Disclaimer: I don't own The Book Of Life! I'm just a fan! Enjoy!

As the years went by, Clarissa hardly ever saw the boys. With Manolo's father working him day and night to become a bull fighter, and with Joaquin training under General Posada's guidance. From what Manolo had told her, Joaquin had saved the general's life on the day it was decided Maria would leave. Clarissa would usually watch him train from afar and the more she watched, the more she wondered. Where had this new skill come from? All of a sudden, Joaquin had... superhuman-like talents that confused Clarissa. Along with his new skill came a new attitude. Joaquin had a very egotistic, proud, selfish flare to him. Whenever she and Manolo tried to strike up a game, Joaquin declared he had no time for such sillyness, like he was too good for them. All and all, Clarissa missed the old Joaquin. The silly, funny, kind, old Joaquin. After becoming the top of General Posada's league, Joaquin left San Angel to share his abilities with the world. Manolo and Clarissa still spoke to each other, when Manolo wasn't training his butt off or too exhausted to speak. Come to think about it, Manolo and Clarissa didn't talk much. Anyways, her Abuela was still living, by the way, and still packed a punch. So, what had Clarissa been up to all these years? Well, her writing passion never dwindled. In fact, the nuns at the orphanage constantly were asking her to read to the children, which Clarissa was always happy to do. Looks-wise, she had out grown her little form into something more mature. She wore a long blue skirt, a white tank top, and her long wavy brown hair was always held down, so it reached her waist. But, her eyes had never changed. They were still the same deep ocean blue that never lost their sparkle. Even through the hard times that passed over the lonely years, Clarissa's eyes always sparkled. The one thing Clarissa missed more than anything, was her friends. When she was younger, when ever she was sad, Manolo and Joaquin would always make her laugh. Maria and her always spoke like sisters. But now, that was all gone. And all Clarissa could do, was wait for the fateful day when her best friend Maria would come home. Then something would be right. One day, many years after the animal incident, Clarissa was telling her latest story to the children of the orphanage. She sat on one of the beds, with some kids beside her and some sitting on the floor. No one dared to speak and they all payed very close attention. This story in particular, was about a mute, yet brave hero who saved people everywhere he went. Nothing especially interesting to Clarissa, but then again, the children loved her stories, no matter how dramatic or emotional they were.

"'Our daughter! She's still inside!' The ash covered mother cried.

Lightning flashed as The Great Enrique jumped off of his mighty steed and ran into the burning house." Clarissa told the children, who were trembling with anxiousness.

Grey clouds of smoke poured from the burning lump of a house, as the roof suddenly collapsed.

"NOOO!" The couple screamed.

All the children gasped.

"... So... Enrique... died?" Lucia, a little girl with caramel coloured hair, breathed, looking on the verge of tears.

"NO! THAT CAN'T BE IT!" Pablo, a dark haired little boy shrieked.

Pablo was shushed by Violetta and Raquel, who had noticed Clarissa smiling mysteriously.

"All of a sudden," Clarissa continued, grasping the attention of all the children.

The Great Enrique rose from the rubble, with the unconscious, but alive daughter in his arms.

'Valentina!' The father and mother shouted in unison.

Enrique handed the little girl to her over-joyed parents, who covered her with hugs and kisses.

'Muchas Gracias, senor! Muchas Gracias!" The father thanked Enrique, who simply smiled lightly.

"The End." Clarissa stated, smiling.

Most of the children cheered and clapped, while others sat there, gapping with wide eyes.

"Wow, Clarissa! That was such a great story!" Violetta squealed.

"Yeah! You're the best storyteller in the entire world!" Raquel agreed, twirling all around.

Clarissa blushed. She never understood why such sweet children were abandoned by their parents.

"Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it." Clarissa smiled at the little girls.

"The Great Roberto's so awesome!" Miguel, one of the boys, cried out.

"Yeah! He can take on 10 bad guys at once, save families from fires AND get the girl, in ONE story!" Pablo agreed, jumping up onto one of the beds.

The room full of children broke out into a chatter of agreement and soon, the whole sleeping wing was filled with the sound of talking and laughing children. Clarissa smiled as she tried to quiet them down. But, it was futile. The children were just too excited over the story. Don't get Clarissa wrong, she loved the fact that they loved her stories. That was the whole reason why she wrote. To make people happy and make them smile and laugh. It was just that Clarissa didn't think that the nuns would enjoy having a room full of screaming children to calm down. Suddenly, a great silence shot through the room. Clarissa looked around to see that the children were quiet. What had just happened? Clarissa looked up to see Sister Nina standing the doorway.

'Good job, Clarissa. You spoke too soon.' Clarissa scolded herself sarcastically.

But, Sister Nina didn't look angry. In fact, she looked over-joyed. The nun strode into the room and over to the group. Even though Sister Nina's expression was happy, the children looked sort of nervous. Would she punish them for being too loud? Then, the nun spoke.

"So, did everyone enjoy your time with Clarissa?" The elder woman asked.

The children all cheered and clapped, but stopped soon after. If Sister Nina was angry, they didn't want to be punished further. But, Sister Nina just smiled even more.

"That's excellant! Muy excelente!" Sister Nina stated.

The children all sighed in relief. They weren't going to be punished.

"Unfortunately, it's time for Clarissa to go. It's lunchtime for all of you." The nun then added.

The children all awed in unison. But, Clarissa spoke up.

"Hey, don't worry,ninos! If you all promise to be good, I can come back next week!" Clarissa told the children.

Instantly, every child's face lit up with joy.

"Okay!" They all replied happily and practically dragged Sister Nina to the dinning hall. Not being able to give the young woman a proper thanks, Sister Nina looked at Clarissa gratefully and mouthed the words 'gracias' to her. Clarissa smiled widely and mouthed 'your welcome' back as a reply. Sister Nina nodded and with that, she and the children had left. Clarissa, who was still sitting on the bed, sighed happily. Man, did she love her job. But, boy, was it tiring. Still, no matter what, Clarissa was a writer and loved her job. After pausing for a few moments to relax, Clarissa reached for her trusty book bag (another thing Clarissa hadn't out grown over the years) that was laying next to her on the bed. It contained her quill, ink pot and some new parchment. That was all she ever needed. Securing her book bag on her back, Clarissa stood up and turned to go home and get some well-deserved sleep. But, before she could take one single step, something stopped her. Well, actually, more like someone.

"That was a good story." They said.

Clarissa froze in her spot with terror. Who was this person? But, remembering her manners, Clarissa spoke.

"T-thank you. G-gracias." She stuttered.

Clarissa was afraid. What if this person was here to hurt her? What if this person was a bandit? What if this person was secretly a wizard who wanted to kidnap her and take her to his magical castle in the sky and keep her as a slave, and make her jump at his every need, like brushing his teeth, washing his hair and giving him manicures and pedicures every Monday? Okay, maybe all this writing was making her a bit too dramatic. But, back to the task.

"W-what do you want here?" Clarissa asked the person, who seemed to be hiding in the shadows at the corner of the room.

The person laughed.

"Why, to see my old friend of course." They replied simply.

Clarissa furrowed her eyebrows.

"Should I know you?" The brunette demanded crossly.

"I am offended. Remember? You promised to write for me when I got back. And for goodness sake, stop shaking like a chihuahua. Same old, Clary." The person chuckled, muttering that last part.

Clarissa gasped.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Clarissa demanded, dropping her bag (safely on the bed. Come on, do you really think she'd let her most prized possesion even touch the floor?) and raising her clenched fists in a defence position.

The person scoffed.

"Oh, put those things away. You'd never hurt a fly." They teased.

Clarissa had just lost her patience. She wasn't up for these games anymore.

"Come out!" She shouted.

"Okay! Sheesh." The unknown teaser yelled back.

Finally revealing themself, the person slowly stepped out of the shadows. But, when the person was completely out, Clarissa gasped louder than she ever had before. Standing right before her, in the flesh, was...

"Maria?"

"Hey, Clary." Maria smiled.

Boy, how Maria had changed. Clarissa almost didn't recognize her voice. But, Maria too had out grown her little figure, she wore a red skirt and white blouse, her brown hair had grown out and was worn in a ponytail. But, also like Clarissa, her eyes hadn't changed. They were still that feisty and determined chocolate brown. Another thing that hadn't changed, was that on Maria's left wrist was the little blue yarn friendship bracelet that Clarissa had given her on that dreadful day. It was tied tightly as if Maria had never taken it off. But, something lingered with Clarissa. Had Maria been changed too much over the years? Was she now some lady-like stiff? Had Maria lost her fire? And would she- dare Clarissa say- not even give her a hug? Clarissa felt stupid for thinking of this. But, it could be a possibility.

"Um... is it lady-like to hug?" Clarissa asked, feeling even more stupid.

But, Maria just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Come on, do you know me at all? Of course I'll hug you, lady-like or not!" Maria laughed.

And with those words, Clarissa lunged at her best friend and hugged her tighter than she ever had before. Maria returned the hug, Weak from all the emotion, Maria and Clarissa slumped down to the floor. But they never let go of each other. Not once. So, for the next two minutes, the two girls just sat there, hugging and hugging. After the hug, Clarissa and Maria got off the floor.

"How did you find me?" Clarissa asked excitedly.

"Well, I tried your house, but your grandmother said that you were here. So, the nuns let me in through the back. Besides, I had to come here anyways. I'm going to be helping out around this place." Maria replied.

Clarissa grew excited.

"That's great! I read here all the time!" Clarissa squealed.

They hugged again. This one was shorter but, just as sweet. And once it was over, Maria spoke.

"Lets get out of here. We have a lot to catch up on. " Maria suggested.

Clarissa nodded in agreement, but not before looping her arm through Maria's, not intending on letting her go again. The two left the orphanage and decided to take a walk around town. They told each other EVERYTHING that had happened in all this time, not leaving out one little detail. Clarissa told her of Joaquin's leave, Manolo's training (which seemed to disappoint Maria) and of her loneliness. And Maria told her of all of her adventures in Spain.

"Wow. That's great, Maria. Much better than what was happening with me." Clarissa gaped, sighing the last part.

Maria's eyes softened.

"I'm sorry about Joaquin. You always had a thing for him." The young woman said.

WHAT? How had Maria known? Had Clarissa The Matchmaker, just been outmatched?

"How did you know?" Clarissa asked, much calmer than in her head.

"It was SO obvious! All those stories, the way you looked at him? I just knew." Maria scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Clarissa blushed pink. Alas, even after all of this drama, her feelings for Joaquin never stopped.

"Oh, yeah? Says the person who was practically flirting with Manolo at age seven! 'Always play from the heart. Love Maria.' Really?Kissy-kissy smoochy smooch." Clarissa teased.

But, Maria didn't respond. She lowered her head sadly. This was so un-Maria. Normally, she would have fired some sarcastic comment back at Clarissa. But this? What was this?

"Hey, what's wrong?" Clarissa asked, kindly.

"It's just... Manolo knows how much I love animals... Why would he become a bull fighter? You kill bulls in bull fighting. This isn't him. He's better than that." Maria whispered, sadly.

Clarissa raised her eyebrows. She had never thought of bull fighting that way. She had never been the advocate for animals in 'The Four Amigos', but Maria had and still was. Then, Clarissa realized that killing animals for entertainment was wrong. It wasn't right. But, she knew that Manolo hadn't voluntarily done this. He just wanted to impress his father and family. But, maybe Maria would realize this at the bull fight today. They were all in attendance to go.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. I promise." Clarissa told Maria.

But, before Clarissa could comfort anymore, she realized they were going to be late.

"We better get going." Clarissa stated.

Maria sighed, and slowly agreed. So, the girls started to head off to the arena. But, suddenly, Maria stopped Clarissa.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" She said excitedly as she reached into her purse that had been around her shoulder.

Maria pulled out two fans. One for Clarissa and one for herself.

"I got you this in Spain." Maria told Clarissa.

"*Gasp* Thank you!" Clarissa gasped and hugged Maria, then examined the purple and gold fan.

When Clarissa looked back up, Maria was smirking.

"Follow my lead. We're going to make an entrance." Maria said sneakily.

Clarissa smiled. This was going to be good...

Hey! Did you like? Review! Read my last note if you already haven't, this is the last chapter until GMDC is over. Okay? Bye! Thanks, guys!

~Ocean'sMage12