"What are you doing?"
Bruno jumps into the air, flipping around and blocking off something behind him. I take a step closer, now curious. A bright pink blush covers his features, reaching all the way to his ear and down his neck. "N-nothing! What are you doing here?" He asks in a panic.
"Just came to visit my dear Brunito. There shouldn't be secrets between friends, you know," I say, a broad smile on my face. Bruno's shoulders tighten as his eyes search all throughout the room, possibly for a distraction or an escape that doesn't involve him revealing what is behind his back. I step closer until I am standing right in front of him, staring into his darting eyes. He seems to get more nervous, his blush darkening.
I suddenly jump to the left, reaching to grab behind him. His hand shoots out, grabbing my wrists and pulling me away. I fight back at him, giggling all the way, until I jut my foot out, accidently tripping him. He stumbles a bit before crashing into me, our bodies now plummeting to the ground. With a loud thud, we make an impact. A grunt is shoved out of me from the pressure of simultaneously being crushed and smacked in the back. As the pain fades, I open my scrunched eyes and look up at Bruno. He looks back at me, fear evident in his own eyes.
"I-I'm so sorry, Estrella. I-I didn't mean to-"
"Your making little plays for the rats!" I yell, morphing his face into confusion. He glances back toward the little stage he has set up, which has become directly in my field of vision on the table. He jumps off of me and helps me to my feet. I immediately walk over to the little stage, inspecting the cards with holes cut out for rat faces. Each card is a part of a little story Bruno made up, having his rats act them out.
"This is so cute!" I say, "Are you a performer at heart, Bruno?"
"Uh-I, well, I have always loved acting. It's a nice way to be someone else for a while. Plus, it's just so fascinating that someone can transition into different characters completely different from himself."
"That's great! I always loved acting too, so I know what you mean. Show me something you can do, Bruno!"
Bruno takes me through all the cards he made, explaining the plot lines of each, even acting out a few lines in the voice of some of his characters. He shows me a personal favorite of his, named Hernando, who he tends to use in his daily life when something he faces is especially discouraging or scares him. Hernando came in handy when he was still living in a social world.
"You're amazing Bruno. When you get out of here maybe we can start creating our own plays and performing them for the town! I know the kids would probably want to be a part of it, especially Isabela."
"She's interested in acting?"
I nod. "Seems like it. When she found out I enjoyed it she seemed pretty amazed. I think we might have a little actress in the making on our hands." Bruno laughs and I smile up at him.
The rest of my visit is spent discussing his plot-lines. I critique and praise as we work together to develop the stories, even acting out certain scenes together to make sure the dialogue flows smoothly.
I am having so much fun that I don't realize how late it has gotten. Knowing tomorrow will be a school-day, I decide to bid him goodnight and head toward his bedroom.
As I walk toward the bedroom door, gently placing my hand on the doorknob, a little voice inside my head tells me to stop. I turn around, looking around the room before my eyes land on the door across from mine. I had not entered that room since the first night here as I had no reason to go in. Now, though, my curiosity is pulling me toward it, begging me to see what the stacked visions on the table hold.
Opening the door with a creak, I peek inside. Nothing has moved or changed. Piles of visions still surround a small table in its center. I creep up toward the table, looking down at the glowing green tablets.
The one sitting at the top of the stack shows the birth of Camilo, Pepa and Félix both looking down at the little bundle in Pepa's arms. I lift that tablet to reveal another scene of a baby's birth, this time of one of the girls with Julietta and Agustín. Lifting that one as well, I see the image of Julietta dressed in a beautiful wedding dress. Beneath it is one that shocks me to my core.
My own face stares back at me, a broad smile stretched across it. My eyes are lit with a bright joy and love that I could never have imagined. If this is not the most loving expression I have ever seen, I'm not sure I know what true love really is. I search the rest of the tablets for another vision of interest, but I only see other Madrigal life events that I already know have happened. Holding the vision to my chest, I walk out the door and back over to my room. I place the vision on my bedside table and lay my head down on the pillow, promising myself to ask Bruno about it tomorrow.
I rise from my pillow expecting a day similar to the first. What I'm met with is the fistfight between Mateo and one of his supposed buddies, which I have to break up. Mateo is so angry afterward that even I can't calm him down. He has to be sent home early to his family. The rest of the day seems to stay calm after that, most of the kids in shocked silence, afraid to step out of line. The other little boy that was in the fight sits in the back of the class, looking away and unwilling to pay attention.
When I make it home with my children, they both seem unwilling to drop the subject of the fight. Ale says some unkind words about Mateo including that he "deserved it", for which I send him to his room. Mila is hesitant to speak about the subject after that.
That night, after putting the children to bed and spending a little extra time with Ale since he got in trouble, I walk out of the nursery and into my room. After grabbing the tablet of my bedside table, I sneak back behind the painting and make my way toward Bruno.
Bruno, this time, sees me coming and is therefore not scared when I begin to speak. "Want to explain this?" I ask, holding out the tablet. Bruno looks down at the tablet and goes pale, his eyes widening in fear.
"W-well, you see, I, uh..." Bruno stammers, unsure of what to say.
"When did you have this vision, Bruno? It had to have been before you left. Who was this vision for?"
"I-well, ugh," Bruno takes a second to sigh, thinking of a response, "Can we not discuss this right now?"
"What?"
"Just-please. I'm not ready to talk about it. I'll tell you soon, I promise. It would be wrong of me to keep it from you forever. But-just, please, don't ask me right now." Bruno gently takes the tablet out of my hands, placing it off to the side. I stare at him, feeling the sincerity and genuine terror in his voice.
"Alright," I say. Bruno visibly relaxes, his shoulders and expression drooping into ease. "I can totally respect that...yeah, not going to drive me crazy or anything. But you're the future-seer so maybe I shouldn't question it."
Bruno laughs. "Thank you."
The week blows by without complaint. Mateo has calmed down, though a little bashful at his prior behavior. He and the boy he was in a fight with, Luis, did not acknowledge each other the first day, though throughout the week they slowly rekindled their friendship and were back to being friends once again.
At night, I continue to battle for sleep, being kept up by the singing from the candle, the pull to get up and walk in its direction is growing once again. I try to ignore it, but my resistance is beginning to waver. I suspect that I can only take just a few more restless nights before I follow the pull. On the bright side, little Chiquita shows up in my daily life quite frequently now. She usually sits in my room, waiting for me to get back from supper, a few scraps in my pockets, and then sleeps on my lap during the night.
Every night I go to visit Bruno before heading to bed. It turns out that he is extremely fun to be around. Our shared interest in acting usually fuels our conversations, though we sometimes discuss his family. I give him updates on how everyone is doing and what they're up to, including my own children which he says are likely considered as part of the family by everyone.
"Not your madre," I say, instantly regretting the words with a blush on my face.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, um, I-" I stammer out, "It's not that she hates us, I don't think, but she's not very friendly. I think she thinks of us as a burden-which I suppose we are-"
"You are not a burden. You need help and that is what our family has vowed to do: help others."
"I know my place Bruno. I'm not some friendly visitor. Maybe the children are but she's made it plainly clear that if I do anything to impede on her family's function, we'll be tossed out. The few times she's ever spoken to me were to tell me that and to complain about some things I've been doing that bother her."
"I can't believe that she-"
"Bruno, it's okay. We are benefitting from your family's hospitality right now but as soon as I'm able to get on my feet, we'll be out of everyone's hair."
"Estrella, I know my Mamá can be difficult, but just know that her words do not represent the rest of the family. I have not seen much interaction between you all but knowing mi hermanas y mi cuñados, you are welcome to stay as long as you need. Please don't take mi madre's words to heart."
Tears well up in my eyes and, without hesitation, I pull Bruno into a tight hug. His entire body tenses and I laugh because I know he wasn't expecting me to ambush him like that. Slowly, though, his arms raise up and I feel them wrap around me. A soothing feeling of being protected and loved overwhelms me.
"Thank you, Bruno," I whisper.