November 2nd. Dia de los Muertos.

Each grave was surrounded with bread offerings, brightly lit candles and the loved ones of those passed. Music carried through the yard, small children danced, adults played their instruments, and it was just as festive as always. At the graves of Carmen and Carlos Sanchez sat the married trio of Manolo, Maria, and Joaquin. The three were quiet as Manolo strummed the strings of his guitar gently. Joaquin had his head resting in his hand while Maria leaned against him, eyes half open. The husband and wife were soothed by Manolo's quiet tune, almost to the point of being lulled to sleep.

Manolo's quiet tune came to an abrupt halt and both Joaquin and Maria perked their heads up as a shrill yelp came from one of the nearby graves.

"Hey, what was that?" Manolo questioned.

Before the others could answer, a dog with an obvious limp ran by them. Upon seeing the dog, Maria stood and took a couple steps to follow but Joaquin caught her arm, stopping her.

"Leave the dog alone, Maria. Maybe it wants to be alone."

"It was hurt, Joaquin, I can't just do nothing. Besides, I just want to see where it went."

That said, Maria removed Joaquin's grip on her arm and went off in the direction the dog had gone. When the two men followed, they stopped short when they saw Maria standing still, clutching her chest and a look of sadness on her face.

"Maria? What is wrong, mi amor?" Manolo asked putting a hand on her shoulder.

Without a word or looking at him, Maria gently pushed Manolo's face in the same direction she was facing. When Manolo turned his attention to what held his wife's, he felt the sudden sadness that she did.

All alone, with no candles lay a small child sized grave. On top of the grave lay the limping dog who held a bit of bread in his mouth. Slowly, Maria walked up to the grave and knelt down to the dog's level, followed by her husbands. Maria squinted at the name carved into the grave stone which read "Paula."

"No last name?" She wondered. "And, where is the rest of the family?"

To Maria's question both of her husbands shrugged but all three of their hearts sank as the dog let out a whine as if he was crying. Maria put one hand on her heart and the other hand on the dog's head which made his tail wag just slightly.

"Pobre perro..." Manolo said quietly.

"He lost his...best...friend." Joaquin mumbled then closed his eyes tight, trying to forget about what happened that year.

Maria gently stroked the dog's head, soothing him to the point he released the bit of bread and let out a heavy sounding sigh.

"Well Paula...someone remembers you..." Manolo said.

And although they could not see her, the little Paula girl was there, smiling next to her precious four legged friend.

AN: OK so, this was a request and all, and I just hope the requester likes it. Also, I hope to get much better writing these characters and such.

Oh, and I also shamelessly ship a polyamorous marriage between Maria, Manolo, and Joaquin.