Episode Seven: Knock on Wood

45 years ago...

"This will be the last time I come here," Bruno announced from behind a wall of sandcastles.

"Why's that?" asked his friend.

"You know I told you about those strange doors yesterday?" his friends both nodded, "Well, it turns out they were magical bedrooms for my sisters and me. Mamá says they were a birthday present from the miracle. Pepa got hers to open first, and then me and Julieta opened our doors too, and my new room is a giant sandpit! It's gotta be a hundred times bigger than this one!" he explained excitedly. "Pepa's room gave her magic weather powers. And apparently, I should have some kind of special ability too. Mamá calls them our 'gifts'. We just haven't worked out what mine is yet."

"That's so awesome, Bruno!"

"Yeah... but Mamá says I have to get rid of this sandpit now that I don't need it anymore," he said, a little disappointed. "She wants to make a patio out here."

"Does this mean you're leaving us?" asked his other friend sorrowfully.

Before Bruno could answer, Julieta appeared at the door to the dining room. "Bruno!" she called out as she approached the sandpit, "Mamá says she needs to start setting up out here. So you'll have to come inside."

Bruno turned back to his friend. "Don't be silly Jorge," he said with a smile. "Of course I'm not leaving you. You're welcome in my awesome new room any time you like!"

.

Later that day...

Bruno pressed down firmly on the sand in his bucket, flipped it over, and gently tapped it out. He was playing alone in his new room, stacking sandcastles one on top of another to see how high he could make the tower before it collapsed. The sand in his room had been too dry at first, but Pepa had no difficulty introducing some water with her new gift until it was just the right consistency for building. That had worked well for a time, but it eventually started to dry out again. The dryness of the sand caused the higher sections of the tower to crack and crumble. Bruno tried to reshape them with his hands, but that only made it worse, so he gave up and knocked the whole thing down.

He then sat on the sand, staring idly into space and soon found himself daydreaming about the upcoming celebration. How excited the townsfolk would be when he and his sisters tell them about their magical new rooms. He saw them vividly in his mind's eye, smiling, laughing and making merry.

As the daydream continued, Bruno barely noticed at first that the sand around him had begun to move, whipped up by a strong wind. He was shaken aware as he suddenly felt the cold air against his skin, and the world turned an eerie shade of green. It was all he could do to watch as his new room disappeared behind a veil of sand, the green light shimmering against it here and there as it rushed by. He wanted to stand up and run but felt rooted to the spot, unable to move despite his small frame being buffeted by the wind. He closed his eyes tightly, covering them with his hands in the hope that would make it stop, but while he could no longer see the swirling green light, the wind remained. When he opened his eyes once more, he found himself surrounded by many grinning, distorted faces. Their bright pupilless eyes watched him menacingly as they laughed silently from the green, spiralling sand. Bruno let out a scream, and that was enough to break the spell. The sand fell abruptly to the ground, showering over him as it did so. The wind was gone, and silence fell over the room once more. He scrambled to his feet and ran from the room as quickly as he could.

"How wonderful!" Bruno's mother cried out with delight at hearing what had just happened. "This must be your gift."

Bruno was confused. "My gift is making green sandstorms with faces in them?" he said, scratching his head and scattering sand to the floor. "That doesn't sound very useful." He had been hoping his gift would be something like granting wishes or making inanimate objects fly.

"There must be more to it. Let's go back and try again. You probably just got a bit spooked before. You get scared of the silliest of things sometimes," his mother insisted.

Bruno wanted so badly to have a special ability like Pepa's that he ignored the fear and willingly returned to his room with his mother and sisters. After all, she was right. He was often afraid of things only to find out it was nothing to worry about. This was sure to be one of those occasions.

"So where were you sitting?" his mother began.

Bruno pointed to where it had happened. A rippled ring remained in the sand as a reminder of what had played out there not ten minutes earlier.

"Okay, well, sit back down and try to do it again," she urged enthusiastically.

He did as he was asked, sitting himself in the exact same spot as before. Then, with a deep, steadying breath, he closed his eyes and opened them again, hoping to conjure up the sandstorm.

Nothing happened.

"Can you remember what you were doing beforehand?" his mother asked.

"I was just playing with the sand... I'd made a tower, and it started falling down, so I—" he paused as an idea came to his mind. "Wait. I was thinking about tonight... about showing everyone our new rooms."

Bruno closed his eyes again and recalled the images from his daydream. Just as he had hoped, he felt the wind stir around him. He opened his eyes, and as before, he was encased in a dome of swirling sand with flecks of the same unsettling green light.

Pepa gasped.

"His eyes!" Julieta exclaimed.

Their mother reached out her hand to keep her calm. "Let him concentrate."

The same faces appeared again. "Are you seeing this too?" Bruno called out to his family nervously.

"We are," his mother assured him. The faces were smiling and laughing and quickly became complete bodies. "It's people from town."

They continued to watch as the scene honed in on one of the townspeople. A man crouched down on one knee, reaching up towards something. Then, as the image panned out, it revealed a young lady standing before him with her hands clasped to her chest.

"That's Alfonso and Maria!" their mother called out. "I think he's proposing," she added, sounding confused.

Bruno did not know if he had lost concentration or if the magic had simply come to an end, but as soon as his mother spoke that last line, the sand began to fall, and the room returned to normal. Well, almost normal. In front of him lay a rectangular plate of glowing green glass. He looked towards his family, who were beaming with pride and excitement. Smiling back nervously, he dusted himself off a little, then picked up the plate.

"I can make glass? Is that my gift?" He examined it closer and noticed that the image of the couple from the sandstorm was etched into it. Or rather, it was etched within it. As he ran his hand across the surface, it was completely smooth.

His sisters dashed towards him and kneeled on the sand to hug him. His mother followed and took the plate from his hands.

"I have no idea what this means," she said, frowning at the image. "But I must ask that no one mentions this tonight. I'm not even aware that those two are courting, so this could cause great offence. I'll hide it in my room for now, and we will try to work out what this all means after the celebration."

.

Later that evening...

They had intended for the party to be a relatively small gathering to celebrate the children's birthday and the formation of the Encanto, but once Bruno's mother had announced that his sister could control the weather, and revealed their magical rooms, word quickly spread. More and more guests arrived at the Casita, wanting to see the miracle for themselves. Pepa danced around the courtyard creating small clouds and rainbows as she did so, and the party-goers clapped and cheered, touching their hands through the clouds as she went by. Julieta had joined their mother in the kitchen to help make more food for the ever-growing crowd, so Bruno found himself alone under the arches with their friend, Félix.

"Do you think you and Julieta will get magical abilities too?" Félix asked enthusiastically as he watched Pepa dance.

Bruno hesitated for a moment before replying. "Actually..." He leaned in and lowered his voice. "Mamá said I'm not to say anything, but... you can keep a secret, can't you, Félix?"

Félix's eyes widened with anticipation, and he nodded vigorously.

Bruno described to Félix what had happened in his room and then sat back to take in his friend's impressed expression.

Félix looked more confused than impressed, though. He wrinkled his nose and said, "That sounds... weird."

"Well, we haven't worked out what it means yet. But I'm sure it'll be something great," Bruno pouted, a little hurt.

Before Félix could respond, there was a ringing sound, and a man cleared his throat.

"Quiet, quiet... can I have a moment of your attention, please?" he called out, tapping a spoon against a wine glass.

The room fell silent, and the man began to speak. "I'm afraid I've been keeping a little secret from all of you." He paused dramatically for a moment before continuing, "I have been waiting for the right time, and what better moment than the night we learn that the miracle has blessed us once again."

He reached into his pocket and then turned to a lady in the crowd. "Maria," he called out as he took to one knee and presented a ring. "I have never been happier than I have since the day we met. There is no one that I would rather be with until the end of my days. Would you do me the greatest of honours and become my wife?"

Maria clasped her hands to her chest and exclaimed, "Of course!"

The two embraced, and the crowd exploded in a roar of applause as the music struck up again.

"Bruno!" Félix yelled, jabbing him in the side with his elbow. "Do you realise what this means? You can see the future!"

"I... I can?" was all he could muster.

Julieta and Pepa came running over from different directions, and Bruno watched as his mother pushed through the crowd and hurried up the stairs to the second floor.

"Did you see that?" Julieta asked breathlessly.

"That's your gift!" interrupted Pepa before Bruno could answer.

The Casita fell abruptly silent again. Bruno looked up to see that everyone was staring at him, motionless. His mother was standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding the glowing green plate. Not sure what else to do, he stood up and started looking around nervously at the wall of expectant faces. He felt a little nudge on his back as Pepa whispered, "Go one..." He turned to see her, and she beamed up at him with a bright, sunny smile. He swallowed and then started to walk towards his mother as the towering crowd parted to create a path.

"My sweet boy," his mother said when he reached her. Still clutching the plate in one hand, she bent down to his height and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered.

Bruno was dumbfounded but happy. He felt truly special at that moment.

As his mother straightened up, a voice called out from the crowd.

"Can he tell me my future next?"

"Me too... do mine, do mine!"

"I..." Bruno stuttered and looked up at his mother's face. She was glowing with pride, and it felt amazing to know it was because of him. "I can try... I guess..."

.

8 years later...

Since the townsfolk learnt of the Madrigal children's gifts, their birthday celebration had grown into a three-day carnival that spread throughout the entire town. A celebration of the Madrigal children would not be complete without them present, so they were walking the streets together on the final day, greeting everyone as they went. Julieta and Pepa seemed well accustomed to giving the townsfolk a warm reception, but it always made Bruno a little uncomfortable. Whenever he tried to make small talk, he would become tongue-tied and say something dumb, so he preferred to hang back and let the girls do most of the talking.

"Bruno, put your hood down," Pepa insisted, grabbing the hood of his ruana and pulling it from his head. "People need to see us."

"I don't see what difference it makes," he huffed. "They know it's me."

"Oh Pepa, leave him alone. He's not hurting anyone," Julieta interjected, coming to her brother's aid.

"But it makes him look weird." A dark cloud formed above Pepa's head. It had been nearly three years since she started losing control of her gift.

"Pepa, there's a cloud," Bruno pointed out, pulling his hood back up and bracing himself for the rain.

The townspeople began to clap and cheer, clearly assuming Pepa had conjured the cloud for their entertainment. She smiled back at them and gave a little curtsey before swatting the cloud away with her hands.

"Look, it's the Madrigal kids!" came a delighted cry. "Go on.. say hello..."

A little girl ran out from the crowd and towards the triplets. She was smiling widely and holding a jar in her hands.

"Look what I won!" she exclaimed, beaming as she thrust the jar towards the older children.

She shook the jar, and they noticed a tiny fish inside.

"Oh how lovely!" Julieta said with a tender smile.

Bruno could not help but feel bad for the poor little fish being flung around.

"I... I wouldn't shake it like that if I were you... and I'd get it into a bigger container and out of the sun. Otherwise, it could die," he muttered awkwardly from under his hood.

The little girl looked shocked, and hurt that one of the children she looked up to had scorned her.

"Bruno!" Pepa snorted, pulling his hood down again. "Apologise to her right now!"

It was already too late. The little girl had run back to her parents in floods of tears, throwing the jar around as she went.

.

The following day...

Bruno and his sisters had finished cleaning up after their evening meal and were sat in the dining room unwinding with a game of cards before bed. Pepa had just started her turn when the doorbell rang out in the hall, and their mother went to answer it.

"Bruno! Could you come here, please?" his mother ordered.

He looked at his sisters with an exasperated expression as he lay his cards on the table.

"Seriously? At this time of night?" he sighed. "I've had, like, four visions already today."

His sisters said nothing and just watched as he jumped down from his chair and dragged his feet through the kitchen and towards the courtyard. When he took too long, the Casita lifted him along with the floor tiles, which often meant he was in trouble. As he reached the front door and regained his balance, he was surprised to see the little girl from the day before. She was sobbing, and her parents stood behind her with angry expressions.

"What did you say to this girl?" his mother asked sternly.

"Nothing. I... well, I just suggested she might want to get the fish out of the heat and into a bigger bowl," he answered, honestly.

"He said it would DIE!" screamed the girl, pointing at him aggressively. "And now it has!" She started crying even harder.

"Apologise to her," demanded his mother.

"I didn't do anything though," Bruno protested.

"Don't you dare answer back. Do as you're told."

Despite his growing frustration at the unfairness of the situation, Bruno turned to the little girl and said, as sincerely as he could manage, "I'm sorry I said your fish would die."

His mother then turned to the girl's parents. "I will deal with this from here. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."

They said their goodbyes, and then she closed the door, holding her stern expression until it was completely shut.

Bruno then watched his mother's expression change to fear.

"You must be more careful what you say to people, Bruno," she said hurriedly. "Your visions have caused enough trouble lately."

"But that wasn't a vision Mamá," he pleaded.

"I know that, but please, you must try harder not to upset people. Our reputation depends on it. Your visions almost got a man killed, so we have to tread very carefully right now."

"What am I supposed to do?" Bruno asked, becoming more upset by the second, "I can't control the future. I can only tell people what'll happen. How's it my fault if it's not what they want to hear?" He did not mean to, but he had unconsciously raised his voice.

His mother's expression changed to anger.

"Bruno, I will not have you talk to me like that."

Bruno gave up trying to defend himself and walked quickly towards the stairs. The impossible cocktail of emotions was beyond his capability to process, so he just wanted to retreat to his room. While small talk had always been a weakness of his, Bruno never had any trouble when it came to his visions. Visions were easy. There was no thinking of what to say next. A vision provided a script; it told him exactly what to say. Even the follow-up questions people would ask had become predictable and rote, and while he did not exactly enjoy having the visions—they were needlessly noisy and obtrusive things, he at least enjoyed helping people and making his family proud.

At least, that was how it had been for the past eight years. In previous weeks, the visions had started to become awkward too, and he was increasingly finding himself thrown off-script. His gift seemed to be causing more harm than good, and he was already tired of the drama.

When he reached the landing by his father's portrait, Bruno turned to his mother and said in a much lower voice and against his better judgement, "I wish I'd never gotten this horrible gift!"

His mother gasped. His sisters had come into the lobby to see what was going on, and they gasped too.

"How DARE you," their mother yelled. "Get out of my sight, you ungrateful little..." she winced and clutched at her head.

Julieta dashed to their mother's side.

"Migraine?" she asked, handing her an arepa.

"Thank you, darling," their mother replied, taking a bite.

Bruno knew he had gone too far and quickly continued up the stairs, then along the balcony towards his room. In his haste and frustration, he stormed to his door and flung it open, then immediately stopped in his tracks when it was not the sandstone room he had expected. Instead, Bruno found himself at the threshold of his mother's room. Confused and shaken, he stood motionless, staring into the room. The ethereal light of the magical candle swirled and drifted dreamily around the space, and his mother's unmistakable scent filled the air.

He then jumped as a strange spectral man formed out of sand and green light, appeared in the middle of the room. The man suddenly jolted as though some invisible person had grabbed his wrist and then seemed to listen to the unseen person speak. Bruno watched, frozen in fear, as the man walked towards the door. He could not make him out clearly, but as the image drew closer, he could sense terror in his pupilless eyes, and it filled Bruno with a mixture of sorrow and dread. He quickly stepped aside when the man was about to run right into him, and as he did so, the image vanished, blowing away like sand on the wind.

"I thought you were going to your room," Bruno's mother growled as he approached. Pepa and Julieta were at either side, seemingly consoling her after what had just happened.

"I can't. It's gone!"

His mother rose to her feet with a puzzled expression.

"Has he lost his gift?" Pepa suggested with a glance to her sister. "Because of what he said?"

The four of them hurried to the upper balcony. His mother's door was indeed now between Julieta and Pepa's. Its frame raised slightly taller than the other two by a single step. Just as he had said, Bruno's door was no longer there at all. They looked around the surrounding balconies, and it was not there either.

"Will he have to sleep in the nursery?" Pepa asked.

"There's plenty of space in my room," Julieta suggested.

Pepa then started making her way along the balcony and stopped when she reached the steps to the viewing tower.

"It's here!" she called out.

Bruno rushed over and looked up the steps, and there it was. His door; exactly as it had been before, shimmering with golden light. He made his way up to it, turned the doorknob, and then opened the door with a gasp. His sisters ran to his side to see what was wrong, and his mother followed behind.

His room was considerably different. It was still a sandstone structure, and the ground covered with a thick layer of sand, but now there was a short entranceway leading to an hourglass-shaped gateway. A curtain of sand showered down from the gate when he opened the door, but it stopped the second he entered the room, permitting him to pass through. Beyond the gateway, a set of steps hugged the wall and led to the base of a tall cavern. The steps to his vision cave were no longer a neat little spiral staircase. They reached up much higher, winding around the sides of the cavern, and unlike the spiral staircase, they had a rope handrail for safety.

"Where's all my stuff?" Bruno asked, with particular concern for his books.

He quickly made his way up the steps until he reached the vision cave. The cave looked just as it did before, except a strange corridor was now leading to it. He stood in the vision cave, wondering where he would put his bed now that his room and possessions had gone. A stone door then opened up at the back of the cave. It had been completely invisible until then, camouflaged against the imperfect stone. Bruno peered through the door and let out a relieved sigh. It was his room. Virtually identical to how it had been before, except the stairs now only led to his bed. The rope bridge had gone, and there was no longer an entrance to a cave. He smiled at seeing his books and belongings were all there.

"It's fine!" he called down to his family below. "Everything's here!"

.

3 months later...

After Bruno had seen the mysterious man running out of his mother's room, he had been seeing more such apparitions. They always appeared to be formed out of glowing green sand and never lasted for more than several seconds. They made Bruno very afraid, however, and he was constantly on edge, waiting for the next one to appear. What was worse was that when it happened, his eyes would glow with green light as they did during his visions, and it was causing people in town to become wary of him. Some even speculated that if he looked at you and his eyes glowed, something terrible would happen to you soon after. His mother said it was likely his gift spilling into everyday consciousness, but she had no idea how to prevent it. She did, however, suggest that Bruno avoid going outside until they got a handle on it. She was becoming increasingly concerned about the rumours circulating about him, and this felt like the only way to keep him and, of course, the family's reputation, safe.

On this particular day, Bruno had forced himself to sneak into town and was now sitting opposite the priest, anxiously waiting for him to speak.

"Little spills, you say," the priest began after a long and thoughtful pause. "I see." He leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him on the table. He was very young for a priest, maybe in his early twenties, and had a kind demeanour. There was a long silence while he thought to himself, and then he finally continued, "If your gift is spilling into your thoughts when you don't want it to, I would suggest you create some kind of ritual around your visions."

"A ritual?" Bruno replied inquisitively.

"Indeed. It is important to delineate one's space when the time calls for sacred work, in order to make it..." he paused as though carefully considering his words. "Special. Separate from everyday life."

Bruno was hanging on his every word. It felt good to be listened to, and he was relieved that there could finally be a solution to his problem.

"Do you really think that could help?" he breathed.

"Well, I can't claim to understand your gifts. None of us do. But I believe that by creating a ritual, you will teach your mind that there is a time and place for visions and that they're not to happen outside of that."

That did make sense to Bruno. He felt his spirits lift for the first time in months.

"Thank you so much, Father. A ritual... I'll give it a try..." he said, looking up to make eye contact with the priest.

The moment his gaze reached the priest's face, Bruno let out a terrified scream and leapt from his chair, knocking it over with a clatter. The priest's face had changed. Distorted in green light, he had aged considerably. One side of his skull appeared smashed as though he had fallen from a great height. Sand poured from the wound and down the side of his face, reminiscent of blood, and from his lifeless stare, he seemed to be dead.

"I've gotta go.." Bruno said, panicking and fumbling for the door.

"Your eyes! That was a spill, wasn't it?" the priest cried out. His voice was shaking. "What did you see?"

Bruno glanced back at the kindly priest and saw that his face had returned to normal. He knew he could not tell the priest what he had seen. Especially with the way people had been talking about him lately. So he revealed the only part of the vision he could. "You're going to lose all your hair!" he blurted and then fled from the room.

.

13 years later...

Bruno felt the wind the moment he opened his door. Water had gathered on the balcony at the bottom of the steps, and rain fell into the Casita like sheets, creating violent ripples on its surface. Bruno sighed at the realisation he had left his ruana up in his tower. He did not dare be late for his sister's wedding, especially with the mood she was in, but there was no way he could get all the way up there and back in time.

"Casita? Is there anything you can do about the rain?" he asked, unsure what he expected the house to do.

The tiles at the foot of the steps began to shake, creating a narrow, flowing wave along the balcony.

"You want me to follow?" he asked. There was a flash of lightning, followed immediately by thunder.

The tiles started undulating faster, so he stepped out from the cover of the stairway and followed them at a run. They led him past his sisters' doors and along the side balcony until they came to an abrupt stop at a painting on the wall.

"Um, Casita... I'm getting kinda wet here," he remarked impatiently. "Any chance you could get to the part where you help with the rain?" The painting then swung open like a door, revealing a hole in the wall behind it.

Bruno peered inside and saw a narrow passage, just wide enough for a person to fit comfortably. The floor below him started to rise up and down as though trying to push him through.

"You want me to go in?" he asked, completely baffled.

Feeling the rain begin to soak through to his skin, Bruno realised there was no time to argue, so he climbed in. Once inside, the painting closed behind him, plunging him into darkness. There was another flash of lightning, and he could make out his surroundings more clearly for a moment. Picking his way carefully forward, he heard a familiar squeaking a short distance in front of him. Another flash, and he saw that a rat was waiting at a bend in the passage.

"Hey, what are you doing down here?" Bruno asked, recognising the rat from his tower.

The rat waited for him to get close enough to see the next section of passage and then scurried a short distance along it before stopping again as though inviting him to follow.

Bruno followed the rat around several corners, and his eyes soon adjusted to the dark, which helped him avoid the many missing floorboards. They came to another turn, and the rat suddenly stopped and ran up a set of beams on the wall to the left. Bruno looked up and could see there was another floor above. That one had many more missing floorboards and did not appear particularly safe, but he trusted the rat, so climbed up, using the beams as a ladder. He pulled himself up, and another flash of lightning revealed a familiar-looking door a few metres in front of him.

"You've got to be kidding me," Bruno said incredulously. "There's been a short cut this whole time?"

The rat ran up his clothes and perched on his shoulder as he reached forward and touched the stone door with his hand. He gave it a push, and it swung open. Light poured out from the room behind the door. His room. And just as the door opened;

*Bang*

There was a heavy slam from somewhere beyond his room, and the shock sent him flying backwards with a yelp. He felt the edge of the floor beneath his sandal just in time to stop himself from tumbling over. Once he had caught his balance, he stood facing the open door, waiting for his breathing to return to normal while his heart thumped violently in his chest. He glanced sideways at the rat as a realisation came to him.

"It was just the door to the vision cave slamming shut," he reassured the rat, as well as himself. "You see... sometimes, when two doors are opened, the change in air pressure causes a kind of... wait... why am I explaining this to a rat?"

He ran his hand along the stone where the door had been resting, wondering how he had never realised it was there.

"My room really does hate me, doesn't it!"

He then stepped inside and grabbed his ruana.

This is for emergencies only, he thought to himself as he made his way back out the way he came. Nobody needs to know.

Bruno hurried towards the church through the wind and rain, grasping his hood with both hands to keep it from blowing down. As he reached the steps, Félix came out and ran awkwardly down the steps towards him, gripping an umbrella and struggling to stop it from blowing inside-out.

"Woah, woah... Bruno... Bruno," he began, grabbing Bruno's arm and backing him away from the church, "You can't come in here, bro. Your sister's furious with you."

"With me?" Bruno replied, confused. "What did I do?"

"Look around," Félix said, gesturing towards the sky. "Why did you have to tell her it was going to rain?"

"Well, that's not exactly what I—" Bruno stuttered.

Félix cut him off. "Please. You'll only make matters worse if she sees you." He put a hand on Bruno's shoulder and tried to make eye contact, though the hood made it difficult. "Look, let her calm down. If the ceremony goes well, maybe I can persuade her to let you come to the reception, okay."

"I don't care about the reception," Bruno insisted. "I want to see my sister walk down the aisle. This is the biggest day of her life. I should be there."

"Bruno, I'm sorry. That's the best I can do. Please. Go back to the Casita. I'll send someone for you later if I can."

Bruno then watched as Félix ran back up the steps, and the sound of organ music started up inside. The heavy doors closed, and Bruno turned away from the church. Feeling completely crushed, he made his way back home as the rain soaked through his ruana and drenched his guayabera.

.

14 years later...

Everything felt disjointed and out of sync. The guests had been ushered out and returned to their homes, muttering and speculating about the night's events. Family members raced around, having panicked conversations with raised voices, but it was not enough to drown out the heartwrenching sound of Mirabel's devastated crying from the nursery. Bruno knew his sister was in there with Agustín, trying to soothe their daughter's pain, but it would take more than a few arepas this time. He considered joining them if only to support his sister, but the situation was way over his head. The best thing he could do to help was probably to shut up and keep out of everyone's way.

He had just about reached the stairway up to his door, almost back to the solitude he craved, when he heard his mother's voice behind him.

"Bruno..."

His heart sank as he stopped and turned towards her.

"A word, please?" she continued, gesturing towards her door.

Bruno followed her into the room, and his eyes fixed immediately on the candle as it rested in its usual spot on the windowsill. He walked towards it as though drawn hypnotically to the flame. For all the events of the evening, the ethereal dancing light appeared just as vibrant as ever. Bruno anxiously watched the pulsing, swirling orbs emanating from the flame as his mother came to his side and began to speak.

"We need to know why Mirabel didn't get a gift tonight. We need to know that our miracle is okay."

Bruno kept watching the candlelight without looking up. "You want me to have a vision, don't you?"

"Please. You know I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

He felt hopeless, yet there was a distant feeling of comfort in the magical flame as he continued to stare, mesmerised by the light.

"It almost went out, you know," his mother said, noticing his preoccupation with the candle. This finally got him to look at her. "When the door vanished. I saw it flicker," she explained.

Bruno knew exactly what she meant in telling him that, and it terrified him.

"Fine," he eventually said. "I'll do it. Though I can't promise it will help."

"Please Bruno. Do your best. This is important."

"And if I see something bad?" he asked. "What then?"

He needed her to tell him not to worry. That no matter what he saw, she would not blame him. That she would appreciate any help he could offer regardless of the outcome. Instead, she said nothing and just walked towards the door.

"The whole family is counting on you," she said, opening the door.

"I know," he replied solemnly as he made to leave.

As he passed her, his mother suddenly grabbed him firmly by the wrist, causing him to jolt to a halt. He looked up and saw that her demeanour had changed entirely.

"I've put up with your nonsense for long enough, Bruno. If you can't do this for us in our time of need, then I am afraid you will have no place in this family."

That seemed to come out of nowhere and triggered an unpleasant but familiar feeling. It had been well over a decade since the last time Bruno had felt it, but it was once a near-constant companion. It was similar to the knotted feeling you get when you think there is something important you have forgotten to do, but you have no idea what it could be. Only it was much more specific than that. It was the feeling of almost certainty that something was about to go very wrong, but not knowing if it would simply be the loss of a nice saucepan, the need for a new kitchen, or a devastating housefire. Bruno felt it so intensely that it made him dizzy, and he began to feel nauseous.

"You'd kick me out my home?" he gasped.

His mother did not answer his question. She simply let go of his arm and nodded towards the door, inviting him to leave. Bruno quickly left and returned to the balcony. His mother's last words ringing in his ears.

The door to the nursery on the balcony directly opposite was open and Mirabel was now sitting alone on the bed, wiping her tears. Bruno could barely recall the time when he used that room, but he knew that when he cried there, he was never alone. He always had his sisters beside him.

Despite the overwhelming urge to retreat to his tower, and the sickly feeling in his stomach, Bruno continued past his relatives' doors and towards the nursery.

"Knock-knock," he called out brightly, tapping the door as he entered.

Mirabel straightened her glasses and tried to hide her sadness with a smile.

"Tío Bruno. I'm... sorry you came out your tower for nothing," she sniffed, as though she had somehow caused the events of the evening.

Bruno sat beside her on the bed.

"Mirabel... I've no idea what happened tonight, but what I do know is that none of this is your fault," he said gently.

"How do you know that?"

"Well, for a start, I'm Bruno," he joked. "Apparently, I know everything. But seriously, this miracle... well, it's never been perfect. We've never been perfect. Despite what the family wants to believe. You might think it has everyone's best interest at heart, but it doesn't really care what happens to us. We were kids like you once. Just normal, carefree kids. Then one day, this.. this.. 'miracle' blesses us with gifts. Only they're not gifts, Mirabel. They're more like... burdens. Suddenly you're being forced into a direction that's 'best for the community' without any consideration given to what's best for you. If you want my opinion... my honest opinion. I'm glad you didn't get a gift tonight. Because now you get to just be yourself. You get to stay innocent. To have a proper childhood."

He paused for a response, but Mirabel just stared at him as though her young mind was trying to process what he was saying. So he simply added, "I just wish there was something I could do to make this better."

"But there is something you can do, isn't there Bruno?"

Bruno looked up to see his mother standing in the doorway. Had she heard all of that? He stood up and forced a smile for Mirabel. He gave her a reassuring pat on her head and then left the room, squeezing past his mother without a single glance.

"I'm getting to it. I'll come and see you first thing tomorrow," he replied, before finally returning to the comfort of his tower.

.

Later that night...

"No, no, no, no no... This is bad... This isn't happening.."

Bruno was pacing frantically around the vision cave, talking to himself. A newly formed vision lay on the floor, casting its light menacingly around the space.

"I'll say I didn't have the vision... No, she'll kick me out... Okay, then I'll make something up. How hard can that be? No.. she'll want to see it. Why didn't I keep any of them? Not a single one? In all those years? So many visions and I never thought to keep even one?"

He returned to the vision and picked it up. She was older, but it was unmistakably Mirabel. He knew exactly how it was going to look.

Bruno realised he had no other choice. He went to his room, grabbed an empty bag and started throwing in some of his belongings. He tucked a few books under his arm and headed back into the vision cave one last time. The vision was still glowing on the sandstone floor. He picked it up and dropped it as hard as he could against a rock, shattering it instantly.

Once outside the cave, he crossed the rope bridge, took out several matches and set it on fire, ensuring that no one could cross over again. He then hurried down the stairs as quickly as possible, the smell of burning fibres gradually fading as he neared the bottom. He eventually passed through the hourglass-shaped gateway, and the curtain of sand immediately began falling behind him. Once he reached the steps outside, he glanced back as the light of his door quickly faded and went out. He would not be coming home.

He had to be quiet if he was not to alert the family. He would just slip out into the night, and they would never know what happened to him. They would probably not even notice he was missing, to begin with. At least not until his mother became impatient for the vision.

"Julieta?"

He stopped in his tracks as he saw his sister at the bottom of the stairs. "What are you doing up?" he whispered.

"Would you be surprised if I told you I couldn't sleep?" she replied, keeping her voice down too.

Bruno looked in the direction of the nursery. He could imagine the sadness his sister must be feeling. "Well, no... I guess not..."

Bruno's head started racing as he tried to think of ways he could sneak by without her realising what was happening. It was already too late to change his mind.

"You're... leaving, aren't you?" she gasped before Bruno could say anything.

"Julieta, please..shhh.." He moved down the stairs, closer to his sister. "Dolores..."

"It's almost three in the morning," she replied frankly. "She's asleep. Besides, I should wake the whole Casita right now," she threatened, looking at his bag.

"No no.. please, you've got to let me go. Trust me, this is important," Bruno insisted.

"Is this because Mamá asked you to have a vision?" she asked, the pain evident in her eyes. "If you don't want to, then we can say you tried, and it didn't work.. I'll come with you."

"Actually I—" Bruno tried to interrupt, but she kept talking.

"We'll say you've lost your gift.. or.. Or maybe we just try to make her understand how hard it is for you. How hard it's always been. Maybe if she can see things from your—"

"Julieta!" he tried again, and this time she stopped. "I had the vision!"

Julieta clasped her hands to her mouth.

"I had the vision," he repeated. "I don't know why any of you thought I wouldn't."

"You.. you did? Then that's great. What did you see? We should go and get it right now," his sister said excitedly, tugging at the arm that was gripping the books.

"No.. we can't," Bruno explained. "Because I've destroyed it. Just let me leave, please. I have to go." He shook his arm free, and a notebook almost slipped from the pile.

"You destroyed it? Why? What did you see, Bruno?"

He knew he could not tell her, so he chose to stay quiet. He sped up in an attempt to get away from her, but she was quicker and grabbed onto him with both arms, trying to hug him. She was not making this any easier for him. He reluctantly wriggled free and tried again to explain his situation. "I'm sorry, I can't. You have to trust me. Let me leave."

"Your place is here, with us, Bruno!" Julieta pleaded, running after him.

He hesitated at hearing this.

"No it's not. I haven't belonged here for a long time, and you know it. Mamá is ashamed of me, and Pepa can't even look at me anymore."

"Mamá loves you."

"Loves me?" he scoffed, "Who do you think told me to leave?"

"What?"

"She said if I didn't have a vision, I'd have no place in this family."

"If you didn't have a vision... but you did..." She paused for a second and then asked again, "What did it say, Bruno? Why won't you just tell me?"

"It said..." His mind raced for what he could say to make her stop asking. "It said I have to leave the Encanto. That's what it said."

As he hurried towards the front door, with Julieta hot on his heels, Bruno began to worry that she would follow him to the mountains if she could. With one final desperate dash, he reached the main entrance and finally made it outside.

"Casita, please!" he ordered. He was unsure if it would work, but the house knew exactly what he needed at that moment. The wood of the front door quickly rearranged to create a barrier between Bruno and his sister. She grabbed the wood with both hands, and a horrified look of realisation flashed across her face.

"See," he remarked. "Even Casita wants me to go."

He then started to run as fast as he could towards the mountains.