A few days passed since the wedding.

As Xibalba continued with the paperwork, he couldn't help but feel anxious and sad. Today his baby would leave to the Land of the Remembered, she and her new husband needed their privacy, as much as he didn't like the idea. But his Marigold was all grown up now, though it didn't mean it didn't hurt to let her go. He would miss her terribly, she made living down here less depressing.

Placing his quill back on its inkwell, the dark god opened one of the drawers of his desk and brought out a small red box. Lifting the lid, he found various things from his daughter's infancy and childhood. He had kept them to remember the happy times, when it was just he and she. One of the first things he found was her baby rattle, the one he had made especially for her. He couldn't help but smile sadly as he fidgeted with it. Memories returned to him as he stared at it.

Xibalba shook the rattle over his daughter's head, and the familiar noise called her attention; her wailing diminished into sobs as she watched the little toy above her.

"Like it?" Xibalba cooed, smiling down at his daughter with tired eyes. "Papi made it for you when you were inside mami's tummy." Marigold's little hands reached out and got a hold on the rattle.

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit on remembering the first time he showed to her, it was as if she had recognized it. Placing the rattle back in the box, he now grabbed a small crow doll, worn down by time, though it managed to keep its bell. Yet another of his daughter's toys.

Marigold giggled wildly as her father tickled her belly, making funny faces and sticking out his tongue at her. Xibalba reached out his hand to a side and grabbed a small crow plush with a bell inside. He shook it in front of his baby, and watched fondly as her curious eyes glued unto it, staring at it.

"Hi, Marigold! I'm Mr. Crowley!" He chimed in a high-pitched voice, shaking the crow plush over her. "Do you want to be my friend? Don't be shy! Let's be friends!" he couldn't help but smile when his daughter giggled and reached out her little hands for it.

Xibalba chuckled, but his eyes were swelling up with tears. Had it been so long ever since she was that fragile little cosita that needed him so? He placed Mr. Crowley back on the box and took out the next thing. The drawing Marigold had made for him on Mother's day when she was four.

When he examined the painting she had made, his eyes swelled up with tears.

The drawing was quite crude, but he could make out what she had drawn. The drawing depicted him in his rocking chair, holding Marigold in his arms as a baby. There was a big red heart at the side, and she had written something in it…

You're not only the best papá in the whole world. You're also the best mamá.

Te quiero, papi.

Marigold.

Even with the passage of time, and though the paper had turned yellowish with time, those words were still intact. Xibalba placed it back on the box and continued to look at the things, until he came across a small red ribbon that fit into his hand…

"Here. This was your mami's." He attached the hair bow to one of Marigold's many locks of dark hair; it looked ridiculously big, it was bigger than her head, actually, and so it fell forward, covering her eyes. Xibalba chuckled when she squealed in surprise and tried to get it off her face. "Don't worry, mi florecita. It'll fit you someday."

Marigold grabbed the hair bow and started touching it with her little fingers and wide eyes, wondering what it was for. "M-Mm-mama..."

"Papi?"

Xibalba was startled by his daughter's voice, and he quickly placed the ribbon back into the box, closing it and lifting his gaze to find Marigold poking her head through the door. "What is it, my sweet?"

Marigold stepped into her father's study, with an air of sorrow "I'm going to be leaving for the Land of the Remembered soon and…"

Realizing what she meant, Xibalba stood up from his chair and walked closer to her. "I understand, mi florecita. You and your new husband need your privacy."

"Yes, but I will still miss this place. Emilio, Regina, everyone, but I'm going to miss you the most."

He smiled and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You know you'll always be welcome here, sweetie. You can come visit as many times as you'd like, and besides you'll be seeing me often. I still have to go upstairs every now and then, remember?"

"Si. Hopefully there will be no more secrets between us, right?"

"Right, mi florecita. I promise you." His eyes swelled up with tears. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll come back in a few days, I promise." Kissing her father's cheek one last time, she made her way to the door to leave for her new home. But before she left, she glanced at her father with a small smile. "And remember, no more secrets."

Once she was gone, Xibalba's smile faltered and he frowned deeply, looking down. There was one more secret he had not yet told her, but he was reluctant to talk about it to anyone. He walked back to his desk, opened another drawer and pulled out something that no one but a few knew about.

A necklace of bones with the skull of a crow.

"No secrets."

And so, ends another part of Marigold's story. But don't worry, it's far from over! The next chapter of this tale will bring dark secrets regarding La Muerte's death to light, and a certain goddess will make an appearance! Thanks to all my loyal fans and followers!

See you in the sequel!