"Hmmm… I wonder what Osvaldo has been up to lately."

Alma hadn't seen her friend in a while.

"Maybe he's dead! He probably died from eating too much!" Mirabel suggested. She sure hoped so.

"Mirabel! How could you say such a thing?" Alma was horrified.

"It's bound to happen eventually. You know how he is!"

"But I don't want him to die! He's so kind and funny!" Pepa wailed.

"No! He's annoying, and stupid, and mean, and ugly! And sooo FAT!"

"MIRABEL!" Julieta scolded. "That's enough! Go to your room!"

"Ugh! Fine!" Mirabel ran to her room and slammed the door.

Once she was in her room, Mirabel looked out the window. Osvaldo was standing outside of their house!

Ew! What's he doing here?

She stuck her head out the window and shouted.

"HEY, FATTY!"

"Huh? What was that?" Osvaldo looked up towards Mirabel's window.

Mirabel ran and hid under her bed.

"Eh, never mind," Osvaldo said.

The next day, Mirabel found a small rock on the ground while leaving the house.

"Ooh! Someone painted a rainbow on it! How pretty!"

Osvaldo was aimlessly wandering around town.

Ugh! There he is again!

Mirabel knew exactly what to do next. She threw the rock at him, and it hit the back of his head.

"Ow!" Osvaldo said, rubbing the spot where he was hit. "What was that?"

He examined his fingers, which had blood on them.

Mirabel's heart pounded, and she began feeling sick to her stomach. She had really hurt him.

Osvaldo turned to see if he could find who or what hit him, but she was already gone. There was only the rock. He picked it up and saw the bloodstained rainbow.

"Pepa must have done this!"

He marched up to Alma, who was standing near Dolores.

"Hey, Alma! Your daughter was throwing rocks at me!"

"Julieta? No. She's been a good girl, and has stayed in the kitchen all day."

"No, no, no! Not Julieta! Pepa! This rock has a rainbow on it. And I know she loves rainbows!"

"It couldn't have been her!" Dolores said. "She's been inside all day!"

"Who did it, then? Why would anyone want to attack me? I'm such a nice guy…"

"I bet it was Mirabel!" Alma said. She hates you!"

"Really?" Osvaldo asked. "She does?"

"Yes!" Alma said. "Haven't you ever noticed how weird she acts around you?"

"Well, there was that one time, a few days ago…"

It had been a very hot day.

Osvaldo was sitting under a tree.

Mirabel was sitting in the tree.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind broke the tree branch that Mirabel was on! Mirabel fell out of the tree and landed on Osvaldo, causing them to both scream.

"I thought it was an accident, but now I know the truth!" Osvaldo said.

"We need to teach that little brat a lesson!" Alma said.

"You're right, and I know exactly what to do…" Osvaldo said.

Over the next few weeks, Osvaldo slowly stopped going outside.

"Dolores, have you heard from Osvaldo lately?" Alma asked.

"No," Dolores said. "He must be dead."

"Well, that's too bad," Alma said. "We'll need to have a funeral soon."

"How could this happen?" Félix asked. "He was so young and healthy."

"I'm gonna miss Osvaldo so much!" Camilo sobbed. "He was my friend…"

"I'm so sorry, Camilo…" Mirabel tried to hug him, but Félix pulled her away.

"Stay away from him, Mirabel."

"What? Why?"

"I don't want you being a bad influence on him."

"Everyone in La Familia Madrigal will be attending the funeral, of course," Alma said. "Osvaldo was a good friend of ours, and we all loved him."

"NOT ME!" Mirabel screamed. "I HATE HIM!"

"Remind us why, Mirabel?" Pepa asked.

"He's annoying, and stupid, and mean, and ugly! And sooo FAT!"

"See? What did I tell you, Félix?" Pepa said. "She hates fat people!"

"I see," said Félix. "So, when is the funeral?"

"Tomorrow," Alma said, with a smile.

"So… how do you think he died?" Alma asked Julieta at the funeral.

"It was most likely a delayed reaction to being hit with that rock," Julieta said.

"You see, Mirabel?" Alma said. "He would've still been alive, if you hadn't thrown that rock at him."

"I'm so sorry!" Mirabel started crying. "I hated him, but I didn't mean to kill him!"

"Well, you did! Look! He's dead now, because of you!"

Alma forced Mirabel to look at the dead body in the coffin.

"The first death in our village, and it's all your fault!" Pepa glared at Mirabel.

Mirabel cried harder.

"There, there. It's gonna be okay, Mirabel…"

Mirabel heard a familiar, disgusting voice behind her.

She slowly turned around… and saw Osvaldo!

"You're alive?!"

"Yes, alive and well!"

"Then… what was the funeral for?"

"To teach you a lesson!" Osvaldo said. "Throwing rocks at people is very dangerous. You really could've killed me. Luckily, you didn't."

"Just imagine if he actually did die, though!" Alma said "You'd have to live the rest of your life with that guilt."

"Okay, I get it!" Mirabel said. "I won't do anything like that ever again."

Then, she realized that there was still a "dead body".

"But… if you're here, who is in the coffin?"

Camilo jumped out.

"Surprise!"

"CAMILO?!"

Osvaldo turned to Alma. "Anyways… how's the family?"

"They're good… I guess? How am I supposed to know? There's too many people to keep track of."

"Even Julieta?"

"Uh… yeah, I think so," Alma said. Why do you mention her, specifically?"

"Some of the villagers and I have noticed that we don't see her very often anymore."

"Well, she's just been very busy lately…"

"Oh, okay," Osvaldo said.

"I'm right behind you," Julieta said.

"Oh, hello!" Osvaldo said. "Congratulations!"

"Uhhh… what?" Julieta's heart began racing, and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

"You're having a baby!"

" I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Come on!" Osvaldo urged. "There's no need to be shy!"

"I… uh… have to go!"

Julieta ran away and vomited into a bush.

Osvaldo chuckled and turned to Pepa.

"I have a gift for you."

"For me?" Pepa asked. "But it's not even my birthday!"

"Well, this isn't a birthday gift. It's a 'sorry you lost your baby' gift. You know, because of your miscarriage?"

Pepa began shaking violently. How did he know about her secret?

Osvaldo thrust a gift basket into her hands.

"There you go!"

Pepa tightly gripped the basket and tried not to scream as a storm cloud formed above her head.

"Hey, at least you still have other kids," Osvaldo continued. "Did you really want three boys, anyways?"

"I… I w-w-wanted all of m-m-my kids…"

"Well... you could try for another?"

"Don't you even realize how old I am? I'm too old! You were just at my birthday party!"

"No, I was at Bruno's birthday party." said Osvaldo. "Anyways, I hope you enjoy your gift. There's lots of fun stuff in there. I even included some decorations for the grave!"

That was the final straw. Pepa couldn't stand how he was being so casual and callous.

"WHY, YOU!" she screamed, tackling Osvaldo. "HOW DARE YOU TREAT THIS LIKE A JOKE? AFTER ALL I'VE BEEN THROUGH?!"

Lightning flashed as she punched him over and over again.

"OW! Help, help, help!" he screamed, but nobody helped.

He was getting what he deserved.

A week later, Abuela finally let Julieta out of the kitchen again.

"You've been a good girl lately, so I've decided that you can go outside today!"

"Yay!" Julieta said. "Thank you, Mami!"

Meanwhile, Pepa was hiding in the bushes .

"Tía, why are you hiding in the bushes?" Mirabel asked. "Are you peeing?"

"WHAT?! NO!" Pepa said, rushing to pull her panties back up. "I'm waiting for the perfect moment to attack!"

"Uh… and who exactly are you attacking?"

"The fat man!"

"Oh, cool!" Mirabel said. "Do you hate him now, too?"

"Yes, I do!" Pepa said. "He insulted me, and now I want him to suffer!"

"Maybe we can team up against him!"

"Uh… maybe," Pepa said. "What's your plan?"

Julieta was standing outside, holding a plate of arepas. She stared into the distance, breathing heavily. As Mirabel and Pepa approached her, Julieta continued staring. She didn't blink or say anything.

Mirabel and Pepa each grabbed an arepa and turned around, only to see that Osvaldo was approaching.

"Oh, no!" Mirabel said. "There he is!"

"Ready... aim… fire!" Pepa said.

They both threw the arepas at Osvaldo.

"DON'T YOU WANT SOME MORE FOOD, FATTY?!" Mirabel called.

"Ha!" Pepa laughed. "Good one, Mirabel!"

"Mmm… free food…" Osvaldo said, picking an arepa off the ground and eating it.

Julieta finally blinked a few times, shook her head, and then stopped staring.

"What in the world is going on here?!"

The next day, Pepa had a fever again.

Félix found her under a massive pile of blankets.

I must have caught a virus! And I bet that little brat Mirabel gave it to me!

"I'll go get you some soup," Félix said. "That will make you feel better."

"And more blankets?" Pepa asked.

"I'll see what I can do," Félix chuckled.

Camilo was eating a sandwich in the kitchen.

"Hey, is that my sandwich?" Félix asked.

"Maybe…" Camilo said.

Félix looked closer.

"It is!" he said. "Why did you steal my sandwich, Camilo?"

"I… umm…uh… bye!" Camilo took off running.

"WHY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Félix shouted, chasing after him.

Osvaldo was randomly standing in the middle of the road for no reason.

"OUT OF MY WAY, FATTY!" Camilo shouted.

Félix couldn't keep up. His chest began hurting, and he could barely breathe.

Oh, no! I must be having a heart attack, he thought, lying down to die.

After Pepa spent an hour feeling weak and achy, she pushed through the pain and made her way into the kitchen.

There, she saw Julieta staring sadly at a piece of paper with writing on it.

I hate you, Mami!

-Mirabel

"What's wrong, Julieta?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Okay," Pepa said, hoping that she didn't look as sick as she felt. "Do you know where Félix is?"

"No, and I don't care."

"NO! MIRABEL MUST HAVE KILLED HIM!" Pepa screeched. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU MIRABEL!"

She ran out of the kitchen, or at least tried to. Her aching legs wouldn't allow her to go very fast.

Just around the corner, Alma was hugging Bruno.

"I love you, Bruno."

I wish that Mami would hug me, Julieta thought as she stared at them.

"What are you looking at?" Alma snapped.

"N-n-nothing…" Julieta said.

Before the sun had even started to rise the next morning, Julieta was already cooking.

Just around the corner, Pepa and Félix were talking.

"Are you going to bring your glasses?" Félix asked.

Bring them where? Julieta wondered.

"What? I don't have glasses!"

"Really?" Félix asked. "Then why are you wearing them in that picture?"

He pointed to a picture that was hanging on the wall. The two were embracing, and Pepa had a pair of black-rimmed glasses on her face.

"I don't even remember that…" Pepa said.

Félix sighed. "Well, it is an older picture…"

Alma entered the room.

"There is a more recent one, you know!" she said. "You could let me hang that one up, but no. You just throw a tantrum and cry like a little baby!"

"I was pregnant in that one!" Pepa said. Do you really think that I want another reminder of the worst time in my life?!""

She was cut off by Mirabel.

"Tía? Tío? Are you really leaving now?"

"Yes, but don't worry," said Félix. "We'll be back before you know it."

They hadn't said where they were going or why, and this worried Mirabel.

I hope they're not trying to leave the village, she thought.

"Okay, Félix. Can we go now? Before I change my mind?" Pepa said.

"Yeah, we'd best be on our way."

"Hold on! I just made some arepas," said Julieta. "Wouldn't you like to bring some with you? You know, just in case you get hungry?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Pepa said. "Wait! Julieta, aren't you gonna give me a goodbye hug first?"

Julieta sighed.

She wasn't looking forward to being hugged, because her breasts were hurting.

"Yeah, I guess so. Come here."

Julieta tried not to groan in pain as Pepa hugged her.

"I know you love hugs…" Pepa said.

Suddenly, Luisa ran into the room.

"I WANT A HUG, TOO!"

"No!" Julieta quickly said, moving away from Luisa.

"I JUST WANTED TO HUG YOU!"

"Well, don't," Julieta said. "Not right now."

"Why not?" Luisa asked.

"It's because of her little secret!" Pepa said.

"What secret?" Julieta asked.

"You thought that nobody would notice that something was different about you!" Pepa said. "You can't hide this forever, you know!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Julieta laughed nervously.

"You think you're better than me… don't you?" Pepa hissed.

"N-n-no, I just…"

"I know what's actually wrong with you! You… are…"

Félix grabbed Pepa and pulled her away before she could finish.

"That's enough! We're going now!"

Pepa laughed maniacally.

"Bye, everyone! I'll see you soon!"

After Pepa and Félix left, Julieta asked Mirabel if she knew what Pepa was talking about.

"Nope!" Mirabel said. "Not a clue!"

"Okay," said Julieta. "Are you hungry, baby? I'm making my special red sauce again."

"Alright," said Mirabel, leaving the kitchen.

As she walked away, she almost bumped into Bruno. He was running faster than she'd ever seen him go before.

"Pepa? Félix? Where are you?" he called.

"They're gone," said Alma. "Maybe if you woke up early like the rest of us, you'd have been able to say goodbye."

Later that day at school, Camilo was wearing glasses.

"Hey!" Mirabel shouted. "You're copying me!"

Camilo ignored her and started writing something.

"Take those glasses off. NOW!" Mirabel demanded, angrily tapping her knuckles on her desk.

"No."

Mirabel screamed and jumped out of her seat. Then, she tackled Camilo down to the ground and tried to wrestle the glasses off of his face.

If Tía Pepa can get away with violence, so can I! she thought proudly, as Camilo's nose trickled blood onto the floor.

The teacher didn't seem to agree, and Mirabel got sent home from school early that day.

Camilo didn't seem too hurt after being attacked by Mirabel, nor did he seem upset about his mother being gone again.

"I wish that I could cook this well," he said, after Julieta had given him an arepa. "You should teach me!"

"R-r-really?"

"Of course!"

"I'd love to," Julieta said. "How about you back later, and we can cook together?"

"Okay!"

When Camilo returned to the kitchen a few hours later, Julieta was staring into space.

"Hi, Tía!"

Julieta trembled as she continued staring.

Camilo slowly approached, and gave her a gentle hug. He had a bit of trouble doing so, and it wasn't very comfortable. As he did, he noticed that she was covered in bruises again.

"Oh!" Julieta said, breaking out of her trance. "D-d-do you still want to cook with me?"

"Of course!"

"Okay, well… uh… I'll be right back!" Julieta said, running off to the restroom.

She had suddenly felt the urge to throw up.

I hope she comes back soon. I need something to distract me from all these bad thoughts.

Even though he knew it was wrong, Camilo was still upset about everything that had happened.

Don't make this about yourself, he thought. You're not the one who lost a baby.

But he just couldn't help himself. After all, he loved babies.

I should have stood up for Mami. I believed in her.

It was the opposite of how things should have been, but Camilo always found himself having to take care of his mom. He even had a special tea that he made to calm her down.

Maybe Tía would like it, too!

After almost an hour, Julieta finally returned.

"Were you waiting for me this whole time?"

"Yeah, and I made you some tea."

"T-t-tea?"

"It always calms Mami down."

"You think that I need to calm down?!"

Camilo was taken aback. Despite normally being calm and friendly, Julieta now looked about to snap.

"It looked like you were having a panic attack," he said.

"Panic attack? N-n-no, I would never…"

"Okay," said Camilo.

The tea was left sitting. Nobody drank it.

Pepa and Félix still hadn't returned by dinner time.

"It's not my fault that Tía Pepa left, is it?" Mirabel asked.

"No," said Julieta. "She wanted to leave."

After dinner, Mirabel washed the dishes, while Julieta planned for the next day's meals.

"JULIETA!" Alma screamed.

"Y-y-yes?" Mami?" Juliet asked.

"Why are you letting Mirabel do your job for you?"

"She's just washing the dishes…"

"That's YOUR job!"

"No, my job is to cook…"

"You're the KITCHEN lady!" Alma said, stepping closer. "Everything in the kitchen is your responsibility!"

"Oh," Julieta said. "I'm sorry…"

"YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT!"

Mirabel scrubbed harder, trying to distract herself from the sound of Alma beating Julieta.

The glass she was holding shattered in her hand.

"OW!" Mirabel said, as the shards cut into her skin.

She ran out of the kitchen, crying as her hand bled all over the floor.

Meanwhile, Pepa was also crying. She was curled up on the ground outside.

Félix is leading me away to get rid of me! I just know it!

They had followed the river for a long time, and hadn't stopped yet. Pepa wasn't even sure how far away Casita was anymore.

"Pepa, you have to get up…"

"I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE CITY!" she screamed.

"Well, guess what?" Félix said. "We're not going to the city."

"W-w-we're not?"

"No," Félix said. "You belong in the village."

Pepa was relieved to hear that.

I do want to go back, she thought. But I'm not quite sure if I belong there, either….

"B-b-but I'm a monster…" she said weakly. "You should just leave me here to die!"

"No, you're not a monster," said Félix. "You're a human being with flaws, just like anyone else."

"I KILLED MY BABY!"

"It wasn't your fault," said Félix. "It could've happened to anyone."

"You're not mad at me?"

"Pepi, no! I was worried about you. You were so sick!" said Félix. "I love you. We all do, with or without a baby."

Pepa sat quietly for a while, and thought about how much she missed her family already: Her mother, her siblings, her children, and even annoying Mirabel were probably waiting for her.

And Dolores is married now, Pepa thought. Who knows? Maybe I'll even have some grandchildren soon.

Félix stuck his hand out to help her up.

"Let's go home before it gets dark," he said.

"Oh, good!" Pepa said. "I want to be there when Julieta has her baby!"

Pepa was still upset about her loss, and it was likely that she would never fully get over it.

But I won't allow myself to become overwhelmed by anger and bitterness anymore, she thought.

As she and Félix walked back, hand in hand, Pepa heard her father's voice echoing in her head.

"Make me proud, Pepa."

I will, Papá. I will…