Disclaimer: I don't own Encanto. This story is not for profit.
Chapter 11
October 24th Evening
October 25th Morning
Bruno returned, soaked to the skin and wearing a sheepish smile, in time for dinner.
Mirabel gave Antonio a grin. "See? I told you he'd come back." She was incredibly relieved. Actually, I bluffed. And I am never going to tell him that.
"Tio!" Antonio ran to him and took his hand tightly, pulling him deeper into the nave.
"Hi, Tonito." Bruno touched his little nephew's head gently. He looked at the others. "I'm sorry I scared everybody. It's just –"
"Just that kind of time," Isabela said. "I remember." She looked to Luisa. "Don't you?"
Luisa nodded timidly. "It's really OK, Tio Bruno. We understand."
"Ay," Julieta said with a sigh of deep exasperation, rolling her eyes. "You need to change out of those wet clothes. And you've already made a puddle on the floor."
Bruno chuckled and ducked his head. "I seem to have brought some of the storm in with me."
He changed into a dry set of clothes in the back of the church for privacy's sake and came out sans ruana. He was tiny – even skinnier than Camilo. His hair was still damp and tangled from the storm. Without his ruana, he suddenly looked like someone who had spent ten years hiding in the walls.
Antonio ran over and hugged Bruno around the middle. "Don't go anywhere. Without you we're not a whole family."
Pepa walked over and hugged Bruno gently. "It's true. We're not la familia Madrigal without you. It's felt wrong ever since you left."
Julieta hugged him on the other side. "Yes. Please stay. Don't run away this time."
"I-I'm not going anywhere. Where is there to run? The mountains are pretty tall…" Bruno trailed off awkwardly. "Besides, I'd miss your arepas too much. I gave up a lot of things to go into hiding, but not your arepas. Couldn't do it." He patted Antonio's back. "And I couldn't give up seeing my nieces and nephews. I was trying to keep everyone safe. It just turns out, that takes a whole family."
He turned and addressed Dolores, picking Antonio up and holding him. "And you did nothing wrong. Madre is going to have to get over how people feel about her, and you were trying to be a good nieta when you told the villagers to stop saying they didn't like it here, or wanted to see what was outside of the Encanto, or whatever they said."
Dolores turned away. "How can you say I did nothing wrong? I betrayed Abuela's confidence in me. I've been dreading this day ever since it happened."
"Madre asks too much," Pepa said pointedly. "Of all of us. Especially her grandchildren. You are children first and workhorses second. There is a difference between learning responsibility and being worked into the ground."
Luisa shifted uncomfortably.
Pepa kissed Antonio's cheek and ran her fingers through his curls, allowing Bruno to hold her son. "I was planning on giving this speech to Mamá as soon as she made a move to start making demands on your Gift, but I never got the chance. Well, I'm giving this speech now, and I'll give it again." She came over to Dolores and hugged her daughter, then motioned to Camilo and hugged both of her older children at the same time. "I saw what she was doing to you and I did not like it. But working up the nerve to face Madre is an ordeal. I should have found the nerve to speak up sooner."
She looked over her shoulder. "But I've always been a lot braver with Bruno here."
Bruno looked mystified. "Me?"
Pepa sighed. "Ay. We will work on that self-esteem later. Yes, you. You always had a way of doing whatever you wanted, at the most unpredictable moments, that shook up Madre and made me feel braver."
Bruno blinked, tilted his head, and scratched his left eyebrow. "I-I…have no idea what you're talking about." A rat poked up out of his shirt at the collar, and he absently petted it.
Pepa released her older children with a kiss to each of their cheeks and gestured to her brother. "Like the rats! This is a good example of what I'm talking about. One day you decide to adopt rats and there is nothing Madre can do about it. That's the kind of thing that makes me feel braver. Because it's a flaw in her control. As much as I pretend to hate those little animals, I actually don't think they're that bad. It's simply that we're supposed to hate them, because Madre didn't give you permission to have them."
Everyone stared at her.
Agustín shook his head slowly. "You're…You're not really afraid of rats?"
Pepa shrugged and held her hands out palms up. "I don't like them, but no, I'm not afraid of them. I mean, I don't want to hold them personally, but I always thought it was good for the kids to learn from Bruno about pets. That's a normal childhood thing to learn about. Not lifting churches." She gestured to Luisa. "Or being responsible for growing all the flowers of the village festivals." She gestured to Isabela.
Bruno slowly smiled. "I had no idea you were exaggerating your dislike for them. I think that will make them feel a lot better. Yeah, a lot better."
Everyone sat down to dinner, once more delivered by kind villagers. Bruno ate lunch leftovers.
Antonio presented him with the plate of scraps. "For the rats! Everyone pitched in so that there would be enough." He beamed.
Bruno was misty-eyed. "You all did this?" He looked around the gathering.
Camilo nodded.
"We did," Mirabel said.
Bruno smiled as if he was going to cry. "Thank you, everyone. This means a lot to me. A lot." He fed his rats, all of them coming out of his shirt sleeves. Mirabel counted eight. "They're my friends."
"I miss my friends," Antonio said, snuggling up to Bruno's side. He petted one of Bruno's rats. "And I miss talking to my friends."
Bruno looked to Pepa. "What do you say? Do you think you could help Antonio make some animal friends that are safe for the house if our magic doesn't come back?"
Félix grinned. "Great idea! Don't worry, hijo, one way or another you will have animal friends again."
"I don't know what Madre will have to say about that," Julieta said.
Pepa made a dismissive noise. "Who cares? What matters is my son's happiness."
"Where is Madre?" Bruno asked.
Julieta sighed. "She said she was going to speak to the village elders and Padre Agudelo about the issue of people wanting to leave the Encanto. And she said she would address the issue of you and Dolores being attacked for using your Gifts."
"I can't imagine she's going to do that in a healthy way, but it's a – it's a start." Bruno petted his rats, seemingly preferring to meet their gazes instead of that of his siblings.
Mirabel walked over to Dolores and squeezed her hand. "How does it feel to get the story out, knowing that Abuela isn't angry with you?"
"Scary still," Dolores admitted. "I don't know what's going to happen. Am I going to be in trouble after all? Is Abuela going to be able to convince the village to stop bullying me? Did I make things worse for everybody by speaking up?"
Bruno patted the pew next to him, on the opposite side from Antonio. When she came over and sat down, he hugged her. "Those are the same things I thought that kept me from speaking up all those years ago. But you see what happened to me. That's not a good path to go down. Trust me. You don't need to become another Bruno."
"If Alma doesn't fix it, my family will," Félix said.
"Rubios," Agustín sighed.
"The name Bruno should never have come to mean what it means," Pepa said.
"It's probably too late to change that," Bruno said. "But – But, Dolores. Maybe we can prevent the name Dolores from being cemented as a bad thing."
"It's sickening the way everyone turned against you, and even worse that Madre turned everyone who was on your side against you," Pepa said. "I'm never going to be able to forgive myself."
Bruno winced. "Please don't – don't hold a grudge against yourself. I don't. I understand. I was there, remember? I saw – and heard – the way Mamá behaved. I wish – I wish she hadn't done that, but I don't blame you for getting worn down and bitter when I didn't come back."
"We're not bitter," Julieta said. "And we're glad you're back."
It thundered and rained all night long, but there were no flashes of lightning. Antonio was literally on top of Camilo's stomach, underneath the same blanket. The church echoed and amplified every crack of thunder.
Mirabel lay wide awake. Every time she threatened to drift off, the wind would pick up, the rain would pound harder, or the thunder would snarl. This is what it means to have no Gifts. It means giving up control. Control…that's the problem…control… And finally, unexpectedly, she was asleep.
xxx
October 25th
Morning
The silence woke Mirabel up. She sat up with a gasp. No thunder. No rain. Then she flopped back down, every muscle in her body relaxing. Peace… She fell asleep deeply and woke up groggy. "Hnn…" Someone put on her glasses, and she saw it was Luisa who had gently shaken her awake and put her glasses on her face.
Luisa smiled gently. "Good morning. The storm broke. There's even a rainbow. Come see. I didn't want you to miss it."
Everyone crowded around the door of the church and saw a rainbow that seemed to span the entire Encanto. "Beautiful," Maribel murmured in awe. The dark purple clouds were clearing to show blue skies, a crisp smell was in the air, and the morning sun made all the rain hanging on the village glitter.
"So this is what we've been missing by me controlling the weather," Pepa whispered. "I'd forgotten how beautiful it could be." She leaned into her husband's embrace. "Maybe…in the future…if we ever do get our Gifts back…controlling the weather should be an emergency."
"I'm so glad our kids have a chance to see a natural rainbow," Félix said. He picked Antonio up and perched his youngest child on his shoulders.
The entire village came creeping out of hiding now that the storm had passed, and soon everyone was exclaiming over the rainbow and dancing in the streets, celebrating the clear day. They set up tables and chairs and everyone had a communal breakfast in the market square. Abuela joined the family, seeming to be in good spirits. People brought their musical instruments, and Mirabel was prevailed upon to play the accordion. Mirabel initially refused, but at the cluster of children, including Antonio, shouting that they wanted her to play, she gave in and soon was enjoying herself. She glanced over at the table where the adults of family sat and almost dropped her accordion. Abuela was crying. When Mirabel finished the vallenato, Abuela stood and applauded.
Mirabel bowed, suddenly self-conscious. She handed the accordion off to one of the village men. He played a new song with the impromptu band as she walked over to the table.
"When did you become such a wonderful accordion player?" Abuela asked.
Mirabel shrugged. "I just sort of…picked it up." Getting this attention felt incredibly awkward. Abuela's sincere tone did more to spook her than anything else. It was like a flame promising not to burn her this time if she reached out her hand.
"That is not the playing of someone who just sort of picks it up," Abuela said. "You have been studying."
"It entertains the children," Mirabel said. She glanced at the other adults. Help.
Abuela took her hands and squeezed them. "Your songs did more than entertain the children. It warms my heart to hear the songs of my youth being played, and so skillfully, by you."
Once, Mirabel would have eaten her heart out to get this kind of praise. But she had already given up all hope of her Abuela ever seeing her, understanding her, and loving her.
Abuela's expression became weary. "I have said terrible things. When I am angry, or afraid, the most terrible things come out of my mouth."
The acknowledgement almost brought Mirabel to tears. "Yes. That's true. And that makes me afraid of you."
"And Dolores, who heard every one of my outbursts since the day she received her Gift," Abuela said. Her voice was heavy. She let go of Mirabel's hands and sat down. "I feel I have missed so much. Squandered so much. And I am aware for the first time that I am old, and the legacy I will leave this family is a legacy of mistakes."
"I'm sorry," Mirabel whispered. She backed away, unable to repeat her earlier optimism about fixing the family together. What stung the most was that Abuela had finally realized she had hurt everyone, and her only response was self-pity.
Mirabel lost herself in the crowd deliberately and came out the other side headed northeast, toward the part of the village that held the tiny schoolhouse. The schoolhouse's architecture was reminiscent of the church. Children learned from the village's precious store of pre-Encanto books and the books produced on the village's printing press, ranging from basic textbooks to everything the people of Abuela's generation were able to set down from memory, to books about the village's own history. Once a child turned 5 years old their instruction began, and at age 12 schoolhouse instruction finished and children learned their family's trades. Mirabel came to stand outside the schoolhouse. It was here that Mirabel had learned about the outside world, about all the continents and major countries of the Earth, about classics like Colombian folklore, the Bible, and Greek mythology. She was struck now by how tiny the schoolhouse was, and how little what she had learned there prepared her for anything that had happened in her life.
Bruno walked up the street and came to stand beside her. He was silent, gazing at the schoolhouse with her.
Mirabel was comforted that her uncle had come looking for her. "Did you know the villagers think Abuela made the Encanto?"
"It didn't take them long to start asking themselves questions. Why did Madre get a house and they didn't, when they were all homeless? Why was it Madre's grief over Padre that triggered the Encanto to be made, when they lost people too? Madre never had to hear people's speculations. I did. They dared to say them to my face." Bruno's expression was sour. "Which is why no one wants to get on the bad side of my Madre. They fear that she will throw them out of the Encanto. And there are many people who believe the soldiers are still waiting. That they still patrol outside these mountains, because they resent that we escaped them." He gestured. "Like the legend of La Llorona, but worse."
"Would people really hold a grudge for that long? The soldiers who chased Abuela are all Abuelos themselves now. Or they've already passed away."
"But the desire to control people never dies."
"How many people in the village feel this way?"
Bruno shrugged. "I'm not sure. Probably everyone of my generation has heard the stories. I don't know how many people told their kids."
"Mamá never said anything," Mirabel said. "Or Papá."
"I know I didn't want to be caught telling scary stories about what's outside the Encanto. I think everyone in this family feels it's best not to scare anyone. I-I mean, Mamá's stories, they were – they were pretty scarring. I don't think my sisters would want to pass that on."
Mirabel's chest felt heavy, and she took deep breaths. "But the mountain pass that leads to the river is open."
"Yeah, it sure is," Bruno agreed. His tone was unreadable.
"What do you think will happen?"
"I think some people will leave, and some people will stay. I don't think anyone in this village is important enough to care about, at least in terms of the government that's out there. We never bother anybody. We don't cause trouble, so why care? And people who don't believe in magic will say these mountains were always here."
Mirabel gazed at him, finally. "Do you want to leave?"
Her uncle's expression transformed into one of confusion. "Huh?"
"If you could leave, if you didn't have us, would you?" Mirabel turned the question around, because she could see that he was nervous. "Do you think I should leave?"
"What? No!" Bruno hugged her.
Mirabel cried against his shoulder. "I'm afraid I'll make trouble for the family again. I can't imagine ever getting along with Abuela. After she dangled this promise of helping the family together, and then she seemed like she took it back, she yelled all over again, and now she thinks two seconds of compliments can fix ten years of hurting me. I don't know if I can do this."
Bruno held her closely and rubbed her back. "I think she maybe didn't take back her promise on purpose. I think she's just a very troubled woman. She'd have to give up a lot of power over us to really help this family, and-and there's not a lot of incentive to do that. If she knew the miracle would come back if she gave up all the power she's amassed, she might consider it, but she doesn't know that. See, to know that, she would have to accept that-that the miracle is coming from our love for each other, and that maybe there is more magic than just the God kind."
"Do you believe in God?" Mirabel asked in a tiny voice. He was the only person she could even think of discussing her crisis of faith with.
"I believe there's something," Bruno said. He stoked her hair gently. "As for what it wants to call itself, I'm less picky about that than I am in reassuring myself that whatever is out there, it isn't evil."
Mirabel stopped crying. She raised her head and lifted up her glasses with one hand, rubbing her eyes with the other. "I get it. Because what kind of God would give a 5-year-old the ability to see the future? Or the ability to throw thunderstorms around? Healing makes sense, but the other two Gifts don't. How could children ever use those Gifts responsibly? And Abuela had enough to deal with, being a single parent, without having magical kids. If it was about keeping the Encanto safe, God would have given adults in the Encanto those powers."
"Which is why I think we somehow inherited the magic from Mamá. But the question I'm left with there is, how did she get it? Is it hereditary? Why?" Bruno sighed. "Nothing make sense, kid. And at least if we go work on the house, then that's doing something that makes sense. So, what do you say?"
Mirabel nodded.
Bruno squeezed her gently and released her. "I don't know if I could handle an apology from my Madre any better than you did. I mean, she doesn't apologize, she's not that kind of person, and her hugging all over me honestly just came across as creepy. She'd do that, you know – wild displays of affection to try to make up for wild displays of hatred. Pepa gets it honestly. Zaps you with lightning one minute, best friends the next."
They walked back toward the opposite side of the village, where their home in progress lay.
"At least I can say my Mamá always tries to stay calm and sweet, even if it's fake," Mirabel said. "I've always felt sorry for Dolores, Camilo, and Antonio. And…I feel sorry for you, Tia Pepa, and Mamá. Honestly, all I want is for people to stop being scary to one another. We say we love each other. Why can't we act that way?"
"That's a good question," Bruno murmured. He patted her arm briefly. "Like I said before, you're exactly what this family needs."
Mirabel took a deep breath and tried to put some confidence back into her backbone. Right. I'm what this family needs. I can do this. I have Tio Bruno. I'm not trying to change Abuela all by myself. And Tia Pepa seems more interested in helping now. Tio Bruno, Tia Pepa, and me. We can do this.
