BlazingCoral

Chapter 10: Dust, Dogs, and Deserters Julio liked to think he was a brave man when he needed to be. Yes, there were a great many things that scared him. The enormous beast he sat upon was one of them; even back when Pepita had been an ordinary house cat, there had always been something unsettling about her yellow gaze. The woman sitting in front of him was another—Mamá Imelda was a force to be reckoned with, and it didn’t help that she was his mother-in-law. Even Héctor made his non-existent gut twist in worry—mild-mannered as the man could be, Héctor had gone to extreme measures just to see Coco again. Julio

Chapter 9: The Write Thing Sometimes, Héctor wished his room wasn't on the third floor. On one hand, it gave him a nice view of the surrounding neighborhood and towers—a significant upgrade from his shack back in Shantytown. But on the other hand… if anything went on downstairs, he couldn't hear it. That could be a blessing at times—it meant that even during the usual morning commotion, he could sleep in if he wanted to. Other times it was a curse, like when Imelda held a family meeting without him. Usually because it was about him. Héctor huddled up on his bed, trying to make himself comfortable, a feat much easi

When he didn't come out of his shack for a day, no one could blame him. When it had been a week since he'd stepped foot outside, even then, they could understand. One week turned into two, and they wondered if he was even still there. Three weeks rolled by with no sign of him, and while they worried, they would give him space. They knew he needed time to grieve. But by the time a month had gone by, Chicharrón had decided he'd had enough. People saw the old skeleton stomping a warpath around the rotten boardwalk, and there was no question as to where he was going. "Chicharrón…" Prima Chelo stepped toward him, hands outstr