AN: Hey guys, hope you're enjoying the story so far. Here we have the first of Bruno's sisters. I hope you like it. Thanks again for reading, it means a lot to me :D
Disclaimer: Disney still owns Encanto, I don't.
The moon was beginning to set, the soft glow of lanterns lighting the kitchen as its soul resident gathered the supplies she needed to get started for the day. Julieta loved early mornings such as these. Before the sun rises, with the world softly sleeping, it seemed almost... well... magical. It was at times like this when she was able to reflect on everything that had happened in her life. Sometimes cheerful, sometimes melancholy, sometimes in between. It gave her time to come to grips with her thoughts. Today was leaning more towards melancholy. Her thoughts swirling with memories of the brother she'd lost. It was their fiftieth birthday today and although it wasn't the first she and Pepa had spent as two parts of a whole it would be one of the most painful, probably only rivaled by the one they'd spent holed up in her room, crying into each other's shoulders the year he'd disappeared.
"Happy birthday, Bruno, mi hermano pequeño." She whispered, a sad smile on her face.
She sighed, wringing her hands as she combined cornmeal, warm water, and other ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Julieta was preparing arepa con queso, Bruno's favorite. This was something she'd done every year since first learning to cook, it was a tradition, and it didn't matter that her hermano was gone. Every year since his disappearance, the eldest triplet would get up even earlier than usual so that she had time to prepare the dish. Some may say it was a waste of ingredients, after all, she didn't serve it to the family. Instead, she took it upstairs and placed the prepared food outside the door of Bruno's room like some kind of offering. Julieta knew that it was foolish but doing so made her feel closer to her lost sibling. At the very least, the rats he'd been so fond of got a good meal as every time she returned for the plate it was empty save for a few crumbs.
Shaking herself, Julieta turned back to the task at hand. Kneading the dough in a soothing, repetitive motion, she felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. It was almost hypnotizing as she let herself get lost in her task. All too soon, the arepas were finished and her thoughts turned once more to the brother she missed so dearly.
"I hope you're safe, hermanito... wherever you are." The dark-haired woman thought to herself, eyes closing in grief as a silent tear traced down her cheek. "I've had many regrets throughout my life but the worst is that I failed to convince the townspeople that you weren't cursed. You didn't cause the futures you saw in your visions, I know that, you were simply the messenger. Your visions should have been a warning, a way for us to plan for what you saw, not something that caused you to be ostracized. Lo siento, Brunito, lo siento mucho. I should have tried harder."
The healer remembered it all so clearly... the early days when her brother had been proud of his gift, when the people of Encanto praised him for his foresight, and mamá looked at him with pride. Oh how the years had changed that. As they'd grown, her youngest sibling had found himself experiencing visions that grew darker and darker as the town turned its back on the boy. Gone were the hopeful prophecies of a good harvest replaced, instead, with predictions of death and decay. They'd been afraid, called him an omen of bad luck, but those people didn't know her brother like she did. If she'd done more to get them to understand, would he have stayed? That was a question that's haunted her since the day they realized he was gone. She'd been so worried for her little Mirabel, the whole familia had been, that no one noticed Bruno's absence until the next morning. By then, there was no trace to be found, no clue to lead them in the right direction. After days of searching, they had to admit defeat. She could only hope that he'd made it over the mountains and was finally happy.
Gathering the plate she had prepared in advance, Julieta placed the finished arepas on it and then headed out of the room. She was somber as she made her way past the glowing doors of her family and arrived in the darkened hallway that led to her brother's tower. As always, the sight of the dimmed door sent a shard of pain piercing through her heart. She knelt, placing the plate before the closed door as she did each year. No one, to her knowledge, had entered Bruno's room since the day they'd called off the search. It was too painful. A stark reminder of how much they'd lost. Letting a few tears fall, Julieta bowed her head in silent prayer. Once finished, she rose to her feet and returned to the kitchen, ready to begin breakfast for the rest of the familia.
Upon entering the room she came to a dead stop, surprised to find a note sitting on the counter she'd been working at not ten minutes earlier. With minimal hesitation, she took it in her hands and read the words written on its surface.
Food tastes best when made with love, not seasoned with tears. Don't let your grief make you forget what you still have.
This note was different than most that she'd received in the past as well as what she'd seen on the inspiration board. It almost seemed like two notes in one... as if whoever had written it couldn't decide between the two. Maybe the escritor misterioso simply didn't have the right words, either way, they still made a watery smile appear on her face. Julieta wiped her tears, said one last birthday wish for her brother, and tucked the note into her apron before hiking up her sleeves to start on breakfast.
-XXX-XXX-XXX-
As the day progressed, Julieta threw herself into her work, unwilling to sulk the day away when she could be helping people instead. This was something she tended to do whenever negative emotions began to engulf her heart. So, after cooking enough food to feed a small army, the healer made her way into town and set up shop in the town square. Sure enough, she was soon flooded with injuries to heal. They ranged in urgency, starting from a stubbed toe all the way to someone who'd managed to impale himself with a manure fork. Thankfully, most of the afflictions were towards the lower to mid-range of the spectrum. The impalement being the only 'true' emergency.
Even so, within a few hours she felt herself begin to wane. The stress of the morning, followed by the rush of people to treat, had left Julieta with an acute sense of weariness spreading throughout her body. It wasn't until her husband looped an arm around her shoulders and guided her to a nearby bench that she realized she'd been swaying on her feet.
"You really should take a break, mi amor," Agustin spoke softly, the worried tone all too familiar in his voice as he continued. "You can't keep pushing yourself so hard."
"I have to." She replied, a bit of stubbornness leaking in as she squared her shoulders. "Someone needs to help these people."
"But does it always have to be you?" The bespectacled man asked, leaning down to embrace his tired wife.
"Hmm," She hummed, wavering slightly as she rose to her feet once more. "I'm done here anyways, let's head home."
She took all of three steps before stumbling, Agustin swiftly reaching out to steady her. Turning thankful eyes on him, she went to step away, only for her querido esposo to tighten his hold.
"Are you sure you're alright to walk?" He questioned, uncertainly, eyes wide with worry.
"Si, I'll be fine," Julieta confirmed, pressing a chaste kiss against the man's lips before pulling away. "You worry too much."
As she turned towards home, the fifty-year-old swore she heard her husband mutter under his breath, "or not enough," though she chose to ignore it for now. Instead, Julieta simply took his hand in her own and lead him along, enjoying the walk home in silence.
After reaching Casita, the fatigued woman decided to take a bath. It would feel good to wash away the grime that had accumulated during the hard day's work. Once the tub was filled, she stepped into the warm water and allowed herself to forget about her troubles, if only for a while. She stayed there until the water had turned cold and her fingers pruned before sighing and draining the tub. After getting dressed she was surprised to find another note slid under the bathroom door. She picked it up, head cocked to one side in curiosity. Julieta hadn't heard anyone approach the door for the entirety of the time she'd been there, so how had the note appeared? Certainly whoever left it must have been as quiet as a mouse to have avoided her detection. Smiling slightly, she glanced at the words scrawled on the parchment and felt a chuckle well up in her chest.
Don't run yourself ragged, there are doctors for a reason.
She supposed they were right. The town doctor had once joked with her about taking all his patients. Thinking back now, she wondered if it had truly been a joke or if he'd actually been a bit annoyed with her. It didn't matter. As long as she was able to help, she would. Though maybe not for such inconsequential things as a stubbed toe. No, from now on she would put her foot down when it came to things such as that. Maybe then she'd have more time to spend with her familia.
-XXX-XXX-XXX-
Night had long since fallen when Julieta found herself wandering back into the kitchen. She'd tried going to sleep several hours ago, her husband coaxing her to bed with promises of sweet-talk and cuddles. However, Agustin had managed to fall asleep and she had not. Once the light had faded and there was no work to be done, her thoughts had once more turned to her missing brother. It was inevitable really. Any other day she was able to block him from her mind, but not today... not this day.
Upon entering the room she let out a quiet huff as she noticed who was waiting for her. She really shouldn't have been surprised. This same scene has repeated for the last ten years and she knew it would continue to do so. As she took a seat on the kitchen counter (Bruno had always sat here and watched her cook) Pepa slipped a glass of wine into her hands before taking a sip of her own. They sat in silence for a while, relishing each other's company while drowning in the feeling of not being whole. After what seemed like an eternity, her younger sister glanced up with tear-filled eyes.
"Ten years." Pepa choked out, voice hoarse as tears filled her eyes and a drizzling rain began to fall. "It's been ten years and we still have no clue if he's even alive!"
"Si, lo sé, hermanita." She replied, drawing the other female into her side. "But we mustn't give up hope."
She smiled sadly, leaning her head atop her sister's.
"Bruno wou..." She began, only to be cut off as the other murmured. "We don't talk about Bruno."
She shook her head, laughing softly before starting over.
"He wouldn't want us to dwell on this. You know he wouldn't." The eldest stated, taking another sip of her drink. "He'd want us to go on with our lives, to take care of la familia like he always tried to."
Pepa glanced towards the ceiling, almost as if it wasn't there and she could instead see the sky. Her eyes were filled with a deep sadness that was perfectly mirrored in Julieta's own. After a short while, she glanced back at her sibling, a soft smile lighting her face.
"He was always so good with the kids." She reflected, warmth coloring her tone. "Do you remember, back before Dolores and Isabella were born? He was so worried that he'd be a bad tio, that the children would be frightened of him."
Julieta chuckled lowly. How could she forget? Her brother had nearly flown into a panic attack when they'd first told him that they were pregnant. He was certain that he wouldn't be any good. That the kids wouldn't like him. That he'd scare them off by having one of his involuntary visions. It wasn't until he was holding Isa in his arms that she saw that fear vanish from her sibling's face. It was almost as if a switch had been flipped. From that moment on, Bruno had been committed to caring for his sobrinas and, later on, his sobrino with all his heart.
"In the end, all that worrying he did was for naught." She replied, gently nudging her sister's shoulder with her own. "He was the best tio the kids could have asked for."
Pepa nodded in agreement, their eyes turning sad once more as they got lost in thoughts of times long gone. It was nearly ten minutes before the silence was broken.
"I wish he could have met Antonio." The red-haired sister whispered, holding her wine glass tightly between her shaking hands. "My little Toñito would have loved him, I'm sure."
"Si, him and his rats." Julieta agreed with a fond chuckle.
"Ugh, don't remind me." Pepa groaned. She may have loved their brother but there was only so much she could take of his rodents before feeling as if she'd rather pull her hair out.
The two laughed then, loud and long. The pain they felt didn't leave, not in the slightest, but it did become more bearable. That was the magic of family, they helped ease the burden when you felt as if you were about to be pulled under. That's how it's always been and how it will stay. Keeping things like grief bottled up inside has never done anyone any good. Sharing your feeling allows you to work through them and come to terms with what's happened. It gives you someone who can understand, someone who can support you through the hard times as well as the good. That's what family is for, after all.
"You know," Pepa spoke once more, wiping tears from her eyes as she clung to her hermana's hand. "I never thanked him for my wedding."
Julieta's eyebrows shot up as she turned a questioning look on her sibling. Pepa had always been adamant about the fact that it was Bruno's fault that she and Félix had ended up getting married during a hurricane. She'd tried to reason with her sister before, telling her that Bruno hadn't meant to cause her to lose control of her emotions. That hadn't seemed to matter to Pepa, though, and the eldest triplet had been certain that her sister still held resentment towards their brother for that day. Now, it seemed she was wrong. Nodding her head for the younger to continue, Julieta awaited answers to the questions now swirling through her mind.
"I was never truly mad at him, not really," Pepa admitted, voice weak as she buried her head in her hands. "Sure, he told me it looked like rain, but I could tell he was only trying to make me feel better. It was a joke! I knew it at the time, Juli. I just couldn't deal with it then. Everything was simply too much."
A gasp left her throat and she found herself thinking back on that day. She hadn't known that... no one had. Everyone (mamá, Agustin, the townspeople... herself) they'd all believed it to be a prophecy. A vision of rain sent to ruin his sister's wedding. She knew it hadn't been ill-intended, her brother would never do such a thing, but even she hadn't thought to question if it had been a vision or not. Now the truth was revealed... too late to truly matter yet heartbreaking all the same.
"I should have told him back then." Her younger sister continued, face wet with tears. "Even if he didn't manage to make me feel better, it's because of him that I have such a fascinating story to share. No one else gets to say that they married the love of their life in the middle of a hurricane."
"We all have regrets, Pepita, it's something we need to learn to live with," Julieta spoke softly, taking her sister's hand in her own and squeezing reassuringly. "We can't change the past... we can only hope for a better future."
"Do you think he'll ever come back to us?" The younger asked, curling into herself.
The dark-haired woman sighed, wrapping her arms around her younger sibling.
"We can only hope, Pepa, though that's something he'll have to decide for himself." She replied... the 'if he's alive' left unsaid.
Later, when they'd finally said goodnight, she found a note on her bedside table that expressed everything she'd been telling her sister. Until that moment, Julieta hadn't realized it was exactly what she needed to hear as well.
Hold on to hope, even when all seems lost.
Rereading the words one last time, the healer smiled and slid into bed, her mind at ease for the first time since waking up that morning.
AN: Thanks for reading :) Let me know what you think.
