The next morning, Mirabel slides down the stairs as Casita forms them into ramps.
"Morning, abuelo!" She calls to the painting of her late abuelo Pedro as she slides down the other set of stairs. She steps into the kitchen, her mother Julieta having just finished cooking breakfast.
"Morning, hija." She turns to Mirabel, a soft smile on her face. "I just finished cooking. Could you wake everyone up para mí?" She asks, getting an enthusiastic nod in response. Mirabel heads back upstairs, walking to the side where her cousins' doors were first. She knocks lightly on Dolores's door, knowing her ears are sensitive and whispering to her that breakfast is ready. She then knocks on Camilo's door, who answers quickly. He had shapeshifted into what Mirabel looks like when she first wakes up. She laughs at his display.
"Camilo, quit playing around!" She jokes, and he changes back to himself.
"Makes the morning more interesting, right?" He replies, stepping out of his room and shutting the door roughly. As he heads downstairs, she quickly wakes up little Antonio, tía Pepa, and tío Félix, walking over to her family's side.
"Isaaa! Luisaaa! Time to wake up!" She calls to both of them, waiting for them to exit their rooms before walking over to Abuela's room. She knocks, not having to wait long before her abuela steps out of the room.
"Good morning, Mirabel. Is everyone else up already?" She asks, looking around at all their tired bodies dragging themselves downstairs.
"Well, almost everyone. I know I usually wake you up last, but I decided to let Bruno sleep in a little longer, since you said he wasn't feeling well." She nods, a troubled look clouding her eyes.
"That's right. It's concerning though, your mother's arepas with their magical healing capabilities have not seemed to help his cough at all. '' Mirabel's eyebrows furrow slightly, her smile faltering for just a moment.
"I'm sure he'll be okay. He's a tough guy." She reassures her abuela, who at least tries to pretend her worry has been eased. "Well, I should probably go get him." Abuela gives her a gentle smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes as she turns to go downstairs.
"Thank you Mirabel for looking out for him. He was right about you being exactly what this family needs."
She steps up to the glowing door, taking in a few breaths before she knocks. After hearing nothing for a few minutes, she calls out, "Tío Brunoooo. It's time to get up." Still nothing. Carefully, she pushes open the door, her brown eyes glancing around the room before she steps in. Bruno lays sleeping in the chair he brought up from his little home in the walls, his rats surrounding him.
"Poor guy must've been kept up all night thanks to his cough…" She sighs, hoping he would even be up for going out. She reaches out and shakes his shoulder lightly. He jumps a good few inches from his seat, yelping in surprise at the sudden touch. He opens his dark eyes, brushing messy curls out of his face.
"Sobrinita please! At least knock!" He groans, standing up to the best of his ability from the chair, his rats scattering.
She scoffs, crossing her arms. "I did knock! It's not my fault you're a heavy sleeper." His brows furrow as he scratches his head, his black and silver curls bouncing a little.
"Oh, really? I didn't hear it. Usually I'm not that heavy of a sleeper." Mirabel grabs his wrist and pulls him towards the door, causing him to yelp in shock as she did.
"Well, it might be because you're sick. You need to get up in time to eat breakfast." She pulls him from his room, shutting the door with a creaky thud. "And fix this neglected door as well, it's all rusted and old." As she walks into the dining area with Bruno, Julieta greets them, handing Bruno an arepa.
"Good morning, hermano. Hopefully this will help with your cough, I made it extra special." He smiles, muttering a small 'gracias' before taking a bite. As soon as it goes down, he starts coughing. Julieta worries he may be choking, but luckily the fear resides as his body calms. "Dios mío, this is worse than I thought…" She gently takes her brother's hand, leading him to his seat at the table. "Either way, try to eat as much as you can. You will need your strength today."
After breakfast, Bruno turns his tired, dark eyes towards Julieta.
"So why did you say I needed my strength today? You never clarified. Am I going somewhere?" Julieta turns surprised, glancing towards Mirabel, her eyes landing on her mother.
"Mamá didn't tell you?" Abuela smiles, shrugging slightly.
"I wanted to keep it a surprise, but you can go ahead and tell him." Bruno glances between his sister and his mother, eyes full of confusion and bewilderment.
"Well, hermano. Mamá, Pepa, and I all talked together yesterday evening. We all decided you were going to get outside and enjoy el Festival de Madrigal. We didn't want you to miss it all because of a little cough." His expression fills with alarm, his body sinking into his ruana with a nervous twitching.
"I'm going to town? Alone?" He asks, his tense muscles relaxing just a small bit as Abuela and Julieta both shake their heads.
"No, hijo. You will not be going alone. I asked Mirabel to go with you and she has accepted." Abuela smiles reassuringly as Bruno glances over at Mirabel, a smile lighting his own face.
"You are okay with that, right?" Julieta asks to make sure, her brother simply nodding as he stands up. As soon as he does, a coughing fit takes control of his body, his hand balanced on the table to keep him from crumpling onto the floor.
"Tío?!" Mirabel shouts in alarm, immediately walking over to his side. As the coughing fit subsides, he wipes his hand on his ruana, waving her off.
"I'm fine, sobrinita, I'm fine." He steps away from his chair, grabbing onto her arm gently. Mirabel gives him a bright smile and leads the way out of the kitchen and to the front door, slowly opening it.
"Let's goooo!" She pumps her fist in the air, pulling Bruno out of the house.
As the two walk around town, Bruno would occasionally glance behind him, as if he were paranoid of someone or something following them from behind. Mirabel notices his strange habit, but decides to say nothing of it. After all, they were out here in the festival to have fun, not to worry about things. She feels him stop walking and turns to look at him with a concerned expression. Before she can ask, he glances around nervously, his voice coming out as a soft whisper.
"They're all staring at me. They don't like me, Mirabel. Maybe we should just go home." She smiles, laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Nonsense, they're not staring at you." Despite saying this, she can't help but notice the cautious stares all around them. "What are YOU looking at?!" She yells, causing the people staring to continue walking, speeding up. "Just ignore them, tío. No good will come of caring about what they think." His grip on her arm tightens a little as his anxiety levels rise.
"I hear them whispering…." He hisses towards her, his gaze shaky and afraid. Mirabel pulls him closer, covering his ears gently.
"Then don't listen to 'em. Don't let them get to you." She smiles, giving him a tight hug. "Just try to enjoy the festival, okay?" Bruno freezes for a moment in her arms, slowly and cautiously returning the hug, nestling his face into her shoulder. "Come on then, let's go have some fun." She pulls away and takes his hand, leading the way further into town.
"Mirabel!" She quickly turns to look in the direction of the voice, waving to the villager with a quick '¡Hola!' before she drags Bruno towards a small stage with a few older people sitting on it, reading from books.
"Ooh, let's listen in on the stories being told!" She grins, helping him sit before she plops down next to him. He smiles nervously as he sticks closely to Mirabel.
After a few hours of storytelling, Mirabel helps Bruno stand and they walk over to a few parked hay wagons. She hops into the closest one, pulling him up. As he gets comfortable, she notices a light patch of red on his soft green ruana. "Bruno, what happened here?" She asks, concern lacing her voice as she grabs at the ends of the ruana.
"Coughing, that's what. My throat's gotten so sore that it has bled before. That was probably from earlier this morning." She nods slowly, remembering when he wiped his hand.
"Maybe mamá can heal that at least, even if she's unable to heal your cough." Bruno shakes his head, laying back into the hay as the wagon starts moving.
"I doubt it. If her cooking can't heal my cough, I doubt it'll work on any side effects of the cough." Mirabel wraps her arms around herself in a comforting manner, a troubled look in her eyes. Maybe bringing him outside while he was sick wasn't such a great idea after all. She glances up at the lights hanging from building to building, sighing softly. How was she going to help her tío now?
After a while of riding in the wagon, Mirabel feels her heart drop as she hears labored breathing. She turns quickly to Bruno, who is curled up, his body convulsing in violent shivers as he holds himself like he's cold.
"Bruno?!" She pulls him up to a seated position, her hands on his shoulders. "Tío, are you okay?" She frets over him, his face three shades paler than usual.
"Never felt worse in my life, Sobrinita…" He breathes out, his dark eyes having a hard time focusing on her. She reaches for his hands, which feel hot under her own. In alarm, Mirabel brushes the silvery black curls away from Bruno's face, pressing her lips lightly against his forehead. She barely even needed to touch him to tell that he was way overheated.
"Bruno, we need to get you home. You're running a horrible fever. Óye! Take us back to Casita, and quickly!" Hearing the urgency in her voice, the villager speeds up the wagon and rides all the way home. She leaps off quickly, grabbing Bruno as well, wrapping her arms around him to keep him standing.
"Mamá! Papá! Abuela!" She screams as the wagon rolls away, leaving her helpless and unable to keep him up. She carefully falls to her knees, making sure he doesn't get hurt any further. She hugs him tightly, her frightened huge eyes staring up at the front door as it opens. She feels just as helpless as she had been back when her door vanished.
