Hidden Masks Chapter 2
As soon as Imelda took off, Victoria quietly looked down towards the streets, as if she was willing them to make Miguel appear out of thin air. When she was younger (and alive), Victoria would often stare off into space to pass time while she was learning how to sew, impatient to make her first pair of shoes.
But that was a long time ago. Victoria Rivera was no longer alive, being robbed of life in her mid-30s, thanks to a deadly illness that no one could name. Unfortunately, this also made her the youngest Rivera to cross over to the Land of the Dead, much to the devastation of her family.
Hopefully Miguel doesn't end up here permanently. He needs to go home and listen to Mama Imelda.
"Victoria? Mija, are you alright?"
Snapping out of her reverie, it took Victoria a few minutes to realize that her uncles, aunt and papá were staring at her in , Victoria turned back to the group with her normal, stony expression, showing no sign of emotion.
"Qué pasa, Papá?" Victoria asked matter-of-factly.
"Nothing, niña. Its just that you remind me of your Mamá sometimes when she has something on her mind." Julio responded. "Is everything alright?"
"Sí, Papá. Estoy bien." Victoria responded. "I hope Abuelita finds Dante soon. Miguel needs to get home, Elena is going to be inquieto otherwise."
Sighing softly, Julio took his daughter's hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze before letting go. Knowing his youngest daughter, she probably was going out of her mind with worry right about now. His eldest daughter on the other hand had her own ways of dealing with her emotions.
"Sí, niña." Julio replied. "She probably is. But knowing Elena, she's not going to give up until she finds him."
"Sí, Victoria," Rosita added. "I wouldn't be worried. Mama Imelda won't stop until Miguel is safe and sound. But I do hope they work this out."
"Work what out, Tía?" asked Victoria. "The music ban won't be lifted. Abuelita is too stubborn for that." And too proud she thought.
"No, but for Miguel's sake, I hope they work something out. Both here and in La Tierra de los Vivos," replied Rosita. "Knowing our living family, they probably didn't take it too well when they found out Miguel played the guitar."
"No, probablemente no. Elena definitely would not have taken it well," said Victoria.
"It'd would have reminded her of what happened when Coco got hurt, Vicita," Rosita added. "You were no more than five or six at the time but your Mamá decided to sneak off dancing to the plaza and wound up spraining her ankle. You and Elena were so upset."
"I'm not surprised, Tía," Victoria added ruefully. "Elena has always been a firecracker, even as a child."
"It reminds me of when Coco was a little girl." Said Oscar.
"Remember when Coco came home from the plaza because she was searching for Héctor?" finished Felipe
Both of them quickly covering theirs mouth with their hands after a quick nudge from Rosita. Oops. That was supposed to be a well-kept secret.
At this, Victoria looked curiously towards her gran tío, her jaw nearly falling off in shock. Most of the stories about her mother usually were about the first pair of shoes she ever made or the harmless pranks she pulled on her uncles when she was a child. Mama Imelda had forbidden the twins from telling any stories about el músico to Victoria and Elena. Once Imelda, the twins, Rosita, Julio and Victoria were dead, no one had been allowed to talk to or even seek him out.
"Qué?" asked Victoria. "When did this happen?" Looking at her father, Victoria looked sharply at him through her glasses. "Papá?"
"I'm not sure I should tell you, niña," Julio said. "It involves el musico and you know how much your abuelita hates stories about him."
"She's not here now, Papá. Por favor dime, quiero saber. Tell me." Pleaded Victoria.
Julio sighed. His daughter had a way of getting to him, even as a child, with her pleading voice. Holding his hat in his hands, Julio began to talk as his daughter, sister, and uncles-in-law listened with rapt attention.
"Your mother used to sneak down to dance in the plaza when she was a little girl. But as you know she stopped doing that after she got injured and scared you and your hermana. She told me about this shortly before I died. Apparently, when she was about ten, she ran away after an argument with your grandmother in an attempt to try and find el musico."
At that, everyone but the twins gasped in shock, stunned at what they heard.
"What happened next, Papá?" asked Victoria. But Julio shook his head, afraid of revealing too much.
"Eventually she gave up and went home after a couple of hours," said Felipe.
"Pero Imelda estaba tan molesta." Added Oscar. "It was the one of the few times that we saw her cry. It was as if the world ended."
Victoria took a breath, taking in all the new information. None of this had ever been told to her. Her father took her hands again and spoke, almost in a whisper, "Promise me, Victoria. That you won't tell your Abuelita that we told you this. She won't take it well and knowing her, she's probably on the verge of a breakdown right about now."
While the other Riveras waited behind for news on Miguel, they were wrong on one thing: Imelda Rivera was NOT in the middle of a breakdown. She was too busy looking high and low for her grandson whilst traveling on Pepita's back.
So far, nobody she had asked had seen Miguel and despite Pepita's best efforts, she couldn't find him either, neither through the throngs of people heading up to de la Cruz's mansion nor the ones standing in the streets. It was too crowded and sending Pepita down into the crowds might cause a panic. Dante had been put back on the ground, his exuberance too much for the giant alebreje.
"We're not giving up, Pepita," Imelda had told her alebreje. "He's out there somewhere, I can feel it. I just hope that we can find him before sunrise."
Pepita roared in agreement while Dante barked loudly from the ground. Meanwhile, Imelda kept talking to her alebreje, in an attempt to try and calm her nerves.
"It's not that I don't want him to play music, but I can't go there on Dia de los Muertos and watch. It'll be him all over again," Imelda said firmly, twisting her hands in Pepita's fur as she became increasingly upset. "I know it probably sounds egoísta. I understand the fun in playing music and I understand Miguel finding the joy in music like I once did. I just can't bear to hear music and see him all over again!"
As people began looking towards her, Imelda quickly took a deep breath and pulled herself together. Now is not the time to have an emotional breakdown in the middle of the street. Finding Miguel was the top priority.
Walking quickly down the crowded street, Imelda looked around for any sign of her wayward grandson as Pepita took to the skies again, scanning the crowd. Dante ran ahead, looking in alleys and peeking in trashcans.
"He's not going to be there, pero." Imelda muttered angrily, narrowly avoiding running into a skeleton wearing a formal suit. After uttering a quick 'lo siento', the skeleton quickly called out: "Espere!"
"Are you the family looking for the living boy, Señora?"
"Sí, I am. Pour qúe? Have you seen him?"
"No, but earlier I heard about a living boy making an appearance at the party. Apparently, he was quite the hit at the party. I'm not sure if he's still there though," he said. Then giving Imelda's clothes a onceover, he added sarcastically "Sin ofrender, but the party is pretty hard to get into. You'll have better luck making an appointment."
At that Imelda sorely considered taking off her boot, the better to slap the skeleton across the head. But what good would that do? Angrily, she stormed off, swearing in Spanish under her breath, as Pepita met up with her at the end of street.
"Esto es una broma? I am NOT making an appointment to see my grandson. Pepita, is there any way we can locate Miguel or is he inside the mansion?"
At that, Pepita took off again, heading for the mansion. At the same moment, Dante also took off, running haphazardly until Imelda could no longer see him.
"DANTE!"
