"Impressed?"
"What…? How…? What did you do to him?"
"I've only compensated him a little for the lost time."
"Mamá! What are you saying?! He looks like you've made him new!"
"Well, not new. I've only healed his body from the ten years he's been without my care and another five more as I did at the time with Pepa, Félix, your father, and me."
"You? Wait, You have taken fifteen years off him?!"
"I haven't erased them, he's still fifty, only better carried. He now looks more like the brother I remember from before he left, but he looks better than he did then, actually."
"Mamá… Are you going to explain to me what you're talking about? When did you take yourself five years off?"
"Ay, mi vida. Not suddenly like with him. Look… when Bruno left… it was a huge blow to the family. We all became withered and fragile like a flower about to die. It's hard to accept the loss of someone you love, you know? And, above all, Abuela… it was the second time she had experienced something like that; I felt that I should help the family, but, I couldn't heal a broken heart, so I left that to the time and love of the family and focused on restoring vigor to her body. From that day on, I gradually regenerated the wear produced on Abuela, day after day, until today. Right now, her body looks exactly the same age as when Bruno disappeared."
"So, Abuela would be ten years more damaged if you hadn't used your magic on her?"
"Uh-huh. She has a very active life and is very involved in the community; I didn't want the years to weigh her down so much that she couldn't fulfill what she felt was her duty. I guess you can say I cheated."
"And, you guys?"
"Well, the years don't go by in vain, and from the age of forty-five, I began to notice that they weighed us down too. There was a lot to do, a lot of people to take care of, and…"
"And you started doing it with you too."
"That's right. Except for Abuela's, everyone's physical condition is what it was five years ago."
"And, we…"
"No, mi vida. I have only been treating your specific needs, I wouldn't play with your age. You are so young for that."
"Although I don't think I mind if you take ten years off me when I get to be your age, you know?"
"You sure?"
"Of course! Who would complain about feeling ten years younger?"
"But, you know, my vida, that would accentuate the age difference."
"Which dif…? Oh. Mamá…"
"He's suffered more than all of us put together. Instead of losing one family member, he lost the entire family. And, I don't want even think how he has spent all this time without having anyone who could heal his wounds or illnesses…"
"Don't worry about that, he managed to eat your food."
"Mira, it is not my food that heals by itself. For my magic to work, I have to know that I am healing. I need to know what I'm facing to put the will to heal it. I didn't know that he ate what I cooked, so I never put any effort into healing him. All this time, he has been on his own, he has suffered alone, and has gotten ahead on his own."
A knot tightened tightly in my stomach. Bruno… Would he really have had such a bad time? Not even when he was sick had he had a kind hand by his side, a smile, or a warm soup… All that accompanied him in the worst moments was the echo of the voices that made sure not to mention his name.
"Is that why you wanted to make it up to him?" I asked holding back the tears my soul was struggling to shed.
"I wish I could do more for him. What my brother has gone through to protect you… I will never be able to repay him for that."
To protect me…
"Don't worry, Mira. We were the ones to blame for him leaving, not you. You are just a victim just like him. But, mi niña, you know what? You have had the guts to change the fate of this family and prevent more victims. We all, including Bruno, owe what we are now to you. You are quits, okay?"
"But, mamá… I…"
"You want to give him more than that, isn't it?"
I nodded terrified of what might happen from that moment on, but, if there was one person on the face of the Earth I didn't want to hide my feelings from, it was her.
"Will you tell me what happened tonight?"
"Nothing has happened, mamá; I promise."
"And, what is it that you want to happen, Mirabel? How do you feel about him?"
I bit my lip. I wanted to say it, but I couldn't find the words to do so, or maybe it was my courage that was failing me. My mother sighed and gently placed one of the locks of my hair behind my ear.
"It's been a while since your father and I have noticed it, you know? There are things that are difficult not to see."
"Also Papá?!"
"He seems a scatterbrain, but he knows how to see the essential."
"And… how did he take it? No! Don't tell me, I prefer not to know."
"Sure you can find the time to find out for yourself."
"Mamá, I am… sorry."
"Don't be, Mira: loving is never a bad thing. But, please, think very well about what you want to do before taking any step. Things can get very complicated."
"But… he is your brother."
"And I love him, and I want him to be happy. And, if his happiness is you and you are his, you have my full support. I'll do what is in my power to help you both, mi vida."
"Do not bother yourself. I am just a child to him. He will never see me as anything more than his niece."
"Maybe. Or maybe, again, we're judging him without knowing," she replied winking at me.
"Yeah…" I answered with disbelief. "Thank you, mamá."
My mother hugged me tenderly and I squeezed her tightly in my arms. Could it be real? That moment I was living… Had my mother really just given me her blessing to try something with my uncle?
"Wait, hold on!" I exclaimed, abruptly detaching myself from her and looking into her gaze. "That's why you've made him seem younger?! For me?!"
"Not just for you. Everything I said before was true."
"But, mamá, if he didn't have your magic… how did he manage to move so nimbly the day I met him? What is he? A monkey?"
"Bruno? He's always been like a monkey. Tiny, elusive, and surprisingly agile. A little clumsy at times, but that's more because of nerves. Besides, the infinity of stairs in his room probably helped him keep his shape for years."
If he could move like that without the help of my mother's food… how would he move after being rejuvenated? My colors rose and I supposed that I had to discard that thought, at least for the moment.
"But, if you were thinking also on me… Why not turn him even younger? You could have made him look my age."
"Oh, no. I can't do that. I can regenerate the loss, but not involute one's development. I suppose, at the most, it could have taken him until he was twenty-one or so."
"But, you've left him much older."
"Mirabel, mi niña, you have fallen in love with a fifty-year-old man. And, not only do you love him, you are attracted to him, or am I wrong?"
"I… I don't want to talk about that with my mom."
"As you wish, but, you'll have to admit that you're into mature men. After seeing him with fifty, with twenty he would have looked like a child to you. I'm sure you'll enjoy him more that way."
"Ma… mamá!"
"Also, I don't want him to feel weird either. This way, he may feel more vital, but not more of a child. Keep in mind that he's not even noticed the change."
"He doesn't know? How is that possible?"
"Bruno has always been very superstitious and doesn't like mirrors, so he only knows what his face is like in general if he sees himself reflected in the river or in the puddles. He hasn't seen his reflection in ten years…"
"Are you serious? Hasn't he even looked at himself in a spoon?"
"Probably not, but even if he had, do you think he would notice the difference? With a spoon?"
"So… he's not gonna know that now he looks thirty-five?"
"Ay, mi vida, he will know soon: I don't think Camilo can resist showing him the before and after…"
"And, will he take it well?"
"I don't know what would have happened before, but now… I think he won't be upset at all."
"Why?"
"Mira, cielo, I would be happy to spend the day here talking to you, but I have to go to town. Do you have nothing to do?"
"Isabela! She will be already fuming!"
"Hurry up!"
"If I come back full of cactus spines, you know why that is."
My mother laughed, shaking her head, although we both knew that there was a possibility that my joke would be fulfilled; then she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and loaded two trays full of food to distribute around the town.
I always knew I had a wonderful mother, but from that day on, I understood how true that was.
