Summary:

Bruno is forced to tell the truth when his nieces come asking questions.

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Written in Bruno's POV.

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I've just finished applying the last coat of paint on the wall when the door behind me slams open, making me yelp. Before I can gather my bearings, Isabela stomps into the room where I'm working, waving a cactus. "You have some explaining to do, Tío Bruno!" She screeches. "How could you do this to her? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO TÍA?"

"Wha-what?" I stammer as she glares at me. The sharp plant is terribly close to my face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Isabela takes a deep breath and tries her hardest not to strangle me. I don't know what I've done to make her this angry. Boy, she's as scary as Julieta. Like mother, like daughter. "Who is that woman you're seeing?" She accuses.

"Wait, what?"

"We saw you yesterday. You seem all cozy with her by the river."

Realization hits me. "Did you follow me out?" Oh no. They saw her. Just when she's starting to become comfortable with me again…

"It doesn't matter!" Isabela fumes. "Don't play dumb with me, Tío. How could you move on just like that from Tía Gabriela? Just because we haven't found her? WHO IS SHE?"

I tilt my head, confused. "Who?" I parrot. Wrong answer. Isabela looks like she's straight-up ready to murder me.

"Hey, hey, calm down, Isa," Dolores enters the room with Mirabel following behind her. "I'm pretty sure Tío Bruno has a perfectly good explanation." She eyes me. "Don't you, Tío?"

"Dolores...Mirabel...what…what is going on?" I cling to the paint roller for dear life. "...what did you three see?"

"Don't ask me. I'm just as lost as you are." Mirabel shrugs. "It was Isabela's idea to see what you've been up to and Dolores and I just tagged along. I have no idea what the fuss is about."

Isabela whips her head to stare daggers at her sister. "Oh, please, you were curious as hell. Don't act so innocent, Mira. Also, I can't believe you forgot about her!"

"Mirabel was five when she disappeared, Isa. I don't think she would have that much of a memory." Dolores placates her prima, takes the flower pot from her hands, and sets it down. "Tío, what were you doing in the mountains yesterday? With the ermitaña?"

"¿Ermitaña?"

"Tío Bruno…" Mirabel blinks. "That's who we saw you were with yesterday…oh. OH. I get it now. That's why Isa is freaking out."

"I'm not freaking OUT!" Isabela's eye twitches. "How can you explain it? It's barely one, maybe two months since he's back, and he's immediately acting all lovey-dovey with someone he doesn't even know! Just...where did he even meet her? HOW did he even?"

Dolores heaves a sigh. "That's true. We can't demystify the situation. I can see why anyone would be scratching their heads if they saw something like that. None of us even know where she's from, or what her name is."

"¿Disculpe?"

"So you really have no clue, Tío?" Mirabel asks. She decides to offer more, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper when I don't respond. "Oh, um, you see…Papá told me that a few days after you disappeared, the ermitaña suddenly appeared in the Encanto. No one knows how she arrived here. Growing up, I've seen her a few times in town, though she mainly keeps to herself. Honestly, I never questioned it, and in the rare times I've interacted with her, she's very nice."

Isabela hisses. "MIRA! You're not supposed to side with the ermitaña!"

"Why not?"

"There must've been some kind of mistake." My brows furrow together. They're not making any sense. "I…don't know who is this…ermitaña you're speaking of…"

"How can you NOT know?" Isabela growls. "We saw you with OUR OWN EYES! Why would you act that way if you don't even know who she is in the first place? I need ANSWERS!"

I accidentally drop the roller I'm holding to the floor in fear and shield my arms in front of me. Thankfully someone grabs Isabela from the shoulders before she could even lunge to attack. "Slow down there, sis." Luisa arrives just in time, putting her furious older sister in a stronghold. She may have lost her superhuman strength, but that doesn't mean she isn't strong. "We don't hit our elders."

"I'm not going to hit Tío Bruno!" Isabela spat. "Dios mío, Luisa, what do you take me for? And how did you get here so quickly?"

"I was just across the hall. You're pretty loud, but at least we're the only ones working in this part of the house right now." Luisa sets Isabela down, though she's still gripping her arm. "Anyway, I heard what you were all talking about and came over. I want to know the truth too. I mean, I helped Mamá 'that day', you know? I'd be pretty disappointed with Tío if it turns out he's seeing someone else."

I feel myself deflate. It looks like I need to come clean to clear this mess up. "Fine. Fine." I say to catch their attention. "I'll tell you my secret. But please, don't tell the rest of the family."

"Depends. This better be good…" Isabela mutters under her breath before Luisa pinches her elbow. "¡Ay! Alright, Luisa! Geez, I thought you said not to harm your elders…is that a way to treat your hermana?"

Mirabel snorts and earns herself a nasty look from her oldest sister.

"I'm not sure how to start this confession, but I'll just go with it," I begin with a shaky breath, fidgeting with my ruana. The battered cloth twists and untwists on my fingers. "You see, two months ago, your Mamás unceremoniously dragged me to La Casa Álvarez to get some answers. Dolores, I want you to know that your hunch was right. They were indeed hiding something, but it's not what you think."

"I knew it!" Dolores claps her hands together. "That kind of explains your reaction then, Tío, when you told me I was never meant to find her."

"Wait. You've been helping Tío Bruno?" Luisa asks in wonder. "Since when?"

"Didn't I say I heard him every day back then?"

"Fair point."

"But enough about that," Dolores waves a hand. "…what is your secret exactly, Tío?"

"Well, the secret is that I have found her. I just didn't tell anyone."

Gasps from my three older nieces. I raise a finger to stop their questioning looks. "Let me finish," I gulp, gathering the courage to press on. "I don't know what you've seen, but that's why I've been dodgy lately. I was sneaking off to visit her almost every day. Your Tía Gabriela lives in the forest, close to the river where we first met…but for some strange reason, there is something like magic in the air…"

I jump in surprise when Isabela yells. "¡Dios dame paciencia!" She throws her arms up in frustration. "He's gone mad. Not to be very rude, but…have you lost your mind, Tío? There's no way there's any magical intervention. No magic left in the Encanto, remember? The miracle broke?" She glances at Mirabel. "Sorry, sis."

The youngest Madrigal sister just shrugs with a "none taken" look.

"But…"

"The ermitaña isn't Tía Gabriela." Isabela interrupts. "I was old enough to remember what she looked like!"

"But…."

"And I don't believe you! Wait till Mamá and Tía Pepa hears what a lying, two-faced cheater you are, Tío Bruno!"

"Hold on, that's too much," Luisa interjects. "I don't think Tío Bruno is even capable of doing that…?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised at what his telenovela plot points revolve around." Dolores squeaks. "Though I agree, that's a little far-fetched, Isa."

"WHAT?" I back away, almost knocking down the paint can by my feet. "I'm not cheating on anyone. I'm telling the truth! I was with your Tía Gabriela yesterday."

"Eh, but…that's impossible, Tío." Dolores purses her lips. "The ermitaña doesn't look anything remotely like Tía."

"There's a perfectly good explanation for that, I think."

We turn to find Julián by the doorway who's carrying some wooden planks. "Sorry to barge in. I was just passing by when I overheard someone mentioning my sister's name." He apologizes. "But I can confirm that your Tío isn't lying…and he's certainly not doing anything suspicious either. I believe he's the only one who can actually see what we don't see."

Isabela straightens up. "Uh, sorry, Señor…um…"

"No need to be so polite," Julián laughs. "Just call me Julián. Or if you're not comfortable with that, the Señor at the beginning would do. I baby-sat you, Dolores, and Luisa when you were younger, though Gabriela had been the one who took care of Mirabel."

Mirabel blinks. "Really? Why can't I remember?"

"Like I said," Dolores emphasizes. "You must've been too young, but you know, you were her favorite. Isa and I were super jealous for a time."

"I was?"

"You were!" Julián winks. "Anyway, whatever you do, don't call me Señor Álvarez, please. That'll be mi Papá." He sets what he's holding aside to join our conversation. "Now that we got that all cleared up…no luck yet in convincing her to come back home, amigo?"

"Wait, wait, wait." I'm more disoriented than ever. "I don't get what you mean. I'm the only one who 'sees' Gabriela? Let's set this straight. What about you?"

"I did mention there was magic involved, didn't I?" Julián smirks. "I don't recognize my sister, actually. She looks different to me."

"So you're telling me that this…ermitaña everyone knows, and…my former…fiancée, are the same person? If you don't recognize her, then how the hell did you know it was Gabriela in the first place?"

"I already told you, she tells me everything."

"And you believed her with no question? How was Dolores not able to hear you two at the first instance?"

"Don't underestimate the bond I have with my sister. I would do anything for her in a heartbeat. I've done it once, and I'll do it again." He retaliates. "Anyway, she knew the family would be looking for her, so we communicated mostly through letters."

"But she goes into town sometimes? Just...how do you…KNOW?"

"Eh, she may look different, but she still certainly acts the same way." Julián scratches his chin. "You know she's not very talkative unless it was with people she trusts."

"That kind of explains why I only hear her when she wants to be heard...but this seems familiar..." Dolores chirps as the wheels in her head spin. "WAIT!"

"Uh…okay…?" Mirabel tries to hold back a laugh. "Do you remember something, Dolores?"

"Well…I was just thinking…Isa, do you recall when Tío Bruno used to tell us bedtime stories? There's this specific one that was our favorite…"

Isabela's eyes twinkle at the memory. "Oh, I do! We begged Tío to tell us the story over and over again…it's about a girl named Maria…"

"...who changed into someone else…"

"...and hid in plain sight until a man named Carlos…"

"...BROKE THE SPELL," Isabela and Dolores say in unison.

"Wait, isn't that the fairy tale about a woman and a magic river?" Luisa exhales. "It sounds exactly the same as to what's going on…"

"Yeah. YEAH! So it does! Luisa, you're a genius!" Isabela squeals, her mood suddenly shifting from confrontational to sheer excitement. "If what Señor Julián says is true, then that means…she's Maria, and you're Carlos!" She begins to shake me. "Tío Bruno, do you know what this means?"

"Woah, hold on," I release myself from Isabela's grasp. "There's no way that would happen in real life. It's just a story I made up…"

"What's the gist of it?" Julián queries. "I'm curious."

Dolores quickly runs down the entire story.

"So it was open-ended, huh?" Julián looks contemplative after she finishes. "Up for interpretation?"

"No. I mean yes. I mean, I don't know, I just left it like that for dramatic effect when I told them the story," I bite the inside of my cheek. Their theory sounds so ridiculous, but if I've learned anything from living in a once-magical, enchanted town, everything is not what it seems. "It was a long time ago. Of course, it wasn't completely open-ended."

"How does it actually end?"

"Look, that's fiction. This…strange thing that's happening between me and Gabriela…is real." I dismiss Julián's question. There's a lump forming in my throat as I pick up my bucket and walk off. "Anyway, we still have a few more things to complete for the day, so let's get back to work…"

Mirabel blocks my way out. Are all of Julieta's mijas going to keep doing this? Who's next? Luisa? "Mirabel, please," I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not, Tío?" Her hands spread against the doorframe, preventing me from leaving. "Anything is possible, isn't it? Is the outcome…something…bad?"

I glance over at everyone. The worry sits heavy in my gut. "No, but…the truth is, the story seems open-ended because Carlos doesn't get to decide what Maria looks like." I look down and find myself gripping the handle so tightly that my knuckles turn white. My fear tips over and it's all I can think of. "If this…magic that's protecting Gabriela the same thing, then that means I don't get to decide the ending. She does."

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Glossary of terms (in order of appearance in-text):
Ermitaña - Hermit (feminine)
Disculpe - Excuse me