Chapter 37
40 years before Encanto
The group of friends walked through town, talking to eachother. Pepa followed, holding hands with the friend who'd walked her home.
Pepa hardly took in the conversation around her. She felt so ashamed by how Bruno had been treated, her mind replaying it over and over.
"Why did you laugh?" She finally spoke up in a brave voice.
No one answered.
Pepa's heart sunk. She didn't like when this happened.
She tried again. "What did the note say?"
"You guys should come to my birthday." One girl spoke to the boys. "It's this weekend."
"Please?" Pepa tried again.
"You don't have to worry about a present."
"Mama will be so angry-"
"But if you want to get me one you can-"
Pepas cloud thundered and everyone jumped.
They finally turned around. Pepa smiled hopefully, but was met with mixed expressions. The girl who'd been talking looked annoyed, while the boys looked excited by the thunder, ignoring the other girls as they found Pepa more interesting.
Pepa took a breath.
"I need to know before Mama-"
"Mama?"
The boys all laughed. Pepa twisted her braid with her fingers.
"Aw, baby gringa."
"Are you gonna cry to Mami?"
"Can't cry to Papi."
Pepa whimpered, the words hitting her off guard. Her face burned hot as her heart sunk.
Not Papi.
The cloud over Pepa's head darkened as she tried not to cry.
"Don't worry, he wasn't your real Papi." Another spoke up with a laugh.
"He was." Pepa tried to defend herself, but her voice came out soft and broken.
"Then why do you look like that?"
Pepa took a shaky breath and swallowed, a single tear betraying her as she closed her eyes.
"Look, she's crying."
"What a baby."
Pepa's chest shuddered and more tears fell, her cloud raining. Her friend let go of Pepa's hand, stepping back from the water.
The boys smiled, gathering around to take a look at the cloud. That's what they'd been trying to do. They loved the clouds. Pepa dropped down, covering her head as they crowded her. She sobbed, so afraid they would hurt her.
The group laughed, one boy fake sobbing while the other waved hands above his head, making thundering sounds. Some of the girls couldn't help but laugh too. They wanted the boys to pay them attention again.
Pepa's eyes darted to her friend. Pepa reached out a hand, her watery eyes wide and pleading.
The girl watched, feeling unsure.
The laughter continued and Pepa took a shuddering breath, her nose running.
"Come on, that's enough guys." The girl spoke up. "Pezito's hungry, we should go to the bridge if you all want your wishes."
Pepa shuddered. Not the bridge.
At the mention of wishes, the group diverted their attention back to eachother, discussing what they would wish for today. The girl came over to Pepa, waiting for her to clear away her rain so she could help her up.
As the group walked together, Pepa hugged tight to her friend, shivering a little. The friend rubbed her back.
"What did the note say?" Pepa whispered.
The friend shrugged.
"Probably nothing." She replied. "They joke around all the time. Just forget about it."
They reached the bridge and everyone made themselves comfortable. Pepa stopped at the edge, too afraid to join.
"Is that where you go to water the coffee?" Her friend asked, gesturing over to the fields in the distance.
Pepa nodded, squeezing her hand in short little bursts. She was the only one who really spoke to Pepa, and it made her feel wanted.
"Looks like there are so many crops." The girl commented. "Does anyone go with you to help?"
Pepa shook her head.
"Just me." She admitted. "I do it all by myself."
"Wow, Pepa." The friend smiled. "That's a lot of work."
Pepa couldn't help but smile back, her eyes bright.
Her smile faded as she noticed the boys listening, whispering to eachother as they watched Pepa. She leaned closer into her friend, a cloud appearing over her head as she avoided their eyes.
"Come on," The friend encouraged, her arm around Pepa. "Let's go feed Pezito."
The boys glanced at the fields, then turned back to eachother, whispering in excitement.
Pepa came home to find Mamá was up in her room. She exhaled slowly, running her hands through her braid as she headed to the kitchen. Dios, Mama must be having a bad day. This just makes things worse.
"Clear skies, clear skies."
"Hey, Pepi."
Pepa relaxed a little at the sound of Julieta's voice. She saw her sister sitting at the kitchen table, writing in her workbook.
A pot bubbled over the stove as Julieta multitasked dinner with homework. She had a teddy bear sitting on her lap that she hugged with one arm, her chin resting on its head as she wrote in her book.
Pepa recognised Julieta's bear. It's name was Honey, and Julieta often cuddled it when she got lonely.
She came over to Julieta, gently pulling her in for a hug. Julieta relaxed into her embrace.
Pepa felt her anxiety melt away as she held her sister. Suddenly everything was okay again. As long as she was in this house with Julieta, Pepa would be okay.
While Pepa was there, she couldn't help but spy on Julieta's homework.
She noticed a lot of numbers and scribble, then grinned as she saw the words 'coffee' and 'donkeys'.
"What is this, hermana?" Pepa prompted with a smile. "Hm?"
Julieta laughed softly.
"This," She threw a hand, "Is me failing miserably." She sighed, turning back to Pepa. "I just can't figure out how you did it."
Pepa smiled knowingly.
"I used a trick." She admitted, sitting down next to Julieta and sliding the book over. "Want to see?"
Julieta nodded, leaning into Pepa.
Pepa's eyes sparkled with pride. It wasn't often she knew something her sister didn't, and Pepa loved to show off.
"Well. 4000 has 3 zeros at the end, hm?" Pepa explained, writing the numbers on the page.
Julieta nodded, her chin resting on Honey as she watched.
"And 50 has one zero at the end." Pepa continued. "So, you take all the zeros away. Then you make the answer with the easy numbers."
"4 x 5?" Julieta frowned. "That's it?"
"Mm-hm." Pepa nodded.
"So it's 20."
"Yeah, 20." Pepa grinned. "Now you just put the zeros back."
She wrote on Julieta's book. 20 0000.
"There are four of them, see?" Pepa tapped the answer with the pencil. "It's my secret." She handed the pencil back to Julieta. "The farmers use it when they count the crops, and they taught me how." She smiled proudly. "Because I'm a farmer too."
Julieta smiled, her eyes warm with love.
Her own day had been very stressful, the accident in town serious and graphic. Julieta had only just been able to save everyone, and was still feeling shaken, the scene replaying in her head.
In times like this, Julieta craved Pepa's sunny smile and disposition. She loved the playful and innocent way her sister saw the world, and the hopeful light that shone bright in her eyes. Being around Pepa always made Julieta feel better. Pepa didn't realise, but she was her sister's healer.
"Did you have a good day?" Julieta asked, her voice tired but kind as she held Honey.
Pepa moaned softly at the question, but before she could answer, there was a knock at the door.
Pepa peered around the corner, watching anxiously as Julieta answered the door to their teacher. Pepa quickly hid again, chest heaving as she pressed her back against the wall. A cloud appeared above her and Pepa held her breath.
"Shh, clear skies, clear skies." She whispered up at it. "Shh, please don't say anything. Shh Shh..."
"Senor." Alma spoke, coming downstairs to join Julieta at the door. "What's happened?"
Pepa slid to the floor, closing her eyes in stress and holding hands over her ears. She made a soft squealing sound, but could still hear them talking.
"She said she wanted to destroy the crops." The teacher said, then read out the note. "Look at him, pathetic. Wishing he had his coffee. I destroyed it once, and I'll do it again. This whole Encanto deserves to starve."
Julieta frowned, turning to Mama, who blinked in confusion.
Pepa covered her mouth, eyes wide in fear as she hid. Why would her friends write that? Pepa didn't understand.
"And then she writes this about my son, Eduardo." The teacher's voice wavered. "It's, ah... perhaps Julieta-"
"Go finish dinner, mija." Alma instructed, gently stroking her daughter's face.
Once Julieta had left the room, the teacher started to read out things that Pepa didn't understand.
"With all due respect, Señor." Alma spoke carefully. "My Pepa doesn't know about those things. She is young for her age."
"I asked if she wrote it, and she said yes." The teacher took a shaky breath. "And Eduardo has been acting strange lately. I asked him about this and he..." The teacher's voice trailed off. He wiped his eyes, taking another breath. "I think something bad happened."
Alma stayed silent, hand stroking one of her braids as she listened. She couldn't count the times villagers had come to this door, upset about something her children had done wrong wrong. It always made Alma anxious, like she was a bad mother.
"And there is a drawing of my son." He took another breath. "It's ah- just look." There was the sound of paper shuffling, and Alma went silent.
Pepa hugged her knees, her cloud raining over her as she cried. She didn't want to hurt Eduardo. She didn't want to hurt anyone. Pepa just wanted to be good.
Julieta approached with sad eyes and Pepa sobbed, her body shaking as Julieta crouched down and hugged her.
"It's okay." Julieta whispered, holding her sister as she shook under her cloud.
"Pepa." Mamas voice called from the door.
Pepa broke into a panic, overwhelmed as she buried her face against Julieta, her breathing fast and her cloud thundering.
"It's okay." Julieta repeated, kissing her forehead. "I'll protect you, Pepi."
"Come here." Mama called again, the thunder giving away Pepa's close proximity. "And bring your school book."
Pepa glanced at Julieta in confusion. Why did Mama want her school book?
Alma exhaled, looking over the note in her hands.
Pepa slowly stepped out, leaning into Julieta and clutching her schoolbook close to her chest as her cloud rained over them. Her shoulders were stiff and she couldn't look Mama in the eye.
Julieta took an umbrella that rested by the door, opening it over them while Mama opened the book.
"Pepa did not write this note." Alma explained in a calm tone.
Pepa's expression softened. Her hand squeezed Julieta's as she realised Mama was going to protect her, just like in Magic and Monsters.
Alma opened Pepa's schoolbook, pointing out her daughter's messy scrawl.
"This is Pepa's handwriting." She said, turning the pages. "It is nothing like that note. See? And her drawings..."
Alma turned the page and couldn't help but chuckle. It was a picture Pepa had drawn of their characters. All the people looked the same, with big round bodies and spindly legs. Pepa had drawn the eyes big and staring, and something about their faces looked a little off.
She turned the page to show drawings of rats, with the same faces as the people, just smaller bodies and more legs. She turned again to see a drawing of a rainbow, with the word sunshine under it, a little sun over the i. Under it were wonky circles and shapes that were labelled with different crop names.
"This is how my daughter draws." Alma turned page after page while Pepa blushed, holding onto Julieta. "Pepa is very young for her age, Señor. She only wants to play games. She doesn't know about boys, and I assure you she doesn't know about the things in that note."
The teacher glanced at Pepa, who turned away, hiding her face against Julieta and shivering.
"Look at her." Alma sighed. "You really think Pepa did any of that?" She handed the note back. "I am concerned for your Eduardo, though. I would like to help you. What they wrote about your son is unacceptable." She stepped over to her daughters, putting an arm around them both as she looked back at the teacher. "But it was not my Pepa."
Pepa looked up at Mamá with bright eyes, feeling safe and loved.
Bruno didn't come home till right before dinner, saying goodbye to someone at the door. Pepa turned with wide eyes as he entered the dining room.
"Who was that?" Pepa demanded as he entered the kitchen. Bruno frowned at her.
"Julieta." He said, going over to hug one sister but not the other. "Can you tell Pepa it's none of her business if I got a friend."
Pepa gasped.
"You made a friend?" Alma spoke up hopefully.
Bruno turned to Mana with a proud smile and nodded.
Pepa scoffed. Now if she told Mana she had friends too it would just be overshadowed.
"Julieta," Pepa spoke up. "Tell Bruno no one cares about his friend."
"Pepa!" Alma scolded. "Apologise to your brother."
"Julieta, tell Pepa I don't want her dumb apology."
Julieta groaned, throwing her head back.
"Julieta, tell Bruno he wasn't going to get one anyway."
"You guys, stop!" Julieta exclaimed, and they both fell silent.
There was the awkward clinking of plates as everyone ate in silence. Pepa glanced at Julieta, feeling betrayed she didn't take her side.
"Sorry." Julieta sighed.
When her siblings got like this it just made her feel so out of place. She couldn't relate to their squabbles. Her mind was still ticking over the cart crash from earlier.
"Pepa, did you want to tell Mama about your trick?" Julieta tried, offering her sister a peaceful smile.
Pepa scowled back. "Mama. Can you tell Julieta-"
"Oh, Pepa, enough!" Alma exclaimed. "I don't know what bee has gotten stuck in your hat lately, but I am sick of it!"
Pepa frowned, her cloud thundering.
"Calm down." Mama scolded, her patience wearing thin. "If you behave maybe we can play Brunito's game after dinner."
"Nah, I'm good." Bruno shoved his empty bowl away and stood.
Julieta's expression dropped. She'd really been looking forward to playing together.
Pepa's cloud thundered again.
"But we were going to level up!" She protested.
"Eh." Bruno shrugged.
Lightning flashed against Pepa's furious eyes.
"Well, I don't want to play with you anyway!" Pepa lied, trying to bluff so Bruno would get scared back into playing.
The words hurt Bruno, but he didn't back down.
"I don't care!" He shot back. "I don't wanna play with you either."
Pepa's face dropped. Julieta looked between her siblings with a heartbroken expression.
The temperature dropped as Bruno's words triggered Pepa into a panic. She screamed, thrashing her body around as rain poured over the table, soaking everyone as lightning flashed.
Bruno got up with a scrape of his chair and left the room.
Alma sighed, looking at the food bowls filling with water. She glanced at Julieta, who sat still, rain dripping from her hair and her shoulders stiff.
"I'm sorry, mija." Alma muttered to Julieta, then turned to Pepa, stroking her face and shushing her. Tears and rainwater rolled down Pepa's face as she sobbed.
Alma felt worried about Pepa's behaviour. Her daughter's emotional control seemed to be getting worse by the day. She'd always been a sensitive girl, but now if felt like any small thing was sending Pepa into a full blown panic.
"Come on," Alma gently led Pepa out of the room, arms around her shoulders as her daughter screamed. "Let's go outside. We're going to practice clear skies, hm?"
This only made Pepa scream more, the house lighting up with her panic.
Pepa and Mama left the room, and so did the rain.
Julieta sat at the table for a little while, taking in the silence.
She stood up, collecting up the water filled food bowls and heading to the kitchen to clean them. She put them into the sink, then saw Honey still sitting on the bench.
She sighed, taking the teddy and hugging it.
