El Viaje de Coquita
El Capítulo Catorce

"Bienvenidos a la Tierra de los Muertos. Por favor tengan todos ofrendas listo para reingreso."

Socorro watched as the spirits ahead of her checked in with the travel agent, presenting the offerings they had collected from the Land of the Living. "So, this is where everybody goes after they die?"

"Sí." Imelda started looking around. "And I don't want to see Elena here tonight."

"Si usted está teniendo dificultades con sus viajes, los agentes al Departamento de Reuniones de Familias están disponibles ayudarlo."

Socorro saw other spirits queuing to head to the Land of the Living, getting scanned by a machine that searched for their fotos on ofrendas in the Land of the Living. "And you really do need fotos put up to be able to cross over?"

Héctor nodded. "The bridge won't hold your weight if you try to cross without a foto."

"Y asegurarse de que vuelve antes de amanecer. ¡Disfruta tu visita!"

Socorro pointed back the way they came. "So, are all the people crossing this bridge the people with families in Santa Cecilia?"

Héctor nodded. "Sí. Each bridge leads to a different city in Mexico."

The girl craned her neck to see a handful of skeletons queuing for a door labeled "Los Recién Llegados". She couldn't see anyone that looked like her Abuelita.

"Next!"

"Oop! It's our turn." Héctor strolled up to the agent's desk. "Buenas noches, Jorge."

"Buenas noches, Héctor. Anything to declare?"

"Sí, actually." He presented Socorro to him.

The young girl smiled nervously. "Hola..."

Jorge's jawbone dropped off his face and hit the desk.

Soon, a pair of officers were escorting the Riveras to the Department of Family Reunions. All the while, skeletons were gawking at Socorro with wide eyes and gasps.

Coco looked wistfully at her bisanieta. "I miss my ears."

They soon reached the DFR lobby, where skeletons were busy trying to sort out their travel issues with various agents. The officers led them to a desk toward the back of the lobby, presenting Socorro to the case worker.

The agent struggled to stifle a shriek. "H-Have a seat just over here, por favor."

Socorro complied, pulling her sombrero over her head as far as she could.

Imelda talked to the agent while Coco and Héctor sat with Socorro.

"We'll get this sorted out soon."

"Gracias, Miguel." Socorro covered her mouth in embarrassment. "I-I mean, Papá Héctor."

Héctor and Coco shared bemused glances.

After two minutes of waiting, a clerk emerged from the office overlooking the waiting room. "Are you the Rivera family?"

The family gathered inside the office as the clerk sat down at his desk.

The clerk looked to Socorro. "Welp, you're cursed."

"WHAT?!"

The clerk sifted through the stack of papers on his desk. "El Día de Muertos is a day to give to the dead," he pulled out a slip from the stack, "and you stole from the dead!"

"B-But I wasn't stealing the guitar!"

"Yes, you were," Coco's parents responded simultaneously.

"It was Papá Héctor's; he would've wanted it returned to his family!"

"You didn't ask me."

Dante started sniffing the clerk's desk.

"I was asking de la Cruz."

The clerk sneezed. "Perdóname, who's alebrije is that?"

Héctor laughed nervously. "That would be mine."

Socorro noticed that Dante did indeed sport the colors and even the wings of an alebrije. "When did that happen?"

"Could you set him outside? I'm - -" the clerk sneezed again, "- - terrible allergic."

Héctor complied with the clerk's request.

"How can you be allergic to a hairless dog?"

The clerk taped his glasses to his face. "The same way I can sneeze despite having no nose." He sneezed again.

Victoria watched her abuelito leave the office. "So, how do we send her back home?"

"Well, seeing as this is a family matter, the way to - -"

"So, the guitar really does belong to Papá Héctor!"

The clerk frowned at the interruption. "As I was saying, the way to undo a family curse is to get your family's blessing."

Héctor had walked back into the office. "That's it?"

"Sí, get your family's blessing, and everything should go back to normal. But you need to do it by sunrise."

"What happens at sunrise?"

"¡Híjole!" Julio gasped. "Your hand!"

Socorro looked and saw that the bones in one of her fingers were now visible. "AAH!"

She flexed the finger in question before fainting.

Coco caught her and shook her awake. "Whoa there! We can't have you fainting on us!"

"But not to worry. Your family's here, so you can get your blessing right now."

Imelda approached the clerk. "So, what needs to be done?"

"First, we need a cempazuchitl pedal."

Socorro found one wedged under her sleeve. "One of these?"

"Sí." The clerk turned to Imelda. "Now, with the pedal, you look at the living and say her name."

Imelda complied, her voice possessing all the emotion of a flour tortilla. "Socorro."

"Nailed it. Now say 'I give you my blessing.'."

Imelda repeated the words, the tortilla filling itself with white rice. "I give you my blessing."

As the pedal began to glow, the rice became filled with beans and salsa.

"I give you my blessing to go home,..."

Then topped with shredded cheese.

"...to apologize to your living familia,..."

Before finishing off with diced habañero peppers.

"...AND TO PUT AN END TO YOUR BROTHER PLAYING MUSIC!"

"WHAT?!" Socorro looked to the clerk. "Sh-She can't do that!"

"Well, technically, she can add whatever condition she wants."

Socorro heaved a sigh. "Fine."

"And then you give the pedal to Socorro."

The two reached for each other, and as soon as Socorro's fingers touched the pedal, she was whisked back into de la Cruz's tomb.

Socorro felt herself all over before looking out the window. "No skeletons!"

Her eyes drifted to the guitar, and she immediately hopped back up on the marble coffin.

"No more cold nights alone for you." She plucked the guitar from its mount and ran for the exit.

She only got 3 steps before slamming into the desk in the Land of the Dead.