So, you lovely reader out there have THREE things to look forward to!

1. Oscar's analysis of the most popular song in the movie "We Don't Talk About Bruno."

2. A NEW OC!

a. Fuerza: Mariano's slightly unintelligent but very friendly and mannerly Argentinian Mastiff. He makes a cameo in this chapter, with few lines, but he'll make a more major appearance as the story moves forward. The name "fuerza" means force, strength, and/or power. Voiced by Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter Daddy Yankee.

3. Oscar meets his tío Bruno!

And I think that's about it! ¡Disfrútala!


DO NOT ask me how we crossed that gap and got down all those steps. Just don't. We found a way to get across again, we're safe and we're alive. That's all you need to know. I never wanna have to go up that many stairs and jump that far ever again. Even though I faced my top three fears. NEVER. AGAIN.

We rushed out of Bruno's room and turned a corner. Unfortunately we bumped into Abuela. "Where are you two coming from in such a hurry?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, I was—"

"What is in your hair?"

Aw jeez. "Well, you see, what happened was—"

I was interrupted by the sound of crying, of which came from none other than... Luisa, who trudged up the stairs behind Abuela. "My gift! I'm losing my gift!" She said, upset.

"What?" I mouthed.

"Mirabel, Oscar, and I were having this little talk about me carrying too much, so I tried not to carry so much, but I realized it was putting me behind, and I knew I was gonna let everyone down, and I felt REALLY BAD, so I was grabbing all the donkeys, but then when I went to throw the donkeys in the pond, they were... Heavy!"

Does 'saying a giant mouthful of sentences in only one breath' hereditary in this family? Or at least on Julieta's side? First Mirabel, now Luisa!

She cried as she ran to her room. Poor girl... "What did you do? What did you two say to her?" Abuela asked, concerned. "We didn't— we didn't say ANYTHING to her!" I answered. The bells in town rang, leaving Abuela torn. "I have to go get the Guzmáns for Isabela's engagement. Stay away from Luisa until I can talk to her. Tonight, we can't have any more problems." She said, heading for the stairs. "And whatever you two are doing, stop doing it!" And with that, she went down the stairs.

I clicked my tongue, nonchalantly shaking my head. "Lo siento, Abuela. No can do. We have a mystery to solve and magic to preserve. Onward bound, mi prima."


Once we were inside Mirabel's room, she pulled out the shards from Bruno's vision. "Why are we in your vision, tío Bruno?" She asked to herself. Suddenly, a flash of thunder and lightning shook the room. Scaring the absolute daylights out of me, I yeowled, jumping as high as he ceiling, stuck to it thanks to my claws, tail enormously puffed up. Breathing heavily, I looked down and saw tía Pepa, frazzled, in the doorway. "Tía, jeez..." Mirabel said, hiding the shards. There are now 16 more claw marks on this ceiling...

"Sorry, I- I didn't mean to-" She looked up at the cloud above her, "Shoo, shoo, shoo!" And closed the door on it. Okay, that was funny. My mood lightened somewhat, I retracted my claws, turning myself over so I landed on my feet. "I just wanted to grab the last of Toñito's things, and then I heard..." A thundercloud formed above her... again. "The name we do not speak." The cloud rumbled with thunder. "Great. Now I'm thundering. And a thunder will lead to a drizzle, and a drizzle will lead to a sprinkle! Clear skies, clear skies..."

Her seemingly mentally unstable grin she had going on... Should I be nervous, because I am.

"So, uh, tía Pepa, if Bru-" I was interrupted when yet ANOTHER cloud formed above her. My tail puffed out nervously, but it only took me one second to rephrase my question. "If he had a vision about 'someone...' You wouldn't know what it meant for them, would you?"

"We don't talk about Bruno." Pepa answered, angrily wringing her dress out from the rain. "We know, it's just, hypothetically, if he 'saw' you..."

"Mirabel, Oscar, please, we need to get ready for the Guzmáns." Pepa shooed the cloud away again. Is that the second or third time now she shooed her clouds away? I lost count. "We just wanna know if it was generally positive, or, less positive, or—" Then, nearly scaring the crap out of me once again, Félix barged in. "It was a nightmare!"

"Félix!" Pepa shouted, furiously scrambling to her feet. "Ey, she needs to know, Pepi, she needs to know."

"We don't talk about Bruno."

"He would see something terrible, and then *makes ticking sounds* CRACK-BA-BOOM, it would happen."

"We don't talk about Bruno."

"What if you didn't understand what he saw?" Mirabel asked. "Then you better figure it out, because it was coming for you!" Félix answered, grasping Mirabel by her arms. But Pepa separated the two, and, well...

Pepa: We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no

We don't talk about Bruno. But,

It was my wedding day (Félix: It was our wedding day)

We were getting ready, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky (No clouds allowed in the sky)

Bruno walks in with a mischievous grin (Thunder!)

Pepa: You're telling the story or am I?

Félix: I'm sorry, mi vida, go on

Pepa: Bruno says, "It looks like rain" (Félix: Why did he tell us?)

In doing so, he floods my brain (Abuela get the umbrellas)

Married in a hurricane (What a joyous day but anyway)

Pepa & Félix: We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no

We don't talk about Bruno

Alright, first of all, that doesn't sound like a prophecy. But on the other hand, they don't really seem all that upset about it raining on their wedding, they're just dramatic. And I'm cool with that. Félix doesn't really seem to care at all, he's just glad that he and tía Pepa got married. I like that kind of attitude, I respect that. Moving on...

Dolores: Hey, grew to live in fear of Bruno stuttering or stumbling

I can always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling

I associate him with the sound of falling sand, ch-ch-ch

It's a heavy lift with a gift so humbling

Always left Abuela and the family fumbling

Grappling with prophecies they couldn't understand

Do you understand?

Yes, I understand. Perhaps Bruno isn't a bad guy. It isn't his fault that some future visions are incomprehensible. After all, from what I'm learning, Bruno doesn't influence the future(s) of others, he can only read into them.

Camilo: Seven-foot frame, rats along his back

When he calls your name, it all fades to black

Yeah, he sees your dreams and feasts on your screams (Hey)

I think he was young when tío Bruno left, because there's no way he has a "seven foot frame." Or makes world fade to black upon calling someone's name. Or feeds on other's screams. I'm just saying. My interpretation is that Bruno left when Camilo (and Mirabel) was young. Maybe they bumped into each other when Bruno was getting a midnight snack, scared the crap out of him, Bruno called out Camilo's name, then he fainted... I'm just throwing out guesses.

I wasn't here when he left, so I can't really dispute this, can I?

Pepa & Camilo: We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no (Dolores: No, no)

We don't talk about Bruno (We don't talk about Bruno)

Pezmuerto: He told me my fish would die, the next day, dead (No, no)

Osvaldo: He told me I'd grow a gut and just like he said (No, no)

Priest: He said that all my hair would disappear, now, look at my head (No, no)

Ensemble: Your fate is sealed when your prophecy is read

Oh, boo-hoo to the lot of you! It's not like Bruno foretold anyone's DEATHS. It's not like any of you are dead!

Isabela: He told me that the life of my dreams would be promised, and someday be mine

He told me that my power would grow like the grapes that thrive on the vine

GOOD FOR YOU, SEÑORITA PERFECTA!

(Abuela: Óye, Mariano's on his way)

Dolores: He told me that the man of my dreams

Would be just out of reach

Betrothed to another

It's like I hear him, now

I can't be the only one who thinks the "man of [Dolores'] dreams" is Mariano, and none of us have realized it yet, right?

(Isabela: Hey sis, I want not a sound out of you)

Dolores: It's like I can hear him now, I can hear him now

Oscar: Um, Bruno

Sí, about this Bruno

We really need to know about Bruno

Give us the truth and the whole truth, Bruno

Camilo: Isabela, your boyfriend's here! *shapeshifts into Mariano*

Abuela and Isabela: Time for dinner!

*Pepa/Félix, Dolores, Camilo, and Isabela singing their parts while setting the table, the lyrics overlapping each other*

Mirabel and I watched for a few seconds as the family sang while setting the table. As we passed Luisa's door, we saw that it began flickering. We turned to the courtyard and watched as she tried to lift one of the giant flower pots to no avail.

Once we were inside Mirabel's room, she dumped the broken pieces of Bruno's vision out of her bag onto the dresser. She then started to put the pieces together. I observed with mild anticipation. Why are we in the vision?

After a few seconds, my question was answered... But not in the way I expected. At all.

It showed Mirabel and me, with a cracked Casita behind us. My heartbeat gradually became more audible.

Ensemble: He's here! Don't talk about Bruno

Mirabel: Why did we talk about Bruno?

Ensemble: Not a word about Bruno

Mirabel and Oscar: We never should've brought up Bruno!

Mirabel... We're gonna... Destroy the magic? No... This... This can't POSSIBLY be right. There has to be a more elaborate explanation for this! I refuse to relax until this vision is further explained!

"Miraboo. Osceleste. Got your party pants on, 'cause I do—" ("Celeste" is a Spanish word that can refer to light blue, which is the color of Oscar's ruana.)

OH NO... Agustín came into the room and saw the vision, looking incredulous. Casita quickly and dare I say ungracefully tried to hide it. I laid down on the vision. Oh, forget it, I stepped off of it. Might as well spill the frijoles (beans). "We... broke into Bruno's tower, we found his last vision, the family's in trouble, the magic is dying, the house if breaking, Luisa's gift is fading, and I think it's all because of... us?" Mirabel rambled. That's the SECOND time Mirabel said long sentences like that without taking a single breath, and the THIRD one today! Who's next?

Agustín just stared at us, stunned. "Tío Agustín?" I asked, my ears down. His eyes go wider as he stared at the emerald slab on the dresser. He then shoved the pieces of it in his bolsillos (pockets). "We say nothing, Abuela wants tonight to be perfect, 'til the Guzmáns leave, you two did NOT break into Bruno's tower, the magic is NOT dying, the house is NOT breaking, Luisa's gift is NOT fading, no one will know, just act normal."

For the LOVE OFF ALL THINGS POSSIBLE, THAT'S FOUR!

"No one has to know." He said. Suddenly, we heard a noise that I could only identify as... Oh boy. Dolores. Her eyes said it all. She heard EVERYTHING. "I know." She whispered before running off. I froze in fear. "She's gonna tell everyone." Mirabel said. I actually struggled to gulp. "We are in so much trouble." I whispered.


So... We're all at the dining table... I'm totally not about to have a heart attack. Any and all dialogue around me was blocked out. My only focus was beating Dolores in a staring contest. My tail tapped on Mirabel's shoulders as I stared, growling. Then went on for about eleven seconds, right up until a bowl of... avocado... guacamole... in front of us, blocking our view from her. Shoot! It was only for a second, and yet we caught Dolores confiding the news to Camilo. He choked on his food, shapeshifting into Mirabel, then Bruno, then to what I can only describe as... A cross-eyed goldfish?

Oh, man, we are SO dead after this.

"Camilo, fix your face." Félix told his son. He looked at us, meanwhile I was panicking that three people now know our little secret. And if you think it couldn't possibly get any worse, DON'T! Isabela passed a pitcher of water in front of us next, right as Camilo told Félix, who spat out his water. Crud, crud, crud... That's four... No more, please.

I licked my paw, getting ready to clean my face, hoping it would calm me down, but NO. Thunder made me automatically realize that Félix told Pepa, his wife whose mood affects the weather. Welp, that's five. Something's telling me that Julieta's gonna be number six... Yep, I was right. Now the entire side of that table, sans Antonio, knows what's going on with the magic now.

But from there, it only gets EVEN WORSE. Cracks formed on the floor underneath Mirabel, who went to looking under there (I should NOT be on the table. I'm probably gonna hear that from Abuela later).

"Mirabel?"

She bumped her head on the underside of the table as she popped up. "Everything okay?" Mariano asked her. Ugh... Why us? Just, why us? "Oh, everything's peachy! She's just excited for you to propose!" I answered for her. Mirabel nodded. "Which you should do as soon as possible."

"Uh, I was actually gonna..."

"You were actually gonna? Great!" Mirabel turned Isabela's chair towards Mariano. Señora Guzmán looked a little weirded out. "W-we-well, since everyone has a talent, my Mariano wanted to begin with a song. Luisa, could you bring over the piano?"

Aww, man, poor Luisa. "Okay..." She said through tears, burying her face in her hands. She knows she won't be able to lift it. "Uh, it's actually tradition to sing after." Mirabel said, shoving Mariano down on one knee. Oh man... You know how cats (and dogs) sweat through their paws? Well, my paws are DRENCHED. I'm a nervous wreck.

"Isabela, most graceful of all the Madrigals..."

Upon seeing the cracks spread, Mirabel moved behind Mariano, despite awkwardly horning in on the proposal. "Um..." Mariano said, confused. "You're doing great." She said, smiling through the pain, giving a thumbs up. I began to bite at my claws. If my heart beats any faster, I might pass out from alta presión sanguínea (high blood pressure).

"The most perfect flower in the entire Encanto..." Mariano continued. For once, I calmed down a little bit. Up until... "Oscar! ¡Pizotes!" Mirabel whispered, pointing to a coati taking the pieces of Bruno's vision out from Agustín's pockets. I panicked again. "Ay, no!" I tried not to screech.

"Will you marry..."

"Stop!" I couldn't contain myself any longer. I lunged for the coatis, chasing them around under the table. Meanwhile, Luisa fell apart trying to bring the piano in, and Antonio's toucan, Pico, is going crazy from the thunder.

"What the heck is going on here?!" A distressed voice asked. It wasn't Mariano's voice... Who was that...? Whoever it was, he's scared.

*that was Fuerza*

"Mirabel and Oscar found Bruno's vision, they're in it, they're gonna destroy the magic, and now we're all DOOMED!" I heard Dolores blurt out.

THAT'S FIVE!

Unfortunately, on cue, the coatis pulled the vision on the table. I tried to grab it, but I ended up sending it flying down the table, stopping right in front of Abuela. Everyone looked at the vision, then at Mirabel and I. Suddenly, more cracks rippled around the room. Terrified, I buried my face in Mirabel's neck, violently trembling. She stroked my back gently, but this time, unlike literally any other time, it wasn't working.

I heard "felicidades" outside, then it began to rain inside. Literally.

One word to describe tonight: CHAOTIC.


The Guzmáns left, with Abuela in tow. Mirabel and I followed her into the courtyard. "Abuela, please, there's gottaa be an explanation!" Mirabel shouted for her.

Then Isabela stomped past us. "I hate you! Both of you! Oscar, how could you?!" She said, dramatically, I must say. "That's fine with me!" I spat back.

Luisa raced past us next, Agustín following her. "Ahh, I'm a loser!" She cried. "Luisa!" Agustín said after her.

Next came Pepa. "What did you two do?!" She asked us.

"We didn't DO anything! It's Bruno's vision!" I answered. I turned my head and saw a green light moving around. Being carried by a... ¡RATO!

I growled. I've had enough of these damn roedores (rodents) for one day! I jumped off of Mirabel's shoulder to chase the rats. Seeing me, they only ran faster. "I could use a little sport!" I hissed, chasing them along the upper walkway, Mirabel following me. As I chased them, I realized that I had already lost my gift. Not that I care or anything.

Wait, where'd it... Go...?

Oh no. Okay, a secret passageway behind a painting. This never ends well for people in horror movies. But the thing is, tHiS iSn'T a HoRrOr MoViE!

Mirabel and I climbed into the passageway, in between Casita's walls, which was covered in cracks, mind you, and saw the glowing green light move into the air. What on Earth...? Lighting flashed, illuminating... Bruno?

In a split second that we stared at each other, he took off. "Hey, wait, come back!" I shouted, now chasing Bruno. I'm doing a lot of chasing today. It's weird.


So, after chasing Bruno, it's clear that this man is AGILE, parkouring through the walls of Casita and staying only mere inches ahead of me. I could've nabbed his poncho if I had the strength to, but I was out of breath, and somehow still running.

And just when I could jump him, he parkoured his way across a chasm. I skidded to a halt, but unfortunately I stopped one second too late, and fell into it. I meowed out in fear. How deep is this thing?!

...

Wait... It's not that deep?

"Oscar?!" Mirabel called out my name.

You mean to tell me that this chasm, that Bruno has had to jump across for God knows how long he's been here, only to find out that it's only about nine, ten, or eleven feet deep?! Is this for flipping real?!

I lost myself, freaking out over all of this, that I didn't notice Mirabel successfully get across this chasm, but a plank gave out. Just when she was about to fall in with me, Bruno came back and caught her. "You're very sweaty." He said, before the floor underneath him gave out. Now they were both dangling over the edge.

I'll have you know that BRUNO ALMOST LANDED ON ME!

But he didn't, and I'm alive. :)

Mirabel helped Bruno up the wall. I hopped up (this time, the floor beneath me didn't give out) next to Mirabel, who looked relieved to see me. Bruno, however, didn't seem to notice me. They looked at each other for a couple seconds, until:

"Bye." Bruno walked past his niece. "What? No— Hold on!" Mirabel said, confused, following him. So apparently Bruno is superstitious,, or something; he avoided walking under a ladder. "Wait, wait—Ow— why did you take the vision? What does it mean? Is it why you cam back, or...?"

"Knock knock knock knock knock, knock on wood." Then Bruno held his breath and crossed his fingers. "Tío Bruno?"

"Knock knock knock knock knock, knock on wood." Again. "You were never supposed to see that vision. No one was." He said, before throwing salt... and sugar... behind him, hitting Mirabel in the face. I yawned, stretching. He still hasn't noticed me. Wait... Aren't those the cracks from last night? They're patched up.

"Have you been in here... patching the cracks?" Mirabel asked. Bruno looked up at the patched cracks. "Oh, that? No, no, no, no, I'm too scared to go near those things. All the patching's done by Hernando." Bruno asnwered. "Who's Hernan—?"

"I'm Hernando, and I'm scared of nothing."

For any of you who'd like to know, that was actually Bruno with the hood of his poncho over his head, with an altered voice. He took his hood off, "It's actually me. Heh... I'd say my real gift was 'acting.'" He said with a chuckle. Mirabel and I only stared. Soo... do Bruno and Camilo share something in common, then? Bruno put a bucket on his head, and with another altered voice, "I'm Jorge. I make the spackle." Holding up a spackling knife. My ears flapped a bit.

You know, I never believed that song, anyhow. Pepa's side of the family, except Antonio, described Bruno as someone who brings bad luck, or a terrorist, or some crap, and he's literally some guy. I mean, not giving any flack or anything, but does he look like he brings bad luck?

Also, I was right. I'm short, but I know for a FACT that Bruno doesn't have a seven foot frame.

"How long have you been... Back here?" Mirabel asked, weirded out by his altered voices.