Chapter 6: A Strenuous Plea

Hector and Miguel just stare at each other. The fact that they could see one another was incredible and everything they'd wanted. Everything they've needed. The rest of the Rivera's in the room were frozen in shock, but Miguel hadn't even acknowledged them, his eyes filling up with tears at the sole appearance of Hector.

And in a swift movement, Miguel is running over the cracked pottery at his feet and closing the distance between him and his great-great-grandpa. Hector stumbles back at the sudden movement but moves his hands to catch the boy as he jumps up to his arms.

Only for Miguel to fall straight through him and crash into the ofrenda table behind him.

Hector, surprised, turns to look at Miguel who had his face buried into a plate of bread after the crash. Hector resists the urge to laugh by bringing his hand to his mouth, only letting out a small chortle. But in the end, he is consumed by laughter at the boy's clumsiness.

"HAHAHAHAHA!," Hector laughs loudly in pure happiness and reaches to grab his non-existent stomach from the laughter.

Miguel takes his head out of the bread basket, an irritated frown on his face as well as several breadcrumbs. He turns to look at Hector as the man wipes away the fall of a tear from his eyes and his laughter begins to die out. Miguel stands up straight and wipes the crumbs from his face with his forearm since his sweater was still in the kitchen.

"Ay, Dios," Hector says, a big smile still on his face, "I haven't laughed that hard in a while." and he'd missed it. He'd missed Miguel. Only he could make him laugh so sincerely.

Said boy glares up at the skeleton man.

"That was mean!," he says, "I haven't seen you in two years and you don't even let me hug you!"

"Woah, woah, woah," Hector says. "I put my hands out to catch you, chamaco. You just phased right through me."

The explanation seemed to confuse Miguel because in a sudden change his expression turned conflicted as if he knew why.

"What's wrong, mijo?" Hector asks. He reaches to set a hand on the boy's shoulder but phases right through him. He quizzically looks at his own bony hand. Only now was he paying attention to the boy's appearance. He wasn't surrounded by the same halo of orange light all the souls of the dead had. So he's not cursed. So then how could he see them?

Miguel slowly looks up to Hector and Hector meets his gaze.

"What happened to you?" Hector asks.

"I have no idea," Miguel says.

Imelda reached out to grab Miguel's shirt, prompted by his insult of her salad, but her hand phased right through the helm. Yet the boy still felt a shiver and he turned to look at Imelda. Or to see right through her.

Of course, the boy couldn't see her but the look on his face assured her that he still knew who it was. He felt her.

He was always a bright boy.

Miguel walks towards the ofrenda, Imelda's salad in hand, as Coco continues to look at her daughter. The dead woman is unable to accept the inability to embrace her daughter. Imelda goes up to her and presses their bony hands together. This is how it's always been.

"Ya vamonos. We should see all the things they put out for us on the ofrenda," she says softly.

Coco lifts her eyes to her mother and nods, a smile forming on the older-looking woman.

CRASH!

Imelda, Coco and Miguel's grandmother turn their heads towards the ofrenda room. Miguel dropped the bowl.

"Ay Dios…" Abuelita says. She walks into the kitchen most likely for a broom. Imelda narrows her eyes towards the entrance of the shrine room in anger at her great-great-grandson. Without paying attention to her daughter she walks over rather angrily to the room.

Imelda expected to see Miguel cleaning up his mess. But her husband talking to said boy was definitely not what she was expecting.

Hector is listening intently to Miguel until the boy looks directly at her. His eyes widen. And a goofy smile makes its way on his face.

He can see me.

Imelda was pretty sure that her face was full of shock and her body froze at the moment. Miguel ran up to her, moving around Hector who turned his body to see his wife. Miguel stopped right in front of her and smiled up at her.

"Hola Mama Imelda," he says his smile growing wider and his eyes sparkling from the formation of tears. "I missed you."

Imelda just stares. She doesn't know how to react to the boy.

How?

That was the first thought in her head. She looks to Hector for answers but he just shrugs and mouths an 'I don't know how either'. She places her arms around Miguel and embraces him.

"Ay mijo...Are you cursed again?" she says, weaving her bony fingers through the boys soft brown hair. Miguel pulls away and grabs Imelda's hand tightly.

"You can touch me!" he says happily. "Hector she can touch me!" Miguel turns to Hector and Imelda sees him smiling. And now Imelda was confused once again.

"Of course I can touch you. You cursed yourself again!" she says.

"No, I didn't! I have no idea how this happened," Miguel says.

"You didn't? Then how?"

" He doesn't know," Hector came in, "That's why he was looking for us. So that we can help him figure out."

Imelda looks to her husband.

"And how are we supposed to do that?"

Miguel goes closer to Imelda and stares right into her eyes with newfound determination.

"You're going to take me to the Land of the Dead," the boy says.

There's a lull of silence between the three. Imelda's face is blank as if the boy's words had caused her to glitch. But she snaps out of it and reverts to a face of irritation.

"No," Imelda answers sternly.

"Why not?!" Miguel complains.
Imelda glares at her grandson and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Do you not remember how you almost died the first time? I will not risk that again," she says.

"But-"

"No buts!"

Miguel physically deflates as his hopes are crushed. He stares at the floor with sadness. Hector seems to notice the boys obvious mood.

"Andale, Imelda," he says, "Miguel just wants help."

Imelda stubbornly keeps her chin up and her lips sealed. She was letting them know that the discussion had ended with her decision and no more talking was needed.

Hector sighs.

"Imelda. Whatever is happening to Miguel must not be safe. He needs help and unless one of us knows how to fix him, we need to take him over to get help from the people who will know what to do."

Imelda could barely remember the last time her husband had talked so sternly to her. It shocked her. She lets her arms fall to her sides and looks over to Miguel, realizing she'd broken his hopes and caused him to look so sad. I feel like I'm going to regret this.

"Fine."

Miguel's face brightens with newfound life as a smile forms itself on his face and his eyes gain a sparkle. He jumps to her and gives her a tight hug.

"Oh! Gracias mama Imelda! Muchas gracias!" he says.

Hector sighs in relief. That was easier then he'd thought it'd be.

Just as they all begin to talk to each other the rest of the Riveras come on over and give their greetings to Miguel. Tio Julio jealously states how the boy had grown taller than him while Tia Victoria says that he's always been shorter than Miguel. Tia Rosita squeezes Miguel in a hug that most likely could have suffocated him. And the twins both crack jokes to a laughing Miguel.

"What's so funny, huh?"

Miguel looks over to the doorway and sees his grandma standing over the broken pot, a hand on her hip and the other holding a broom.

"Um…," Miguel says as he looks at his dead family whom his grandma most likely can't see. They shrug in response, "Nothing."

"Then I hope you can clean this up."

Miguel flinches at the older women's strict tone. He walks over to her and takes the broom with caution, afraid of the possibility of getting spanked by the chancla. Her eyes stay transfixed on the boy in anger. Miguel holds the broom to his chest.

"Clean it up before your dog comes to eat it," she says, "And then you can go back up to your room."

"What!? But why!?" Miguel says, forgetting about his fear.

"Because you obviously can't work correctly so you're probably still sick! And that pot was one of my favorites!" she yells back.

Miguel looks down at the broken pot.

"I'm sorry, Abuelita," he says, "I'll pick it up."

His grandma continues to frown and then begins to walk back to the courtyard table. Miguel looks at the pot on the ground and back to his dead family who was staring in confusion. Then all of a sudden Miguel realizes something.

"Abuelita!" he calls.

"Hmm?" the older woman answers from the table.

"I really am sorry. I just got too excited about something," he answers.

"About what?" the woman answers.

Miguel looks back to the ofrenda and meets eyes with Hector, a small smile appearing on his face. Hector stares at the boy, puzzled.

"Well, remember when you told me to keep my soul strong?" he begins, looking back to his abuelita, who had stopped working to listen to him.

"You told me that I needed to stay strong in order to solve my problems and in order to feel better. Just like you did. You're right. I'm gonna keep my soul strong and I'm gonna solve my problems and I'm gonna feel better. I promise."

Everyone stares at the boy who was still standing above the broken pot with the broom in his hands. Hector at that moment realized how important this was to the boy. He had missed us as much as we had missed him and it was now so obvious in the determined voice he had. He wanted to come with us today because it's a blessing that he can see us. And he knows that even if anything is wrong with him, that he wouldn't mind it if he could keep seeing us. Miguel was conflicted but he knew he wanted to crossover at least one more time so he was saying goodbye. A vague and hidden goodbye that his grandma couldn't decipher.

Miguel's grandma looks at the boy with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" she says, "Just get cleaning."

And with that, she leaves into the house to get more food.

A/N: Hey guys! This story hasn't died I promise. I might just take long with updates but I never abandon anything! Sorry for the short chapter. The next will make up for it since the plot finally will progress. The family will finally cross over. And, if all goes well, after that one there will be a chapter given from Ernesto's POV. See ya soon (hopefully).