"Tell me, how did it all begin?"
"Begin? Oh… that's an easy one. It all started with a broken plank."
"What…? Explain yourself please."
"That plank couldn't take the blow and broke, letting me fall into the void."
"Where were you?"
"At home…"
"I see… There is no doubt that Casa Madrigal is a world apart. So what happened?"
"I was lucky and managed to grab hold of a bamboo pole, but then the pole also started to break and I was slipping into the abyss. I asked for help, but it was clear that no one would come to my aid: Casita had no power in those corridors and he was running away from me."
"From you?"
"Do you plan to keep interrupting all the time? Because…"
"Excuse me, go on."
"The thing is that I thought he would have already left the house, it didn't make any sense for him to expose himself to being discovered after so many years missing. However, I was wrong: he came back to me. The one that everyone talked so badly about and who was supposed to be a terrifying monster, held my hand with all his might, (it must be said that it wasn't a lot, but still with all of it), and he fought to prevent my fall while throwing at me a shocking look of despair."
"And…"
"Ahem…"
"Oh, right, sorry."
"Do you know what the first words he said to me after ten years without hearing from him were?"
"Uh…"
"It's okay, it was a rhetorical question. He told me: 'You are very sweaty.' Can you believe it?"
"…"
"Now you can answer."
"Uhm…"
"Nevermind. The point is that, although my hand was slipping from his, I didn't have the time to let go: the ground also gave way under him and we both fell. Luckily, I managed to grab onto a root sticking out of the wall and I was the one holding him then. You cannot imagine the relief with which he looked at me; as if he had just discovered that there was a possibility that someone in the world was willing to not let him fall."
"I understand… it must have been a hard life for him. Poor man. And tell me, what happened then?"
"I let him fall."
"What?!"
"It wasn't my fault! Suddenly, a rat peeked out of the sleeve of the arm I was holding and I freaked out and dropped his hand without thinking what I was doing."
"Good God!"
"I tried to catch him again as soon as I realized it, but it was too late."
"So he fell?"
"To the bottom."
"And… how…?"
"Well, it turned out to be a much shorter fall than it seemed. It was all dark and misty, so it looked like an endless precipice, but I don't think it was six feet down from where I was, actually. No harm was done."
"Thank God."
"But do you know what he said to me after I dropped him?"
"Rhetorical question?"
"No!"
"Oh, uhm… 'Did not see that coming'?"
"Are you laughing at him?"
"God, I'm sorry, it was inappropriate, I just thought that a little humor would lighten the mood and since his gift is…"
"No, no, it was to see if it was okay for me to laugh, it was funny."
"Oh, sure, you can."
"Nah, the moment is already over. Anyway, I think it was actually a rhetorical question, how were you supposed to know?"
"So…"
"He didn't say anything. He was used to being dropped… he didn't get angry, or indignant, he didn't even look at me badly; he just said "Bye" and walked out of there trying ridiculously to escape from me. As if I wasn't going to follow him. He made me angry and sad. He was just a poor man, skinny, skittish, lonely... I could feel it: he didn't deserve how people talked about him. And I was right. It didn't take me more than a few minutes to discover that he never wanted to be alone, he loved his family and missed them too. Do you know why he actually left? He did it for me. He spent ten years hiding within the walls so that no one would treat me as they had treated him. He believed in me, took care of me, and sacrificed himself for me."
"And that honors him, but that's not reason enough to…"
"Do you think the story ends there? If I were you, I'd make myself comfortable, I'll be a while yet."
"Alright, keep going."
"He sacrificed himself for me, but he never admitted it; he never took credit for his action. Not even when I specifically asked him did he answer; he just changed the subject. He has always tried hard not to make me feel bad about it; he never laid any blame on me: he just placed his blind faith in me and entrusted the fate of our family to me. Do you know how many people had been willing to trust me with something important up to that point? No one. Some treated me as if I were a nuisance because I wasn't enough the way I am, and others as if I didn't need to be more than I am even though I wasn't enough if that makes sense. But he made me feel capable and valuable. Suddenly, I didn't have to settle for who I was, I had to enjoy it and be proud of myself."
"And that's all very well, but… how do you know you're not confusing gratitude with love?"
"Desperate to avoid such a complicated situation, I also thought about it many times, but if you allow me to continue, you will understand that there are things that cannot be confused with gratitude."
"I'm all ears."
"That day, despite the fact that he never wanted to do it again because of the damage his gift had caused him…"
"Rather we than his gift."
"It's not that I'm going to deny it, but I don't think that you, precisely, want to paint yourself into that corner."
"I will apologize to him as soon as possible."
"You know he will play it down and laugh like a fool."
"But?"
"But it will make him happy."
"Settled, then. So, what did Bruno do?"
"He agreed to have a vision again, the vision that terrified him the most, the one for which he abandoned what he loved most; and he did it just to help me and the family. And you know what? It was strangely comforting to argue with him. I liked that he stood up to me because it gave me the feeling that, for once, he was investing energy in defending his position instead of thinking only of others. Of course, I ended up convincing him, but that's not what we're talking about. And, well, when he was about to start using his gift, not that I'm excited about telling this to you, but… I guess I'm going to have to tell you much worse things, so…"
"Go ahead."
"He put on that expression… firm and determined, as if during those seconds he could control the entire world with the palm of his hands. Then, masculinity I had never seen before came over his features, and, offering me the safety of his grip, he said, 'You might wanna hang on'. It wasn't the time, it wasn't the place, and it certainly wasn't the right person, but I felt incredibly attracted to him. I had just met him, well, met him again, you know, and yet I felt that almost painful need to caress his sad abandoned puppy face, to observe each and every one of his strange hangups and superstitions, to laugh with his ridiculous performances, and clinging tightly to those hands letting that serious and deep face transport me to another world. Then… well, his eyes began to shine and the sand began to fly wildly around us and I finally focused on other matters, but… discovering life with him, walking hand in hand, seemed simply… natural. As if his body filled a hole I never knew had been in mine."
"You two… Uh…"
"His hands; I'm talking about his hands."
"Phew, that's good. I was starting to sweat."
"You can take that thing off if you want…"
"What thing?"
"Doesn't matter…"
"Tell me, how does the story continue? I assume there is more."
"Moments later, he asked me if I would visit him again after saving the miracle. You heard that? Not if I managed to save it but when I did it. Not doubting me for a moment. And then, he gave me a look of hope that changed my world. I was clear about it: I didn't know how or dare to think about it, but I wanted him by my side."
"Compassion?"
"That would have made everything easier."
"So, love?"
"Who knows… Love is something that takes time, you know?"
"Okay, tell me the rest, then."
"Well… the next time he showed up in front of me, it was when I had just reconciled with Abuela. He didn't know that; he was looking for me like everyone else. Well, maybe more clumsily, if you saw him fly on the horse... But, still, he looked for me and, seeing that Abuela was with me, he went toward her and defended me energetically, for a change, taking the blame for everything. He was willing to face her worst fears in order to rescue me. As if ten years of desolation behind him were not enough to carry... But, logically, what he found was the love of his family. Everyone had missed him, everyone loved him, and everyone was hurt by his disappearance, so he, obviously uncomfortable but eager for affection, simply let himself be loved."
"And, how did you feel when you saw that?"
"Gosh! I felt happy! I had recovered my family, I had reconnected with my grandmother, and I could enjoy the tender and innocent smile of that man who, suddenly, no longer seemed so pitiful and tiny. And, then, as you know, with the help of the whole town, we started rebuilding the house, and it was really fun working side by side with everyone, but with him, it felt a little different. When I worked with my sisters or with my cousins, it was rewarding and I felt happy, but when I worked with him… I also felt happy and comfortable but… at the same time… I felt tense. As if every little glance, every casual touch, every smile, or every joke, was interpreted by me as much more than it was; as if I really wanted them to be much more than they were. I didn't want to admit it for obvious reasons, but I was getting into trouble."
"I understand."
"Little by little, physical contact became more and more habitual. Nothing out of the right path, you know? Simply, touching the other's arm when speaking between us, affectionately stroking our heads, holding hands even if it was only for a moment and in the form of a game or to prevent the other from falling… In the eyes of others it could simply seem that we got along well as uncle and niece, but... it didn't go unnoticed to me that he didn't behave like that with the rest of his nephews and nieces; not even with his sisters. They played, joked, chatted, and sometimes even hugged him, but... the way they treated each other was more... familiar. I assumed that he simply felt linked to me in a different way because of that first adventure we had together, that there was something like camaraderie between us, but… I was also beginning to feel bound to him in a different way."
"Different like…"
"Like… well, there was that night…"
