El Viaje de Coquita
El Capítulo Dos
Miguel wheeled Mamá Coco to her her bedroom, passing through the courtyard where his family was making final preparations for Día de los Muertos.
"Hola, Elena," Mamá Coco greeted her daughter.
"Hola, Abuelita," Miguel repeated the greeting.
Elena slowed down her sweeping. "Where are you taking your Mamá Coco, Miguel?"
"She wanted to show me something in her room."
"Ah. Well, be ready for dinner in one hour, mijo."
"Sí, Abuelita."
Miguel continued steering his bisabuela to her room.
When they got there, Mamá Coco asked Miguel to shut the door. "Cierra la puerta, por favor."
Miguel complied. "So, what did you want to show me?"
"In the drawer, there's a red book under my crochet materials."
Miguel opened the drawer and found what she was talking about. "What is it?"
"You have to promise not to let anything happen to that book or anything inside it. It means more to me than my life, Miguel."
Miguel gripped the book with both hands. "I promise, Mamá Coco."
"Inside that book are letters that my papá wrote for me when I was a little girl. I hid them all when Mamá made the rule of no music."
"And now you want me to keep them safe after you're gone?"
"Sí. Papá was a very nice man; I know he was. He was a wonderful musician who wrote such beautiful songs, and Mamá was a wonderful singer as well."
Miguel opened the book, finding that it was filled with letters inserted inside the pages. He spotted a torn corner of a photograph with a man's face on it.
He showed it to Mamá Coco. "Is this him?"
"Sí. I wanted you to be just like my papá; kind, loving, and passionate for music. I would die a happy woman if someone knew how much Papá loved me."
Miguel closed the book. "It's in good hands now, Mamá Coco; I will protect this with my life."
"Gracias, mijo."
"I'll put this in a safe place, and then we can join the rest of the family for dinner." He tucked the book in a pocket in his apron and wheeled Mamá Coco out of her room.
He parked her at her usual place at the table, and then he turned to find a safe place for Mamá Coco's memorabilia.
He was stopped by his abuelita. "Where are you going?"
"I need to go wash up."
"¡Apúrate!"
Miguel ran to hide the book in the attic, under the makeshift ofrenda for Ernesto de la Cruz. He slithered back down to the dining room, cleaning himself off on the way down.
Elena strolled to Miguel's spot at the table carrying a steaming plate of tamales. "So, what did Mamá Coco want to show you, Miguel?"
Miguel immediately took a bite of one of the tamales served to him to give him time to think of a response.
"Hambriento, ¿verdad?"
Miguel nodded.
"If only you'd eat when you're supposed to, Miguelito." Elena covered her grandson's face with kisses.
Miguel gave a whiny mumble in response.
Later that evening, the family went outside to watch the sunset, giving Miguel the chance to retrieve his guitar from the ofrenda room.
As he did so, his eyes drifted to the torn photo of Mamás Coco and Imelda and the disappeared musician whose face was now in Miguel's possession.
He noticed that the gap in the photo was smaller than the fragment from Mamá Coco's mementos of her Papá.
Curious, he took the photo off the ofrenda and took it to the attic with his guitar.