"Bruno, please don't tell me you just dropped the bomb on that poor girl so easily." Elena shook her head, obviously not knowing if she should laugh or cry about how insensitive Bruno handled the matter.
He shrugged. "Well, there isn't a way to tell it less shocking, am I right?" Mirabel couldn't help but stare back and forth between him, Elena and the little girl who was trying to reach her hand.
"Papá, is she alright? "Lina muttered, wondering if she had done something wrong.
"How?" It was the only word Mirabel could say in her confusion, not so sure if she wasn't still lying on her bed unconsciously. Maybe, she hit her head somewhere?
Bruno chuckled nervously. "Well, I am pretty sure you know how it happened, and if not, I really have to talk with your parents about…."
"BRUNO!" Elena glanced at him, punching him with her elbow. Thankfully, Mirabel didn't seem to realize that she almost fell victim to one other of her uncle's infamous bad-timed jokes.
"Papá, can I show Mirabel my room? Oh, and Parvel? And the chickens?" Lina beamed at him, and Bruno couldn't help but smile at the girl he said was his daughter.
"Sure, mi Vida, but first, I have to talk to her. Mirabel must be confused and…."
"No, it's ok." His sobrina interrupted him, still not sure what was happening.
"Maybe it helps me to focus."
Lina looked at Bruno, and when he finally nodded in approval, she grabbed Mirabel's hand, leading her to the cottage. The teenager tried to follow the six-year-old, who seemed apparent that this wasn't an everyday situation.
"That is our home; papá said it must be older than the Encanto. Oh, and that is Parvel." She pointed at the horse that grazed on the left side next to the little house; one chicken rested on its back while others were picking next to it. Mirabel recognized it as the same horse Bruno rode when he found her and Abuela at the river; she always wondered where it came from.
"Papá rescued the chickens when someone wanted to slaughter them, some were injured, but your mamá's arepas healed them. Also, he always made sure to bring back some eggs to the town because he always felt bad for technically stealing someone else's food... He and mamá tried to butcher some once, but they couldn't." Mirabel tried to imagine Bruno killing an animal, but she failed. He and Antonio bounded quite quickly because they were both the animal guys of the family; none could harm an animal at all cost.
A well-kept garden was on the right side, almost twice the size of the hut. With Isabela being the one responsible for all the plants, Mirabel's knowledge about gardening was limited. Still, even she knew that this garden had everything to keep the family fed, even though it wasn't enough to waste any vegetable that grew in it. Other than the rest of the town, the Moreno's never relied on the Madrigal's magical gifts for obvious reasons. Elena must have learned how to take care of a garden from a very young age, and it paid off.
Finally, they reached the entrance of the cottage.
"That is our kitchen. It is small, and I bet not as fancy as the one in the Casita, but mamá said we have everything we need when she cooks for just the two of us. Oh, and papá, of course, but he only comes up here when it is safe to do so."
The kitchen came indeed nowhere near to Casita's, but Mirabel had to admit that it was pretty decent at last. It was one big room with a fireplace at the other side of the room, big enough to heat the whole hut even when the nights were cold. A small table with three chairs stood in the middle of the room, some sewing supplies lying on it. Apparently, Elena worked on a new dress for Lina.
The girl kept rambling about the kitchen, but Mirabel felt distracted by the self-drawn pictures on the wall. They were good but not good enough to be made by Bruno, who Mirabel knew was excellent at drawing. He drew the blueprint of their new Casita without taking a sweat when they started rebuilding it, surprising everyone in his family who didn't already know about his artistic talent.
Those images must be from Lina, and somehow, the people she drew looked oddly familiar.
"I am sorry that I didn't paint you accurately, but I haven't met you yet." The six-year-old apologized, looking quite flustered.
"That's the one I made yesterday when I saw you and Antonio at the river."
She pointed at one of the newest pictures that accurately portrayed Mirabel and Antonio working. Even the pictures she made from the other family members like Abuela, Isabela, or Dolores were highly accurate, especially regarding the fact that she had never seen them and that she was still a little kid. If she was indeed Bruno's daughter, she must have inherited his talent.
"So, your papá told you a lot of stories about us, didn't he? " Mirabel traced one of the pictures with her fingers. It showed Camilo; Lina tried to draw him as he attempted to shape-shift.
"He told me a new story every time he came back. Oh, and he was here regularly, like at least two times a week, not that you think he let us here on our own." Lina took Mirabel's hand and led her to a door on the left side of the kitchen. There was only one other on the opposite side, which she guessed must be Elena's bedroom.
"That's my room. Mamá always says it's a mess, but we never have guests around, soo…."
Mirabel looked around in the small space that was not even half the size of hers. It was packed with all kinds of brims like books, crayons, an old pocket watch, or a telescope with a broken lens.
"Every time someone of the family or from the town threw something away, papá brought it here if he could. I love to read and repair stuff, but sometimes I don't have the ability or material to do so." The little girl explained, following Mirabel's gaze to one of the corners where a guitar with a patched hole was standing.
"That was my guitar." The teenager whispered, softly tracing the strings that seemed to be still intact. Until now, she thought that the once-beloved instrument was long gone because Camilo accidentally cracked the corpus. It took her some time to get over the fact that Pepa trough it out to stop the two kids from fighting, even though she found new hobbies in sewing and playing the accordion. The guitar had never been Mirabel's favorite instrument, but it was still a bitter loss.
"Well, actually, it used to be papá's guitar." Lina corrected her.
"He said that Tía Pepa and Tía Julieta forced him to play it because they needed him as background music when they were singing and dancing, but I think he secretly enjoyed playing it."
Suddenly, Mirabel had a flashback of Bruno handing her the guitar when she wasn't even five. She begged him to let her play it when she heard him playing a soft melody in the kitchen, eager to learn at least two or three chords. Of course, Lina was right, but how could she forget it?
"Lina, please give Mirabel some room. She must be completely overwhelmed with all the information you rambled in just five minutes." Mirabel didn't notice Elena coming into the room, her right arm wrapped around a basket with wet clothes.
"But mamá, I haven't even… "Lina started to protest, but her mother gave her a stern look.
"It's not your last chance to chat with Mirabel. Besides, papá wants to talk to you. You know, for running away yesterday?"
"Yes, mamá. "The little girl mumbled, letting her shoulders fall in disappointment. Elena gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek before turning around to Mirabel.
"Don't worry, Bruno couldn't be angry with her when his life depended on it." The woman chuckled, putting the basket on the table. She bent her back to get rid of the soreness she felt for the whole day. The young woman didn't get enough sleep the last night, and all the work she had made her wish for a long-overdue rest.
"I am sorry for her rambling, but she had never seen another human except her father or me. She is so excited to meet you, especially since she first saw you at the river two years ago."
Mirabel hesitated, not knowing how to ask the ever-burning question without potentially upsetting her. "So it is true? Tío Bruno is her father?"
Elena smiled warmly at her, not bothering the question. She was aware of how confusing the situation must be for the teenager; she was just glad that Mirabel took it better than she thought.
"He is. But I guess he should tell you the story."
The teenager sighed, unsure if it was from relief or because she gave up trying to make sense of it. But, then, she remembered what had happened only a day ago.
"Oh." Mirabel cringed when she thought about all the gossip during lunch a day ago. No wonder Bruno tried to make them stop talking!
"I am sorry that I thought you were…."
Elena laughed. "Don't worry, people have called me much worse than "la Llonora". Besides, if it keeps kids from playing too near the shores, I am willing to play this role more often."
Mirabel blushed when Elena winked at her. How could this woman possibly be related to the guys that screamed at her just hours ago?
