Do you really need context? Just asking for a friend... and there is none actually
Day Seven: Storm
"So, Pepa, why are we all up here?" Julieta asked as she too looked up into the tree.
Pepa sighed and turned away as she replied, "Fog."
Her siblings looked at one another and Bruno said, "As I recall, Pep, that never went well."
"I know that, but I want to try again. Mamá is set on retrieving those kids tonight, so we're gonna need some kind of cover and a storm would just be dangerous."
"Oh, so you mean that fog," Bruno said, sounding a little more nervous than he was when he'd gotten there.
"Okay," Julieta said, "Don't do anything, I'll be right back."
"You don't have... to…" Pepa trailed off as her sister stepped out of view back into the tower.
"You know she always wants to be prepared, Pep," Bruno said as his eyes wandered up to the dark cloud forming over her head.
Pepa nodded, and the cloud winked out of sight. She probably should have told Julieta what she was thinking, but she was almost afraid she wouldn't come. That was ridiculous because Juli was always there for them.
When Bruno vanished after Mirabel's failed Gift ceremony, they all knew that their mother would beg Bruno to do a vision, maybe see what it meant. Julieta was concerned, but Bruno had gotten into the habit of going missing for weeks sometimes. His door had been wavering a lot, but still Bruno always came back, and each time their mother would chastise him. And each time it would affect Bruno a little less. When he did not come out of his tower the following day for meals or anything, Julieta went to the tower stairs and could see the magical glow had left his door. Juli confided to Pepa once after he'd been missing for more than a week that he was getting up the courage to leave completely. After several days, she and Julieta made the long journey up those stairs, only to find the rope bridge had been cut. He really was gone this time, and they both cried for a long time as they sat on that ledge most of the day, looking at the door to that vision cave.
Pepa realized now what she had not back then. Just like Dolores, Juli always knew that Bruno was nearby and was choosing to be apart from them. This was something Bruno often said would happen one day. She also couldn't tell Pepa because their Mamá now saw Pepa as the difficult one. Pepa also knew she would have likely outed her brother, as she was forced now to find ways to placate their mother. Though Julieta was saddened by the fact that Pepa went along with the whole not talking about Bruno thing, she did not judge.
Julieta, however, continued to mention their brother, though it was always in passing. As if to remind their mother that wherever he was, he was probably happier. That had led to Pepa's senseless anger at the mere mention of his name, how dare he leave her here to deal with their mother alone. But of course, she was never really alone, Julieta made sure to remind her of that whenever the opportunity arose. Félix was her joy. He had given her three perfect children. So, it wasn't until the house fell, and their mother returned with both Mirabel and Bruno, she felt the first pangs of regret.
What's the first thing Bruno said to her after ten years in the walls? An apology for her overly wet wedding day. That meant he heard everything she'd said to Mirabel as she and her family tried to reinforce the no talking about Bruno rule.
Pepa looked over at her brother, he'd moved closer to the edge of the glade and was once again looking out over the town. Was he always that tiny? She walked to the edge of the glade, put an arm around him giving him a gentle squeeze. Bruno quirked a smile, and together they stood silently waiting for their sister to reappear.
