The next few nights, as I continue to visit Bruno, we seem to have come to an understanding that we don't speak of certain visions that were had that night. Though I don't fully understand Bruno's hesitation, I am content to wait until he feels ready to tell me. I am a little nervous the first night I return to our nightly ritual, but Bruno is able to ease me through the awkwardness by being comically awkward himself, the goofiness of his slip-ups making me laugh and feel normal again.

Now, we find ourselves acting out the characters by memory from the play Othello. Though the man has not a single manipulative bone in his body, his portrayal of Iago is absolutely enthralling and believable. He is able to fully encapsulate the character and even put his own little twist on it. Bruno has a talent for using the smallest changes in his expression to express the intricacies of much larger emotions. I would love to have worked with him in my old theatre group. He is a very talented and interesting man, if not a little goofy. His quirkiness brings about a sense of genuine kind-heartedness that I love.

"You know," I say one night, "You should really think about returning home soon. We can protect Mirabel together. Señora Madrigal is a little distracted with hating me at the moment so maybe her mind is off of figuring out Mirabel's future."

Bruno sighs. "I'm not just showing back up. I can't be sure my family would welcome back the cursed Bruno who only brings bad luck to everything. Who destroys everything he touches. Who-"

"Now that's enough of that," I say, placing my hands on my hips, "You don't give your family enough credit. And you are not all those things. You're just Bruno, brother to two amazing sisters and tío to the world's greatest nieces and nephews who all love and miss you very much."

"How can you be so sure?"

"How could they not? I haven't known you for long and I already love what I see. If I were in their positions, I would want you back home more than anything."

"But what about Pepa? She already hasn't spoken to me in years. You don't know what I did to her on her wedding..."

Though hesitantly, knowing to be careful with this subject, I ask, "What happened?"

Bruno turns his back to me and begins fiddling with the scene cards. "I didn't mean to upset her. She just seemed so nervous about marrying Felíx. She was pacing all around the room with no end in sight. I came in and told her she looked beautiful, which she did, but it did nothing to cease her pacing. We began joking around about her nervous energy flooding the church in a storm and it stilled her for a moment as she began laughing. As a joke I peeked out the window at the clearest blue sky imagineable and said 'Oh no, it looks like rain already' and she lost it. She started panicking, thinking I was being serious and in her fit, started a hurricane. It destroyed everything at the wedding and a few people were injured. It was still a nice wedding afterward, though a little beaten up, but she never spoke to me again after that."

"Bruno, I'm so sorry."

Bruno waves me off. "It's what I do, cariño." He is facing away from me, but I can see the edge of his cheek turning a deep red at the term of endearment. I don't say anything to acknowledge it, hoping to encourage more use of the word.

"Maybe Pepa has gotten over it by now. I can ask her if you'd like."

Bruno takes a few minutes to think. For a moment, I start to wonder if he'll ever answer me, until he finally turns and looks down into my eyes. "If Pepa can forgive me, anyone can. I can give you that. If you speak with Pepa and she says she wants to see me again, I'll return."

Joy fills my spirit, nearly splitting my chest in two. I clasp my hands together, a broad smile slipping across my face. I begin thinking of different plans to speak with Pepa in a way that Bruno can hear, possibly even revealing himself afterward.

The weeks goes by with little nuance. Some days I join Julietta in her trips to collect ingredients for her meals, or help Pepa in laundering clothes, but most of my days are spent playing with my children or working at the school. The students seem to be getting used to me being there and are, for the most part, well-behaved little children. Señora Francisca seems to have mastered the talent for balancing an iron-clad discipline with the softness and loving tenderness of a mother. The children respond to her as an authority figure. No one can say that the woman was not made to teach.

As the days go by, though, and I continue to live in my double worlds of spending time with my children and spending time with Bruno, an idea forms in my mind.

"Bruno," I say one night while in his hidden room, "how would you like to meet my children?"

Bruno looks up from the rat in his lap, dropping the brush that he was using to comb the rat's fur. The little rat then scurries off to play with the others. "W-would you really want me to?"

"Of course," I say with a small smile on my face. "you're all a major part of my life. I'd love it if you did. If you're comfortable with it, that is."

"It's not about comfort really. I just...wouldn't they tell everyone about it, though? Not maliciously or anything but...they're kids, you know?" Bruno stands to his feet starts pacing around the room. His hands attack each other with nervous tension. "I'm really not ready for everyone to find out..." he mumbles.

"I can tell them to keep it a secret; I'm sure they wouldn't tell anyone if I asked." Bruno stops in his tracks and turns to stare into my eyes. I fight back a blush that wants to crawl up my neck. "Maybe we can meet somewhere outside of the house so they won't know where you're staying." Bruno continues to stare, seemingly deep in thought. I hold his gaze hesitantly, awaiting his reply. After a few moments, Bruno nods. "Alright," he says, "I say we can risk it; I'd really like to meet them."

That statement brings a bright smile onto my face. I step forward, wrapping him in a hug and kissing his cheek.

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"Alejandro," I whisper a few nights later, "Camila. Wake up." Alejandro startles with a snort, shooting up in his bed and groggily rubbing his eyes. Camila follows afterward in similar fashion. After a few minutes of allowing them to wake up, glancing over to Mirabel's bed to check that she's still asleep, I whisper to them again. "I have someone I'd like you to meet, but it has to be a secret. No one else can know, do you understand?" They both nod.

Travelling through the house quickly and quietly is made much easier by dear Casita. With every step, she lifts up the tiles and floorboards, gently laying them down in a way that won't creak or crack. As we finally make it down the steps and out the door, I take a quick glance around us, making sure no one is following us, and whisper a small thank you to Casita.

The night is chilly and I snuggle into my ruana a little more, children still trailing along by my sides. I ask them how they're doing and they both pipe up with a quick, "I'm fine." I grab ahold of each of their hands, leading them into the forest surrounding Encanto. "Who are we going to meet?" Asks Alejandro. "He's a dear friend," I say, "Someone I've known for a little while now. I've told him a lot about the both of you. He's very excited to meet you two."

Just as I finish speaking, we enter into a clearing and a small river flows in front of us. Before the river stands Bruno, glowing in the moonlight and tossing rocks into the water. At the sound of our approach, he turns and gives a big smile, waving at us. "This is Bruno," I say.

"Like Milo's tío," Camila says, her small voice lilted with interest.

"Exactly. Though you can't tell him that. Remember, Bruno is a secret for now." As we step closer, Bruno squats down to their size and gives them each a small handshake. I laugh at his formality. "Bruno, these are mi hijo, Alejandro, and mi hija, Camila. Amorcitos, this is Bruno."

"Mucho gusto," says Ale.

"Why are you a secret? Did you do something bad?" Mila asks.

"Camila!"

Bruno only laughs. "No, no. I just have a special mission that I'm trying to do right now. I will come back soon." Camila nods, eyes wide with understanding.

"Are you dating mi Mamá, then? Is that why we're meeting you?"

"I-uh...well."

I sigh in frustration at my children. "Mijo, he's just a good friend. Let's not interrogate the poor man!"

Bruno laughs away his embarrassment. "Don't worry. It's fine."

"Can you really see the future?" Ale asks.

Bruno tenses a little but is able to hide his worry rather well. "I can."

"That's so cool! I wish I could see the future. I bet you can help a lot of people avoid bad stuff with that power." Bruno's face softens and he gives Ale a small smile. "I'm sure you would, amigo."

The night seems to go well. My two little hooligans continue to attack poor Bruno with a million questions, but he takes it all in stride, answering each one. Bruno asks Alejandro what he wants to do when he's older, to which he responds with "build things!". Alejandro then goes to explain how at home he had his own tools and even built a birdhouse all by himself once. Camila would pipe in every so often with her favorite things of "unicorns", "flowers", and her stuffed monkey named "Ana" that Camilo gave her. In the excitement of someone showing interest in her, Camila attaches herself to Bruno, crawling onto his lap and snuggling into him. Ale sits on the ground next to me, continuing his discussion about all the things that he dreams of building one day.

"Maybe one day you will build a nice stage for your Mamá so that she can sing and perform for everyone in Encanto."

Alejandro's eyes widen, never having thought of the idea before. "I will!" he cries, "I definitely will!"

"You can talk to Señor Carlos. He's the best carpenter in town. I bet he'd take on an apprentice and teach you everything you need to know." If Alejandro was excited before, he is well beyond ecstatic now. I had never thought of getting him into an apprenticeship, though he's still a little young.

"I'll speak with him soon," I say, "You're still a little young but I'm sure he wouldn't mind help with little tasks. Maybe when you're twelve you can start a real apprenticeship."

Alejandro sits straight, eyes wide and mouth agape in amazement. "I would do a really good job, Mamá, I promise!"

"There's no doubt about it, amigo," says Bruno.

By the end of the night, Camila has fallen asleep in Bruno's lap. Alejandro rubs his eyes and I know it's time to return. During our walk back to Casita, I can't help but to glance over at Bruno with little Mila in his arms. The moonlight glows onto the two of them, scattering like mismatched polka dots as the shadows of the leaves cascade across them. Bruno's eyes are bright in the night, glancing down at the sleeping little girl in his arms. For a moment, she snuggles in deeper, letting out a little snort. A small smile touches his lips.

The sight brings tears to my eyes.

All their lives, they've never had a healthy male figure to look up to. I've tried my best to be everything that they need but, with a father and grandfather like theirs, I was always worried I couldn't be.

It looks like that's beginning to change.