[He makes a face at Maverick. Of course he was gonna say it. That's why it needed to point out.]
Yeah, that's the one. The dead, food, and flowers. [A simple way to put it.]
I didn't lose a lot of people back then. One or two, but no one close yet. It was more that... well I guess the lack of family was one part, I could imagine, for one night of the year, that I did have someone. I'd sit behind this tree in the graveyard with some dumb little drawings because I didn't have any photos, play music... And there was the music in town, the festivities, the joy of it. Everything would be done up so beautifully.
But, it was also that, I don't know, I always felt kind of drawn to that stuff. Connected. For so much of the year people keep everything inside, all their grief and their joy. And then, on one night, you realize, with the living all come out to see those they lost, just how much love there is. You see what we all go through and what everyone understands.
I'd look at families in the graveyard and I'd think to myself... wouldn't it be great to be so loved that people still came to see you when you were gone? That they noticed and missed you? Wouldn't it be great to know that you made someone so happy that they could laugh and sing and dance even at your grave... I wanted that. Even as a kid-- such a morbid thought, but I wanted it so bad.
[He feels himself getting a little teary, looking up at the stars. He laughs at himself and wipes at his eyes.]
I married into Imelda's family. Mage families trace back so far, of course, we had a good full ofrenda of strangers-- and me thinking, boy, they couldn't be happy to see me. Some non-mage. But she told their stories. And then we told Coco. I remember holding her in my arms and thinking, this is it. One day, one day, you might matter enough. One day, far away, your photo will be here too and some great great grandson or daughter will tell your story too.
I got emotional, as you might expect, and Imelda had to deal with my usual ridiculousness. God, it's even more embarrassing now to think her dead family was actually probably there.
no subject
Yeah, that's the one. The dead, food, and flowers. [A simple way to put it.]
I didn't lose a lot of people back then. One or two, but no one close yet. It was more that... well I guess the lack of family was one part, I could imagine, for one night of the year, that I did have someone. I'd sit behind this tree in the graveyard with some dumb little drawings because I didn't have any photos, play music... And there was the music in town, the festivities, the joy of it. Everything would be done up so beautifully.
But, it was also that, I don't know, I always felt kind of drawn to that stuff. Connected. For so much of the year people keep everything inside, all their grief and their joy. And then, on one night, you realize, with the living all come out to see those they lost, just how much love there is. You see what we all go through and what everyone understands.
I'd look at families in the graveyard and I'd think to myself... wouldn't it be great to be so loved that people still came to see you when you were gone? That they noticed and missed you? Wouldn't it be great to know that you made someone so happy that they could laugh and sing and dance even at your grave... I wanted that. Even as a kid-- such a morbid thought, but I wanted it so bad.
[He feels himself getting a little teary, looking up at the stars. He laughs at himself and wipes at his eyes.]
I married into Imelda's family. Mage families trace back so far, of course, we had a good full ofrenda of strangers-- and me thinking, boy, they couldn't be happy to see me. Some non-mage. But she told their stories. And then we told Coco. I remember holding her in my arms and thinking, this is it. One day, one day, you might matter enough. One day, far away, your photo will be here too and some great great grandson or daughter will tell your story too.
I got emotional, as you might expect, and Imelda had to deal with my usual ridiculousness. God, it's even more embarrassing now to think her dead family was actually probably there.