"This spoiled, selfish primadonna! "Bruno muttered to himself, pulling his knees closer to his body to keep him warm. He couldn't feel his toes anymore, but the teenager couldn't care less. Some white snowflakes stayed in his black locks, while others let wet spots on his ruana. He hadn't seen it snow that often in his life, especially not this quantity. The young Madrigal was only 16 years old, but even he knew that 50cm of fresh snow didn't usually happen in Colombia. At least it wasn't a snowstorm anymore.
It was his sister's doing, but Bruno knew that everyone, including his own mother, was blaming him for this sudden onset of winter. Some of his rats climbed through the hole in his ruana; even they were freezing. It wasn't even Bruno's fault that the two of them were fighting, at least not this time. Pepa tried to load all of her chores on her siblings to go out with some friends. Julieta only shrugged it off, but for once, their brother fought back. He called Pepa all the names he always tried to hold back, not caring that a thunderstorm was forming over her head. It wasn't the first time that the two siblings were fighting, but this time Bruno wasn't listening to his mother, who begged him to stop and simply apologize. Maybe he would have had just stayed in the house and eventually apologized if Pepa didn't grab him by his ruana, accidentally making a hole in it.
"So, that's where you are hiding. "He didn't notice Julieta approaching him, but Bruno didn't even look up.
"One of your rats was leading me to you; I thought that something might have happened. "Bruno mumbled "Traitor! "to his rat before he grabbed the cup of hot coffee his sister handed him. The magical effect of his sister's food and beverages flowed through his body, and in an instant, Bruno could feel the life coming back to his toes.
"If you try to tell me I should come back and apologize: Not happening, at least not this time. "He traced one of the hourglasses on his ruana with his finger, not looking at his sister.
"No. "Julieta sighed, sitting next to her brother in the snow. "Pepa deserved every word you said. "She paused, looking at her brother. "The snow isn't because she is mad at you, but she is mad at herself. She is feeling awful for what she did. "She groped to the hole in Bruno's ruana close to his neck. It wasn't too bad; still, she knew how much it must upset him. No one outside their family knew why he treasured that old piece of clothing so much. Some even pitied Bruno for getting just "an old rug "for his fifteenth birthday while his sisters got a big party like every other girl in their age. They even assumed that his mother found it somewhere and thought it was kind of fitting for his powers, not caring that it wasn't even his size. Bruno never bothered to tell them that all those little hourglasses have nothing to do with his ability to see the future but were a symbol of the paternal side of their family, who was an old lineage of watchmakers. The last person who inherited the ruana before him was Pedro, making it one of the last remaining things left from Bruno's father.
It was still three times too big for him, but Bruno hoped he would fit in one day.
"I know that she would never do this on purpose, but somebody had to give her a reality check. "The teenager didn't know what to do. He didn't like being apart from his family, but people blamed him for the consequences every time Pepa had one of her emotional outbursts. "Maybe it's better if I just stay here. "
Julieta looked her brother deep in the eye, knowing how torn he felt. "You don't know how much Pepa depends on you, do you? "Bruno shook his head, not sure what his sister tried to tell him.
"All her life, no one EVER dared to upset Pepa because they are afraid of the consequences. How do you think it feels never to allow yourself to be sad or mad because it might ruin the harvest of a whole year? All the times Pepa mutters her "clear skies, clear skies "or mamá tells her to calm down, I fear that one day, she'll crack. "
Bruno flinched by what she said; he knew exactly what she meant. Pepa was a generally happy person, but always trying to stay in a good mood definitely couldn't do any good for her. He too worried that all the relying on her happiness would take a toll on his sister one day.
"Bruno, I don't know if you are doing it intentionally or not, but you are the only one who dares to challenge Pepa. You never cared if we had to clean the kitchen after a hurricane or if her mood turned the town into a winter wonderland. Please don't stop getting on her nerves. "
"I am sorry that you got upset; I try not to make you mad all the time. "It was all Bruno could say before Pepa and Alma closed him in a deep hug. He noticed tears running down his mother's face; apparently, she worried because he ran away with only sandals on his feet. Pepa didn't say anything, but the weather changed to a soft drizzle, making the snow melt even faster.
The following day, the first thing Bruno noticed was that his ruana was gone. He panicked for a brief second before he calmed himself down with the fact that only his family had access to his tower. None of them would ever intentionally mess with one of the last possessions left from their father. As quietly as he could, he went down the stairs leading to his door, listening to any sound that would give away a clue of the whereabouts of his ruana. The tiles on the floor softly raised under his feet, as if Casita knew what he was looking for. They led him to the spare room on the opposite side of his mother's room, where he sometimes slept when he didn't want to climb up all the stairs to his tower. There, he could see Pepa, fastly as sleep next to the sewing machine, her head resting on Bruno's now patched ruana. He smiled at his sister; the hole was hardly even visible anymore. "Don't worry; I will always get on your nerves. "