Ditto

Chapter 6: What I wouldn't give....

Hector shook his head, eyes closed. If this was a weird dream he wanted to wake up now. He wanted to avoid the pain that would come with seeing Coco's face fall as she saw there was no one in front of her. He was certain that he would open his eyes to see her still cuddled in bed, asleep as though nothing had happened. His heart sank, but he knew it had to be done. He opened his eyes. It was a dream, there was no way, it was-

He looked down to see that Coco had moved to the edge of the bed, reaching out to him and smiling through a few stray tears.

"Mi'ija? Can you....can you see me? Can you hear me?"

Coco nodded and giggled as her Papa's eyes lit up. He ran a hair through his hair, breathing havily through a disbelieving smile. He took a deep breath, an suddenly,

"AYYYYYYYY-YYYYYYA!"

He let out his most passionate grito, jumping up and down and pumping his fists, Coco's giggles serving as the sweetest music he had ever heard. He physically had to restrain himself from reaching out and scooping her up, because even in the elation of this moment he didn't think he would be able to handle the way his daughter's face would fall as she passed right trough him. He opted instead to just stare at her, tears streaming down both of their faces.

"Oh, gracias a dios. Finially, oh, thank God!"

After a moment of trying to suppress his tears, he hovered his hand over Coco's cheek and whispered, in a voice hoarse from happiness and crying,

"I've missed you so much, mi Corazon. So, so much."

Coco smiled and wiped at her eyes.

"I missed you too, Papa! Why did you go away?"

Hector looked down for a moment and moved his hand away.

"Lo siento mi amor. I had to. And I'm not all here, either. Mama told you what happened to me. I....I died. I'm dead. But I'm a ghost now. Remember that cartoon you used to watch when you were little? Casper? I'm like him now, but cooler."

Coco's eyes lit up, and she held out a hand.

"That means I can't touch you now. See?"

Hector moved to hold Coco's hand, but he opted instead to wiggle his fingers over her palm. As expected, they passed through her hand, but instead of pulling away in disgust as Hector had predicted, Coco giggled and tried to grab her father's hand, giggles turning into full-on laughter as she watched her hand pass through her father's. Hector smiled, eyes full of tenderness. Of course Coco would be able to see his current situation as a good thing. Of course she would be the one to turn his situation into a good thing.

Oh, how he loved her.

He also knew it was past her bedtime. And even though he was dead, he still had to be a good father.

He put his hand down and closed his eyes, feeling truly happy for the first time since his death. As much as he hated to do this, and as scared as he was that when Coco woke up this would all disappear, he still had a job to do. And that's all he could ask for. And even if this was a dream, at least they both had these few moments of happiness to hold onto. He pointed to her pillow and smiled, and Coco got the message and curled back up under her covers. Hector stood and planted a phantom kiss on her forehead, smiling down at his little mi'ija.