After learning that Casita may actually be Pedro. Abuela felt lost and unsure. She just couldn't believe it. She went to her room and checked on the candle. Then began pacing the room. If Casita was Pedro, then she should be happy. And she was a little, but mostly she was worried.
She always assumed Casita was just a magic house created purely to take care of the family. There was nothing deeper to it. It's good and decent nature was perfect for when she was too harsh. She thought maybe the house provided what she could not for the family.
But then, Pedro was like that. Her other half. Maybe she should have known it was him all along. Now that she knew, it was only a matter of time before she would talk to him. Casita could not speak, but it could communicate well enough.
But then, that's where the worry came. She would find out how Pedro feels about how things have gone since he died. Would he be upset with her? She had pushed the family too far and caused the magic to break. She was the reason their son had disappeared for ten years. If she had been more understanding and realized the family was more important than the magic; things could have gone better for them all.
She finally decided she should just get it over with, and find out. While everyone was asleep, she went to the courtyard. Unexpectedly, Bruno and Agustin were sleeping there. So, she went to the kitchen to get some privacy to talk to Casita.
"Pedro," She said shakily. "Is that really you?" Alma could not stop the tears from flowing as a tile flapped in confirmation. She put her hands on the counter to feel him; his tiles vibrated under the touch. "I've missed you so much." He had missed holding her. And when she was ready to talk, he would assure her that he was not upset with her, and that he loved her. For now, she could only weep.
.=.
"Agustin," Julieta said with some frustration. Her husband's eyes snapped open to see her looking at him with disappointment and worry. "Bruno should be in bed. What are you both doing out here?"
"Mi vida," He replied nervously. Agustin tried to get out of the hammock, but he leaned without putting his legs out first and landed on the floor. The hammock swung back and forth with a exhausted Bruno still sleeping in it. "He got hungry last night, so we just came down for a snack. Nothing happened."
"Ay, Agustin," Julieta flung her hands up in exasperation. "You shouldn't be letting him walk around too much after-" She paused, "Did he eat?" She was worried that his vision had set her bother back to not eating.
"He did. Then he laid down in the hammock to rest and we fell asleep by accident," Agustin explained. "I promise I was with him the whole time." Julieta looked down to see how peaceful Bruno looked.
"I'm just worried," She said sadly. "Sometimes he's talkative and doing well, then other times he's quiet and inconsolable. I don't know what to expect anymore."
"Doing well sometimes, is better than never," Agustin assured while pulling her into a hug.
Julieta and Agustin's attention was drawn to Bruno when he grumbled in his sleep, "I'm not calling you Papi."
"Papi?" She giggled. Whatever he was dreaming must have been good, because she could see the smirk on her brother's face. Julieta decided to forgive Agustin for letting Bruno out of the room without at least waking her. If Bruno was eating and sleeping well, then it was worth it.
As the Madrigals started to awaken, many of the younger family members found excuses to walk by and check on their Tio. Which lead to Felix and Pepa having to force them away to give Bruno some peace. He mumbled in his sleep as if he were talking to someone, and everyone found it amusing.
At breakfast, Bruno was still sleeping in the hammock, which worried Julieta. But Agustin assured that he was just very tired. The family gathered around the table to eat and Abuela made announcements, as she always did in the morning.
"As you all know, Bruno seems to be back to normal. So we will resume our duties in town," She said. There were a few sighs, but they went ignored. "I also feel that I need to tell you what Bruno has passed on to me. It appears-" she paused not sure how to phrase it. "It seems, that Casita is actually Abuelo Pedro."
Felix spat his drink all over the table at this sudden news. Pepa and Julieta were in shock. Everyone else began to talk amongst each other about how it was possible. Abuela raised a hand to quiet them. "I have confirmed it myself. So when addressing Casita, make sure you keep in mind who it is."
"Do we still call it Casita? Or are we supposed to call the house Abuelo now?" Camilo asked not quite comprehending how this works.
"You may call the house Casita or Abuelo," Abuela explained. "He will respond to both. He is used to being called Casita, so it will be fine either way. However-" Alma pinched her nose with some annoyance. She had forgotten how silly and lovable her husband was. She supposed that he reflected that as Casita.
"He wants his children to call him Papi," Abuela sighed heavily. "He also requested you hug parts of the house when you want to." How she had managed to get this information was beyond her. But she knew him so well, that the right questions had come to her when she spoke to him last night.
As if she had commanded it, the youngest generation of Madrigals were already up on their feet hugging the walls and counters. Casita rumbled and flapped tiles happily. His family loved him so much and he loved them. The older generation was still in shock however.
"You're saying Abuelo has been Casita this entire time?" Felix asked feeling a little uncomfortable and sweaty from nerves. Sometimes Pepa and Felix liked to be adventurous and took their intimate moments out of the room and around the house.
Abuela nodded then watched as Pepa stood suddenly grabbing her husbands hand and ran out of the room with him. Julieta was more casual about leaving the table, but she still left quite quickly with Agustin. They all needed a private word with their father.
With that out of the way, Abuela sat down to eat the rest of her breakfast as the rest of the family messed around the house until it was time to go to town. Knowing Casita was their Abuelo had excited everyone and no one could sit still. Mirabel in particular was over joyed at the news. Even though Casita had always been there, it almost felt like they gained someone new.
With all the noise in the house being made mostly by Casita, who was interacting with nearly everyone, Bruno stirred awake. His body felt heavy from a deep sleep and he was still a little tired. He hadn't had a good nights sleep in a while.
The nightmares appeared to be at bay, because he dreamed only of his family. In particular, Pedro was there. Bruno was sure it was just a dream, but somehow it was also real. The candle provided a new miracle just for Bruno. Pedro could visit him and protect him in his sleep.
"Tio Bruno," a small voice said nearby. He peaked over the side of the hammock to see Antonio. "Do you want to play a game?"
"Uh, what game?" Bruno asked apprehensive. He hoped it didn't require anything strenuous.
Antonio thought for a minute then decided on the perfect game. "Hide-and-seek!" he proclaimed. It was perfect because everyone was home right now. "Wait here, I'll get everyone!" He ran off to gather the family.
Bruno laid in the hammock a little longer, it was comfortable and he didn't really want to get up. But the prospect of spending time with his nieces and nephews became too enticing and he got up after all.
Antonio managed to get all of his cousins and siblings, but he could not get any of the older people to join. They were busy talking to Casita. Even Abuela was enjoying some extra time communicating with the house. He decided it didn't matter though, because they had enough players.
"Who's going to be it?" Mirabel asked. There were many shouts of 'not it'.
"I'll do it," Bruno volunteered with interest.
"Good idea," Camilo agreed. "If you hide we'd never find you. You're practically an expert." Isabela puffed petals into her cousins face for the joke, but Bruno laughed at it anyway.
"I'm good at seeking too, so you better find a clever place to hide," their Tio advised.
"Let's play outside," Antonio suggested thoughtfully. "If we use the rooms it might be too hard to find anyone, but if you go outside it might be easier."
"I don't think Tio Bruno is ready to go outside yet," Mirabel tried to tell him.
"It's fine," Bruno responded. He was nervous about going out, but he wanted them to have fun. He didn't think it would be fair to let his fears stop them from being happy. "I'll count in here and you all can go out an hide."
"Tio-" Mirabel worriedly began but was interrupted.
"I can do this," He assured her. He didn't know if that was true, but he'd rather believe it was. "I'm only counting to a hundred so you better start running!" he shouted at them. Some were worried about him leaving the house, but the moment he covered his eyes, turned around, and began to count, they ran for their hiding places.
Once he counted to a hundred, he went to the back door ready to leave the house and look for them. Standing at the doorway, he knocked on wood and threw salt over his shoulder. Still feeling nervous, he slipped his hood on to enact Hernando.
He closed his eyes and crossed his fingers while holding his breath to step out of the house. So far, so good. He breathed in the fresh scent of flowers and felt the breeze. He could do this. There was no one else after him.
He crept about near Casita, looking under the table and around the bushes with no luck. He remembered his vision when he had met his father and looked to the woods. It was a good place to hide. He walked toward the trees, keeping in mind that Hernando was scared of nothing.
"Tio Bruno! Come find us!" A distant voice shouted. He turned in it's direction and could hear shushing. Smiling, he followed their sounds. Suddenly he heard a stick break behind him and he paused in fear. Someone was behind him.
If it was danger, he had to do something to protect the children. So despite his fear, he quickly turned around to face whoever it was. Only, there was no one there. They were likely hiding behind a tree. Hernando closed his fists pushing past Bruno's fear.
He took slow steps forward looking around at the trees. Peaking behind one tree, there was nothing there. So he went to the next, ready to fight if necessary. Hernando knew he wasn't good in a fight, but if he tried the fighting techniques his in-laws showed him, it would give him a chance. At the very least he could hold off the person so his family could get away.
Passing the next tree he could tell someone was there. Dread building up inside, he continued on, only to find Mirabel. He immediately doubled over letting out a large breath he had been holding. Relief flooded his body, but he shook and felt weak at the same time.
"Are you following me?" he managed to ask pulling his hood off as he breathed heavily and leaned on a tree. Mirabel had the guiltiest look on her face as she came to his side and rubbed his back, to help him through his distress.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't think you were ready to leave the house yet, and I thought I should keep an eye on you." He looked at her with some annoyance, but he could also understand how she was feeling.
Finally catching his breath he tried to explain how that was problematic. "It's not your responsibility to keep an eye on me Mirabel. I don't want you to be so focused on my problems. I want you to focus on better things." He just wanted her to be happy. The weight of saving the miracle was enough for the poor girl. She deserved better now.
"I am focusing on better things," she resolved. "And there is nothing better than family." She hugged him then, wanting to pour all her love into him. "Whatever the family and I do to be there for you, it's because we want to. Let me focus on you because I want to." He hugged her back and wished she acted more like a kid than a caretaker. But she was a lot like her mother, so he couldn't do anything about it.
Now that she was there helping him search for the others, he felt less afraid. Although he was still on edge about possible danger. He had to remember that his nieces and nephews were very capable of keeping themselves safe. And there were no more dangerous people around, at least he hoped.
Bruno paused by a tree making Mirabel stop. She watched him look up and followed suit. Up in the tree was Isabela and Antonio with his jaguar. "You found us!" Antonio laughed. Isabela looked displeased. She was sure being in the trees would give them a major advantage.
"How did you find us?!" She questioned riding a vine down to the ground, while the jaguar climbed down with her cousin.
Bruno shrugged, "I can see the future." He continued on to look for the others.
"Well that's not fair," Isabela complained as she and the others followed him.
After walking further on, Bruno made a beeline for a bush and tapped Camilo's head, having found him. Camilo popped out of the bush looking exactly like Bruno. "I really thought that would work," he whined. His logic being that if his Tio can hide so easily, then pretending to be him would give Camilo the same ability.
"You're still too tall," Bruno said referring to his nephew's copy of him. He threw salt over his shoulder and kept going. They walked far enough to make it to the river. Bruno knocked on wood before following the river until they found some boulders.
Looking behind the large rocks, he found Luisa and Dolores. "How did you do that?" Camilo asked confused. Bruno had hardly search anywhere, only going to the places where he knew they'd be.
After he had heard one of them yell to him in the woods, he realized that it was exactly like his vision dream. Which meant he had to go to the river to find them all. On the way, it was easy to pin point their spots. He had spent so long hiding that he knew a potential hiding spot when he saw one.
But if this was like his vision, then there was one more person he would be seeing. "I'm pretty sure Tio Bruno had a vision," Isabela said. "He already knew where we were hiding."
"Maybe someone else should seek," Luisa suggested.
"Not Dolores," Mirabel said laughing. "She'd find us just a s easy."
"I want to hide again," Camilo said crossing his arms. It was beginning to feel like they were going to choose someone will little advantage in finding the others.
They argued more over it as they began to head back toward the direction of the house. But Bruno didn't follow. He waited at the river looking ahead. "Tio Bruno are you coming?" Dolores asked.
"Soon," he responded. Then Maria came walking out of the woods, and along the river's edge. She didn't seem to notice them at first, as she was focused on the river. But when she looked up she was surprised to see Bruno standing there looking back at her.
"Bruno?" She questioned walking toward him. He felt scared seeing her. The last time they were in the woods together, Val had taken him to Andre's house, where he had been tortured. "I've been meaning to talk to you," Maria said when she got close enough.
He stepped back when she got to close. Seeing his discomfort, his nieces and nephews got close to him. They were ready to protect him if need be. However, no one really saw Maria as a threat. She had stayed at their house for a while until one was built for her family. In that time she mostly kept to herself and seemed harmless. They didn't trust her though, her part in their Tio's kidnapping would make that impossible.
"Bruno, I'm sorry," she said remorsefully. "I never meant for things to get that out of hand. If I had known I wouldn't have helped them. The moment I saw-"
"Stop!" He yelled panicked at what she might say. He didn't want to hear it. He remembered it enough as it was. He could not hear about it or talk about it with her.
"I think you should go now," Isabela said taking charge.
Maria nodded but couldn't help saying one last thing. "I hope one day you can forgive me. I promise I will never do anything to harm you. And I'm really glad to have met your family. I can see that they will keep you safe, even from me."
"I don't blame you for what happened," Bruno told her. She scared him because of her involvement, but he did not blame her. He was empathetic to her actions, even if he would not personally try to get revenge. "But it wouldn't be wise to come near here again." Felix and Pepa wouldn't be happy knowing how close to home Maria was getting.
Maria shrugged "You're wiser than I am." She walked away then and he really hoped he wouldn't be seeing her any time soon.
"Abuela is calling for us," Dolores announced once Maria was out of sight, so they headed back.
.=.
Reaching the house, Bruno could see his sisters, in-laws, and mother waiting around looking worried. The children were laughing and joking as they walked toward them. He hoped that when the two groups collided nothing bad would happen. He threw salt over his shoulder to be on the safe side.
"Where have you been?!" Pepa shouted in frustration. He quickly approached her brother and hugged him, like she thought she'd never see him again.
"We should be in town by now," Abuela reprimanded the others. "What are you doing out here? Why is your Tio out here? He isn't well enough to leave the house."
"We were just playing a game and Tio Bruno joined us," Mirabel spoke up for the others.
"You should know better," Abuela said to her. "What if he had had another vision? What if he had collapsed and got hurt?"
"It's not their fault," Bruno stepped in, pulling away from his sister. "I told them we could go outside. Nothing happened."
"That Maria lady was by the river though," Antonio blabbed thinking his Tio may have forgotten that part. Bruno cringed at the angry looks that information received.
"I'll have a word with her," Felix said about to walk toward the trees.
"She's already gone," Bruno said stopping him. He didn't want any trouble caused over it, though he appreciated his in-law's protective actions.
"Bruno, you shouldn't be out," Julieta said taking his hands. "You're still not well."
"I'm okay," he told her pulling his hands away. He was finally getting some independence, being outside. Although, he would not go out on his own anytime soon. It was the fact that he could go out with family that made him feel less trapped.
Julieta looked down at her hand to see blood that smeared on her from his. The cut on his hand was worse than they thought. It bled through the cloth wrapped around his hand. "You're not okay," she said looking him in the face. "When did you get so good at lying?"
"I didn't notice," he said quietly. The look she was was giving him was a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
"How am I supposed to help you if you won't let me?" She asked with tears in her eyes. "You won't rest like you should and you won't let me heal you. You keep pushing yourself to do things you shouldn't and it makes your condition worse."
"Bruno, I'm happy that you're doing better right now. And I'm happy that you went outside without any problems. But having a good moment does not mean everything is going to work out fine. Going out could have had serious consequences. It could have sent you back into another illness."
"I'm sorry," he said looking down, ashamed. Every time they helped him and made things better, he managed to get into more problems. If going outside had a bad outcome, his family would have had to pull him out of it.
"Why won't you listen to me and do as I ask? Why won't you let me help you?" She asked desperately wanting to understand.
"I'm trying," He answered in a small voice, unable to look at her.
"Then let me heal you," She begged. Bruno's head snapped up with wide worried eyes and he looked at Agustin pleadingly. He couldn't do it. Her food made him sick to his stomach.
"Julieta, we really shouldn't force him," Agustin cut in.
She ignored her husband. "Bruno, I am trying to help you, but I feel like you're fighting me every step of the way. I need you to rest, eat, and sleep. I need you to give yourself a few days before doing anything outside of what is comfortable. Why won't you do this?"
Bruno didn't know how to answer. He looked again to Agustin for help and Julieta could see it. So she looked at her husband. "Do you have the answer Agustin? Because I am at the end of my rope." Before he could answer she took her brothers uninjured and and pulled him into the house.
The rest of the family followed. Julieta was normally calm and collected. But she was starting to feel helpless and a little useless. She was supposed to be in charge of her brother's well being, yet she felt like she wasn't able to do anything to help him heal.
She brought him into the kitchen and tore off a piece of bread from the loaf on the counter. "Eat this," she commanded putting it in his hand. Julieta normally let the people around her do as they wanted. She was gentle and kind. She had never done harm to anyone emotionally or psychically. But her tolerant nature was at it's end with Bruno, it simply wasn't working.
"I can't," He told her putting it down.
"Eat it Bruno," She insisted crossing her arms. He could only look down like a scolded child. Everyone was in shock. Julieta never got this upset.
"Everyone out," Abuela insisted pushing the children to leave. Casita used the floor to move them to another room, to their disappointment. The older adults stayed waiting for the results of this moment to play out,
"Bruno please," She begged taking his injured hand. He winced, though she didn't mean to hurt him. "This isn't healing on it's own. You need my gift."
The cloth on his hand was soaked with blood, but the injury was oddly numb. He thought about her food, and how it had done him wrong. But his sister always did right by him. It was a hard decision to make. He looked at Agustin again.
"It looks bad," his in-law spoke. "Just try." Julieta didn't understand what kind of connection her husband had built with her brother, but it seemed to work. Bruno reluctantly took the bread and at ate it. He waited to feel sick, but nothing bad happened and his cut healed. It was a relief, but he felt guilty for making such a big deal out of it.
"Thank you," Julieta said hugging him. He felt bad for being so difficult over something so small. "I want you to go upstairs and rest. Do not get out of bed unless you need the bathroom. I'm putting my foot down Bruno, you're going to do this." He nodded sadly, feeling like he really disappointed her.
"Agustin, make sure he goes where he should and don't let him go anywhere else." Julieta was starting to feel like her mother. But that also helped her understand why her mother was so strict at times when it seemed unnecessary. It seemed unnecessary to be this harsh to her brother when he was doing well, but then she knew that may not last.