Coco

The Bridge

Dante barks, points, and bounds through the crowd. "Dante! Dante!" Miguel gives chase until -- BAM! He runs smack into a mustached skeleton and falls to the ground. The skeleton's bones break apart and scatter. The head pops up. Miguel gasps, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Y/N notices that it was his family. Papa Julio blinks, "Miguel?!" Miguel tries to gather the scattered bones. Tia Rosita turns around, "Miguel?"

Tia Victoria frowns, "Miguel?" The bones magically pull away from Miguel. Papa Julio gathers himself and looks at the boy, "You're here! HERE here! And you can see us?!" Tia Rosita charges through Papá Julio, sending his bones scattering again. She grabs Miguel, hugging him tight, "Our Migueli-ti-ti-ti-ti-to!" Miguel, smothered by Rosita's ample ribcage, struggles for air, "Remind me how I know you?"

Tia Rosita releases him, "We're your family, mijo!" Tía Rosita's ofrenda photo flashes in Miguel's memory, "Tía... Rosita?"

"Sí!"

He looks at Papá Julio, whose head is still turned the wrong way. Tia Victoria straightens it. "Papá Julio?"

"Hola."

"Tía Victoria?"

Tía Victoria pokes Miguel's cheek, skeptical, "He doesn't seem entirely dead." A living person ambles through Miguel's non-corporeal form. Y/N stares at them, waiting for them to see her. Tia Rosita frowns, "He's not quite alive either..."

Papa Julio gazes at them, "We need Mamá Imelda. She'll know how to fix this!" He turns and notices Y/N, "Can she see us?" Suddenly twin skeleton gents run, huffing, toward the family. "Oye!"

"It's Mamá Imelda--"

"--She couldn't cross over!"

The others gasp. Y/N is amused to see them finish each other's sentences, "She's stuck--"

"--On the other side!"

Miguel sees pictures of his Tío Oscar and Tío Felipe flash in his memory, "Tío Oscar? Tío Felipe?" Tio Oscar waves, "Oh, hey Miguel." Suddenly, the two gasp as they stare at Y/N. Recognizing her immediately. Tía Victoria turns her gaze on Miguel, "I have a feeling this has something to do with you."

Tia Rosita glances at Julio, and the twins grab Y/N. "But if Mamá Imelda can't come to us..." Papa Julio finishes the sentence, "...Then we are going to her! Vámonos!" Papá Julio grabs Miguel by the arm, and the family rushes through the cemetery, trailed by Dante.

Miguel and his family weave through the graves, rounding a corner. His gaze falls upon a glowing Marigold Bridge arching before them. "Whoa..." Miguel gasps. The bridge extends into the mist. A stream of skeletons amble across for the holiday. The family passes through an invisible barrier onto the bridge. Their bodies change from ghostly to solid. Miguel hesitates at the threshold.

Y/N glances over after following the twins, "Come on, Miguel. It's ok." Miguel follows after the family, the petals glowing under his feet. Dante takes off. Miguel runs after Dante, finally catching up to the dog as he rolls in the petals at the crest of the bridge. He sneezes some petals into Miguel's face.

"You gotta stay with me, boy. We don't know... where..."

Out of the mist, the sparkling cityscape of the Land of the Dead emerges. It's breathtaking. His family sidles up. Y/N's eyes widened, "This isn't a dream, then. You're all really out there..." Tia Victoria looks at her, "You thought we weren't?"

Miguel shrugs, "Well I don't know, I thought it might've been one of those made-up things that adults tell kids... like... vitamins." Y/N snorts, "Miguel, vitamins are a real thing."

"Well, now I'm thinking maybe they could be..."

As skeletons pass in the other direction, Miguel and Y/N receive some strange looks. A little skeleton girl gasps, pointing at them. The Skeleton Mother looks at her daughter, "Mija, it's not nice to stare at--" She sees Miguel and Y/N, "Ay! Santa Maria!" The woman goes wide-eyed, her head turning backward to gawk at the two as she walks in the opposite direction. Miguel puts up his hood.

The Riveras continue on toward an arrivals area on the far side of the bridge. There are fantastical creatures crawling, flying, and making nests in the nearby architecture. Y/N gaps, "Are those...? Alebrijes! But those are--"

Tio Oscar nods his head, "REAL alebrijes. Spirit creatures..." Tia Rosita pats the girl's shoulder, "They guide souls on their journey..." Tio Felipe spins his head at Miguel and Y/N, "Watch your step, they make caquitas everywhere."

They get to the far edge of the Marigold Bridge. Miguel and the family get into the line for RE-ENTRY, along with other skeletons returning from the Land of the Living. Nearby, skeletons exit the Land of the Dead through a gate marked DEPARTURES. Miguel watches a couple step onto the bridge, which begins to glow as they gain footing. The Canned Loop is heard over the speaker, "...And remember to return before sunrise. Enjoy your visit!"

Y/N watches as a skeleton approaches. Something about them seemed... familiar. He-- or she looked young. The ragged fellow, steps up to the monitor, disguised as Frida Kahlo. "Yes, it is I. Frida Kahlo. Shall we skip the scanner? I'm on so many ofrendas, it'll just overwhelm your blinky thingie..."

The monitor scans 'em, but an 'X' appears, accompanied by a negative buzzing sound. The Departure Agent grins, "Well shoot. Looks like no one put up your photo, Frida..." Y/N's eyes widened to see him peel off his unibrow and throw off his frock. "Okay, when I said I was Frida... just now? That... that was a lie. And I apologize for doing that."

"He sounds... familiar..." She whispered. The Departures Agent shakes her head, "No photo on an ofrenda, no crossing the bridge." The girl watches the male skeleton smile and lean back, "You know what, I'm just gonna zip right over, you won't even know I'm gone." He bolts for the bridge. A security guard blocks the gate.

Y/N and Miguel watch as he splits in two and slides past the guard, half going over, half under, "Ha HA!" He reaches the bridge at a sprint, but the magic doesn't engage; he sinks right into the petals.

"Almost there, just a little further...!" The guards saunter to the bridge and casually pull him back toward the Land of the Dead. The officer lifts him up, "Upsy-daisy..." The runaway skeleton spits out some of the petals, "Fine, okay. Fine, who cares... Dumb flower bridge!"

Y/N felt her stomach twist strangely as Miguel watched the guards haul him out. Tía Rosita looks up in time to see his back. "I don't know what I'd do if no one put up my photo." Y/N looks at her sadly. Who was that man?

"Next!"

Tia Rosita gasps, "Oh! Come mijo; it's our turn." The arrivals line moves forward. The Dead Riveras crowd around the gate. The arrivals agent leans out from his window. "Welcome back, amigos! Anything to declare?" Papa Julio chuckles, "As a matter of fact, yes." The family pushes Miguel and Y/N to the front, very much alive.

"Hola."

The arrivals agent's jaw literally drops.