(Author's Note: Only this and one more chapter with the language barrier to go, I promise!)
Bruno and I huddled together as we followed the one-armed man down near the beach and under the front door's threshold. The younger boy beckoned us forward enthusiastically, grinning ear-to-ear and waving us to follow with his hand. "Benvenuto a casa nostra!" He announced with excitement. My uncle and I just gazed around in a bit of awe, although Bruno was admittedly more timid and cautious than me.
"Ok, so here's the plan. You find a door; you open the door; and we go back to Encanto," my uncle listed off in my ear in a very formulaic way. "How are we going to both get through the door while making sure neither of them do?" I asked back also whispering. His plan didn't seem so straight-forward to me. He waved away this concern with his hand. "We'll figure that out later. For now, just find a door!"
About now was when the older man led us into what appeared to be a kitchen of sorts. This was also around the time that we began to notice little things- small effects which were different…. and new. Bruno's arm slipped out from mine as he wandered over to the cooking area of the kitchen; his jaw progressively dropping with each step. His eyes widened as he stared at their stove which did not have a place to burn wood for a fire. "How do you boil water on that thing? There's no flame?" His finger pointed down at it as his head turned to the older man. His eyebrow merely raised perplexed. "Ti piace la pasta?" While my uncle was examining the fire-less stove and oven, I busied myself by looking at the wall opposite where they were.
Littered across the back wall were newspaper clippings and pictures. There were of several different people and events. I noticed the curly-haired boy in lots of them, both of now and when he was younger. There was this one photo taken of him with another shorter boy and a curly-haired girl. They were standing in front of one of those horse-less carts with a big metal cup in their hands. They all looked to be about ten to fourteen years old, give or take a few years between them. I was in the middle of admiring this picture when the younger man came up beside me. He looked at me with a side gaze and arms proudly folded.
"Mi piace? Eravamo noi, io ei miei amici, quando vincemmo la Coppa Portorosso. È una gara che fanno qui ogni anno." I blinked to him curious. I guess he's explaining the background behind the photo to me. Heh, looks like he could literally care less that I couldn't understand a word he was saying. Still, just to be polite, I stayed there silently and let him continue as he wanted. His head gave a satisfied nod at the picture. "Quelli sono i miei amici, Luca e Giulia. Giulia è la figlia di Massimo. Entrambi vivono nella città ora dove stanno andando a scuola." A pause ensued here. I had no clue what he was saying but some gravity returned back to his expression for a moment. His eyes wandered out into space briefly. "Ho soggiornato qui con Massimo. È una specie di mio padre adottivo. Mi ha accolto dopo... Beh, dopo che tutti a Portorosso hanno scoperto che ero una creatura marina." Another pregnant pause. A slight chuckle fell from his lips softly. "Cavolo, avevo paura quel giorno. Quello è il giorno in cui tutti hanno scoperto il mio piccolo segreto e Luca. Non pensavo che qualcuno mi avrebbe accettato, ma per fortuna mi sbagliavo. Si è scoperto che non c'era motivo di avere paura. E da allora non ho avuto più tanta paura!" Then he looked me straight in the eye….
He looked at me.
Reader, I cannot express how much I started to blush in surprise when he fingers suddenly lifted up to brush a stray curl of mine behind my ear. He was smiling while he did so, speaking in a gentle tone. "Bene, finché non ti ho visto cadere in mare, cioè," he said with kindness- a sort of kindness no boy had ever spoken to me with before. Well, except for my family members. I'm sure it was nothing lude or mischievous he was telling me; the older man would have interrupted us if he had, I'm sure. No, it was something innocent- I'm positive with every bone in my body. Innocent… but kind. He spoke with such sincerity, whatever he was saying. Of course I couldn't help but blush, which I think he took to be a bad sign. My cheeks grew even redder when he placed his strong hand on my forehead to check for a fever. "Ti senti bene? Sembri un po' rosso," his smile morphed into a worried expression. I immediately pulled away, shooting both my hands protectively up in front of me. "No, no! I'm fine! I'm fine, really…" He watched me for a moment before his mouth opened like he was about to say something, but the one-armed man beat him to it. "La cena è pronta," we were both motioned to join my uncle at the kitchen table. I sat down beside Bruno, who leaned over to whisper at me through a clenched jaw. "Door, Mirabel; find that door."
Two plates of this green pasta were placed in front of us. The big man sat down opposite my uncle and me, and the curly-haired man sat at my side. He grinned at me before plucking up his fork and digging into his food. Meanwhile Bruno and I just side-eyed each other nervously. "Whadda we do?" My uncle questioned me. "We… eat," following the younger man's example, I picked up my fork. I was literally about to take my first bite when something caught my eye. I gazed sneakily off to the side hall where there was- gasp- a door! I didn't know where it led to in the house, and at the moment, I didn't care. Nudging my uncle in the side with my elbow, he nearly choked on the sip of water he was currently drinking. After a few coughs on his part, I abruptly and quite unnaturally got up from the table, causing a scene of mild alarm.
Realizing how this must have looked to our hosts, I quickly thought of an excuse. "Um, w-will you excuse me, please? Gotta use the bathroom!" These were my last words before taking off. "I'll go make sure she finds the bathroom ok!" Bruno soon ran after me. Both men still seated at the table watched us scramble away in confusion. Bruno put his hand on my shoulder while I closed the slightly open door and twisted the doorknob again. "Hurry! Hurry!" His hand patted repeatedly in a nervous rhythm. I held my breath for a second and closed my eyes. "Please let this work…."
It did work! I turned the knob and slowly opened the door to reveal the upstairs main hallway; the one circling the front entrance. Bruno appeared just as elated as I was. "You did it, Mirabel! You actually did it!" With that, he all but pushed me onto the other side of the door, anxious to make sure I really got through to the other side with him. He followed me into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. Or supposedly shutting the door. My uncle gave me a worried look. "Let's not tell anyone about this just yet. I think we should wait until the time is right….." "I couldn't agree with you more! I'm not in the mood to get yelled at by Abuela again." "But you finally got your gift! And what a gift! Maybe just leave out the part about us going to Portorosso all of a sudden until after Dolores's party." "Good plan. Come on; let's go join the others."
And we left, not double-checking if the door leading back to Portorosso was actually closed.