He told me my fish would die

Today was going to be a good day.

It was early in the morning, but Bruno couldn't help but smile up at the blue sky. It was a wonderful day, meaning that Pepa must be in a good mood today, reflecting perfectly the unusual happy spirit her brother was feeling. He even caught himself humming the same old tune his brothers-in-law were singing last night, not caring that he couldn't remember the exact lyrics.

Yep, today was going to be a good day.

"Good morning, Bruno!" One of the market people greeted him. The Madrigal nodded as a response as he strolled over the marketplace, trying to find all the ingredients Julieta wrote down for him. Usually, he would avoid the market at all costs, but it showed that Bruno didn't have one bad vision for the second week in a row. The people in the Encanto -including his own family- tended to forget his prophecies as quickly as they managed to ignore the fact that he couldn't control the future; he only saw it.

"Hello Bruno, it is a rare occasion to see you in town when it is so busy." Bruno almost jumped when the pastor of the Encanto approached him. Not chasing him back to Casita with pitchforks and torches was one thing, but to talk to him was a whole other.

"Well, someone has to do the shopping." He chuckled nervously, pulling the hood of his ruana down as he remembered that his mother would complain again if she knew that he talked to a spiritual person hiding under his hood. Not that he cared for a religion that much, but he cared for his head still attached to his body.

"Another wedding today?" Bruno pointed at the people gathering at the church, all wearing their best clothes. It could only mean a funeral or a wedding, and because nobody blamed him for the death of a beloved person lately, it could only mean the latter.

"Jimena Mejia and Jose Florez enter the bound of marriage." The pastor confirmed. "Well, I can't wait to say mass at your wedding." He laughed as if he had just told a joke, not noticing that Bruno rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first time someone mentioned that he was the only one of the triplets who wasn't married, and it was something he was sure would never change. Alma tried many times to marry her only son off to some lovely girl from town (or just any female person who was at least close to his age). Thankfully, she gave up after he "accidentally" had another uncontrolled vision when she forced him to talk to Teresa Castillo. Bruno didn't need to look into the future to know that no woman would ever dare to be with the scapegoat of the whole Encanto, and he was okay with it.

"You are still young, but you should hurry before your sisters are the only ones providing grandchildren."

"Well, I guess five grandchildren are more than Casita and my mother can handle," Bruno smirked when he thought about all the shenanigans his youngest niece and his only nephew were up to. Only two days ago, Camilo almost wrecked the kitchen because he used his new powers to turn into Osvaldo so he would be tall enough to get to the jar with all the homemade cookies Julieta hid on the top shelf. But, unfortunately, the five-year-old didn't consider that being taller also means being heavier and that the rack with all the plates couldn't support his weight as they used to do.

Kids are great, as long as they are not your own and you don't have to clean after them.

"Your youngest niece will get her gift soon, won't she?" Bruno nodded, thinking about how nervous Mirabel was since she witnessed Camilo's ceremony only a few weeks ago. Hopefully, she would get a gift more fun like her cousins and less depressing like his own.

"I will pray for her." The pastor announced as if he knew exactly what was going on in Bruno's mind. He turned around, and just when he was about to leave, the Madrigal noticed something on his shoulder.

"Hey, wait." The pastor stopped in surprise when Bruno wiped something away from his neck. "I thought you wanted to marry those two without some loose hair on your shirt." He declared politely, showing the hair in his hand as proof.

"Thank you." The spiritual hesitated, starring down at the open hand the young Madrigal showed him. Bruno grinned, thinking that he did something his mother would approve of. There were times he wouldn't even dare to tell someone that he had a hole in his pants, but this time he was feeling confident.

"What do you want, Bruno?" Osma sighed, not even looking at the man who was busy inspecting her goldfish. She wasn't impolite to him; it was just the way she was. It was a busy day, and people who didn't know what they wanted could be annoying.

„Oh, only some Lulos, Feijoa and Gulupa." He answered, grabbing in his pockets for the last arepa. Bruno gave the two rats who accompanied him one half but kept some crumbs. Rats might be his favorites, but Bruno actually loved all kinds of animals -even cats, but he wouldn't admit it when one of his rodents was listening. He couldn't help but pity the goldfish that lived in the small glass without any company. "Goldy" was older than he should be, which was always Osma's excuse whenever Bruno or anyone else complained about the conditions under which the fish had to live.

"What are you doing there?" Osma glared at Bruno, who sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

"Ohm..well, I thought Goldy was starving." He lied, not starting another argument with her. "I only gave him some crumbs, maybe…." Osma handed him the fruits he asked for.

"I take care of him." She didn't even look at him when she grabbed a little bucket Bruno assumed was for fish food. He tried to explain that Goldy had more food than he could handle in his glass, but before he could open his mouth, she shooed him outside, closing the door behind him. The Madrigal sighed. He had worse encounters with Osma; at least she didn't yell at him again. Yep, today was a good day, and his inner voice told him that something extraordinary would happen tomorrow.

Today was the worse.

Maybe it was the fact that Pepa was yelling at Camilo because he tried to copy Félix that made Bruno think that that day would not be like the day before, or maybe it was the fact that Julieta left him alone with all the shopping because she had to go to an emergency.

Maybe, it was the fact that Osma screamed at him, holding her dead goldfish under his nose.

"YOU DAMN IDIOT!" She yelled in anger, not caring that other people, including half of the Familia Madrigal, were staring at them. "YOU KILLED GOLDY!"

Bruno glanced in the fish glass; he could see particles of food swimming next to the dead fish. "Wait, did you give him ALL the fish food you have?" Of course, he wasn't an expert, but even he could guess that she simply overfed the fish.

"OF COURSE I DID!" Osma yelled again. "You told me he was starving!" Bruno tried to say something, but before he could open his mouth, he felt the pain of her fist hitting his nose.

"Are you crazy?!" He cried, tears filling up his eyes. "I didn't kill your goldfish!" Bruno felt something warm dripping in his hands. Great, his nose was bleeding, and Julieta went to the Garcias before she could prepare food, meaning he would stay in pain until she came back.

"It was you and your damn vision, Bruno Madrigal!" She screamed, not feeling the slightest sorry for hurting him. "Why do you have to cause catastrophes with every step you make?" He tried to argue that he didn't even have a vision of her fish dying, but that moment his niece approached them.

"Tia Julieta says she needs your help." Dolores piped in, not looking at Osma. Instead, she formed a silent "GO!" and before the fish lady could say anything, Bruno ran off. "Thank you, sobrina." He muttered when he was out of sight, fully aware that Dolores could hear him. She was always the first to help him when angry townspeople tried to murder him.

"Have you seen Bruno?" He could hear the pastor ask, sounding angry. "He told me I loose my hair, and now look at my head!" Bruno rolled his eyes. Why was everyone blaming him for something he didn't even do? He only wanted to be nice!

Knowing that the townspeople would happily help the pastor have another reason for planning a funeral, Bruno tried to think of a quick escape. He ran through the narrow alley, hoping that Osvaldo's donkeys would be in the barn, and remembered that he always gave them an extra carrot.

The Madrigal almost turned on his heels when there was no donkey in the barn but Elena Moreno playing the guitar. From all people in the Encanto, she honestly had the best reasons to hate him.

"Townpeople?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. The young woman didn't sound angry, not even surprised to see him at the very edge of the town. Bruno nodded, already hearing people screaming his name from outside.

"Go in there." She pointed at the empty barrel behind here, big enough to hide him entirely but also giving the mob the chance to beat him up without a chance to escape. He hesitated but sighed when he realized that was his only chance to trust her. Elena had every right to betray him after the death of her mother. Bruno managed to hide in the barrel just in time before Jose burst into the barn.

"Where is he?" He yelled. "Where is Madrigal?" Bruno tried to remember why Jose had a reason to be mad at him, but he couldn't think of anything. Probably he just forgot something he said five years ago.

"I haven't seen him," Elena answered, playing some chords on the guitar. "Maybe he is outside."

"Stop lying, Moreno." Antonia snarled. In her case, Bruno knew why she was angry at him, and she would take every chance to pay him back. "We saw him running here."

"Why should I lie?" Elena started innocently. "Don't you think I have enough reasons to tell you if I knew where he is?"

"She is right," Bernardo grumbled. "Why should a Moreno help a Madrigal?" Bruno could hear the other people mutter in agreement, and he couldn't help but ask himself the same question. He knew that, unlike her grandfather and father, Elena never hated the Madrigals. But he also knew that she was still grieving her mother's death.

The mob left, and after a few minutes, Bruno could hear Elena knocking on his barrel, giving him the sign that it was safe to come out.

"Thank you." He muttered, cleaning his ruana from the dust and dirt with his hands.

"Take this. It should help you with your nose." She handed him an old arepa which looked exactly like the ones Julieta made. "You know how old my grandfather is." She explained, seeing his questioning look. "I always give him some of your sister's food when he is feeling unwell. Without him noticing, of course." Bruno hesitated but finally took a bite. Instantly, he could feel his nose heal, and only the strains of dried blood in his face were left of his argument twenty minutes ago.

Elena smiled when she saw how he felt better. "I think you should go now. I don't tell anyone that I saw you, and you don't tell my grandfather that you saw me practicing playing the guitar. Deal?"

Bruno grinned; they both knew that he would never dare to confront her family. "Deal."