[Translations are at the bottom of this chapter]
{No POV}
~THE NEXT DAY~
Breakfast was over and Bruno had stayed in his room all morning and was clearly not coming down so the family decided to hold a meeting to discuss what could be bothering Bruno, but four Madrigals in particular struggled to keep the truth to themselves as Mirabel became crazy concerned along with Antonio about Bruno.
"I just don't get what could be upsetting him enough to keep him in his room all day so far."
Alma looked around noting the lack of shape-shifting and super hearing going on as well as the lack of consolation to the two youngest from one particular triplet and her husband and noticed how tense they were.
"Julietta, Dolores, Camilo, Agustín? Is there something you four know about this that you aren't sharing with us?" Alma asks suspiciously.
Julietta caved first, "MIRABEL IS NOT MY AND AGUSTÍN'S DAUGHTER BIOLOGICALLY!"
Silence reigned over the room as Bruno froze at the entryway and Julietta covered her mouth in fearful concern.
"WHAT?!" The madrigals except Bruno questioned.
Agustín caved next as he guiltily recounted a bit more of the truth, "Our third child, a boy, was stillborn. We couldn't handle the loss if we were to tell everyone and Bruno came home just after the stillborn child was born, and he was carrying a baby girl in his arms and asked us to raise her as our own after learning of our loss!"
The family looked at Bruno astoundingly but he looked very solemnly at all of them before confirming with a nod.
Alma was astounded, "Brunito, why did you come home with a baby girl in your arms that night?"
Bruno winced but sat down as he realized this was his chance to make something right, even if it wasn't his own marriage.
"I bedded with someone and they got pregnant, I helped through the pregnancy and birth, but the mother... The mother fell into a depression that I couldn't get her out of and not even the baby could get her out of... So I brought her to the house hoping for help to figure out what to do from Julietta and the answer became clear to me when Julietta and Agustín told me of what happened to their child... I couldn't bring myself to say anything and asked them to raise it because I wasn't fairing any better emotionally than the mother of the baby. All I did was give her the name Mirabel and stay on the sidelines."
Bruno then apologized and after a couple agonizing hours, everyone went to town to help out the townspeople and Mirabel went to help Bruno to bond with him and they ended up by the fountain again.
"Bruno...?" Asked Mirabel when they sat down at the fountain.
Bruno answered her calmly, "Yes, míja?"
Mirabel smiled a bit awkwardly as she asked, "What was my biological Mamá like?"
Bruno smiled sadly and fondly at the fountain before answering vaguely but sincerely, "Your Mamá... She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Not just for her looks but for who she was. You have a lot of personality from her. She was always incredibly determined and devoted to family and she loved interacting with the little kids around town. She loved to garden and sow and she especially had a habit of singing while doing chores. She had black hair, similar to yours but not quite the same. She was also very fond of the place we met and would always try and get me to cheer up after a difficult day."
Mirabel was amazed, "She sounds wonderful..."
Bruno nodded, "She is."
He tensed as he realized he used present tense but was fortunately and unfortunately approached by Carlos.
"Señor Madrigal! Señor Madrigal! Can I get a vision today?" Carlos beamed up at Bruno.
Bruno tensed more and was about to decline when Estrella and his family approached again, this time with Estrella just standing near Carlos and talking to Carlos.
"Carlos! Don't run off on me like that again! Me acabas de dar un susto! What in the world were you thinking?" Estrella scolded worriedly.
Carlos frowned sadly at his mom as he answered, "Sorry Mamá, I just saw Señor Madrigal and really wanted to get a vision from him like the townspeople talk about!"
Estrella sighed, "It's okay this time, Carlos, but no more. If I find out you ran off on me one more time, I will ground you for a month. Got it? Also, no time for a vision today, Carlos. We have to get back to the farm. Today is Harvest Day and Sheep Shearing Day remember?"
Carlos happily joined his mother beaming at Bruno that he'd try and get a vision soon and the mother and son made to leave before Bruno couldn't help himself and called out for her.
"Espera! Estrella!" Bruno exclaimed catching her hand.
She turned around and looked at him in confusion as he let go but spoke.
"I'm so sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have done things that way exactly! I should've reached out. I just-" Bruno said before Estrella cut him off calmly but firmly.
"None of that matters, Señor Madrigal, if you'll excuse me, tengo cosas muy importantes que hacer. Adiós." Estrella said making to leave again before suddenly Bruno shouted something at her that froze everyone in place.
"PLEASE, MI AMOR! PERDONAME PORFAVOR!" Bruno said.
Estrella looked at him and then his family in shock before turning to him with a sigh of finality.
"Bruno Madrigal... You hurt me emotionally for ten years. For almost eleven to be exact... I'm done."
Estrella then left while everyone was stunned to see Bruno crumble to his knees at the base of the fountain and cry silently.
~LATER~
Bruno was seated in the dining room as his family waited for him to answer their unasked questions.
He then sighed and answered at last.
"I met Estrella when we were sixteen. We fell in love by 17 and married at 18. When Pepa got married to Felix, she miscarried for the first time. I was really upset and trying not to damper the mood I tried to crack a joke at Pepa to help with her nerves but only failed. We tried again eventually when a second pregnancy came around... But the day of Julietta and Agustín's wedding she miscarried again. It broke us down quite a bit to lose another child like that. It wasn't until much later that she got pregnant again at the same time as Julietta and Pepa when they had Camilo and the still born. It was a rough pregnancy and the same day Julietta had the stillborn, she gave birth to Mirabel. After a lot of back and forth since she was extremely depressed during her pregnancy with, Mira, we decided to have me reach out to my family for help. The rest about Mirabel being left in Julietta and Agustín's care you already know. After giving Mira to my sister, Estrella and I decided to focus on mentally and emotionally recovering from how we were before ever trying again. Eleven years ago, we started trying and she ended up pregnant again. But I had the vision about Casita and Mirabel so I left to protect Mirabel but forgot to even consider telling my wife about what I was doing. Then when I came back I was afraid to tell you all about her and to have her and my children come to know me as their Papá and you guys as their family that you are the way they deserve to know. I was never ashamed of her, I just... I knew how everyone would treat them if they knew the truth about me and mi amor and mi hija and youngest child. I knew how my children would be treated if people knew they were my children. How mi Estrella would've been treated... I couldn't let that happen to them." Bruno explained.
Alma frowned sadly, "So Estrella and Carlos... They are part of our family?"
Bruno nodded, "Yes... They just... Well Estrella doesn't... like our family much... She's not particularly happy with me either as you saw earlier today..."
Pepa was understandingly curious as Julietta asked the next question.
"How did you and Estrella meet in the first place?" Julietta asked.
Bruno gave an awkward but small smile as he answered calmly and fondly, "The night of our fifteenth birthday, I was too anxious being around all of the town at our birthday party so I snuck out and went into town to get away and clear my head and it was raining naturally but she was there not far ahead from me dancing in the rain happily around the fountain before the wind took her star-embroidered shawl from her and sent it flying into the fountain after I reached the fountain and sat under it. Seeing it I caught it and gave it back to her both of us soaking wet from the fountain and we talked as we went under an awning to dry off from the rain and the fountain spray."
The family was astounded at the significance of the fountain Bruno would always go sit at once he finished giving morning visions.
Isabella spoke next, "How did you two fall in love?"
Bruno's smile brightened a bit as he answered, "At my request, we kept meeting up after nightfall at the fountain and talking and getting to know each other with her sometimes telling me about her home country and her family and her love for the water and the rain and storms. With me telling her about my visions and about you guys and about how people didn't really like me either. Somewhere along the way between all the late night conversations and the dancing and the friendship we formed, we both fell in love with each other."
Luisa was next, "That fountain dried up ten years ago didn't it? I remember Señora Claudia and Señor Torres Talking about it these last few days while I gathered up the donkey and herded them while Mirabel worked on building a new stone pen for them with iron gates so that they won't escape so much... I remember them saying it was such a shame that the fountain dried up because it used to look so beautiful even without water running as it would make a natural rainbow happen when the mid-day sunlight would shine on it."
Bruno nodded, "Yes, the fountain used to be very beautiful when it wasn't dried up. After it dried up, no one bothered to keep it very nice so now it looks the way it does now."
After some more conversation the Madrigals agreed to let Bruno handle his marital problems himself and to let Mirabel journey to meet her birth mother and little brother formally on the outskirts of the town alone.
|Farm|
Estrella was cooking dinner when her son approached her and spoke softly a question.
"Mamá?"
"Si, Cariño?" Estrella asked.
"Why don't you ever go near the water fountain you used to meet Dad at anymore? Do you not love him anymore?" The boy asks his mom as she cooks their dinner.
Estrella froze in sad shock as she realized what she had made her son believe in her heartbreak and anger.
TBC
Translations:
Tengo cosas muy importantes que hacer. Adiós. = I have very important things to do. Goodbye.
Mi Amor! Por favor Perdóname! = My love! Please Forgive Me!
Si Carino? = Yes, Dear/Sweetheart/Love/etc?