Chapter 10: The Heart Sees More Than Eyes Ever Will
"Papi? Why is Tia Julieta so upset with you?" Luna wanted to know as Ashleigh brushed her hair.
Bruno sat on his daughter's bed, trying to think of a way to explain the situation to his 10-year-old daughter. "It's complicated, carina."
"Does it have something to do with the new baby?" Luna guessed, wincing as her stepmother fought with a particularly difficult knot.
"Ta bron orm, a uan," Ashleigh apologized in Gaelic before kissing the top of Luna's head. "And yes, Julieta is rather distraught because of Mirabel. Because she got some bad news last week."
Looking from one parent to the other, Luna frowned as she asked, "I-Is my prima okay?"
Setting the brush down and moving to sit next to her husband, Ashleigh put a hand on his forearm as Bruno explained, "Your new prima has a congenital disorder. The doctors were testing her eyes last week and found that she's completely blind."
"Like you?" Luna prompted.
Standing and pacing the floor, Bruno ran a hand through his hair, letting out a soft growl of frustration. "Juli is... Sh-She's angry at me because I told her I could help Mirabel when she gets older-navigating the house and in town... reading Braille... But-But she..."
Taking a deep breath, Ashleigh picked up the narrative. "Julieta is... she's upset and hurt because her little girl was born blind... and your father blinded himself."
"Y-You've never... You've never really told me what happened, Papi," Luna pointed out.
"What is there to explain?" Bruno retorted, annoyed. "I had a Gift that caused me headaches and nightmares... That gave me visions of bad things happening which led the whole town to believe I was cursed... My own mother urged people to seek me out for visions! My sisters found me bothersome. I just... I wanted everything to end! So, I... I attempted to remove my eyes." Lowering the glasses he wore, he sat back down on the bed. "I lost one eye and severely scarred the other, resulting in total blindness. My Gift faded because I could no longer see anything."
Going over to her father and sitting on his knee, Luna waited until he raised a hand to touch her blonde curls before she asked, "Papi? You... You said you wanted it all to end. Does... Does that mean that you wanted to... to die?"
Tears streamed down Bruno's cheeks as he nodded. "I did." Feeling Luna throw her arms around his neck, sobbing, he held on to his daughter, soothing, "It's okay, moonbeam. It's okay. I promise you, I don't feel that way anymore."
"Y-You don't?" Luna sniffled as she pulled away slightly.
Bruno shook his head, feeling Ashleigh wrap an arm around his shoulders. "Sometimes, a person can become ill in their heads, and that illness can lead them to want to hurt themselves. Your tias and abuela realized that that was the reason I blinded myself, and they encouraged me to speak with doctors who could help me. I also took some medications that made me feel better." As he hugged Luna with one arm while reaching for Ashleigh's hand, he offered them both an encouraging smile. "And you and your Mami helped me as well. You helped me see that, despite my blindness, there are still wonderful things in this world."
Hearing a knock at the door as he caught the scent of cornmeal, Bruno straightened up as Ashleigh took Luna down to the kitchen to start making dinner.
Hearing Julieta sit down on the chair at Luna's desk, Bruno waited until she put a hand on his knee to let him know she was facing him. "My little girl is never going to get to see the sun rise over the valley," Julieta stated, her voice thick with a myriad of emotions. "She's never going to see the flowers her big sister, Isabela, grows. She'll never see her Tia Pepa making a rainbow. But you... Bruno, You could see the beauty that exists in the world," she retorted, angrily. "You saw the sunrise, the... the flowers blooming in the summer... Pepa's rainbows... You threw all of that away! Mirabel will only know a world of darkness." Taking a deep breath, she squeezed Bruno's knee as she went on. "So you have to teach her how to see the light in the world. Okay? You have to help her feel the warmth of the sun as it rises over the town. I want Mira to read books and see the worlds in her mind. I want... I want her know that she doesn't need eyes to experience beauty, love, and kindness. Can you do that for me, hermanito?"
"I will. I promise, Juli," Bruno assure his sister before leaning forward to hug her.