The Encanto didn't really have a funeraria because there had been very few deaths in the fifteen years since the foundation of the village. Most of them had been suicides, to Padre Constantino's despair. The Lombroso family massacre was the first time that there were so many deaths at once—thirteen in all—the parents, six girls, and five boys. The woodworkers had scrambled to build thirteen coffins. The nuns who worked closely with the Lombroso family volunteered to prepare the bodies for burial.
Fearing the still-unidentified attackers, the tenth child, fifteen-year-old Áurea "Aya" Lombroso chose to live near the river, away from the community. Her location was known only to the Madrigal triplets. Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno expected Aya to sit with them during the Requiem Mass, but Aya was nowhere to be found in the church.
Julieta was tasked with giving the eulogy. "Before I received my gift, the Lombroso family were the healers of this village. They healed everything from headaches to heartaches, which is amazing because I cannot heal the latter. They were highly valued in our community, and this tragedy is a devastating loss for all of us. While most people now come to me for physical injuries and ailments, the Lombroso family continued to help with anything else that is beyond my ability. For that, this tragedy is a huge loss for our community. They will be missed."
Julieta was pleased with the gentle murmur of assent that rippled through the congregation following those words. She scanned the attendees for Aya, whom she found sitting in the back. Bruno followed his sister's eyes and spotted their friend at her family's usual spot in the church. Pepa followed his gaze when he turned his head.
"Do you want to go get her?" Pepa whispered.
"Yes, but I don't want to put her on the spot," said Bruno. "I think she's avoiding attention on purpose. I do want to go to her, though."
Mamá held Bruno's hand. She smiled gently at him, and Bruno relaxed a little. He and Mamá didn't always get along. Most of the time, they didn't understand each other. But on quiet moments like this, well, sometimes she did.
The coffins were interred in the crypt under the church. The space made the funeral attendees crowd together, making it easier for the triplets to seek out Aya in the crowd. The four of them cried together as Padre Constantino recited the Rite of Committal. The triplets walked Aya to her hut near the river after the funeral.
The clouds were dark and heavy overhead. Pepa was doing her best to not let the rain pour until they had shelter. The rain finally fell when Aya was curled up in her bed, inconsolable. The triplets said nothing. Nothing they could say would make their friend feel better, so they held her through her pain instead.
Stroking Aya's dark, straight hair, Bruno was grateful that Aya did not blame him for her family's loss. She had said so on the day that they'd met. She understood that the vision had come to him on short notice, that there was little time to try to avoid it.
