Chapter 20
34 years before Encanto
Agustin watched the lights from the lanterns glitter in Julieta's eyes as she looked over at him. She'd put her ruana back on, making her soft and cuddly. Agustin leaned against her affectionately, doing his best not to trip over as they walked closely together.
"We should try one more." Julieta said in excitement, her eyes gesturing to the next food vendor. Agustin swallowed and nodded, his stomach turning. He'd hardly finished the last meal, and was finding it hard to keep up with Julieta. He'd never met anyone who could be so small, but eat so much.
Agustin enjoyed seeing how popular she was with the townsfolk. Every stall they approached people just loaded Julieta's hands up lovingly with food, and nobody even mentioned money.
Julieta handed Agustin a bite of food and he struggled to keep it down, feeling like he was about to burst from how much she'd been feeding him tonight.
"You guys have fun!" The vendors called out to them with knowing smiles.
Agustin turned back and smiled nervously at them as he followed Julieta, his foot catching on the corner of their food stall. Agustin fell down, knocking some of the stall's contents to the ground with him. The vendors exclaimed in surprise. "Ay! Careful, Gusito!"
Augustin hit the road with a smack and his full stomach gurgled. He groaned, not feeling too good. Julieta rushed to his side, helping him to sit up as she held him, brushing his hair back from his forehead in concern as she looked him over. Agustin put his glasses back on and blushed. This wasn't the first time he'd tripped over tonight. He hoped she didn't think he was just pretending to be clumsy so she'd tend to him.
Julieta didn't mind. She found it endearing, and she liked to feel needed.
"Are you ok?" Julieta asked Agustin, her eyes searching his.
Augustin was feeling overwhelmed by a wide range of things. The embarrassment of knocking over the food and everyone looking, the sweet pleasant smell of Julieta being so close to him, the soft warmth of her hands on him, the rising sickness in his stomach from the fall.
"Did you get hurt?" Julieta asked again.
When Agustin opened his mouth to try and answer her, he immediately gagged and threw up.
"Oye!" Julieta exclaimed in surprise as the sick spilt down the front of her ruana. She glanced down at it, then back to Agustin, her eyes full of concern.
"Sorr-" Augustin stopped, quickly covering his mouth as he almost did it again. He swallowed, staring down and feeling mortified. Agustin groaned. This might just be the worst moment of his life.
Julieta smiled comfortingly and put a hand to his cheek, feeling his face burn hot with embarrassment. She clicked her tongue sympathetically, rubbing his cheek.
"Hey. We've all been there, don't worry about it." Julieta smiled gently, reaching into her bag and pulling out an arepa. Agustin's stomach turned again at the sight of more food. He tried not to gag.
"One bite, I promise it will help." Julieta encouraged, tearing off a very small piece and holding it to his mouth.
Agustin held his breath nervously as she put the food into his mouth, his heart beating faster at the strange intimacy of the moment, despite the horrible situation.
The moment he swallowed the piece of arepa Agustin's stomach immediately felt fine again. He exhaled in relief and Julieta smiled.
She helped him up to his feet, then glanced down at her ruana, carefully pulling it off and folding the sick side in so she could carry it.
"You're not mad?"
Julieta shook her head with a smile, leading him slowly back towards the town square.
"Guess this isn't what you'd expected." He sighed. "Sorry. I'm sure you're used to better dates than this."
Julieta laughed, unsure how to tell him she'd never been on a date before.
"Actually, this is perfect." She reassured him, putting her arm around his and leaning into him affectionately. Agustin felt surprised at how well Julieta was taking everything.
"And you're not exactly a stranger, you know." She continued with a laugh. "I've been healing you since I can remember. I remember you playing in town with my brother when we were growing up, and you would fall down... Oye. All the time." She laughed at the memories, before turning back to him. "What I mean is, yes I did know what to expect," she brushed her face playfully against his shoulder. "And I love it."
Augustin held his breath at her words. Wait. What did she just say?
Julieta's eyes widened a bit as she realised too.
"Oh." She said laughed hesitantly "I meant-"
Thunder crashed suddenly in the distance, rain falling over their heads. Julieta would've been thankful for the fortunate timing, but that sound meant her family may be in danger. She turned quickly in concern.
Pepa, Bruno... How long had she been gone?
"The storm," Julieta explained in a worried voice, "That's-"
"Pepa." Augustin nodded in understanding. "We should go to them. Can I help?"
She turned back to Agustin apologetically. "Oh. I don't know."
Julieta wasn't used to having anyone else around to help her or back her up. She was used to always having to fix things herself. She'd never really learned how to ask for or accept help from others.
The thunder crashed again.
"I'm really sorry." She said breathlessly. "I have to go."
Julieta let go of Agustin's arm and sprinted off towards town.
Back at the town square, thunder and lightning crashed as people gathered around clamouring and packing up the party as rain fell down.
"It doesn't matter what he said!" Pepa exclaimed at Juan, standing protectively in front of Bruno, who still had a jug over his head. "He's my brother. You don't talk to him like that!"
"Pepa, just calm down." Juan said, gesturing up at the clouds. "Look around. You're killing the party."
"Brunito." Pepa called breathlessly, wiping her eyes and putting on a brave face as she held a hand out for him. "Come on, let's go find Julieta."
Bruno lifted the jug and grinned, too drunk to read the room as he dumped it back over his head. The jug shook from side to side as he gestured no. "She wants time alone with Agustin." He reminded Pepa, starting to dance the bambuco again. "C'mon Pepi, let's just have fun here."
Pepa groaned in exasperation, heading over to Bruno, but Juan grabbed her wrist. Pepa turned back with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" She demanded, pulling against him, but Juan didn't let go.
"Leave him." Juan insisted. "You were having a good time before he ruined it. He's no good for you, Pepi."
Pepa glared at Juan. Thunder crashed as she pulled against his grip. "Let me go!" She demanded, her clouds glowing and thundering angrily as she struggled to break free. "I mean it!" She slapped his chest with her other hand.
"Ay! Calm down! You're gonna hurt someone!" Juan cried. "You need to do your thing, remember? Clear skies, clear skies." Pepa's cloud sparked, striking Juan with lightning. Juan yelped in pain and immediately let go. Pepa flinched, her hands grabbing her hair as she stared back at him apologetically. She hadn't meant to hurt him like that.
Juan winced at Pepa, blinking back tears of pain. His frends all looked over, muttering to eachother in shock.
"Get out of here, Pepa." Juan gasped. "I don't ever want to see you again. And take your rain and your creepy brother with you."
Pepa flinched at his words, watching Juan with a soft expression as rain poured down over her. Everyone around her groaned. Pepa watched as they all put arms over themselves, shaking their heads at her. She turned back to Juan, her cheeks hot with shame.
"Sorry." Pepa tried, but Juan shook his head too, stepping back and holding his hands up to protect himself from her.
"You can't go anywhere without those clouds, loca." He said, gesturing up at the sky. "There isn't room for anything else." He sighed. "Or anyone."
Pepa swallowed, tears rolling down her cheeks as her hands twisted her hair.
"You're a freak, Pepa Madrigal."
The boys turned to leave, but then Bruno came to Pepa's side, putting a hand to her shoulder.
"Hey, wait a sec. I got something to say too." Bruno called out after the boys, who turned back around. Bruno struck a match and let it drop to his feet. "Yeah, so... No one talks to my sister like that."
Bruno lifted the jug from his head to reveal green, glowing eyes. Pepa's expression dropped. Oh, dios.
"Bruno, don't!" Pepa gasped, but it was too late.
Lightning flashed around him, illuminating up Bruno's silhouette as the dirt from the ground swirled up and around them, glowing green. Pepa grabbed onto Bruno and ducked her head against him, shutting her eyes against the swirling dirt. Their hair and clothes blew wildy in the wind.
The boys cowered in fear as Bruno held his arms up like gospel, the rats peering out from inside of his sleeves.
"Behold, your future!" Bruno spoke dramatically, a green image of an older, sadder Juan forming in the sand before them. Juan watched in disbelief as his image fattened. The vision Juan lifted up his shirt and watched sadly as a big belly flopped out. Juan gasped, turning to his friends in disbelief.
"And this is for you," Bruno called out to the next boy as a vision played of a hunched over old man. "And you -" He called to the next boy, who cried out in anguish as the vision showed an old man falling down the stairs. "And you get this! And you! And you!" Bruno continued to dish out prophecies as green images of the boys' future misfortunes flashed before them and swirled around as they cried out in fear.
Nearby, Julieta was running as fast as she could towards town square, her heart thumping in her chest at the sight of green glowing flashes of light. Surely he wasn't...?
Julieta exhaled as she pushed herself to run faster. Dios. They were going to be in so much trouble.
"Let's get out of here!" One of the boys cried, all of them running away, pushing past Julieta as she approached, finally reaching her siblings.
Bruno chuckled to himself as the dirt dropped down and his eyes stopped glowing. It was just too easy to scare them. All he'd done was look generally into their future, and the visions had done the rest. Beside him, Pepa stared ahead with wide, anxious eyes.
"Bruno!" Julieta cried out as she finally reached them, skidding to a stop. Her chest heaved as she gasped for breath. "What are... What are you doing?! Was that... Did you make a vision?"
Bruno just looked back at Julieta and smiled, feeling exhilerated. And it wasn't just the alcohol, either. Bruno had stood up against those guys. He'd protected his sister. For once, his gift had done something good for the family.
"Pepa?" Julieta turned to her sister, hoping to get an answer from her instead.
Pepa's wide eyes slowly turned and stared back at Julieta, tears running down her cheeks. She shuddered.
"Oh... cariño." Julieta's voice became gentle as she saw how upset her sister was. "It's ok. I got you... Hey, it's ok."
Julieta wrapped her arms around Pepa's shaking body, kissing her face. Pepa's hands gripped tightly to Julieta's dress, her fingers trembling. Julieta's expression softened as she noticed angry red marks around her sister's wrist.
"What's this?" Julieta asked, gently taking Pepa's hand in hers and turning it over in her hands to recognise the shapes of finger marks. Julieta's eyes hardened as she looked down at the fresh bruises, lightly tracing them with her finger and feeling overcome with anger and guilt. She should never have left her siblings here alone.
"Will you tell me what happened?" Julieta gently asked Pepa, trying to keep her voice calm. Pepa shuddered again, hiding her face against Julieta and not answering.
"Men." Bruno muttered to Julieta, slowly shaking his head. Julieta looked back at him, realising why he'd used his visions. She sighed and smiled at Bruno in understanding, though she wasn't so sure Mama was going to understand, when the town inevitably started talking about tonight.
At the thought of Mama, Julieta glanced towards their casita in the distance and felt a twinge of panic.
There wasn't long left of the night until morning. They should probably go home. And fast.
Julieta looked around for Mama's horse, but it had bolted from the storm and visions, just like everyone else.
She took a shaky breath. Ok. So this was not good.
"Right." Julieta instructed softly to Bruno and Pepa, taking two arepas from her bag and handing one to each of them. "We need to get home. Before Mama wakes up. Ok?"
They both nodded, and Julieta exhaled. They could do this.
Pepa took a bite of the arepa and her wrist healed. Julieta kissed it and gently wiped the tears from her sister's face, before resting her head against Pepa's. "I know you're not feeling so good right now, Pepa. But we're gonna have to run." Julieta said carefully. "Do you think you can?"
Pepa nodded, putting on a brave smile. Julieta kissed her forehead. She loved her so much.
She then turned to check on Bruno, but he still hadn't taken a bite of his arepa. She gestured to it as he looked back at her sadly.
"But I like how this feels." He said softly, referring to the alcohol. "I feel so brave right now, sis. I don't want that feeling to go away."
Julieta sighed, not having time to argue. She opened her bag and let Bruno return the arepa.
"Alright." She whispered, closing her bag and taking each of their hands in hers. "We gotta be fast. Let's go."
The triplets' feet splashed through puddles as the three of them hurried down the road together, holding hands as the ran, their breaths heavy and their hearts beating fast.
Pepa was faster than the other two, especially Bruno, who was dragging behind Julieta. Finally he ran out of breath and stumbled, pulling his sisters down too. They all fell to the road and lay there, gasping for breath. Julieta looked at the casita in the distance, and forced herself back up.
"Come on." She said breathlessly. "We've got to try."
Pepa exhaled heavily, pulling herself back up too and helping up Bruno. The three of them stood panting and looking hopelessly at eachother.
Then, Julieta heard a frightened call from behind her, followed by the clattering of hooves.
"Out of the waaaaaaay!"
Julieta shrieked in surprise, falling backwards as Mama's brown horse bolted past, Agustin gripping on for dear life.
The horse skidded to a stop, throwing Agustin forward. He exclaimed in fright as he flew through the air. Julieta put her hands over her mouth and winced as Agustin hit the ground and rolled to a stop.
She rushed over to him, dropping down to his side and touching his face. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving.
Julieta felt her heart sink. She quickly reached into her bag, taking an arepa and opening his mouth, pushing it in.
"Come on, please." She whispered, her hand stroking his cheek as she watched his face. "Please, please..."
There was a moment of stillness, then Agustin coughed and stirred, his eyes opening again. Julieta laughed in relief, hugging Agustin as he lay there in confusion.
"Did you... Did the horse-"
"Yeah." Julieta smiled breathlessly. "Thank you. How did you find it?"
"Easy." He sighed. "I tried to run after you, but I couldn't keep up. Then I saw your horse run past and figured I could help in that way. Catching it was the hard part, though."
Julieta smiled gratefully at him. It felt strange to have someone else backing her up and helping her to fix things. It made everything feel less overwhelming.
Finishing the arepa and returning to his old self, Agustin sat back up. Pepa and Bruno sat down with them, smiling gratefully at Agustin.
Agustin saw blurred figures all gathered around him. He reached forward, a little blindly, in search of his glasses, then felt Julieta's soft and warm hand against his as she handed him his glasses. Augustin then took a deep breath. Feeling full of adrenaline from the grand rescue mission, Agustin decided to be bold. He took Julieta's hand in his and pulled her in, kissing her on the lips and feeling himself melt at how wonderful it felt.
Julieta watched in confusion as Agustin kissed Bruno, who made a small sound of surprise, before relaxing into it. "Hey!" Julieta scolded, quickly pushing her brother back. Pepa put a hand over her mouth as she tried not to laugh.
Julieta snatched the glasses from Bruno's hand and put them on Agustin's face. One of the lens was cracked from the fall, but it was still enough for Agustin to see what had happened. He stared back at Bruno in disbelief, then slowly turned to Julieta, who was watching with an unimpressed expression. Bruno cleared his throat, quickly getting up and heading off to fetch the horse.
Agustin smiled nervously at Julieta, giving her a little apologetic wave. She tried to keep serious, but she couldn't help but laugh. Her face broke into a grin as she slowly shook her head at him in disbelief.
"The light." Pepa reminded Julieta, gesturing with worried eyes towards the breaking dawn. "We don't have much time."
Julieta nodded, taking one last grateful glance at Agustin as he smiled back at her. Bruno walked over with the horse and climbed up.
"I'll see you soon." Julieta smiled to Agustin and kissed him on the cheek, before climbing up too. Agustin blushed.
Pepa kissed his cheek too. He looked at her in surprise. "Three for luck." She grinned at him, before adding, "Thanks for saving us."
Julieta reached a hand down to her sister and pulled her up onto the horse so she sat between her and Bruno.
Augustin waved at them, watching as they quickly rode off into the sunrise.
