At her cringe, he winces a little. Of course this would be a difficult topic for her, why wouldn't it be? And he knows, it's not going to get any better for her. He just hopes she doesn't blame herself for his own choices. He stares down, for a moment, gathering his courage, gathering the words. It's not a time he enjoys remembering, when everything was lost to him, but he needs to do it.

"We all thought you were dead," he remembers, seeing the life drain away from her, feeling as if his own had gone alongside her. He falters, breathes, continues. "Everyone was heartbroken. They'd taken you back into the town, when they found me."

He pauses. He remembers the last words he and Joaquin shared. Angry, horrible words, and he knows he will have to tell this tale one last time, later. To explain to the man he thought of as a brother what drove him to do what he did, and to please, please not blame himself. The last thing Manolo needed was the two people he loved more than anything hurt.

"I was left alone. I didn't know what to do, where to go, I had nothing left to live for," he frowns. "And then Xibalba showed up."