2: My Real Gift is Acting
cw for some (brief, mostly implied) sexual harassment of a minor
Bruno hadn't been sure how to feel when Isabela had invited him to walk with her in town that day. She'd said something about how "we haven't had a chance to bond!" Bruno suspected that there was some agreement in the family to get him outside more, but he supposed he didn't mind. He was always happy to spend some time with his nephews and nieces.
So now he and Isabela were wandering the streets of the village, doing whatever caught their eye at any moment. Isabela was rambling to him about the things that were on her mind.
"So, I was interested in growing more succulent-type species," she said. "And then I thought, we could put them in your room. They grow best in deserts and don't need much maintenance, so they'd be perfect for you." Isabela turned and beamed at him. "What do you think? You might be a great plant parent."
"Hmm," Bruno replied with a nod, not making eye contact.
Isabela pouted. "Tío Bruno, are you listening to me?"
"Yeah, I am," he replied. He met her eyes for just long enough to give her a smile. "Succulents in my room. I mean—I can't speak for the 'great plant parent' thing, but I'd be fine with you decorating my room." Truthfully, cactuses would make his room feel like even more of a lonely desert, but Isabela looked so excited. And who knows, he'd heard plants actually made good company.
Isabela grinned in satisfaction. "Don't worry. If you can care for rats, you can care for plants."
Bruno grunted in agreement. They were quiet for a moment while they walked. Bruno kept looking around at their surroundings, trying to take in the sights without attracting attention.
Suddenly, Isabela grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Tío," she whispered, her voice grave all of a sudden. "Look over there. Is that Mirabel?"
Bruno blinked at the abrupt change of tone and the frown on her face. He followed her gaze and quickly realized why. Indeed, Mirabel was there, several yards away. She was standing almost with her back against a wall, and there was a man with her that Bruno didn't recognize. But he did notice that he looked to be several years older than her, that he was grinning at her in a way that made Bruno sick, and that Mirabel looked scared.
He and Isabela took but a moment to exchange a horrified glance before they quickly and quietly jogged over to the scene. The spot Mirabel and the man were at wasn't exactly secluded, but it seemed to be just far enough away and looked just innocent enough that people didn't notice them. As they got closer, Bruno and Isabela could make out bits and pieces of the conversation.
"Listen, uh, I really think I should get back to those errands I was running…" Mirabel stammered.
"Aw, you're really determined to break a guy's heart, aren't you?" The man chuckled in response. "Come on, just humor me for a few minutes, I won't bite. You're so pretty."
"A-again, sir, I'm pretty sure you're too old for me, so…" she tried to move away, but he stopped her with a hand on the arm.
Bruno wasn't sure whether he wanted to throw up or punch this guy to the ground, but he had to do something. He was just about to step forward and put a stop to it, but Isabela beat him to it.
"Hey!" Isabela shouted, making both Mirabel and the man jump. She stomped forward and put her hands on her hips, glaring daggers at the man. "Excuse me, sir, care to explain what you're doing with my little sister?"
The man seemed mostly unfazed and tried to play it off with a smile. "What? No, it's nothing, miss. We were just talking."
"Really?" Isabela gestured for Mirabel to get behind her. Mirabel scrambled to do exactly that, while Isabela kept her eyes on the man. "Just talking? You really think I'd buy that? I heard everything, you bottom-feeding creep!"
People were starting to look. The man took a couple steps back, eyes on Isabela (he didn't even seem to notice Bruno there), and still kept up that infuriating innocent act. "Señorita, please, it's all just a big misunderstanding."
"Stuff it!" Isabela snapped. With a swift motion, she summoned a thick vine from the ground and—whap! Right on the man's back, sending him sprawling to the ground. He squeaked in pain.
"Consider that your warning," Isabela sneered down at him. "If I ever see you near my sister again, I will show no mercy. Got it?"
The man stood, anger and humiliation written all over his face. He snapped a couple of words at Isabela that Bruno dared not repeat, before he quickly slunk away into an alley.
Truthfully, Bruno thought Isabela had gone way too easy on him. He, personally, would have strangled the man with his bare hands, regardless of who was watching. But, revenge fantasies would have to wait. First things first. Bruno hurried over to Mirabel and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Mirabel? Are you okay?"
Mirabel flinched a bit, but relaxed when she recognized him. "Ah…yeah…"
Isabela whirled around to face her, eyes wide. "Did he hurt you? What did he say? Has he talked to you before?"
Bruno gestured for Isabela to take it easy. Mirabel took a few deep, shaky breaths before she answered. "I-I'm okay. I promise, I'm okay guys. Um, thank you."
Bruno shrugged. "Well, Isa did all the work there."
Isabela frowned. "It's a good thing we were here. Seriously, who was that guy? Has he done that before?"
Mirabel frowned and wrapped her arms around herself. "Um…h-he's talked to me once or twice, but never like that before. Th-though, I think I've heard a couple of other girls call him creepy."
Bruno and Isabela both frowned. "We have to tell Abuela," said Isabela.
"I-I-I don't…"
Bruno gently patted Mirabel's shoulder to calm her. "Hey, don't worry about it now, okay? Let's get you home so you can rest up a bit."
Mirabel gulped. "But…I-I still have to…to get the fabrics for…"
"They can wait, Mira. Come on. You're probably hungry."
Mirabel relented and let them guide her back toward their home. Isabela swooped in from the other side to wrap her arm around Mirabel, mirroring Bruno. Mirabel seemed to be calming down at last, but Bruno and Isabela felt far from calm. Bruno exchanged another glance with his older niece and knew she was thinking the same thing he was. That man didn't look remorseful, or even scared, when he was chased away—simply annoyed that he'd been interrupted. If he got the chance and no one was around to stop him, he would probably try it again.
Someone had to teach him a lesson.
Isabela wasted no time relaying the news to her parents, as well as Abuela, once they got back. From the top banister where he was standing, Bruno couldn't hear anything but could see their reactions. Shock, anger, concern over Mirabel. The poor girl simply seemed flustered with all the attention and care her family was giving her.
Dolores was standing next to Bruno, watching the scene unfold below them. "It's a good thing you and Isa were there," she whispered. "I was just about to go and get someone when I heard what was happening, but who knows if we would have made it in time."
Bruno nodded. "Mirabel said he'd talked to her before, and a few other girls she knows too. Do you remember hearing anything about that?"
Dolores nervously wrung her fingers together. "W-well…yes. But it never seemed like trouble, or at least, not entirely. I was never sure if it was anything to be concerned about, until now." She looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry. I should have said something sooner. I could have stopped—."
"No, no. It's not your fault," Bruno interrupted, patting her shoulder gently. Dolores deflated slightly, and Bruno was thoughtful for a moment. "So, do you happen to know his name?"
She pursed her lips together. "Mmm…Enrique. Enrique Torres, I believe. He's the younger brother of the shoemaker. I always hear him going over there, asking for money to spend on junk."
Bruno nodded slowly, as he felt a very bad idea forming in his head. "…where does he live?"
Dolores looked up at him again. Her eyes squinted in suspicion. "What are you planning?"
Bruno just gave her a crooked smile. "Lola, come on, I'm not going to kill the guy. I just want to know. For knowledge's sake."
Dolores certainly didn't believe that, but the suspicion in her eyes faded into something closer to mischief. "Hmm. Alright, then."
When he was younger, Bruno would often find himself trudging down the Encanto's streets, hood over his head and eyes glued forward. He'd never enjoyed delivering prophecies, especially the negative ones, but he felt a certain sense of duty to do so because people had the right to know when something was coming. He remembered so clearly how people would scurry out of the way to let him pass, whispering to each other in fear. There goes Bruno Madrigal, they'd say. A cursed man with a purpose. When you see him roaming through the streets, you know he's about to deliver a harrowing prophecy to some poor soul—pray you're not the one he's come for.
As he headed down to the place Dolores had indicated, he couldn't help feeling like it was just as it was back then. Nowadays, there were far fewer whispers—but they were still there. But for Mirabel, he would tolerate it.
In fact, right now, for her sake, he was counting on it.
Bruno stopped in front of the door and knocked (both to announce himself and for good luck). Within just a few moments, the door opened to reveal that man's disheveled face, first angry and then fading into confusion and worry.
(Ah, Bruno wished he'd asked Pepa to create a dramatic thunderclap for his entrance. Oh well. The look on his face was priceless enough.)
"Enrique Torres," he said, his voice as low and haunting as he could possibly muster. Without waiting for an answer, Bruno strode forward, forcing the man to take a step back, and closed the door with a satisfying slam behind him. "I bring news."
"Y-you…" the man staggered back, almost tripping over a small table. He was already pale. "You're Bruno Madrigal, right?"
"In the flesh. Let's not waste time on pleasantries. I'll get right to the point." he sighed, sadly shaking his head. "I'm afraid I have foreseen that you won't make it through the week."
If he was pale before, the man looked like a ghost now. "Wh-what?" he cried, his voice rising several pitches. "Wh-why? What—what happens? When?"
"A terrible accident will occur, one that will leave you bleeding out on the floor before anyone can save you." He strode forward ever so slightly, but it was enough to send the man almost toppling backwards, if he hadn't grabbed something to steady himself. "I'll spare you the gruesome details. But if I were you, I would spend the next couple of days getting my affairs in order. Go to church. Say your goodbyes." He paused for dramatic effect, doing his best not to betray the sadistic glee he felt at seeing this guy quiver and whimper in terror.
Finally, he turned around with a swish of his ruana. "That is all I have to say to you. Farewell."
"Wait!" The man cried. He stumbled forward and grabbed Bruno's arm, a pleading look in his eyes. "P-please. There has to be something I can do to stop this! You can't just leave me, please!"
Bruno shook him off. "I'm sorry, young man, but my visions are set in stone." He dusted himself off, but then suddenly stopped, thoughtful. "Unless…"
The man perked up. "Unless? Unless what?!"
"Hmm," Bruno put a finger to his chin. "You see, fate can be a funny thing. Sometimes the smallest, most random-seeming actions can snowball into outcomes you'd never expect—the point is, I've seen one possible path in which your tragic fate can be avoided. But it's incredibly specific. One misstep and it won't work."
"Anything, I'll do anything!" The man begged. He was close to tears now. Good. The man picked up a pen and paper, and nodded for Bruno to continue.
"…are you certain?" Bruno asked, pretending to care. "The things I'm about to ask of you are…humiliating, at best. Wouldn't you rather go out with dignity?"
"Who needs dignity if I'm dead?!" The pen seemed to be close to breaking with how tightly he was gripping it. "Please, please, Señor, I don't want to die. I'll do whatever you ask, anything, anything!"
Bruno just stared down at him, the stoic expression on his face giving way and subtly twisting into a hidden smirk.
The next morning, Mirabel was back in town to finish the errands she hadn't gotten a chance to complete. She had both her sisters and Dolores with her; things like yesterday's incident didn't happen often in the village, but everyone was still a bit shaken up. And bringing along extra company was always a plus.
However, she quickly realized that things weren't quite as peaceful today as she'd hoped. As they got closer to the fabric store, the girls noticed a commotion in the corner. There was a crowd of people, looking various levels of curious and disturbed, all gathered around what sounded like a man shouting. They all exchanged confused glances and slowly joined the crowd.
"What the—" Isabela choked, shocked and angry at the same time. "It's him! It's that creep from yesterday!"
"That's him?" Luisa replied, equally incredulous.
It wasn't hard to see why she was taken aback. Instead of the collected, sneaky and cunning villain they'd seen the day before, the man standing in front of them was an absolute nutcase. He was standing underneath a giant self-made sign reading "Sauceman the Great," and true to those words, he was standing in a giant tub of stinky red tomato sauce. In a dirty, undersized clown suit. With his head half-shaved. And rats licking the splotches of sauce off his face and neck.
Mirabel felt her stomach drop at the sight of him, but at the same time, she couldn't look away.
The man looked like he was about to cry, but he soldiered on for some unknown reason. "I am Sauceman, keeper of the sauce! The world is my saucepan, I am the master of all things saucy and spicy!" He squatted a few times and smacked himself on the head several times with a spoon. "It's been half an hour! I will once again perform the ritual!"
Now he was doing some weird dance, with more spoon smacks to the head, careful not to drop the rats on his shoulders as if his life depended on it. The crowd reacted in various ways, some disgusted, some confused, and some laughing at his misery.
Like Dolores. She was doing a very poor job at stifling her laughter, as opposed to her cousins who were just standing there with their jaws almost hitting the ground.
"Wh-wh…" Luisa gestured haphazardly at the bizarre display before her. "I—have no idea what's happening right now? What am I supposed to feel here?"
"Satisfied, Luisa, satisfied," Dolores replied, finally done with her case of the giggles. "This is what comeuppance looks like."
"I require vegetables for the sauce!" The madman screeched. "All of you, throw the tomatoes! The peppers and the corn! Squash is a must! Do not hand them to me! Only throw!"
The people, officially starting to get weirded out, began to leave. Nobody threw anything.
The man seemed to sob. "No, no, come on! You have to throw things! I don't care if it hurts! Please throw something, I'm begging you!"
"Uh…." Mirabel finally began. "Yeah, I think it's time to get outta here."
"Hm, I don't know," Dolores said, still obviously amused. "I kinda want to throw stuff at him." Before Mirabel could stop her, Dolores trotted over to a nearby vegetable cart and came back with a basket full of tomatoes. "Come on, Mirabel. Don't you wanna give him what he deserves?"
Mirabel frowned at the basket, a fiery resolve rising within her as she remembered what had happened to her. "Oh, he deserves a lot worse. But I guess this will have to do." She grabbed the first tomato, nice and squishy, and hurled it with all her might at the mad Sauceman.
It hit him right in the face, sending him stumbling backwards with a yelp. The rats jumped off of him and scurried into some holes in the walls. Mirabel watched with a twisted sense of satisfaction.
"My turn!" Isabela laughed. She and Luisa both reached into the basket and grabbed some ammo. Mirabel took a few more for herself as well.
The man quickly found himself overwhelmed by the barrage of tomatoes thrown his way (especially the ones thrown by Luisa). Mirabel heard someone, one of the girls she'd heard talking about this man before, shout over the confused crowd: "Yeah! Eat dirt, you pervert!"
The food-throwing increased from the crowd, with Isabela making it worse by growing a squash plant and making the vegetables into even more ammo. It sounded like people were starting to figure out what this guy's crimes were, and Mirabel couldn't help but feel proud at their response. The guy was just laying in his vat of sauce now, taking the hits almost without protest.
Standing a little ways off to the side of the crowd, a pair of siblings watched the commotion go down with calm smiles on their faces.
"I feel like I should be saying something along the lines of 'don't you think this is a bit much?'" Julieta said. "But in all honesty…it's not."
Bruno scoffed, holding out an arm for his rats to scurry back onto. They seemed satisfied with their snack, and Bruno gave one a little pat on the head before it scurried into his ruana. "It's kinda funny," Bruno said to his sister. "He was willing to do whatever nonsense I asked, once he felt desperate enough. He didn't even ask to see the vision board. Which is a good thing, cause, uh, it doesn't exist."
Julieta tried and failed to look disapproving, the twinkle in her eye betraying her. "I don't want you to make a habit of lying about your visions, Bruno."
Bruno just shrugged. He didn't intend to make a habit of it, but they both knew they could let this slide.
After several minutes, the food-throwing-fest slowed to a stop. Bruno watched as Mirabel and the other girls left, laughing merrily. Sauceman (as he would be known from now on), finally hobbled out of his disgusting tub and slowly made his way over to where Bruno was standing.
"Th-that's it, right?" he squeaked. "I did everything right, didn't I? Did it work?"
Bruno stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Depends. What did they throw at you?"
"Tomatoes. And squash and…rotten eggs, I think?" His eyes widened. "Th-the rotten eggs didn't throw it off, did they? Did they?!"
Bruno glanced at Julieta, but she had to look away to avoid bursting into laughter. So he just turned back to the guy and shrugged. "Hm. I'd say it's satisfactory. But!" He stood up to his full height and pointed an ominous finger in the man's face. "To make sure it's permanent, you remember the other two stipulations I gave you?"
The man nodded hastily, looking absolutely pitiful. "Yes, I do. Never tell anyone about this prophecy, and never speak to a teenage girl again."
Bruno waved his hand and nodded, officially tired of this guy's presence. "Get out of here."
"Yes!" Sauceman threw his arms up in the air and ran off in the direction he came. "I did it! I did it! I'm freeeeee!"
He looked even crazier this way. People moved to the edges of the road to avoid running into him. There went Sauceman. He'd never be quite the same again.
Bruno and Julieta exchanged another glance, and they both doubled over with laughter. Revenge was probably not the best thing to bond over, but they would bend a whole lot of rules for Mirabel, and everyone knew it.
Their family was going to have a field day when they found out about this one.