Chapter Text
“I am forever indebted to you… So if there’s anything you need, like materials or a working hand, you don’t have to hesitate to ask me.”
Señor Carlos was dumbfounded.
Just a week ago, the entire kingdom heard the news of the royal prince’s return. The family did not disclose where he has been, although rumors circulating have hinted that he must have lived in towns outside the forest surrounding the Encanto.
Said prince was now in front of him, covered in some sort of black cloth, on his knees as if begging for forgiveness.
His niece, Mirabel, was right beside him, smiling awkwardly. She nodded towards him, prompting Señor Carlos to respond.
“Oh…. uh, no problem kid. I don’t need anything for now though.”
“Kid?” Bruno slowly stood up with the aid of his niece and dusted his pants. Which were actually Camilo’s. He is currently wearing most of his nephew’s clothes because his were the ones that fit him the most, even if he was a bit taller than him.
“How old do you think I am?”
“Don’t know, 40?”
“I’m almost 51 I think.”
“And I’m currently 67. So yes, to me you’re still somewhat of a kid.” Señor Carlos smiled, and bowed his head. “If you don’t mind, I’ll go back to my wife. Thank you for thinking of me, Señor Bruno. I don’t know what I did to make you so grateful… but I may need a hand with the harvest next week.”
The man lit up. “Yes, yes I’ll gladly help! Thank you Señor, I owe you my life…” He bowed his head.
“Literally”, he whispered to himself.
The pair bid him goodbye, and walked through the town, back to Casita’s construction.
It’s been a week since Bruno regained his human form, and everyone is still a bit overwhelmed with it, most of all the man himself. A lot of his troubles stem from being a different form and size than what he was used to for so many years. There are times when he would stumble randomly (70% of the time because of the long cloak he refuses to abandon), and would ignore any wounds he would get from helping around the house.
And then there’s the thing with eating. Bruno was actually able to go one full day without eating, actually passing out while he was helping with the construction of Casita. Julieta had to force feed her brother to make sure he was getting his nutrients.
“Oh by the way Tio, Mama and Tia Pepa made a list for you! They told me to give it to you after your visit to Señor Carlos.” Mirabel grabbed a piece of paper from her sling bag. She showed it to him proudly.
Her uncle picked it up and scrutinized it carefully. The writing was made with a pen, but was decorated with Antonio’s crayons.
“My fun day activities: a guide for baby Brunito… ok first of all, this sounds dumb, I don’t need a guide! Second, I’m not a baby!”
“Well, you kind of are”, she pointed out, awkwardly patting her Tio’s head. “You have trouble walking, you still run on all fours, the whole family dotes on you, your sisters feed you, plus you’re the youngest triplet.”
“What are you… I can walk fine - “
He tripped on his cloak, falling face first on the grass.
Bruno lay still on the ground.
“Tio.” He can practically hear the amusement in her voice.
“I’m going to get up if you ignore what just happened.”
Mirabel sighed and helped him up. “Okay, I will. Be careful or you’ll break your bones, old man baby.”
Bruno rolled his eyes but gave her a playful smile. He carefully inspected the list she gave him.
1. Wake up early
2. EAT BREAKFAST!!!!! >:(
3. Do what I want to do :)
4. EAT LUNCH!!!!! :D
5. Don’t get hurt!!! Keep checking for wounds :(
6. Enjoy the day <3
7. EAT DINNER!!!!!!!!!!
8. Have fun, help with chores
9. Say I love you to your sisters (we love you too nene!) and your mother
10. SLEEP WELL!!!!!!
Love, Juli and Pepa
He pulled the paper closer to his face. “Wow. I feel loved but at the same time this seems very aggressive. The pink hearts drawn all over are scaring me.”
“They’re threatening you to take care of yourself. If I were I would follow that list religiously.”
—--------------------------------------------------—
1. Wake up early
2. EAT BREAKFAST!!!!! >:(
"Tio Bruno Tio Bruno!"
The seer was stirred from his deep sleep, forcing him to get up. He heard his back crack as he sat up.
"Ow… oh good morning Tonito."
"Good morning Tio! Mama said breakfast is ready. Oh, and one of your rats said that they wanted to play as Lucia sometime."
He looked at his nephew, a bit confused. "Really?"
"Yeah, it was Lukas I think. But come on, Mama said she'll blast a hurricane through your room if you're late." The boy grabbed his arm and pulled him up.
"Alright, alright.” He willed himself to get out of bed.
The pair left Señora Guzman’s house and headed towards Casita. The entire family was already there, setting up the old table they had in the garden that was unaffected by the earthquake. Casita was coming along, slowly but surely. Thankfully, since Light magic returned, it was a bit easier to rebuild it with the special gifts of the family members and with the help of the entire Kingdom.
Felix approached him and slapped him on the back. He nearly lost his footing but was able to recover right away. “Eyyy cuñado good morning! Slept well?”
“Yes, thanks to Señora Guzman’s hospitality. The sheets were amazing.”
“Right? I swear those things are expensive.”
Felix gave a hearty laugh before scolding Camilo who was already going for seconds.
Bruno smiled at the scene. Ever since he was back, his family made extra efforts to include him in anything, especially eating. During the first few weeks, it was difficult to adjust his sleeping schedule, since he was so used to being completely out of it for months, even years. At first, his sisters had to wake him up to make sure that he didn’t sleep the day away, but now he was slowly getting used to getting up early.
Agustin sat next to him, and placed 2 more pieces of bread on his plate.
“You’re going to need to eat more, cuñado.”
“Did Julieta set you up to do this?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, he said, as he looked everywhere but at him. Bruno chuckled and ate a piece.
“Thank you, Agustin. I’m still adjusting, but I’m able to eat more than usual now, I think.”
The man radiated pride. “Yeah? That’s great! I’ll be honest, I was a bit worried when you said you used to go on weeks without eating… but I guess that was Dark magic?”
“It was. It got so bad that I’m still not careful with myself…”
Agustin patted him gently on the back. “But you’re doing great, Bruno! Baby steps.”
—--------------------------------------------------—
3. Do what I want to do :)
He was not used to it yet, but like Agustin said, baby steps.
Not that he was a baby or anything.
But he decided that he would try to go to the town again. He was finally wearing new clothes, a brown long sleeved button up shirt with the sleeves folded up to his forearms, and dark red pants that his mama bought for him. He was still wearing his black cloak. Julieta washed that thing nearly every day when he first turned back. She tried discarding it but her baby brother was just so attached to it.
Word had already gone out that the long lost Prince was back, but Alma did not arrange for a welcoming party, mainly because Bruno was against it. He did not mind making an announcement or having the news just spread passively, but a whole celebration with him as the focus? He might pass out from all of the attention.
His Mama of course, understood right away. When he first went to meet some of the townsfolk, Alma was right there, practically glued to his hip. She kept making remarks every now and then about how her son was so cute, handsome, and talented with his ‘little mice plays’, much to his dismay.
The people, of course, accepted him. It took some time, mostly because they were curious about where he went when he disappeared, but Alma’s deathly stares shut them up. Bruno just bent the truth and told a story about being lost and living in some random town outside. They never pushed for more details.
However, there were some people who asked him a question he hasn’t heard in a long time.
He still had his hood up, but a friend recognized that cloak right away.
“Hola, Señor Bruno!”
The pot maker, Señor Manuel greeted him. He was one of the friendly faces that Bruno warmed up to.
“Good morning, Manuel. Business going great?”
“Yep! Thanks to you, especially.”
Bruno loved coming here. Isabela enjoys making all these cute cacti, and Bruno somehow made it a point to house each one in their own small pot. He sometimes painted over it with Antonio, which pretty much delighted the flower princess.
“I’ll get another 2 small pots please - “
“Señor, you’re the future-seeing prince, right?”
The seer looked up, and saw a man with his arms around Manuel.
“Ay, sorry Bruno. This is Manolo, my older brother. Just ignore him.”
That didn’t stop the older man.
“I remember you! Yes, I was a teenager back then, but you used to make those green vision tablets for people who asked to see the future. Do you think you could see into mine? I need to know who my next wife will be.”
Manuel looked like he could punch someone.
Behind the hood, he looked anxious. Bruno hasn’t done visions for strangers in years. He was honestly a bit nervous that his mother would ask him to do it again, but was genuinely surprised when it was Alma herself who told him to do the complete opposite. She did not want to force her son to do something he used to dread, and encourage him to just have visions whenever he felt like it.
Doing it again for other people is scary… he just got back; what if it would make him into the most hated person in the town again?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of thunder behind him. Bruno turned abruptly, causing the hood to fall. Manuel looked pleased to see her and Manolo paled.
“No, Brunito will not make you a vision, Manolo. Maybe work on your rotten personality first!”
Her brother tried to pacify the storm. “Pepa - “
“Get out of here before I zap you.”
The man quickly removed his arm from his brother’s neck and ran away. Manuel smirked, finally away from that asshole.
“Pepa you didn’t have to do that.”
“If I hadn’t stepped in, would you have said yes even though you didn’t want to?”
He looked down, blushing. “Well, no…”
“Yes you would.”
“Yes I would have”, he buried his head into his hands. “I’m a loser.”
“You may be a loser, but you have me for a sister, so it balances out.”
“... you’re supposed to be supporting me. This is awful older sister behavior.”
She stuck out a tongue at him while he paid for the pots.
“Thanks again, Manuel.”
“No problem Bruno, come back anytime.”
Pepa and Bruno walked back together through the town, completely ignoring some people who stared at them. The man forgot about his hood, being comfortable with his sister, and it was one of the rare times when the townsfolk are able to look at the mysterious prince.
He did kind of look like King Pedro, especially when he laughs. Despite being around 50, he seemed to radiate the energy of a person who was young at heart.
Pepa was all rainbows, extremely proud that her brother was able to go to town by himself. Back then he needed at least one person with him, always flinching when people interacted with him.
As they walked closer to Casita, Pepa just looked at his brother who was animatedly talking about Isabela’s cacti.
He was here.
His little brother, the one she loved to tease and play monsters and princesses with… her savior Knight Hernando… he was here, with her.
“ - and there’s this really tiny one, with a small pink flower on top of it. I called her Clarita because it fits. I swear, when you see that plant you’ll know which one is Clarita… Pepa?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re looking at me weirdly.”
“Nah. I just got distracted at how cute you are, nene.”
Before he could retort, Pepa tapped his shoulder all of a sudden.
“I just got a great idea. Brunito, hold on to those pots.”
Now he was the one looking at her weirdly. “Huh? Why - aaAAAH!”
The redhead picked her brother up and slung him over her shoulder, just like when they were kids.
“PEPA!”
She jogged towards Casita, laughing and creating more rainbows. “Ey Knight Hernando, you're way too light! You’re going to have to eat more empanadas.”
“Pepa I’m carrying breakable pots, POTS! Wha…”
Obviously, his sister was ignoring him. Bruno just gave up, and giggled. He can’t help but smile, despite the ridiculousness of the situation.
“Prinsesa Pepa strikes again”, he grumbled lightheartedly.
Pepa arrived at Casita with him still on his shoulder, earning amused stares from the family and an ugly laugh from Julieta, who was having trouble breathing as she looked at her siblings. She assumed her stance as the evil dragon and chased them around the house.
This was incredibly embarrassing but he could live with it.
—--------------------------------------------------—
4. EAT LUNCH!!!!! :D
5. Don’t get hurt!!! Keep checking for wounds :(
6. Enjoy the day <3
The family just had their lunch, and a few minutes after noon, Bruno was in the zone, making the spackle for Casita’s new walls.
Construction has been continuous, only stopping in between days when the people would rest. The people made their own schedule of when they wanted to help, and so far this made the process of building the house faster. He just finished transporting a lot of pieces of wood for frames.
He noted pain from his palms earlier but ignored it, knowing that it would just heal and go away.
However, he noticed that the brick trowel’s handle was unusually stained red.
“What the…”
Oh.
He had a lot of small wounds on his palms, and there was a splinter here and there. It was bleeding and marking the handle of his tool.
Bruno shook his head. He was so used to pain that he failed to notice this.
He sighed. He needs to find Julieta or else he’ll never hear the end of it.
The man went to the kitchen, where Julieta was making food for the working people.
“Hey Juli… do you mind if I ask for something you made?”
She turned to him, and saw his bloody hands which he awkwardly waved.
“Ay Brunito! Did you wait for it to get this worse? Here, have an arepa.”
She held one close to his mouth, and Bruno took a bite. Almost instantly, his hands looked good as new. He marveled at the effect as he turned his hands in front of him.
“Gracias Juli. At least I didn’t wait until it got a bad infection, eh?” he chuckled.
“Don’t joke about that! But yes…” she held her brother’s now healed hands. “Last time was terrible, hermanito. I’m glad that you’re starting to notice when you're hurt more quickly than last time.”
“Kind of hard if you're used to getting healed all the time.”
“And that’s why we made the ‘Fun day activities guide for Brunito’. Nice to see that you’re making use of it.”
“Hey, that was a terrible name for the list. Also yes, so far I think I’m still on schedule.”
She laughed. It was a silly looking piece of paper, but Pepa and her actually put effort into it.
Bruno looked at his older sister, admiring how she had to be responsible for the three of them, back when they were kids. She matured so fast for the sake of their mother, and even until now, so many people look up to her. With all these responsibilities, Julieta still remained her kind self.
“Also… I don’t know if I ever told you this but, your food was never gross. I was a child and Pepa just shouted at me, so I was in a foul mood…”
Bruno expected her to ask what that meant, but the look on her face told him that she knew what he was referring to.
Julieta hugged him tightly.
He gently hugged her back.
“Everyday… whenever I made soup or empanadas, I kept going back to the time you disappeared. I kept blaming myself for making soup that day, getting Pepa’s doll dirty and…” she sighed, steadying her voice. “Thank you hermanito, thank you so much for giving us a chance. Thank you for coming back.”
Bruno buried his head on her shoulder. “T-Thank you for not giving up on me...”
—--------------------------------------------------—
7. EAT DINNER!!!!!!!!!!
8. Have fun, help with chores
Dinner was just as lively as all the other meals, but a lot from the town gave them tons of food tonight. Camilo was in heaven.
Sadly, he was also assigned to dishwashing.
Camilo was in hell.
“This is terrible.”
“You were practically glowing earlier, sobrino. What happened?”
His Tio Bruno was next to him, also assigned to rinse the plates and utensils, and dry them after. They were still using a makeshift sink outside of the house, since the kitchen was still not fully built and there was no connection to the water supply of the villages.
“More food is great and all, but not when that meant more things to clean.”
“You’re just upset you were assigned to wash dishes today, aren’t you.”
“It could have been at lunch or tomorrow, but why did it have to be today?”
He dramatically threw his head back.
“My shirt is wet, my ruana is wet, all this wet food in the drain feels gross - ugh”, he tried to stop himself from retching.
It was freezing outside, and the cold water was not helping.
“If it’s any consolation, the way you’re washing the dishes is also soaking my clothes.”
Camilo looked at his Tio, unamused. “Those are my clothes.”
Bruno whistled and looked elsewhere. He forgot but Pepa actually gave her some of the old clothes that Camilo hates.
“Oh well I hate that shirt anyway, so it’s alright - hEY!”
“Oh, sorry!”
His uncle accidentally opened the tap all the way, causing a strong flow which splashed everywhere, mostly on his ruana.
“Tio!”
“Lo siento! Wait let me find you a towel - “
Before he could leave, Camilo used his hands to direct the tap water to his Tio, and switched it on. Except he made it stay open a bit longer than necessary.
“Camilo!”
“Wait, now we’re even!”
“This is not even, I looked like I took a bath! Hold on…”
Bruno was faster than Camilo, and his nephew screamed when he felt the cold water on his face and clothes.
“Okay, now we’re even.”
One thing he was going to learn today, is to never challenge teenage boys, because they can get really competitive.
Bruno saw the fire of mischief burn in his nephew’s eyes, and he could already tell the future without having to use his gift.
They were never going to finish the dishes.
“W-wait a minute Camilo, I take it back, I’m sorry, please reconsider this, I never meant to - aaaAAAH!”
They spent the next 15 minutes throwing water at each other, followed by Alma scolding them as the two soaked Madrigal boys knelt down in the grass and hung their head in shame.
—--------------------------------------------------—
9. Say I love you to your sisters (we love you too nene!) and your mother
10. SLEEP WELL!!!!!!
“Uhh…”
Bruno was a bit tipsy. Felix and Agustin were both menaces, letting him get this far. But at least he never went beyond the threshold of throwing up. The Madrigal children decided to sleep early tonight, sharing looks as if they were planning something that they did not want the adults to find out.
Julieta, Pepa, and Alma were in another corner drinking wine, just a bit far from the piano where Felix and Agustin were singing their hearts out.
Bruno approached his mother and sisters.
“Yes, Brunito?” Alma asked, ever patient with her son. It was nice to see him in dry clothes after that whole water fight with his nephew.
“This was on the s-schedule, so I’m just going to get it over with.”
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His face was red from all the alcohol.
“I love you.”
He nodded, congratulating himself on a job well done.
“Okay, next on the list is to sleep well. Good night everyone.”
“Wait wait wait Brunito!” She pulled him close, letting him sit on a chair between her and Julieta. “You can’t just say that and go away!”
Julieta laughed, also a bit tipsy from the wine. “We have to say it back too.”
Both sisters said it together. “We love you too, Brunito!” They kissed him on his cheek, one sister on each side.
“Ack, gross.”
He exaggerated wiping his face but was smiling uncontrollably, flustered but happy to be inn between his sisters.
Even though they were in their 50’s, they looked so much like they did when they were kids. Alma’s heart was melting, full of affection for her children.
“And I love all of you.” She firmly stated, as she looked at them. “You three are my everything.”
—--------------------------------------------------—
11. ????
Bruno was awoken by a soft tapping at his side.
He was currently on Señora Guzman’s sofa, comfortably surrounded by his black cloak that he still did not let go of. He remembers being with his mother and sister, but he had no idea how he got there. Someone must have carried him here.
“Tio Bruno!”
The man turned over and locked eyes with his youngest nephew.
“Tonito? What are you doing here? What time is it?”
“It’s 12 midnight.”
He shot up, looking worriedly at him. He tried to keep quiet. “Midnight? Then why aren’t you in bed?”
He shrugged. “It’s because we have a surprise for you!”
“What?”
“Come on!” The small boy dragged him towards the door. He was still a bit hungover, but he could not say no to his adorable nephew.
When they left the house, he saw all the kids of his sisters, in their pajamas, illuminated by the lamp posts.
“W-what’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Yep!” Mirabel chirped. “We all just have a surprise for you - “
“ - and Mirabel can’t wait until tomorrow to give it”, interjected Isabela, sounding a bit sleepy but totally on board with all this.
“ - and I’m sure you’re going to love it!” Mirabel finished, ignoring her sister.
Dolores stepped forward, holding a box. “Here you go Tio. This is from all of us, a small welcoming gift.”
“Sorry it was a bit late, it took some time to make”, added Luisa.
Bruno slowly opened the box and saw a green cloth. He took it out of the box, and hung the piece of cloth in the air. Dolores held the box for him.
It was a green ruana.
It had a hood, and there were small hourglass designs on the sides, symbolizing his gift. On the bottom, there were colorful stitches of different figures, such as a blue butterfly, pink flowers, yellow chameleon…
Antonio pointed at the designs below. “We made this! This is mine, a small rat! It looks weird because I’m not yet good at sewing…”
“W-What are you talking about, it looks amazing Tonito!” Bruno closely inspected the designs. “Did you all… make this?”
Luisa nodded. “Well, Mirabel did most of it, with the green cloth and everything, but we stitched the small figures here!” She pointed at a purple barbell. “This one’s mine!”
“Do you like it?” Mirabel asked. This was a project she poured all her heart into.
“Like it? I… I love it!” He held the thing close to his heart.
Bruno took a deep breath and finally, FINALLY removed his black cloak.
It had served its purpose, it was the one thing that kept him protected and safe for the years he lived as a beast…
But he was living as himself now. This is a new chapter with his life, a life with his family around him.
He wore the green ruana and turned around for the kids to see.
“How does it look?”
“It fits you well Tio!” Dolores clapped.
“Make sure to not get that one wet”, Camilo smirked.
Bruno was still admiring it. This is the most amazing thing he owned, and he will treasure this for the rest of his life.
“Thank you everyone… You’re never going to see me without this!”
—--------------------------------------------------—
Finally, after 9 months of the community’s assistance and with the Light magic helping a bit, Casita was complete. Sure, it no longer had that lively zest to it, but it was still a home, a place where they can make new memories as a complete family.
Bruno stared at it from the garden, and tried his best not to cry.
He actually had a home.
All those years of living and talking all alone in the forest was finally over. He can now be here, inside Casita, with all his family members surrounding him. No longer would he have to live behind the walls, or secretly take food from other people’s houses…
However, despite everything, he still misses his forest abode.
It was where he lived, for the most of his life after all. He was very comfortable being there, especially in the peaceful afternoons where he can rest under the tame sunlight seeping through his roof, listening to the birds and crickets chirping as the wind gently tickled the leaves… It was nice.
But this was better, and definitely something he has wished for ever since he woke up all alone in the dark.
Bruno was so deep in his thoughts that he failed to notice Alma reaching out something to her. Finally, he looked up at her mother.
“Mama?”
He also noted how the family was looking at him, beaming with happiness.
“Brunito. Would you do us the honors of opening Casita?”
She held up a small, golden doorknob, with the letter M beautifully etched into it.
The door knob to their new home.
He picked it up carefully, knowing that it symbolizes the one thing he has ever wanted his whole life.
Bruno looked around at his family, grateful to finally be accepted, when his gaze fell to Mirabel.
She was next to Camilo, looking very excited for her Tio, giving him a thumbs up.
Mirabel, his precious sobrina who saved them all.
When he first had the vision, he knew instantly that this girl would be the one to keep the Dark at bay. He never knew it was his sobrina until she was about 4 years old, when she was first given her glasses. Behind the walls, he kept wishing for her safety, and his heart ached when he saw how lonely she was growing up.
Just like he was.
The day they met in the forest was something he had no control over, something he saw in the future but was still completely unexpected to him. This amazing girl, with her immense love and worry for her family’s magic, decided to fight evil head on even if she had no gift.
Her strength, determination, and thoughtfulness was why he was here today.
Bruno eyed the doorknob again, and inspected it. “As much as I’d want to Mama, someone else deserves to open the door for us.”
He looked up to his niece, meeting her curious gaze.
“Mirabel”, he smiled, beckoning her to come. “If it was not for you, I would not be here, sobrina. You’re the real gift to this family, the real power behind our magic.”
She was speechless. Bruno placed the doorknob into her hands, and she saw a tear from her own face, falling onto it.
She looked around, and everyone looked incredibly proud of her, her abuela most of all.
“Thank you Mirabel, mi vida”, she said, and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you for bringing back my son, for making me… making us whole again.”
“I.. anything for the family.”
She wiped her tears, and tried to compose herself.
“What are you waiting for kid?” She heard her Tio ask playfully. Bruno nudged her with his elbow. “Let us in.”
She looked at Casita, already missing her inanimate friend.
Mirabel walked to the door, and placed the knob in its place.
Immediately a light enveloped the door, carving the entire Madrigal family into it. The Light magic spread to the rest of Casita, and with this, breathed old life into the new house. The tiles wiggled, the potted plants jumped up and down, bricks made waves and the ceiling danced.
The window where the candle used to be waved at them.
Mirabel waved back.
“Hola Casita!”
—--------------------------------------------------—
Everyone had their own rooms, even Mirabel. Her door glowed with her own name and face, and her entire family was there hugging and kissing her, so proud of their sister and daughter.
“Well, check it out hermana!” Luisa exclaimed excitedly. She didn’t even care about her old room, she was too hyped for her little sister.
Agustin was just as excited as her. “Luisa’s right mi amor. Come on, the suspense is killing me!”
“Alright, alright! Here I go…”
Inside the room was a place way bigger than the nursery, but with more or less the same themes. It had beautiful cloth all over, arranged according to patterns and colors, and an infinite amount of thread and yarn, and sewing tools to use at her disposal. In a corner there were mannequins where she can practice making dresses and other things, and a whole lot of her old plushies tucked comfortably in a vibrant corner.
Mirabel stopped herself from crying. This room was perfect for her.
“Oh wow…” Isabela mouthed. “This is all very… you. This is so you, Mira!” She made a few cute plants to match her sister's room, which Mirabel appreciated so much.
“Oh Mirabel…” Julieta cupped her daughter’s face, and kissed her all over.
“Ay, mama!”
“I’m so so proud of you mi amor. Such a wonderful room, reflecting such a wonderful you!” She kissed her once more on her head, and hugged her tightly.
“Okay come on, let Miraboo have some time in her room!” Agustin announced to his family. Luisa was just about to ambush the plushies with a big hug. “After all, we need to check if our old things have returned… and I mean my old clothes.”
“That’s because you were too lazy to salvage them.”
Her husband shrugged. “It may have been an excuse to go shopping… ow!”
Julieta playfully tugged at his ear and tutted, then pulled them outside of the room. Luisa and Isabela followed.
“Congrats again, hermana.” Luisa hugged her tightly.
“I can’t breathe.”
“This place is so amazing, you deserve it!” She put her back down. Isabela waved goodbye. “If you need us, we’ll be in our respective rooms.”
Mirabel looked around. This place was everything she’s dreamed off. It had the elements of the nursery, the place where she grew up in, and a few elements of her own personality and talent.
Maybe she could sew more clothes for Tio Bruno if he wanted -
Wait.
Tio Bruno!
The young Madrigal left her room, and immediately searched for her uncle. His room was always closed. It remained dim throughout her life, and was locked out with wood and nails.
What would his room look like? She heard from her mother that it had a lot of sand in it. Was it desert-themed?
She approached her Tio’s room, which was between Pepa and Julieta’s.
Before she could knock, she heard a harsh whisper coming from a huge potted indoor plant.
“Mirabel!”
“Huh?”
Behind the plant was her Tio, crouched down and looking small. It didn’t work back when he was a huge monster, but now in his actual body, her Tio was really tiny when he wanted to be.
“What are you doing there Tio?”
“Heh… actually I was trying to find the old hole in the wall where I used to come in and out of Casita before… but sadly it’s not here anymore.”
Mirabel sat beside him.
“Well, you wouldn’t need it anymore, would you? After all, you have your own room.”
“Yes, but…” he brushed his hair back. “I… I kinda liked it, ya know? My old room was miserable. It had sand everywhere, and a tall tower with my vision cave that took ages to climb up to. My bed always had sand all over so I just… slept in my vision cave when I felt too lazy to go down.”
“Yikes, that sounds awful.”
Bruno nodded. “It was. Which is why I wanted to find my old room in the walls.”
“But you haven’t even gone inside yet, haven’t you?”
He looked at his niece with confused eyes.
“I mean, this is a new Casita after all. I finally have my own room - “
“Oh Mirabel that’s great!”
She smiled. “Yes, and you should visit sometime! Anyway, as I said, maybe your room has changed! It mostly reflects us after all, so who knows? We gotta open it first before we judge.”
“I agree, hm.”
The pair turned to their right, where they saw Pepa’s children staring at Bruno’s door.
“Come on Tio let’s see what’s inside.” Camilo tried to sound casual, but was obviously eager. Antonio was nodding, even more eager than his brother.
“Wait, we want to see too!”
Isabela and Luisa jogged towards them, not wanting to be left out.
Bruno, even though being constantly bombarded by love from his nieces and nephews, was still caught off guard.
“You guys… okay, we can go in together if you like.”
They all agreed, and Bruno stood up in front of his door.
“Casita please be kind, I really don’t want anymore sand”, he muttered under his breath. Dolores chuckled inwardly.
He reluctantly opened the door, closing his eyes, and was met with clean, fresh air blowing through it.
He heard chirping birds and the rustle of leaves.
“Oh wow!”
Bruno opened his eyes and saw…
His forest cabin.
It was almost an exact replica of his small area in the forest, minus the old cave entrance he made that went straight to Encanto.
Far deeper was a small vision cave where the flow of sand was controlled and kept inside, but the rest of it was his old home.
The cabin looked a bit bigger though.
“Oh Tio, this is…” Mirabel ran inside, and looked around. “This is just like your place in the forest!”
Luisa’s eyes widened. “Really? This was where you lived back then?”
“Y-yeah…” he paced towards the small wooden house, and saw a replica of his old things… there was even some stuff from his room behind the walls. A lot of it were copies of Señor Carlos’ stolen furniture and utensils.
He saw his old room, where he had his ever comfortable bed, where he hid Mirabel on the first night that she visited. He was going to tear up, this bed was his source of comfort, and it was not gone forever!
Mirabel was right… he had nothing to fear. This room was so much better than his old wooden shack, and it still felt like it was the same place. The warmth of the sun and coolness of the wind was so nostalgic.
“Tio, take a look at this!”
Camilo’s voice was heard from another room in the cabin, a new one he never had before.
“This looks like a small stage, don’t you think? I think Casita’s trying to tell you something.” he teased.
It was a small stage with floor space and mats for the audience.
This place was made for performing telenovelas!
“I could tell my stories here…”
“Exactly!” Camilo clapped. “You’re going to give me more parts right? I can play 5 people at a time.”
Bruno ruffled his nephew’s hair. “Of course, sobrino. Your performances so far are outstanding.”
The shapeshifter beamed.
“Oh wow, it’s a mini theater!”
The rest of the grandchildren came, amazed at the small addition to the room. Isabela immediately brought it to life by adding her wild plants.
“This place is perfect Tio,” she commented. “It’s like your old place, but it can accommodate more people who would probably bug you for the rest of your life.”
Bruno laughed.
She was right.
He was never going to be left alone anymore.
In the corner were a bunch of his old props, somehow brought to existence by the light magic. Bruno tried not to giggle when he saw the old bra made from 2 huge leaves with string connecting them, made by Mirabel all those days ago.
He wore it while the children were distracted, and finally called their attention.
“So”, he clapped, trying not to laugh at their confused faces.
“Who’s ready for the season finale of ‘The Stars Under Our Sky’?”