So, we finally get our first song in this chapter! Time for my title to live up to it's name. It might be a little on the nose, but I like it. I hope you do too! :)
Becca sat for a long time at the edge of the walk way, using the dim lighting to stare at her reflection in the water below. It was the first time she'd been able to get a look at her new face. She had ringlets, like flower petals, circling all the way around her eyes and a decorative spider web design on her forehead.
She'd seen that everyone else had some kind of facial markings, so she'd been wondering what hers had looked like. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was a little creeped out that all this was painted directly on her skull, she would have thought of the patterns as – well – pretty. Almost like she was wearing makeup. Her parents had never actually let her wear makeup before.
Becca sighed. She knew what she'd said to Héctor had been mean. But she did not feel bad about it! Well. . . okay, maybe she felt a little bad. He'd been nothing but kind to her, taking her in when she had no where else to go. And how did she thank him? By straight up insulting his home, not to mention his culture! She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't bother coming to look for her. She probably wouldn't want to come look for her either.
Eventually, she began to grow restless. She wondered what 'time' it was. She turned around briefly to see that all the people had retreated into their homes, probably turning in for the day. She sighed again. At least it was much more peaceful here than in the bustling plaza. She just really wished she had something to do, like her game, or even some music to listen to.
That actually gave her an idea. She might not have her CD player anymore, but that didn't mean she couldn't make her own music. She thought about it, and tried to come up with an appropriate song for her current – situation. A good one immediately popped into her head, and for the first time, she wouldn't be singing it ironically. She took a deep breath and softly began to call out into the night.
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains – Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night – And touched the sound of silence
Héctor didn't know what to do. How long did you give a preteen to cool down when they were upset? Hours? Days? He'd never had to deal with this before. Not with Coco being so young when he'd – left.
"Augh! Americans! Always so dramatic!" Chuy scoffed when he came to sit back down with his friends.
"More like disrespectful! That girl deserves a beating!" Perla lectured with clear irritation.
"What good will that do? Not like we can feel pain like we used to," Chuy reminded her.
"Well, something needs to be done! If that little escuincla is going to stay here, she needs to learn some respect for her elders," Perla continued.
"Maybe, I should try to find her – talk to her," Héctor suggested quietly.
"That won't teach her a lesson! I say, let her sit out there until she comes back to apologize!" Perla snapped.
Héctor wasn't sure if he could do that. Sure her words had hurt, but a part of him could understand. This wasn't exactly a five-star hotel. And the other part of him was hoping she hadn't really meant what she said. . .
"If she even is still out there," Chuy motioned towards the dark. "After what she just said, you really think she'd stick around?" he reasoned.
Héctor felt a small wave of panic when he realized Chuy might be right. What if she had run off? Who knows what could happen to her out there. He thought he should go look for her, but, where would he even start? He was beginning to get Jorge's point.
"Maybe if you hadn't insulted her!" Héctor shot a glare at Chuy.
"Eh, she's too sensitive. She won't last long here if she can't handle a little novatada," Chuy reasoned.
Héctor rose with a scowl. "I'm, going to take a walk," he said. He didn't think they'd believe that, but oh well! He had no idea if he was going to be able to find Becca, but he had to try. It was better than just sitting her worrying.
Chuy and Perla just looked at each other as he stalked off in the direction Becca had taken.
Héctor didn't actually have to go far. After a minute of walking he began to hear something. It sounded like someone singing. Who would be out singing in the middle of the night? As he got closer, he began to make out the words.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared – Disturb the sound of silence
He saw a figure sitting at the edge of the walkway with a white, four leaf clover on their back, and he realized it was Becca. She was the one singing? She stood up as she continued, her voice getting louder.
Fools, said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
Héctor walked up behind her, but she was so into her song that she didn't notice.
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made!
She sang out loudly into the dark. Héctor reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Uh, Becca?" he said hesitantly.
She let out a shrill squeal in surprise, and quickly flipped around to she who had touched her. Yet in doing so, she lost her footing and ended up tumbling backwards into the water below with a sizable splash!
"Huy," was all Héctor managed to say. He scrambled to the edge of the walkway and peered into the inky, black water, trying to find her.
Becca stared up at the surface of the water for a moment, trying to piece together what had just happened. She had been too focused on singing. She needed to learn to pay more attention, because this was getting ridiculous!
She swam up and broke the surface, grabbing on to the edge of one of the wood planks. She noticed Héctor a few feet to her left, staring down into the water.
"Would you stop doing that! You're gonna give me a ha– " but she didn't finish the sentence when she realized what she was saying. "Never mind," she added quickly.
As soon as he saw her, he rushed over to help, but Becca didn't exactly wait for him. He knelt down next to her as she pulled herself out and resituated on the walkway.
"Becca! Are you alright? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to–" she held up a hand to stop him.
"It's okay. I'm fine," she assured him, and flicked her wrists to try and shake off some of the excess water.
It didn't do much as her oversized hoodie was now completely soaked. She rose and pulled it off before attempting to ring it out, exposing her bright, pink T-shirt underneath. It helped, but only a little. She wasn't really strong enough to ring it out thoroughly. So she threw it over the nearest post to dry.
"You, have a beautiful voice, amiga," she heard him say from behind her.
It made her flinch. She felt her face heat up with embarrassment and shame.
"Oh, um. Thank you," she said, turning to look at him. "How long were you listening?" she asked hesitantly.
"Long enough. Think you woke up the whole neighborhood," he told her with a chuckle.
"Great!" she said with mock enthusiasm, sitting back down next to him. "So, know any good nearby holes that I can crawl into and never come out of?" she asked sarcastically.
"You mean, besides the one we're in now?" he asked, eying her.
Ouch! Guess she deserved that.
"Héctor, about what I said I–" she hesitated for a moment. "I'm really sorry. That was way outta line," she admitted.
"You are?" he asked, sounding surprised.
"Well, yeah. I just – overreacted to what that guy said. Doesn't mean I should take it out on you," she unexplained sadly.
Becca wasn't sure if she actually felt cold from being wet, but she found herself trying to ball up. She crossed her legs and put her hands in her lap, hunching over to try and be as small as possible.
A long silence passed. Becca didn't feel like there was anything else she could say to make it better. She was still amazed he was even here at all.
"So," Héctor said, finally breaking the stillness. "That song you were singing – it sounded kind of sad," he mentioned.
"I did just die. Aren't I allowed to be depressed? It's one of the five stages, right?" she reasoned.
"Five stages?" he asked.
"You know, the five stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression." She rattled them off, counting on her fingers. "Think I might be skipping around," she realized.
"Did you write it?" he wondered.
"What? That song?" she asked in surprise. "No! It's by Simon and Garfunkel," she said as if that should be obvious, but he just stared at her like he didn't know what she was talking about. "You don't know Simon and Garfunkel? What, have you been living under a rock?" she asked skeptically.
"I haven't been living at all," he reminded her.
"Okay, fair enough, but you've been – around." Becca circled her hands in the air. "Do they not play any American music in this place?" she wondered.
He shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I'm not really a fan of music," he admitted.
"What?! How can you not like music? Everyone likes music. I mean – it's everywhere," she argued.
"I – have my reasons," was all he would tell her as he looked sadly away.
"But–" Hadn't he just complemented her on her singing? It didn't really make sense, but he looked upset, so she decided not to press it. "Okay," she consented and looked back out towards the water. She wasn't really sure what to do now.
They heard the sound of a light clicking off behind them, and it got just a little darker.
"Looks like it's time to go inside, vámonos," he said, and got up to leave.
Becca watched him out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't move. He only took a few steps before he noticed she wasn't following.
"Are you coming?" he wondered at her.
Becca frowned in confusion, and flipped around to face him.
"A-are you serious?" she asked with incredulity.
"Yes – why do you always sound so surprised?" he asked with his own skepticism.
"I guess I had just thought— I mean after what I— Why would you. . ." she trailed off. She couldn't quite get the sentences out. She thought for sure she'd burnt that bridge!
He smiled at her flustered speech. "You apologized. I forgive you. Now let's go. You need to get dried off or you'll get bone rot," he warned.
As much as Becca didn't like the sound of that, she still hesitated. "Really, just like that?"
"Why not just like that?" he reasoned.
Becca got a wild look on her face. "Well – because – if I had mouthed off like that back home – my parents would have kicked me out and told me that if I didn't like it that I could go find somewhere else to live!" she exclaimed. He gave her a dubious look. "Okay well, maybe not my parents," she admitted. "But it's not an uncommon thing," she told him.
"People don't care about family in America?" he asked in surprise.
"Not to this extent. Not to the point where they put up pictures of dead family members on a – of—" she couldn't remember the word.
"An ofrenda?" he offered.
"Yeah – that – what even is that?" she asked, not trusting herself to try the word again.
"It's like a–" he snapped a couple of times, putting a hand to his head. Becca guessed he was having trouble finding a comparable word in English. "A 'shrine' – for dead family members. It gets decorated with things that related to the family when they were in the living world. It's what allows us to cross the bridge to visit the Land of the Living on Dia de Muertos," he explained.
Becca gave him an uncomfortable look. "That's – a bit creepy," she confessed.
"For you, maybe. Now, are you going to come inside, or are you going to make me drag you?" His exasperation with her clear.
"Uh – no – that won't be necessary." She got up to grab her hoodie and followed him down the path and into one of the houses.
References:
The Sound of Silence - by Simon and Garfunkel
Although, I picture her singing more along the lines of the Disturbed version. The way they've mastered that song is AMAZING!