Tap Through The Beat

Cursed

You know back in the states, most case scenarios would be that when a girl is mad she'll slap the one which caused her anger.

Well, I for one had a different tactic.

A resounding squish resonated in the office walls as I jabbed Mama Coralie's shoes on Miguel's foot.

The entire Gonzalez family winced while the Riveras had gone wide eyed.

Miguel yelped and started hopping on one foot as he clutched the other in pain.

"That's for running away and leaving me behind the tomb and almost giving me a heart attack!"

I pinched him hard on the cheek and Miguel yelped again "And that's for getting me involved in this!" Miguel winced and gave me an apologetic look a d became very cautious of my movements.

"Excuse me, who are YOU and what are you doing to my grandson?"

I whirled around to face a woman wearing a purple working dress. Her hands were on her hips and her eyes hard.

"I'm Angelita Josefina Gonzalez and that's my family. Miguel here is my best friend well, until he literally LEFT me"

Miguel jumped up to apologize "How was I supposed to know. I was freaking out and what can a guy feel if he suddenly can see the dead and can't touch the living?" I raised a brow at this "Oh, so you were just going to leave me behind knowing that I might probably be feeling the same way?!" A loud cough made us turn to the short skeleton that called our families.

 "¿Qué es?!" We both screamed at him, making the poor skeleton jump up "Are we going to get to the bottom of this or are you two going to fight until Dia de los Muertos is done?" I felt a stammer in his tone.

I grumbled out "Bien, but this does not mean I'm letting you off the hook Miguel Rivera" From the corner of my eye, something flashed in the woman wearing the purple dress. Almost like a longing of some sort.

"Well, to start out, both of you are cursed"

Loud gasped went up from the two families.

"WHAT?!"

Miguel and I screamed in shock. The clerk stood up from his chair, onto his desk and began sorting out files "Dia de los Muertos is a night to give to the dead, you STOLE from the dead" He said, looking at Miguel before looking at me "Despite you not stealing anything you still help him into stealing therefore you stole also" I gaped.

"But I wasn't stealing the guitar!" Miguel explained only to realize it too late that he said it out loud towards Mama Imelda "Guitar?!" She gasped. Miguel smiled nervously "It was my great great grandfather's. He would have wanted me to have it" I felt the woman's anger spark.

"Ah, Ah, Ah! We are not speaking that MUSICIAN. He is DEAD to this family!" My eyes and possibly the eyeballs of my dead family members went wide at her declaration. Mama Coralie opened her mouth to talk "What made you hate your husband?" Imelda looked at Coralie before her eyes darted to Coralie's mariachi husband.

"He left for music" She sneered before she turned away and huffed indignantly. Just then, Dante sniffed out the food on the desk and began licking every single food.

"Achoo! Pardon, whose alebrije is this?"

Miguel and I quickly pulled Dante off "That's just Dante, he's not an alebrije" Miguel explained. His Tia Rosita quickly spoke.

"Alebrijes take in many shapes and forms"

"He looks like a plain old dog to me" Oscar said before his twin brother, Felipe, added out "Or a sausage someone dropped in a barbershop" The two snickered.

"Sí, Sí. Whatever it is - Achoo! - I am allergic to it."

I grew confused "But Dante doesn't have any hair and I made sure he gets cleaned everyday" I explained. He sniffed and rubbed his nose socket "And I don't have a nose and yet here we are. Achoo!"

I leaned away "You need to get yourself some tissue" I advised Imelda spoke out loud "That still doesn't explain why I couldn't cross over!" Miguel froze as well as I.

"Angelita..."

I heard Papa Fernando drawl out my name. Not a good sign. I turned to Miguel for help and he whirled around to face Mama Imelda.

Once Miguel showed The photo in his hands, Imelda gasped "You took MY photo!!" She exclaimed and Miguel tried to come up with an excuse.

"It was an accident!"

Imelda ignored her grandson's excuse and launched herself on the table "How do we send him back?!" She yelled.

The clerk chuckled nervously and scooted back "Since it's a family matter. The way to undo a family curse is to get your family's blessing" Miguel and I tilted our heads in confusion "So, that's it?" Miguel asked and the clerk nodded.

"Get your families blessing and everything should go back to normal but you've gotta do it by sunrise"

"You mean when Dia de los Muertos ends? Why?" I asked. Papa Francisco suddenly gasped out loud "Mija, Your Hand!" Looking at my hand, my pinky finger was slowly starting to become skeletal. I looked at Miguel to find his point finger the same way as mine is.

Miguel's eyes rolled back as if he was about to faint while I stumbled back in shock to the  awaiting arms of Papa Fernando. Julio was quick to catch a fainting Miguel "Woah Miguel!, we can't have you fainting on us" He said, slapping Miguel in the face.

Papa Fernando gave me an exasperated look "This is what happens when you do something  fuera de tu Liga? I mean, stealing?!" I sighed.

"Since all your families are here. We could do it right now"

The clerk began looking for a marigold petal and found one on the hem of Miguel's Tia Rosita.

Handing the petal to Mama Imelda, the clerk began to instruct her when Mama Silvia raised her hand.

"Excusa me, what about -" She pointed at me and the clerk chuckled "Since she merely helped him get the guitar, she can only go home if he gets his family's blessing" I nodded, it seems plausible. After all, I didn't actually steal the guitar.

"Alright, you look at the living and say his name"

Mama Imelda looked at Miguel with a plain expression on her face.

"Miguel"

"Nailed it, now say I give you my blessing"

"I give you my blessing"

I watched in awe as the marigold petal glowed in a golden color. Imelda looked at Miguel's awed face "I give you my blessing to go home, to put up my photo in the ofrenda and to NEVER play music again" Shock and horror was etched in his face.

"What?!" Miguel cried out.

"She can't do that!!" I screamed out loud. The clerk coughed "She can place any conditions she wants to" he added and I resisted the urge to kick his skull across the Marigold Bridge.

"That is so unfair..."

I mumbled out as Miguel begrudgingly held out his hand to take the petal.

No sooner did his fingers touched the petal a swirl of marigold petals surrounded him and I and suddenly...

We were back in Ernesto de la Cruz's tomb.