The bright yellow rays of sunlight filled my room as the sun rose from the horizon, the night sky fading into obscurity. My clock rang and woke me up instantly. It wasn't as loud as everyone else's because I wouldn't want my ears to bleed every morning. Looking at my clock, I smiled with satisfaction. 7:00 am on the dot. That was my time, not too early like Mirabel's but just enough time to get ready and have breakfast without sleeping in, unlike my hermano who barely makes it to breakfast. Tying my recognizable red band around my head, slipping into my favorite sun-yellow dress, and fixing my hair, I hear Mirabel's morning knock on my door. I opened the door to find my youngest prima with a worried look on her face.
"Good morning, Mirabel. What's got you so worried this morning?"
"I-um-have you seen our new guest? Apparently, no one's seen him since last night." Mirabel frantically explained. Technically, I knew what happened but all I did was hear his footsteps fade into obscurity when he left the house.
"Hm!"
Mirabel instantly eyed me with a suspicious gaze and firmly placed her hands on her hips.
"Dolores, do you know something?"
'Curse my squeak!' Without thinking, I pulled Mirabel into my room and closed the door behind us. Having a soundproof room was definitely coming in handy. I ushered her to sit on my bed while finishing my morning routine.
"Ok, I know something about something but you have to promise not to freak out. Do you understand?" She nodded in the corner of my eye. I made my way to my bed but not before opening my window curtains.
"Last night, after Isabela talked to hi-"
"Isabela talked to him alone?!" By this point, we were both sitting on my bed.
"Are you going to let me talk or not?" She instantly stopped talking and made a zipping-up expression with her fingers against her mouth.
"Like I said. After Isabela talked to him last night, I could hear the front door open and the sound of footsteps go into town."
"How did you know it was him?" Her eyebrows raised in suspicion.
"I-ah-know the sound of everyone's footsteps. He's the only one I didn't recognize," Mirabel inquisitively glanced at her shoes. My cheeks warmed up and suddenly I was flustered to the core. She rubbed her hand against the sole of her slip-on shoes, feeling the grip of it," But that's not important right now. What matters is that he's still somewhere in the Encanto."
"Right, I'll tell Abuela. Get changed and come down before the food get's cold." Mirabel ordered before rushing to Abuela's door. The sky quickly turned into a depressing grey arrangement of clouds. No doubt mamá was stressing over last night's events but I knew that papá would calm her down, he always found a way. Camilo would say that his soothing nature towards mamá was his gift and everyone would agree.
After last night, everyone went to bed with conflicted feelings about the situation. Antonio, bless his heart, was ecstatic finding out there was another person with a gift for him to play with. He told me that he was very adamant about making him happy with his animal friends. Camilo tried to ease the situation by teasing Tío Bruno that they had found his twin hermano. Surprisingly, that got a good chuckle out of him which made everyone that little bit happier. Luisa seemed to be the most accepting of the situation, but I have reason to suspect that they talked beforehand. Tía Julieta was the most compassionate out of all of us, which was well within her character. She was always there to care for anyone in need, whether it be her siblings, children, sobrinos, sobrinas, or the townsfolk. She had a soft heart for everyone, and the stranger was no different. Tío Augustin and papá were the most optimistic out of everyone, papá especially. He was just like his youngest son, full of intrigue and wonder. The look in his eyes gave mama a silent giggle. Tío Augustin, being the calm and collected man he was, depicted the situation just like Tía but was mostly just curious.
As for me? I liked him. Our talk, although brief, gave me great insight into who he was as a person. When we shook hands, he didn't start the conversation. I was never the one to talk first to and I guess neither did he. I'd always be listening, taking people's words in, and keeping them to myself (only if they were secrets though). But with him, he just listened to me. Whenever he did speak, it was barely above a whisper. Whether he did it because he knew of my gift or because he was shy remained a mystery but in the end, it was a nice change of pace. His voice was soft, not as deep and manly as Mariano's but instead gentle. Maybe it was just me but I got the feeling that he enjoyed my quiet company as well. Although his skin was smooth and healthy, the clothes he wore were a different story entirely. The damage that scarred his jumper and jeans displayed the struggle he endured through the mountains.
Stepping out of my room, the warm sunlight encased my body. The familiar sight of Casita's foyer gave me a sense of safety as I strolled to the kitchen to help set the table. Isabela and Luisa were in the kitchen next to Tía, cooking our breakfast. Leaving them be, I moved to the other side of the kitchen and began to gather everyone's plates. Not long after, Tío Bruno entered the room. He looked more disheveled than usual which instantly got my attention. Having listened to him live in the walls for ten years, I've picked up when he'd get nervous and I mean really nervous. His breathing would get faster and uneven, I would hear his hands shake uncontrollably, and he would constantly knock his fists against the nearest wall. He also had this unusual obsession with throwing salt and sugar. The pitter-patter drove me near crazy for the first few months after his disappearance. He came up to my side while fiddling with his thumbs.
"Have you seen our guest?" His voice carried worry.
"He's out exploring the jungle, why?"
"I-I had a forced-uh-vision last night. He was in it." For a moment, I disregarded that last sentence and indulged my curiosity in his gift.
"What's a forced vision?"
"It's-it's when I have no control over the vision. It just happens. You get what I'm trying to say?" I nodded in contemplation. It was nice to learn and get closer to him. He had always been nice to Isabela and me before he left. Secretly, I longed for that loving Tío that played with me when I was five. Other than mama and papá, he would whisper while he talked to me. For him to fully come back would take time but it was time I was willing to wait and watch as he began to reconnect with all of us.
"So why was he in your vision? What happened?"
"I'm going to tell him and mamá first. That's why I need you to find him."
"After breakfast, I'll go into town and look for him. You get yourself cleaned up, you're not living in the walls anymore and I know you haven't been taking your showers."
"I have been cleaning myself." I fold my arms while giving him a doubtful glare.
"Tìo, I may have super hearing but it doesn't take a gift to know that you stink."
Reluctantly, he leaves the kitchen and heads straight to the upstairs bathroom. By now, I had finished setting the table. The grandchildren sat across from their parents with Abuela placed at the head of the table. Not long after more of our familia began to pour into the room eager for their first meal of the day. Out of the corner of my eyes, I spot Camilo sneakily shapeshifting into Antonio and trying to convince Luisa into giving him some fried eggs. During his feeble attempt at acquiring more food, the real Antonio moved behind him riding his favorite panther.
"You've gotten good hermano. You're just missing a few details."
The shapeshifter jolted at the sound of our hermano's criticism, rapidly transforming into many villagers until he settled on his usual self. Solemnly, Camilo returned the extra food to Tía. Isabela subtly slipped Luisa a few coins, just out of sight of their mama.
"I told you it was Camilo. Antonio never asks for extras."
"Yeah, yeah. It's just I can never say no to our smallest primo."
A small smile danced upon my lips as the scene unfolded before me until I snapped out of my trance from a loud knock that came from the front door. Senorá Hernández came in escorted by Mamá looking horrified . She was one of the hardest working farmers in the Encanto and so relied on the weather for good crops or more specifically mama. They were really good friends and their chats would often keep mama happy even when rain was needed. The rough brown dress she wore melted into the floor of Casita while she entered the dining room. Her voice was so frantic that no one could understand what she was saying.
"Senorá Hernández, you need to slow down and breathe, ¿de acuerdo?"
"Si, you're right. Mi esposo tried to look for any of you yesterday but the sun had gone down and everyone had already closed their doors."
Her hands massaged her long ponytail that played gently over her shoulder, which mamá had copied early into their friendship to calm herself down.
"Oh, Rosá. ¿Qué te tiene tan preocupada?"
"Yesterday while we were having lunch, Hernando thought he heard a noise come from the crops and decided to check it out," The buffet of food that was usually the center of attention now was left unattended by everyone. By now everyone was awake and sitting around Senorá Hernández, listening to her story, save for Tío Bruno and our new guest.," I-I followed him to the crops but-but the crops were…"
She began to hyperventilate, her grip on mama becoming tighter by the second. Tía Julieta rushed to the kitchen and came back with a glass of wáter which Senorá Hernández nervously took.
"The crops were what, Rosá?"
"They were all dead! Black as the night sky with a crumbling texture like sand!"
She leaned into her palms and quietly sobbed in mamá's arms. It pained my mamá to see her best friend in shambles and tried to soothe her accordingly. Everyone consoled the poor farmer, with Isabela promising to grow her new crops and mamá saying that she'll do her best to keep a good portion of rain above their fields. Silently, I excused myself from Casita and strolled into town, and kept my gift up for the sound of the stranger. The townsfolk were as loud as usual but I learned over the years to muffle most of it out, I'd mostly listen for the sound of lost children that wandered too far into the jungle and bring them back to their families. Today, however, was different. Instead of patrolling the town from one side to the other, I kept to the boundary between it and the jungle, the faint echo of birds could be heard from beyond the initial barrier of plants. The dense foliage of the trees cast a dark shadow over me
"God dammit, that hurt."
That voice. The accent was unmistakable and was easy to notice in the sea of Colombian voices. I tuned my gift on his voice even though it was barely a whisper. The hushed groans of pain originated from deep within the jungle. My hands trembled against my hips as I stepped toward the jungle. Judging by the volume of his echoes that he wasn't too far from the town and so I disappeared into the unknown.
Why did I think this was a good idea? Although there was a copious amount of shade, the heat rose drastically. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of my head as I pushed through the leaves, keeping my ears trained on him. Patches of dirt flung onto the bottom half of my golden summer dress as the humidity grew and suddenly the ground became moist and hard to move through. For the last ten minutes, it's been nothing but chirping birds, the hungry growls of tigers, and his moaning and groaning in pain. I wished Mariano was here with me, he'd keep me entertained on this journey. As his voice got louder, I found myself in a pleasant clearing in the forest. And lo and behold, there he lay, on his back with both arms cradling his stomach. Moving closer, I saw the color of the grass fade into a black void, with the strands crumbling into small grains like rice.
I sat down next to him and realized that he'd stopped groaning in pain. Whether it was because he healed or because he heard me would remain a mystery. Leaning over him, I examined his face for any scars or bleeding but instead I found nothing. In fact, it seems as though he wasn't attacked in the first place. Maybe it was something inside of him. I softly shook his shoulder to wake him up.
"Are you ok? No one's seen you since last night. We all thought something terrible happened to you." I whispered gently. He recognized my voice and slowly opened his eyes and gazed at me and around us, squinting against the sunlight.
"I went out last night because I needed time to think by myself. No offense, but your family is pretty loud." He coughed out in a hushed tone. I couldn't help but chuckle at his observation.
"Yeah, having super hearing in a house with two married couples and a young hermano with endless energy could damage one's ears but you learn to live with it."
He struggled to push himself up against his arms, and so I quickly held him against me to support him. His eyes finally adjusted to the sun but then dropped his head in embarrassment. Out of the palm of his hands, the magic leaked back into the grass beneath us and soon the color returned to the clearing that surrounded us.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this. It's just… I can't control it."
I firmly grasped his shoulders. At first, his body hardened at my touch as if he was expecting me to hurt him. But soon he relaxed into my hold. I couldn't help but relate to him. As big as Casita is, it can still feel cramped some of the time with our big familia, and with the level of noise they produce, I'm surprised I haven't gone deaf yet. We sat there for a while in comfortable silence with the sun looming over our heads.
"Jack."
"What?"
"My name. It's Jack, I'd rather forget my last name."
I smile at him. The rhythm of his breathing steadied over time and slowly but surely we both got up and started to head back into town.
" Nice to meet you, Jack. Oh, before I forget, my Tío Bruno was looking for you. He needs to show you something."
"What is it?" He asks confused.
"Honestly? I don't know but he seemed pretty nervous when he found out you were gone."
