Chapter 39
40 years before Encanto
Rain fell through Bruno's tower as Pepa cried softly in her sleep. Bruno sat beside her, stroking her hair and watching with a sad expression.
Agustín sat next to him, holding an umbrella over them as he watched.
"Aren't your parents gonna be worried?" Bruno asked. "It's getting late. After what happened today, you should probably go."
"Oh. Yeah, okay." Agustin agreed half heartedly. He'd liked playing heroes with his new friend, and was worried about Bruno's sister. "See you tomorrow?" Agustin asked with a hopeful expression.
Bruno smiled and nodded. He liked hanging out with Agustin.
Agustin headed down the stairs, then stopped suddenly as he saw Julieta coming up.
"Sorry." Julieta muttered as she shuffled past.
Agustin stared at Julieta, feeling starstruck. He tried to move out of her way but his feet slipped in the rainwater and he fell.
Julieta turned and caught Agustin by the arm, pulling him back up before he could tumble down the steps.
Agustin's eyes widened. Dios. He hadn't expected her to be so strong.
Everybody in the Encanto adored Julieta Madrigal, and Agustin always felt intimidated when he needed to approach her to get healed. Julieta had a glow about her that reminded Agustin of an angel. To see her in her own home was overwhelming.
"Cuidado." Julieta's eyes gestured to the wet steps. She turned and continued up the stairs.
Agustin held his breath as he watched her go.
Pepa woke up to Julieta's worried face. Pepa sobbed, pulling her sister into her. She couldn't hug Julieta tight enough.
"I love you." Julieta kissed her. "I love you so much. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. You must've been so-"
Julieta paused to gently run fingers through Pepa's hair. It was filthy with dried mud from the river and blood. Her dress was torn and dirty.
Julieta's expression hardened.
"Did somebody hurt you?"
Pepa flinched. Her eyes closed, breathing fast and panicked as it all played over in her head.
Where you going, gringa?
Lightning flashed as Pepa screamed and began to hyperventilate.
"Hey, it's okay... You're safe now. I've got you." Julieta spoke in a comforting tone, rubbing circles around Pepa's back as she gasped. "Deep breaths, Pepi. Deep breaths."
Julieta glanced over at Bruno, her eyes asking. He nodded in confirmation. She took a sharp breath. Lightning flashed against Julieta's fierce eyes as she held protectively onto Pepa.
Bruno and Julieta sat in bed with Pepa, one on either side of her so she'd feel safe. They tried to play a game with their hands, clapping each other's palms in a rhythmic pattern. Usually Pepa loved this game, but this time she was quiet and withdrawn, her movements slow.
Mama's footsteps headed up the stairs and Pepa went into a panic. She leaned into her siblings as they hugged her, her body stiff and trembling in fear.
Alma entered Bruno's room, eyes on Pepa with a serious expression as she approached.
Pepa couldn't stop crying as she braced herself for Mama's shouting.
Alma reached a hand forward and Pepa flinched, expecting to be smacked. But Mama's touch was gentle.
Alma stroked Pepa's face, her eyes concerned. She gathered Pepa into her arms and gently lifted her from the bed, carrying her down the stairs.
Pepa's chest shuddered as she cried. She looked up at Mama in confusion. Seeing her daughter watching, Alma kissed her face. Pepa gratefully wrapped arms around Mama's shoulders and hid against her as Alma carried Pepa through the rain.
Julieta and Bruno followed, glancing at eachother. They were both surprised and relieved.
Having a moment away from Pepa, the two of them finally began to discuss what had happened.
"Did you save them?" Bruno asked quietly. "The boys?"
Julieta sighed heavily.
"I did." She frowned. "But now I wish I didn't."
"You don't mean that, sis."
"I do!" Julieta turned to him, eyes bright with anger. "Why would I do anything to help them?"
"Because you didn't do it for them." Bruno gestured ahead to their sister, who was cuddled up to Mama. "You did it for Pepa. You know she'd never live with herself if she hurt someone."
Julieta watched Pepa sadly, then turned back to Bruno in agreement.
"What happened to her?" She whispered.
Bruno shook his head.
"She won't say." He whispered back. "But before we healed her..." He sighed. "It was really bad, Juli. I think they beat her up." He shuddered at the memory.
Julieta's hands tightened to fists. No matter what anyone said, Julieta would forever regret saving those boys.
As they left the tower, Julieta headed to the kitchen while Bruno went for the front door.
"Where are you going?" She turned in surprise.
He stopped at the door, his expression determined.
"There's something I gotta take care of."
Julieta watched him suspiciously.
"Are you gonna confront the boys?" She asked, going to follow him. "If you are, I want to be there."
Bruno couldn't help but smile. His sister was gentle, but when it came to her siblings she was fiercely protective.
"You think I'm crazy?" Bruno shook his head. "No way. I wouldn't go near them. It's, ah, something else. It's... Well. It's probably better you don't know." He shuffled nervously. "It's a Bruno thing."
Julieta watched with a frown. She didn't like the sound of this.
"Go be with Pepa." Bruno encouraged, pulling his hood up. "I won't be long."
Alma brought Pepa into the bathroom and sat her down on the edge of the tub, running hot water. Alma checked the temperature with her hand as it filled, then kissed Pepa's forehead, gently stroking her face as Pepa trembled and rained.
Alma's heart sunk as she took in the sight of her daughter's bloodied hair and clothes. Something terrible had happened to her baby.
Pepa watched Mama, unsure why she wasn't in trouble.
Alma helped Pepa get changed out of her ripped dress and knelt beside the bath as Pepa climbed in. She gently washed her daughter, taking Pepa's hand in hers and running soap along her shoulder and down her arm, washing away the river mud.
She put extra soap in the water to make bubbles, knowing that usually made Pepa smile. She gently turned her daughter's hands over, cleaning dried blood from between her fingers and under her fingernails while Pepa watched quietly.
The hot water felt comforting on Pepa's body. Mama's fingers ran through her hair, gently massaging her scalp as she washed it. Pepa's breathing slowed down as she relaxed, the rain stopping with her tears.
Pepa rested her soapy head on Mamas shoulder, closing her eyes while Mama washed away the hurt.
Mama helped Pepa change into soft warm pyjamas, then held her hand as they walked together along the balcony to her bedroom.
Pepa leaned into Mama as they walked. She hadn't needed help getting ready for bed since before she'd started school. Any other day Pepa would've insisted Mama let her do it herself, telling her she was grown up. But today Pepa needed all the help she could get.
They went into her room. Alma pulled back the blanket and helped Pepa into bed. As Pepa lay down, her blanket shimmered and changed. Casita gently pulled it up over her and Pepa exhaled. Her new blanket was heavy. It pressed down firm on her chest, like Casita was giving her a hug.
"Thank you, Casita." Alma said softly.
Sometimes Casita changed things in their rooms as the children got older, or if their needs changed. Alma tested the weight of the new blanket with her hand, then turned to Pepa.
"Is this too heavy, mija?" Alma asked.
Pepa shook her head, blinking slowly. The pressure on her chest was calming.
"Okay." Alma smiled, kissing her forehead. She draped a blanket over the bed in case it rained, then climbed into bed with Pepa.
Pepa hugged onto Mama and felt safe. She rested her head against Mama's chest, listening to her heartbeat and breathing in her familiar smell. Alma held Pepa in her arms, gently stroking her daughter's hair.
"Mami?" Pepa whispered.
Alma kissed her head, relieved to hear her voice.
"Tell me, mija."
Pepa swallowed, gathering up the courage to ask.
"Do you hate me?" She asked in a quiet voice.
Alma took a breath. She kissed Pepa again, stroking her hair back so she could look into her eyes.
"Why would I hate you?"
Pepa avoided Mama's eyes, her voice soft.
"Because I was bad."
Alma hesitated. What was she supposed to say?
What Pepa had done to those boys and the crops was bad. The village was terrified. Was she supposed to tell her it was okay? What would that teach her daughter?
Pepa's chest shuddered as she watched Mama, tears running down her cheeks. A storm picked up as she waited for an answer, rain pattering over the sheet Alma had hung over them.
Alma swallowed, feeling unsure. She'd never had anyone to help or guide her as a mother, to tell her if she was doing it right. Alma loved her children, but sometimes she got it wrong.
The door opened and Alma sighed in relief.
Julieta came in holding a cooking pot and some cups. Pepa's expression softened as she saw her sister. She sobbed, holding hands out for Julieta.
Julieta gave the pot to Mama and pulled Pepa in for a reassuring hug.
"Do you hate me?" Pepa gasped, her heart yearning for an answer after Mama hadn't given her one.
"No." Julieta's tone was matter of fact as she held her. "I could never hate you, Pepa. I love you more than anything."
Pepa sobbed again, this time in relief. She sunk into her sister's embrace.
"The only thing I hate is the world, for hurting you." Julieta whispered, kissing Pepa.
Alma watched quietly, wondering how her little daughter had grown so wise.
Julieta poured hot chocolate for them, rain pattering into the cups. Pepa took hers with both hands and drank gratefully. It spread a warm feeling through her chest and made her feel sleepy.
When Pepa was finished, Mama took her cup and Pepa lay down. Julieta lay beside her, stroking her face as the rain and wind slowed down.
Pepa watched Julieta, her eyes slowly closing as Julieta traced a finger along her nose.
"Mama, will you please tell us a story?" Julieta asked.
Alma swallowed. They really needed to talk to Pepa about what had happened, before she fell asleep.
She remembered the crowd of villagers outside Casita, demanding to see Pepa. Alma had convinced them to wait till morning before casting their judgement.
Alma needed to know the truth so she could defend her daughter.
"Mija, we need to talk first." Alma spoke gently. "About what happened with those boys."
Mama's words triggered Pepa back into a panic. She screamed, thunder crashing as she remembered the boys crowding over her, kicking her as she cried. Holding her up by the arms and laughing. Chasing her as she screamed.
Pepa sobbed, hiding her shaking body against Julieta as her sister rocked her, whispering comforting words into her ear.
"Let's not talk about it now." Julieta suggested in a quiet voice.
Alma hesitated, unsure what to do.
"It's like in our game, Mama." Julieta insisted. "We have to stop and rest first. We need to recover our strength before we plan the next battle. Right now Sunshine-"
The room flashed, thunder crashing as Pepa screamed again, covering her ears.
This time she remembered the boys crying, staring up at her in terror. Her eyes glowing bright as the storm raged around her, hurting them and throwing them aside.
"You okay?" Julieta checked, hands against Pepa's cheeks.
Pepa shook her head, whimpering between gasps.
"Don't call me that." She sobbed. "I don't like it."
Julieta and Alma exchanged a worried look.
"Don't call you what, mija?" Alma asked.
Pepa shuddered.
"Sunshine."
The next day
The villagers gathered in town square, standing under umbrellas as it rained.
Alma arrived with her children, taking a deep breath.
Dios, this was it.
Wind circled Pepa as she hyperventilated. The boys were there. She hid against Mama, her clouds storming as she shook in terror.
Thunder crashed and the boys flinched, hiding against their parents. Some of them cried in terror. Their usual confidence was gone, and they were genuinely afraid.
"You shouldn't have brought her." One of the boys' fathers spoke up. "Not after what she did."
Pepa sobbed. Alma held onto Pepa while beside her, Julieta and Bruno glared protectively.
"My daughter's actions were provoked." Alma did her best to remain calm. "She was attacked in the fields, by your son and his friends."
The town turned to eachother, murmuring.
Pepa spotted her friends in the crowd. They quickly turned away as Pepa made eye contact, leaning into eachother and shaking. Some of them were crying.
They'd seen what had happened to the boys, and were terrified they were going to be next.
"Señora Madrigal, Pepa is only a child." One woman spoke up. "And already look at the damage she can cause."
"She's only gonna get bigger, and stronger." Another spoke up.
"Imagine what her powers will be like when she's 20?" Someone added with a shudder. "Or 50? Her storms could wipe out the entire Encanto."
"Or starve us."
The sky lit up and the villagers flinched.
"You see?"
"She's out of control."
Pepa peeked out from where she hid against Mama, trembling as she watched the crowd.
"Another season of crops, gone."
"How many more can we survive?"
The sky continued to flash and rumble as the villagers clamoured in overlapping voices, fingers pointed at Pepa. She closed her eyes, wishing she could disappear forever.
"Enough!" Alma shouted.
Everyone fell silent.
"That is enough." Alma held up a hand. "I will remind you of the many seasons of good harvests we have enjoyed, thanks to my daughter." Alma paused to make sure everyone was listening. "Yesterday Pepa was provoked. Attacked in our very fields. In our Encanto." Alma put a hand to her heart as she watched their faces. "We cannot have violence like that in our home."
Alma's eyes were hard as she spoke, standing her ground as she held Pepa close. Her other hand moved with her words.
"We came here to escape the violence." She reminded them. "And the magic, our Encanto, was created to protect us from ever having to experience it again. To protect our families." She waved a hand to her triplets. "Our generation suffered so our children would never need to know of that violence. And yet it has crept through our walls, poisoned our minds, until now our children are attacking eachother, the same behaviour from which we ran."
The villagers watched silently, their expressions solemn.
"I do not condone what happened." Alma continued. "But I do place just as much blame on these boys as I do my daughter. What Pepa did was terrible, but it was in no way one-sided. The actions of these boys were just as unforgivable."
"I know those children." Señora Rojas spoke up in support, her arm around her son Agustin. "They've caused trouble before. They broke my Gus' glasses, made his nose bleed."
Agustin shuffled nervously, embarrassed that the town needed to know this, but glad to be helping his new friend.
"They have been bullying my Eduardo, too."
Pepa's teacher spoke up, and everyone turned.
Alma sighed in relief, knowing she had much better chances of convincing the town now she had these influences on her side.
"Pepa is a good girl." The teacher continued. "And I believe with a steady hand from Alma, she will learn to control her gift."
"I say we give Pepa another chance." Señora Guzmán agreed, another influential member of the village. "They'll work harder on learning clear skies."
"That's right." Alma agreed. "From now on, we are going to be focused on perfect behaviour. Perfect control of our gifts. We will work hard to serve our beloved community."
The town murmured, this time in agreement.
"But as my family makes adjustments, the town makes adjustments too." Alma continued. "Firstly, those boys must never come near my family again."
The parents glanced at the boys, who quivered in fear as they agreed.
"And Pepa will be supervised at all times in the fields." Alma continued, glancing at the farmers, who nodded in agreement.
"You can be assured the village will remain safe." Alma announced. "I will be working closely with my daughter to ensure her powers do not grow from what they are now. She will be practising to control them."
Pepa stared ahead with wide eyes, her mind overloaded. It was all too much to take in. The shame, the pressure, the fear, the humiliation. The rain stopped, turning into fog as Pepa felt herself go numb.
Julieta turned to her sister in concern. This was new weather. She put arms around Pepa, hugging her tight.
"You see?" Alma gestured to the fog. "She is already stopping the storm."
The town murmured again, seeming convinced. Alma exhaled slowly in relief.
"But it's not just Pepa we need to worry about!" A voice spoke up.
Señor Pezmuerto stepped forward, his arm around his daughter who was in tears.
Pepa's expression softened as she recognised the girl as her friend, the one who helped her at the bridge, the one who walked her home.
In her arms she held a glass bowl of water, something floating inside.
Pepa frowned, trying to see what it was, but Julieta hugged her tight, recognising what was happening and not wanting her sister to see.
"Tell them what happened." Señor Pezmuerto prompted his daughter.
"Last night, Bruno Madrigal came to our house." Pepa's friend sobbed. "And he told me Pezito would die."
Everyone gasped and flinched. Bruno's prophecies had always been a taboo subject.
"So the next day we went to the river," Señora Pezmuerto continued. "We look into the water and what did we find?"
His daughter sobbed again, holding up the bowl.
"Dead."
The whole town exclaimed, clamouring at the sight of their beloved wishing fish.
"Look away." Julieta encouraged Pepa, who was staring with wide eyes. The fog around her thickened, making her feel sick in the stomach.
Pepa turned to Bruno, her eyes filled with hurt and betrayal. Why had he done that to Pezito? It didn't make sense.
Bruno put on a brave face.
"I'm sorry, sis." He sighed. "You know I can't help these visions. It just sorta happened."
"You said no more visions." Señor Pezmuerto accused Alma.
She took a sharp breath, glancing at Bruno with a furious expression. Bruno gulped, his hands in his pockets as he shifted uncomfortably.
"Why, Bruno?" She hissed. "Why now?"
He looked up at Mama with sad eyes, wishing he could tell Mama, but he didn't want Pepa to hear. She could never know the truth.
"This has gone too far!"
"We can't have any more of this."
"They need to go."
That last sentence caught everyone off guard. Alma felt her heart drop. This was everything she had feared for her family since they first got the gifts.
Pepa moaned, putting a hand to her chest and closing her eyes. Above them, snow began to fall.
Julieta stepped forward and the town went quiet. She slowly walked though the crowd, people moving aside out of respect. She stood before the villager who'd spoken, looking up at him as everyone else stared.
"If they go," Julieta spoke in a clear and assertive tone. "I go."
The silence was deafening.
Julieta stared at the villager and he backed down, nodding quickly in understanding. She looked around at everyone else and they also nodded.
The whole village remained quiet as they knew the danger of losing their only healer.
Julieta walked back to her family, then turned back to the village.
"I am going home now, to make healing food for all of you." She told them. "Then I will be in town square as usual to serve it. All I ask is you show my family the respect that they deserve."
The town nodded in agreement, everyone stepping down. Alma watched proudly, her heart filled with love and gratitude for her brave girl.
As the crowd dispersed and the Madrigals headed home, Agustin hurried after Bruno, pulling him aside.
"Why did you say your visions killed the fish?" He asked quietly. "We found him floating in the river yesterday, with Pepa." He watched Bruno with a worried expression. "The town is gonna hate you for that, and you didn't even do it. Why did you lie?"
Bruno sighed, glancing over his shoulder at his family, then turning back to Agustin with a sad smile.
"Because I love my sister."
