Quick Author's Note

For context, Agustín is 48, Félix is 52 and the triplets are 50 in the present time period

So in the flashback, Agustín is 15, Félix is 19, and the triplets are 17.

_

Mirabel woke up the next morning, the sound of the crows cawing waking her. Casita's tiles clicked on the roof, wishing the girl a good morning. She rubbed her eyes and quickly got dressed in her usual livid dress, buttoning up the upper half over the white collar. She grabbed her glasses and handmade bag, making her way down stairs.

She noticed the weather felt brighter and not as gloomy. Rays of sunlight shone on their home, the warmth feeling soft on Mirabel's skin. The teen girl thought the daylight felt nice even though she didn't want to admit it, among other things.

Mirabel walked into the kitchen, seeing Pepa drink her coffee. The clouds slowly gathered above the home, partially blocking out the sun once again. Pepa may have felt better with the coffee, but she was also feeling more bitter from the night before.

Julieta and Agutin were quietly whispering to each other by the stove. The moment Mirabel entered, they ended their conversation. Mirabel sighed, suspecting that tensions were still very high.

Her suspicions were correct when everyone sat down for breakfast. There wasn't the usual banter or chatter. Even Fuego's bright flame was dimmer, matching the edginess in the room. Luisa looked practically exhausted, a sign that she didn't sleep at all during her night watch. In contrast, Dolores looked less tired than usual. That meant that the town was quiet enough to let her sleep peacefully.

Mirabel didn't dare make eye contact with Abuela, not wanting to bring in the chaos that remained on her mind. With how things at dinner ended, she knew she was on thin ice.

"Delicious meal, Julieta," Félix started. His signature grin was smaller than normal. Pepa was trying to calm herself, bits of light passing through the window. He placed a hand on her shoulder, making the clouds cover engulf the sky.

"Thank you," She nodded. She cleared her throat. "I've been experimenting with different poisons and spices,"

That was the only attempt at conversation throughout the rest of the meal. Soon as they finished, most began to clear the room. With it being the weekend, the children took time off from their school work. Antonio went back to his room, Camilo giving a quick chase after his brother.

Mirabel walked outside, avoiding the hard stare from Abuela and the worried look from her mother. She went to the oak tree that stood further away from Casita, being the only place where she found peace besides her room. She sat beneath it, facing the fence and looking through the trees. The gate that was supposed to keep them safe from the outsiders, but it's beginning to feel more like prison bars with each passing day.

"I thought I'd find you here," She glanced up to see her father standing above her. He sat beside his daughter, not saying anything else. Mirabel knew better though, she knew he wanted to talk with her about the previous night.

"Pa, I don't want to talk about it," Mirabel grumbled. Her papa came into their home from the outside, how could he understand how she felt?

"Fine," he held his hands up in surrender. He crossed his arms. "You don't have to talk. But I think you should know something. About me and your Tio Félix,"

Mirabel looked at him, now curious. "And what would that be?"

"How we came to find this place,"

*Flashback, 33 years ago*

Julieta and Pepa were having a quiet evening. After they finished with their work for the day, they decided to enjoy the view of their garden. Pepa laid beside a hole in the ground, a gravesite waiting to be filled. Julieta brought out a plate of arepas con queso, sitting next to her sister.

The two didn't say a word to each other. After spending their whole lives together, it was as if there was nothing new to talk about. That is until they heard the door slam open, Bruno sprinting towards them.

"They're coming!" He hollered at them, waving around a green, glowing vision slab. The sisters were confused, and Bruno nearly tripped over the smaller gravestones once he reached them.

They all looked at the glowing slab, seeing two teen boys squeezing front past the gate that was jammed in the dirt. Behind the two were a group of other teenagers, two were throwing rocks and one wielding a knife.

Seconds later, the triplets heard some whispering near them. The fog grew thick, and Pepa's thundercloud grew larger in size. Julieta took out her knife from the sheath hidden under her dress. Even if she was the oldest by a few minutes, she always felt the need to protect her siblings.

Two shadows were sprinting towards them. One appeared to be slightly taller and thinner than the other. The shorter one had darker skin, his matching dark hair having tight curls.

They didn't notice the triplets, they were looking back at the fence and were running away from something from the other side. They soon tripped over a shallow gravestone and stumbled onto the dirt, loose gravel scraping the already scarred skin. They came to a grinding halt, stopping precisely in front of Julieta and Pepa.

The triplets looked at each other. This was the first time someone from the outside became trapped, and they had a feeling their mother wouldn't like this.

"Who are you?" Julieta ordered, still gripping onto her blades. The two on the ground slowly got up, holding up their hands in surrender.

They both have simple suits, the tall one pin a dark shade of blue and the other in a sad shaded yellow pinstripe suit. The tall one had broken glasses and a swollen eye. Added to that was the nasty gash on their faces, oozing the red blood onto their clothes.

"We don't want trouble," the tall one said, glancing down at the knives the eldest was still wielding. Seeing no immediate threat, Julieta lowered them. "I'm Agustín, and he's Félix,"

Félix wasn't listening, he was mesmerized by Pepa and her ever-lasting rain cloud. She took notice, and the rain soon fell heavier along. His smile grew wider, the middle child felt her heart race. Added to the falling rain was a strong force of wind, nearly pushing Pepa into Félix. Julieta slid her blades back in their sheaths and grabbed the plate of arepas.

She offered them each an arepa, and they hesitantly took one. After a single bite, their wounds began to heal. The two were slightly surprised. There were many tales about the family in the woods, but none were about them being courteous. Agustín was starstruck. Julieta couldn't help but smile. For the first time, she felt a connection to someone who wasn't a ghost or a living family member.

"Why are you here?" Julieta asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Before they could answer, Bruno's eyes glowed. His rats poked out from behind his hood, and his eyes returned to normal. "You two should take the back roads, to avoid being caught,"

"Got to go!" Agustín's eyes widened in realization.

He then ran back to the front gate. Félix took a glance back at Pepa, his smile growing as wide as it can be, and soon ran to catch up to his friend.

"They'll be back," The two sisters looked at him, trying to ignore the new feeling in them. Their brother chuckled in amusement. This was definitely going to be an interesting change.

The triplets pretended nothing happened, they didn't tell their mother about the encounter with the outsiders. She didn't suspect a thing. That is, until the next day Alma noticed something off about her daughters. There was a drenched path of rain wherever Pepa went and the thunder seemed louder than usual. Julieta was swaying and humming a tune as she cooked, her mind completely else where and in a full daze.

Something was off. Alma knew it. She asked Fuego, who told her about Bruno and his recent vision. She became worried. She heard him screaming the day before, but thought it was just him being tormented by his sisters.

While Bruno was teaching his rat friends some tricks, Alma cornered him in the sitting room. The mother demanded to know what happened to his sisters and the vision he had.

"Let's just say," Bruno hesitated before continuing. ", there were, … some visitors yesterday,"

He waited for an angry outburst. He waited for her to start yelling at him for why he didn't tell her. But it didn't come. There was no anger in her eyes, not even a hint of disappointment.

"They were hurt," He continued. "They were running away from something outside of the gate."

"Did they run?" She finally asked. "Did they run away when they saw you?"

"Not right away, but-" A loud knock stopped him. Abuela froze, then slowly made her way to the front hallway. Julieta and Pepa appeared from the kitchen, looking back and forth between their mother and the front door. Both had concern in their eyes, Pepa's cloud stopped the pouring rain for the first time that day. Alma took a deep breath, her face showing a strong and fearless composure. Fuego flew up and hid in the flames on the chandelier. She approached the door, and slowly opened it.

Two gentlemen waiting patiently, dressed similarly to the day before. Agustín adjusted his glasses, trying not to show his slight fear of the witch. Félix, on the other hand, was as cheerful as can be. His grin did falter by the sight of Alma, much to her amazement.

"You came back," Pepa smiled, her cloud returning back to its thunderstorm state. The triplets came up beside their mother, now feeling much more relieved.

"Of course, we came back," Félix extended out his hand. Alma returned the handshake, after slight hesitation. "I'm Félix and this Agustín,"

"So, you're the ones who made my daughters act strange the whole day?"

"Mama!" Julieta hissed. She hid her face behind her hands, hiding the embarrassment.

"I suppose so," Agustín chuckled in amusement. He cleared his throat. "We wanted to apologize for leaving in such a rush yesterday."

"My son says you were running away from something from the other side," Alma interrogated.

The young boy shuddered at the memory. "Some of my classmates wanted to hurt me."

"So, you're educated?"

"Yes, señora." Félix beamed. "I am actually working as an apprentice at the funeral home."

"Really?" Alma was slightly taken aback. "Aren't you a little young to be an apprentice there?"

Félix chuckled. "What can I say, I have a strong passion for death and anatomy. I had just finished up my work for the day and saw my friend here in trouble. I tried to fight them off, but they beat us."

"We managed to run away into the forest." Agustín continued. "We thought if we came in here, they would follow us. I didn't want them to come in and hurt you, so I ran back to town. We wanted to see you again. It wasn't hard to come back this time, everyone was too busy to attention to us,"

There was a pause. Alma was in deep thought that the triplets couldn't understand.

"No one understands you, do they?" All looked at her. "They say you'll bring ruin wherever you go. That you don't belong anywhere." The guests gaped at her. This woman, this family understood them more than their own.

Alma let out a small smile. Two of Bruno's rats hopped onto Félix and Agustín. The two didn't flinch as the rats scurried up their arms. The one on Félix nestled in his hair, while the one Agustín stayed on his shoulder.

Fuego flew down from the chandelier, glowing brighter than usual. The flame swiftly flew around the two, a stream of light glowing brightly in the dim-lit area. Fuego stopped between the matriarch and the guests, and it was clear that these men were something special.

"I can see my family clearly have strong feelings for you," Alma smiled. Quite rare. ""It looks as though my daughters have seen the darkness in your heart, my husband had that." She sadly looked down, but recomposed herself. "I'll allow you to see my daughter."

The boys sighed in relief, but Alma's face morphed back into her scowling expression. "But if either of you dare hurt them, you will be haunted and cursed by me and my husband for all eternity,"

Agustín gulped and laughed nervously. Hopefully, she was joking. Félix let out a loud chortle, shaking her hand in wild glee.

*Present*

"The moment we were accepted by Abuela, we felt like we finally found our true family. Our true home,"

This story was entirely new to Mirabel. Are they really expected to stay in their home for the rest of their lives? But is there really no place for them in the world?

Agustín sighed, placing his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "We just want to keep you safe. That what family suppose to do,"

Mirabel stared at her father, seeing the care in his eyes. She nodded in understanding, seeing the relief in Agustín's smile.

"I'll talk with Abuela. I'm sure I can calm her worries." He got up and walked back to the house. She sat beneath the tree for a few more minutes, staring back into the forest. A butterfly landed on a leaf of a low branch. The butterfly was a bright yellow, practically a glowing gold. Mirabel couldn't help but smile in delight. Butterflies were surprisingly a prominent figure in their household, for reasons unknown to Mirabel.

The butterfly fluttered away, and the girl couldn't help but wonder if she could ever break out of the prison-like cocoon she called home.

Author's Note

Finally reached 10 chapters!

I was going to put in a Bruno section in this chapter but I'm gonna add it to the next one. Honestly not sure how the next one is gonna go, but I'll figure out!

Thanks for Reading!