The light disappeared from his eyes as the prophecy materialized in his hands, but the tears… they did not stop running bathing his face until they landed on that sandy floor that had taken everything away from him.
How many years had he known? How long loving me, watching me cling to him, and fighting back the temptation because he knew my destiny, my happiness, was in another man's hands? A man… he loved too and he would never want to hurt.
Suddenly I understood it all. Always stepping aside, getting out of the way, rejecting my presence… All for me; for Camilo and for me. That man…
It didn't matter how much I loved my cousin; it didn't care what the prophecy said; it didn't matter what the entire universe wanted. I could never love him the way I loved Bruno.
I plucked the prophecy from his hands and dropped it making sure it landed on the sand. I didn't want to break it: if those were my children, that heavy sheet would be something I would want to keep.
Bruno finally looked at me letting his wounded face finish breaking my soul.
No way. I wouldn't give up: I had no idea how, but this time, I would be the one fighting for his happiness.
"Can we go now?" he asked with a fragile thread of voice.
My response was immediate: I threw myself into his arms, hooked his chest, and kissed his lips passionately.
I couldn't believe how long I had managed to endure without feeling them back; I couldn't understand why life did that, now that I had finally recovered them, they had to be burdened with pain; and, above all, I couldn't accept that that was the last time.
He responded to my kiss, but he didn't do it with fervor; he did it with the softness and tenderness of the last goodbye.
"Mirabel," he said letting out his voice like a husked whisper. "Now you know. Please… don't make it harder."
"We'll leave."
"What?"
His face of incomprehension made it clear that my smile was the last thing he expected to find at that moment.
"What are you…?"
"We'll leave the Encanto, together. I can't imagine a universe in which I could fall in love with Camilo, but, even so, we will make sure that nothing happens. We'll elope."
"Mirabel… you can't run from the future."
"No? Put me to the test."
"I… I won't go."
"Are you kidding me?!"
"I'm not going to fight against your true happiness. Camilo is a great man: he is sweet and attentive, he is funny, he is considerate, and… he is your age."
"That doesn't…"
"With him… with him you can marry legally, you can have children, you can…"
"No! Not with him! I want them with you!"
"You've seen the same thing as I did, right? They are yours, but they are not mine. And they're… they're gorgeous. They are… they are your children, Mirabel; just thinking about it I already love them. I'm... I'm not going to fight against them."
Damn it! Why couldn't he ever be a little more selfish?! Why did he always have to think about me?! And why did that make me love him even more?!
It was an all-or-nothing; there was no plan B anymore.
"If you don't come with me, I'll go alone."
"Don't talk nonsense. Do you remember the stories your sisters have told us? Do you remember what happened to señora Romina's cousin?"
"I don't care. At least that way I'll show you that it would never have been Camilo."
"I do care! What do you expect me to do?! Encourage you to go to that hell? Julieta wouldn't be there to heal your wounds, do you realize? And she couldn't stop me from growing old trapping you in a world full of dangers. We can't leave! And, going alone? Seriously?! Are you going to sacrifice your life to prove to me that the prophecy was wrong? What good is that going to do?!"
"I'm tired," I said with the coldest tone that had ever come out of my mouth. "I am terribly tired of you deciding my life for me. Always thinking only of protecting me. Always willing to give up everything for me. I'm not going to let you do the same this time. If anyone gives anything up this time, it will be me. I've already told you how things are now."
I turned and left there ready to rebuild my world as soon as my legs stopped shaking from going down those terrible stairs; be it for better or for worse.
"Mirabel!"
For the first time in five years, we didn't sleep together on the night of my birthday. That night I had work to do: I had luggage to pack.
