Mirabel

She took a deep, fortifying breath and approached her aunt first. She shivered a little as she stepped under the cloud and snow hit her bare skin, flakes dotting her glasses.

"Tía Pepa?" she asked softly, placing a warm hand on Pepa's arm.

Pepa stopped stroking her hair and looked at her. "What-what is it, chiquita?"

Here we go. "There's something I need to tell you. You and Mamá. At the table. ¿Por favor?"

Pepa hesitated for only a split second before nodding once.

Mirabel nodded back, and crossed the room to the dining table.

Agustín looked up and gave her a small smile as she approached. When she couldn't muster up one of her own, he gave her an understanding look and reached out to her with his free hand.

"Your mamá's not injured, Mira," he said, taking her hand and smoothing his thumb over her knuckles. "She'll be alright."

Mirabel swallowed hard. She wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around her father and cry into his vest, as if he could fix all her problems. But she only let herself give his hand a squeeze and put her other hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Mamá?"

Julieta's head jerked up at Mirabel's voice, and she turned to look at her youngest daughter. Mirabel felt a horrible guilt pool in her stomach at seeing her mother's blotchy face and red-rimmed eyes.

"Mirabel," Julieta said. Her lower lip trembled. "That was-that was him, wasn't it. In the barn."

Mirabel nodded, and her heart broke at the devastated expression on her mother's face.

"What are you talking about?" Pepa asked, confused.

Mirabel took another deep breath and let it out again. She sat down next to her mother and took her hand. Pepa slowly sat down across from the trio, watching Mirabel closely.

"I went to the Encanto," Mirabel blurted out, before she stopped again. She looked at Agustín, then Julieta, then Pepa. "I wanted to…to see it for myself, and…pay my respects. But when I got there, I realized I wasn't alone."

Julieta nodded while Agustín's face scrunched in concern. Pepa sucked in a breath.

"Monstruo," she whispered. "Oh, Mirabel, did it hurt you—?"

Mirabel shook her head. "No. No, he didn't hurt me, Tía. I almost hurt him."

And for the second time that week, the whole story came spilling out.

She couldn't bring herself to tell them everything. She left out the plates, and she left out the story Bruno had told her about his imprisonment. Some things were too painful to repeat.

But she told them about their first meeting in Casita, and about the brief vision he'd had in front of her, the one that sparked her curiosity, and saved her from being crushed inside the house.

"He had a flash in front of me," Julieta interrupted then. Agustín squeezed her shoulders. "That's how I knew it was him. When we were kids sometimes…sometimes he'd get confused." She glanced at Mirabel. "He'd mix up the present and the future and react to something we hadn't done yet."

"I think he had a nightmare this morning," Mirabel whispered. She swallowed. "He wouldn't talk to me about it."

"The nightmares were worse," Pepa said. Her snow turned to rain above her. "The dream and the vision would mix, and he couldn't always tell which was which. That must have been why he was so spooked when he saw you, Lieta. He probably confused you for a—a nightmare version of you."

Julieta's face crumpled and she looked away.

Pepa turned on Mirabel then. "You should have come to us straight away, the second you got home. He was the stranger from the bus, wasn't he? Wasn't he?"

Thunder rumbled.

Mirabel's mouth was dry. She nodded. "I-I wanted to, but…but when the others reacted badly we decided to wait—"

"The others?" Pepa asked, her eyebrows raising into her hair. "Who else knows about this?"

"Um," Mirabel said, wincing. "All the kids?"

"Ay, Dios mío," Pepa muttered, sitting back in her chair. "That's why you've all been so buddy-buddy lately. I thought you were all just avoiding Mamá." She ran a hand over her face. "When were you planning on telling us, eh? Just whenever it was convenient for you?"

"Pepa—" Agustín said, frowning, but Pepa waved him away as the wind began to pick up around her.

"No, no, I want to hear it from Mirabel," she snapped. "I want to understand why she'd thought it'd be a good idea to keep our brother from us, who we thought was dead for thirty years—"

"He didn't want me to!" Mirabel cried, standing up so abruptly her chair fell over with a bang. Her eyes burned. "He wanted to wait until after the wedding so people wouldn't freak out!"

Pepa stood and her cloud grew above her, swirling and sparking with lightning. "People wouldn't be freaking out if you'd just told us in the first place!"

"ENOUGH!" Agustín shouted, leaping to his feet. They turned to him, wide-eyed. Mirabel didn't think she'd ever heard her father shout before.

He put his hands on both of their shoulders and sighed deeply. "Both of you—enough. This doesn't accomplish anything."

Thunder rumbled again, and Pepa took a deep breath. Her hands drifted back to her braid, and she muttered, "Clear skies, clear skies, clear skies…" Slowly, her cloud shrank.

Mirabel swiped a hand across her eyes under her glasses. Then, she frowned. "Where'd Mamá go?"

Agustín blinked and looked around the kitchen.

Pepa's wind picked up again. "Lieta? ¿Dónde estás? Lieta?"

The back door swung shut with a soft click.


Dolores

Her head was pounding, her eyes ached from crying, and all she wanted to do was crawl under a blanket and slam her hands over her ears, but she forced herself to keep listening. She filtered through the jumbled voices of her scared neighbors, catching snippets of conversation and disregarding them, searching for the one voice she could recognize anywhere.

But Mariano's normally loud, boisterous voice was silent. She brushed more unbidden tears from her eyes and tried to concentrate.

"This way—"

"Have you checked—"

"—here, over here—"

She wasn't sure he'd be willing to listen to her now, and she swallowed painfully around the lump in her throat. He wouldn't want anything to do with her or her family after this, she was certain. Not after he found out they—she—had kept something else from him.

But she couldn't let him hurt her tío, either.

"Mariano, are you sure…"

"Sí, Señor Castillo."

Dolores sighed in relief. Mariano was talking to her father. She could talk to them both, explain everything.

She followed their voices and found them on the edge of town, conversing in low tones. Dolores ran up and joined them, a little out of breath. She avoided Mariano's gaze.

"Lola, what are you doing here?" Félix asked, looking at her with concern.

"Papi—Papi, you have to call off the search," Dolores whispered.

"¿Por qué?" Félix asked. He glanced at Mariano and lowered his voice. "Did you hear something, mi luz?"

Dolores shook her head. "No, but—" Her eyes filled with tears.

"Ay, Dolores, what's wrong?" Félix asked gently. He reached for her hand and she clung to it.

"The monster is Tío Bruno!" Dolores cried, the truth bursting out. She winced at her father's shocked expression. "Mirabel went to the Encanto," she said in a rush. "She found Tío Bruno—he didn't die—he'd been cursed by the witch who attacked Mami when they were kids. Mirabel brought him here and—we were going to tell everyone! But we weren't sure how or when, with the wedding, and so many people around who didn't-didn't know about the magic, and-and now—" Dolores sobbed. "Now it doesn't even matter, with the wedding off, but-but, we can't let them hurt him, Pá—"

Félix pulled her into his arms, shushing her gently. Dolores pressed her face into her father's guayabera, shuddering.

"Hush, mi amor," Félix said soothingly, rubbing circles into her back. "It'll be alright."

"What about Antonio?" Mariano asked quietly. "If this monster is…is your tío, then what happened to—"

"Tío Bruno would never hurt Toñito," Dolores said fiercely, pulling away from her father and wiping her eyes. "Never. He was…frightened, and we think Antonio went with Parce to look for him. Luisa, Isabela, and Camilo are out looking for them now."

"And…who is Parce?" Mariano asked.

"Toñito's jaguar friend," Dolores said. She winced. "Lo siento, um, he-he can talk to animals."

"Ah…" Mariano said, processing.

"Lola, mi luz, you told him?" Félix whispered. Dolores nodded, and her father gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Then…what is this about the wedding being off?"

He glared at Mariano.

Mariano looked baffled for a moment, then resigned. He bowed his head, addressing Dolores, "I respect your decision, amor—Dolores. I…I reacted very badly. I understand if this means you'd rather call off our engagement and—"

Dolores couldn't breathe. She shook her head rapidly, cutting him off. "No, I-I thought you didn't—that you were too angry—"

"I was angry," Mariano said softly. "And I wish…I wish that you had trusted me. But…I love you. I love you, Dolores, all of you, magic included. And I'd much prefer you in my life, even…even if your tío's a monster?" He gave her a small, confused smile.

Dolores cracked a smile. "Sorry. Comes with the territory."

Félix nodded in agreement. He slapped Mariano's back, and the younger man grunted. "Could be worse, hombre," he said cheerfully. "Agustín found out when Pepa hit him with lightning."

Mariano's eyes widened and the older man laughed.

"I'll go spread the news that Antonio's safe," Félix said, backing away. "Hopefully that'll be enough to get most of the village back home."

Mariano nodded. "I'll catch up with you in a minute."

Félix waved him off. "Take as long as you need."

Mariano folded Dolores into his arms the second Félix was gone and she embraced him, burying her face into his neck.

"I'm sorry, mi amor," he murmured so only she could hear. "I'm sorry I made you doubt—that my emotions got the better of me today. And…and I'm sorry for sending a mob after your tío."

Dolores laughed wetly, before leaning back and kissing him, soft and sweet. When they broke apart, she said, "I'm sorry too. For not trusting you. No more secrets?"

Mariano kissed her again. "No more secrets," he agreed. He frowned a little. "What can you hear now? Will your tío be alright?"

Dolores tilted her head. She gasped, rocking back. Mariano's hands tightened on her arms, his brow furrowing in concern.

"Amor?"

Dolores felt twin tears escape and trail down her cheeks. "Someone's been shot."


Bruno

Nothing was in order.

Antonio, cradled in his arms—

Snow in the orchard—

Antonio, falling—

A loud bang, a flash of light—

Julieta pushing on his chest—

A flowering jacaranda tree—

A jaguar, leaping from branch to branch—

Then, his world tilted.


Translations:

1. Dónde estás - where are you

2. Por qué - why

3. Guayabera - a formal men's shirt popular in Colombia

4. Mi luz - my light

5. Hombre - man