Chapter Three: Help and Hindrance
Julieta wished Bruno would hurry up with the vision ritual. The sooner he fixed the mess on hand, the sooner they could all sit down to a nice, normal lunch. She made sure Augustin and Camilo were kept occupied making sandwiches. Meanwhile, Luisa and Antonio were outside on the veranda setting the table, and Abuela had gone into the yard to search for Pepa and Felix. Everyone was busy. But they all had to stay busy for just a bit longer, and stalling wasn't exactly Julieta's strong suit…
The moment Isabela dashed out of the kitchen so frantically had made Camilo suspicious right away. He was positive something was up and kept fishing for information on Bruno and Mirabel. "Come on, Tia! Are they planning some kind of surprise? Or did someone get carried away with redecorating? I told Isa that she might go crazy with all those new plants; I think some are poisonous."
Even Augustin raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Julieta was always truthful and never one to keep secrets.
"It's only a little mishap with the new garden she made, really. Something about Bruno accidentally getting trapped?" Julieta feigned not knowing the whole story. That wasn't really a lie, anyway, and the best she could do under Camilo's scrutinization.
Augustin believed her, imagining his daughter and brother-in-law surrounded by too many cacti with Isabela coming to the rescue.
But Camilo didn't buy that for a moment. Tia Juli was a terrible liar. He resolved to learn the truth later; there were choripan sandwiches to made right now, and his earthquaking stomach wasn't helping much.
The three of them continued assembling, putting chorizo, lettuce and tomatoes on the flatbread, adding chimichurri sauce and avocado, then folding the whole thing over before adding it to the tray. The pile grew steadily, enough to let everyone have third helpings if they wanted. Julieta was careful not to bring the subject back to Bruno and Mirabel. She had to stay calm and keep stalling…everything was going to be just fine…Soon Bruno would fix the magical mishap, Mirabel would be back, and no one would ever know what had happened…
So naturally, Julieta was surprised when Isabela appeared in the kitchen doorway gripping a glowing-green-eyed Mirabel by the arm. Uh oh…
Augustin looked up to greet his daughters cheerfully—his mouth promptly fell open in a perfect impression of a gasping fish. The half-made sandwich in his hands fell to the floor as he took in the sight of Mirabel's eyes. "Miercoles…"
Camilo also stared in shock. Isabela dragged Mirabel over to the island counter, bringing her to a halt right in front of them. He blinked a few times. Nope. It wasn't a trick of the light—his cousin's eyes were actually glowing! That sure didn't seem right. "Uh…what's up with you?"
Augustin managed to stammer, "Miraboo! W—what's wrong with you?!"
The girl sheepishly shrugged in an awkward way. "Well, nothing's technically wrong with her, bro, she's just…er…not home? And I'm not your Miraboo."
"Huh?" Camilo was very confused. "Seriously, what's up?"
"Nothing. Just some harmless possession." The girl shrugged.
Isabela scoffed, not letting go of Bruno's arm. "Tell them already and quit putting it off, Tio!"
"You're the one who dragged me in here against my will! I don't see you helping me out."
Julieta groaned. "Oh, dear. Bruno, I thought you were going to do the ritual to fix this!"
"I tried!"
"He really did try, Mama. But nothing happened!" Isabela defended her uncle. "The magic won't let him make another vision dome! What do we do now?"
The odd looks Bruno was getting from his nephew and brother-in-law made him want to run and hide somewhere—but Isabela wouldn't let him go! So he settled for squatting on the floor, leaving only the top half of his face peeking over the counter. But because it was Mirabel's face, the sight only further disturbed Augustin and Camilo, who finally began to grasp the situation. Those glowing green eyes were all-too-familiar, but certainly did not belong to her…
Julieta hurried around the counter to help her brother stand up and take a few deep breaths, lest another panic attack happen. "Easy, hermano, this'll all be over soon—"
"How?! I can't do the ritual and have no idea why, so I can't get out of here, and we still have no idea where Mirabel is! This is really, really bad, sis!" A rat poked its furry face out from Mirabel's hair. Bruno picked up the little friend and let it rest in his hands while he petted it anxiously with hunched-up shoulders.
This was a bit much for Augustin to handle. The sight of his baby girl with those eerie eyes, rats on her head and shoulders, and calling her mother 'sis?' And her body language wasn't normal, either. Augustin, still gaping with alarm, pointed at the trio and tried to form words with no success.
Camilo watched his tio's inarticulation with amusement before speaking himself. "OK, time to dish already. What's going on? And tell me it's not what I think it is."
"We can explain," began Isabela.
"This is just a slight setback—should make for an interesting conversation at the table, I think…" Julieta added, still holding onto her brother to keep him from running away.
"Julieta, I'm hearing a lot of raised voices in here. Is everything alright?" came the voice of Abuela, who had just come in from the side door. Pepa and Felix followed close behind wearing mischievous grins, the latter of which had a lot of lipstick marks on his face, courtesy of his wife.
Bruno automatically turned to face his mother, forgetting about the giveaway eyes. She, along with Pepa and Felix, recoiled in absolute horror. Pepa let out a scream, cuing a grey cloud to materialize as thunder rang throughout the room. The beautiful sunny day remained so outside, but now the kitchen was dark and ominous to match her fear.
"What in the name of all things holy…?!" Felix cried out as Pepa leapt into his arms.
"Mirabel! What's happened to you?!" Abuela immediately rushed forward, but Isabela blocked her path with a waist-high hedge as Bruno quickly ducked and maneuvered away to shield himself behind Julieta.
The kitchen got more crowded as Luisa strode in carrying Antonio high up on her shoulders. "Table's all set! How's lunch coming along, Mama?" she proclaimed. Her grin faded upon seeing the dark kitchen and fearful, confused faces all around. And a random hedge cutting across the room. "Uh, did we miss something?"
Antonio, who was enjoying the view from so high up, gasped at 'Mirabel's' condition and gripped Luisa's head even harder. She yelped at her sister's glowing eyes peeking out from behind their mother. "Whoa! That's uh…that's a new look you got going there, sis…" Luisa managed to stammer.
Wherever Dolores was having her lunch date, she was probably listening to all this and relaying it to Mariano. There really was no chance of hiding...So, completely cornered by everyone, Bruno emerged from his human shield and stood in place, both arms limp as he slouched in utter defeat—it was most unbecoming on Mirabel.
…
"So…this is all from an experiment you two thought up?" Abuela questioned. "Without even thinking of the consequences?!" For her son to have the ability to see not only the future, but the past and present as well, was amazing to hear. But she was thoroughly disappointed they hadn't thought about possible outcomes and wasn't afraid to let it be known. "How could you do something so foolish? Magic can be very unpredictable when one experiments with it!"
Bruno shrank into his seat across the table with Isabela and Julieta on either side of him. The whole family was on the veranda, either seated or standing, listening and waiting for more explanations.
"And you two," Abuela scolded Juli and Isa. "You should have told me the moment you discovered this and not tried to hide him! We agreed no more secrets in this household, did we not? We can't help each other if you get up to hijinks during a crisis! Especially for a crisis like this!"
"We're sorry, Mama," Julieta apologized, while her oldest daughter remained silent with regret. "It's just kind of a—" she paused to check on Bruno, who was sinking lower and lower to try and hide under the table. She gently pulled him back up. "—unique scenario, don't you think? Bruno and Mirabel are in enough trouble as it is."
Her initial terror gone, Pepa eyed 'Mirabel' from across the table. Yep. That was definitely Bruno in there. She could tell from the body language alone. "Juli, does this mean we have another sister?"
"This is not funny, Pepa!" Julieta frowned.
"Of course it isn't! This is the farthest thing from 'funny' I've ever seen!" Augustin had broken out of shock during the family meeting. "Bruno, you are possessing my daughter! You cut it out right now!"
"If I knew how to get out of here, I would." Bruno argued timidly, not making eye contact. He was still petting a rat friend nervously, with two others balancing on his shoulders.
"But where did Mirabel go?" Antonio piped up.
"Yeah, is she like, talking to you in your head or something?" Camilo wondered, still trying to wrap his own head around who he was speaking to. "Or is she just floating around Casita as a non-corporeal being?"
"Ah! Don't even joke about that!" Augustin put a hand to his heart, horrified by the thought. But he couldn't help glancing around, wondering if that was actually the case.
"Tio Bruno, maybe if I went up to your tower and punched the vision dome hard enough, it'll break!" Luisa offered. She flexed her arm for emphasis.
"What I don't understand is why he can't make another one…" Felix pointed out. The whole story was so strange, yet also kind of hilarious. His sweet little niece Mirabel was sitting at the table, wearing all his brother-in-law's expressions; not to mention those glowing eyes. Even the way he was gazing around at the family made it plainly obvious that it was him.
As everyone argued about what to do, Bruno sank further down in the chair again, wanting the earth to swallow him whole.
"Everyone, quiet!" Isabela yelled, startling even her Abuela. She slammed both hands on the table, causing a blast of succulent plants to grow there. "Now that we've all had a turn to freak out, it's time to work together to try and fix this! Bruno needs help and arguing sure isn't going to help him. Or Mirabel for that matter!"
"Yes! Frankly, this little problem is too big for anyone to handle on their own!" Julieta added with an equal amount of disdain.
Slouching in shame, Bruno did not look up at anyone. But he managed to apologize in a timid voice, "I'm really, really sorry about this…I know I screwed up again, but once we get Mirabel back, you can all be as mad at me as you want. Please, just—just help me!"
Abuela softened up. Even while possessing Mirabel's body, her son still acted like himself. Now that the initial shock had worn off, she felt terrible, for not only did he look embarrassed about all this, but also very afraid. "Brunito, never say such things about yourself. Of course we'll help you!" she spoke to him tenderly with much reassurance. "Listen to me, mi hijo, I'm glad you're being an active part of the family again and expending your horizons, but this is not quite what I had in mind—Pepa, hold your tongue! This is not funny."
Pepa, sitting directly across from Bruno, covered her mouth and swallowed another giggle. She still found this situation rather amusing. Julieta gave her sister a stern scolding glare and put a protective arm around their brother.
Abuela let out a sigh. "When this is over, Brunito, I'd like to have a talk with both you and Mirabel—wherever she is—about risky experiments like this. You ought to show more responsibility as an example for the children."
"Yes, Ma." Bruno remained as still as a statue. Her being disappointed was almost worse than her being mad.
"But let's not talk about that now, mi hijo." Abuela then addressed whole family, "We've got to fix this. If Bruno cannot use his powers right now, what else can we try? If anyone has a suggestion, please speak up! Bruno, you've explained the basics of how this happened, but let's hear all the details. Perhaps you did something that will give us a clue on how to reverse it."
After he'd explained the whole story in great detail—starting from seeing the vision of the past and ending with overshadowing Mirabel on the balcony—various family members pondered theories, while others only discussed how weird it must be to suddenly become someone else. In the case of Camilo, such things were normal, but of course his tio's case was a bit different…Camilo had never had an out-of-body experience before and taken over another person's actual being. "It sounds like a nightmare! And I guess it would be pretty freaky if no one's ever shapeshifted before…" he explained to his father, who was just as fascinated by the phenomenon.
Julieta sighed, "So much for the family football game later; Mirabel wanted everyone to join."
Luisa suddenly remembered something, "Hey, isn't Mirabel supposed to meet some of her friends this evening? I guess that might not happen, either?"
"The rats say that Bruno is still stuck inside the vision dome," Antonio informed. He was having a few words with another group of rats that had followed Bruno outside. "And some of their friends are in there, too. But they can't stay in there forever; it'll get boring real fast."
Bruno groaned and face-planted onto the table. Thank goodness there was food in the ruana pockets so the rats wouldn't be hungry, at least. But his own body would need fuel eventually, too. That was a worrying thought to have…come to think of it, he was rather hungry right now. Mirabel had been busy all morning and hadn't eaten in a while, so of course he was the one feeling the effects. Her stomach grumbled loud enough for Julieta and Isabela to hear, and he sat up straight and wide-eyed in surprise. That wasn't even his own stomach!
"Hey, do you think we could keep talking about this over lunch?" Camilo complained. "I'm starving!"
"Yes, Camilo, that's exactly what we all need to calm our nerves, I think…" Abuela agreed, rising from her chair. "Bruno, a full stomach might help you concentrate. Maybe that's partly why you can't break the spell."
As if on cue, the adults of the family got up and headed to the kitchen to help carry out the trays of food. The kids all remained at the table to start discussing the whole possession problem. Bruno stayed with them, more than willing to listen to any and all suggestions the family might have.
His chair was suddenly turned with a screech on the tiles, and he found himself face-to-face with Augustin. The man was right in his personal bubble of space; he grasped Bruno's shoulders and called rather loudly, "Mirabel?! Are you in there? Can you hear me at all?!"
"Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock! Knock on wood!" Bruno wrapped the table on reflex, shaking Augustin away.
"Guess that answers that question…" The very worried father bit his lip. "Bruno, is Mira—is she alright? Can you hear her thoughts at all? Anything like that?"
"Nope. I would have noticed by now." As far as he could tell, Mirabel was sound asleep. Or was she? Ever since taking over, there had been a bizarre feeling that someone was looking over his shoulder, albeit in a weird, unseen way. But better not to mention that to anyone until he knew for sure…
Soon enough, the Madrigals were all seated at the table with a delicious lunchtime spread of choripan sandwiches, empanadas, and fresh fruit. Everyone filled their plates and were even joined by a random toucan who sat next to Antonio. The little boy chatted with the toucan and fed him handheld pieces of mango while listening to everyone with interest. All while he gazed down the table at 'Mirabel' in concern.
The atmosphere wasn't a happy tone like it usually was at other mealtimes. The family's various conversations were more serious, full of guesswork as they took turns bouncing ideas around to help Bruno. He felt incredibly guilty for causing so much trouble, especially with Mirabel's father so concerned about her well-bring. Felix was further reassuring Augustin that everything would turn out alright…exactly how it would turn out alright was still a mystery, though.
Meanwhile, Pepa kept fighting back little fits of giggles. Despite the fact she found the problem hysterical, she had an idea on how to help. "Hermano, maybe if you wandered far enough away from your body, it will be too much for the magic to handle!" she suggested. "What if you headed into town to see if distance breaks the spell?"
"Maybe we can save that for a later test," Felix advised. "If we run into people, there'd be a lot of explaining to do."
"Yeah, I'd rather not have word of this spread around town." Bruno agreed, his glowing eyes fearful. His reputation with the townsfolk was still on the mend; it'd be a shame to take a step backwards. Julieta filled a plate for him and set it down, but it remained untouched as he listened to more ideas.
"What if we slap him in the face?" Camilo said nonchalantly.
"No! Nobody slaps anyone in the face in this house." Abuela shot that one down quickly, not in the mood for jokes. "Next idea, anyone?"
"What if we scared Tio Bruno? Like a really big scare to make him jump?" Antonio thought up as he ate a sandwich. The brothers argued over whose idea was more likely to work, while other voices spoke up as the family began to eat their lunch.
Despite Bruno's empty stomach, he didn't feel much like eating. There was way too much at stake…To distract his mind, he reached for the nearest saltshaker and poured out a handful to toss over one shoulder. (He did that a few times, because it really couldn't hurt.) Yet it was an immense relief knowing that everyone was so understanding and willing to help. He squirmed in his chair, not sure how to sit and finding it impossible to get comfortable being the opposite gender. Things were obviously missing, and it felt so weird and awkward…
Pepa noticed her brother's behavior and chuckled again. "So, my new hermana, how are you holding up?"
"Pepa! Behave yourself!" Abuela scolded.
"Sorry, Mama, but you've gotta admit this is kind of funny! Thanks to Bruno and Mirabel's little escapade, our brother got himself turned into a girl!" she finally released a fit of laughter she'd been holding back, choking on her water. The sunshine overhead got a whole lot brighter, at least.
"Ignore her. Here, Bruno, have some lunch." Julieta pushed the plate closer while Abuela proceeded to give Pepa a thorough lecture about teasing. "Food will make you feel better. And don't waste the salt." She gently took the saltshaker away from him.
"I'm not hungry." He replied as Mirabel's stomach growled ferociously.
"Well, my daughter is. Please, just feed her. The sooner we get through lunch, the sooner we can start testing some theories to help you get out of there."
"Eh. Good point." Bruno saw the logic. So he ate a sandwich painstakingly slow…During the entire meal, he made sure to be extra careful and not drop any chimichurri sauce onto Mirabel's clothes. Weather she was asleep or not was still a matter of debate, but he vowed to treat her with respect, even with small acts like keeping her clothes clean. But the meal would be a lot better if only Pepa would quit laughing at him! He'd get back at her later when he was feeling more like himself.
"Hey, bro! Maybe you don't need to make one of those vision domes!" Felix exclaimed from further down the table. "What if the reason you can't use your powers is because you're already using your powers? Skip the dome-making and go straight to seeing something else in the present!"
"Don't forget to concentrate extra hard." Luisa advised. "From my experience, if one really really puts their mind to something, they can do anything."
"Excellent pep talk, Luisa." Augustin said proudly.
Felix's idea made a lot of sense. Munching on the last of his sandwich and empanada, Bruno pushed back his chair and walked over to a clear space on the veranda. He was more than ready to get started and hopefully end this nightmare. "No time like the present, I guess."
"A slap in the face would be quicker to test, you know." Camilo joked around.
The rest of the table helped themselves to seconds, while keeping an eye on the person who looked like their sweet, quirky Mirabel.
"Mama, what do we do if Bruno can't—?" Julieta began in a whisper.
"Shh! Let's try to have some optimism." Abuela insisted. "One of our ideas is bound to work, I'm sure. Hopefully this first attempt will be all that he needs." Although she herself was quite concerned about what to do in such an ominous scenario. "And Pepa, please stop with your teasing! Your brother has enough to deal with already."
That seemed to get through to Pepa. She finally ceased her giggles and watched Bruno with more concern as she continued eating her lunch.
Bruno settled down cross-legged on the tiles, some ways away from the table. He relaxed his breathing the best he could…This whole experiment had been such a disaster…the trio of rats climbed onto his head and squeaked softly while they groomed Mirabel's hair. It was a nice little gesture that gave him some encouragement.
Bruno crossed every finger for luck. "OK…focus, focus, focus. I can do this…Just like I did before…" He avoided resting his hands on his knees, since that didn't seem appropriate right now, and kept them raised with crossed fingers. Every bit of luck helped!
He shut his eyes in concentration and reached out with every ounce of mental strength that was possible to muster. Only this time, he skipped the step of summoning a vision dome like earlier and went straight into trying for another vision of the here and now. If the magic had allowed him to mentally fly around Casita before, it should still be possible, right? The feeling had been kind of nice; a sort of floaty weightlessness—coupled with the out-of-body experience—while also being aware of sitting safe within the sand dome at the same time. He'd been able to talk from his physical location and could even smell the burning foliage during the whole experience.
Bruno frowned. The odd feeling of seeing the present still wasn't coming into play…there was no lightheadedness, no weightlessness, the whole sensation of mentally reaching out and seeing something else in the here and now—it wasn't working! He forgot about the family's lingering gazes and put every ounce of attention into focusing…But the magic simply wouldn't allow it. Paying the family's whispers of concern no heed, Bruno kept it up…
From her place at the head of table, Abuela could tell her son was doing his best. But nothing appeared to be happening. She kept conversation going amongst the rest of the family, so less stares would be on him.
Several minutes passed with no success. It was as if something was blocking him from using his gift, even though it was technically still in effect. Thoroughly fed up, Bruno groaned in anguish and lay back on the veranda tiles. The house sensed the distress and clanked around in a circle to express its concern for both him and Mirabel. That girl had the closest connection with the house, so it was no surprise Casita was worried, too. Bruno tried to explain, "I know, Casita, I'm doing my best here! I don't know where she is. I'm really sorry!"
The face of Camilo suddenly loomed overhead. "Still in there, Tio?"
Bruno only responded by staring up at the clear blue sky, eyes still glowing. Now what?! He was so distraught that the sound of the empty plates being stacked seemed very far away. He tried breathing steadily, fighting to stay calm…Why hadn't it work?! It should have! He picked up his little rat friends and petted them slowly in order to try and relax.
Luisa and Isabela normally helped clear away the dishes but were far too worried for their sister right now. Julieta was getting scared too, but did the chore anyway to keep busy. Antonio was the one who lent a hand instead, carrying dirty dishes in stacks that were of a manageable size for him.
"Oh, Brunito…" Abuela hurried over to help Bruno back to a sitting position. "Here, sit up and just keep doing those breathing exercises. Perhaps we'll try Antonio's idea next."
"Yay! But it's gotta be a big scare when he least expects it!" Antonio exclaimed while walking past. He disappeared into the kitchen at Julieta's heels.
"Or I could slap him now." Camilo offered. This earned another stern frown from Abuela.
"Camilo!" Pepa and Felix scolded; both were pacing around, Pepa with a foggy grey cloud of worry overhead.
"Really, Abuela! I'm being serious here. Let me explain; what if Bruno felt it here—" Camilo pointed at 'Mirabel.' "—and his own body back felt it back in the tower at the same time? It could snap him out of it. We're working with bizarre magical forces, remember? You said yourself magic can be unpredictable."
"Absolutely not! This is your cousin and my little girl!" Augustin quickly ran over and pulled Bruno into a tight bearhug.
"OK, how about I just poke him with a fork?" Camilo kept insisting.
"That sounds much safer." Abuela agreed. "Let's try that. Augustin, let him go. I think he's in shock again…" Looking her son over, she was quite bothered by the sight. Bruno sat there like a statue, barely registering their words. Augustin even waved a hand in front of his face with hardly a blink in response.
Camilo did not waste any time in grabbing an extra fork from the table. He returned to Bruno's side and aimed it at his tio's shoulder. "Ready Tio? This'll only take a second."
Bruno nodded mutely. He was desperate to try anything at this point. His mother held him steady while everyone else watched with bated breath…even Julieta hovered at the kitchen window. The sound of Antonio stacking dishes in the background was loud and clear during the otherwise quiet moment.
Camilo was confident this would do something, at least. He gave 'Mirabel' a quick jab with the fork. Not enough to injure her at all, but just enough so Bruno would feel a jolt of pain.
And that little jolt of pain did something, all right.
In an instant, Bruno felt the magic tug on his mind. The same feeling of weightlessness, the same way of seeing the present without seeing through another's eyes, it all came back! He flew upwards, the rush of doing so giving him a huge burst of joy. He smelt burning foliage at his feet, and was once again conscious of sitting inside the vision dome. The rats trapped in there with him squeaked in greeting upon sensing his presence. Bruno breathed the biggest sight of relief. "Oh thank goodness. It worked! I'm free!" He cheered despite no one able to hear him speak from up here in the tower.
The sand dome was still up and standing, that much was easy to tell. He still couldn't open his actual eyes, because the vision was still in effect. Mentally, he was still outside with the family, seeing the entire veranda spread out below and able to hear what was happening there. Hovering a good ten feet above everyone's heads, he called out, "Mirabel! Are you alright?!"
But of course, no one heard that. With alarm, he saw Mirabel lying on the veranda tiles, as if she'd fallen backwards, but thankfully Abuela and Camilo had caught her.
Her sisters and father all scrambled over to check on her. Bruno was relieved to witness Mirabel shakily sit up on her own, looking rather dizzy, but also awake and alert. Everyone was talking at once as they fawned over her, crowding around until Bruno couldn't see her anymore. "Oh, I hope that whole thing didn't hurt her; I'd never forgive myself!" He then said to the rats, "Don't worry, guys. We're in the home stretch, now; this is almost over!"
Once again feeling the effects of his gift, he travelled through the kitchen doorway. Julieta had already rushed back outside upon seeing Mirabel collapse; lots of herbs fell out of her apron pockets as she ran at top speed to check on her daughter. "Mira, sweetie! Is that you? Are you back? How do you feel?"
"She's OK, mi amor, just a bit dazed!" called Augustin from outside.
"Don't worry, Juli. I'll make it up to you later!" Bruno promised. To think he'd put his sister and her husband through all that worry…
Floating by the kitchen countertop, he paused to glance back at the family. Mirabel was sitting up, talking, and seemed alright. The family was all around her, so she was in good hands. But Bruno couldn't go check on her himself just yet; right now, he had to get back to his own body and end this prolonged vision.
The tower had never sounded more inviting! So, he turned around to start travelling there in this weightless aerial state—and quite unexpectedly collided with another person whom he'd forgotten was in the room.
Yet again, the magic tugged ferociously on his mind, as if a pair of hands were dragging him along against his will…Just like what happened with Mirabel on the balcony! It all came so suddenly with such force and surprise that Bruno couldn't pull back or resist in any way! Why was the magic acting like this?! His physical-self back in the tower inhaled with panicked breath. "No! Nonononono, not again!"
As much as he tried to fight it, the magic forced his mind into another pair of eyes.
"Whoa! What's happening?" The host in question reached up to grasp the counter's edge, for he felt so, so dizzy all of a sudden! The whole world was swimming and spinning; he clutched his head in discomfort as an invisible force made him collapse on all fours; luckily the ground wasn't that far away to begin with. The toucan overhead squawked with concern…
…
"I'm fine, Pa, really!" Mirabel insisted as she pried away from Augustin's overly-tight hug.
"Just making sure it's really you, Miraboo! Are you sure you're alright?" He said while everyone else crowded around, all voicing their immense relief.
"We were so worried about you!" Felix cried out. "Do you feel OK?"
"Were you asleep the whole time?" Pepa asked, her grey cloud of worry evaporating.
"You gotta admit those green eyes really do look better on Bruno…" Luisa stated as she squashed Camilo and Isabela in a bone-crushing hug of happiness.
"I'm alright, everyone! Calm down!" Mirabel breathed hard as if she'd run a distance but was smiling at the same time. She ran a hand through her hair, quite bewildered by the whole experience. "Whew! That was so weird! I'm glad Bruno fed me some lunch, at least; I was really getting hungry back there."
This proclamation came as a huge surprise. The family was all amazed. "Huh?" "Hang on, you remember?" "Wha—?" "You knew what was happening?"
Julieta helped Mirabel get to her feet, now that her wave of dizziness seemed to have passed. She looked her youngest daughter in the eyes—Yes. They had returned to warm brown with no trace of magic. "Mira, what do you remember?"
"Everything!" The girl said with excitement, waving her hands around expressively. "I sure didn't expect our experiment to do that. It's kinda hard to describe…I could see and hear, but I couldn't talk! And when Bruno was in control, it felt like some mysterious force controlling my every move. But I could sense his moods! Whatever he felt, I felt, too! It was so strange…" She turned to Abuela. "He's soooo upset for what happened, Abuela! Please don't be too hard on him. The guilt was eating him from the inside, and you'd never believe how terrified he was the entire time! More so for my sake then his own."
Pepa bit her lip, feeling even worse for laughing and teasing her brother when he was scared out of his wits. "Ugh…I should have been nicer to him! C'mon, Mira; I've got to go and apologize…"
"Right—Mama, I'm OK! Enough with the hugs!" Mirabel gave her doting mother a quick peck on the cheek to reassure her. "Let's all go up to the tower; Bruno must have ended the vision by now; I don't know how that whole possession thing affected him. Talk about the weirdest side effect ever from trying something new—"
"I'll say. This really isn't how seeing the present was supposed to go…" called a voice from the kitchen doorway.
They all turned to see Antonio standing there, accompanied by the toucan perched on his shoulders. Along with a few rats…The little boy was tight-lipped and seemed nervous, judging from how stiff he was. One of his hands was on the wooden door frame, knocking softly, while the other was raised with crossed fingers. He visibly took a deep breath, held it, and stepped over the threshold into the bright sunshine.
Now the family saw more clearly…Antonio's eyes were glowing green.
Several people gasped in shock. A whole crown of wild vines and orchids popped up on Isabela's head. She was the first to say anything. "Please don't tell us you're who we think you are…?"
Antonio blinked. "OK, I won't tell you." He paused to look at his own hands, as if astonished by how small they were. "But I can't decide if this is better or worse."
It finally clicked for Pepa, and a thundering raincloud instantly materialized over her head. She released a pent-up scream of anguish. "Ahh! MY BABY!"
Bruno released a deadpan sigh using Antonio's little voice. "Nope. Definitely worse."