Chapter 33

30 years before Encanto


"I'm drowning, Hernando!" Agustín called out from the river, his voice feigning desperation as he splashed around and coughed.

Bruno ran through the water, splashing and fighting his way to Agustín and scooping him up into his arms. The water made Agustín's body seem weightless, and Bruno felt seven foot tall as he carried him along the river.

"Just in time," Bruno spoke up in a brave voice, "That old sea witch almost had you."

Pepa scoffed as she saw Bruno gesture over to where she and Félix sat on the rocks. "Are you joking, Bruno?" Pepa exclaimed, an angry cloud appearing over her head. "Say it to my face!"

"Behold, how she harnesses the power of water!" Bruno called with a mystical wave of his hand.

Pepa glared back at him, her cloud thundering.

"You know what happens when lightning hits water, right?" Agustín muttered nervously to Bruno as Pepa stood up, her eyes wide and fierce.

Bruno blew a raspberry at Pepa, then disappeared under the water. Pepa's cloud thundered again as she watched him.

"Go get him, amor!" Félix grinned in encouragement.

Pepa leapt into the river, her long arms thrashing and flailing against the water as she chased after her brother. Bruno swam away gracefully.

He'd picked up the new skill much quicker than his sister, and enjoyed rubbing it in.

Pepa gasped as the river became deeper and her head went under. Agustín quickly put an arm around Pepa's waist and pulled her back up.

Pepa held on tight to him, coughing and sputtering. Bruno giggled, watching his sister with a cheeky grin.

"You ok?" Agustín asked Pepa.

Pepa glared at Bruno.

"Take me to him." She muttered in a low voice, her cloud thundering and flashing over their heads. Agustín glanced up at the cloud and gulped, then swam after Bruno while Pepa held onto his shoulders.

Félix grinned as he watched the three of them, then turned to Julieta. She stood at the river's edge, her arms crossed in amusement as she watched the others play.

"Come on," Félix grinned at her. "Let's go join them."

"You can." Julieta laughed. "I don't really feel like it."

Félix smiled. He hadn't fully figured out Pepa's sister yet. He wondered if she was embarrassed because she hadn't learned how to swim and her siblings had.

"You can do it!" Félix encouraged. "Here, take my hand. I'll show you."

Félix held out a hand and Julieta glanced at it, then back at the water.

"It's easy!" He pressed. "You'll pick it up real quick, I promise."

Félix took Julieta's hand, but then stopped as he felt her freeze up.

Julieta's hand was trembling. Félix's eyes softened as he let her go. He hadn't realised how frightened she was.

"Hey, are you ok?" Félix asked in a gentle voice. "You're shaking."

"Oh, I'm fine." Julieta smiled, crossing her arms again. "I'm just cold."

Félix watched her in surprise. Julieta was very good at hiding her feelings.

"I thought you'd be used to lots of water." He grinned, glancing over at Pepa, who had caught up to her brother and was shouting as she leapt from Agustín's shoulders to Bruno's and tried to wrestle him down.

Julieta giggled as she watched them, but as the water splashed Félix noticed a tiny change in her breath.

"It scares you." He observed, his voice quiet so the others wouldn't hear. "The water."

"It makes me a little nervous." Julieta admitted with a smile. "But it's no big deal. I'm just getting used to it."

Félix watched Julieta in curiosity. Now he knew what to look for, he could see it, hidden very well behind her calm demeanour. Her fingers shook just a little, and her legs were stiff. Something about the water terrified her.

"Is it because of Pepa's gift?" He asked carefully. "Is that why you're afraid of water?"

Julieta turned to him in surprise. "I never said that."

"Ok, but it's something." Félix pressed.

Julieta sighed. "You really don't let things go, do you?"

He shook his head with a grin, but decided not to push any further.

"You know what, forget the water." Félix said. "Let's go have some of that picnic, hm?"

Julieta's face lit up at the mention of food. She nodded, leading Félix away from the river and back up to the blanket.

"Ay!" Julieta exclaimed with a frown, chasing Bruno's rats out of the picnic basket as she sat down. She then pulled out all the food she'd prepared. She was excited to show Félix what she'd made.

Félix sat next to Julieta for a while, the two of them enjoying the picnic as they watched the boys chase Pepa along the rocks and into the shallows, their feet splashing.

"These are so good." Félix commented, holding up an empañada.

There was a loud squeal as Bruno caught Pepa around the middle, pulling her down. They both splashed into the water, Agustín shouting in encouragement.

Félix chuckled at them, then stopped as he saw Julieta's face.

Julieta was staring ahead with wide eyes as the others splashed in the shallows. As they screamed, Julieta's back stiffened.

"You ok?"

At the sound of Félix's voice she took a sharp breath.

"Yeah." Julieta replied breathlessly, turning back to him with a smile. "Glad you like the empañadas." She tried to keep her tone casual. "Pepa can make them too, you should ask her to show you."

Félix grinned knowingly. "Are you bringing up Pepa so I'll talk about her, instead of what I just saw?"

Julieta smiled, looking down. "I was hoping for that, yeah."

Félix watched Julieta in concern as she looked back out at the river. He felt worried for her.

"Will you please tell me?" He asked.

Julieta hesitated, then sighed.

"Alright." She said in a quiet voice. "Though I'm not really sure how to start." She turned back to Félix, her eyes searching his. "Did Pepa already tell you about our papá?"

"Pedro." He smiled. "Yeah. She showed me the painting."

"Ok," Julieta continued slowly. "But did she tell you how he died?"

Félix shook his head. Julieta hesitated, taking a deep breath as she looked out at the water.

"Something really terrible happened at this river." Julieta spoke in a quiet voice. "Years ago, when we were all just babies."

She looked down at her hands as she spoke.

"Our parents were escaping the war, and they carried us through this forest. They got attacked. Our papá tried to protect us... And they murdered him."

Felix's face softened.

"They were on horses." Julieta continued, her eyes turning back to the water as she imagined it. "They galloped through here with fire and swords. Papá stood in front of Mamá. They cut him down, right in front of her... She watched him die,"

Julieta gestured to where the others played in the shallows. "Just over there."

Félix watched Julieta in horror. She continued to look out over the river, deep in thought.

He glanced over at Pepa, feeling guilty as he remembered how afraid she had been to come here the very first time, and how Félix had just written it off in his head as Alma being overprotective.

He remembered what Pepa had said to him, when he'd first asked her to come here.

Bad things happen at the river.

Félix shuddered. Pepa's father had been murdered right in front of her. He hadn't realised that's what she'd meant.

Suddenly a lot of things about Pepa's family started to make sense to Félix.

"I'm so sorry." Félix said quietly, turning back to Julieta. Her eyes met his with a soft expression. "What happened to your family, that... That's horrible. I'm really sorry I brought you all here."

"Don't be." Julieta replied with a genuine smile. "This was a good idea." She glanced over at her siblings. "I think it was important for us to come back here. We needed to see for ourselves that it isn't as bad as we imagined. That we can make new memories here."

"But it's really bothering you."

"It is, isn't it?" Julieta laughed softly to herself. "Isn't that strange? I didn't think it would affect me like this."

"Is it because you remember it?" He asked.

Julieta shook her head.

"We were only babies." She explained. "But," She looked back out at the river thoughtfully, then sighed.

"What is it?"

"I don't know... It's hard to describe." She said, her eyes searching the water. "I have no conscious memory of the event, but it's like my body remembers. It's this strong feeling, deep inside of me. A voice telling me to run. As if all my instincts know something terrible happened to us here."

Félix noticed her hands were visibly trembling now. He felt his heart sink as he saw a glimmer of pain in her eyes.

"Can I give you a hug?" Félix offered.

Julieta shook her head, attempting to laugh it off. It wasn't that she didn't trust Félix, she just didn't want any more attention put on the fact that she was upset.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." Julieta looked back out at the water and crossed her arms uncomfortably.

Felix didn't know what to do. He looked over at Pepa and caught her eye, gesturing to Julieta. Pepa's expression softened as she ran over. A worried cloud formed over her head as she knelt down in front of her sister.

"What is it?" Pepa asked softly, putting her hands to Julieta's cheeks as she searched her face. "Hermana? Are you hurt?"

Felix half expected Julieta to pretend everything was fine, but this time she didn't. Julieta took a shaky breath and hid her face against Pepa's shoulder. Pepa hugged her tight.

"Got you." Pepa whispered, kissing Julieta's hair. Her fingers stroked up and down Julieta's back.

"I feel so embarrassed." Julieta whispered back to Pepa, looking up at her.

"Ay, I know." Pepa sighed, kissing Julieta's face, "Feeling is the worst."

Julieta laughed softly.

Pepa gently rubbed her sister's hair. Julieta closed her eyes, relaxing into it.

"Will you tell me?" Pepa asked.

Julieta shook her head. "I don't want to spoil this. You're all having a fun time."

Bruno and Agustin came over, noticing something was wrong. They sat beside Julieta with worried eyes, but the moment she felt them arrive Julieta quickly opened her eyes again and sat back up.

"Ay." She laughed, shaking everyone off. "I'm fine, everyone. I'm just hungry."

Agustin and Bruno glanced at eachother, then back to Julieta. They saw the desperation in Julieta's eyes to leave it alone, so they respected her wishes and didn't push it further.

"I'll tell you another time." She sighed. "I just really don't want to talk about it right now."

"Ok, sis." Bruno nodded in understanding, holding her hand.

"We're here for you." Agustín said, sitting beside her. "Whatever you need."

Julieta leaned into him gratefully. Agustin put his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"What can we do to help?" Bruno asked.

Julieta took a deep breath, a little overwhelmed. She loved helping others, but had never really learned how to accept help when it was the other way around.

"You can help me by eating all this food." She smiled, gesturing to the picnic. "I think I cooked enough to feed the village."

Later

The afternoon sun glowed golden over the fields as they all walked home.

Agustin and Julieta walked ahead, holding hands and laughing as Bruno and his rats performed for them, dancing his way in and out of the crops.

Pepa groaned from behind him.

"You wreck my plants I wreck you, Brunito!" She called out in warning.

Bruno laughed nervously, quickly scooping up his rats and stepping away from Pepa's crops.

"Ay, these crops are lucky to have you, amor." Félix chuckled. "Your loving eye watching over them."

Pepa scoffed. "Loving eye." She glanced around at the crops with a frown of disapproval. "I would squash them myself if I could."

Felix laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist as they walked.

As they reached the open fields and had more space around them, Félix noticed Pepa begin to slow down so they'd trail behind the others. Felix did the same.

When they had enough distance between them, Pepa turned to Félix with concerned eyes.

"What happened to my sister?" Pepa asked in a quiet voice.

Felix hesitated, glancing ahead at Julieta.

There was a moments silence as Pepa watched him, then she spoke again.

"No secrets between us." Pepa reminded him gently. "Remember?"

"I know, amor." He turned back to Pepa, stroking her cheek as he tried to think of the best way to tell her.

"She told me about your papá." Félix admitted. "About how he died... At the river."

Pepa expression softened. She watched her sister with worried eyes.

"Pepi, I'm sorry." Félix spoke up. "I should've known something wasn't right. I asked you to come to the river that first time, remember? You said-"

"Bad things happen at the river." Pepa nodded, her eyes still on Julieta. "I remember."

A cloud appeared over Pepa's head and the sky dulled, the golden hour becoming overcast.

At the sudden change in weather, the others glanced over their shoulders, but Pepa waved at them to keep going. She then turned back to Félix, her voice hushed.

"She must trust you." Pepa commented. "She would not just say that to anyone."

She turned back to her sister with sad eyes. "Was she scared?"

"Very." Félix nodded, "But she hid it well."

"Ay." Pepa sighed. "That sounds like her."

Félix looked at Pepa in concern.

"Does it upset you too, Pepa?" Felix asked, his eyes searching hers. "Are you just putting on a brave face, like your sister?"

Pepa laughed quietly, shaking her head.

"This is my only face." She smiled, tapping her cheek. "If I am upset," She waved a hand up at her clouds, "You'll know."

Felix chuckled.

"Besides," Pepa added with a grin. "I love the river. the best memories of my life are there."

She gestured to the ring she wore on her finger, then kissed it, looking at him with bright eyes. Above her, a rainbow appeared.

Félix smiled back, pulling her in close and kissing her.

"I love you so much." He whispered, resting his head against hers.

"Me too, amor."

They walked in silence for a little while, then Pepa spoke up again.

"Mamá talks to Julieta about these things." Pepa explained. "That's why it affects her more... She knows about what happened. Even when we were little, Julieta always helped Mamá when she was crying, or if she had bad dreams. She'd hear all the stories." Pepa sighed. "It was a lot to carry."

"What about you and Bruno?" Félix asked carefully.

"We made Mamá laugh."

"That's important." Félix nodded in understanding. He remembered taking on a similar role when he was growing up, helping his Pá to smile and laugh while grieving the loss of his Mamá. Sometimes Félix felt like he never really stepped out of that role.

"You were her sunshine, hm?" He smiled, taking her hand.

Pepa smiled back. "Hm."

"Did you hear the stories too?" He asked. "Did Mamá talk to you about what happened?"

Pepa hesitated, her cloud thundering.

"Mamá... doesn't talk to me and Bruno." She took a deep breath. "Not about things like that. She doesn't need our help." Pepa hesitated and looked down, her hand fidgeting with hair. "It's hard to help someone when you're one of their problems."

Félix felt his heart sink. He could see Pepa really believed what she was saying.

"Hey," He said in a gentle voice, stroking her face. "Your Mamá loves you, so much. You know that, right?"

She look a shaky breath. Above them, rain started to sprinkle.

Pepa groaned, looking up at it with a frown.

"Pepa!" Agustin called out from the distance. "You ok?"

Pepa exhaled slowly, reaching up and shooing at her cloud.

"Great." She whispered, wiping her eyes.

Seeing his sister was upset, Bruno and his rats started to dance again, making his way towards them and singing a familiar tune.

Pepa gasped in surprise as she recognised the song they used to sing and dance together as children.

The rain stopped as Pepa remembered staying up late at night with Bruno and Julieta, rehearsing together so in the morning they could sit Mamá down and perform for her, the three of them determined to cheer her up.

"Are we really doing this?" Julieta laughed, recognising what he was doing. She glanced warily at the Agustín and Félix, but they were both beaming and clapping along in encouragement.

Bruno smiled, holding his hand out for her.

"You still remember?"

Julieta smiled back, taking his hand.

"This is my sister!" Bruno jumped towards Julieta, who grinned.

"This is my brother!" Julieta joined in, jumping towards him. They clapped their hands together and stepped in time, still remembering the choreography.

"We are siblings and we care for each other."

Pepa laughed, shaking her head at them as the memories came back to her.

She watched them circles around eachother, then dance towards her. It was exactly the same as they'd used to do it. She couldn't believe they still remembered.

Above them, the sky brightened.

"You thought there were two," Bruno continued, approaching Pepa.

"But there is another." Julieta grinned at her.

Pepa smiled back at them knowingly as they took her hands.

Félix glanced at Agustín and they both laughed. They were used to seeing Bruno perform all the time, but seeing a rehearsed song and dance with his sisters was another thing.

"Come on, Pepa," The two of them sung. "It's time to do the sibling-"

"Stop, stop! I cannot do this!" Pepa interrupted, letting go of their hands as she paced away. "I have so much to do! Make it rain, water the crops..."

Félix and Agustín glanced at eachother, unsure if this was part of the act or not, but Julieta and Bruno grinned knowingly.

"And then I have to make," Pepa paused, turning to them with a smile as she raised her hand. "A rainbow."

A rainbow appeared above them, and the three of them couldn't help but laugh. They remembered that had been the most exciting part when they were kids.

"Come on, do the ending." Bruno encouraged Pepa. Julieta nodded in agreement.

"And I don't have time to do the sibling dance." Pepa continued, jumping over to stand in her place beside them as the three of them performed the ending of their dance together.

Félix and Agustín laughed and clapped for them. The three of them laughed too, leaning into eachother and feeling nostalgic.

"I can't believe you guys still remember that." Julieta grinned breathlessly.

"After all those nights of Bruno yelling?" Pepa scoffed. "It is forever burned in my mind."

"It wasn't yelling." Bruno corrected her. "I was projecting my voice. It's what actors do."

Pepa rolled her eyes.

"Come on." Julieta smiled, continuing to walk. The mix of adrenaline and nostalgia from the dance with her brother and sister had really improved her mood too.

It was strange to think something they'd invested to cheer up Mamá worked so well on them too.

She turned to Agustín as they walked, hugging onto his arm.

"I want to see that again." He laughed. "I like seeing you do stuff like that."

"Ay," She shook her head with a laugh. "I still can't believe it did that."

Agustín kissed her cheek and grinned. "Well, I'm glad I got to see it."

Félix held Pepa's hand, their fingers interlocked as they walked.

Bruno watched his sisters as they walked, feeling relieved to see they both seemed a lot happier again. He didn't know what had happened with Julieta at the river, or Pepa in the fields, all Bruno knew was he loved them, and he wanted to always be there to lift them up when they were feeling down.

The sun slowly set as the five of them walked together, a rainbow floating over their heads as they headed back into town.


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(Note)

Thank you everyone for your ongoing support of this story :) I know it's been a while since I updated, but I want to assure you the next chapter is slowly getting there. I've been really sick with covid for the past month and have been struggling with a lot of aspects in my life, writing included! However, chapter 34 is definitely coming. :)

In the meantime, I made an animatic for the first time - It's about Pepa and I'd love to share it with you. I work fulltime as a 3D animator, but have never tried 2D before. It was a lot of fun and pretty comforting to take my mind off the pain :D

watch?v=ddwOvcPreB0

I hope you enjoy the animatic, and I look forward to seeing you next chapter!

Cloudy Encanto x