Mirabel knew that the issue with the candle was linked to Bruno's condition. He was hurting and pulling away from all of them. If they could not figure out how help him, it would effect the miracle and the family.

Abuela wanted to push harder to get him to open up so that they could figure out how to make things better. It seemed to her that if he was pulling away, they had to bridge the gap. Mirabel wasn't sure this would be the right move. However, he had been avoiding everyone and everything and she was afraid that if it got any worse, so would he. But at the same time, Bruno hadn't actually said what he needed or wanted and she did not want to jump to conclusions on what could help.

After some discussion, Pepa and Julieta entered Abuela's room to join them. "Is he back in the nursery?" Alma asked wanting to know Bruno was nearby and safe.

"Yes," Julieta responded, "But, he's not doing well."

"He was trying to talk to us, but then he got sick suddenly," Pepa explained petting her own hair trying to keep calm. "He kept trying to hurt himself," She could barely hold back her tears. "We had to hold him down until he stopped."

Abuela and Mirabel were disturbed by this news. It was similar to the bathroom situation, which meant they may have to expect more of these episodes from him. "What did he talk about before he got sick?" Mirabel asked hoping he had taken her advise to tell them what he needed.

"It was hard to understand, he wasn't making much sense," Julieta said rubbing her sister's back. "He was blaming himself and said he couldn't get something out of his head, but he didn't say what." She confidently added, "He did make it clear that he wants to be alone. The last thing he said was that he wanted to go to his room."

"Maybe we should give him time alone," Mirabel said. It was the only thing he had requested since he came back home. While the rest of his actions were concerning and she worried that being alone would allow him to hurt himself further, keeping him under close watch wasn't helping. They had to try something else.

"Absolutely not," Abuela protested. "Since this entire issue started, leaving him alone has caused the most trouble. First he nearly falls to his death in his room." She didn't even want to acknowledge it was a suicide attempt. "Then he has two incidents of erratic behavior. He could have another and if we aren't there to stop him-" She paused feeling overwhelmed then continued, "Leaving him to be alone is the worst thing we can do right now."

"What else can we do?" Mirabel pleaded. "He's not getting any better with the way we are doing things right now. Maybe doing the opposite will bring him closer to us. Maybe we need to give him space."

"I will talk to him," Abuela said stubbornly. "We will find another way. Leaving him by himself is too risky."

.=.

Bruno stood stiffly as Andre pulled him close sniffing his neck. "I enjoy these moments between us," The taller man said. The prophet didn't react, he just watched the sun going down over the horizon as the empty grass field they stood in got darker. "Have you figured out why I'm here?"

"To punish me," Bruno answered. "I deserve it. Nothing I do his good or helpful. I deserve this." Andre looked down at him with pity and wiped his tears away tenderly. The smaller man averted his gaze, keeping it on the horizon.

"You're too hard on yourself, little mouse," Andre spoke softly. "I'm here to love you, not punish you. Punishment is a consequence of negative actions, and you're being very good. I saw you running through the woods, away from your family. That deserves a reward."

The larger man reached his hand downward slipping it down the smaller man's waistband. Bruno pushed him away violently. "No!" he yelled. "You think its a reward but it hurts! Don't touch me!" Andre tried to grab him and pull off his clothes and Bruno struggled against him.

They landed on the ground with Andre on top. The larger man straddled his stomach and held his hands above his head. "Let go!" Bruno screamed kicking at the ground and into the air. It's a dream! It's just a dream! Wake up!

"Figure out it out mi vida!" Andre yelled before Bruno opened his eyes to see Camilo.

"Tio Bruno," the teen said shakily, "Can you hear me? Are you awake?" The boy was on top of him holding his wrists over his head against the mattress. His expression was full of worry and Bruno felt ashamed to have put his nephew through this.

"I'm sorry," the older man whispered turning his head to look away. Camilo let out the air from his lungs in relief. He had been walking by the room and heard his tio yelling and flailing. Worried he would get hurt, the teen had come in and tried to keep the man from hitting anything or himself.

Camilo got off of his tio and sat on the edge of the bed next to him. The teen did not know what to do. Bruno wanted to bury himself in a deep hole, never to emerge. The prophet knew it was getting worse. If he kept seeing Andre, it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt, not just himself.

He was lucky everyone who had to handle him so far was stronger than him. But what if it were Antonio who walked in instead. Bruno could have hurt him trying to fight someone who wasn't really there. It made him sick to think about it.

"Are you okay?" Camilo asked. He didn't know if he had handled his tio properly or made it worse by holding him down. Bruno didn't get a chance to respond as Abuela walked in. She signaled for her grandson to leave so she could be alone with her son. She shut the door when Camilo left.

Bruno did not want to face his mother right now. Sometimes she could be too hard on him and he just didn't have the energy for it. Not after already upsetting several of his other family members. He hoped she wasn't going to lecture him on the way he acted with Julieta and Pepa. He didn't mean to do anything wrong.

"Brunito," Abuela called to him sitting on the bed next to him. She brushed his hair from his face making him flinch away. Seeing his reaction she tried to reassure him, "Don't worry, you're safe." He didn't react or move hoping she would give up and go away. It made him feel guilty for thinking that, but he so badly wanted to be alone.

"Please tell me what's wrong," she said to him. "I want to help you and protect you." Still no reaction; that made her a little frustrated. "Look at me." Bruno internally sighed rolling his head to look at her with an emotionless expression. "Your sisters say you want to be alone."

This made him react, he teared up a little and nodded hopefully. "I can't let you be alone Brunito," she confessed. "I want to protect you and I can't do that if you keep hurting yourself and having these outbursts" Bruno rolled his head to look at the wall, upset. "I need you to talk to me. Tell me what's going on in your head. Then I can-"

"Tell me what to do," Bruno finished for her. She was about to reword it, but he sat up and looked her in the eyes. His expression was sad and angry. "That's what everyone wants, control. You think you can make things better if I just cooperate." Bruno took a shuddery breath as tears slipped down his cheeks. "That's what he told me, 'just cooperate and I promise I can make you happy'. Then he took my clothes off and he did things to me."

Alma's heart raced at her son's words. She tried to reach out her hand to take his but he flinched away. Bruno felt angry. None of this was fair. Why did everyone get a say in his life but him? How is it that everyone but him got to decide what he can and can't do? "I'm not a fucking child!" He screamed at her.

Tears spilled down her cheeks and he regretted what he said immediately. Bruno gripped his hands into his ruana looking down unable to see her cry. All of the fight in him left and fear took hold as a memory slipped into his vulnerable mind.

Touching his ruana he remembered the ruana Andre had mended. Julieta had thrown it out and he was wearing one of his spares; but they looked the same. He remembered putting on the mended one after the last time Andre raped him. The thought clung to his mind like a parasite and he wanted to vomit. It was overwhelming and he could not stop his next words.

"He said he loved me and that he would protect me," Bruno whispered quietly letting his tears drip on to his hands. "Mama," he sobbed seeking comfort he felt like he didn't really deserve. "H-he made me take my clothes off. He made it feel good, then bad. He wouldn't stop hurting me until I said 'I love you' back."

Alma gripped his hands with hers to anchor him as he spoke. "It hurt so much. He wouldn't stop hurting me. I can still feel the pain even though it's not really there." He looked at her seeing her sadness and worry. But she was listening, and it made him feel a little less lonely. He felt a little more in control to at least be heard. "I see him everywhere. In my dreams and when I'm awake."

She pulled him into a hug and he hugged back as tightly as he could wailing from all the built up emotion inside of him. "Mami, I'm scared," he cried as she held him close. It was worse than she could have imagined. She worried that there was no way back from what he experienced. How could she fix something like this?

.=.

Mirabel waited in the court yard for Abuela to finish talking to Bruno. She feared that denying Tio Bruno what he wanted meant possibly denying what he needed. If Abuela continued his recovery the way it had been going, it could mean the worst.

Mirabel looked up at the candle with worry. Every member of the family was important to keep the miracle alive. But most importantly, the miracle was a way to ensure every family member was happy, healthy, and connected to the rest of them.

She could faintly hear Bruno yell for a moment making her anxiety spike. But then something unexpected happened. The candle got brighter. She ran to the room, whatever her Abuela was doing, it was working. Not wanting to interrupt, Mirabel put her ear to the door and listened. All she managed to hear was him confess that he was scared and then crying.

That was it, Abuela needed to listen and he needed to talk. It was a start. Mirabel sat outside the room for a long while in deep thought, trying to figure out if they should do what Bruno asked or what Abuela wanted. When Abuela came out she looked sad and slightly disturbed.

"He can go to his room," She said to Mirabel, "But I have conditions."