Author's notes: The story is set in the 1920s, so it will contain some slang that you are not familiar with.

Dumb Dora-A stupid female

Harboiled-tough strong guy

Chapter 3: Everything's Going to be All Right

While Héctor bitterly wept, Gloria searched the church for the Best Man. She found the Señora Alma Madrigal, along with her daughter, Julieta, her son-in-law, Agustin, and their daughters, Isabella, Luisa Jessica, and Mirabel.

"Hola," Gloria greeted them, as best as she could despite the sad circumstances. "Has Bruno finally arrived?"

The Madrigals shared each other a sorrowful look.

"No," Alma said with a heavy heart. "He's gone."

"Gone!? What do you mean?"

"He disappeared!" Agustin said. "The rest of the family stayed home to look for him!"

"Gloria, do you know why he ran away?" Julieta asked. "He looked so upset the day before but he wouldn't tell us why."

Gloria sighed. "I don't know, either. Héctor has been wondering his prescience. The bride said she told him not to come."

"What does this have to do with my son's disappearance?" Alma asked coldly and impatiently.

"It would explain why he didn't show up at all today." Gloria shrugged. "I can help and look for Bruno!" She offered.

"You can check the town plaza along with Agustin and the Julieta." Alma said. "I will take my granddaughters home with me." She motioned the girls who were dawdling in the pews to stand up straight and walk home. Isabella, Luisa Jessica, waved goodbye but

Mirabel dashed to her mother and hugged her knees.

"I want my Mamá!"

Julieta kneeled down at Mirabel's eye level. "I'll be home, mija," she coaxed her gently. "Your Papá and I are going to look for Tío Bruno and bring him back home."

"Come on, Mirabel!" Alma snatched the whimpering 8-year-old girl away from her mother.

As Alma led her youngest granddaughter away, Julieta looked crushed. And so did Agustin. Sighing sadly, they began walking the other way to the back door.

Gloria followed behind them. "Why do they feel the need to go home?" the young Rivera woman asked. She couldn't help but think how strange the matriarch of the Madrigal family was acting. "I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind helping us look for Bruno in the town square."

Lucky for them, the storm had finally uplifted. "She thinks the girls are too young," Agustin explained, feeling a bit weary. "She was afraid they might wear themselves out." As he was talking, he unknowingly stepped into a mud puddle and sunk a little. "Aaah!"

"Oh Agustin!" Julieta rolled her eyes good naturally. She helped him out of the mud puddle. "Be careful, there are a lot of mud puddles out here now."

"As long as I have you, I'm fine!" Agustin smiled, making Julieta grin back.

Gloria giggled.

"Oh Felix!" Pepa exclaimed. "It's no use, Bruno is not here!" Alma's second daughter, Pepa, was at the Madrigal's residence. All day, she and her husband, Felix, along with their daughter, Dolores and their son, Camilo, had been looking for their uncle.

Pepa was now, sitting in the kitchen, feeling quite exhausted.

"Calm down, mi amor," Felix assured her as he gave her a cup of tea. He sat down beside her. "We'll find him soon."

"But we've checked all the usual places, his bedroom, the kitchen, the drawing room, the courtyard-everything!"

"Then it's time we check the unusual places. Even Frida, who is up in her room, has no idea of his whereabouts."

Pepa thought for a moment. "All right, but let's wait until Mamá gets back. Knowing her, she and the others are probably checking the town square."

Their children appeared into the kitchen.

"I bet everyone is having a grand time at the wedding," Camilo grumbled. "They're all eating cake and dancing whereas we are missing out on all the fun!"

"Actually," his sister responded, leaning her head a bit to her right. "I heard that the wedding is canceled."

"Canceled!?" Her immediate family gasped. A lightning bolt struck against the sky above Pepa. "Por que!?"

"Rumor has it that the bride was unfaithful!" Dolores replied. "So Camillo you won't have to worry, because we are not missing out on the cake or the dancing."

A squall had been shaping into a storm and started to release rain drops.

"Oh poor Héctor Rivera!" Pepa sniffed, wiping her tears with handkerchief (courtesy of her husband).

"Yes, I can't imagine how he must be feeling!" Felix added.

Later, when Alma and the girls arrived home, they were saddened to learn from the rest of Madrigals that Bruno was nowhere to be found.

Alma assured them that Agustin and Julieta were searching for their missing family member. While Camilo and the girls prepare for bed, the adults waited for Agustin and Julieta for update.

In the evening, Agustin and Julieta both returned home, feeling weary, tired, hopeless.

"We couldn't find Bruno anywhere," Julieta said, softly.

"We have no idea where he could be," Agustin sighed with a heavy heart.

"Is there any chance that Héctor or his family have seen him?" Felix inquired.

"No one knows," Agustin answered. "Not even the groom knows!"

"You'd think Héctor would know," Alma huffed. "After all, he is Bruno's best friend!"

"Yes," Julieta sighed with a heavy heart. "But I think he has a lot of problems of his own. Bruno wasn't the only one that didn't come."

"Ernestina De La Cruz left the groom at the altar!" Agustin added.

"We know," Pepa responded. "Dolores heard the gossip."

"How are the Riveras coping?" Felix asked.

"Well, they are not taking it very well," Agustin answered. "Especially the groom."

"I hope that he will recover soon," Julieta added.

"We shall all hope so," Alma said, gravely.

The Riveras couldn't find Ernestina De La Cruz to have a talk with her or hit her with the shoe like Elena wanted. Thus, the whole family canceled the wedding and went back home. Whatever food they had cooked up for the reception, was eventually given to friends as gifts (much to the joy of Camillo Madrigal who loves food). The Rivera family ate what was left over. Hector did not feel like eating, no matter how much Elena tried to feed him. His heart was all shattered to pieces. It was like someone sucked the life out of him. Hector took off his wedding suit and put on his usual garment. His everyday outfit was a white shirt, brown suspenders, and a pair of brown shoes, which everyone knows is the Rivera shoes brand.

After getting dressed, Hector went to the store where they sold knives. The knives that Hector bought weren't designed for chopping vegetables or fruit. They were made for throwing. After buying his first pair of knives, the shoemaker went to a secluded area which has trees. He threw one knife against a tree, which bounced off.

'Darn!' Hector thought. He tried again with the second knife, putting more energy into his arm, this time. But when he threw the knife, he missed the tree and it almost hit a frightened bird. "Sorry bird!" Hector called while wincing.

Last, he threw a third knife, putting a moderate amount of energy into his aim and this time, it actually hit the tree. 'Not bad.' Hector thought with a satisfied smile. 'Let's see if I can do better.' The shoemaker retrieved his three knives from their places, though it took him a long time to find the second knife. Hector continued practicing throwing knives at dead tree barks. The more he practiced, the more his aim improved. A few days later, when Hector was done with tree barks, he created wooden walls which had silhouettes of humans. Each silhouette had a bullseye on it. Hector practiced throwing knives at them, trying to create a perfect bullseye. The one with the most marks in it had a dress like Ernestina.

The shoemaker wasn't sure if he would ever be happy again. But he knew one thing: he would never fall in love again. So long as he can protect himself and his family.

One day, Miguel was stepping out of the hacienda, holding a bag that had a shoe polish, rag, and a brush.

"Be back before lunch, mijo!" Luisa waved goodbye to her son.

"Okay, Mama!" Miguel called back.

Once he was out, the 12-year-old boy walked on the sidewalk, saying hello to the other people. Miguel bought a yummy treat from someone selling cookies. A group of jazz musicians passed him by and he danced a little to their jazzy tune. If there was one thing, Miguel really loved, it was music. He was the only member of the Riveras that dreamed of becoming a musician. Although his grandmother and father had told him that there was no future in being a musician, his uncle was sympathetic enough to tell him to keep on playing music, but keep making shoes in case he has something to fall back on. While Miguel was toe-tapping, a stray xolo dog appeared out of the trash can.

"Hola Dante!" Miguel smiled.

"Aroof!" Dante was a stray dog that followed anyone that gave him treats.

Miguel hovered the treat over Dante who was eyeing it. "Sit," Miguel commanded.

Dante sat on his hunches.

"Roll over," Miguel said his next command.

Dante lay down and rolled over a bit.

"Play dead!"

Dante shut his eyes with his tongue hanging out.

"Good boy!" Miguel released the cookie from his hands.

Immediately, Dante leapt and caught the treat in his mouth. He was very satisfied.

The boy went to the center of the plaza where he usually shine shoes for everyone. There was always foot traffic there. Besides, it gave him a good excuse to listen to whatever local band that was playing their music on center stage. Sometimes the bands would play Mariachi music, other times it would be Jazz.

Today, it was a folk band that was performing a mix of Mariachi and Jazz. One of these band mates was Andres. He sang the vocals and played the guitar while Natalia danced. Miguel watched them between his shoe shining sessions.

"Gracias Señora Montoya," Miguel said, as Ana Montoya handed him some money for shining her shoes.

"De nada, Miguel," Senorita Montoya answered. "You did well."

After she walked away, the boy went walking around the plaza, looking for customers. While searching for another customer, Andres and Natalia both came up to him.

"Hola Miguel," Natalia greeted him.

"How did you enjoy our performance?" Andres asked, smiling.

"Fantastic!" Miguel complimented them. "You two were so talented, you make a great team!"

"Too bad, your uncle Hector is not here to play music with us," Natalia said. "Where is he?"

"Oh, he's throwing knives," Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Throwing knives!?" Natalia crossed herself.

"What is he, a medieval person?" Andres joked.

"No, but he's been doing that ever since the failed wedding fiasco."

"Really? After four years?"

"Yes, Andres. And that's not all! The whole family gets skeptical every time a woman showed romantic interest in Hector. Heck, I saw Abuelita chase off some woman for showing Tio Hector her fishnet stockings!"

"Gosh, I would have loved to see that!" Andres said, dreamily. He was hit in the backside by Natalia. "Ow!"

"Not only that, but Abuelita said that from now on, she and Abuelito are going to arrange the marriages for everyone."

"Are you worried?" Natalia asked. Knowing the Rivera Matriarch, she would pick whoever is suitable for Hector, Gloria, and the rest of the Rivera children. Whatever Abuelita says, her word is final. "Eventually, when you are grown, she will choose someone for you."

"Me? No way!" Miguel shook his head. "I'm only 12. I still don't like girls yet!"

But from the corner of his eye, he spotted a girl in teal, hiding in the alley. She was accompanied by a small gray cat. Miguel turned his head and spotted her. "Mirabel?"

He thought he recognized her short curly hair and teal glasses.

The girl noticed someone staring at her. When she did, she gasped and ran away into the alley. Her cat followed her.

"Wait!" The boy called out to her, as he dashed after her.

"Miguel, where are you going?" Natalia cried, as she followed him.

"Oh, so now he likes girls!" Andres joked to himself as he followed Natalia.

Dante had been sniffing on the cobbler street, in hopes for treats. When he no one had anymore treats to offer him, the dog decided to look for his boy. He picked up his boy's scent and let his nose lead him the way. The dog wondered why where his boy was going.

Natalia, Miguel, and Andres kept running through the alley but it was becoming hard to keep up with Mirabel. Wherever they were going, it was starting to become foggy and a bit dark. As they kept running, the three of them had both failed to notice the sign that they passed which read, "EAST SIDE. DO NOT ENTER!"

Hector was practicing his knife throwing for the umpteenth time, when his mother and sisters-in-laws called him for lunch.

He put his knives away in his knife sheaths, which were attached to his belt around his waist. After that, the shoemaker went inside the hacienda.

"Hola Hector, how was knife throwing?" Abuelo asked.

"Tiring, but fun," Hector answered, before taking a bite of his fish taco.

"Oh mijo, must you pick up such a dangerous hobby?" Abuelita sighed. "I wish you'd stick to your guitar or making shoes! Anything but knife throwing!"

"It gives me strength and energy, Mama," Hector answered, after swallowing. "I have to be strong." Before he could take another bite, Luisa asked him a question.

"Hector, you haven't seen Miguel yet, have you? I told him to be back before lunch."

"No, I haven't seen him," Hector responded. "Did he say where he was going?"

"The town plaza."

"He should be back here right now," Enrique said. "Where could he be?"

"I'll go and look for him," Hector said. He stood up and took the rest of his taco with him, despite his mother's protests that he shouldn't rush meal time.

"Mirabel!" Miguel called.

The girl and her pet turned around the corner and Miguel followed them. But she turned another corner and another. Just when Miguel thought he was catching up to her, he stopped in his tracks at the fork in the road. Natalia and Andres also caught up to him right away.

"Oh no, which way did she go?" Natalia complained.

"Mirabel!" Miguel called. But there was no response. Just dark brick wall buildings and the fog. The boy sighed. "Oh, a lot of things had changed in the past four years! Not only did my uncle get jilted at the altar, but also my best friend ran away! I don't know why!"

"Now our biggest problem here?" Natalia asked, beginning to get worried. "We are lost! In this dark alley!"

"Now, now, now," Andres calmed them down. "I'm not sure how to fix Hector's heartbreak or Mirabel's disappearance, but I know how we can get out of here!"

"How?" Miguel asked, feeling a bit hopeless.

"By retracing our steps, of course!" Andres smiled, confidently. He turned around and started walking.

Natalia and Miguel began to follow him.

"I'm sure that in an hour, we'd be back home in no time," the blonde man said with a reassuring smile.

"Say, where are we anyway?" the boy wondered.

They turned corners around alleys. They were passing by another building when he and Natalia gasped at a sign that read, "EAST SIDE AREA."

They both trembled in their knees. This was the bad area that everyone warned them about!

"We're in the East Side!?" Miguel exclaimed.

"Looks like it, yes." Andres observed the sign, calmly.

"What if we don't get out of here?" Natalia panicked.

"What?" Andres asked, surprised. "Snap out of it!"

"We're going to get killed!" Natalia cried.

"No, we're not as long as we find our way out!" Andres responded. "Listen, it's like I always say: Don't worry!"

"Are you singing?" Miguel quirked an eyebrow.

"About a thing!" Andres continued.

"What if we can't find food?" Miguel wondered, feeling his stomach growl.

"Because every little thing is going to be all right!" Andres sang.

"What if the Mafia sees us?" Natalia asked, panicky.

"Don't worry!" Andres grabbed Natalia's hand and twirled her around. "About a thing!"

Natalia laughed at being spun by Andres. "About a thing!" She repeated after him. "Because every little thing is going to be all right!"

"All right!" Miguel said, as he spotted an opening. It was toward the town plaza.

Andres and Natalia resumed singing.

"Woke up this morning.

"Smiled at the rising sun.

"Three little birds,

"Perched on my doorstep."

"We're almost there!" Miguel smiled.

"Singing sweet songs

"Of Melodies pure and true.

"Saying, this is my message to you-ooo—oooo-ooo!"

"Don't worry," Andres sang.

"Don't worry," Natalia sang.

"About a thing!"

"Um, Andres?" Natalia spoke, her fears returning. She and Miguel both noticed something huge moving in the shadows behind Andres.

"Natalia, I'm singing! 'Cause every little thing is going to be all right!"

"Um Andres?" Natalia squeaked, as she heard some dark chuckling in the shadows.

'Don't worry about a thing!'

"Andres!"

"What?"

"Worry!"

Before Andres could ask his friend and the child, what's their reason for interrupting his cheerful song, a large hand appeared out of the shadows. Andres screamed in a high-pitched voice, as it grabbed him and hold him by his front collar. Natalia and Miguel also shrieked as the shadow revealed himself to be a tall and very muscular man with red hair and sideburns. Behind him was the other guy, also tall and very large with red hair and sideburns, only with a black eyepatch.

"Well, well, well," the first one said. "What do we have here, Patchy?"

"Trespassers, Sideburns!" the second one said.

"Give us a recompense!" the first guy, snarled at Andres.

"For what?" Andres croaked.

"For trespassing our side of the town, you dumb butt!" The red-headed thug growled.

"Let him go!" Natalia demanded.

The two men leered at her.

"Oh feisty! I like that!" Sideburns smirked.

His partner gave a wolf whistle which made Natalia roll her eyes.

While Natalie and Andres were trying to talk to the brutes, Miguel noticed Dante who appeared behind him. Seeing that the dog was leading him away from the brutes, Miguel followed him.

"Hey listen, you're not going to hurt us, are you?" Andres asked.

The brute tightened his grip on Andres and hold him close to his face. "Of course we are, lemon head!"

"OYE!" A voice shouted, from behind them.

Everyone turned to see Hector, standing and looking very angry.

He walked and stood beside Natalia. "Are these men bothering you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes they are!"

The two brutes laughed and one of them dropped Andres.

"What are you going to do to us, pretty boy?" Sideburns taunted him. "Unless Goldilocks and Dumb Dora pay us money, they're going nowhere!"

Hector pulled two out of four of his knives from his knife sheaths. He thew two knives at the first brute, pinning him to the wall. Before the second one could react, Hector threw the other two knives at him, also pinning him to the wall. While the two brutes struggled to break free, Hector slowly walked up to them, raising two more knives and held them both at their faces. "This is for messing with my friends! If you try anything with me, I won't hesitate to throw another knife at you. Do I need to carry on or should I stop?"

"Stop!" The brutes cried.

"Then get lost!" Hector snarled at them, as he lowered his knives. After taking the knives out, the two muscular men wasted no time running away from Hector. They'd have never been so scared in their entire life!

"Are you all right?" Hector asked his friends.

"Yes, thank you!" Natalia said hugging him in relief.

"We would never have been in here if we didn't see Miguel running here," Andres spoke up. "Poor kid got lost, but we found him! We are very good at watching him!"

"Oh really?" Hector rolled his eyes. "Then where is he?"

Andres finally glanced that the boy was not by his or Natalia's side. "Oops!"

"Dante, is this the way home?" Miguel asked, as he followed the dog. The dog kept going and the boy had trouble keeping up with him. "Dante!" Dante finally stopped at what looked like a patch of flowers with golden petals.

"Whoa, I've never seen so many marigold flowers before!" The boy admired them. He picked one and kept it to himself. "I think Mama would like it!"

"Chamaco!"

Miguel's ears perked up at the familiar affectionate nickname. He knew the only person that would call him that. "Tio Hector!" His uncle appeared and hugged him tight.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm okay!"

"What were you doing here? You're not supposed to be in the East Side!"

"Sorry, I didn't know!" Miguel stuttered. "Mirabel-well, I thought-"

"Never mind," Hector sighed. He knew his nephew was a good kid, just always getting into trouble. "Let's just go home, we'll talk about this later." He glared at his two friends who looked sheepish. "You two come with me, as well!"

"Oh boy," Andres sighed.

It didn't take long for Natalia, the men, and the boy to arrive at the Rivera hacienda. When they went inside, all the Riveras gathered around to ask Hector where he found Miguel and if the boy was okay.

"Oh Gracias Dios, you found him!" Abuelita cried, hugging the boy so tight that he almost suffocated. Lucky for him, she released him from her hug. "Where did you find him?"

"You don't want to know," Hector sighed. He tried to avoid the question. He didn't want the boy to get into trouble, and had promised him that he wouldn't tell on him. "Miguel can tell you himself."

The boy looked at him, smiling gratefully. But before Miguel could answer himself, someone beat to him already.

"The East Side!" Natalia blurted. "He was in the East Side!"

The rest of the family gasped, while Hector, Andres, and Miguel glared daggers at her.

"Miguel, how many times have I told you?" Enrique chastised.

"You know how dangerous that area is," Luisa said, feeing frightened.

"Why were you there in the first place?" Berto asked. "There's no reason for you to go over that territory!"

"There are gangsters over there!" Carmen cried. "That's where the Princessa de Mafia lives!"

Her daughter and sons gulped.

"I saw Mirabel!" Miguel piped up. "I saw her!"

"Que?" Abuelita was confused. "What are you talking about Miguel?"

"Oh Señora Rivera, there's no need to blame the poor boy," Andres said, smoothly. "The kid saw a pretty Chiquita and had to follow her to his heart's content! Despite the fogs and the darkness, he had to go through danger to find his true love!"

All he received was a couple of blank stares and some annoyed looks. "What?"

"Oh, let me explain!" Hector spoke, a bit annoyed at Andres' dramatic antics. "Miguel saw a girl and thought it was Mirabel, so he chased her, not knowing he was going into the East Side."

"Is that true, Miguel?" Luisa asked.

"Yes!" Miguel said. "I saw her. Or at least I think I did."

"That's ridiculous!" Gloria said. "Mirabel has been gone for a long time!" Two years ago, Mirabel had run away from home, seven months after her 10th birthday. The Riveras had helped the Madrigals search for the girl but like Bruno, she was nowhere to be found. The police and the community believed her to be dead but the Madrigals had refused to believe that. "If she were here, she would have been reunited with the family a long time ago!"

"Maybe he saw some girl that looked like Mirabel." Rosa suggested.

"A lot of girls have bobbed hair these days," Abel agreed. "Then again, not too many girls wear glasses." He was elbowed in the stomach by his sister. "Ow!"

"But I did see her!" Miguel insisted. "I saw her, I know I did!"

"Miguel," Enrique spoke very sternly. "If Hector and Abuelita say stay away from the East Side, don't go to the East Side! Mirabel is gone, and she's not coming back!"

Miguel looked as if his birthday had been canceled.

"I wouldn't say that," Luisa disagreed with her husband. "The police just haven't found her."

"Well, we can't be too certain! The last thing the Madrigals need is false hope, and I don't want to give them any of that!"

"Okay, okay 'Que," Hector said, calmly. "No need to act so harsh."

"Enrique, why don't we work on that shoe order that you've been having trouble with?" Abeulita asked him, leading him away to the shoe shop.

Gloria, Berto, Carmen, and Abuelo also followed, anxious to get back to work.

"Andres and Natalia, have some lunch," Luisa said.

"Oh, we couldn't," Natalia said. "Andres and I don't want to eat too much."

"Nonsense, there's plenty of food left!"

Seeing the tacos and the rice beans, Andres and Natalia couldn't resist. They helped themselves to eat while Miguel stayed with Hector.

"Hector, you believe me?" Miguel asked. "Don't you?"

"Yes, chamaco," Hector smiled. "I am not so sure about Mirabel's presence either, but I do know that you are telling the truth."