December 20 2018
There were a few days until Christmas and the Rivera house was already fully decorated; Miguel was happy because this past year he had already had everything he wanted: the approval of his family for his desire to become a musician, the recognition of papà Hector as a true composer behind the songs of De la Cruz and the zapateria had acquired new customers and he occasionally helped by making deliveries. However, he would have liked to spend Christmas at the Land of the Dead: he wanted the rest of the family to meet papà Hector and also to see mamà Coco again, especially his Abuelita who still suffered from his absence; but if he had told them about the necklace, they certainly wouldn't have believed him and therefore decided to discard the idea
"Mijo, are you all right?" Enrique asked seeing his son absorbed
"Yes of course, dad!" he sketched a smile
"Well, then go wash your hands and join us at the table, Abuelita says dinner is ready!"
While they ate, they were watching TV where they were broadcasting " Who has seen it?", when suddenly unexpected news came:
"Now let's definitely change the subject! Let's go back to the Rivera case; 3 days ago a 100 year old Colombian lady contacted us because she had a very interesting and moving story to tell: her name is Alejandra Rojas and now we're going to listen!" Miguel and the others looked at each other but didn't say a single word and, curious, continued to pay attention to the service
"Editor of Who has seen it? Who speaks?"
"Good evening, my name is Alejandra Rojas, I am 100 years old, I live in Bogota, and I am calling for the Rivera case!"
"But ma'am, justice has been done now, there's nothing more to say."
"I know but it's a personal matter. I was one of the last people to see Señor Rivera still alive."
"What are you talking about?"
"He gave me his blood!"
"Go on!"
"It was the evening of December 20, 1921, my mother was pregnant with my sister Pilar and my father worked late at the bar; I had a knee injury that didn't seem very serious but for me who is hemophiliac it is a serious problem and therefore I was transported to the hospital for a lot of blood loss. I needed a transfusion but there was a lack of negative group 00 and a volunteer was being sought for the donation: they searched for him throughout the plaza and found a 21-year-old boy who accepted without problems. After the transfusion, I fell asleep for a couple of hours and when I woke up my mom said that my donor wanted to know me and I made him go near my bed. I still remember his eyes, they were sweet as honey and he was immediately very affectionate with me: he told me that his name was Hector Rivera, who was Mexican, who came to Colombia to try to become famous with his friend and that he had a daughter of my age that he missed him very much; we talked a lot until Mr. De la Cruz came to pick him up and he didn't seem very happy. The next day he came back to see me and gave me a stuffed dog saying that he had also taken one for his daughter and that he would leave the same evening to return to her, so I thanked him for what he had done and I said goodbye by promising him that I would write to him; I tried but the letters always returned to the sender and after a year I stopped; when months ago I knew what had happened to him my heart broke, how can you hurt such a good and kind person? But I haven't had the courage to talk about it to this day and I just want his family to know that he had such a big heart, full of love and that he could have given much more if that monster hadn't killed him. "
"Mrs. Rojas, thank you for this testimony, I am sure that the Rivera family will be happy to hear these beautiful words, especially Miguel!"
"I saw him on television. He has his own eyes and his same smile and if he is also sweet and generous like him, his parents must be very proud of it."
"It is so indeed! We thank you once and goodbye!"
"Goodbye!" and ended the call. Miguel and the family all had tears in their eyes, especially Elena who was the first to speak:
"¡Lo siento!"
"No Abuelita, we couldn't have known!" Miguel said realizing that his grandmother still felt guilty for what he had thought of papà Hector in the past and holding her in an embrace, followed by the others
"Gracias a todos !" and wiped away the tears
"Come on, I'll help you clear!" Miguel said with a smile. And so he did while his parents, uncles, cousins and grandparents smiled at each other thinking that Ms. Rojas was right: he was really identical to Hector in all respects.