Boscha and Luz have been sisters for four years, and today was the day they needed each other the most. The two were crying as they looked at their dad in a hospital bed. Manny looked at them and gave them a small smile.

"Don't cry girls." He said.

"Puhhh...Papiiii..." tears were cascading from all three of Boscha's eyes. "...please don't go..."

"Nuuhhh... nooooo..." Luz was wiping her tears away with her dad's blanket. "...don't g-go away..."

Camila and Gabriel stood by them, making no effort to hide their own tears. Events of the last for years replayed in their minds. The doctors' prognoses were grim. They only gave Manny a few months, not even a full year at most. Out of what Camila could only determine as sheer rebelliousness, he managed to surpass their expectations. For the first couple of years, Manny showed no signs of slowing down. Were it not for his treatments, he'd have appeared to be in perfect health. Halfway through the third year would be when his condition unmistakably started to take its toll. He couldn't play with his daughters as often as they wanted. He would suffer frequent coughing fits, making sure to hide any blood he happened to hack up. He had also appeared more gaunt as the year passed. Luz and Boscha were young, but they weren't fools. They could sense their dad was hiding something from them, even before his symptoms made themselves known. But since they were scared that something worse was happening, they believed their parents when they said everything would be fine. They never dared to question what they had been told. But a year from then, the truth could no longer be denied. Manny had become slower, weaker and less lively. Despite everything, the girls were anxious to do anything they could to help in the hopes that they could make him better. Sadly, nothing they did could help, and now, they could only stand and watch as their father's life slowly ebbed away. Manny's shaky hands grabbed one of Boscha and Luz's hands.

"Girls, don't cry... I've lived a good life." Manny said, "I love you both so much, and when I take my final breath, I will smile... because I'll be thinking about how lucky I was to have daughters as great as you two."

The two kids cried and hugged Manny. He gave them a each a kiss on the cheek, before looking at Boscha.

"Boscha, Mija, I want you to promise me something." Manny said, "I want you to keep Luz safe, you're her big sister, it's your duty from now on to make sure nothing hurts her."

Boscha couldn't say anything through her sobs, so she simply nodded.

"Gracias, Princesa." Manny then turned to Luz. "And you, Little Light, you bring such a spark of life and wonder to the world. No matter what happens, never let it go, mija."

"Mmm-hmmm" Luz did her best to answer through her own cries.

Manny reached over the side of the bed and pulled up two gift bags.

"Here, I got you both something." Manny said.

The girls looked at the bags before grabbing them and pulling out two objects. For Boscha, it was a custom pink Wilson basketball with her name on it. For Luz, it was a book titled the Good Witch Azura, a book Luz always looked at but never got the opportunity to read.

Boscha cradled her gift as her tears flowed more intensely.

"Uuuuuhhh... Gracias, Papi."

"You have the talent to go far, Princesa." Manny ruffled her hair. "Just remember to always be a team player, and take it easy on your tio when you two play each other."

Gabe chuckled at that remark.

Luz just held her book closely. She closed her eyes and cried.

"Papi... please don't go." Luz said.

Manny pulled his girls into a hug... the final one they would receive from him.

"I will always be with you, I will be looking down at you from Heaven, and I will be proud of all the things you two will accomplish." He said.

Camila and Gabe joined in on the hug. "Don't worry, hermano, I'll look after the fam for you."

"I know." His brother smiled. "And I couldn't ask for a better guardian for the kids. I love you, bro."

Camila gave Manny a final, tender kiss on the lips.

"Mi precioso esposo, te quiero más de lo que las palabras pueden expresar."

"Y te amo mas que a la vida misma." Manny's breathing started to become shallow as he brushed her wife's hair.

He gave a few kisses to his daughters cheeks, before giving a sad smile.

"It's time, Camila, take the girls to the hall." Manny said.

Camila nodded. She and Gabe led the girls outside the room. They were crying so hard that whatever they were saying became too unintelligible, but it wasn't hard to understand what they meant given how much they resisted. Once they made their way to the bench in the hallway. Gabe sat with Luz and Boscha as they buried their faces in his jacket. Camila went back inside and sat next to Manny. She gave him one last kiss on the forehead and took his hand.

"It's okay now, Hermoso." She whispered to him. "You... you can rest now."

Manny's breathing gradually became slower. Camila held his hand closely all the while, basking in its warmth. She closed her eyes as she listened to her husband's breathing slowing down even more, until finally, it became too faint to hear. A nurse came by when she was alerted to the flatlining EKG. She informed Camila of the grim news.

"He's in a better place now."

Camila just closed her eyes and sniffled. It was hard to keep her emotions stable, but she needed to... she had to for Boscha and Luz. She stood up and took one last look at her now deceased husband. She saw the smile on his face.

'He died happy... he died thinking about our family... I know it.' Camila thought.

Back in the hallway, the girls had calmed down, but were still crying profusely. Gabe was experiencing a sense of dissociation, unsure of what time it was or where he even was. Were it not for his nieces tugging on his jacket, he might have detached completely from reality. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder which sent him crashing back into reality. He looked up to see Camila looking back at him. She seemed to sense how afraid he was to ask the obvious question, as she simply nodded to confirm his brother's passing. Gabe held the girls close, not knowing what to do.

"You should stay with us tonight." She told him. "This... this is no time to be by yourself."

Gabe could feel his heart sinking.

"Wha... what am I gonna tell Mamà?"

"Just worry about getting some rest, hermano. I'm sure it'll come to you. And if not, I can tell her." Camila sat down next to him. "Remember, we're here for you, too."

Camila joined the hug, she knew it was only going to get sadder from here.

Camila held an umbrella above her daughters as Manny's coffin was lowered into the ground. The rain hit the ground, but Camila thought that sound of Luz and Boscha's tears hitting the ground drowned the rain out. Family and friends walked up to the grave to say their goodbyes and some dropped flowers atop the coffin deep in the ground. Camila looked at the headstone, lost in the surrealism of the moment, when she noticed something unusual in the periphery of her vision. Thrown on top of the pile of flowers were two sets of snakeskin. She turned to see her daughters standing by the plot.

"Mijas?" Camila was naturally confused.

"Papi loved it when we showed him the snakeskins we caught." Luz whimpered.

"We wanted to give him something to remember us by while he's in heaven." Boscha shakily replied.

Camila wanted to say something, but could barely smile while she resisted the urge to break down in tears. She just hugged them. After the funeral had ended, everyone went back to Camila's place to visit. Luz and Boscha just stayed near each other, this was the first time they have ever lost something, they were young and it hurt them. Camila could see that the girls were nervous with so many people gathered in their home. She wanted to comfort them, but she had a gauntlet of condolences from everyone else to go through. Fortunately, Gabe was as good as his word, as he helped guide the kids outside to the front lawn. Once outside, Boscha grabbed a stick and started drawing in the dirt. She took off her hat because her third eye crying was making it wet. She had no idea she was being watched.

Follow, Favorite, and Review for more happy chapters.