Frida tended to Manny's ear, within a few days it was as good as new. The disfigured young man found himself smiling more and feeling more happy than usual. Frida was unlike any person he had ever met. She was not only beautiful but she was kind, smart, and very high spirited. When she looked at him she didn't see him as a monster, she saw him as a man. He wondered why she treated him so kindly but he never complained and as he spent more time with her he hoped that she would never leave. But as the days passed she started to become restless. She enjoyed staying in the cathedral but she was worried about her fellow gypsies.

"Something wrong?" Manny asked noticing that she had become very melancholic.

"It's nothing it's just that...I miss my friends and I'm really worried about them. I wish I could see them but if I set so much as one foot outside of this place I'll be arrested."

Manny didn't want Frida to leave but he understood her desire too and he also understood that were other people in her life that she cared for. He couldn't be selfish, not to mention she had done so much for him. It was time that he returned the favor and he would do that by helping her escape the cathedral. Tito had soldiers posted as guards so using doors were out of the question but there was more than one way to get out of here and lucky for him it had gotten dark so it would be easy for him to pull this off without being seen.

"I could get you out of here." He said.

"Really?"

"Yes, you helped me so now I'll help you."

"But there's no way out, there's soldiers at every door."

"We won't use a door." He stepped on top of the ledge outside.

"You mean climb down there?" She asked looking down nervously.

"Sure."

"Uh...I don't suppose there's any other way out is there?"

"No. Why? Are you scared of heights?"

"Not really but they do make me nervous."

"Don't worry I'll be doing all the climbing you just focus on holding on to him." He pointed over to her pet.

"You mean Zebra Donkey?"

"Yep. You carry him, I carry you."

"I don't know." She looked down again. "We're pretty high up."

"You trust me don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then trust me to get you out of here. You'll be alright I promise."

"Okay. Come on Zebra Donkey."

Her pet brayed and jumped into her arms.

"Ready?" Manny asked her.

"Yes."

"Don't be afraid." He said picking her up.

"I'm not afraid." He jumped over the ledge and grabbed on to the head of a statue causing them to dangle. "Now I'm afraid."

"The trick is not to look down."

"You've done this before right?"

"No."

"What?"

"Don't panic, I know almost exactly what I'm doing."

"That's not very reassuring."

He jumped and swung from ledge to ledge, statue to statue while holding on to Frida and never letting go of her once. Frida clutched Zebra Donkey close, careful not to drop him. He was just as scared as she was, more so even.

"Wow you're really strong and acrobatic." She said. "You'd do great in the circus."

"Thank you. How are you feeling back there?"

"A little better. Just don't drop me okay?"

"I would never."

"Do you think any of the soldiers will see us?"

"Not unless they have night vision. Now hold on tight."

Frida closed her eyes, held her breath, and clung to Manny fearfully. It wasn't until they landed that she opened her eyes and released her breath.

"You alright?" He asked her. "I hope I didn't scare you too bad."

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Me? Oh I'm great and that was actually kind of fun. Maybe I'll do it more often."

"Not with me I hope." She giggled. "But thank you very much for helping me escape."

"You're welcome." He sighed.

"Hey don't be sad, this won't be the last time you see me."

"Promise?"

"I promise. In fact why don't you come with me?"

"What?"

"To the Court of Miracles, it's a special place where people can live safely without worrying about the soldiers."

"Oh no, I'm not going back out there again. You saw what happened last time."

"But Manny you can't stay here forever."

"Why not? No one out there will accept me."

"I will." She said with a gentle smile.

"You would?" He asked skeptically.

"Yes."

"What if everybody laughed at you for being seen with me? What if they insulted you?"

"I would just ignore them. Over the years I've gotten pretty good at ignoring people who do that."

"But...No I can't. This is the only home I've ever known and Tito...He's not always good to me but he's all I've got."

"I see well if you ever change your mind and want to find me use this." She took off a necklace and handed it to him. The pendent had various images woven into it with thread and twine. "Keep it with you alright? And if you ever want to find the Court of Miracles it will help you."

"Okay."

"And I beg you, don't ever show this to Tito. If he ever figured how to use this then heaven knows what he would do to my people."

"He'll never see it! I swear!"

She gently kissed his cheek to let him know that he would always have her friendship and that he didn't ever have to worry about frightening or disgusting her. That her beautiful blue eyes would always look at him with love and compassion. He was taken aback by her action, she had kissed him. She had actually kissed and she didn't show a single hint of fear or disgust.

"I will come back." She assured him. "But it will have to be at night understand?"

"I understand." He said still in shock over the kiss.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

"I'm fine it's just that...No one has ever kissed me before." He blushed, she blushed too.

"I'll...Be seeing you."

She waved goodbye to him and hurried off with Zebra Donkey following. Manny smiled to himself and started to climb back up but when he reached the top he was met by T.J.

"Excuse me are you the bell ringer?" He asked him.

"What do you want?" Manny asked suspiciously.

"I'm looking for a gypsy named Frida."

"What do you want her for?"

He cracked his knuckles to let the soldier know how protective he was of her and that he could be violent if she was harmed.

"Oh no! Trust me I'm not going to hurt her. I just want to talk to her."

"About what?"

"I just want her to know that I'm her friend and that I mean her and her people no harm."

"That's all?"

"That's all. Will you tell her that?"

"If I do will you leave?"

"Yes."

"Okay I'll tell her."

"Thank you. Now could you put me down?"

It wasn't until now that Manny realized he had grabbed hold of T.J and was holding him just a few inches off of the floor. He put him down and allowed him to leave, but before exiting completely he stopped to give Manny one more message.

"Also tell her that she's very lucky." He said. "To have a friend like you."

With that said T.J left and Manny headed back to his room where he was greeted by Xibalba, La Muerte, and The Candle Maker.

"Bravo Manny, excellent." Xibalba cheered. "You ejected that buffoon with great panache."

"The nerve of that guy." Candle Maker said. "Snooping around here, trying to steal your girl."

"My girl?!" Manny questioned.

"You know Frida, blue hair, works with a mixed breed animal." La Muerte said.

"Way to go lover boy!" Candle Maker said with a thumbs up.

"Lover boy? Me?" Manny blushed. "Ha-ha, very funny."

"It's no joke." La Muerte said. "I saw something between you two."

"Let's not kid each other okay. Ugliest face in all of Spain remember?" Manny sighed. "I don't think I'm her type."

"Oh don't be so hard yourself dear, you're not ugly."

"I can think of a lot of people who would disagree with that statement."

"Frida doesn't think you're ugly."

"That doesn't mean she feels that way about me. Besides she's too...Too...Too." He was getting nervous.

"Too what?" Candle Maker asked. "Too chubby?"

"Too skinny?" Xibalba guessed.

"Too wild?"

"Too loud?"

"No! Beautiful!" He blurted out which caused his face to turn red all over. "She's too beautiful to care for someone like me."

It was in that instant Manny realized that during all that time he had spent with Frida he had fallen desperately in love with her. But this realization made him sad because he believed that no matter how kind hearted she was, she could never love someone as hideous and monsterous as him. Still he had to admit it warmed his heart when she kissed his cheek and treated him like he was an actual human being. Aside from Tonio, no other human being had ever treated him so kindly. She was an angel who gave off a light that was pure and good. It was like whenever she was near heaven's light would shine down on him an cleared away all the darkness and sorrow in his life. He wondered was this what love felt like? It felt wonderful and yet at the same time it felt scary. But no matter how scary it was he hoped that it would never cease and that maybe someday he could be loved in return.