"That night… I couldn't forget it. We were all gathered at Osvaldo's house along with his whole family to celebrate the day of San Juan. As you may recall, he took Abuela and me in while we got our house back."
"How could I forget it, Bruno? I took in your nephew Camilo during those days and he almost drove me crazy."
"He doesn't do it maliciously: he just likes to have fun. But he's a good boy."
"You talk about him as if he was a child."
"Well, he is… oh, I see your point."
"Yeah."
"Yeah… They are very different, you know?"
"They are?"
"They are for me."
"I can tell."
"The… ahem… the thing is that Camilo meant no harm, so…"
"I know, I know. But I never know when he's joking and when he's serious… Thank God Antonio has a good eye and always helped me."
"Yeah, that boy has a good eye, indeed."
"What do you mea…?"
"We are getting off topic. The fact is, that night, there were a lot of people in the house, and I… well, I still wasn't very used to crowds, so, as soon as dinner was over, I went out on the balcony to clear my head a bit. I would have gone out into the street, but I didn't want to slip in a puddle, break my ankle, and ruin everyone's night."
"That was what worried you about breaking your ankle?"
"It was a holiday…"
"You're hopeless, Bruno… So what happened?"
"I hardly had time to enjoy the solitude or the pleasure of taking distance from that racket. Mirabel appeared right next to me without saying a word and began to look at the horizon."
…
"Needing a break, tío?" she asked then without looking at me.
"Oh, I… no, I mean, yeah, but… not from you. Tha… that is."
"Okay, okay. No need to get nervous," she replied chuckling. "I also need to cut myself off a bit sometimes and feel the cool night breeze. It's nice, right?"
The air lightly rocked her heavy hair and brought me that homey scent that always emanated from her mixed with the heady smell of wet fields.
"It is."
"Am I bothering you?"
"No, no! Absolutely not…" I answered waving my hands probably a little more than necessary.
"The blueprints… look good, right?" she asked ignoring my dramatic response.
And then I realized. Her sight wasn't lost on the horizon, it was nailed to the space our house had left.
"You miss Casita, don't you?" I asked almost in a whisper for fear of making her uncomfortable.
"Ha…" she sighed. "I know that it could seem silly, but… it was like one member of the family to me."
"That's not silly. You had a very strong connection with it and it was alive somehow, right?"
"Do you think I've…?"
"I think that was Abuelo."
"Abuelo Pedro?"
"Yeah… Not that I can prove it, but… I think it was him, who continued to protect us. And, well, if I'm right… You couldn't kill him. Not that it was your fault anyway. But, the thing is he was already part of another world."
"So you think… he's gone to heaven or something?"
"I think he's still with us because he still has a family to take care of. He always found a way to do it and I'm sure he will do it again."
"I hope you are right…"
She snuggled her muzzle in her arms leaning against the railing and I knew that this was not the time to be foolish, Mirabel needed me. So… I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her slightly closer to my chest.
"You haven't hurt anyone, Mirabel. Ever. You helped Abuela understand and improve, you helped your sisters find their true path, and you helped me return to the world. All you have done is to give us all a lot of love and try your best. And, wherever Abuelo is, I'm sure he agrees with me. In fact, I think you two have worked as a team. Maybe we all needed to lose our gifts to find true North…"
A tear rolled down her cheek and she let her head fully rest on my shoulder, so I rested my own head on hers and hugged her completely.
…
"And… did you feel aroused?"
"No… I felt that I was born to stay that way. But then…"
…
"Tío…"
Her soft voice, muffled in my chest, made me realize what I was doing and my body completely revolutionized.
"I'm sorry! I… didn't want to… I mean, I wasn't trying to… Uh…"
But her lips on my cheek interrupted my incoherent nonsense.
"Thanks, tío."
And, with the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen, she turned around and went back inside, leaving me alone with that sweet, burning heat throbbing just inches from my lips; from those lips that wanted… to taste it too.
…
"So you went after her?"
"No, Antonio came out, patted me on the back, and wisely gave voice to my thoughts."
…
"You are in trouble."
