Down the street the group went; it was time to visit Maria. The kids were really worried about her. When she was young, she was known to be a rebel and very fiery; especially for a brunette. But the thing is, that was like 100 years ago, and Manolo and Joaquin turned out to be the exact opposites of what they were when they were young.
What if Maria was just a cranky cat lady?
After stopping at a pizza place for the kids, they took a bus to her house. She had a very nice stony looking cottage with the classic white picket fence that shielded a colorful flower and vegetable garden.
As they started to enter the front, they were stopped by an older woman with grey curls up in a high ponytail, she wore a white top and a...red skirt.
She was wearing a sun hat and green gloves.
"Hey, who are you, and what are you doing on my property? Aren't you aware that it's quite rude and bold to just enter someone's yard without their permission?"
Ron stepped in front. "Excuse me, but we are looking for Maria Posada."
"Oh, well, you found her."
All the boys in the group dropped their jaws. When she removed her hat, she looked just as beautiful as she did at the age of 17.
She removed the gloves and shook all their hands.
"Forgive me for being so territorial. It's just that I don't get many visitors, it's almost like living in a bubble. Uh, come in for some lemonade, will you?"
"Thank you." they all said.
Her cottage looked so small on the outside and turned out to be quite roomy. They all looked around with their eyes and saw relic after relic. On her mantle sat a tin with the name General Posada on it and listed his birthday and death date. Guess with no living with her, her father's remains were probably the best she could do.
On the walls were painting after painting of she and Manolo, San Angel, and even Joaquin. They even noticed her fan that remained placed under the gargantuan painting of the Proposal Tree that sat right above the mantle.
Her fine china was cased in a special glass cabniet; until Maria entered with a plate of cupcakes and a tray with cups of lemonade. They were all very impressed with how she carried the plate in her hands and balanced the lemonade on her head like a post-peasant Cinderella.
Maria then walked over to get the china and made sure everyone had lemonade and a cupcake.
"These are delicious, Ms. Posada!" Said Ron
"Thank you. It's all homemade, from my lemon tree out back; it's been organically raised and grown, you know, and the cupcakes are my mom's recipe."
Sasha was about to speak, but then she saw a puppy bed in front of the fireplace.
"You have a puppy?"
"Oh, no, Dear, that's Chuy's bed."
"Chuy's still alive?"
"Oh, yes, and still very overprotective. It's like having a second father almost. Chuy! Come here, boy, we have guests!"
Slowly, the sound of hooves against the wooden floor got closer and closer. And out from behind the couch Maria was seated on, came a greying and very aged swine. When he saw them seated across from Maria, he immediately jumped in front of her and bleated at them; only to be stopped by his dry throat making him cough.
He still wore a leather black collar with a heart-shaped tag that vaguely read his name to whoever stopped to read: Chuy.
Maria told him to back off, that they were friendly, and rewarded him for his dilligence in keeping her safe with a cookie.
Once he received his reward, he lied at Maria's boots.
"So, what brings you all here?"
Sanjay spoke.
"Well, we know that The Three Amigos are no more."
Maria looked away, for a long time she tried to live her life like nothing ever happened. How did these children even know about her story, anyway?
"Just what do you know about that, young man?"
She looked at the guides, and soon enough, Kate and Ron transformed back into their true selves.
"We tell the story of Manolo, now at the museum down the block." Said Xibalba
Maria was so excited to see them once again. She hadn't seen them since Manolo became the hero of San Angel.
"This is so exciting!" She quickly turned and faced the sliding screen door by the back porch.
"Philip! Come here!"
Philip? Did Maria have a boyfriend now? Almost instantly, an older man, dressed like he worked for the city came through the door, removed his hat, and jumped for joy, when he saw the god couple.
They were very confused, how did he know them? Before they could even ask, the man glowed, and in a second, jaws once again dropped to the Candle Maker standing where Philip once was.
"Wait, why is the Candle Maker here?" Asked Luke
"Well, when he saw I was very lonely, and found he like living in the modern world, I agreed to let him be an assistant to me in my housekeeping."
"What are they doing here?" Candle Maker asked.
"They want to know about 'The Year' Maria answered.
Candle Maker frowned.
Maria reached for her lemonade, and took a sip. Before she spoke, she had to stand up and pace around the room.
"All I can say is that it was Manolo's fault. And I hate him for it."
"You never checked if it was really his fault?"
"I did. Every witness I talked to said it was him."
La Muerte lowered her head.
"He went crazy."
"What?"
"Manolo went mentally insane after the divorce; he's locked up in the mental house now."
"Good, because if he were here, I'd..."
She paused. And then growled as she threw her crystal glass across the room and watched it shatter into a million pieces against the wall. It reminded her of what happened to her heart that day. It broke.
She then pressed her hands up to her face and slowly dropped to her knees, sobbing.
The group decided to leave.
Sasha remained behind and said something that Maria truly took to heart.
"Don't hate him because he loves you."
