In Another Life

What To Do

Not long after Maya, Zatz, and La Muerte returned from the mortal realm, Maya and Zatz found Candle Maker outside their home, looking rather frantic. 

"There you guys are." He said. 

"What is it, Candle Maker?" Maya asked. 

"I found something I think should be able to help you." 

"Really?" Zatz asked, both of them lighting up. 

"It took a lot of digging and asking around, but I found that when two halves of a soul meet in the land of the dead, the reincarnated one remembers their past life when they touch for the first time. Did you go to Manolo and Maria recently?" 

"Well, we went to them when we found out they existed, but other than that, we've always watched them from afar," Zatz explained. 

"Did you ever touch them?" 

Maya and Zatz racked their brains, trying to remember if they did touch them or not. After a moment, it hit them. 

"We did... but briefly." Maya said, smiling nervously, "Were we not supposed to?" 

"Well, I guess you didn't do anything wrong, it's just unusual for this to happen this way. If they're remembering in bits and pieces, it may be because you didn't touch them long enough." 

"Well, what do we do?" 

"That's up to you. You can sit back, let the visions keep happening, or you can tell them the whole story yourselves."

Maya and Zatz sighed and looked down. "Thank you, Candle Maker." Zatz said. 

"Anytime." 

As Candle Maker left, the couple had some things to think about. 

"I don't know what we should do." Maya said. 

"They're going to remember either way." Zatz said. 

"But should we let the visions keep happening?" 

"I don't know."

"Ok. Uh... Let's just table this conversation for a bit. We'll figure it out."

-----------------------------

It's been two months since the birth of the twins, and Manolo and Maria had adjusted to their new roles as parents. 

More or less.

It wasn't easy, but they had Joaquin to help them out.

It was evident that they were all exhausted from taking care of two newborns, especially during the first few weeks. But the couple was able to figure out what did and didn't work and were able to adjust, along with Joaquin any way he could. 

More or less.

They were grateful the crib built before the birth was big enough for two infants.

One evening, they were all in the living room, the sky growing darker and darker by the minute. 

Celina was in a small wooden cradle, which Chuy was gently rocking with his foot while Cecilia was in Joaquin's arms, taking a nap. 

Maria was close to falling asleep herself on the couch. 

"You should rest, Maria." Manolo said as he placed his hands on her shoulders from behind.

"Later." Maria said with a whine in her voice. "It's almost time for the girls to sleep anyway. I'll sleep when they do."

"I think this one already beat you to it." Joaquin said, referring to Cecilia. 

"You've been busy." Manolo said softly, as he stroked her hair, "They've been keeping us up for a while. You need a break."

"Don't cut yourself short, Manolo." Maria said, "You've been doing just as much as I have. And, you know, I'm grateful for that."

Joaquin cleared his throat, grabbing the couple's attention. 

"And, of course, we're thankful for your help, too." 

"Oh, you don't need to thank me." Joaquin shrugged. 

Manolo smiled before he felt that pain around his eyes. He shut his eyes as he groaned in pain, the pain stronger than he remembered.

Here we go again. 

"Manolo..." Maria stood up, worried for her husband. She moved him to sit down on the sofa.

Unlike the other visions, this one was more like an event. It was shown to him in flickers, making him confused as to what was going on. He seemed to be pinned against a wall, and he thought he heard snakes in his ears. There were creatures he remembered seeing in one of his past visions. He could see a purple creature being held by a horrific red one with a split face. The next thing he knew, the purple creature was killed in front of him, his heart ripped out. 

The pain left as quickly as it came. 

"Manolo?" 

Manolo looked to his side to see his wife look at him softly.

"I'm ok." He said, holding her hand.

"Another vision?"

"Yeah."

"What was it?"

Before he could answer her, Cecilia had woken up and was crying.

Manolo got up to get what was most likely what his daughter was crying for; the pacifier she had grown attached to in her short existence. 

"Here you go." He smiled as he handed it to her.

The moment Cecilia saw the pacifier, she reached out her little arms to grab it and sucked on it as though it was her life source. 

Manolo laughed as he watched the soft scene, sitting back down next to his wife.

"Well, it was an event, like the last one you had. I was against a wall. And one of the creatures I saw in the visions, he got killed."

"You've been having a lot of visions with these creatures." Joaquin said. 

"I don't know how else to describe them." Manolo sighed and looked down at his hands, "It's really hard to put everything together."

"You're telling me." Maria said, rubbing her temples, "I wish they came to us in a way that made sense."

"Hey, I'm sure things will make sense in the end. I mean, it's not like you're not gonna know forever."

"That's true."

They stayed up a little while more until they put the twins to bed. As Maria said, she and Manolo were gonna call it an early night. 

----------------------------

Maya and Zatz still didn't know what to do about Manolo and Maria.

They didn't know whether or not they should let the visions keep happening. 

It may have been a simple decision for others, but it was difficult for them, considering it was their reincarnated halves. 

One night, after they tucked Dawn and Dusk into bed, Maya was talking to Zatz about what they should do.

"I think the visions are gonna confuse them more." Maya said, "They don't deserve that."

"Especially since they're parents now." Zatz added.

The two sat in silence for a second, the answer echoing in the silence. 

"I think the answer's pretty obvious." 

"You're right." Maya said with a smile, "I don't know why we were overthinking it."

Zatz smiled as they went to bed.

They knew what they were going to do.

They were going to tell Manolo and Maria the truth.