A/N: Hey guys! So there are a couple of OC's in this chapter, don't worry, they're not going to be main characters (I'm not a fan of FF's with important OC's). I just need them to help me move along the plot and to bring Héctor and Imelda together where otherwise they wouldn't be hanging out (because Imelda is still pissed at him).
Chapter 5: A Date at the River
Imelda did indeed love the river. She couldn't get over the sheer beauty of the waterfall itself or the melodic sound it made as it splashed into the lagoon below. It almost reminded her of why she used to love music. Almost.
The clear, blue, glowing water fell fifty feet from the mouth of the water fall into a lagoon that fed into the continuation of the river. Héctor and Imelda were not the only muertos there –several families were also there enjoying the magical water. A couple of alebrijes were there too, some swimming and others peering at the families, keeping a watchful eye to ensure that all the spirits were safe.
A cool breeze blew a few strands of loose hair in Imeldas face as she watched Pepita splash and play in the base of the waterfall. She couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Her cat had always loved water, a strange quality for a cat, and seeing Pepita enjoy herself so warmed Imelda's cold heart.
Meanwhile, Héctor watched Imelda. He watched her eyes drift between the cat and the waterfall. Sometimes she would close her eyes as she listened to the music of the water, but she'd quickly catch herself and her eyes would snap open, cloudy for a second before she forced them back to clarity.
Seeing Imelda get swept away by the melody of the waterfall brought him back to a time when she was his. Héctor's heart longed for those days. He closed his eyes and he could still remember strumming his guitar gently and watching his wife...
A young Imelda sat next to him, their knees touching, and she smiled at him. Her eyes were filled with fire and passion. She was a musica, he was a musico, and they were perfect for each other. He played the introduction to a song, his fingers moving swiftly and expertly on the guitar. His palms were slightly sweaty, something that didn't happen unless he was playing for Imelda alone. How strange that he could play in front of the whole of Santa Cecilia, but in front of this one woman, he became a nervous wreck. Nonetheless, Héctor was an expert at the guitar and even nerves and sweaty palms couldn't pull a single mistake from him.
His heart began to pound as the introduction ended and he held his breath as Imelda began to sing…
"Ay de mi Llorona…" Chills went up his spine at hearing the sorrow in her voice, the way that she brought the song to life. "Llorona de azúl celeste…"
It was his turn to sing, so he sucked in a breath, "Ay de miiii Llorona…" His heart swelled upon seeing Imelda close her eyes and smile at the way that he sang the "mi". He would slide the notes, sing it more powerfully, adding something of his own to the beautiful classic.
They continued to sing as he played the guitar, their voices melding into the saddest, most beautiful melodies…
Frowning at this memory, Héctor contemplated the foreshadowment of the song. He sighed, thinking the last words to himself "Y aunque la vida me cuesta, Llorona/ no dejare de quererte." They rang true to this day. No matter how dreary things got for him in life and the afterlife, he never stopped loving this woman and he never would.
Pepita spun in the air then belly flopped into the water causing Imelda to laugh loudly and heartily. The sound warmed Héctor's heart and it caught Pepita's attention. The cat's ears went up and she seemed to remember that she was at the river with the company of two muertos. So Pepita made her way back to the pair, shaking the water off of herself and wetting Héctor and Imelda once she reached them.
"Ay Pepita!" Imelda laughed, shaking her head and pretending to be mad through her smile.
Pepita brushed up against Imelda, then circled her and Héctor, brushing up against them and pushing them closer. Imelda's smile wavered, but she leaned back into the cat as it circled them as a housecat would circle and brush up against it's owner's legs. When Pepita was in front of them one more, she leaned forward, rearing her tail in the air in a pouncing stance. Her tail flicked unpredictably behind her as she became excited about something.
Imelda turned to Héctor, a confused eyebrow arched, "What?"
Héctor smiled, his golden tooth shimmering. "Ready Pepita?"
The alebrije leapt over the pair and then lay with her belly touching the ground so that Héctor and Imelda could mount her once more. Héctor hopped onto Pepita and stretched out his hand to Imelda. Pursing her lips, Imelda merely raised her eyebrow before getting on Pepita for the second time without his assistance.
Grabbing onto Pepita's fur tightly with his ivory hands, Héctor grinned, "Go Pepita! A la cascada!"
Pepita jumped twenty feet in the air, and then soared towards the mouth of the waterfall. She zoomed about half a mile away from the edge and then plummeted, splashing into the water. Imelda understood what was going on immediately and begrudgingly scooted in closer to Héctor to hold him tighter.
"Why am I worried that this is going to kill me?!" Imelda murmured, closing her eyes as they neared the mouth of the waterfall.
"Hahaha, you're only human!" Héctor chortled before they plummeted.
Imelda screamed in Héctor's ear so loudly that if he were still alive, he certainly would have suffered from hearing damage. However, Héctor was too focused on the feeling of her holding him tightly to notice; he smiled and laughed the entire way down.
Pepita opened her wings to break the fall, but drew them back in when they were about eight feet from the bottom of the river. They splashed into the water, and Pepita let the current take them down the river.
They were zooming, floating, nearly sixty kilometers per hour down the river back towards where those from Santa Cecilia resided. Imelda no longer screamed, but laughed at the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair. The water that splashed against her face felt as magical as the water looked. This, she decided, was better than flying.
The current slowed as the trio approached the neighborhood next to Santa Cecilia's; Santa Perpétua. There were many restaurants on the river side, lit with torches in the setting sun. Papel picado streamed overhead with images of happy skulls and hearts cut into them. Because the river didn't cross through Santa Cecilia, they'd have to get off here.
As Pepita waded towards the river bank, Imelda caught her breath, mesmerized by the beauty of the river-city around her. She found herself thinking about how romantic it was and quickly remembered who she was there with. No sooner did Pepita hit the land and stop for them to get off, than Imelda leaped off, to get away from Héctor. This the eskeleto noticed and he hopped off quickly to follow her, nervously plunging his hands into the pockets of his brown pants.
"Imelda, I-" Héctor started, his voice soft, genuine.
Imelda turned to him. Her eyes were cold but he could see something that resembled hope in the back of her eyes. Something that she didn't want him to see. So she blurted, "I have to go."
With that, Imelda spun and began to march away.
"Wait- When can we-" Héctor started.
Imelda squeezed her eyes shut but she saw his face, framed with that straight dark brown hair and that silly straw hat... You're angry at him, remember. He betrayed you. Imelda told herself. Stay angry because if you're not angry you'll be sad. And if you're sad you'll be weak. Imelda stopped, turned back and said, "I appreciate you bringing me Pepita but I already told you, this cannot happen."
And with that she spun on her heel once again, marching away defiantly. Imelda hadn't taken but three steps when she once again heard "Imelda!" But the voice wasn't Héctor's; it was high pitched and sweet. It was the voice of a little girl.
"Doña Imelda!" the voice repeated.
Imelda froze and looked around to find the source of the voice. She glanced back to see Héctor pointing up, and there she saw little Rosalinda, on the balcony of one of the restaurants towards the end of the block.
Upon seeing her granddaughter's childhood best friend, tears welled into Imelda's eyes. "Rosalinda!" Imelda cried, stepping towards the young girl.
Rosalinda leaped over the balcony causing Imelda to scream. When she fell, she came apart; her head rolled off and her ribcage was tossed, sprawled away from her limbs that also fell off in different directions.
Panicking, Imelda ran to the young skeleton and watched in horror and awe as the girl put herself back together almost as quickly as she came apart. Rosalinda giggled as she ran up to Imelda and hugged her.
"Señora Rivera! How have you been?! When did you get here?!" Rosalinda cried, throwing her arms around Imelda.
"Oh, Rosa! I just got here a couple of weeks ago! I don't know why I didn't think to come look for you sooner!" Imelda cried, squeezing the little girl.
"How has Doña Socorro been? And Elena?!" Rosa smiled.
"Oh, they've missed you!" Imelda sighed.
Rosa pulled away from the hug and looked up at Imelda with a happy glint in her eyes, "I know. But I mean, between Dia de Los Muertos and now."
Imelda thought about this for a moment and admitted, "It's been hard on them. I got sick. It was hardest on Elena. But she'll put an altar for the both of us, this year."
At this, Rosa glanced past Imelda at Héctor, who stood watching them from a distance, rubbing his arm. "And Héctor?"
Imelda gritted her teeth but quickly forced the smile back onto her face. Rosa ran over to hug Héctor too. The two embraced for several long seconds before Rosa took his hand and dragged him over to Imelda. Imelda shook her head and sighed to herself. She couldn't deny how good he was with kids. If only he had been there for their daughter.
"You know, Sra. Rivera, Héctor really helped me adjust to being down here!" Rosa said softly. "I don't know how I would have gotten along without him."
Tears welled in Imelda's eyes as she nodded.
"I understand why you loved him," Rosa nodded, rocking back and forth, oblivious to Imelda's bulging eyes and Héctor's blush. "He is a really kind person and a great musician! He sang me to sleep every night we were together! Sometimes he cried, because it made him sad he couldn't sing to his own daughter every night. I wish he still sang…"
"Those days are behind me, Rosita," Héctor smiled.
"Still, when Coco and Elena come to us, I think you'll be able to fix everything with a song!" Rosa smiled, spinning around.
Imelda's heart was now heavy. She knew that her husband was a good man at heart. She knew he was kind and gentle and an amazing singer. She knew he regretted leaving them. But it wasn't enough. Besides, it was far easier to be angry than sad.
"Maybe he will," Imelda nodded to the girl.
"Rosalinda!" a voice called from the balcony.
Rosa turned for a second, and then smiled to the pair. "I think I have to go now… But do you think that maybe we could go to the Feria de Santa Cecilia together? It's almost her patron day, you know."
Biting her lip, Imelda contemplated this for a moment. Another day with Héctor… but Rosalinda would be there. "Don't you want to go with your family?" she asked gently.
Rosa turned up at the balcony. "They never want to go anywhere! They're still getting used to it down here. Besides, they're only my second or third Tias or something. My parents are still in the land of the living, so you're the closest thing I've got!"
Héctor rubbed his arm silently, but the bone on bone scratching was obvious in the silence. Meanwhile, Imelda shifted uncomfortably, refusing to meet Rosalinda's eyes. Sensing an imminent "no", Rosa pleaded, "Oh please Señora Rivera? I know you don't like music but I haven't been to a feria in so long! We don't need to be there that long! I just want to ride on a couple of rides and see-"
Rosa stopped mid sentence making eye contact with Héctor who gave the subtlest shake of head. Thankfully, this went unnoticed by Imelda who was still contemplating going to the feria. She looked into Rosa's eyes one more time and broke. She knew she couldn't deny this girl a couple of hours at a feria. She would have given anything to be able to do this when Rosalinda had recently died.
"Of course, Rosa," Imelda sighed.
Screeching in excitement –and startling Pepita who had been grooming herself quietly in the background- Rosa jumped up and hugged Héctor and Imelda. "Thank you so much! It's this Saturday! Don't forget it please?! Héctor knows where I live. I'll see you then!"
With this, Rosa dashed back into the restaurant.
"Guess it's a date-" Héctor added with a shy grin.
The pang in Imelda's ghost heart was too real so she just rolled her eyes in response. "I wouldn't bet on it." Addressing her cat, Imelda's tone changed from hostile to more gentle, "Come Pepita."
Pepita walked past Héctor to her rightful owner and followed Imelda away. Once the two reached the end of the block, Héctor shouted, "See you Saturday?"
He didn't see the tear roll down Imelda's cheek. All Héctor heard was a strong "Sí" in response.
Leaning over the balcony, Santiago's eyes narrowed as he saw Rosalinda hug what seemed to be Héctor Rivera and a woman in the street. After their embrace, the young esqueleta ran back into the restaurant on her way back to their table.
Santiago put on a charming smile and turned back to Rosalinda's Tía Chucha. "She's fine, just saw an acquaintance." He took his place at their table next to Chucha, a guest at the Gutierrez family dinner. He was there with Chucha Gutierrez, an aunt of Rosalinda Gutierrez, but not the one the young girl was staying with.
Rosalinda's head popped up as she made it up the stairs and onto the balcony.
An older woman scolded, "What have I told you about jumping off buildings?"
The young girl looked down, "Sorry Tía Maria."
"Who were those people you were talking to?" Santiago asked casually, taking a sip of wine.
Rosalinda's eyes lit up and she smiled. "Héctor and Imelda Rivera!" She turned to her elderly aunt, "You know, the one who I stayed with until you arrived?"
Santiago almost choked on the wine at the mention of Imelda Rivera but sucked it in and tried to act casual.
"Speaking of which," Rosa added in her sweet voice, "Do you think I can maybe go to the feria with Héctor and Imelda? They said they'd take me if it's okay with you!"
Tía Maria smiled gently, "Of course, mi amor. As long as you stay with them."
Rosalinda wriggled contentedly in her seat. Meanwhile, Santiago took one last sip of his wine before standing. He turned to Chucha, squeezed her handm and then told the Gutierrez family, "Speaking of la feria, I just remembered that I still have some things for work that I need done soon. I must go now, but I thank you for your hospitality."
And with that he left the Gutierrez family to speed down the stairs. He knew this information would bring him a hearty reward from Ernesto de la Cruz.
Feria=fair
esqueleta/esqueleto= skeleton
muertos= dead people
A la cascada= to the waterfall
P.S Rosalinda in this is NOT related to Miguel's Tia Rosa. She'll come later in the story ;)