Friends For Life... And Death. - A Coco Fiction

See You Again

"Remember me..." Katrina finishes singing, then sighs. She wonders if Héctor is singing it, too. Socorro laughs, then her eyes droop and she falls asleep. Kat stands and walks out of Coco's room and to her own. Her 'parents' agreed to let her stay here until Héctor returns, so she can help take care of Coco.

It's been around three months since Héctor left, and Kat is wondering how long music tours last. She stares at the photo she's kept for so long. The photo of her and Héctor together stays in the little compartment on the back of the guitar. The one she carries in her pocket is just of him, grinning like there's no tomorrow. There's nothing wrong with having spare photos, right?

The next morning, Kat decides to wander through town. As she walks, she can hear several people whispering as she walks by.

"Look, it's that musician!"

"I heard she's some kind of prodigy."

"I heard she played with Ernesto de la Cruz!"

"I heard her tío abandoned the family to play music instead."

Katrina tries to ignore them all, but then some boy decides to speak up.

"Hey, Katrina! Where's your tío? Making love with some girl in another town?" He calls out. Kat glares at him, and he just laughs. "I bet your aunt is heartbroken!"

"Shut up!" She snaps in annoyance. Despite what she said, people continue talking badly about Héctor. Overwhelmed, she runs to Mariachi Plaza.

She sits on the steps of the gazebo and plays a few songs, hoping someone will hear her and maybe leave a tip. Although she can play, she's too nervous about performing for strangers to join any competitions. Even when Héctor and Ernesto were there, she just stayed off to the side while they played. Her job was behind the scenes, writing the chords for the songs.

"Señoras y señores, buenas tardes, buenas noches. Buenas tardes, buenas noches, señorita, y señor- Hey!" Kat's singing is cut off by someone kicking dirt at her face. She turns her guitar away to keep sand from getting in it.

"It's the middle of the day, nobody wants to hear buenas tardes!" The man who kicked up the dust growls at her. He walks away, and Kat unhappily goes back to playing wordless tunes. She finds herself getting lost in the music as she picks at her guitar strings. She remembers when she used to mess up all the time, and now she plays so well just for the enjoyment of it.

She finishes the melody, and nearly jumps out of her skin when she finally notices several people staring at her. A little girl claps joyously, then a young couple join in. A few people give her some money, and she thanks them before quickly slinging her guitar over her back and running home.

"Tía Imelda! I'm home!" Katrina calls out as she walks into the house. Imelda walks in, smiling a little at her. Kat shows Imelda the money she got from playing music, and is given some praise.

For a long time, Kat continues playing music. Not for tips or anything, but just to keep spirits high. She can't help but notice that Imelda is joining in less and less. She continues singing Remember Me to Coco every night. A year after Héctor left, he still hasn't returned. Coco asks every day when he'll be home. On that day marking a year since he left, Imelda bans music from the household.

Kat just waits until her tía is asleep to play her guitar for Coco, and she still plays in the plaza nearly every day. She makes a secret compartment at the base of the wall in Coco's room, and hides her music things there. Music is what makes Socorro happy, and Kat wants to keep a smile on the little girl's face, and she does.

Until one day, exactly two years after Héctor left.

"Remember me, each time you hear a sad guitar," Coco and Kat sing together. Kat lets her hands glide over the strings, as playing this song has become second nature to her. "Know that I'm with you the only way that I can be... Until you're in my arms again, rememb-"