A few days go by and I can't get myself to face Bruno once again. Every night, I stand in front of the painting, begging my feet forward, but I never enter the passageway. I wonder what he's doing and thinking, what he thought of the kiss...what he thinks of me...but I can't get myself to return and ask him those very questions. Was it just out of a heat of passion? Had I accidentally pushed my own feelings for him into that song and caused him to feel things he wouldn't normally? The mortification of my feelings being revealed in that way is enough to keep me away forever.

The fear of Señora Madrigal's decision, though, is enough to keep me distracted. She avoids me at all costs, even leaving the room when I have the gall to enter one. Julietta and Pepa are much kinder in the situation, Julietta always being the supportive friend and Pepa, who Julietta spoke with personally to calm down her temper against me, with brutal honesty that sometimes needs to be heard.

"Mamá is a tough woman," Pepa says as the three of us sit together in the living room, "She's gone through so much, but it's hardened her instead of helping her to sympathize with others. You may need to prepare for her telling you to leave." I nod sadly.

"Pepa, we wouldn't let that happen. She has become such an important part of our fam-"

"Not important to Mamá, and that's what matters, doesn't it?" Pepa sets her coffee down on the table before crossing her arms over her chest.

"She even has her own room now. That's no one else's but hers." Julietta's expression scrunches, frustration evident in her voice. She has always had a kind and loving heart, as shown by the gift that was given to her, and can't imagine someone not helping those in need, even if it is her own mother.

"It can be used as a performance center," I say, my eyes downcast, "If anything, it would be beneficial to the community. Maybe Mirabel can even have it, she's doing so well with her singing already."

Julietta reaches over, placing a gentle hand on my arm. "Please don't take mi madre's words to heart. You didn't steal her gift." I nod and she gives my arm a little squeeze. "Afterall, we do not need to plan for any of this. I simply will not allow it." A triumphant smile, which rarely ever graces Julietta's features, now glows bright in her expression. Her confidence seems to transfer over to me as I begin to sit a little taller myself. I'm glad to have friends in these two hermanas.

No amount of confidence, though, can prepare me for the moment Señora Madrigal walks into the dining room, where we are all gathered for supper, and calls my name.

"Si, Señora Madrigal?"

"Follow me, por favor. I would like speak with you." Without hesitation, I jump to my feet, following after the matriarch and trying to hide my shaking hands. Ironically, the woman leads me up the swirling stairs and straight to the room with the candle overlooking the rest of the house. The matriarch has her back toward me as she stares down at the candle. She stays silent for a long time, too long, in fact, as my feet begin fidgeting with nerves.

"My husband lost his life the moment I received this miracle. In return, it gives us a second chance at life. My husband sought to protect us that day. In return, the miracle protects our Encanto, the magic keeps us safe. This candle has blessed us with this town, with our magical abilities, and it has never failed us..." The matriarch turns toward me, her eyes locking onto my own. "Not until Mirabel's gift ceremony." She stays silent for a few moments, though I don't let a single words leave my lips. I wait for her to continue.

"Since then, I've felt that the magic must be fading. Something must be wrong. Then Bruno left. I had asked him to see into the future before he disappeared. He must have seen something horrible to make him abandon his family like that." I internally grimace at the words, holding back my tongue that is screaming to defend him. She turns away from me again.

"Luckily for you, I still trust the magic enough that I do not believe it could have accidentally given you a gift. Though I do not understand its decision, the decision has been made and there is no taking it back." She glances back at me over her shoulder, holding my eyes once again. "But do not believe that allows you to do anything you please. You are under no protection. I will state once again that if I find you to be hurting my family in any way, you will leave. Leave this town. Leave Encanto. And never return, magical light or no." I stare at her, eyes wide. Her hatred for me seems so unreasonable, yet its grown astronomically. With slumped shoulders and downcast eyes, I nod. The woman nods in return, turning away once again and dismissing me with a hand wave. I quickly turn and leave, rubbing away the shakiness of my arms. I don't feel like returning to supper, but I know I need to. The children need to get ready for bed soon.

That night, I am sitting on my bed, deep in thought. The children were wonderful when I put them to bed. We spent the afternoon exploring their new rooms, filled with their own interests and hobbies. When it was time to go to sleep, they were both excited to sleep in their brand-new beds. I spent extra time snuggling with them and talking about their day before singing the goodnight song to them, which instantly knocked them both out.

Now, though, I am left to my own devices. My thoughts wander through the events that led us here and all that has happened since. I think on the life I used to live and the bright new world that Encanto has given us. More than anything, I wish to talk with Bruno. I miss the nights we spent together, laughing and talking. We never ran out of subjects to discuss, and our shared interests brought us together.

Now, I'm so scared of rejection that it's keeping me from seeing him again. It's selfish of me, really, because he's all alone in that room, watching his family from afar with no one to talk to.

Hopping off my bed, I walk out of my bedroom and toward the stage. Once in the center of the stage, the stage lights turn on and point in my direction. With tears in my eyes and a bit of hesitation, I begin to sing. I put all of my love into the song. I put my feelings for Bruno and how much I miss him. My song echoes through the room, crying out for a certain ruana-wearing man to notice my affection. I'm unsure where the song comes from, as I've never heard it before. It is natural, flowing out from my very soul, interpreting the language of my heart into a beautiful melody. After finishing it on a final note, my voice fades off into the audience and disappears.

"You're amazing, mi amor," the voice I crave to hear most rumbles behind me. I gasp and spin around, coming face-to-face with the very man himself.

"B-Bruno!"

"I'm sorry, Estrella. I should have been brave enough to come sooner. Your song, though, reached my room. It gave me the confidence I needed to come see you."

I awkwardly shift and hug myself in comfort. "I should have returned. I was scared myself."

"There's no need to be scared of me, cariño. I would never hurt you."

Staring at the floor, I hesitate to say my next words. "After what happened...there's one thing you could say that would hurt me. Very badly, in fact. I'm scared of that." I look up to catch his eyes, but his have now reached the floor as he nods.

"Estrella..."

"Please, don't-"

"You're beautiful."

"I-what?"

Our eyes finally meet. He gives me a shy smile before speaking again. "You're beautiful. Your voice is beautiful. Your children are beautiful. Your heart is beautiful. I've loved every moment that I've gotten to spend with you and...I'll admit, I've wished for more..." Tears spring into my eyes, begging to be set free. "But Estrella...I know what I am. I-I'm Bruno. The entire town hates me. It'll only affect you and your children. They'll wonder what's wrong with you to want to be with a man like me...not to mention I'm so much older. I'm a curse. I hurt everyone around me and I can't hurt you. Not after how much I've come to love y-" Throwing caution to the wind, I grab ahold of his ruana, yanking him down toward me and crashing my lips against his. This time, the kiss has none of the soft beginnings as before. It's all passion and fire. His lips move against mine with an intensity that makes my knees wobble. Bruno, though, has me held close and steady.

I feel his tongue brush against my lower lip and a heat spreads through my body. I open my lips for him, allowing our tongues to explore each other in an entangling dance. I let out a moan of pleasure and he tightens his hold around me in response. For minutes, or maybe hours, we stay there, wrapped up in each other. When we finally stop, our breaths heavy and eyes still closed, a whisper of words pass by my lips.

"Bruno, I love you." He freezes, eyes opening wide to stare down at me. I look up at him, thinking over my next words for a moment. "I want to be with you. I want to be with Bruno, whatever that entails. If the town hates me too, I can deal with it. It'll be worth it to be with you. And the only way you can hurt me is by not loving me back, hombre bobito."

"I do! Love you, I mean. I have for a while now." I laugh, letting the smile rest on my face before saying, "Good." I look into Bruno's eyes, feeling my love for him shining through my smile. Bruno's smile fades and he stares down at me in shock. "The vision," he whispers.

"What?" I ask, my face now dropping it's expression and latching onto the worry I feel.

"The vision. That was the vision."

"Which one? Th-" Suddenly the memory of a tablet comes to mind, my smiling expression planted on the front. "The one of me?"

"Yes, I-well, I should have told you sooner. That vision came from one of the few times I looked into my own future many years ago."

"And my face showed up?"

"That with some other things. I saw us spending time together, laughing and joking. I saw myself watching you from a window running around with the children outside. I saw a kiss...I saw us getting married. The entire vision ended on your smiling face, just as you saw on the tablet. It was my hope to find you one day. But you were nowhere in Encanto and the years were going by. After a while, I figured it was the one and only time where the future did change, just at my expense. I thought that maybe I did something wrong to screw it all up, just as I did everything else."

"Oh, Bruno," I whisper, my arms still wrapped around his neck and his hands on my waist.

"It's fine, hermosa, I just needed to give you a little time to get here."

I stare up at him. After a moment, a smile spreads on my face. "I suppose all your visions aren't so bad, after all."