Sorry for the long wait, but sometimes I tend to procrastinate. This chapter has lots of laughs, so enjoy reading! :)
Chapter Six: Mariano Problems
Back at Casita, everything was quiet. Faaaaar too quiet...To be honest, it made Isabela quite restless. The quiet only signified that something was coming...She had spent all this time on the veranda, keeping watch for anyone coming up to the house. That was what Abuela had asked of her, and she was determined to do a good job! All she had to do was wait for the rest of the family to return from their search for Tio Bruno, wherever he was, or just wait for him to return on his own without being seen.
Isabela shuddered upon realizing that if that was the case, Bruno would be looking like someone else. But there was no way of knowing who that someone else would be. He could be seeing the present through the eyes of anyone right now!
There hadn't been any visitors since Moises Perez dropped by with his escaped-donkey problem. Luisa must have rounded up the herd by now, so Isabela guessed her sister had joined in the search for Bruno, too. With all scenarios covered, the best way to help now was to simply watch for anyone coming up the path. Hopefully no other visitors would drop by. It wasn't a good idea for the town to know about her uncle's new ability. Not until he learned how to control it, at least...
Comforted by all these logical thoughts, Isabela stopped her fretful wandering. She conjured up a tree-stump chair and took a seat on the veranda, ever diligent.
"Any sign of them, Isa?" Augustin popped his head out the kitchen window. "Or of anyone, for that matter?"
"No, Pa. Stop asking." Isa slumped into her tree-throne, not bothering to keep perfect posture. She played with her braided pigtails, getting tired of watch-duty. Colorful pollen footprints were all over the place, evidence of her own pacing.
Augustin disappeared back inside. He was manning the house, in case anyone entered from the front door. Like his daughter, he didn't enjoy being kept in the dark like this. If only Dolores hadn't gone out for a lunch date! She could listen for any commotion in town, if Bruno had ended up possessing one of the neighbors by accident. Such a thought was terrifying! But Abuela would surely take care of a worst-case scenario and explain everything to the townsfolk.
Meanwhile, Isabela decorated her throne with wild vines to entertain herself. The Madrigal's land was vast; anyone coming this way would be spotted pretty easily. She had been out here ever since Mirabel and Camilo sprinted off at top speed towards the winding nature path. Abuela, Felix and Antonio had also left, heading into town. And her mother and tia were upstairs in the tower, keeping an eye on Bruno's unoccupied body.
With not much to do, Isabela was getting bored and rather thirsty. It couldn't hurt to step away from her post for a minute and grab something from the kitchen. "So much for the family football game this afternoon...I was looking forward to running around in the dirt." She stepped inside for something to drink.
"Any sign yet?" Augustin popped into view again, this time from the courtyard.
"No, Pa! Now, stop pacing! We're only wearing out Casita's floor." The kitchen tiles flipped around the room in spirals, agreeing. To distract her father, Isa conjured up several tropical wildflowers and laid them out on the counter. "Would you like a new boutonniere? That pink one you've got is a bit outdated, you know."
The sweet gesture relaxed Augustin considerably. While he examined the bright colors, Isabela poured them some lemonade. She took a glass back outside to resume watch duty, with Augustin soon joining her, wearing a new blue flower in his lapel and sipping the lemonade anxiously. "All this uncertainty makes me nervous. I sure hope the others can find him..."
"They will. We just have to be extra sets of eyes so there isn't a chance for—" Isabela paused mid-sentence. A flicker of movement in the distance caught her attention.
The beginnings of the scenic back road could be seen from here. The path began at the very edge of town and disappeared into the treeline; a most pleasant route that snaked all around the town's perimeter. Isabela was positive the flickering shadow was someone heading this way. She squinted harder to be sure. And sure enough, emerging from the tree-lined path came—Mariano?
She and Augustin glanced at one another. Mariano wasn't really the nature-walk type. If ever he did spend time in nature, it was usually to relax in a quiet clearing to write poetry or do some reading. Seeing him burst out of the trees with so much energy was odd. Wasn't he supposed to be in town with Dolores? What raised eyebrows even more: the way he was frantically running this way like a maniac.
Isabela stood, suddenly having a sneaking suspicion...well, the idea wouldn't be all that weird, given the way this afternoon was going.
She and Augustin watched Mariano sprint with tremendous speed—faster then they'd ever seen him go—all the way up to the house. He screeched to a halt on the veranda, seemingly relieved to be here. "Made it!" Mariano breathed. The man brushed stray locks of wavy hair out of his face and turned to blink at them with—glowing green eyes?
Isabela gasped. To see Mirabel hold such power was one thing, but a non-Madrigal? That was even more unexpected. "T—Tio Bruno?"
The man who looked like Mariano panicked on reflex and rapped his knuckles on the back of the tree-stump chair. "Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock! Knock on wood!" Taking a deep calming breath, he stood up straighter. "Yes, it's me. I'm back. Hi! So, how are things going over here?"
Augustin's jaw hit the floor yet again. But he recovered faster this time around. "Bro, is that you? You're Dolores' boyfriend?"
"Not at first! And don't say it like that! You make it sound weird!" Bruno cried out in horror. He desperately tried to get ahold of himself. "But more on that later. Are my sisters still up in the tower?"
"Yes, but what do you mean—"
"Great! Goodbye!" Bruno speedily dashed between them, knocking on the chair a final time for an extra bit of luck. The tiles of Casita flipped around in happy greetings, but he hardly said hello in the rush to get inside. To see the ever cool-and-calm Mariano like this was certainly strange.
"Wait! What do you mean 'not at first?' What happened?" Augustin was about to follow, but stopped upon seeing Mirabel running up the path next, accompanied by Luisa instead of Camilo. What was going on? "Girls, where did you find your uncle? He wasn't in town, was he?" Augustin asked his daughters, concerned as they hurried over completely out of breath.
"Don't worry, Pa." Luisa began in much better shape than Mirabel, who was huffing and puffing. "Tio Bruno bumped into me at the Perez farm; he ended up having to round up the donkeys! It was so weird, not being in control of my own body. But don't worry; I don't think Senor Perez suspected anything. He thought I had sunstroke."
"What?! Not another one of my little girls!" Augustin wavered on the spot. He pointed a thumb in the direction 'Mariano' had gone. "B—But then how did—?"
"Take it easy, Pa! Here, have a seat and you'll feel better in no time…" Luisa carried her father to the tree-stump chair, lemonade and all, and did her best to explain.
Isabela pulled Mirabel aside. "To be honest, I don't want to know what happened, sis. Just go upstairs and find a way to fix this mess you two started!"
Mirabel grinned apologetically. "Right. Working on it! Whew…!" She took a few moments to catch her breath before dashing inside to catch up with Bruno. "Even when being someone else, how does that man run so fast?!"
…
Now more distraught then ever by all the happenings of this afternoon, Bruno hurried through the courtyard. Casita kept trying to get his attention by waving the floor tiles and even the stairs—which made them hard to climb. "Hola, Casita, I'm back. Can you let me up, please?" The house helped him along by moving the steps he stood on, sliding all the way up the staircase and onto the balcony in a blink.
Bruno kept every finger crossed, praying that there wouldn't be any more incidences before he even reached the tower. Nothing else could go wrong! He paused upon walking by the big mirror hanging on the wall. Seeing the reflection of someone else looking back with the glow of his magical gift sure was weird. "Huh. So that's what it looks like..."
Bruno observed how disheveled his now short and wavy hair had become from all the running. He quickly fixed it. Mariano was aware of what was going on and probably freaking out right now, so the least Bruno could do was try and reassure him. "Don't worry about a thing, Mariano!" he said to the reflection that followed his every move. "This won't last long, I promise! I just need my family to help me come up with a new plan, and this will be over before you know it!"
On the balcony railing, a trio of rats was sitting in a row, staring. They appeared to be most concerned…
"Hi, guys! Am I ever glad to see you! I'm having the worst day ever..." Bruno picked them up without hesitation. He could always count on his little friends for reassurance. Two of them crawled up his arm to perch on his shoulder and head, respectively, while the third rested in his hands to get more scratches behind the ears.
Bruno instantly felt calmer. The sound of Mirabel's rapid footsteps were not far behind. But he was too anxious to reach the tower to wait for her, so he hurried towards the door to his room. The rats held on tightly for the ride.
…
"Hm." Dolores peeped upon listening in. "Mariano's not going to be happy about rats crawling all over him."
"Are you still worrying over your boy toy?" Camilo teased as he followed her through town. "Relax! All Bruno needs is a quick little scare and then—"
"I'm not sure what your plan is, hermano, but you are not getting possessed!"
"Aw, come on!" Camilo whined. "Why do I have to go with you and miss out on all the fun?"
"Because we all know what you're like." Dolores ushered her mischievous brother along by the arm. This was the moment he decided to shapeshift into Mariano and make kissy faces at her. "Stop that!" She gave him a light smack, changing him back.
"Alright, alright. But I still say being able to see the present might be really useful. It's like being the ultimate spy! Kind of like you!"
"Camilo…" Dolores was really losing her patience. The two of them hurried along the streets, doing their best to walk at a normal pace so as to appear inconspicuous. "Now, we have to find Abuela, Papa and Antonio. They still have no idea Tio Bruno made it home already! And don't torment him later, alright?"
"Fine…" Camilo sighed. Still, he tried to think up a creative way to work around Dolores' little rule.
The streets were crowded, for everyone in town was out and about. As far as the rest of the community was concerned, it was a warm, sunny, pleasant Saturday. People were strolling the streets, running errands, chatting with friends and playing games, all quite happily. As the brother and sister traversed their way along on their urgent mission, several friends stopped them to say hello and catch up. Unfortunately this happened every few minutes; it was quite frustrating, given the rush to find the rest of the family. So Camilo came up with a unique solution: he ducked out of sight between some houses and shapeshifted into Mariano yet again.
"Will you stop that? This is serious." Dolores whispered crossly, putting her hands on her hips as he emerged.
"Hey, if people see you making goo-goo eyes at your boyfriend, no one will want to interrupt that, right?" Camilo offered her an arm, still making mushy faces.
Dolores rolled her eyes, but admitted it was a fair plan to avoid more delays. So she took her brother's arm to better sell the ruse and they headed out again towards the market. "No more joking around, Camilo! And please keep quiet."
"Whatever you say, my sweet little—ow!" Camilo got another smack, but kept his shape together. Although he looked like Mariano, he still sounded like himself; voices were a lot harder to imitate then physical forms, and some required more practice.
Finding the rest of the family was easy; all Dolores had to do was focus her ears on their familiar voices. Abuela was the closest, in the marketplace talking to the owners of a fruit stand—a whole flock of hungry toucans had made a real mess of their display, judging by all the complaining. The birds were still flying around the market when Dolores and Camilo arrived at the square. Pieces of mango were strewn everywhere, with the bolder toucans hopping around on the ground, chowing down and avoiding the feet of passing people. All the neighboring market stall owners were quite amused by all the carnage.
"Alma, perhaps Antonio could have a word with all of these birds? I don't know what's gotten into them..." the man from the fruit stand was talking to Abuela, who stood among the smashed fruit trying to diffuse the situation.
"Juan, it's the family's day off, remember? But Antonio is in town with his father. If he comes by, you can ask him to help, but not every problem needs magic to be solved." Abuela gently reminded. "That's something the community needs to start remembering, don't you agree?"
Camilo, still disguised, snickered. Little did Abuela know that it was Bruno who had given the toucan flock permission to raid the fruit stand in the first place, during Antonio's brief possession.
The ruse of Dolores arm-in-arm with 'Mariano' seemed to be working; instead of having townsfolk coming up to chat, only friendly waves came their way. No one wanted to interrupt the happy couple on a date. The ruse helped them cross the marketplace much faster. Dolores quickly tuned her ears in to the nearby streets. "Oh, good. Pa and Antonio aren't too far from here. Let's just tell Abuela quickly and then go find them."
"Of course, carino! Whatever your wish, it shall be—ow!" Camilo winced again.
"Ah, Dolores! Excellent timing, running into you." Abuela noticed them. She bid goodbye to Juan, who decided to start cleaning up the mangoes and worry about speaking with the toucans some other day. Abuela then took Dolores and 'Mariano' aside, speaking in a hushed tone. "I'm assuming you two have heard the shenanigans happening at home?"
"You bet, Abuela! I was there!" Camilo spoke in his own voice.
"Wha—? Camilo, stop pestering your sister!" Abuela frowned in disapproval. "Aren't you supposed to be with Mirabel? We agreed to search for Bruno!"
Dolores tried to explain, "It's a long story, Abuela. You see—"
"There you are, mi hijo!" exclaimed a sudden someone. The three of them all turned to see Senora Guzman, smiling cheerfully and coming this way.
"Hm." Dolores squeaked uneasily, eyes as big as saucers. She went as stiff as a statue.
Camilo was put on the spot. Senora Guzman walked up and grasped both his hands as a loving mother would. "I'm so sorry to cut your day short, Mariano, but I need your help at home with—" She flinched suddenly. Her eyebrows raised with confusion, then lowered in suspicion. "What on earth? Camilo, is that you?"
His jaw fell open in shock. (Along with Abuela's and Dolores', both amazed at how fast the trick was discovered.) He shifted back into himself, totally confounded at how his perfect disguise failed. "How did you know it was me? I didn't even say anything!"
Senora Guzman laughed. "Oh, I would recognize my Mariano anywhere. And you are most definitely not him. Nice try, but mothers can always tell!" (Here, Abuela smiled in agreement.) "But where is Mariano? I'm having some friends over for dinner, and I need help with a few repairs around the house. The table wobbles terribly, and he promised he would fix it today."
Abuela, still unaware of Bruno's little misadventure with the donkeys, turned to her granddaughter. "Dolores?"
"Hm. He's uh...back at Casita!" she burst out, far louder than usual, earning some looks from nearby people. "I hear him there now! He, uh, must have thought I was heading straight back home after our lunch date!"
Despite his sister silently pleading for help, Camilo just grinned and watched her panic.
"Uh—um—why don't you go on home, Senora? I'll send Mariano your way! Don't worry about a thing! He's fine!" Dolores spun Senora Guzman around and ushered her off. "I'll go back to Casita and get him!"
Bewildered, Senora Guzman didn't leave right away. She stared with concern at Dolores' panicked face, Camilo's snickering grin, and Abuela's extreme confusion. "Uh...is everything OK? Did he eat something at lunch that didn't agree with him?"
Luckily, Abuela sensed something was up. "It's alright, Rosa, I'll get to the bottom of it."
Senora Guzman sent her friend a grateful smile, although she still looked a tad worried. She left wringing her hands worriedly, while Abuela confronted her granddaughter. "Dolores, that was certainly no way to speak to your carino's mother! Now, I would appreciate it if one of you would tell me what's going on?"
"Hm." Dolores steered her grandmother away from prying ears and whispered quietly, "You see, Abuela, Mariano is sort of busy being Bruno—or maybe it's the other way around?"
Abuela gasped in horror. "Oh dear, not another one...My poor boy is most definitely having a bad day..."
Camilo dramatically stepped in front with great enthusiasm. "Don't sweat it, Abuela! I'll run ahead and tell Tio to—"
"Oh no, you don't!" Dolores grabbed her brother's sleeve before he could run off. "Don't even think about following through with that silly plan of yours! You're going to find Pa and Toni! They're on the other side of the main square, near the chapel. Antonio has a jaguar friend with him, and Pa is struggling to keep up."
"Hmph. Fine, I'm going! But I'm still gonna talk to Tio Bruno one way or another!" Camilo begrudgingly went off through the market, heading straight towards the town square. There was no point arguing in front of Abuela. Besides, if Antonio had recruited a jaguar, he and Felix wouldn't be hard to find. Just find the crowd of marveled onlookers…
Dolores held Abuela's arm and gently steered her away in the opposite direction. A lot of people had noticed the outburst with Senora Guzman; it wasn't like the quiet Dolores to become excited, so she definitely got some odd looks as they hurried through the streets. She remained tense and nervous while whispering about how Luisa had accidentally gotten possessed, and everything after that.
Abuela tried to match Dolores' frenzied pace as they hurried home to get Mariano back. Senora Guzman wouldn't wait for very long...
…
Pepa and Julieta kept waiting patiently. The vision dome was still standing strong, with the physical Bruno (along with several rats) still trapped inside. The walls remained motionless and wavered with green magic, but without a trace of wind. Nothing had changed. It had been a while since their brother had snapped out of the bizarre trance, but the moment had only lasted a split second before his mind was pulled away again.
Pepa didn't want to say it aloud, but she suspected Bruno had had some kind of run-in with yet another unfortunate victim...the thought made her shudder. How much mayhem was their mother going to have to quell? How many friends and neighbors knew about what was going on? Was Bruno going to be OK when this vision of the present ended? How was he going to end it at all?! All of Pepa's worried thoughts manifested in the form of an ominous grey cloud that spread all across the tower's ground floor. Thankfully she was just calm enough that it wasn't storming or raining, thanks to Julieta.
Her sister also sat in the sand next to the vision dome, talking softly to keep a level head over the situation. "Wherever he is, Pepi, I'm sure he's alright. Even if he ended up on the other side of town, he's good at staying hidden from people, right?"
Pepa almost chuckled. That was certainly true. "I'm still going to get back at him for possessing Antonio!"
Julieta turned at the sound of the tower door opening. Someone had just come into the entrance hall, the sound of their steps echoing. "Is that you, Mama? Did you find him?" There was no reply as the unseen figure made their way along the winding path of the oasis garden. All the cacti and palm trees made them hard to see until they reached the sandy clearing.
The sisters were extremely surprised to see Mariano, alone. He swiftly walked over, one hand shielding his eyes while the other was raised with crossed fingers. This bizarre body language wasn't like him at all...Pepa and Julieta glanced at one another, thinking the same thing...no matter the circumstances, they would recognize their brother anywhere.
When 'Mariano' casually joined them by sitting cross-legged in the sand, Julieta reached over to pull the hand away from his face—she promptly went wide-eyed herself. "Oh my!" She couldn't help giggling with relief and amusement. "There's our handsome little brother!"
"Haha, that's very funny..." Bruno shook her away impatiently, answering with Mariano's voice.
"Hermano! What are you doing in there?!" Pepa was far from amused. "Did you interrupt Dolores' lunch date?"
"No! I was doing Luisa's chores!"
"That...raises more questions then answers." Julieta was about to ask, but became distracted by another pair of footsteps running at full speed. It was none other then Mirabel, out of breath from trying to keep up with her uncle.
"Mama! Tia!" she panted upon seeing the triplets. "I see you figured it out?"
Pepa asked crossly, "Mira, what happened with Luisa? And why is Bruno my daughter's boyfriend?"
"Ah! Quit saying it like that!" Bruno promptly lay on his back in the sand. "I have never, nor ever will be anyone's boyfriend!"
"Oh, Bruno, don't be so hard on yourself," Julieta patted his arm soothingly. "Now, you just lie down and relax until the others get back. We'll think up with another plan to help you, alright?"
"OK...But I doubt anyone in town will think very highly of me when they hear about this…" Bruno groaned.
"Want us to scare you out of there? All it takes is a jump-scare or a surprise of some kind, right?" Pepa asked. She could easily startle her brother within the next few minutes when he least expected it. One zap of lightning was all it would take!
"NO! I might end up possessing one of you!" Bruno cried out, rolling away without getting up and getting Mariano's clothes covered in sand. "It'll be much safer if we just sit here and do nothing until everyone gets back…" All this jumping between bodies was driving him crazy! A soft, comforting sandy floor was exactly what he needed right now.
While Mirabel explained the whole Bruno-trying-to-be-Luisa scenario to Pepa and Julieta, a few stray rats scuttled over to greet him. "Hey there, little guys…" Bruno allowed them to crawl onto his chest as he lay there. "I'm so sorry about all this. I'm really getting tired of seeing the present, you know?"
Trying to find a bright side, at least he was the gender he was most comfortable being, and Mariano was fit and healthy, unlike his scrawny, skinny self. So being in this body wasn't so bad. It was quite interesting how his rat friends could always tell it was him, no matter what host he overshadowed. Wait, was Mariano squeamish about rats? Bruno wasn't sure, but desperately needed his little companions near. He kept one close for comfort, petting it gently, but all the others were at arm's length, just in case Mariano was nervous about small critters.
Bruno looked over at the vision dome and gazed through the sandy wall at his true self, which sat there in an unbreakable trance. Out of the five grounding piles of burning foliage, there was only one left. The few rats trapped inside were snoozing on his body's head and shoulders, quite content and way more relaxed then he was. Bruno sighed...He was at a loss on what to do next. Once the rest of the family returned, they could pitch more ideas on how to fix this ever-growing problem. Hopefully Mariano wouldn't mind being possessed for just a little bit longer…
"And you're sure nobody else knows about this?" Julieta double-checked with Mirabel, who had finished telling of the misadventure in town. "Thank goodness…" Julieta breathed in relief. She went to check on her brother.
Meanwhile, Pepa was laughing in hysterics at the thought of Bruno getting turned into a girl again.
Bruno hadn't moved. Still lying on his back in the sand, staring at the (very) far away ceiling in a state of semi-shock, he petted the rats quietly. All the knocking on wood wasn't helping the situation. There just didn't seem to be any point fighting this problem anymore! He barely reacted when Julieta's face loomed overhead.
"Hermano, while you were gone, Pepa and I thought of something else to try. What if we just waited for the foliage to burn out?"
He sat up quickly. The rat on his forehead fell into his hands with an indignant squeak. "That's right! The grounding fires take forever to burn if no one stamps them out! Why didn't I think about that before?"
"Maybe because you're panicking so much." Julieta pointed out, knowing how easily he became overwhelmed. She pointed at the single pile of cactus flowers that remained. "If we wait just a little longer, something might happen. Pepa, remember when we were kids and Bruno tried to see the answers to that spelling test ahead of time?"
Pepa snorted, still in fits of laughter. "That was my idea! Mama never found out we cheated."
"Yeah, it took a lot longer then we thought," Bruno added. "I only used one fire to stay grounded, but it burnt out and the vision went haywire! Then it just ended on its own. I still got the test answers, though."
Upon hearing all this, Mirabel was itching for more details. "You guys have gotta tell me about that later. Or I'm telling your mom you cheated!"
"You wouldn't!" Pepa faked being offended. She was in a much better mood now, given the absence of any thundering clouds overhead.
Bruno jumped to his feet energetically—a move most unlike Mariano—and went closer to the vision dome to peer inside. Sure enough, the last grounding pile was slowly on its way out. If all he had to do was wait, it wouldn't be too much longer. The anxious tight feeling in his chest loosened as he sat down in the sand again. Until that last pile burned out, he resolved not to go far. "OK...I can do this, I can do this...I'm calm, I'm in control, and I can fix this…"
"Don't worry, Tio, we can totally play the waiting game." Mirabel remained optimistic. "And then we're never doing an experiment like this again!" She didn't get much reaction from Bruno, so she turned to her mother. "That theory makes a lot of sense, Mama. So are you going to tell me about when you three cheated on a test by using magic?"
Julieta giggled at the memory. "Maybe later, sweetie. I just want to keep an eye on my brother right now...and Mariano too, I suppose. The poor man won't be happy when his turn in over."
Both Mirabel and Pepa nodded. Mariano was a sensitive sort and got upset easily. They had half a mind to give Bruno a scare just so things would be a bit more orderly, but if Bruno didn't want to risk overshadowing anyone else, the plan was debatable. Hopefully Mariano would understand.
"We'll make it up to him later." Pepa decided. "Perhaps we could invite him to dinner tomorrow—"
Suddenly, there came a loud bang from the tower's entrance hall; someone had swung the door open so fast that it slammed against the wall. Mirabel and the others were alarmed by the frantic sound of someone running in a full-speed mad dash through the desert oasis. Wild grass and palm fronds rattled as Dolores burst through the brush, out of breath with her headscarf askew. She immediately ran up to 'Mariano' with a most panicked expression. "Tio Bruno! You have...to get out of there...right now!" she breathed. "Senora Guzman is looking for him!"
Bruno blinked. He was too mentally exhausted to even feel afraid anymore and only let out a deadpan sigh. "Of course she is. I just can't catch a break, can I?"
"Neither can I!" called the voice of Camilo, along with the sound of more footsteps running very fast along the path. Everyone turned to see—another Dolores? The disguise was dropped when Camilo reached the sandy clearing.
"How did you get here so fast?" Dolores questioned.
"You've got longer legs; much better for running." Camilo panted. "Abuela was pretty confused when I passed her…Pa and Antonio aren't far behind, by the way. I told them everything." He came over to join the party. "So, Tio Bruno, can I have a turn, now?"
"Oh, not this again," Mirabel groaned. "Camilo, why do you want to get possessed? This is a serious problem that you don't seem to want to help with."
"Hey, Bruno has to get out of Pretty Boy's head, and I'm volunteering. That's helping, isn't it?"
"Um...I'd rather someone scare me out of here? Please? I can just float around the tower…" But with the subsequent argument between the kids, no one heard Bruno's meek plea. Mirabel and Camilo were in a strong disagreement, while their mothers tried to quell things. Pepa was entirely against the idea of her son volunteering, while Julieta thought it a practical plan, given the weird circumstances.
However, Dolores heard Bruno's request. Her gaze darted back and forth from the little family squabble to the physical form of her boyfriend sitting in the sand. She carefully observed her uncle—his green glowing eyes were entirely focused on his sisters taking sides. He seemed distracted enough… "Hm." Dolores quietly crept up behind him. Now was as good a time as ever. Just one little surprise was all it took...
She tiptoed silently through the sand...Then, in one quick moment, she grabbed Bruno's shoulders from behind and screamed, "YAHHHHH!"
Bruno immediately screamed, "WHOA!" The sheer unexpectedness of that made him jump—but the vision's effects did the same thing as before and he felt himself flying upwards; weightless, free, and all-seeing once again. He was now viewing the sandy clearing spread out all around. Yet at the same time, he was aware of sitting within the safety of the vision dome; even felt the sleeping rats on his head and the smell of burning cactus flowers filling his nostrils. But he still couldn't move his physical body.
Mentally, Bruno drifted a short ways away to better turn around and see Mariano collapsed on the ground. The poor guy was undoubtedly dazed and very dizzy. Dolores was frantically fanning him with a palm leaf to help him recover.
"Oh, thank goodness. I'm free again! Thanks, Dolores!" Bruno could finally speak from within the dome. "How're you doing, Mariano? Are you alright?"
"Ugh…" the man groaned, too groggy to reply and rubbing his temples.
"What a relief…" Pepa sighed upon hearing her brother's actual voice. "Now, nobody move from their spots! I don't want another mishap with one of the kids!"
"Wait, you're out, Tio? That's great!" Camilo didn't listen to his mother's warning. Instead, he gleefully stepped into the clearing's center and struck a dramatic pose. "Quick! Do me next!"
"AH! No! Get away!" Bruno immediately tried flying higher. Camilo was far too close—the pull of the magic was already forcing him towards the next set of eyes, and he fought it with all his might. It didn't matter if it was against his will; the invisible force was just too strong to resist.
There was a commotion as Mirabel, Pepa and Julieta all scrambled to stop Camilo. "Don't do anything silly, cuz!" "NO! NOT MY OTHER BABY!" "Pepi, wait, don't move from that spot!"
With so many vessels near, the magic tugging ferociously on Bruno's mind became too much to handle. There was no choice but to give in to the violent pull, and once again, the weight of a new body was felt as he collapsed with disorientation. The others were all knocked over in domino fashion...The sensation of taking over someone's entire being was becoming a most familiar feeling by now...
…
"Do you think Senora Guzman will be mad that your son possessed her son?" Felix pondered with amusement. He and Antonio (who was riding a jaguar) had reunited with Abuela along the path up to the house. The three of them were not the speediest of the Madrigals, and Dolores and Camilo had both run ahead to the house a little while ago.
"Felix, Rosa is never going to get mad, because she is never going to know!" Abuela resolved. She addressed her youngest grandchild, "Antonio, can I trust you not to say a word about all this to Mariano's mother?"
"Sure, Abuela! But what if Mariano says something?"
"Er—" she faltered. That would be one way for word of today's escapades to spread around town…
Antonio bid the jaguar companion goodbye when they reached Casita's courtyard. But just as they were about to climb the stairs, Dolores and Mariano came running down, hand-in-hand.
"Mi hijo, is that you?" Abuela reached out, for the man appeared very disturbed. He was rubbing his face, whimpering and trying not to cry all at once. Grains of sand dusted his clothes and hair, a sure sign he had been to the tower.
Mariano finally revealed his eyes—they were a normal shade of brown without any trace of magic. "No, Senora…" he sniffed. Both Felix and Antonio stared in concern, while Dolores held his hand in a comforting way.
"Oh. Well, uh—I'm glad to see you're alright." Abuela stammered. "Why don't you run on home? Your mother needs help around the house. But please, don't tell her about what's happened here."
"OK..." Mariano sniffed again, still rubbing a temple. "That was the worst thing that's ever happened to me! And I don't like rats crawling on my head..." The man burst out crying and went towards the front door, dragging his feet in despair.
Dolores made to go after him.
"Wait, Lolo, where's Tio Bruno?" Antonio piped up in confusion.
She was reluctant to answer and froze on the spot, wringing her hands daintily. "He's fine...I think? You might wanna go check." Felix and Abuela waited for more details, but she just turned around without another word. "Hm." Mariano was traumatized and in desperate need of support right now, so she ran out the front door, too.
Somehow, Felix was taking everything in stride. This whole afternoon was the most fun he'd had all week! "Now this I've gotta see! Ready to go to the tower, Abuela?" He scooped up Antonio for a piggy-back ride.
"Uh...I'm not sure I want to…" Despite her own words, Abuela picked up the pace to lead the way. Just as they reached the top steps and hurried along the balcony, there came a sudden thunderclap from her son's room...
From the kitchen, Augustin, Isabela and Luisa all popped their heads into the courtyard to see what was up. "Wait! What's going on now?!" Augustin instantly ran up the stairs in pursuit, dropping his lemonade; he was desperate to know who had fallen victim to the magical mayhem. Hopefully not Mirabel again...
Meanwhile, Luisa raised her eyebrows at everyone racing along the balcony towards the tower. "Shouldn't we go and help or something, Isa?"
"Nope. I still don't wanna know." Isabela coolly sipped her lemonade.