Hey there guys! Back again with another chapter! The next chapter will have a song so please be kind as I'm not a songwriter, but I tried my best to make it sound somewhat singable. The song will be called "What's Beyond Here". Now this chapter will be sort of build up towards a climactic turning point for both Bruno and the Madrigal family as a whole. I hope you guys enjoy the story!
As Bruno and Catalina flew through the air, Bruno had shut his eyes tight in reaction to the flight. However, when Catalina tapped his shoulder with her free hand, he slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the scenery below him made him made his expression turn to that of wonder, the same kind he felt when he entered El Cruce. The two looked at one another with smiles as they continued their flight towards the Madrigal household.
Shortly after, when the Madrigals and the Maravillas had finished lunch together, everyone parted ways to continue with the rest of their day. Dolores walked out the front entrance of Casita, carrying a basket with some clothes in it. Hearing a laugh nearby, she looks over and sees Bruno and Catalina happily talking to one another as they were walking away from Casita, with Bruno flipping his hood over his head and posturing in his Hernando impression, to which she giggles some more, holding a hand to her mouth to try to hold the laughs back but failing. Mirabel, Isabella, Antonio and Camilo came out and saw Dolores standing there, looking to see what she was staring at, while Luisa simply walked out of Casita and began heading towards town.
"I'll see you guys later" Luisa said, waving to them as she left
"Okay, don't push yourself today" Mirabel called out to her, and Luisa responded with a raised thumbs up
"Check it out, the two of them seem to be getting along" Camilo commented with a knowing eyebrow wiggle
"Yeah, they look like they're becoming really good friends" Antonio stated with a smile
"I don't think that's what's happening here, hombrecito" Mirabel gave a smirk to her youngest cousin
"So they're not friends?" Antonio questioned with a confused look
"Oh they are. But it might not be like that for much longer." Isabella said in a knowing, almost sing-song like voice that made her, Mirabel, and Camilo laugh
"Hey Dolores, you hear them talking about anything… interesting?" Mirabel questioned with smirk
Dolores didn't say anything at first, but when she saw Bruno's smiling face as he talked with Catalina, she turned away from them and began to walk, quietly saying "Nope, just a lot of talk about his acting career" before turning the corner around Casita with the clothes basket still in her hands.
"Really? You would have thought he told her the best joke with how much she's giggling." Camilo smirked, then shifted into Bruno with his hood flipped over in his Hernando impersonation, saying "I'm Hernando and I'm not afraid to tell jokes to the ladies"
This made everyone laugh a little before Mirabel said "Okay, lets leave them be. We should get going ourselves"
But before anyone could even react to what she just said, Mateo zipped right in front of them with his superspeed, causing a slight wind to tousle their clothing and a bit of dirt dust to kick up into the air. His face's expression was that of someone who was somewhat impatient as he looked around for something that wasn't there.
"Hey there, is Luisa here?" Mateo questioned as he looked around at the Casita to try and find her
"No, you just missed her. She's out helping to bring the harvest in for this season."
"Ok thanks, I'll go lend her a hand"
And with that, Mateo zipped out of there and raced through a crowd of nearby villagers, causing the skirts of some women to crazily blow sideways while a couple of guys lost their hats from the sudden wind gust.
"What was that about?" Camilo questioned
Mirabel and Isabella looked to one another with surprise for a moment, but then their faces changed to that of shocked glee.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Isabella questioned, her face still looking somewhat giddy
"That he?" Mirabel asked while figuratively pointing towards an unseen Mateo
"Mm-hm" Isabella nodded
"Towards Luisa?" Mirabel responded while figuratively pointing towards the unseen Luisa
"Yep" Isabella said with an almost pop sound to her word
"You think so?" Mirabel questioned as she looked to where Mateo sped through
"It has to be, Dolores and I saw how he looked at her when we met him and his family."
"It's true, he looked like he had estrellas in his eyes" Dolores quietly confirmed as she poked her head from around the corner before disappearing again.
"Do you mean he likes Luisa?" Antonio questioned with a head tilt, trying to keep up
"…Only one way to find out" Mirabel said with a knowing expression to her sister and cousins
They all silently nodded to one another with smirks on their faces before taking off towards the village path that led to the fields. Meanwhile, Dolores, who is around one corner of the house, is working on pinning up the clothes she brought out onto a clothesline with Casita helping her, magically making another line to give more space. Suddenly, something happened inside the house that made Pepa upset, causing a loud crack of lightning and thunder, followed by the sound of her mother complaining in frustration. These sudden loud noises made her drop the shirt she was about to pin and clamped her ears with her hands. When things calmed down, Dolores saw the once clean shirt now dirty from being on the ground and gave a somewhat frustrated sigh as she picked it up.
"Tiring, is it not?"
The sudden voice made her turn to find Sanyu leaning against Casita's corner wall, his arms crossed and wearing the same neutral expression he always wore, though it did have some empathy as well.
"Tiring?"
"The noise. No matter where you go or what you do, you can never turn it off. Haina mwisho." Sanyu stated with a tone that spoke from experience as he shook his head
"What?"
"Haina mwisho. 'It never ends'"
Dolores was quiet for a moment, before continuing her work as she said "…When I was little, everyone would say how lucky I was to be given a gift. But I never felt lucky. I never even wanted it. And when I got it, I could see the disappointment in Abuela's eyes. The only good I ever got out of it was hearing Mariano's poems each night."
"I admit, I envy you. You only hear what people say. Me? I hear all the things they would never say to anyone, no matter how disgusting or terrible it may be." Sanyu stated, his arms tightening around his chest
"But you wished for your gift."
"Yes. Back when I was a boy with no one I could trust. I wanted to always know if someone was lying to my face." He replied, his voice tinged with recollection of something he wished to forget
"Do you regret your wish?"
"…no, my talent lets me see the truth. And I know you're truth. You're struggling between what you think is right and what you truly desire. It's been in the back of your mind since we arrived here. You're scared of what they'll say if you do it. What he'll say. " Sanyu stated
As he said this, he got off of the wall and stood next to her while she worked, his face never changing from it's neutral yet serious expression. What he said made her pause for a moment with a look of surprise before looking at him with a serious expression of her own.
"I thought you weren't allowed to use your talent on people"
"Maybe…but I know that you're happy that there is someone who will finally listen." Sanyu stated, then took a few steps backwards while giving her a one finger salute before turning around and walking off, saying "Baadaye"
Dolores watched him leave before silently contemplating what he said while looking at the cloth she had resting in her hands. Back in the fields, Luisa had picked up two long wooden bars that were almost the same length as the native palm trees with large baskets filled with corn hanging from each bar, with one bar resting on each shoulder, before nodding to two people and then walking away with them. As she was walking, she was suddenly hit with a gust of wind that made her shut her eyes for a less than a second.
"Hola Luisa"
When Luisa opened her eyes, Mateo Maravilla was standing in front of her with a genuine smile on his face, making Luisa's eyes widen at his sudden appearance.
"Oh, hola Mateo." Luisa replied with a smile, then said "If you need my help with something, it'll have to wait until I done helping with the harvest."
"No, I'm actually here to help you. Speaking of, why are you carrying all of those like that? Why not use a cart?"
"The one they were going to use broke a wheel, so I'm helping out until it's fixed."
"Got it, give me 5 seconds. No, you know what, give me ten seconds tops. Be right back"
With that, Mateo zipped away in a flash. This made Luisa's eyes widen again before arching an eyebrow in confusion.
"Uh…1…2…3" Luisa slowly started to count
While she did this, Mirabel, Isabella, Camilo and Antonio just arrived and hid behind a nearby house to see Luisa standing by herself as she continued to slowly count.
"Wait, how did we beat him here? He's super fast and he left before us" Camilo questioned
"…8…9…-"
But just before Luisa got to 10, Mateo was back, with an empty wooden cart right behind him, all wheels intact. He looked very happy with himself as he put the cart shafts onto the ground.
"Here you are, one cart ready to go. I would have gotten one of Arohi's new models for you, but they're not finished yet."
"Wow...thanks" Luisa replied with genuine surprise and gratitude in her voice.
She then set the wooden bars down with a loud thump and began dumping each of the baskets of corn into the cart. Mateo began to help her, though it took him a bit more effort as the baskets were heavy with the newly picked produced. While they did this, Mirabel and the others looked at one another knowingly before continuing to watch. Mateo, in the process of pouring corn into the cart, gave a sideways glance to Luisa before continuing with his task.
"…So, Luisa…I was wondering…do you have any dinner plans for tonight?"
"Not really, just eating with my family again." Luisa shrugged as she set down a now empty basket
"Right, right…well then, how would you feel about…eating dinner with me?"
"Sure, that sounds fun. When should I be there?" Luisa said absentmindedly as she set down the final empty basket and brushing off her hands.
"Really?! Uh, then I'll meet you at 7! Just wait for me by your Casita's front doors, I'll see you then!"
With that, a now excited and grinning Mateo sped around the cart, collecting the baskets and leaving them in a neat stack next to the cart before speeding away. This sudden reaction of his, combined with his fast exit, left Luisa looking confused as she looked towards where he raced off. But then, the sound of cheers and a whistle made her turn to find her sisters and cousins, minus Dolores, coming to her with big grins on their faces in both surprise and elation.
"I'm so happy for you sis!" Mirabel cheered as she hugged her sister tightly
"I got to admit, I didn't see this coming" Camilo said before shaping into Mateo and saying in a makeshift Mateo voice "How would you feel about…eating dinner with me?" while posing in a dramatic 'sexy' pose
"He didn't say it like that!" Isabela said as she smacked the back of his head, causing him to revert back to his original form.
"Uh…guys? What are you talking about?" Luisa said looking genuinely confused
"Hello? He asked you on a date? What else could we be talking about?" Mirabel said with a tone that said 'duh'
The made Luisa give a laugh before saying "No he didn't, he was inviting me to eat dinner with him and his family."
"I don't remember him saying that, do you?" Isabela coyly questioned Mirabel, who shook her head in denial
"Nope, I don't remember him mentioning his family. If I recall correctly, he asked you to have dinner with him."
"At 7" Camilo added
"Okay, even if that's true, why would he ask me on a date?" Luisa asked as she grabbed onto the cart shafts and began to pull it towards the village
"Why would he not?" Isabela questioned back
"Because he's…him, and I'm me. We don't go together" Luisa stated matter-of-factly
"That's crazy Luisa, you're amazing!" Antonio exclaimed as he rode Parce next to her
"And I'm sure he asked you out because he could see it too" Mirabel stated with a nod of agreement
"Thanks, I know that I'm great. But that still doesn't prove that he was asking me out on a date" Luisa gave Mirabel and Antonio a smile before continuing her path
"Okay, then how's this then? They've been here for almost two months now, right? So how often has he come to help you?" Camilo questioned with an arched eyebrow
"Well, its been a couple of times…no wait, it's been more than that. At least several times a week. And he did try asking me to dinner several times before…"
At that moment, Luisa dropped the card shafts onto the ground, causing the corn to tumble down the sudden decline and making her sisters and cousins jump in surprise.
"He asked me on a date." Luisa stated with a face of pure shock
"He did!" Isabela cheered, happy her sister finally got the hint
"And I said yes!" Luisa grabbed her face in panic
"Yeah you did!" Mirabel cheered as well
"What am I going to do?!" Luisa continued to panic
"More importantly, what are you going to wear?" Camilo questioned as he shifted into Luisa's image and tugged at the short white sleeve of her shirt.
"This is serious! I can't go on a date with him!" Luisa exclaimed, her face filled with worry
"Why not?" Antonio innocently questioned
"Because I can't! I don't know the first thing about going on a date!" Luisa's panic began to increase
"Don't worry sis, I can teach you what to do" Isabela said, trying to calm her down
"I mean, can you though? You haven't actually gone a date either" Camilo questioned, to which Isabela summoned a Venus fly trap to start snapping at him, causing him to jump back in defense
"The point is that we'll be there to help you through it." Mirabel stated with a comforting pat on the arm
"I don't think I can do this" Luisa stated, biting her lip in a nervous expression
"Hey, it's going to be okay. I know you're nervous, but I don't want you to hold back on trying new things because you're scared. You know he likes you enough to ask you out, so just have fun with it." Mirabel continued to calm her down
"…Well, I guess…I can give it chance." Luisa said, finally giving a small smile at their encouragement
"Alright! Tonight we'll get you all dressed up and make you look even more incredible than you already do." Isabela stated with a smile
"Thanks"
"We should probably hurry and get this stuff to the village before the birds get to them." Camilo stated
He then changed himself into a donkey and let himself be saddled to the cart before pulling it away, with Luisa, Mirabel, Isabela, and Antonio following alongside him, chatting about the upcoming important date night, with Luisa still looking somewhat unsure but still smiling.
Later, as it started getting close to evening, Catalina and Bruno were found still chatting with one another on a large rock overlooking part of the Encanto village. The two were talking and Catalina began to laugh again before quieting down and looking away for a moment, lost in thought.
"Um…if you want, we can talk about something else" Bruno said, giving a stressed look of worry at possibly boring her
"Huh? Oh! No, please, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to not pay attention, I was just thinking of something that's…been weighing on my mind for a while now."
"What is it? If you don't mind me asking, that is" Bruno questioned, but then quickly corrected himself
"…I was wondering, would you like to join me and my family for dinner tonight?" Catalina asked with a look of hopefulness
"You mean, in your ship?" Bruno questioned with a surprised look
"Si…there's something very important we'd like to talk to you about." Catalina replied somewhat vaguely as she tried to keep whatever secret she was holding to herself
"Um…well, I…"
"You don't have to if you don't want to. But I'd be really happy if you could" Catalina said with an understanding smile
"…You know what? Sure, why not?" Bruno replied with a sudden burst of courage and a smile
"Really? Great, I'll make sure mamá and papá knows to set a place for you."
Suddenly, before anything else could be said, a rat peeked it's head out from out of Bruno's poncho hood and raced down his chest and onto the space between them. This made Catalina look surprised for a moment, which in turn made Bruno visibly panic.
"I'm sorry! I didn't realize he'd been in there!" Bruno said, reaching out to pick up the rat
"Hey there little guy, aren't you just the cutest thing?" Catalina said with a sweet voice, picking up the rat before Bruno could
This made Bruno pause as Catalina gave the rat in her hand a pet, scratching it's head with her finger before giving him back to Bruno's open hand. He sat there for a second, still processing what he just saw.
"You're not afraid of rats?" Bruno questioned
"I was when I was a kid, but then I made friends with one during our travels when it snuck aboard our ship while we were restocking our supplies. Now I find rats and mice kind of cute."
As Catalina gave the rat one more scratch on the head, Bruno couldn't help but give a small relieved laugh and a smile as he watched her, at a loss for words. Catalina then got up and dusted off her skirt before looking back to Bruno, her tattoos slowly beginning to glow.
"Well, I'll head back to help get things ready for dinner tonight. We eat at 7:30. Don't be late"
With that, Catalina gave a wave as she began to fly away, encased in her silver magic. Bruno waved back to her, then held up the rat to meet him at eye level and gave a somewhat hopeful smile to it as it began to scratch the back of it's ear with one of it's paws.
Alrighty, that's it for this chapter. I hope you guys liked this little subplot with Luisa and Mateo, as well as the interaction between Dolores and Sanyu. I'm not pairing her and Sanyu, but I felt that it would be a good idea for the two to interact because of the strong similarities of their personalities and their magic. Dolores can hear anything spoken, while he can hear any and all thoughts, so the two can be empathetic to one another's situations. As for Luisa and Mateo, I felt that it would be awesome for Luisa to find a match in someone who is her opposite instead of trying to find a pairing for other characters like Isabela, Mirabel, Camilo, etc. And don't worry, I'm not going to make her doubt herself and her amazing qualities, I'm just giving her a situation she's not used to, which makes her worried. Kind of like when she was losing her gift in the movie and she was a nervous wreck.
I have the next song ready, which is called "What's Beyond Here". Try to guess what that title means as it will be a turning point in the story. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you in the next one!
