✅The Other Family ✅ (Completed) *#Watty's2020*

Chapter 2: Reunited Again

Héctor had been preparing for Día de los Muertos for a few months now, collecting and "borrowing" items for his disguise, and setting up for at least two backup attempts to cross the marigold bridge should the disguise not work. He can usually only manage three attempts in the night before they stopped letting him off with warnings and locked him up for the night. But tonight, tonight felt different, for he was going to cross that bridge.

Héctor looked at himself in the compact mirror in his hand as he positioned the long curly wig on his head and put on the jingly earrings. With his old, weathered bones, he had to cross the bridge. He didn't know how much time he would have; Coco was already so old.

He snapped the mirror close with a shake of his head, trying not to think of being forgotten and disappearing before seeing her. With a quick adjustment of the bedazzled jacket, he set off to the Santa Cecelia gate he knew all too well, he had to start early, for it was going to be a long night ahead of him.

In the line for the gate he heard quiet whispers behind him.

"Is that-"

"No way."

"What is she doing coming to Santa Cecilia?"

Héctor didn't look behind him, just keeping his eyes straight and moving up with the line, needing to keep a proper persona to fool the silly machine, or at the very least distract and confuse the gatekeeper enough to make a run for it across the marigold bridge. He should have worn lipstick he realized as he took a step forward smiling with a wink at the gatekeeper, she didn't seem fazed.

"Surely we can skip all this, eh?" He asked, raising his voice an octave, "I've got a lot of places to be tonight, and there's only one me."

"You know the rules," The gatekeeper responded with a smile, enjoying this weird game that they played almost every year.

It was harder and harder to hide the yellowing of his bones and play himself off as someone famous and well-remembered, but he had to try. He steeled himself to book if should that cursed machine make it's horrendous buzzing noise.

But it never came.

Instead of the buzzing, a cheerful ding came from the machine, louder than he had ever heard it before for being so close.

It worked! His disguise worked!

"Héctor..." The gatekeeper said softly, her face covered in shock. He briefly faltered, wondering if the gatekeeper would actually let him through despite him fooling the machine, having easily seen through his disguise, "Your photo."

"My photo?" He asked her, curious as to what she was seeing.

"Your photo is on your great, great grandniece's ofrenda." She said.

"What?" He squawked, his great, great grandniece's ofrenda? None of his family ever put up his photo, why would they start now? And since when was he a great great granduncle?!?

"You know, I never actually believed you when you said that you were siblings with María Velez," She said, looking at the photo in amusement.

"Wait, what? Let me see," He said, leaning over the counter to look at the screen, she turned it so he could get a better look.

Someone behind complained that they were taking too long, but Héctor didn't care, cause on that screen he saw the most incredible thing.

A picture of him and María, in a dusty, yet good condition picture frame and flanked by a couple of candles. He recognized it immediately.