Bruno was doing the best he could to adjust to his new life.
After so much time spent by himself, all alone except for his pet rats, he strived for any form of human contact. He needed it, he welcomed it – but he also got mentally tired of it relatively fast.
Like now, for example. Everything was fine just few moments ago. But then, he had this sudden urge to spend some time alone. To think, to breathe, to enjoy his own company.
He must have lost the track of time, because when Mirabel came looking for him, it was already dusk. Everyone was probably done with after-dinner cleanup, ready to call it a day.
"Hey, Tio Bruno," said his niece cheerfully. "We're done for today. It's time to go back home."
They were on a grassy hillock, away from buildings and other people. Bruno was sitting on the ground, watching the heavy clouds go by. When he heard Mirabel's voice, his gaze shifted away from the sky to her face.
Time passed, and the man just stared at his niece without saying anything. Finally, the girl asked,
"Are you alright?"
"What – ?" he said in a panicky voice, realizing that he probably should have reacted to her previous statement. "Yeah, I mean – yes. I just needed some time-out, is all."
Mirabel raised her eyebrow. She examined Tio Bruno more carefully.
"Did someone say something to you?"
"Oh no, nothing like that. Everyone's been polite. It's just, sometimes they can be – well, you know…"
"Too much," she finished for him. "Yes, they tend to do that."
Bruno smiled at her, although the smile didn't reach his eyes. He took a deep breath.
"Actually, Mirabel, I – I meant to talk to you." His voice was serious, his face solemn. "It's important, the talk. You might want to sit down."
He moved to the side, making room for her to sit next to him. She did so, afraid of what would come next. The man's seriousness creeped her out.
"You see, I've been wondering… You recovered the vision from my room. How did you do this? I destroyed the bridge so that you couldn't. So that no one could."
Mirabel's lips formed into a silent oh. She glanced sideways, thinking back to the day when she broke into Bruno's tower. So much had happened since then, it was like remembering her previous life.
"Well, I… used this barrier, the one on the path, as a swing," she stated with an innocent smirk, "and I – jumped."
Bruno's jaw dropped. He looked horrified.
"Why ever would you do that?"
The girl hesitated. "For the family," she said, then quickly added, "for Abuela, a little bit for me."
Bruno nodded sadly. His lips formed a thin line.
"You told me you wanted to make the family proud of you, just this once. Was risking your life part of that plan?"
Mirabel blinked.
"It sounds much worse when you put it this way…"
"You kidding me?" he said in a raised voice. His speech became rapid. "You jumped over a giant chasm, with no security whatsoever! I don't even wanna know how you got back!"
The girl lowered her head, as her Tio continued,
"And then, then – when everyone fled from Casita, you climbed on the roof of a collapsing building, just to save the candle."
Mirabel shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't used to being scolded by her Tio.
"Others were trying to help, too…" the girl muttered under her breath.
Bruno shook his head. "You can't go on like this. You've gotta stop."
"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything –"
"Mirabel, you don't listen!" Bruno yelled in frustration, which he quickly realized. "Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean that. Let's – Let me try again. I wanted to paint a bigger picture."
His voice was calm now. Although, Mirabel thought, a worried, disappointed Bruno might just be worse to deal with than a shouting Bruno.
"All the time, you feel like you have something to prove. Probably more so now, when you are finally like the rest of the family. It's not ideal, you always wanted to have your own gift, not for them to lose theirs… But now that no one has special powers, you're all on equal footing. It's like – It's like you can finally show them what you're truly made of. And they'll have no choice but to see it. Sounds familiar?"
Finally, a comment that Mirabel didn't immediately disregard nor negate. Bruno knew he was onto something.
"You told me about your sisters, how you helped them. You said you could understand them better. So, don't you think you're just like Luisa?"
The girl's brows furrowed. She stared at her Tio as if he said something silly.
"No, I'm not," she said dismissively, waving her hand for emphasis. "I'm not doing chores all the time, taking requests, overworking myself, and so on."
"No, you just have this internal need to fix everything – fix everyone's problems. But the thing is, these problems will never end. There will always be something to fix. You'll never be satisfied. Just like you weren't after helping the candle."
If no one had ever explained it properly to this girl, then Bruno would gladly do so. Otherwise, she would just substitute one thing for another. Proving she deserved a gift for showing she was fine without one. Saving the miracle for family therapy. Always putting others' needs first and her own last. She would be helping everyone while staying alone with her problems.
Bruno took another breath, as he went on.
"Unless – unless you learn to appreciate yourself for – well, yourself – and not for your ability to help others, to prove yourself, to make people proud. This validation has to come from you." He pointed at Mirabel's chest.
It took the man a long time to come to a similar conclusion. It was a winding, thorny path, very hard to walk alone. If he could help her get to the end sooner, he would.
He'd do anything for that girl.
"What I mean is this," said Bruno in a low voice, putting his hand on Mirabel's forearm and squeezing it lightly. "You don't need to keep proving yourself to anyone. You don't need to accomplish anything to make anyone proud."
The girl glanced at his arm on hers. She gave a small chuckle and replied with a short,
"Thanks."
Her tone was conversational. She did not get the message.
But Bruno was not giving up on her. He tried again.
"What you need is your own acceptance, mi vida, not theirs. You're enough just the way you are."
"I know," said Mirabel in the exact same voice.
She did, of course. Her parents often told her so. Her mother literally did this morning.
Bruno closed his eyes. He took a deep sigh.
"You're enough, Mirabel," he stated with emphasis.
"Yes, I know."
He grasped her shoulders, so that she would look at him. His voice was determined, more so than Mirabel had ever heard.
"You're enough."
"Tio, what are you – ?"
"You're enough."
"You've already said –"
It took this simple truth a surprisingly long time to sink into his own mind. It was obvious he would have to say it several times for her to understand.
"You are enough. You are enough. You are enough. You are enough."
He kept repeating the same phrase over and over again.
Until Mirabel heard him at last.
For the first time in forever, she felt seen. Every day, she took care of her family, hoping that one day someone would take care of her. The girl felt like crying but refused to let the tears go. She put her hands around her Tio, grabbed the folds of his ruana in her fists, holding him in a very awkward hug.
Bruno could feel her sob silently into his shoulder. He held her in his arms, rubbing the small of her back, trying to comfort her in any way he could.
Once she was able to speak straight, she whispered another "Thank you."
This time, it was genuine.
Finally, she let go, a little embarrassed about her actions. But Bruno simply smiled at her, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. He was very proud of his sobrina.
However, the man also felt even more emotionally drained than before their conversation. It was too much for him. He needed to get away.
In one swift move, the man stood up, ready to leave.
"You coming?" he asked, offering her a hand.
Mirabel shook her head, putting her hands to her warm cheeks to cool them down.
"I need a moment."
Bruno made a sound that was supposed to mean sure, take your time. He started to walk away.
"But Tio?"
She grabbed his sleeve, and he turned back to face her.
"You're also enough. More than enough, in fact."
Caught completely off-guard, Bruno struggled to find words. Any words that would explain how strange and pleasant it was to hear this expression from someone other than himself.
"There you both are! We've been looking all over."
The sudden voice scared them both. It belonged to Dolores, who appeared out of nowhere. Since she lost her super hearing, she spoke way louder than usual.
"What's going on?" Dolores asked with a frown.
Mirabel let go of Bruno's ruana, feeling suddenly self-conscious. She completely forgot about her assignment of fetching Bruno and felt bad about it. She was already getting up, but her Tio stepped forward to stand between the girls, his arms spread in a protective manner.
"Everything's fine, Mija," he addressed Dolores, who eyed him suspiciously. "You've found me, alright – so let's go."
Without waiting for a response, he steered the girl away.
"And what about Mirabel?" asked Dolores. She looked behind, confused and slightly worried.
"She'll be joining us soon. Come."
As they were leaving, Bruno gave Mirabel one last reassuring look. It was dark, and he wasn't great at lipreading, but he could have sworn that she mouthed,
"Thank you."