her great-uncles would be accompanying her. Maybe then, that suitor of hers wouldn't try wooing her as he usually did.

Maybe, for once, he'd actually leave her alone and stop bothering her – because while she yearned for a bit change in her life, she didn't want that change to be her ending up as some man's dainty little wife. She wanted so much more than that.

But what she wanted was something that was hard to describe or explain to anyone, so she kept quiet about her desires – and in the end, it wasn't like she could leave her family and the shoe shop behind just like that. She loved them too much.

So for now, she would keep herself content with the love she received from them, along with indulging herself in reading fantastic tales from books purchased in the market.

The streets were bustling, busy as ever – especially when it came to the shops. Victoria looked around as she walked alongside her uncles, carrying two shoe boxes with her. Some people flocked over to the stores, while others conversed with one another – some would even perform their little acts and play music on the streets. They were all enjoying themselves, making what they thought was the most out of their provincial little afterlives.

She followed her uncles as they stepped into a dress shop. There, the dressmaker – known by most as Ceci – was finishing up a frilly light pink dress with a few flowers on it. As Ceci saw the three out of the corner of her eye, she turned to them. "Ah, finally! I was wondering if the order for the bridesmaid's shoes would come on time or not."

"Buenos días, Ceci!" Óscar greeted the dressmaker.

"Buenos días, Óscar. Felipe," she replied. She glanced at Victoria for a second, and added, "And buenos días, Victoria."

"Buenos días, Cecilia," the youngest Rivera murmured.

Ceci looked back at the twins, pointing over to a room, filled with more dresses. "Could you put the boxes over there? I'll come in a second, once I've added the final touches to this dress."

The twins nodded and began to carry the boxes into the other room, with Victoria trailing behind them. Then, Felipe turned to his great-niece, stopping her for a moment.

"Why don't I take those boxes for you?" he offered. "That way, you can go out and enjoy yourself – have a little fun."

"But—" Victoria tried to protest, but he took the boxes from her hands and pushed her away a bit.

"Go," he said with a smile. "We'll catch up with you soon."

She sighed, knowing that there was no use arguing with him. Besides, she did plan on visiting the book shop anyways. So, she headed out the door, walking down the paved road.

She continued down the path, until she stopped at the book shop. She walked in, and looked around the shelves. She then took out a small red book titled El Principe Oso. While she had read the story before when she was little and memorized every detail, she didn't mind rereading it.

"How much for this book?" she asked, as she walked up to the counter.

The bookseller smiled and said, "Oh, that one? It's for free."

"Really?" Victoria asked. When the bookseller nodded, she then said, "Well, muchas gracias, señor!"

"You're welcome, señorita!" the bookseller replied, waving at her as she left the store.

Once Victoria left the store, she began reading the book, smiling to herself. "Once upon a time, there was a very poor woodcutter who had three beautiful daughters – and of the three girls, the youngest was the most beautiful…"

She eventually sat down at a fountain, as she continued to read the story, immersing herself in it. While she loved all book genres, romance was her favorite by far – the passion put into the writing, along with the characters all reeled her in. "The Bear remained thoughtful, then said, 'There is only one way in which your life may be saved: you have to give me one of your daughters' hand in marriage.'"

As she was reading the book aloud, a tall man of fifty years began to approach her – his hair was a light brown and expertly slicked back while he had a bit of a beard, and he was dressed in a black suit. His name was Bruno Acosta, and he came from an aristocratic family. As a result of his rich heritage – and his knack for hunting back when he was alive, before he died after being bitten by poisonous snake that had crawled up his leg – a lot of people in the Land of the Dead looked up to him and idolized him. Most of the young single women swooned over him, except for a certain Rivera woman – whom he had his eyes on, as she was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen.

Victoria didn't take notice of the man, as she was more occupied in the tale of the bear prince and his fair maiden. "In an instant, the Bear transformed into a handsome prince," she continued. "He told Ninfa, 'I am a prince, cursed by a witch to be a bear by day and a man by night. You can do anything you want around here – but on one condition: you are to never reveal my true identity.'"

As Bruno stopped right in front of her, he quickly snatched the book from her hands, causing her to look up at him annoyed. "Hola, Victoria," he greeted her, flashing her a charming smile.

But Victoria did not find his smile charming – in fact, she found nothing about him charming or appealing. When he first came into town, she saw how self-centered and arrogant he was – especially with how he only seemed to be interested in her for her beauty. Still, she tried to keep calm as she stood up and greeted him back, "Hola, Señor Acosta." She reached out for her book. "Puedo recuperar mi libro, por favor?"

Bruno moved the book away, opening it up and flipping through some of the pages. "Honestly, how can you read this when there aren't any pictures?"

"I've been reading books without pictures since I was three," she answered, trying her best not to snap at him. Honestly, he was seven years older than her and yet he was so ignorant to the point where it was just embarrassing. "It's easy to do so if you actually use your imagination."

He looked at her. "You shouldn't be reading this nonsense," he remarked, closing the book and throwing it to the ground. "It's bad enough that your father and grandparents are crazy enough to make you work in that desolate, rickety old place you call a shoe shop, it's worse that they let you waste your time on a bunch of novels. It's not right for a girl like you to behave this way."

Victoria bent down to grab her book, before she looked back at Bruno. The nerve he had, to insult her own family and their business right in front of her. "My papá, abuela and abuelo are not crazy!" she snapped as she stood back up. "Without the shoe business, we would have nothing – we'd be living on the streets, eating leftovers from the marketplace! Besides, how would you know what's best for me?" You know nothing about me, she wanted to say, but instead she breathed in and out, trying to calm herself down. She refused to let some unwanted, chauvinistic suitor ruin her day.

Bruno put his hands up. "Woah, calm down there, Imelda Junior." He grinned as he tried draping an arm over her shoulder. "I'm just saying a woman should occupy herself with more important things, like finding herself a man – speaking of which, would you care to join me at the bar? I could buy us a couple of drinks."

She rolled her eyes. Honestly, how could he pride himself as an 'expert' on women when he couldn't even take a hint and realize that she wasn't interested in him? Just how brainless and self-absorbed was he? "I'd rather not," she answered, moving away from him. "I have to get back home to mi familia."

She quickly began to walk away, just as she heard him mutter "that family is full of lunatics". She bit her lip as she fought back the urge to shout at him.

Thankfully, Óscar and Felipe weren't too far away. They turned to her, smiling as she walked up to them. Then, their smiles faltered a bit as they noticed look on her face, as she was still slightly irritated.

"What happened?" Óscar asked, as the three began to walk back to the shoe shop. "You look a little upset."

"Yeah, like that Bruno guy came saying the usual rubbish," Felipe added.

"Hmmph!" Victoria dusted her book off, before she held it close to her chest. "You have no idea."

random thought, but: imagine bruno being voiced by antonio banderas.

that is all.