Chapter 22
34 years before Encanto
Julieta slept for about an hour before she woke again to the sounds of rain and Mamá shouting.
"Storms and prophecies in the middle of town? Sneaking out the casita? What were you both thinking?!"
Dios.
Julieta leapt out of bed and ran to the sounds.
"I am so tired of villagers coming to our door, telling me about the terrible things you two have done!" Alma continued furiously. "The real miracle will be if we're not all chased from this casita by nightfall!"
Julieta saw her brother and sister huddled together under a cloud in front of Mamá. She rushed over to them.
"It wasn't them, Mamá!" Julieta pleaded desperately, standing between Mamá and her siblings. "It was me. I wanted to go."
"-Julieta! You have to stop covering for them!" Alma exclaimed, holding her hands up in exasperation, before gesturing over to Pepa and Bruno. "I already know what happened. These two have snuck out of the casita and caused a disaster in town. I've just had a very upset group of townsfolk at our door. So please, mija, just go back to bed."
Julieta turned to her siblings in concern.
Pepa's hands twisted her braid anxiously, rain and tears of shame running down her face as she avoided Mamá's eyes. Bruno held tightly onto Pepa's arm as he leaned into her, his head resting against her shoulder. Rainwater dripped from his hair as he watched Mamá from under Pepa's cloud with tired eyes.
"Clear that cloud, Pepa." Alma instructed in a sharp tone. Pepa took a shuddering breath and nodded, whispering to herself.
"But it was me, Mamá." Julieta insisted, trying again to convince Alma. "I put the pillows under the covers. I snuck us out the window. I took your horse." Julieta searched her Mamá's eyes pleadingly. "I'm the one who wanted to go to the party, Mamá. Not them. It's not fair for you to-"
"Julieta, I know you." Alma sighed, putting a hand to Julieta's cheek. "My perfect girl. You've been protecting and covering up for them your whole life. But you didn't do anything wrong. You never do anything wrong."
Julieta exhaled heavily at the immense pressure of what Mamá was saying.
"I know you'd never do that to me, Julieta." Alma continued. "Such a good girl... Why would you want to sneak out to a party?"
Julieta hesitated, thinking sadly back over how much fun she'd had tonight. For one fleeting moment, she had been free to live how she wanted, and it was exhilarating.
She sighed, knowing there was only one way to protect the others. Julieta thought of his nervous smile, his flowers, his piano, his cute little glasses, his soft cuddles, the way he'd bravely rode that horse for them.
Goodbye, Agustín. She thought sadly.
"There was a boy, Mamá." Julieta admitted softly. "That's why I wanted to go."
Alma's eyes widened in shock.
But before Julieta could continue, Pepa quickly spoke up, deflecting Alma's attention back to her.
"She's right, Mamá. There was a boy." Pepa announced. "His name is Juan Sánchez, and I kissed him."
Alma gasped, her eyes furious as she turned back to Pepa.
"Ask anyone in town." Pepa continued. "We had a fight, and that's why I made the storm. Everybody saw it. Julieta wasn't even there." Pepa hesitated, taking a shaky breath. "He was my boyfriend, Mamá." She swallowed, still feeling hurt from earlier. "I loved him."
"A boy, Pepa?!" Alma shouted. Pepa backed up a little in fright.
Julieta watched in disbelief. Why did Pepa do that? This wasn't fair. The whole thing had been Julieta's idea.
"That's why you turned the Encanto upside down, Pepa?" Alma exclaimed incredulously. "To see a boy? I told you, you're not ready to be seeing boys! They upset you too much." Alma waved a hand at her daughter to emphasise her point. "Just look at you now! Look at your clouds!"
Pepa whimpered, backing away till she hit the wall behind her. She hid her face in her hands and sobbed, feeling overwhelmed. Bruno rushed to her side and held her as Alma approached them.
"Mama, don't!" Julieta cried out, trying to get between them. "You don't understand-"
"You think I'm asking too much for you to control yourselves and keep a few people happy?" Alma exclaimed furiously at Pepa and Bruno. "Where I came from, people disappeared in the middle of the night. Children were taken from the streets. They torched our home to ashes." Her voice shook with emotion. "This Encanto is the one place where you can be safe, and you are both throwing it away!"
Rain was pouring heavily over them as Pepa's chest heaved for breath. She and Bruno had their arms around one another, their bodies shaking as they hid their faces against eachother.
Julieta rushed over, standing in front of Bruno and Pepa.
"Mamá, please! Stop!" Julieta's voice was fiercely assertive this time. "Just listen to me! I was seeing a boy. It was me. I went on a date."
Alma shook her head in disbelief. "I know you're trying to help, Julieta, but I don't believe that-"
"It's true!" She insisted. "It was Agustín."
"Agustín Rojas?" Alma scoffed in disbelief. "Bruno's friend?"
"Not just my friend." Bruno spoke up bravely, following Pepa's lead as he also tried to protect Julieta. "I kissed him, Mamá."
There was a moment where everyone went quiet, turning to Bruno as he watched his Mamá. Alma blinked in confusion, not sure what to make of this.
Pepa swallowed, finding her voice again. "See Mamá, it's like we said. Julieta was in bed asleep."
"It was just us." Bruno nodded in agreement.
Julieta watched her siblings in shock, overcome with mixed feelings as she watched them defend her. She loved them so much, but she felt like such a coward.
Alma sighed heavily.
"Why do I feel like I am only getting half of the story?" She asked in exasperation, shaking her head. "Fine. I will be going to the Rojas' casita later today to speak with Valentina myself, and I will find out the truth about Agustín. For now, back to bed, all of you."
Alma turned and headed off to her room while Julieta embraced her siblings, throwing her arms around their shaking bodies and hugging them gratefully.
It was grey and raining as Julieta stood under her healing marquee in town, making arepas con queso. A couple townsfolk came to get healed, but mostly it was a quiet day.
Julieta kneaded the mixture in her hands, trying to focus on the smells of the flour, the soft texture of the dough, the heat from the grill. Usually cooking calmed her down, but today all she could think about was her brother and sister.
A tear slowly ran down Julieta's cheek as she thought of Pepa and Bruno crying in her bed this morning as she'd held them. They'd really taken the fall for her this time, and somehow Julieta had gotten away completely unscathed. She felt so guilty, wishing Mamá had just yelled at her too, so they'd all be in this together. She remembered giving Bruno and Pepa food and it not making a difference. They'd eaten it and were still hurting.
Julieta frowned. She hated that her food couldn't heal emotional pain. What a joke. Her whole life she'd watched her brother and sister try so hard, but things just went wrong for them, all the time. Julieta would watch helplessly as life hurt them, over and over, leaving scars on their hearts that her food just couldn't seem to heal. Meanwhile, Julieta went through life unharmed. It wasn't fair.
"Hey there."
Julieta jumped at the sudden sound of a voice. She looked up to see Agustín smiling apologetically back at her.
"Sorry." He laughed nervously. "Didn't mean to scare you."
Julieta almost knocked Agustín down as she rushed over and threw her arms around him in an embrace. She was so relieved to see him.
"Oh! Ow-ah-" Agustín winced, and Julieta quickly let go.
"Sorry! Are you ok?" She asked, seeing the bloody scrapes and bruises over his elbows and forearms. "Did you slip over in the rain?" She gently took his hand, looking the scrapes over in concern.
Agustín nodded with a pained smile.
Julieta took an arepa from the grill with her fingers and handed it to Agustín. He ate it gratefully, sighing in relief as his body healed. Julieta watched him with an adoring smile. She felt deeply comforted by Agustín's presence. It was like now he was here, everything was going to be ok.
Agustín reached into his pocket and pulled out a red carnation, it's petals crumpled and it's stalk bent from his fall earlier. He smiled and handed it to Julieta as she laughed, taking it gratefully.
"Do you just have these ready in your pocket every day, in case you get hurt?" She smiled, admiring the wilted and unfortunate flower in her hands.
Agustín smiled back and nodded. "Always prepared." His face then softened as he looked into Julieta's eyes. "Have you been crying?"
Julieta took a quick breath and turned away, facing the grill as she wiped her eyes. Ay. She was used to comforting other people when they were upset, but didn't know what to do when it was the other way around.
"It's ok if you're sad." Agustín said kindly. "I figured things might've gone a little, ah, badly. I mean, the weather was the first clue." He glanced up at the grey, raining sky. "Then your Mamá came to my casita, asking my Mamá if I had a girlfriend."
Julieta quickly turned back to him with worried eyes.
"-Or a boyfriend." Agustin added, smiling apologetically. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine," Julieta groaned, "Just please, what did your Mamá say?"
"Nothing." He told her reassuringly. "I hadn't told Mamá about the date. I hadn't told anyone. You know... Just in case you didn't come." He noticed Julieta look down sadly at his words, so he quickly added, "Which was stupid of me! Because of course you'd come! And you did! And here we are." He laughed nervously. "But it worked out well for you, because now you've got a good alibi."
Julieta nodded with a sigh. "What did your Mamá say to you after that?"
"Nothing." He grinned. "I heard them talking at the door, so I snuck out the back and hurried here to warn you. That's why I slipped in the rain, I was running."
Julieta's face fell.
"Wait," She said in an urgent tone. "Are you telling me this just happened now?"
Agustín nodded.
"So my Mamá is in town?"
He nodded again.
"And we're standing here together, right where she's gonna pass by on her way back to the casita?"
Agustín's face fell too as he realised what she was saying.
Julieta glanced over his shoulder and surely enough she saw Alma come around the corner, an umbrella over her shoulder. Julieta's heart dropped.
"She's here!" Julieta whispered urgently, quickly shoving the carnation down into her dress pocket. "Go!"
Agustín turned to run, but he immediately slipped in the rainwater, his feet sliding out from under him as he fell to the road with a smack.
"Dios, Agustín!" Julieta exclaimed under her breath in panic, hurrying over to him. His eyes were closed and he had a red bruise already forming on his forehead.
"Julieta!" Alma's voice called out to her in the distance.
"Miércoles." She whispered to herself.
Julieta rolled Agustín under her table, pulling the cloth down over him just before Alma approached.
"Everything alright?" Alma asked curiously. Julieta looked up at her from where she was crouched and smiled.
"Just fixing the tablecloth, Mamá." She said breathlessly.
Alma watched her curiously.
"Well you haven't got it evenly spread." Alma said, coming over to the table. "Let me help-"
"No!" Julieta said a little too quickly and loudly. She hesitated, then laughed awkwardly. "Sorry." She stood up, putting a hand on the table as she leaned into it, trying to look casual. "No thanks, Mamá. I'm good, I got it."
"I see..." Alma watched her daughter suspiciously as Julieta smiled, silently cursing Agustín in her thoughts for somehow passing all his awkwardness onto her.
"Well, I've spoken with the Rojas and the Sánchez families." Alma said in a serious tone. "And it turns out Pepa was telling the truth. They were at the party with Juan Sánchez, and yes they have been dating behind my back." She shook her head to herself before continuing. "I asked people about the storm and the visions, and it was all the same story - no one saw you there." Alma paused to search Julieta's face as she spoke. "Also, Valentina didn't know what I was talking about when I mentioned yours and Bruno's stories about Agustín."
"Mmmhh..." Under the table, Agustín moaned softly as he woke up. Julieta quickly nudged him with her foot and he stopped.
"What was that?" Alma asked suspiciously.
"I said hmm!" Julieta smiled, "Looks like you got it all sorted, Mamá. Good one."
Alma frowned. She searched Julieta's face suspiciously.
"Something is very off about you today, Julieta."
"Me?" Julieta smiled. "I'm fine. Mm-hm, never better."
"You're sweating." Alma commented, gesturing to a bead of sweat running down the side of Julieta's face.
"It's just from the grill, Mamá." Julieta laughed breathlessly, taking her cooking fan and waving it at herself. "Speaking of-" She turned to the grill, bringing Alma an arepa and putting it in her hand. "Here." She smiled. "It's been a big day. You must be so hungry, Mamá."
Alma took the arepa from Julieta with a smile, then paused, her eyes looking down curiously. "What's that?"
Julieta held her breath, more sweat dripping down her face as she felt her heart racing. Oh dios.
"Is that," Alma slowly reached down towards Julieta, "A flower?" She plucked the bent carnation from her pocket and held it up. Julieta exhaled in relief, quickly rubbing the sweat from her face as Alma examined the wilted and bent flower.
"I got it for you, Mamá." She grinned. "I know it's been a hard day for you."
"This flower is ruined."
"It's a metaphor," Julieta attempted, "The crushed flower, ah, symbolises the hardships and struggles that we have overcome together, as a family?" Her voice became unintentionally high pitched at the end of the sentence.
Alma raised an eyebrow and Julieta grinned again, though inside she was dying. Dios, Agustín! What have you done to me?
"Very well, Julieta." Alma said, her face still suspicious. "I'll leave you to work. But know this," She paused, holding up the flower as she spoke. "If there is more to this story... If you are hiding something, I'm assuming for your brother or your sister, then I want to know." She sighed, her expression serious. "And don't you think I won't figure it out."
"Yes, Mamá." Julieta replied breathlessly. "I love you."
Alma's face softened and she smiled. "I love you too, mija." She kissed Julieta's forehead, before stepping back.
"Now I must go." She sighed. "I need to go have a word with your sister."
Julieta's heart sunk at her words. "Go easy on her, Mamá, please." She said seriously. "Last night was hard on Pepa... You should ask her about the bruises on her wrist."
Alma looked at her in surprise.
"That's all I know." Julieta said honestly. "I just healed them, she wouldn't tell me what happened. But they looked bad, Mama... Bruno used his visions because he was trying to protect her."
Alma stared back with eyes full of concern. She nodded, turning and heading towards the casita. Julieta watched her go.
"Is she gone?" Agustín's voice spoke softly from under the table.
"Not yet." Julieta said in a strained voice, not daring to move as she watched her Mamá.
Alma turned and waved to Julieta with a smile before disappearing around the corner. Once she was out of sight, Julieta immediately groaned and collapsed against the table.
She then lifted the tablecloth for Agustín.
"Ok, she's-" Julieta didn't finish as Agustín quickly came out from under the table at the same time that she crouched down, banging his head into hers and knocking her over.
"Sorry!" Agustín exclaimed, pulling Julieta up so she was sitting and held her in his arms. "I'm so sorry."
Julieta put a hand to her forehead and sighed.
A couple weeks later
Eventually the town's interest in that night faded until it was just another town story. Julieta didn't get caught, and she didn't know how she felt about that. One one hand, it was unfair on Pepa and Bruno, but on the other hand it allowed the triplets to relax and have breathing space to see Agustín without constantly having to check over their shoulders.
It was sunset, and they all sat together in the fields overlooking the Encanto. Flowers bloomed in the grass around them as the sky glowed golden.
Julieta sat with her back against Agustín's chest as she held his guitar. Agustín leaned over her shoulder and softly taught her how to play. Pepa sat beside them watching the sunset, her hands full of little flowers as Bruno and his rats sat behind her and braided them into her hair.
"Flower please," Bruno instructed, as Pepa picked one out of her hands and held it up for him. A rat crawled down her arm, taking the flower and scurrying it over to Bruno. He sent it back. "Not that one. I need a long stemmed one."
Pepa exhaled in a frustrated puff, searching through the pile again.
Julieta grinned at them, then turned back to the guitar, carefully lining up her fingers and strumming a chord.
She turned to Agustín. "Is that right?"
"Yeah, you got it." Agustín smiled, kissing her cheek proudly.
Julieta smiled too, continuing to strum as she looked out at the sunset. She felt like she really had the rhythm going until it was time to change chords, then her fingers stumbled.
Agustín grinned.
"Make sure you use your pivot finger," He reminded her, "Like this..." His hand gently held hers as he moved her fingers to show her. "That way you've got a good foundation to change on."
Julieta nodded. She tried again, and this time it was smoother. She smiled, continuing to play. Agustín watched her lovingly, his head resting against hers as he enjoyed the soft feel of her hair and the sweet way that she smelled. He watched the sunset with her, wondering how he had gotten so lucky.
Julieta finished the song then put the guitar down, turning around to face him, the golden glow of the sun shining behind her.
"So what happens now?" Julieta asked softly.
Agustín's eyes searched hers in confusion. "With the guitar?"
"With us."
"Oh." He looked back at her, unsure.
"I want to tell Mamá." She decided. "I don't want us to be a secret forever... But," She sighed. "She's not gonna like it."
Agustín smiled back at her, gently brushing his fingers through her hair. "It's probably gonna be hard, that's true." He leaned in, their foreheads touching. "But we'll get through it, together."
Julieta smiled back gratefully. She put her arms around Agustín, feeling thankful to have someone who was always ready to stand by her, no matter what.
Julieta brushed Agustín's fringe back so she could gaze into his eyes, her face close to his.
"Got my glasses on this time." He laughed awkwardly, and Julieta shook her head with a smile.
She gently put her hand to Agustín's face and leaned in to kiss him. Agustin held his breath in anticipation, closing his eyes and leaning in too.
Suddenly, there was a crash of thunder.
Julieta and Agustín both jumped in surprise, turning to Pepa and Bruno, who were clamoring at eachother.
"Don't you rain on that hair, Pepa!" Bruno exclaimed, frantically waving his hands over Pepa's cloud. "Not after all our work!"
"Well if you stopped pulling my hair, I wouldn't be thundering!" Pepa shouted, glaring at him with wide eyes.
"It wasn't me, it was the rats!"
"It was a hard pull," Pepa insisted, waving a finger in Bruno's face. "No rat could have done that."
Julieta sighed, turning back to Agustín with an endearing smile.
"Want to go for a walk?" She asked.
Agustín laughed and nodded, taking her hand as the two of them headed off together into the sunset.
