Summary:

Bruno's long-lost vision is found and disaster follows when Mirabel unwittingly reveals it to the family.

-o-o-

Written in Bruno's POV.

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

I receive another note from Dolores the next day. I immediately make a face on the first line.

"I overheard your discussion last night, Tío. Are you talking to the rats again?"

I roll my eyes. I don't need to answer that.

"I hope you're okay. I don't think you sabotage anything, maybe, it was just wrong timing."

"Thanks, Dolores," I whisper. "That's comforting to hear, though I do wish you're not eavesdropping on me so much."

"Speaking of wrong timing, Mirabel told everyone that the candle was weakening at the party. I felt bad because she got in trouble for it. Abuelaassured everyone that the magic is fine...but it's all everyone was whispering about after. I don't know what it's got to do with it, but…I heard you mention a vision. Tía Julieta shared the information once to Mamá in passing, and they think it was the reason why you 'disappeared' the day after. What was in your last vision?"

Mierda. How did Julieta find out about it? I told no one else, except…

No secrets between her and my sisters too, I guess.

"If you won't tell me, that's okay. But I thought I'd give you a heads up that Mirabel's poking around asking questions this morning.

Also, while we're on the topic of visions, I don't know if you recall it, but remember when Isabela and I got you in trouble with Mamáwhen you gave us a vision of our futures? Mariano Guzmán is coming over tonight to propose to Isa. You were right about the man of my dreams being out of my reach, Tío. I thought I'd have a chance with him, but I guess we're not meant to be. Everyone is thrilled about their upcoming engagement. It's so hard to pretend that I'm fine with it. No one knows who he really is but me. He's such a sweet man. He writes poetry, though he doesn't let anyone see it. I hear him compose them before he goes to sleep. Maybe that's why I fell in love with him…

I wish he would see me the same way Tía Gabriela saw you. Do you dream about her a lot, Tío Bruno? I sometimes hear you whimper in the middle of the night.

P.S: I saw her brother yesterday, he was the musician Papá hired to entertain at Antonio's party. He got away before I could ask him any questions. Sorry."

Julián? I realize I haven't seen him in years, too. I wonder how he and the rest of Álvarezes are doing. Is Señor Mauricio furious at me for breaking his daughter's heart?

I sigh. Nothing escapes mi sobrina. She even hears me toss and turn every night, chasing after Gabriela in my dreams. "I do think about her all the time," I confess to myself. "After all these years, I've never stopped loving her."

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

I hear a knock coming from the opposite side, soft and discreet. Dinner time. I make my way back to the kitchen to get my share that Dolores has prepared for me to take. There's another note wedged between my bowl of ajiaco and the warm plate of arepas.

She never gives two notes in one day. Why do I feel like something terrible is about to happen?

I walk back to my room and join the family for dinner on my side of the wall. I ignore the new note in the meantime as I listen to the unknown voices talking to Mamá. It must be Mariano Guzmán and his mother, over for Isabela's engagement.

The last time I interacted with the Guzmáns was when the Señora asked for a vision. It didn't go so well. I guess the appeal of her son being married into our family is too strong for her to even hold a grudge, which I'm not surprised by. Everyone wants to be a Madrigal. I had my fair share of arrangements back in the day before Mamá eventually gave up on matching me with someone.

Then my destiny came along. Oh, mi amor, Gabriela Álvarez…

I shoo the thought away.

What I'm surprised about is Isabela accepting an arranged marriage. I never expected her to. Maybe she's doing it to keep the family happy?

"The Guzmáns and the Madrigals together will be so good for the Encanto," I hear Mamá say.

I groan inwardly. She sounds exactly that one time, so long ago, when the Álvarezes first came here. She used the same voice on Gabriela…Focus, Bruno.

"Yes! Then let's hope tonight is not a horrible disaster!" Señora Guzmán agrees.

Mamá laughs. "To a perfect night! ¡Salud!"

Everyone else chimes in, even myself on the other side. "¡Salud!"

I listen to the clacking of silverware as everyone starts eating. It sounds normal from their side of the wall, though I start to feel uneasy as dinner progresses. I pick up the note and almost spit out my soup the same time I hear something that sounds like thunder.

It's hastily scribbled. There's only a single sentence, and it's enough to make me panic. Joder.

"Mirabel found the vision."

I gulp my food down immediately, ignoring the scalding sensation in my throat. No. No. No. No.

I peek into the crack and watch in horror as the family starts to fall apart in front of the Guzmáns.

I have to get the vision. NOW.

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

I try to stay calm as I wait. The rats had all gone off ahead to steal the vision away and are now returning one by one. My hands shake as I take the glowing green shards from their mouths, praying that Mirabel didn't follow them.

But that's wishful thinking. My eyes widen when I see her standing on the other end of the small corridor. It's dark, so she doesn't see me, but I've been in here long enough that I've already adapted to the low light. Mierda.

I immediately pull my hood up as the sudden light illuminates the hall. I have no idea what I look like, but she gasps, the fear evident in her eyes. Another flash of lightning and thunder starts and I run away.

Please don't follow me. Please don't follow me.

"Hey!" I hear Mirabel call out to me as the rhythm of her alpargatas hits the wooden floorboards.

¡Me está siguiendo! ¡Yo y mi mala suerte!

I try to shake her off my tail by going through another route, hoping she'll give up and leave me be. I swing through the beams with ease, though it might just be the adrenaline pumping through my veins. She doesn't stop chasing after me even as I rush through a tight entry. I make the mistake of looking up as I squeeze through. Mirabel has fire in her eyes, determined to catch me one way or another.

Santa mierda.

"Stop!" She yells at me. "Stop!"

I turn around for a split second to brush her off. I think of all of the curse words I know when I realize where we're at. Without missing a beat I jump on the jutting floorboards, feeling one fall beneath my foot until I make it to the other side.

I'm alive!

I don't look behind me to see if she's still following and round the corner. Any sane person would give up and turn back to avoid a giant gaping hole in the ground. When I'm sure I'm out of sight, I pull off my hood, the sweat dripping down my forehead. I think I've already reached my quota for the number of steps in a day…

I'm about to walk away when I hear thumps, a loud crack, and a gasp, in that order. Mirabel's frantic calls for help echo throughout. "No! Help! Help! Casita? Casita?"

I realize she's never been without the house. I groan and rush back to the pit. I can't let her die here.

So much for hiding.

"Help me! Help me!" Mirabel cries. She screams as she falls…and I grab her hand just in time. Boy, she's heavier than I remember…

She looks up at me, surprised. I have no idea what to say, so I say the first thing that comes to my mind. "You're very sweaty."

So sweaty.

The floor beneath me suddenly gives way and throws me overboard. We both yell in a panic and she catches me. Relief washes over my face…before one of my rats, Hector, who has been hiding in my pocket all this time, decided it is a good time to climb out of my ruana to say hi.

Mirabel gets startled and lets go of my hand. I fall to my death…

…before I realize my feet are on the ground. I stand up immediately and the dust clears. The pit that I thought was deep was just a shallow one. "Hm."

She helps me climb out.

We stare at each other when my feet are safely back on solid ground. A beat and a pause. I blink at her and realize this is getting awkward. I decide to make my exit instead.

"Bye."

I push past Mirabel and she stutters, stunned. "What? No…hold on!"

I ignore her as I make my way down the corridor with her following at my heels. "Wait…wait!" She calls out as she bumps into another corner. "Ow…why did you take the vision?"

I frown when I hear her ask about it and immediately knock on the bamboo beams. "Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock on wood…" I chant before holding my breath and crossing my fingers. iVete, mala suerte!

"What does it mean? Is it why you came back or…?" Mirabel asks as I exhale. "Tío Bruno?"

"Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock on wood…" I rap on the beams again and tap the top of my head lightly. She's not going to let this go, is she? "You were never supposed to see the vision. No one was," I huff as I do more rituals to ward off the bad luck that keeps following me.

"But…" She interjects.

"A little salt," I say as I throw salt over my shoulder. Mirabel sputters, but I don't stop to even look at her. "Sugar?"

I feel her eyes on me as I skip over the cracks on the floor. "Sana, sana. Colita de rana."

"Wait." I turn to look at Mirabel who's observing the wall. "Have you been in here? Patching the cracks?"

"Oh, that?" I wave my hand in an attempt to dismiss it. "No, no, no. I'm too scared to go near those things. All the patching is done by Hernando."

She turns away for a quick second and I pull the hood up on my head. "Who is Hernan–"

"I'm Hernando and I'm scared of nothing!"

Mirabel blinks at me and I laugh awkwardly, slipping the hood off. "It's actually me. Heh. I used to say my real gift was acting."

She grimaces. I think I've forgotten how to interact with people, but I can't seem to stop as I put a bucket on my head. "I'm Jorge. I make the spackle."

Silence. I feel Mirabel's judging eyes on me. I'm a mess and she knows it. "How long have you been…back here?"

I remove the bucket off my head. "Ten years?"

I walk off before she could even say anything else and she continues to follow me until we reach my room. I shift on my feet as she looks around her surroundings. "You…never left," Mirabel concludes.

"Well…I left my tower, which was…you know…a lot of stairs, and in here…heh? Kitchen adjacent!" I try to explain as she looks at me questioningly. It doesn't convince her so I sell my pitch harder. I pick up one of my rats and drop them on my makeshift theater. "Oooh, plus…free entertainment!"

I unceremoniously force my pets' heads through cardboard cutouts of various backgrounds. "So what do you like? What do you like? Do you like sports? Gameshows? Telenovelas…?" I settle on the final cutout and sigh as I plop back down on my seat. "Their love could never be…"

Mirabel sighs. "I don't understand…"

I'm not sure what she's asking, so I try to explain to her the story. "Well, it's because she's his aunt, and she has amnesia…so she can't remember that she's his aunt. You see? It's like a very forbidden kind of…"

Mirabel shakes her head, exasperated that I'm avoiding the real issue. "I don't understand…why you left…but didn't…leave."

I make a pained smile and think of excuses, anything to avoid telling her the truth. "Ah well…because…you know the mountains surrounding the Encanto are…pretty tall…and…uh…you know…like I said, free food and everything." I avoid her eyes and begin to gently chide the rats. "You guys love the free food, don't you? Always hungry, never satisfied…"

The light passing through the small crack on the wall catches Mirabel's attention. I say nothing as she walks over and peers through it, letting her piece together the real reason why I never left Casa Madrigal in the first place.

"My gift…wasn't helping the family. But I love my family, you know?"

She turns to look at me. I see the sadness and pity in her eyes. I frown, trying hard not to show her how painful it has been to be here all these years. "I just don't know how to…" I exhale, my fists clenching and unclenching, doing nothing to ease my stress as I settle back down into my seat. "I just don't know how to…Well, anyway, I think you should go, because…I don't have a good reason, but if I did, you'd be like, 'I should go, because that's a good reason.'"

Mirabel walks over to me and settles herself down by my side, imploring me to look at her. "Why was I in your vision?" I don't dare to and instead, fidget with a stray thread on the armrest as she continues. "Tío Bruno. I just wanted…to make the family proud of me. Just once." She is close to tears, begging me. "But if I should stop…if I'm hurting my family…just tell me."

I press my mouth to a thin line. How should I tell her this?

I shake my head and decide to tell her the truth. Might as well. "I can't tell you…"

Her face falls before I pull out the shards of my last vision from my pocket and piece them together. "...because I don't know. I had this vision," I explain to Mirabel as the image forms. "...the night that you didn't get your gift. Your Abuela worried about the magic, so…she begged me to look into the future. See what it meant."

I'm transported back to the past.

Mamá had a worried look on her face as she told me that the candle flickered when Mirabel's door disappeared. "Please, Brunito," She begged me. "I need you to help the family."

I walked back to the nursery with a heavy heart, where Gabriela was waiting for me. She was distressed about Mirabel…about us both. I felt helpless, but I tried to be strong for her sake.

I knew she could read the thoughts in my head, but she never stopped me. She trusted me.

I went to my vision cave. My worst fears were realized when I saw Mirabel's future.

"...and I saw the magic in danger. Our house…breaking. And then…I saw you."

But it also left me confused.

"...but the vision was different. It would…change."

It was the first time a vision like that happened, and I didn't know what it meant.

"…and there was no 'one' answer, no clear fate. Like your future was…undecided."

I turned Mirabel's future in my hands, viewing it from both angles and I felt…disappointed in myself. I tried, and I couldn't help the family. Even just this one time when they all depended on me.

"But I knew how it was going to look. I knew what everyone would think because I'm Bruno and everyone always assumes the worst, so…"

I threw away the vision and decided to leave the family for good. I went to see Gabriela one last time, just to say goodbye while she was sleeping…and broke her heart.

"You left…to protect me?" Mirabel whispers. I glance up at her and fight the urge to cry in front of my niece. Pain is the price we pay for love. Gabriela would do the same for her family in a heartbeat. Why wouldn't I do the same?

"I don't know which way it'll go," I confess as Mirabel turns the vision over, watching both sides of her future. "...but…my guess? The family, the Encanto…the fate of the miracle itself, well, it's all gonna come down to you."

Mirabel looks hopeful before I pull the vision from her hands. She blinks at me, but I ignore her reaction. "Or maybe I'm wrong. Eh, it's a mystery. It's a mystery. That's why this vision is…" I don't finish my sentence and immediately lead her out of the room. She frowns when I push her outside. "Look, if I could help any more, I would, but…that's all I know. Good luck. I wish I could've seen more." I say before closing the door.

Finally, some peace.

No less than a minute later Mirabel comes barging in, making me yelp.

"YOU WISH YOU COULD'VE SEEN MORE…SO SEE MORE! HAVE ANOTHER VISION!"

"Oh, eh…no. No. See, I don't do visions anymore." I stutter, trying to avoid her. Where does she get this persistence from? Oh right. Mirabel is so much like her mother. Kind and sweet, but stubborn and demanding as hell. Everyone who thinks Pepa is the more tenacious one has not encountered the hurricane that is Julieta Madrigal.

"But you could!"

"But I won't." I haven't done a single vision in a decade. I don't even know if I still have magic left in me.

I block Mirabel as I back off, shooing her away with a broom. It doesn't work.

"You can't say the weight of the world is on your shoulders…THE END. If I would say it was up to me…me says, 'have another vision'. Maybe it'll show me what to do."

I trip when my leg hits the crate and I fall backward. I immediately stand up and reprimand her. I heard something rumble near the tower side of the house this afternoon and it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. "Look. Even if I wanted to, which I don't…you wrecked my vision cave! Which is a problem, because I need a big, open space."

She doesn't get the hint and has a stupid smile plastered on her face. Dios, por favor dame paciencia. "We'll find one!"

I throw my hands up in exasperation. She's impossible. "WHERE?"

"Use my room."

Mirabel and I immediately turn to see…a little Félix standing by the door, surrounded by various animals. I realize this is the first time I'm in the same room with my sobrino, Antonio. He's holding one of my rats in his palm, who looks apologetically at me. "The rats told me everything."

Oh. So he can talk to animals. Antonio begins to scold a jaguar who seems interested in eating my pets. "Don't eat those."

Mirabel turns to me, her eyes pleading as she looks around my room. "Please, Tío Bruno. Our family needs help…and you need to get out of here."

I'm about to argue when I glance to see the rats playing with my toothbrushes. Okay, pretty gross. I shrug. She has a point.

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

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

Ajiaco - a soup that is common in Colombia, Cuba, and Peru. In Colombia, it is most popular in Bogotá where it is called Ajiaco santafereño, made with chicken, three varieties of potatoes, and a herb called guasca (gallant soldier).
Joder- F*ck
Alpargatas - a type of Colombian women's shoe
Me está siguiendo- She's following me
Yo y mi mala suerte- Me and my bad luck
Sana, sana. Colita de rana. - Healthy, healthy. Frog tail. It is a Spanish saying used by parents to deal with the physical pain of their children.
Telenovelas - a type of television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America.
Dios, por favor dame paciencia - God, please give me patience