At Casita the next morning, Mirabel worried when Bruno didn't come down for breakfast. Sure, last night had been a bit awkward, but it wasn't a big deal, really. He shouldn't be THAT embarrassed.
Augustín went to his room to get him and he hurried back, his eyes worried.
"Did he have any work today? Home repairs or visions?"
Julieta was now worried as she looked at her husband.
"No. He actually had today and tomorrow off. Augustín, what's wrong?"
The man pushed his glasses up and pat his belly nervously, his smile faltering.
"Well, he wasn't in his room."
Abuela huffed.
"He's probably in the baño, just sit down and stay calm. We all saw him last night. He's here somewhere."
Mirabel slowly got to her feet, earning a glare from Abuela. She ignored the bruja and gathered her courage as she stepped up to Augustín.
Her lip began to quiver when she imagined what could have happened.
"Pá? I think it's my fault he's gone. Again."
He held her tight as she collapsed against him. He pat her hair comfortingly and spoke gently but evenly.
"What happened, Mirabel? Did he hurt you?"
She glanced around at the family and she asked to speak to her parents in private. She knew that everyone would start rumors, but, she had to protect him. He technically didn't do anything wrong.
Once in her parents room, Mirabel began to cry softly, speaking as clearly as possible between sniffles.
"Well, he came to my room last night, said he wanted to talk to me, so we sat on my sofa. But when we did, he didn't seem too eager to talk and he began to hyperventilate, like he was having a panic attack or something."
She blushed at the memory, but she had to finish now. She took a deep breath and spoke quickly, barely looking at her parents.
"When I went to ask him again what was wrong, he kissed me."
Before they could get mad, she quickly raised her hands.
"And I wasn't mad about it! It was just very confusing and sudden. I asked him to leave, but only because I needed time to think."
She suddenly felt the weight of the situation, now that she wasn't the only one who knew, and she began to cry.
"He left because I told him to! I didn't mean it like that! I'm so sorry!"
Her parents hugged her between them as they rubbed her back and stroked her hair. Julieta spoke up in her gentle but motherly way.
"We're not mad, cariño, we knew how he felt before he did."
Augustín smiled at her.
"That's right, we gave him our blessing to go ahead and confess. I suppose we didn't take into consideration that you may not be ready, while he was very eager about it."
Mirabel pulled away and wiped her eyes dry before she spoke up weakly.
"Pá, please, we have to find him. He's stronger than he looks, but, there's no way he can survive out there alone."
Augustín nodded and pat her back.
"Go get Felíx, tell him that we're going to go find Bruno."
The three of them set out, saying goodbye to everyone and promising to be okay. Felíx assured Julieta that he would bring her husband back in one piece. Camilo stood next to his dad.
"I'm coming. An extra pair of eyes can only help."
Nobody argued against him and they all left. They decided to start in town and see if anyone had heard or seen anything.
Only one person said that had been out, drinking a little and relaxing, when they had seen a very nimble and swift shadow hurrying along the outer edge of town, hopping over crates and barrels and running so fast they almost missed it. It was hooded and thin and they could see that it was wearing a long ruana. It was heading towards the split in the mountain range.
Mirabel remembered chasing Bruno through the walls, and the way he had run so fast. She nodded and looked at her family.
"That's got to be him. You guys haven't ever seen him run, but he's really fast. I couldn't catch him."
They thanked their neighbor and hurried toward the cracked mountain. They walked through the forest and stayed close to the river, calling his name until sundown.
By the time they returned home, Mirabel's voice was shot. She had cut her leg on a sharp stone and her hands and arms were covered in scratches, wax and sticky sap and she had grass and various debris in her hair. The guys were a little better off. Augustín had tripped and fallen in the river, receiving a small cut to his chin, but Felix and Camilo were untouched.
When the group got home, Camilo was carrying Mirabel because her leg was beginning to swell. He followed Julieta's directions to carry her to the kitchen. He refused to set her down however, because he was afraid of hurting her leg.
Once she had eaten some food, Camilo handed her off to Luisa who carried her to the bathroom where Isabela waited to give her sister a bath.
In bed that night, Mirabel cried herself to sleep as the events of the last two days came crashing in on her. Like an icy cold wave with the strength of the ocean, she wondered. Was Bruno really in love with her? And how did she feel? To be honest, she hadn't really ever thought much about it.
Sure, she cuddled with him a lot, but then, she was just like that with her family. Had his nearness or touch ever given her a butterfly feeling? She was too sleepy to remember if it had. She was so confused. So tired.
Over the next few days, the guys would go out looking, but they insisted that Mirabel stay home. Augustín took her by the arms one day and looked her in the eye, loving but firm.
"Cariño, you feel guilty, and that feeling pushes you to do dangerous things. I know you want to find him. We all do. But, if we lost you because you fell from a palma or if you got swept into a current..."
His eyes misted and he held her close.
"We couldn't live without you. We'll find him, I promise. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. But we will find him. Have faith, okay?"
She stood in the doorway, watching them go as she fiddled with the frill on her top. She sniffled, trying not to let the oncoming waterfall escape. She failed and she hurried to Bruno's room, blocking out the sounds of her family pleading with her to stop. If she couldn't look for him, maybe she could find some clues.
As she walked through the passageway that led to his room, she stepped on something hard and looked down with a yelp. A little, black bead. It looked familiar, and she picked it up to get a better look and it came to her. Bruno's rosary beads!
She glanced around and saw them everywhere, little black, glass beads. She noticed something else, and her heart stopped. She knelt down to inspect closer. There were two rows of smeared and dried blood.
Oh Bruno, what happened?
She kept walking slowly, picking up every bead she could find, when she came across a jagged, broken piece of a cross. Her heart began to hammer as she scanned for the other piece. When she found it, she picked it up and fit them together.
She could feel tears threatening to spill again and she held the cross close.
"I'm so sorry, Bruno, I never wanted you to leave. I'm so sorry that I hurt you."
She felt something brush against her legs and she glanced down to see about a dozen rats. She suddenly felt like a revelation smacked her in the head.
She picked a few of them up, and she spoke quickly.
"Guys, Bruno is gone. We need your help. If you can follow his trail, find him, then come back here and tell Antonio! Can you do that for me?"
They began to squeak excitedly, glancing at each other before they ran away. She continued to his room then and she glanced around. He hadn't taken much with him. She looked at the throw she had made. He had left it. She figured her image was too painful.
She glanced around and laughed through the tears. Why was she even here? His room didn't even have any clues. Why would it? He took what he needed, and that was reasonable. So why did she feel like she had to be here?
She walked towards his hammock, and she touched the blanket. It was her old, baby blanket. How had she never noticed that? She suddenly felt exhausted and she climbed into the hanging bed, using her old blanket to curl up like a burrito, his natural scent strangely comforting her as she fell asleep.