Turning Tables Chapter 4
Elena couldn't find the words to describe what was happening. As Miguel kept speaking of his encounter with her dead sister, father, aunt and uncles, her mind went numb with shock.
If it were any other family gathering, she would have told Miguel to eat his food and save the stories for later. But something about this story seemed on point and accurate. Elena immediately knew right away that her grandson was telling the truth.
"Abuelita? Are you ok?" asked Rosa as she gently touched the older woman's forearm.
Shaking her head slightly to clear the imaginary fog, Elena nodded and motioned for Miguel (who had stopped talking) to continue. Voice shaking slightly, Miguel continued the story, worried about who would believe him and who wouldn't.
"So anyway, Tíos Oscar and Felipe ran up to the group and said that Mamá Imelda couldn't cross over because she got stuck on the other side." Miguel said as Abel frowned slightly.
"Other side, primo?" Abel asked as he shifted in his chair slightly looking back towards the ofrenda room.
"The Land of the Dead. When we crossed the marigold bridge, I found out that in order to cross the bridge to the living side, you need to have your photo on an ofrenda. That's why Mamá Imelda couldn't cross over. So, we went back across the marigold bridge to the Land of the Dead and met up with Mamá Imelda."
"You saw Mamá Imelda, mijo?" Luisa asked.
"Sí, Mamá. She was smacking a computer, calling it a devil box because it said that her photo was not on the ofrenda."
Stifling a laugh, Luisa remembered an incident when a customer's cellphone went off with a chirpy ringtone, causing Elena to nearly smack the customer with her chancla. Technology was something that wasn't in abundance at the zapatería, mostly due to Elena's persistence that no music should be allowed. TVs were muted, and no computers were to be seen.
By that point Miguel let out a yawn, the storytelling taking a toll on his energy levels. With Berto's help, Elena guided Miguel to Enrique's open arms. Protesting, Miguel made to turn away towards his chair at the table but was stopped by Elena.
"No, no, Abuelita I'm alright. Por favor, I want to tell you everything…"
Touching his cheek softly, Elena felt her grandson fidget slightly under her touch. "I know you do niño, but you need to sleep. You can tell us the rest tomorrow, ok?"
"S-si Abuelita." Miguel answered softly, his voice languid and tired as he leaned against his papá. Gently, his papá picked him up and within seconds, Miguel was dead to the world, his head leaning on Enrique's shoulder.
Putting her head in her hands, Elena came over to her sleeping nieto and whispered in his ear "Oh mijo, I love you so much. Lo siento mucho. I let you down." Sleepily, Miguel opened his eyes and nodded once before falling back asleep in his papá's arms.
"Mamá, we all let Miguel down." Berto amended, the rest of the family agreeing with him.
"We let him down by denying him the right to be who he wanted to be." Luisa added softly.
At that, Elena wept softly, her emotional endurance pushed to its limits. Her son and daughter-in-law's words had struck home. Standing up to meet her height, Franco went over and held her, letting her get her emotions out.
"Elena, it is getting rather late. Maybe we should all go to bed and we can talk to Miguel again in the morning before he goes to school." Franco pointed out as he looked at the clock which read 11:31 PM.
Murmuring in a low voice that only Franco could hear, Elena also added "I owe Miguel more than a new guitar."
Warily, Elena trudged up the stairs to her and Franco's bedroom, exhausted and worried. Miguel had been through a lot in the past 24 hours and it would take a lot of time to process everything.
The next day, the whole family gathered at the table for breakfast, anxious to hear the rest of the story about Miguel's adventures through the Land of the Dead. Enrique, in the meantime, went ahead and addressed the family who had gathered in the room as Miguel got ready for the day upstairs.
"I believe Miguel's story. It would explain a lot of things that happened when Miguel came back." Enrique spoke clearly as he watched the rest of the family who murmured in agreement.
"Like why his red jacket went missing or the fact that he had a scraped elbow." Gloria pointed out, twirling a loose strand of hair in between her fingers. "Miguel isn't the type to be so reckless and he loves that red jacket."
"In all honesty Glorita, he did climb up on that roof to proclaim his heritage," Enrique replied as he looked towards the door for his son. "But there are still a few things that I don't understand. Like why he referred to de la Cruz as de la Sucks?"
"Who knows? But what I still don't understand is how he could have learned that song he played for Mama Coco." Carmen murmured as she brushed Rosa's hair. "Who taught him that version of Remember Me?"
