Antonio stood on his tiptoes but could barely see over the railings. He pouted indignantly at this; regardless, the boy stealthily crept down to the courtyard. Antonio felt Casita exhale softly, and he looked up at the cloudless sky. It was a perfect evening; the stars appeared to be leaning on each other as they danced merrily in the night.

Antonio grinned delightedly as the buzz of the jungle reached his ears. There was no time to strain his ears to tune in for the elusive cry of the jaguar. It would be best if Antonio got back in bed before Mami or Papi or Mira noticed his disappearance.

Antonio poked his head into his tía's kitchen cautiously. Tía Julieta wasn't there to stop him from getting to her secret polvorosa stash!

Antonio blinked owlishly, craning his neck all the way back to look at an elegant jar snuggled tightly in a dusty corner on the top shelf.

Antonio huffed moodily and started wondering around the empty kitchen in search of a chair. He briefly entertained the idea of waking Mira up, but those thoughts were dashed when Antonio laid eyes on a rickety stool shoved next to the oven. Antonio smiled brightly and rushed to drag the stool to the other side of the room. Perfect!

Antonio sulked upon realizing that the shelf was still too far up, even with the stool's added height.

Antonio spied a small step-ladder underneath Tía Julieta's spice rack, and was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea. Antonio struggled carrying the step-ladder seeing as it was just a couple of inches bigger than him.

Eventually, Antonio heaved the step-ladder on top of the stool. Antonio had to scamper around the stool to ensure the step-ladder balanced perfectly. The tiny preschooler nodded approvingly when the step-ladder stopped quivering, but Antonio hesitated slightly as he looked up to the top of the step-ladder. Hmm…

Antonio sucked in a breath, anxiously biting the inside of His right cheek. The boy ran the scene through his head; Antonio's brain demanded sugar after waking up from that harrowing nightmare.

'Bleh, if only I were brave like Mira.' Antonio thought glumly, swinging his arms around aimlessly. Antonio chewed his pajama sleeve nervously before his nerve returned. 'It's just one little step! Then, another! Easy!'

Antonio had barely touched the dusty surface of the stool when Pepa Madrigal's voice rang out.

"Antonio Joaquin Castillo Madrigal. What on earth are you doing?" Mami asked in her stern voice. Antonio had seen and heard Mami address Lolita and Milo with the same tone countless times before. Although, Mami sounds a little bemused this time. "What's wrong, my estrella?"

"Nothin'!" Antonio squeaked out hastily, his face slipping into a pout. "I was just looking for something to eat. That's all."

Mami raised an eyebrow, giving Antonio's misshapen creation a quick look.

"Mi corazon, you could have woken me up if you wanted to get into your tía's 'secret' polvorosa stash." Mami chuckled affectionately, effortlessly reaching to the top of the shelf to grab the cookie jar. Antonio's eyes lit up, and eagerly grabbed the offered polvorosa from Mami.

Mami snorted softly upon seeing her son scarf the cookie down in seconds. Mami shook her head fondly as she ate her polvorosa at a more leisurely pace.

Antonio was rubbing cookie crumbs off his face when Mami spoke up again, using a gentler tone.

"Why are you down here, mijo?" Mami shuffled closer to Antonio, wrapping her arm around her son's small shoulders.

"I had a bad dream," Antonio mumbled drowsily into Mami's side, closing his eyes to curb the little tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "I wanted to get a snack. 'M sorry about waking you up, mami."

"It's alright, bebe." Mami shifted around plucking Antonio up from the ground. Antonio whimpered softly before snuggling into Mami's neck. "Do you want to talk about it, mi corazon?"

Antonio shook his head no rapidly before curling into Mami. Mami pressed a kiss on top of Antonio's hair.

"That's ok, corazon. I will stay with you until you feel better, mi estrella. Alright?"

"Okay." Antonio murmured inaudibly. Truth to be told, Antonio wasn't sure how to tell his Mami about his fears about his upcoming birthday, or rather his gift ceremony. Weird, twisted feelings exploded in his gut; it almost made Antonio faint from worry. Mirabel would have been able to discuss the problems about the upcoming gift ceremony better than he could have. Antonio didn't want to bother his parents or Mira with nervous questions…

Antonio despaired; Mami's presence had always been strong and soothing. So why can't Antonio trust his Mami?

Antonio's eyes drooped sluggishly, and a wave of exhaustion passed over the boy. Antonio rested his head on Mami's shoulder, breathing gently. Mami rubbed his back reassuringly before standing up. Antonio still felt bad, but Mami's protective aura was enough to make him nod off into a dreamless sleep.

Pepa sighed softly, rocking Toñito back and forth gingerly. The growing thundercloud overhead was a glaring reminder of Pepa's helplessness. Her usual flighty behavior got under her skin; Pepa knew what could happen with her baby, yet she was nothing more than a bystander.

He feared she would drive one of her children away and nagged miserably at Pepa. She burned countless bridges with her words…

Pepa blinked out of her stupor, carefully guiding her thoughts in an agreeable direction. Pepa wasn't about to risk Toñito's gift ceremony by thinking of him…

Pepa shifted Antonio into a more comfortable position and marched upstairs.

It was going to be a long night and an even longer year. The dark rumble of thunder coldly reminded Pepa of the latter fact.