It was already at the break of dawn before Bruno returned to the Casa Madrigal. He was relieved that none of the other family members seemed to be awake yet; maybe he had a chance to sneak back to his room unnoticed. However, there was no way to hide his even bigger eye bags. He had little to no sleep last night, and the growing worries inside his mind did the rest. Bruno didn't need his gift to know that Mirabel and Antonio seeing Elena at the river would fuel the old feud his family and the Morenos had for ages, and in one way or another, things would change. A change was long overdue; still, Bruno couldn't help but feel anxious about what impact it may have, not only on his family but on the whole Encanto. He never told his mother or sisters, but his visions warned him about all kinds of possible outcomes of this dispute decades ago; some of them ended with a division of the town. But there were things he feared more than the end of the Encanto.

Maybe, he could blame his tiredness on the party or on a vision, or he could get one arepa before anyone noticed his condition.

As quietly as he could, he walked up the stairs to the second story of his home; Casita carefully placed some old rugs under each of his footsteps. Silently, he thanked the house that it helped him sneak back yet again. After all those years of running and hiding from the townspeople and sometimes from his own family, Casita was still his most trusted ally. But even without its help, Bruno presumably was the only person who gave even Dolores a hard time hearing him, especially if he tried.

He almost reached the second stair when something made him stop at the small plateau. The portrait of his father always made him pause for a few seconds, but this time was different. It was like the time when he thought about leaving the Encanto because of the vision he had about Mirabel, or the time when he…

"What would you do?" He suddenly mumbled, fully aware that he would never get a response. "I can't protect them like this, but if I miss the right moment… How can I protect my family?" Bruno glanced at the portrait, but the only answer he got was the same soft smile that would never change. Still, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that his father had all the answers he needed; he just couldn't share them with his son.

"You always talked to him. Sometimes, I even felt you talk more to your father than you did to me." Alma walked down the stairs; her son didn't even look at her when she stood right behind him.

"Every time you got in trouble as a kid, I could always find you right there. You could sit on the floor and stare at the portrait for hours. Your sisters never did that."

"I just wish I had known him." Bruno admitted, still starring at the picture in front of him.

"I know, you all three do." Softly, his mother took his hand, aware that her son always had the most challenging time to grow up without his papá. "But you are the one most similar to him, Brunito. "

Her youngest triplet shook his head, he couldn't and he didn't want to believe her. "No mamá, I can't be like him. He saved us by giving his life, but I ran away like a coward." Bruno closed his eyes, feeling the emerging shame and guilt. Then, with her right hand, Alma raised her son's chin, finally making him look into her eyes.

"I could see you running up those stairs in your tower when you were just a child. Climbing over the mountains and leaving us behind would have been easy for you. But, instead, you stayed here and waited for the right time to help your niece. That's not a thing a coward would do. "

Bruno smiled, but he couldn't hide that he still felt guilty. He wished he could tell her everything, all those things her son had done and all those miseries he caused. He was confident that she wouldn't think like that if she just knew the truth.

"Did you find her?"

Bruno felt like something hit him in his gut, not knowing where the sudden change of subject came from. Did Mirabel...?

"I know you better than you think, Brunito." Alma shrugged, seeing how uneasy her son felt. "Besides, don't think you can vanish from the first birthday party you attended after ten years unnoticed."

Bruno felt caught but surprisingly, his mother didn't even sound mad. At least, there was no point in hiding that part of the truth from her. "Her daughter is alright; she was observing Antonio and Mirabel while they were at the river."

Alma sighed in relief. "I am glad to hear that. I worried about the little girl when Antonio said she was missing. There is a reason why we warn all children of the river."

She paused for a second, then she looked her son straight in the eyes. "I know that you always had a soft spot for her; you were both outsiders and misunderstood by the people around you. Before you had a vision about her, I hoped that Elena might be…. "

Alma shook her head, trying to get rid of that silly thought. "Still, Elena and her daughter aren't our concern, especially not yours. I know you always feel responsible for everything your visions caused, but you have to stop guilt trip yourself. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you this more often before you disappeared, but now I won't stop repeating it until you finally accept yourself."

"It's not only that I feel guilty, mamá." Bruno muttered, unsure if he should trust the urge to tell her everything. But before he could say any other word, the noise of people screaming at each other interrupted them. Mother and son simultaneously realized who the man was that started shouting.

"Samuel."