I'm so excited! We're finally getting to the 'good' part. It's always so tedious to get from A to B. I really hope you all have as much fun reading this as I did writing it!
More time passed, and it seemed as though the flow of people began to decrease as well. As traffic slowly died down, Becca's mind began to feel tired with all of the contemplating. So, do dead people sleep? They seemed to keep to a schedule of work, and then going home at the end of the day. Even though the sky didn't look any different, she figured it must be close to nighttime once she became one of the very last people in the plaza.
All of the lights in the area flickering off confirmed her suspicion. She thought about leaving and attempting to find a more comfortable place to hang out. But – where would she go? Becca had never even been close to being homeless before. She had no idea what the proper procedure was, or if there even was one here. It felt as though she couldn't go forward, and she couldn't go back. She was stuck – in limbo.
She decided she wanted to lie down. Maybe if she could successfully fall asleep, then she might be able to dream of better times. Crawling back under the stairs, she figured she could at least try. If nothing else, it would at least help pass the time.
The sounds of movement and talking aroused Becca from her fitful dozing the next morning. So apparently she had fallen asleep at some point. She crawled back out from under the stairs, her hood falling back in the process. She wondered if the people who worked in the building would recognize her if they saw her on their way to work. She didn't understand how they could, not with everybody looking just like Jack Skellington, so she didn't bother to replace it.
She spent the morning people watching again, seeing if there was anyone she could recognize. It ended up being a fruitless endeavor. She hadn't been paying enough attention yesterday to be able to pick anyone out of a crowd. And any famous Hispanic people she knew about were still alive.
With the way people were ignoring her, she wondered if maybe she'd turned invisible during the night. Who knew what the rules were in this strange place? However, at one point, someone did stop long enough to place a coin on the ground right in front of her. She wasn't real sure how she felt about that, but she decided to reach out and pick it up anyway.
It didn't look like any coin she'd ever seen before, but then again, all she knew was that it wasn't American money. She hadn't taken a close enough look at the money her parents were using during their trip to Mexico. It could have been a Mexican coin, or it could have been some kind of strange afterlife money. Either way, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with it.
She didn't really need anything. Except for something to do, maybe. She slipped the coin in her jacket pocket, but then froze when she realized there was something else already in there. She grabbed hold and pulled it out. Several small white shells rested in her hand. She remembered – she'd picked them up off the beach while Trevor and her had gone exploring. Somehow they'd come here with her? Man, if only she'd had her Game Boy on her at the time! She missed her Game Boy.
Thinking about the beach made her think of the family she'd left behind. She wondered how they reacted when they found her – body. Becca was sure they must have been sad. She thought about them rushing her to the hospital, her mother being heartbroken when they found out she was – dead. What would come after that? Her funeral?
Becca shoved the thoughts out of her mind with a shiver. It was just too morbid for her to think about. She didn't want to think about her family. She didn't want to think about anything! She just wanted to disappear.
Even though he typically visited the gate plaza on a regular basis, Héctor found himself hurrying towards it a little faster than normal that morning. He was curious about what became of that girl. Had anyone helped her locate her family? Surely she couldn't still be sitting in the plaza, right?
He entered the busy area and looked over towards the stair case where he'd last seen her. Sure enough, she was still there! She didn't look nearly as scared as she had yesterday, instead she just looked – completely miserable!
Héctor felt a twinge of sympathy in his chest. Not to mention guilt. He'd been there before, and he should have done something about her yesterday, but he had thought for sure. . . Guess he should have known better. Everyone around here only seemed cared about their own family. But, why hadn't the gate staff found her yet? Well, he couldn't just leave her there now, guess he was going to have to do their job for them.
He walked over until he was standing right in front of her. She didn't seem to react at all, just continued to depressingly stare off into the distance to the side of him. On closer inspection, he could see that she looked a bit – different. Her hair wasn't black like most everyone else's. Instead, it was a dark auburn that fell down around her shoulders in loose ringlets. And her clothes seemed too – big – for her, like they were supposed to be for a boy. Her black sweatshirt had a big, white four leaf clover on the back, and there was some writing on the front that he didn't understand, and her dark cargo pants fit loosely around her waist.
She still didn't seem to notice him, so he tried a different approach, kneeling down in front of her and clearing his throat.
"Hola, niña," he said in the friendliest tone he could muster. She sure noticed him then, her head snapping around in surprise.
"Gah!" she cried out, and attempted to scoot away from him. However she didn't get far, since she was practically beside the wall as it was. She sure hugged it though, pressing her back flush against it.
"Whoa, whoa! Mis disculpas, I didn't mean to startle you," he told her. Putting his hands up in a sign of surrender. She just stared at him, eyes wide with uncertainty.
"I just couldn't help but notice you have been sitting here for quite some time. Por qué? Why haven't you tried to find your familia?" he wondered.
If Becca had, had a heart, it would have been hammering in her chest. No one had spoken to her for almost two days, and now this random guy just suddenly came out of nowhere. How had he snuck up on her like that? She must have been really out of it!
She didn't know what to do. He was squatting on the ground in front of her, looking at her expectantly. She realized she would have to say something.
"I – uh –" she stuttered out, her mind racing. What was she supposed to tell him? "I don't think I'm going to find any family – here," she confessed.
His expression went weird when he heard that, like he hadn't understood what she'd said. But, he could clearly speak English. . . Maybe it was her accent. He probably wasn't used to hearing someone who didn't have a Spanish accent.
"What do you mean, you won't find family here?" he asked, finally.
"I mean, I'm not sure how I got here – but I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be here," she clarified with a scowl.
"Of course you are. You're dead, mi amiga," he told her bluntly.
"Yeah, I already gathered that much, and that isn't what I meant. I'm not even sure where 'here' is," she clarified with irritation.
"This is La Tierra de los Muertos – The Land of the Dead," he paused for a moment, "Didn't your padres teach you about it?" he questioned.
"No, not really," Becca said, shaking her head.
He looked really confused at that. "What? Why not?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because – I'm an American!" she snapped. "Can't you tell?" she reasoned, giving him a skeptical look.
"Come to think of it, you do sound sort of funny," he admitted. Becca glowered at him. Look who was talking! "Americano, huh? That's strange. I don't remember ever meeting an American here before. Are you sure?" he asked with skepticism of his own.
What kind of question was that?! How could she not be sure? However. . .
"Well, I mean – technically I'm half Mexican, but I was born and raised in America. I don't even know Spanish!" she confessed, an edge of panic to her voice.
The guy stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. It seemed as though he was finally understanding her predicament. "But, if you're at least half Mexican, then you should have some family here. Ven, come with me back to the processing office. They can help you find out where you belong," he suggested, motioning for her to stand up.
But Becca didn't move. "My parents might not have taught me anything about this place, but they did teach me not to go anywhere with strangers," Becca pointed out as if that should be obvious. It was her round about way of saying: there was no way she was going anywhere with him!
"Oh, well, I'm Héctor," he told her, holding out his hand in greeting.
Becca gave the hand a doubtful look. Did he really think that just because she knew his name that she was going to trust him? He must have sensed her hesitation, because after a moment, he continued.
"Mira, I'm not going to hurt you, chiquita. I'm just trying to help," he attempted to reassure her.
Becca mulled it over for a moment. Honestly, what did she have to loose? Did she really want to just sit here by this stairwell for the rest of her – existence? However long that it may last? The answer was a resounding no. It was boring and lonely!
She blew out a big sigh. "Alright," she consented. "I'm – Rebecca, but everybody just calls me Becca," she told him, finally taking the outstretched hand. He shook it enthusiastically. She snatched her hand back almost too quickly, however. The feeling of bone on bone felt – unnerving!
Héctor didn't seem to mind though. He quickly rose and began heading back towards the big building. Becca got up, but only followed him for a few feet. It didn't take him long to notice that she was lagging behind.
"You coming, chiquita?" he questioned, flipping around to face her.
"We're going back there? You have any idea how hard it was for me to get away from those people in the first place?" she argued.
"Didn't seem to be too difícil for you," he reasoned with a shrug.
"Wait, you mean you saw me yesterday?" she asked, her nervousness returning.
"Sí, it's why I came to check on you again today. Those people inside were only trying to help, lo prometo," he encouraged her.
He had seen her, and then come back today specifically to check on her? Becca felt at a loss for words. That was so – nice! But why him when no one else seemed to care? Questions for later, she supposed. She hurried to catch up to him.
"Okay, but, once they find out I don't have any family here – what's going to happen to me then?" she asked. This was still a big concern for her.
"No te preocupes. I'm sure they won't have any problem finding your family. Now, let's go." If only Becca felt as sure as he sounded.
Feel free to review and let me know what you think. Especially if I've made any mistakes on the Spanish front. Critiques are always welcome, just as long as it's constructive! :)
