Disclaimer: I do not own Coco or any of the characters. Coco is the property of Disney, Pixar and Lee Unkrich,. I am just a fan and nothing more.


Remember

It was a beautiful day in the town of San Cecilia and not just any day either, it was Dias de Los Muertos, The Day of The Dead.

The sun was shining, decorations and ofrenda's were put up, children were laughing and playing and families everywhere were home, honoring their ancestors and loved one in the most meaningfully way possible, by remembering them.

During this time, the most famous family in San Cecilia were also taking part of the cherished holiday. A family who was recognized for shoe making and music, once for hating and now for loving it.

The Rivera Family...

"A little more..and there...'A 25 year old man said as he was busy placing the pictures of all of his late relatives on the ofrenda, making sure that no picture was forgotten.

"I believe that's everyone..."A teenage girl said as she eyed the ofrenda.

"Good job, Miguel..."She said in approval.

"Thanks, Coco..."The man said to his younger sister.

Yes, the man who had placed the last picture on the ofrenda is Miguel Rivera.

Yes, THE Miguel Rivera. Famed all throughout Mexico for his singing and song writing and beloved in San Cecilia for his kind, charitable nature, most especially by his precious family, whom has supported his dream and have been his inspiration, not just for his music, but just in his every day life.

Miguel has grown up very much since his adventure in the Land of The Dead 13 years ago. He was now much taller and he resembled his beloved late great-great grandfather Hector as well as his father, right down to having a mustache just like him. Miguel is now 25 and had long since achieved his dream of becoming a musician, having gone on the road at 18 but kept in contact with his family during that time and eventually returned to San Cecilia to settle down and start a family of his own.

Right now, he is here, in his family's home, with his 13 year old sister Socorro "Coco" Rivera, named after his beloved late great-grandmother, who has long since gone to the Land of The Dead and joined their family on that side. Coco looks much like him at that age, with the same eyes and smile, she has long black hair, which she keeps in a braided pony tail and like her brother and the rest of her family, she has a deep love for music and dancing and would use any excuse to do so.

"Coco, can you help me in the kitchen?..."Their mother, Luisa shouted from the kitchen.

"Coming mama...'Coco said as she went to help her mother make the food which would serve as the offerings for this evening.

Miguel chuckled as he watched his kid sister leave. Just then, somebody got his attention, a little someone who crawled into the room.

"Hey there, mijo..."Miguel said gently as he picked the baby boy , as a lovely woman in her twenties walked in as well.

'Come now mijito, papa is busy..."The woman said.

"No don't Sofia...the ofrenda is all finished...'Miguel said to his wife.

Yes, this is his wife. A 26 year old woman named Sofia Rivera, formerly Sofia Rodriguez. She is a tall, slender and lovely young woman with big brown eyes, long black hair she kept in a low pony tail and couple of dimples on her cheeks that made her irresistible. Miguel met her during his first tour when he was 18 and it was pretty much love at first sight for him, though it took a while in order to get her attention, even with the fame he got and a bunch of females who vied for his attention due to his fame. Sofia was the kind of woman that didn't care at all about fame, she just loved music for the sake of music and she valued men for their hearts, not their status or possessions.

It was because of that that made Miguel realize that she was one of a kind and he couldn't live without her. Eventually, he managed to get her attention, they dated for a few years, got married when Miguel was 21 and have happily together since then,and the little child in his arms is their son.

A baby boy named Hector Rivera.

"Papa..."The baby boy said and Miguel smiled warmly before kissing him on the forehead.

Hector is only ten months old and has recently started talking and his first word was "papa", something that filled Miguel's heart with such pride and joy.

"Si Hector, time for you to meet some nice people...'Miguel said to his son, who giggled a bit and Miguel smiled even more, before taking him over to the ofrenda and show him all of the pictures of their family.

"This guy with the mustache and hat is Papa Julio...He is your great-great grandfather...while he could be a little jumpy at times, his heart is always in the right place and family always comes first to him...'Miguel said as he pointed to the old man's picture.

He then pointed to the next picture...

"This lady here is your Tia Rosita, she is Papa Julio's sister...she's the sweetest lady you could ever know and she always loves giving hugs..."Miguel said with a smile, before moving onto the next pictures.

"These too are Tio Felipe and Tio Oskar...they are twins and they do everything together...don't feel bad if you can't tell which is which, we all made that mistake at least once..."Miguel said with a chuckle.

He then went on to the next photo.

"This lady is Tia Victoria...I know she might look a little grumpy but she's actually a very nice lady and really loves her family...'Miguel said as he pointed to the picture of his bespectacled relative...

'This lady here is Mama Coco...she is your great-great grandmother...she's a very sweet lady, even if she can be a little forgetful but the one thing she could never forget is how much her family loves her and still does.."Miguel said as he looked at the picture of his beloved great grandmother.

Miguel then frowned in sadness when he saw the most recent edition onto the ofrenda, which made his heart ache a bit, due to it still being so recent for him, but he kept a strong smile for his boy.

"This here is Mama Elena...she is your great-grandmother...she is Tia Victoria's sister and Papa Julio and Mama Coco's daughter...while she could be a little stubborn at times, she loves our family more than anything in the entire world..."Miguel said as he saw the picture of his dearly departed grandmother.

Mama Elena passed away several months ago due to natural causes, when Baby Hector was only five weeks old and the entire family was heartbroken, especially Abuelito Franco but Miguel at least took some comfort in knowing that she at least is with her parents Mama Coco, Papa Julio and the rest of their family on the other side.

It made the pain of her passing lessen, if only a bit.

Miguel then continued to the last and definitely not the least picture on the ofrenda.

"And this picture...it's a very special picture Mijo...here is Mama Coco when she was a little girl...'Miguel said as he pointed to the child in the photo..."This is Mama Imelda, she is the one who started our family's shoe making business, she is where Mama Elena got her stubbornness from, but no matter what, she loves our family with all of her heart and always will ..."He continued, before he then pointed to the last person in that photo and Miguel's smile became softer... "And this here..is Papa Hector, the man whom you are named after..."He said gently to his infant son, who was cooing and looking at the pictures, though Miguel doubted he truly was looking at them, since he is still so little.

He still spoke to him.

"Papa Hector was a great musician, who wrote the most amazing songs ever...because all his songs came from his heart...the best song he wrote was a song he wrote for his daughter, Mama Coco, about how much he loves her...It's called...'Remember Me"...and I can never forgot how much he loves his family, especially his Coco...'Miguel said while his son started sucking his thumb.

"Ga...ehhh....'Little Hector let out.

"Now mijo, you have to remember that these aren't just pictures, they are our family, and they are counting on us to remember them..always..."Miguel said to his son, while Sofia came and took him in her arms.

"Miguel, the way you talk about them, it's like they are still here with us..."Sofia couldn't help but say to her husband.

"As long as we remember them, they are still here with us, especially on this day..."Miguel said and Sofia smiled at that, before sharing a quick kiss with him.

"You are right about that, this day is all about loving and remembering our family..."Sofia said lovingly before taking baby Hector to get him ready for tonight.

"If only you knew how right you are..."Miguel said with a chuckle.

Miguel never told his wife or any of his living family about his adventure in the land of the dead because, well...he cared more about making sure Hector and the others were not forgotten and exposing De la Cruz as the monster he was in life and in death. Besides, even he knew it was too fantastical to believe in the first place, but as long as his family was never forgotten, he was okay with keeping the greatest adventure of his life to himself.

Hector then went to go help his parents, sister, aunts, uncles, grandfather and cousins keep preparing for tonight, since they were expecting a visit from family this evening...

A spiritual visit anyway.


Meanwhile

In the Land Of The Dead

In the colorful, magical, flowery world of the afterlife, the Land of the Dead, thousands of skeletons were about to cross the Marigold bridge, in order to join their family and loved ones on Dia De Los Muertos.

Thousands of skeletons were waiting in line, to be able to granted access to the bridge and be able to cross over.

"Alright...your all set Pedrito...enjoy your visit...'The skeleton lady said after scanning a former bull fighter, who has an offering from his still living son and his family in the living world.

'Muchas gracias...'He said before leaving to cross over.

Soon, more skeletons came to be scanned and be granted access to crossover. After a while, a male skeleton with shaggy black hair, a hat, a purple vest and a gold tooth stood in front of the screen and was quickly scanned.

In less than a minute, a match was set and the skeleton lady gave him a smile.

'Enjoy your visit, Hector..."The skeleton lady said.

'Thank you..."The skeleton man said with a sigh of relief, despite having been able to crossover every year for the last 13 years.

He soon went over to the entrance that lead to the bridge and saw his beloved wife, daughter, brothers-in-law, son-in-law, his sister and his recently added granddaughter Elena.

Elena was now skeleton like the others here, she is still a little stout and big boned but she still had her hair in a bun and wore the same kind of clothes she wore when she died. No longer the tyrannical music hater she once was, Elena had grown to love the music she was taught to hate all of her life and has lived her final years in happiness with her family and is enjoying her afterlife with the rest of her family as well...

"Will you hurry up, if you take any longer, we won't make it there until sunrise!...'Elena said with her arms crossed.

Though she still had a sharp tongue on her.

"Do not worry, mija...Papa would never let anything get in the way of seeing our family...'Coco said to her daughter, who softened a bit more at this.

"Believe me, we will make it on time...'Hector said to his granddaughter, before taking the hand of his beloved wife Imelda.

"I can't wait to see Miguel and Sofia again...I can't wait to finally see our great-great-great grandchild...'Imelda said, since last year, his wife Sofia was pregnant with the little bundle of joy and this will be the first time they will see the newest addition to their family.

"Me too...I still can't believe Miguel is finally a father..."Hector said, before looking at his daughter Coco, who took his other hand as well.

It feels like just yesterday that he had met his great grandson for the first and only time, when he wondered into the Land of The Dead and after a series of misunderstandings and misadventures, they were able to send him back to the land of the living, as well as restore Hector's honor to his family and expose De la Cruz as the murderous fraud as he was.

Now 13 years later, Hector is now able to see his beloved descendants again, just as he has done every year since Miguel made sure he would never be forgotten by his family ever again and now, he would see his darling great-great grandson and finally meet his new great-great-great grandchild for the first time, while that scoundrel De La Cruz had to deal with the consequences of his actions.

Being remembered in both the living and dead world as the horrible, thieving, murderous fraud he truly is and being hated for it for all time. While Hector has long since been forgiven and most of all, remembered by his precious family.

"Come now, we mustn't dilly dally, I want to get there before Miguel starts singing Proud Corazon...'Imelda said, thinking about the first real song her grandson wrote and how he would sing it every year, and it was Imelda's favorite.

"Coming, mi amor...'Hector said before kissing her on the cheek.

Soon all the descended members of the Rivera family held hands and soon began their venture into the living world, to see their still living loved ones, both old and new.

Because that is what Dia De Los Muertos is all about, remembering your loved ones, because even if they have passed on, as long as you remember them in your heart, especially on this day, they will always be with you.

Always...

The End


:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)