It wasn't the birthday Mirabel deserved after so many years of feeling less than everyone else, and it definitely wasn't the way I wanted to finally celebrate her birthday with her. But somehow that night… it made her sad birthday one of the most special moments of my life. Selfish, isn't it? But... for once, I felt that the best thing I could do for her was to stay by her side and give her all that love she needed so much; and doing it without feeling like I was doing anything wrong was a real blessing from heaven. I loved that woman and, if my company was going to get her through that tough stick, that was what she would have.
The next morning, Casita woke us up early by turning a light above our heads on and off.
The blinding light made me squeeze my eyes shut and try to squirm on the spot, but then her weight and scent stopped me in my tracks. She was there, fixing her warm gaze on mine with a sleepy smile.
"Good morning, Bruno."
I already knew that the miracle depended on her, but, at that moment, it seemed to me that she herself was the greatest miracle that could exist.
"Goo… good morning, uh… Mirabel…"
"A tough day awaits us, shall we show them what we are made of?"
And, for a change without waiting for an answer, she dropped from the hammock almost making me fall too and offered me her hand.
"I follow you."
The farewell was bitter, but also warm and touching, and, by the time they finally crossed that river that had given us so much and where we had lost so much, tears became the protagonists.
Mirabel took Antonio in her arms and together they cried all the way back, Pepa and Abuela were carefully wrapped up by Camilo, and Julieta and Agustín walked silently with their arms intertwined.
"So, my girl will be back?" Felix asked putting his arm around my back.
"She will. No doubts."
"Alright, then. Each one has to live their own life and, maybe, what she needs is to learn about the world."
"Maybe…"
"I wonder what wonders she will find along the way."
"One day she will tell us, Félix."
"Bro, Bruno, call me Bro."
"Uh… Bro… Pepa… will be fine?"
"That woman is very sensitive, but she is also stronger than steel. Tomorrow she'll be dancing like a goddess under the hail, and, by the time the explorers return, she'll have even more adventures to tell to them."
"Yeah… maybe you are right."
"I am, Bro. Mi Pepi is a hard nut to crack. Don't worry so much about her and make sure you get your life in order once and for all."
"My life? What do you m…?"
"You have a pink thread tangled in your hair."
"Oh, really? Where?"
"Ask Mirabel to take it from you, she may want it back."
Felix slapped me hard on the back, burst out laughing, and ran to catch up with his family. I desperately searched through my hair until I found the thread that, indeed, seemed to be part of one of the embroideries on Mirabel's clothes and held it in my hands as I began to tremble.
If Félix really believed what I thought he had implied, things had to change radically: I had to protect Mirabel.
"Mirabel…"
Three days had passed since the departure of my nieces and the atmosphere, little by little, had been relaxing. Felix hadn't mentioned anything again and no one else seemed to know about it, but I couldn't stay calm; not with her in the spotlight.
"What's up, Bruno? You don't look good."
"I need… uh… I need to talk to you."
"Sure, I'm listening."
"Privately…"
"Oh, tonight, then?"
"Fine but… we won't… I mean… after that…"
"Don't worry, tell me later."
"Okay…" I sighed. That wasn't a talk I really wanted to have.
I spent the day more tense than usual and trying not to make too much eye contact with anyone, and by the time dinner was over, I headed to my room to wait for everyone to go to bed before going to our hole in the walls.
But things didn't go the way I expected. An instant later, someone was knocking on my door.
"I'm coming," I answered assuming it was Abuela or Julieta making sure I was okay.
I was wrong. As I cracked the door open and poked my head, I saw Mirabel's nervous expression in front of me, glancing around her to make sure no one was seeing her.
"What…? What are you doing here?"
"Let me in."
"What? No!"
"No? Why?"
"Because… It doesn't matter; is not here where we were supposed to meet."
"But I don't want to wait any longer, I've been thinking all day about what you wanted to tell me. Come on, no one is going to come here at this hour and, even if they did, it's not like we're doing anything wro…"
I had never particularly cared for that girl's brute strength, but I realized that day that it really could be a problem. Mirabel brushed me aside without the slightest difficulty and slipped into my room. She had been there before, that didn't have to be a problem, but… she had never been there since Casita came back to life. She had never seen my bed.
"Your bed…"
"What? Oh, that? Don't pay attention to it, it's just a disproportionately large bed. Let's talk."
"It's a double bed. It's different from the one that was here when I walked in last year."
"Heh… Yeah… I guess I wanted to have more room."
"But, you said you don't like to sleep in such a big and soft bed, don't you?"
"Oh, well, that… See…"
"The headboard…"
"Mirabel, please, leave the bed."
"It is forged in the shape of a butterfly."
"Ehm, yes. You know, I like animals and…"
"And the brass ball caps represent balls of thread…"
"Hey, Mirabel, focus: our talk."
"Bruno… this bed… is meant for me!"
