Where I Belong

Dreams Come True In San Angel

Paimon and I were back in the purple vortex and it wasn't any less scary. I could tell Paimon was scared too, probably more than me.

I was getting dizzy. I almost didn't notice a portal open. We were pushed through the portal and into the next world. We screamed as we fell, landing hard on the ground. I'm gonna get killed if this keeps happening.

“I'm never getting used to that.” I winced, “Are you ok, Paimon?”

Paimon floated up from the ground and shook her head, “Paimon is alright. What about you?”

“I'm ok.” I slowly got up and took the Mora Stone out of my pocket, making sure I still had it. I noticed something strange. There was a small spot on the stone that looked like a purple gem, “Huh, that wasn't there before.”

Paimon looked at the stone, “What's that?”

“I don't know.” I gently scratched the stone with my nail. I was expecting the stone to fall apart like chipping paint, but nothing happened. I cringed at the sensation, “Is the gem inside the stone? Like a shell?” The spot felt cold and shiny while the rest of it was just a normal rock.

“Well, whatever it is, we can think about it later. Do you know where we are?”

I put the stone back in my pocket, “I'm not sure. It might be a while before-” I looked up for the first time since landing and my jaw dropped.

We were in front of a giant tree that I instantly recognized. My eyes were on the verge of popping out of my sockets.

“Uh, Fabi? Are you alright?” Paimon asked.

I turned around, and sure enough, there it was. A bridge leading into a town in the middle of a lake, “I actually do know where we are!”

“Great! So, where are we?”

“Only the best movie ever! We're in The Book of Life! You have no idea how much I love this movie! Oh, my god, I'm actually here! And this, this is the proposal tree! And there's the bridge! The town is right there!”

My fangirl meters were off the charts, “Come on!” I ran down the bridge towards town, skidding to a stop on the outskirts. My heart was beating a thousand miles an hour as I took everything in. The town looked exactly like it did in the movie, “I think I'm gonna cry.” 

“Don't leave Paimon behind like that!” Paimon said, floating next to me, “Paimon doesn't know about any of this.”

“Oh, right, sorry.” We walked into town, looking around. 

“So, what is this place? And what's a movie?”

“A movie is kind of like a play, I guess.” I explained, “And this is my favorite of all time, The Book of Life. We're in San Angel, Mexico, where the story takes place.”

“Oh! So this place is a story, or a… ‘movie’, in your world.”

“Yep. This movie literally changed my life, I love it so much.”

Paimon looked around at the townsfolk walking around, “Why does everyone look like they're made of wood?”

“They're technically made of wood. The story is told using wooden figures, so this is just how everyone is in this world. Except for us, I guess.” I noticed that Paimon and I must've stuck out like a sore thumb, “We should probably keep a low profile. We don't want to freak anyone out.”

“Good idea.”

Something caught my eye, “Oh, my god.” I ran to a wall full of flyers and squealed.