Summary:

Julián's future is read. Bruno admits his feelings for Gabriela, and Julián offers to be Bruno's wingman.

-o-o-

Written in Bruno's POV.

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The sand swirls around us, showing me Julián's future.

I see…flowers, blowing their petals in the wind. There's a girl, crying. A man holding up a ring. Looks like a marriage proposal. She nods and takes it, and they embrace.

They're now at the church, exchanging their vows. It's so beautiful that someone starts to cry. I recognize it as Gabriela, crying tears of joy at the happy couple. Someone to her right is comforting her, but I could barely make out who it is. I spot Señor Mauricio standing on Gabriela's left, looking proud, but there's no sign of Señora Elena anywhere.

The couple kiss as the camera flashes.

"What was that?" Julián breathes as the last shot of the vision materializes in front of me. No doubt about it. Looks like Julián's going to be married to a lucky lady in the future.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried for a moment. I'm glad it's a good vision.

"Your future." I shake off the sand from my hair and clothes. Julián does the same. "Sorry about the sand. Any idea who this lucky lady is?" I ask as I hand over the vision to him.

"That…doesn't look like me."

"Eh, Julián, that's you in the future. I saw your family cheering for you at the wedding. I think you'll grow an impressive mustache somewhere along the line. How old are you, again?"

"Eighteen." Julián turns to look at me, a red flush on his cheeks. "I know this girl."

"Well," I say as I place a hand on his shoulder. "She's a lucky one, I'll tell you that. You'll be very happy together."

"Hey, Bruno, what did my sister say when you told her you can see the future?" He looks at me. I can sense he's still wary about me, so I come clean. I can trust this young man not to tell his sister, right?

"To be honest…I was taken aback by her kindness. People don't thank me for whatever I see, and even blame me for their misfortunes. I mean, I don't always get good visions like yours, and while I can control my normal visions, I get unwanted ones too. Your sister's the only one who understood all of that. It was like…she saw…me."

Julián hums as he studies the vision in his hands. "I didn't expect this, really. I was just teasing her about it, but I didn't think it would even happen." I look at him all confused before he continues. "Bruno, you like my sister, don't you?"

"It…it's not…I mean…" I start to stammer nervously. "Wha-what made you say that?"

He laughs. "Hombre, it's written all over your face."

My stomach growls. Such great timing. "Do you want to go back down to talk about this?" I offer, trying to calm the redness of my cheeks. "I think Casita already brought up breakfast in my room."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Huh. Looks absolutely normal." Julián scans my bedroom as I place the plate of arepa con queso on my small craft table. I motion him to my armchair. "You can sit there. Sorry for the mess."

He eyes the rats scampering around. "Uh, no offense, but what's with all the rats?"

"Oh, they're my pets. Don't worry about it. They're clean and well-trained." I break off a piece of arepa and leave it on the floor. One of the rats approached. It's Hernando. "Go on, Hernando." I coax. He squeaks and takes it.

"Hm." Julián takes a seat and grabs an arepa. "Interesting. They have names. How do you know who's who?"

"Eh, well, I have my favorites, but it's usually Hernando or Jorge that's following me around." I finish breaking off the rest of the pieces, scattering them before walking over to a small sink in the corner to wash my hands. "Is your sister afraid of rats?"

Julián laughs. "No. She's afraid of roaches though. I leave them in her bed sometimes and she screams bloody murder. It's funny."

"Ha! That's a good one. Too bad I can't do that to Pepa though, she'll strike me down with lightning."

We both sit in silence as we eat, Julián helping himself to the food. I guess he left home without having breakfast too. "Hey…you…won't tell your sister, would you?" Julián shakes his head and starts to talk with his mouth full. "No, hombre. I'm not that kind of person. Plus, I owe you big time for that vision." He blushes as he thinks about his future.

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Sorry," Julián says, swallowing. "Force of habit. Gabriela also scolds me for that too."

I shake my head at him. Julián's on the brink of adulthood, but he's still so much like a kid. He looks thoughtful for a moment before he asks me another question. "So, what do you think about Gabriela? When did you realize you liked her? Was it during dinner?"

I look up at the ceiling, my heart's beating so fast I can hear it in my ears. "I think she's beautiful. I mean, not just on the outside, but also on the inside." I smile as I think about her—the way the sunlight made her glow, like an angel that descended from the heavens. "She's smart, funny, kind, and strong. I think I started to like her when we first met by the river, but I only realized I had fallen the moment I saw how enamored she was with your parents' singing." I fidget with the edge of my ruana, trying to come up with the words to express how I felt. "Our eyes met for a brief moment and she smiled at me. Esos ojos, me dije, son mi destino. I don't think your parents could have chosen the perfect song to capture that moment."

Julián stares at me. "Wow. You've fallen…so hard for my sister."

I pull the hood of my ruana over my head. "Who am I kidding? I don't stand a chance."

"What? But you haven't even started!" Julián kicks me. I instinctively rub my shin. That hurt. "Bruno, come on. You have to give it a shot."

"She said she was engaged once, right?" Julián's face immediately goes dark. "Don't talk about him, Bruno. It's…something we'd both like to forget."

"Lo siento, Julián. I forgot it's a touchy subject."

"It's cool. I can't tell you the reason why it ended, but I can tell you you're a better match for Gabriela." I turn beet red. "Anyway, thanks for everything. I think I should get going."

I nod. "I'll walk you out. I need to bring these plates downstairs."

Julián shakes his head. "No need, hombre. I can bring those down for you." He picks up the plates from my hands and proceeds to the exit. "I'm sorry I barged in here so early. I'm happy you're cool with it."

"Sure. If you want another vision, or if you'd like to help me prank Pepa, you can visit anytime."

He laughs. "I'd like to avoid your sister who controls the weather. She sounds pretty scary." He has a mischievous grin as he leaves the room. "How about I help you win over Gabriela's heart instead?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Glossary of terms (in order of appearance in-text):

Arepa con queso - a variety of arepa that has cheese