Victoria's mind is reeling as she approches Héctor and Imelda's room. She was honestly heartbroken. Not only was Mamá Imelda accused of causing Héctor's sickness all those years ago, but Mamá was so young then. And Héctor... he was the one suffering. She knew that wasn't an easy thing either.

Stopping outside the bedroom door, she hears Mamá Imelda's words.The words kept replaying themselves all day yesterday, even when Victoria was trying to sleep.

Unfortunately, that's the world he lives in.

The thought of Héctor's current condition made her shudder with sympathy.

As if it wasn't bad enough being the one everyone looked down on.

He wasn't quite as tired anymore, but he still didn't get up. Héctor was comfortable in bed just as he was. Getting up might make him tired again. He's had enough of being tired, so he just lays there, looking out the side window of his bedroom. The scenery never failed to entertain him, especially not at a time like this.

It was funny, really: when Héctor would be trying to sleep any other day, he'd usually have it closed. But this was different. For a change, he didn't want to go to sleep. So he was just fine with the light streaming in.

He hears the door open and adjusts himself so he's sitting up.

But who enters is not who Héctor expects.

"Hola, Victoria." The words are choked out, as it still kind of hurts to say anything, but Victoria doesn't seem to notice.

"Hola, Héctor." she replies.

He smiles. "What are you doing in here?"

Victoria comes over to the bed and sits on the unoccupied side. "How are you feeling?" she asks, adjusting her glasses.

Héctor sighs. "A lot less tired than yesterday." he tells her.

Victoria nods and gives a small smile. "I can tell. It's not fun for you, is it?"

Héctor shakes his head. "It's kind of annoying, actually." he explains. "One day, I'm completely fine, the next, I can't even get out of bed. It hits me all at once and I feel like I can't move."

Victoria laughs. "Pretty much."

"Is that how you feel when you're sick?" Héctor asks.

Victoria sighs and turns away from him. "No." she says, "well, once I did."

Héctor shifts his position to get a better look at her.

Victoria continues. "I was... eighteen, I think? I woke up one morning and felt this pounding in my head. It was the most painful thing. I was too tired to do much of anything, so I just layed there, feeling overly exausted."

Héctor nods. "Like you can't move." he mutters, then coughs. "That's how it felt, right?"

Victoria turns to look at him. "Sí. It was the weirdest feeling. Even the smallest movements, like moving my hand or rolling over, knocked the wind out of me."

Héctor cringes, feeling her pain. It always felt that way for him when he was sick. "I was fourteen when I first experienced something like that." he says. "The other times were just small. I don't really remember those."

Victoria nods. "Maybe that's a good thing." she tells him. "Less painful memories."

Héctor laughs. "Continue," he tells her.

Victoria looks away again. "I'll spare you the gory details, but the main thing is, everyone was pretty worried. Especially Mamá."

Héctor feels overcome with sadness. Coco had witnessed one of his illnesses when she was very little. But her own child? That must've been just as horrible. "How long did it last?" he asks.

"One day." Victoria concludes. "The next it was as if it never happened."

"At least it didn't last as long as mine." Héctor tells her.

Victoria nods again. "Mamá Imelda told me about that. It lasted two and a half days. That's terrible."

Héctor looks down. "The feeling is the worst. You just feel so..."

"Tired." Victoria finishes. Then she says, "Come with me."

Héctor looks at her. "Wher're we going?"

Victoria stands. "How do you feel about taking a walk outside?"

Héctor considers that question. It wouldbe nice to walk around a little. It'd even be plain nice to just get up and move again. But...

"Not a long walk, right?" Héctor asks.

Victoria shakes her head. "Unless you want one. But I won't push you."

"Okay." Héctor answers. "Let's go."

Victoria helps him up, then they start walking out the door.