Chapter 15
45 years before Encanto
Alma helped Bruno up onto the back of the donkey's cart and passed him a candle, before climbing up into the cart behind him. The driver flicked the reins and the cart pulled forward, rumbling along the dirt path towards town.
Pepa and Julieta glanced back at Bruno with excited smiles. He climbed across the cart to join his sisters, the three of them clutching their colourful candles and looking out towards town in excitement.
The night was alive with people and music and movement, the road into town illuminated with lights of the Día de las Velitas, candles glowing outside of houses and on balconies. As they got closer, the music of the town got louder. The triplets huddled together excitedly, feeling the beat of the music in their hearts.
Alma held a special candle in her hands. She glanced down at it as it glowed, feeling it's warmth against her as if her Pedro was still here, just as he'd been when they'd met on this day, all those years ago.
The cart pulled up and a familiar voice called out to them.
"Alma!" Sofia Guzmán laughed, waving from where she was standing amongst a group of friends. Alma smiled and waved back, climbing down from the cart. She turned to help her children down, but they had already jumped off and raced past her, laughing as they joined the townsfolk, who embraced them. Alma smiled, shaking her head as she tried to keep up.
Alma and Sofia walked with the children down the street, strings of lanterns hanging above them like a glowing canopy. The bustle of music and dancing was all around them, and the fragrant smells of cooking food filled in the air. Alma and Sofia crouched down and carefully helped the children to plant their candles into the ground, along with the others that lined the sides of the street.
"Not your candle, Mamí." Bruno smiled brightly. Alma chuckled.
"That's right, Brunito." Alma smiled back at him, kissing his face. "Not our special candle."
The three children ran ahead again, exploring the festival and interacting with different townsfolk. Alma and Sofia watched from a distance, their arms linked as they walked together and spoke nostalgically about previous years.
Señor García lifted Julieta up as she approached and held her to his hip with one arm, his other hand fanning the fire as corn and meat skewers sizzled over the grill. Julieta watched in fascination as García softly explained the process to her. He then handed the thin sheet he'd been waving to Julieta, who smiled and nodded, taking it in her hand and giving it a go. As she did, the food glowed golden for a moment, then continued to sizzle. The people around her praised and encouraged her as they watched in amazement.
Pepa followed the melody of the pito and the drumming sounds of percussion to find a group of musicians sitting in a circle. A group of people were dancing the Cumbia in the middle, bundles of candles wrapped in colored handkerchiefs in their hands. Señorita Martínez, one of the dancers, shouted out to Pepa over the sound of the drums and she raced over with a smile. Martínez showed Pepa the movement of the Cumbia as she swooshed her long dress and made shuffling steps to the music as her partner circled around her. Pepa bounced in excitment as she watched. Martínez knelt down, taking the red flowers from her own hair and placing them into Pepa's as she beamed. She then took Pepa's hand and brought her into the circle to dance with them, the people trilling and ululating in excitement as they looked up at the rainbows shining over their heads.
Bruno skipped down the street after a dog he'd found. Catching up with it, he threw his arms around it and patted it's head, laughing as it licked his face. Nearby, a group of townsfolk called out to him. They were playing a game of cinco huecos, holding coins in their hands and standing before the holes they'd dug. Señor Gómez handed Bruno a small candle, asking the boy to tell them who would win. Bruno nodded, preparing a vision circle. The people watched in awe as the sand and dirt of the road swirled around Bruno, forming green figures of the people tossing coins. They watched in facination, laughing and cheering at what they saw. When the vision was done, Gómez tossled Bruno's hair and invited him to play, but Bruno shook his head with a smile, turning back to the dog.
"You must be so proud." Sofia remarked to Alma, as they sat on the curb eating corn on the cob together as they watched the children.
Alma nodded, the magic candle beside her glowing bright and sparkling against her warm eyes as she smiled.
The fireworks started and Alma's children started to shriek and laugh, running over to mama and standing near her, their arms around eachother as they stared up at the sky in wonder. Rainbows shone amongst the fireworks and Bruno turned to Pepa in excitement as she jumped up and down, holding his and Julieta's hands.
Alma smiled proudly, resting her head in her hands. Instead of watching the fireworks, Alma watched her three miracles.
5 years later
The triplets crept closer to the window above, trying to stay silent so they could overhear what the people outside were saying. They peeked together over the windowsill, watching as Alma stood at the front door of the casita, a group of the townsfolk standing all around her. They talked quietly, voicing their concerns as Alma slowly nodded, trying to remain calm and understanding.
"There'll be a lot of candles and lights, Alma. It really needs to be a clear night this year."
"Yeah, last year was a real bummer when it rained."
Pepa turned around quickly, crouching with her back against the wall as her little chest heaved in quick breaths. Grey clouds appeared over her head. Julieta and Bruno crouched beside her, putting their hands to her shoulders. The voices continued outside the window.
"The fireworks too, it could get dangerous. We don't want any prophecies to harm anyone."
"Remember what happened a couple years back?"
"It was a disaster."
"Horrible."
Pepa turned to Bruno with wide eyes and saw him staring down at the floor in shame. She blinked quickly, unable to hold her emotion in any longer. As tears ran down Pepa's face, rain fell down from the clouds over her head and the sky outside. Pepa quickly turned around, her face hot with shame.
Pepa crawled over to the window, her eyes wide with stress as she carefully peered out. Julieta did the same. Bruno stayed where he was, still staring down at the floor.
The sisters watched as the people exclaimed to eachother, pulling out their umbrellas. They always carried umbrellas with them these days.
"See Alma? This is what we're talking about." One man sighed, "We love your children. We really do. But they are becoming unpredictable." He gestured to the sky and the others nodded in agreement. "Julieta is most welcome to come, and yourself of course. But-"
"Please," Alma interrupted, holding a hand up and trying to keep her face calm and pleasant, though on the inside she was panicking. The people crowding around her and their accusations made her feel like she was under attack again. She remembered the crowd at the river, the thundering of hooves. Alma breathed through it, pushing the feelings back down until she was able to turn back to the townsfolk with a smile. "Just... Leave it with me. Ok? I'm sure we can figure something out."
"I'm sorry, Alma." Someone else sighed. "It's just there have been a lot of storms lately."
"And a lot of bad things happening to good people."
"Tonight means a lot to everyone, and -"
"I know how important tonight is." Alma's voice faltered just a little as she thought of Pedro, smiling at her from across the crowd, a candle in his hand. Alma quickly straightened up, determined not to let herself slip in front of the townsfolk. She was fine. Everything was fine.
"Tonight there will not be any rain." Alma announced in a sure tone. "There won't be any bad prophecies. The magic is strong, and so is our family. So please… Don't worry. Let us enjoy tonight. Let me take care of things here."
As the people turned and left, Alma's face fell as she thought frantically over what she was supposed to do now.
For Bruno it would be easier, Alma decided. He just wouldn't do any more vision rituals from now on, unless it was hidden away in his tower and Alma was there with him. If they saw anything bad then they just wouldn't tell anyone in town. They wouldn't tell anyone unless it was good news.
She looked up at the sky, her as expression as heavy as her heart. With Pepa she knew it was going to be trickier.
Alma sighed as she turned and headed inside to try and fix things.
"Say it with me, Pepa." Alma said patiently as they stood out in the fields. "Clear skies."
"Clear skies." Pepa tried again, but the rain just got heavier. She looked back at Alma anxiously.
"I know this is hard, Pepita." Alma spoke softly. "But you need to learn to control your gift. Do you want to miss out on Día de las Velitas tonight?"
Pepa quickly shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
"And do you want Bruno to miss out? Julieta?" Alma gestured over to her siblings, who sat silently on the grass at a distance, huddled under an umbrella as they watched with sad eyes.
Pepa looked back at them, her hands twisting her braid anxiously. She turned back to Alma and shook her head again.
"Well," Alma sighed. "Let's try again. Remember - Clear skies."
Pepa nodded, closing her eyes in concentration.
"Clear skies, clear skies..." She whispered to herself, her little hands gripping tightly to her hair. Thunder crashed and Pepa stopped, breaking down into tears.
"Push it down, Pepi. Picture the perfect-"
"It hurts, Mamí." Pepa sobbed, her arms wrapping around her body.
Alma's face softened. She knelt down, gently placing her hands to her daughter's cheeks.
"Where?" Alma asked in concern.
Pepa placed a hand to her heart. Alma sighed.
"Listen to me, Pepi." She spoke softly. "That feeling is part of life. You need to be stronger than it. You're going to feel that way a lot, but the more you push past it, the more you show it who is boss, the easier it will become... Ok?"
Pepa closed her eyes and nodded. Wind started to swirl in circles around her. Alma watched in surprise, having never seen Pepa do that before. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed in the sky. Pepa tried to make it stop, then made a pained sound and held her chest, dropping to the ground as rain continued to pour down.
Alma gasped, quickly catching Pepa in her arms, feeling her body shaking. Pepa hid her face against her mamá and sobbed.
Julieta and Bruno rushed over, their arms wrapping around their sister.
"Mamí, we don't want to go tonight anyway!" Julieta pleaded. "We want to stay at home."
"Yeah, let's just go back to the casita, Mamí." Bruno agreed. "It's better there anyway."
Alma nodded in agreement, feeling deeply ashamed.
She led her children back home. They held eachother's hands, Julieta in the middle as she whispered comforting words to Bruno and Pepa.
They would just have a quiet night this year, Alma thought to herself in resignation. As long as they were together, that's what mattered most.
"Alma!"
A familiar voice called out as they reached their casita.
Sofia Guzmán smiled and waved to them, but she wasn't alone.
Standing out the front of the casita was a group of their friends, holding umbrellas and candles in their hands. On the front entry of the casita were candles all lined up, along with musical instruments and boxes of food. Señor García held his cooking grill with a smile. Señorita Martínez and her friends held jugs of drinks, wearing their Cumbia dresses and flowers in their hair.
Alma and her children watched in surprise. As they got closer, Sofia headed out to meet them, embracing her friend before turning to the children with a smile.
"This year's celebration was a bit... crowded." Sofia smiled. "And a couple of us heard there was an even better party happening at la casita Madrigal tonight, so we all wanted in."
Alma smiled in gratitude as Sofia led them back to the house. The rain stopped falling as their friends came over cheering, picking up the triplets and showering them with love and affection, putting flowers in their hair and handing them colourful candles as they carried them inside of the casita.
35 years later
Candles lit up the streets of town and lanterns hung on strings above them as Abuela and Sofia Guzmán sat together on a window's ledge, the magic candle glowing warmly beside them as they watched the festivities. The air was filled with music and laughter and sounds of food sizzling at the grill. Abuela sighed happily, looking out at her family as they enjoyed the celebrations.
Pepa had flowers in her hair and was dancing the Champeta with Luisa, Camilo, Mirabel and Sofia's grandson Mariano. Camilo changed appearance in time to the beat and a rainbow floated over Pepa's head as she laughed at her son. Abuela watched with a smile, feeling proud of how far her daughter had come over the years.
Dolores and Isabela were standing over with Julieta, who also had flowers in her hair as she stood by the grill and fanned the skewers and corn. She smiled as she handed a corn cob to each of the girls. Abuela smiled too, admiring her sweet Julieta. She had always been such a good girl, such a perfect girl.
Félix was holding baby Antonio in his arms as he joked and laughed with Agustín. Abeula watched them, grateful that both her daughters had found such loving partners.
Abuela glanced over at Isabela and Dolores thoughtfully.
"Mariano is becoming a handsome young man." Abuela commented, turning to Sofia.
"A bit young for you, Alma." Sofia chuckled. Abuela laughed too, putting a hand to her friend's arm and shaking her head.
"You know what I mean." Abuela smiled, turning back to her granddaughters.
Sofia watched Isabela and Dolores as they sat together. Dolores looked worried, while Isabela was trying to comfort her.
"Your Isabela seems lovely." Sofia smiled. "Look how she cares for Dolores."
Abuela looked over in concern as Isabela leaned towards Dolores, a hand on her shoulder as Dolores looked like she was about to cry.
"What's wrong?" Abuela whispered softly under her breath as she watched her granddaughter. Dolores looked up at Abuela, her eyes filled with hurt as she quickly got up and ran. Isabela ran after her, her face filled with worry.
Abuela and Sofia watched in confusion.
"What happened there?" Sofia asked.
"I'm not sure." Abuela replied, watching them in concern. "But I am sure Isabela will be able to make things better. She is very talented."
"The flowers are beautiful." Sofia agreed.
"They are more than that." Abuela said as she nodded towards Pepa. They watched as Pepa stepped in time with her son, the two of them laughing together.
"No matter the storm, Isabela's flowers have this strange effect on Pepa. They calm her down." Abuela turned to Sofia with a smile. "Her flowers keep the peace, in our casita and in the Encanto. Isabela is a healer."
Sofia watched thoughtfully as Pepa turned to Mariano, the two of them circling eachother playfully as they danced.
"I asked a lot of her." Abuela admitted quietly. "With Antonio. Her body isn't young anymore."
"Ay, I know all about that..." Sofia laughed softly, turning to Abuela with a knowing smile, then back to Mariano. "You know, my Mariano wants five children, if you are looking to strengthen your family."
"I would like that." Abuela sighed at the thought. "To strengthen our families... Wouldn't you?"
Sofia watched her grandson dance, her eyes filled with love.
"I just want to see him happy."
