Chapter 1:
"Long ago, there was a small family which had a mamá, papá, and a little boy in a town called Santa Cecilia. They were not well known, or rich, but that wasn't important to them.
To the Rivera's there was only two things they treasured most, Family and Music.
For five years, the Rivera's were a happy, humble family and nothing it would seem, could ever darken there doorstep.
Until, the Mexican Flu pandemic past through the town and took the papá with it along with many others. The mamá and son were broken from the loss, And for there once complete family was gone. A gap was made that seemed like it would never be filled again.
That is, until one day, the mamá met the widowed Carlos Dela Cruz and married him soon after, the man was a single father to a son; who gained the boy's trust, building a bond of brotherhood.
For awhile, the family was slightly healed and happy.
But when the mamá died mysteriously five years later, the man's true colors were revealed to be dark and bleak.
He was cruel and violent, and would always beat his poor stepson within an inch of his life whenever he put a toe out of line or if he spent late nights at the cantina.
His son sadly, was no different.
He would put blame on the young boy and showed no love that he used to show before. That broke the boys heart to see the boy he considered his brother in all but blood, betray him for his sick, sadistic pleasure.
For years this continued and the boy who then turned man was then forgotten from the entire town. He would have gone mad if not for his one comfort in life that kept him standing, Music.
He would write in his mamá's old diary, the only possession he owned after she died which had a set of incomplete songs that he finished for his papá.
While suffering, he would always keep hope that someday, he would finally escape his step familia's and play his music to the world.
but soon that hope seemed to fade when his step-father passed and his step-brother discovered his secret songbook.
Determined to use his brother's talent for his own selfish gain, he stole all the songs and locked his brother away from the prying eyes of the public. No one questioned where he went and insisted that he too must have passed along with his parents.
Trapped in the bleak basement, the door locked and his only peek of sunlight coming from a window at the top of the basement wall, far from his reach.
Trapped and with nothing left to hope for, the young man continued writing for his half-brother, never to see the people his music might have touched"
OoOoOoO
"And that's all I can say Chamaco" Héctor sighed to the only window in his dark, secluded basement.
"That... that's not fair!" a young voice called out "you deserve just as much credit as, as, that cabrõ-"
"ay, niño, watch that tongue of yours!" he interrupted with a wry grin at his young friend's enthusiasm.
"don't want your mama to find out I taught you that, or she'll knock my skull off" he hadn't meant to say it aloud but this kid had surprisingly good ears and picked up the insult.
The young voice giggled and that made his smile widen.
he was surprised at first when the kid had found the outside of his window. It was nothing but a back ally full of filth and trash that no one who had a working nose would go near.
That is until he heard loud barking and shushing come from outside. When he spoke up, he was shock to hear a kid, he hadn't seen children since he himself was one but he felt a rush excitement at the thought of meeting a new friend after so long.
The boy, Miguel and his dog; Dante, were trying to hide from his family. His family, it seemed hated music since his great uncle was a mariachi who went and married a woman against his mother's wishes. His family then banned music from his house hold but the boy it seemed, wasn't one to follow rules.
In fact, he said he was making his very own guitar out of scraps. This impressed Héctor, to love music so much to make an instrument out of scratch with your bare hands,
he never thought he'd get to meet someone who loved music as much as him.
His thoughts were then interrupted when Miguel tried to play a C-cord on his guitar from what he could tell, but the make shift guitar strings make a choppy noise.
"Oh venga!" he yelled "why won't you sound right!"
Héctor chuckled "I don't think yelling is going to make it sound any better Chamaco"
"well, what do think I should do uh?"
Hector paused for a moment.
"play it again"
Miguel seemed to hesitate but went ahead and played his choppy C-cord. This time, Héctor closed his eyes and listened as the sounds danced in his mind. He envisioned the guitar in his mind, and smirked when he turned back to the window.
"tighten your low E by one turn and loosen your D string by three" he said plainly
"no way you got that from one strum..." Miguel muttered but Hector could tell he was doing exactly what he instructed. Then he played his C-cord once more and the instrument made a harmonious sound that echoed in his basement. He could practically hear the boys shock as he laughed out loud and his dog barked happily.
"Increíble!" he yelped and Héctor chuckled as he sat back down on his wooden chair. His gaze still focused on the window as the boy played a couple more cords of HIS songs...
In front of him laid a small table with a candle, ink, and his songbook that had page after page of wordless songs he wrote when he was younger. He sighed sadly as he flipped through the pages and landed on an older one that his papa had written before he died. He recalled singing it with his mama, a song that was written in his heart but never on a page and never will.
"Héctor?"
he looked up to hear Miguel's voice call out for him.
"are you alright?"
"S-Sí, I'm fine Miguel" he tried and failed to hid the quiver in his voice.
Miguel noticed this and seemed to absentmindedly play the cords of an old folk song.
"who is your half-brother anyway, this building is one of the houses that Ernesto Dela Cruz owns?"
Héctor chewed his lip nervously at the mention of his brother. Miguel was young and didn't think the most beloved man of Santa Cecilia would ever do such a thing. As did everyone else it would seem...
"nobody you need to think about Miguel, he's nobody" his voice barley a whisper as he hears Dante whine, almost like the dog knew what he was feeling.
"Anyone who would try and hide someone else's talent, is the biggest cab- jerk I've ever heard of!" he huffed.
Héctor frowned as he heard the boy stand and jumped up as he began to kick at his window.
"Ay! Miguel, what are you doing!" he yelped, making the kid stop.
"I'm getting you out!"
Héctor's eyes widened, if Ernesto found out about Miguel, Dios knows what could happen. That man will stop at nothing to seize his moment and keep it, the thought of what he might do to a little boy...
"Miguel stop..." he said but to no avail.
"I SAID STOP CHAMACO!" he yells this time, which made the kicking cease.
Héctor steadied his breathing as Miguel called out to him in a small voice.
"H-Héctor?"
"theirs nothing nothing you can do for me Chamaco" he muttered distastefully
"but you can go home and pretend you never heard of me"
"what! no way!" Miguel exclaimed "I'm not leaving you here when I can help you!"
"Miguel..." the kid had a big heart and Héctor can respects that, but he needs to think about himself right now. He had no idea of what his brother was capable of.
"MIGUEL!"
Suddenly a shrill voice of an old woman called out the his name, and he could hear him flinch, stifling a yell as he began scurrying about and hiding his guitar, before he said one last thing to Héctor.
"I'll come back tomorrow"
Héctor wanted to argue but the little chamaco had already turned tail and ran. He felt like he should be annoyed but he laughed ruefully and shook his head, running a hand through his messy black locks smirking as memories of his childhood came back.
The only memories he adored.
That boy was something special, even in there short time together, he could tell.
'It sure is nice to have someone to share my love of music with' he thought as he laid down in his old cot and slept soundlessly to his last memory of joy. In it, there was a red sky, a silver kitten and little girl whose laugh seemed to send his heart singing a special song of its own.
OoOoOoO
Meanwhile, on a train that was heading towards Santa Cecilia.
A young woman and her mother sat in a cart and seemed to be in a discussion of finding a husband for the young woman, who was staring out at the passing scenery while listening to her mother gushing over all the nice men at Santa Cecilia that were waiting for one and only Imelda Flores.
The fiery flower of Santa Cecilia.
She stared at her reflection as she mindlessly stroke her cat, Pepita, who slept on top her lap.
Her dark hair was tied in a braid over her shoulder, held together with a simple purple ribbon that matched her dress. Her chocolate eyes were stuck in a stoic frown but the rest of her bronze colored face was twisting into different shapes of disgust as her mother named some of the men hoping to win the heart of the most beautiful woman in town.
"I heard that Ernesto Dela Cruz will be there too, you know that handsome young man that used to sing to you in the plaza" her mama quipped.
That made Imelda turn her head, but the look on her face would make you think that her mama suggested she'd court a burro, and in Imelda's opinion that was exactly what that man was.
Her mama frowned at her daughters discomfort,
"but mija, I thought you like his songs, I hear you singing them every night?"
That was true, Imelda did like his music but the cabron with the guitar is what she didn't like.
The way he played those beautiful songs, he played them all loudly and seemed to be focusing on the crowd than the music.
What a complete waste that such heartfelt songs were created by a pompous ham with no respect for the song and music.
He was beloved in Santa Cecilia, and why not, everyone saw a handsome, charming, musico whose music made people fall in love with him. Woman swooned when he looked at them and men would try desperately to be like him.
But Imelda wasn't everyone, when she came to Santa Cecilia last year after she left to finish her schooling abroad. He had intrigued her for a moment with his songs but when he talked to her and she said his songs were impressive...
That...that... hijo de puta had the nerve to steal a kiss from her, it was disgusting, insulting, and the way he smirked at her when he finally let her go. Like he was thinking that she might want to take this further in a hotel room, he made her want to beat his fat chin to the point where it looked like a squished peach, and she did, With her black boots in hand she made sure the heel was the first thing to come in contact with his dimpled chin. The attack sent him flying of his feet on the ground. She had marched off to complain about him to her Abuela who seemed to hate him as much as her.
"Such a rude young man, this town has lost the true meaning of music because of him!" she had said.
Just the thought of him always put her in a sour mood, but what really bothered her was his songs.
They were so amazing that even if she could hate the musician with a fury that could set a forest on fire, his songs somehow made her dance and sing like she was floating in the air. The feeling sent a rush that she never felt when she listened to other songs.
'what a shame' she thought sadly, grumbling.
Her mama seemed to shrug it off her rejection to Ernesto and continued there conversation.
"mija, your not a little girl anymore,"
ay, not this conversation again, she has been hearing this ever since her Quinceañera to the point where it was stuck in a loop in her head.
"Imeldita, you are a woman now, and your papa and I think it's about time you got married before it's too late for you"
Imelda rolled her eyes and pulled back a lose strain of hair on her forehead. Why did they make it seemed like when she reaches twenty, she won't be an eligible señorita anymore and men won't pawn after her.
That idea seems more than appealing right now.
"ay, Imelda, there must be at least one boy that you like?"
When she said nothing, her mama sighed and remained quiet for the rest of the ride as Imelda glanced down at Pepita, she had woken up and stared at her with golden eyes that seemed to know what she was thinking right now.
What her mama didn't know, was that there was one boy that Imelda liked, but that was a long time ago when she eleven and was living in Santa Cecilia at her grandmothers house.
She had been sneaking around the forest that was right behind her abuela's hacienda. She had liked going out for long walks when she wanted to be alone and get away from her twin brothers that seemed to be taking all her family's time as of late with there mischief-making.
On one of these walks she had heard someone else in the woods, a soft, gentle voice that seemed to be comforting someone. When she found where it was coming from, she found a boy sitting on the ground, leaning on a tree with a little kitten on his lap. He was humming a melody she wasn't familiar with but it seemed to make her eyes grow heavy as she tried to let the music course through her mind. It was so calming...
She even began to hum along unconsciously before she opened her eyes when she felt the boy's gaze fall on her.
She felt her cheeks flushed at the thought of being caught spying but when the boy stared at her, she felt something else heat up in her chest.
He... wasn't an ugly boy in his own way.
He had messy dark locks that looked soft to the touch, his beautiful, wide,brown eyes seemed almost red as they stared at her from under his long lashes. He then gave her a crooked, gap tooth grin which made two dimples appear on his caramel tan face. His ears seemed to stick out on the side of his head, making him look adorably goofy. He was thin and gangly, and his shirt would be too big if it wasn't held onto his thin frame with his suspenders.
When he stood up, he seemed slightly shorter than her, which made her lower her guard slightly. If he tries anything, at least she'd have the upper hand.
"Hola!" he waved happily at her. His other hand held the black and silver kitten that had a pair of golden eyes that seemed to also stare at Imelda.
"H-hola..." she frowned, did she just... stutter, no, Imelda Flores does not stutter! Especially because of a cute boy smiling at her...
Wait... CUTE?!
"what are you doing here?" she asks bitterly, in hopes of intimidating him to run away as she crossed her arms.
The boy had simply raised a bushy eyebrow, and scratched his hair confusion. He seemed unfazed by her glare that some would say rivals her grandmother's.
"Pardon señorita, but is something wrong?" she would have been more annoyed if he hadn't looked so darn sincere.
"tonto, this is my abueltia's land, you are trespassing!" Her fist clenching her Sunday best in frustration.
She was also bothered that her secret getaway place wasn't a secret after all. The boy looked surprised, but then his smile came back tenfold and that uncomfortable feeling came back in Imelda's chest.
"OH! are you Señora Flores's granddaughter?!" he walked over to her, until they were only a few inches apart, her eyes then seemed to trace his light array of freckles that seemed dance over his big nose. She then felt her face inflame, from anger or... something else, she couldn't tell for sure.
"I've heard so much about you!" his eyes practically glowing as the golden sun illuminated his face, making him seem almost angelic.
"how?" she asked surprised by her curiosity of how this scarecrow of a boy could know about her.
"Señora Flores always talked about her family when I come over to sing to her"
That made her more surprised, her abuela never said anything about a boy coming over to the hacienda? And there's no way her strict, proper, abuela would listen to this dirty, twig of a boy.
Her thoughts were then interrupted when something furry caressed her ankle. She looks down to the kitten purring next to her legs, The boy looked at it wide eyed.
"Oye! no fair, she scratched and bit me when I first met her!" he cried indigently, his expression looked like someone had refused to give him dessert before dinner.
Imelda lost herself and let out small giggle, and that made his smile grow bigger which she thought would seem impossible.
She also noted the faint redness on his ears and how he seemed to be staring at her in a strange way that made her want to avoid his gaze. They seemed frozen in that moment of time until he spoke in a bare whisper.
"your just as pretty as she said..."
Her eyes widened and the boy seemed to have not meant to say it aloud. Cover his mouth, in hopes of swallowing back his words, his was now a deep crimson as he stuttered as apology. His hand squeezing his wrist and his gaze now shy and nervous, Imelda was slightly amused by his sudden bashfulness and gave him a small smirk, which seemed to make him even redder.
She opened her mouth to say something but her voice was lost when her mama called for her.
"IMELDAAA!"
she winced as she saw the sky turning red and looked to see the boy rubbing the back of his neck.
"I-I suppose you should leave now..." he seemed almost disappointed and Imelda raised her brow at him before going to hand him back his kitten. He raised his palms up, shaking his head.
"keep her, she seems much more happy with you right now" he grinned at her and Imelda just chuckled, hugging the little thing towards her chest.
"will... will you meet me here tomorrow?" he asked and Imelda frowned.
"and why should I?"
he shrugged as he seemed to not have thought about a reason why.
"It's mi cumpleaños?" he grinned nervously, that was a weak excuse.
She shook her head and turned to walk away before hearing him sigh in defeat before looking back over her shoulder with a smirk.
"see you tomorrow tonto" she giggled as his face light up like the sun and he jumped in the air before belting out a large grito that scared some birds out of the trees. She gave him a look and he chuckled nervously.
"heh... s-see you tomorrow senorita" he said before running deeper into the woods, vanishing but his grito still ringing in Imelda's ears as she walked back to the hacienda. Ignoring her little brothers pestering about why she was smiling all day as she pet the kitten on her lap.
The next day, the boy never showed up, she asked her abuela about it and she said that he was most likely helping his mama. She had heard that she seemed to have fallen ill and that the boy, Hector, was worried sick about her; He even stopped coming to play for abuela. She hoped to stay around longer and find him but her mama and papa surprised her with the news that she would be sent to Spain to start her studies.
She never came back until last year on the day of the dead. It was a perfect reunion with her hometown, minus meeting Ernesto, but it would have been better if she could have found Hector but he seemed to have almost faded from Santa Cecilia. No one knew who she was talking about and the sheriff didn't seem to care that a young boy had gone missing.
She had come to terms with the fact that he was gone but something inside her kept egging her on that something was amiss.
What Happened to Him?