"Are you really going to get married dressed in a ruana?"
"It's white…"
"But… bah, whatever. What can happen, make it an unconventional wedding?"
"Thanks for helping me with the shave and hair, Camilo."
"Don't worry, I have a price in mind already."
"Oh, yeah? And…"
"Tío, I never thought that I would say this precisely to you, but… can I ask your advice?"
"As long as it's not about how to deal with people… Though I probably won't be of help to you in any other matter either…"
"Yeah, uh… you… you know I was in love with Mirabel, don't you?"
"I… I know. Wait, was?"
"I never thought of trying anything with her because she was my cousin, but you have taught me that there are stronger bonds than those, and… well, I still love her very much, you know? But…"
"Isabela."
"Yeah."
"Are you in love with her?"
"I think so…"
"You think? Think?"
"She is harsh and cruel to me, she laughs at me in my face, and, even when she was playing the perfect princess, she did not treat me with respect…"
"Doesn't that mean you've always been special to her?"
"I guess so… But I don't know if in a good way."
"But…?"
"But… since she's let us see her true personality… she's racy, and funny, and surprisingly fragile and strong at the same time, and I feel like I want to protect her and that I'll never be enough for her and… I admire her for that. What do you think I should do? Should I try? I don't know if this is strong enough to turn the family upside down, but… what if it turns out to be and I realize it when it's already too late?"
"Camilo, I… I honestly don't think I'm the best at giving this type of advice, but… from my experience, all I can tell you is that you should wait until you feel ready. If she really loves you, she will wait for you."
"I will never be like the adventurous blonde horsewoman who she fell in love with on her journey."
"Not that you need it. That woman didn't choose Isabela above everything else. Ask yourself what would you do."
"Alright! Enough about me! I'm not the groom today! Tell me, tío, before the night comes… do you want any advice on how to satisfy a woman?"
"What? No! I… Why would you know that?"
"I know more than any other man can tell you."
"Tell me you haven't…"
"May be… Wouldn't you have done the same?"
"It doesn't matter. I don't want to know anything about it. Thanks for the offer, but what I learn from now on, I want it to be with Mirabel."
"As you wish."
"Hey, Camilo, with which shape did you…?"
"You didn't want to know anything about it, wasn't it?"
"Have you done it with Mirabel's shape?"
Camilo opened the door, patted Bruno's new ruana around his shoulders, and pushed him out of the room.
"You'll have to live with the doubt."
That July morning, in the small church of the Encanto, surrounded by family, jungle animals, and various rodents, Agustín accompanied a radiant Mirabel to the altar, lovingly kissed her cheek, and ceded her hand to that strange man dressed in white who walked uncomfortably by his mother's arm.
"Be happy, hijo," Abuela whispered in his ear just before stepping aside.
Bruno smiled, turned to his bright butterfly, and breathed in peace for the first time since I've known him.
"You might wanna hang on," she said offering him her extended hands.
"I do," he said without hesitation.
"Too soon, Bruno, be patient," the priest joked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was talking about the hands. That doesn't mean that I don't accept the rest, that of course I do, but it's still soon for that, isn't it? Uhm, ok… I'll shut up, sorry."
All of us present admired the scene with amusement while some whispers could be heard echoing through the walls of the church, but everyone fell silent all of a sudden, because, suddenly, Bruno finally took Mirabel's hands and did so with total respect, firmness, and solemnity; without fear, without guilt, without any regret. Finally knowing that the right thing to do was simply to love and to be loved. Willing to give everything for her; letting her be his everything.
The ceremony was brief, culminating in a celebrated kiss that, miraculously, no one seemed to find out of place. The whole town celebrated with joy the union of that uncle with his niece, of that elderly man with a girl just entering adulthood, of the sinister type of prophecies with the sweet and ungainly guardian of Casita.
For the first time in almost fifty-seven years, Bruno dared to dance at a party. And I won't say he was good at it, but it was really nice to see him loose and relaxed enjoying music with his wife: Mirabel, that cheerful fighter, tenacious and optimistic, capable of giving everything for love, capable of reviving a miracle, capable of making that man smile, capable of making him dress in white and enjoy the dance.
That night, when they both decided it was time to retire to the tower, a surprise was waiting for them.
"Thank you for everything, family," said Mirabel obviously tired but also happier than ever. "It's been an unforgettable day."
The hugs to the couple came after one another one more time until Mirabel told us to stop.
"It's not that I don't want more of this, but… now I'm going to grab this man and drag him to our room, so if you'll excuse us…"
Mirabel grabbed Bruno's hand with energy and began to pull him, who followed her, blushing and completely enraptured, as if he were not capable of seeing the world around her anymore.
"Oh, Dolores!" she then exclaimed, stopping in her tracks and turning around with a mischievous smile. "If you don't want to hear anything that we don't want you to hear, I recommend that you go to your room soon."
"Thank you… I'll keep it in mind."
The newlyweds disappeared down the stairs and the laughter and dancing returned to the party. Julieta pampered Agustín while he cried about how grown-up his baby girl was and perhaps about something else, and Camilo danced the last and slowest of the songs clinging to Isabela.
But upstairs, near the top step to the tower, against all odds, Bruno and Mirabel stared in awe at the drawing on their door.
"He's not frowning…"
"He's relaxed."
"It almost looks like he's smiling."
"He is happy."
They soon realized that Bruno would never again be the anguished man he once was and entered the room.
"Bruno? Why is your bed suddenly… smaller?"
"Ah, eh…"
"You… don't want me here anymore? Even though I say it's ours, this is still your room, so if you want me to give you more space, just…"
"Oh, no, no! On the contrary! God! If you notice, now the room seems even more yours than before. Look how much light!"
"But then… Why is the bed no longer a double one?"
"That's because… now… I want you even closer to me."
Mirabel lunged at him unceremoniously against the small bed that the room had prepared for them and began to kiss his fingers, his neck, his chest, his mouth… He slowly moved his hands up her legs, pulling her thin petticoat up to her waist, and then…
"I love you, Bruno."
"Love you, kid."
Enough. I closed the door of my room and fell into bed taking advantage of the calm that silence gave me. No matter how interesting their love life was, there were things about her uncle and her cousin that one didn't want to hear.
I closed my eyes, put my hands on my chest, and went over it in my memory. That meeting, that love, that struggle, that fear… and, above all, the courage and the determination; the giving themselves to each other without knowing what the situation would be…
It must be incredibly thrilling to live a love like that.
Who knows: luckily, one day, it might be my turn. Hm!
Author's note: I promise, Camilo had never tried with Mirabel's body: he respected his cousin too much for that. However, Bruno will never know.
By the way, this chapter is accompanied by a fanart, but for a change, I can't upload images or links to the chapter, so if you want to see it, find me on Tumblr as hiptoff or on AO3 as hiptoff as well.
One more thing. The epilogue (next week this adventure ends!) is somehow special and the images have a great weight, so I will post a new chapter that will only include the "link" to the chapter in AO3 in which you will have to replace the words in parentheses by the real sign . , (slash) by / and so on.
I'm sorry it's so complicated. Complaints to FFN
See you next week!