#dad bruno

You were now fifteen. Mirabel, Camilo and Carlos were all thirteen, they were in their rebellious teen phases but none of them really knew what you were going through. Luisa was seventeen and constantly throwing herself into work just to prove to Abuela that she was good enough. Antonio was three and was always babbling to you about something, that’s where your gift came in handy, you could let Pepa know what the baby was trying to say before he could form proper sentences- you’d done the same with Mira, Cami and Carlos when they were toddlers. Pepa and Julieta had no bad feelings or thoughts towards you, whenever you heard their thoughts they were usually worrying about you; you would always hear ‘I hope (name)’s okay’ and ‘she never leaves her room anymore, I wonder how she is’. It was sweet. Dolores and Isabela were both nineteen, Isabela tried to help you as much as she could but admittedly, that wasn’t all that much considering she had to keep up her señorita perfecta act… Dolores was the only person left there to understand you, given that your gifts were both eerily similar. She knew exactly how you felt and she would always come into your room and try to have talks with you; she was your favourite person in the whole family since Bruno had left.

And abuela? She grew to hate you. It didn’t take long, especially after Bruno left. You were forbidden from talking about your father, you were forbidden from even so much as mentioning his name. It frustrated you. Her thoughts about you were the worst. They were so much worse than those of the villagers, their thoughts were just that you were weird and they didn’t wanna be around you, but your Abuela? It was your Abuela’s thoughts that sent you in a downward spiral of anxiety and panic attacks and everything else. Whenever you came out of your room, her thoughts were the loudest, they were the first ones that would come to you; ‘(Name) is useless.’ ‘I hope (name) doesn’t ruin the dinner with the Gonzalez family tonight!’ ‘(Name) is too emotional, even worse than Pepa.’ ‘(Name) doesn’t care about this family, she’s just like Bruno.’

She made you want to scream. The thoughts you heard sometimes became too much and it burned you out and made your panic attacks more frequent, you didn’t really have anything to ground you or to bring you back to reality. The thoughts you heard made you become very emotional and upset and made you want to scream so much that you often had a panic attack around the table due to the emotions that you felt.

You were currently sat in your bedroom, sitting at your desk, your head was resting against your hand as you absentmindedly drew on a piece of paper that sat on your desk. ‘I love you, mija.’ You suddenly heard. You shook it off, continuing to draw.

You’d been hearing Bruno’s thoughts for years, even when you were in your bedroom which didn’t make sense considering your gift didn’t work in your room unless the person thinking it was in your room at the time. You figured that your mind had made it up due to you missing him so much, he was the one person that kept you grounded during your panic attacks, he always knew how to get you out of them.

You had your first panic attack six months after your fifth birthday, Bruno found you struggling for breath and clutching your chest with tears down your eyes, it scared the life out of you.

Bruno immediately recognised that it was a panic attack, him being a sufferer of them himself. He immediately dropped to his knees in front of you, cupping your cheeks and making you focus on him. “Mija, mija, listen to me.” He told you. You stared him, your eyes searching his face frantically as he stared at you. “I need you to focus on my voice, okay. Just focus on me! Don’t focus on your surroundings, don’t focus on anything else. Focus on me okay, focus on me!” He spoke frantically as you nodded in understanding. “Okay, I need you to use your senses okay. This’ll help ground you, cariño. Use your eyes, focus on something and tell me the colour, tell me if it’s bright or dull, give me details about it.” He told you.

Your eyes found his ruana, “I-it’s green a-and has hourglasses on it. It’s d-dull and dirty.” You spoke.

An offended expression crossed his face but he shrugged it off, “Okay, now touch. What does it feel like? Is it soft or rough? Is it heavy or light? What does the fabric feel like?” He asked you.

You reached out, clutching the ruana in your fists as you kept your focus on it, “It’s soft a-and it’s light, really light and thin.” You let him know.

“Okay, now what do you hear? Focus on your hearing, what do you hear, niña?” He asked you, stroking his thumb down your cheek as he cupped your face.

“I-I hear Carlos and Camilo fighting. I can hear rain hitting the window. I-I can hear Isabela and Abuela talking.” You told him.

You breathing was starting to slow down as Bruno moved on to the final sense, “Well done, mija, now smell. Tell me what you can smell.” He told you.

“I can smell tia Julieta cooking arepas and… And I can smell the lavender scent from my clothes. And I can smell… I can smell the roses that Isabela grew for me yesterday.” You told him, you breathing finally going back to normal as he pulled you into him fully.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and rested your head against his shoulder, he combed his long fingers through your hair, “Well done, mija.” He let out a sigh of relief as he held you tightly. He could feel your tears hitting his neck as the tears from before continued sliding down your face.

That was the scariest moment of both yours and Bruno’s lives. Your first panic attack. And they’ve only become more regular but you had continued to use his trick and use your senses to ground yourself.

You heard a knock at your bedroom door before glancing over your shoulder, your door was pushed open and Dolores walked in, “Hola (name). Abuela says that dinner is ready.” She let you know.

You nodded, standing up and smoothing out the green dress you were wearing; it matched the colour of your fathers ruana. You headed out of your bedroom and began walking downstairs, closing your eyes; trying to block out the thoughts that were coming from Abuela.

Why did hers always seem to be the loudest? Was it because hers were the worst thoughts? Was it because she hated you the most?

‘I’m proud of you, mija.’ There it was again. Your papás thoughts.

You didn’t care that this was just in your mind. You didn’t care that these weren’t his real thoughts, he was long gone. You had to have made him up in your mind due to missing him so much but even if this was just all in your head, it still brought a smile to your face, knowing that your father was still with you, even if it was only in your thoughts.

You walked into the dining room, taking a deep breath as you took your place beside Dolores. Abuela’s eyes glossed over you but she didn’t say anything, she didn’t need to. Her thoughts said it all. ‘Oh great, she’s out of her room. She better not ruin this dinner like she does with every other one.’ Your eyes focused on your plate, relaying all of the colours and the patterns on it. Your hands gripped the table, telling yourself that it was hard and that the wood was smooth and freshly polished. You then focused on your hearing, immediately hearing the clanking of cutlery against plates. You then focused on your smell, instantly smelling the meal that Juli had made; avocados, rice and a smell of arepas in the distance. You took a deep breath, calming down from the panic attack that you knew was oncoming previously.

Dolores placed her hand on top of yours and gave it a tight squeeze. You sent her an appreciative smile before filling your plate, trying to drown out Abuela’s thoughts. ‘Can’t she just leave mi hija alone!’ You heard your father again, a soft smile graced your features as you began eating.

You were about to retreat back to your room once dinner was over but you were stopped by the twins, “(Name), come and hang outside with us! It’s better than staying in your bedroom all the time!” Camilo grinned at you as Mirabel quickly stood beside you, linking her arm with yours.

“I… I don’t know.” You began.

“Come on, prima. Chico de oro is right, you can’t stay cooped up in your bedroom all the time.” Carlos told you.

You stared between the three of them, a soft sigh left your lips as you nodded in defeat; seeing the pleading eyes of the younger teens. “Fine!” You groaned, letting your cousins drag you out of the house.

They dragged you to the town centre where you noticed a hopscotch path on the floor, you frowned before turning to your cousins, “You brought me out here to play hopscotch?” You laughed, cocking a brow.

“No, we brought you out here to get you away from that puta-” Carlos began.

“Carlos!” Camilo warned, glaring at him.

Carlos held his hands up in surrender, “Sorry, I mean Abuela.” He cocked a brow.

“You know how Carlos feels about Abuela, I mean he did try to blow the candle out for not giving me a gift.” Mirabel chuckled.

You nodded, “I know. Abuela was so angry that Dolores had to cover her ears when she was yelling at him.” You laughed.

Carlos laughed along with you, nodding his head. “You know, (name). That’s the first time we’ve seen you happy in a while.” Camilo told you as the three of you started playing the hopscotch that the kids had drawn.

You stopped when you heard Abuela’s thoughts again, ‘she’s so useless. Why can’t she control herself!’ You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath, almost falling over as you took another hop.

The younger teens quickly caught you, stopping your from colliding with the pavement. “Are you okay, prima?!” Mirabel asked worriedly.

“Y-yeah. I’m okay.” You nodded, sighing slightly as you smiled at your cousins reassuringly.

“It’s Abuela again, isn’t it?” Carlos asked.

You shrugged, “It’s nothing.” You told him, heading back to the start of the hopscotch path, continuing the game you were playing.

You would never be good enough for her. Ever. You just knew it.

Your sixteenth birthday would be coming around soon and not one single person was excited about it, not one single person had mentioned it.

It was just days away and nobody seemed bothered by it.

You were sitting in your bedroom once again, head resting against the palm of your hand as you stared down at the sketchbook and noticed that you weren’t drawing on your paper. No, you were drawing on a photograph of the family. You laughed when you noticed, that’s what you did, you laughed. It was the happiest laugh you’d done in a long while, you’d inadvertently drawn a moustache and glasses on the photograph, on Abuela’s face to be precise. You placed your hand over your mouth, letting the giggle die down as you tried your best not to disturb anybody. Your door opened and someone peeked their head around the side, “What’s got you giggling so much?” Dolores asked.

“Oh, nothing. I… I kinda drew a moustache on Abuela.” You laughed, lifting up the photograph to show her.

Dolores’ hands rose to cover her mouth and hide the giggle that came from her lips.

Once she’d calmed down, she opened her mouth to speak again, “Mami asked me to come and get you, anyway.” She grinned at you, holding her hand out. You grabbed her hand, letting her drag you downstairs and into the living room. All of the furniture had been pushed aside and a huge party was taking place, the whole town was there.

“What’s all this?” You asked, your eyes staring around in wonder.

Julieta was by your side in an instant, “It’s your party, of course!” She let you know.

“M-my party?” You stuttered.

“You didn’t think we’d forgotten, did you?” Pepa appeared at your other side, linking her arms with yours.

“N-no. I… I just figured that I wasn’t important enough…” You mumbled.

Your aunts eyes both widened, glancing down at you, “Cariño, you are just as important as any of the other kids.” Julieta let you know.

You smiled, hugging your aunts close as a few tears slipped down your cheeks.

The music played and the party was in full swing as they led you over to the dance floor. The pair of them danced with you as you heard your father yet again, ‘Happy birthday, mija.’ you heard him say.

You smiled as you danced with your aunts, glancing around the room and quickly noticing that you couldn’t see Abuela anywhere. Of course she wouldn’t be here. It was all too good to be true.

You soon separated from your tias and headed towards the punch bowl, grabbing a cup of the fruit punch and drinking it down. “Happy birthday, cariño.” Somebody said from behind you.

You glanced over your shoulder to see Abuela, you turned to face her and smiled her way, “Thanks Abuela.” You nodded, placing the plastic cup on the counter and crossing your arms over your chest slightly. “Did, um, did you plan all of this?” You asked, glancing around the room.

Abuela froze slightly, “U-uhm, no. Not exactly. Carlos suggested it and he and your other cousins helped to plan it.” She let you know.

You nodded, raising your brows slightly, that figures. “That was nice of them.” You grinned.

“Yeah, it was.” She glanced down at the floor.

‘Which got me thinking, what’s so special about you? You’re just a problem child.’ You heard. You were staring at her the whole time, her mouth didn’t move, it was a thought.

“You never hide it, do you?” You snapped, causing her to lift her head.

“What do you mean, cariño?” She asked, confusion taking over her features.

‘Oh, god, here we go again. Here comes the next breakdown.’ You heard her thoughts again.

A few stray tears fell freely down your face as you pushed past the elder and ran. You finally ran. You ran out of casita, you ran away from the party. You didn’t even know where you were going, you just wanted to get far enough away so that you wouldn’t hear her thoughts anymore.

Dolores placed her head in her hands and sighed, her prima and younger brothers all stared at her, “Dolores, what’s wrong?” Carlos asked.

“I don’t know exactly but I’m guessing it was Abuela’s bad thoughts again. (Name) snapped at her and then ran away crying.” She whispered.

“She’s still have bad thoughts about (name) even though it’s her birthday?” Mirabel asked, sighing deeply.

“Woah! Carlos wait!” Camilo suddenly called out, getting the attention of the two girls.

The three of them sprinted after an angry Carlos, knowing just what he was capable of when someone messed with a family member he was close to.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, ALMA!” Carlos snapped, stopping in front of the elder.

“Watch your tone, Carlos.” Alma said, authoritatively.

“(NAME) HAS RAN AWAY BECAUSE OF YOU! IS THIS WHAT YOU DO NOW, ALMA?! FIRST YOU PUSH TIO BRUNO SO FAR AWAY THAT HE LEFT AND NOW YOU’RE FUCKING PUSHING (NAME) AWAY WITH YOUR HORRIBLE FUCKING THOUGHTS ABOUT HER!” He snapped at her.

“Carlos, watch your tone with your Abuela.” Pepa said from behind the children.

Carlos shook his head, glancing over his shoulder to see his mamá and papá along with his tia and tio, “She made (name) run away, on her damn birthday as well!” Carlos snapped, he was pissed off.

Félix quickly took note of his sons clenched fists before leaning forward, placing his hand on the teenagers shoulder, “Then let’s go and find her, mijo.” He said, gesturing for his son to follow him out of casita.

Carlos gave Alma a dirty look before following his father out of the house, “She could be anywhere, papá. You know she’s always been good at track in school.” He sighed.

“Hey, I know she and Mirabel are your favourite primas but you can’t attack your Abuela like that, Carlos.” His father told him.

“If only you all knew the truth.” Carlos muttered quietly, luckily his father hadn’t heard him.

Carlos shoved his hands in his pockets as he and his father began the search for you, calling out your name as they searched.

Every time they got closer to finding you, you would continue running. You soon found yourself in a clearing deep within the forest, quickly climbing a tree and sitting on an extremely thick branch.

You rested your head against the trunk of the tree as your legs dangled over either side of the branch and you tilted your head back slightly, staring up at the sky and letting your tears fall freely.

You had to leave. You had to stay away. You didn’t belong there. Not anymore.

~ Hai! So, here’s part two! In the next part I think will be leading up to the fall of casita, I think I’ll definitely be ending this at part four though, with the reunion and Abuela finally apologising for being a biiiii- Lemme know what y’all think, angels! 😘 Stay hydrated, make sure you’ve eaten today, remember you’re loved more than you’ll ever know and stay safe, lovelies! Mwah! 💖

He had snuck out of the birthday party that his mother had put together for the triplets 33rd birthday, he didn’t want to make people uncomfortable or ruin the party for his sisters so he put Dolores, Isabela and Luisa to bed for them before leaving the house unseen. He pulled his hood over his hair as he left casita and began to wander the dark empty streets.

That’s when he heard a cry, a cry he recognised as a babies cry. His brows furrowed, following the sound as he dodged behind stalls and found himself behind the bakery, the cries were getting louder as he glanced around, he couldn’t see a couple or a stroller, where were the cries coming from?

He glanced down when he heard the cry again, seeing a little bundle of pink blankets and little fists clutching the fabric. He frowned, crouching down to get a better look, “Hey, where are your parents, cariño?” He asked sweetly.

Your eyes bored into him as you cried out again, Bruno looked around, searching for anyone in the vicinity that could be your parents. He shook off his thoughts as he stood up and began to walk away, but was stopped when you cried out again. He turned back, staring down at you. He leaned down, picking your out of the flimsy cardboard box that you had been placed into and laid you in his arms. He glanced around one last time as your small hands gripped his ruana and you snuggled into the soft fabric; he was looking for your parents but there was nobody else about.

“Well, looks like you’re coming home with me, little one.” He whispered as he held you close and carefully walked back towards casita.

He walked in, quickly finding Alma and gesturing for her to follow him to a quieter space.

She followed him out and towards the back door, his sisters also followed before noticing the small pink bundle in his arms, “Bruno, who is this?” Alma asked.

“I don’t know, mamá. I found her abandoned in a box behind the bakery.” He replied.

“What?! Who would abandon this cute little thing?!” Pepa asked as she stroked your cheek.

“I don’t know. Mamá, I wanna keep her.” Bruno told her. “Maybe we can adopt her and make her a Madrigal?” He suggested.

Alma sent a soft smile Bruno’s way, cupping his cheeks and nodding, “Okay, Brunito, you can adopt her.” She sent a smile his way as Julieta grabbed the little bracelet that was tied around your wrist.

“Hey, this has a note and her birthday attached to it. She’s only a week old, and the note says ‘Please take this child and give her a good home. She was a mistake and we can’t afford to keep her. Love, unnamed parents’.” Julieta let everyone know as she frowned at the note. “Whether they could afford her or not, why the hell would you abandon your child behind a bakery? What if animals got to her before Bruno found her?!” Julieta growled slightly.

“Calm down, Juli. She’s okay. And she’s ours now, we will make it all official tomorrow and she will become an official Madrigal.” Alma smiled as she squeezed Julieta’s shoulder. “Get her some milk, Brunito. She looks hungry.” She added, Bruno nodded and headed towards the kitchen as Pepa and Alma headed back into the party.

Julieta followed Bruno into the kitchen, “Let me hold her while you make the milk, hermano.” She said. Bruno nodded, placing you in his sisters arms as she held you close, stroking your face. “You’re so cute, how could they just leave you there, hmm?” She cooed over you, planting a soft kiss to your forehead as Bruno turned around with the bottle, testing it on the back of his hand to make sure that it wasn’t too hot before handing the bottle to Julieta who had offered to feed you.

Once you were fed, Bruno put you in the nursery with a two year old Luisa. You were laid in one of Isabela’s old cribs and wrapped up in blankets, Bruno planted a soft kiss to your forehead as you fell into a deep sleep.

The years passed quickly for Bruno, one second you were babbling and making a mess of your high chair, the next you were running around and causing trouble with your younger cousins and suddenly it was time for your gifting ceremony.

You were sitting in the nursery, your legs were dangling over the side of your bed as your older cousin, Dolores, smoothed down your pastel green coloured dress whilst Isabela made a flower crown out of pretty green roses and placed it on top of your head as a nine year old Dolores grabbed your hands, “Abuela says it’s time.” She smiled at you as you slipped on your shoes and headed down the stairs with the two girls, gripping Dolores’ hand nervously as the two girls stopped in front of Bruno.

He took a deep breath, crouching down to your level, “You look beautiful, mija.” He whispered to you, planting a soft kiss to your forehead.

“Thank you, papá.” You smiled up at him as Dolores and Isabela headed into the crowd, to join their parents.

“I’ll meet you at your door, okay?” Bruno spoke.

You nodded, “Si.” You smiled as he stroked your cheek before walking away, leaving you standing in the foyer as Alma did her speech.

You took a deep breath as the light shone on you, seeing Isabela and Dolores gripping each others hands as they watched you. Julieta and Pepa watched you with pride as they both held their husbands. You glanced up at the top of the stairs to see Bruno and Alma, the tiles beneath you moved, signalling you to walk. You took one final deep breath before beginning to walk down the walkway towards the stairs.

You climbed them easily and placed your hands on the candle, eyes meeting Alma’s as you did. She sent a soft smile your way as you stepped back and headed towards the door that had been made for you, you closed your eyes, placing your hand against the knob and watching it glow.

“I hope her gift isn’t one that’ll get her hated like Bruno.” You heard someone say.

You turned your head to Alma, “What did you say?” You asked.

She shook her head, “I didn’t say anything, cariño.”

“You said you hope my gift isn’t on that’ll get me hated…” You began, causing the older woman’s eyes to widen.

“No, I didn’t… I thought it but I didn’t say-” She stopped, realising that was your gift.

You could hear peoples thoughts.

Your door glowed brightly, getting your attention back on it; it showed your portrait like it was listening along with a thinking bubble, similar to Dolores’ door but also different.

“We have a new gift!” Alma called out, causing the crowd to cheer and whistle as you pushed your bedroom door open.

The room was designed like a large ballroom, the walls seemed to be soundproof, meaning that your gift would be quiet in here; it’d only let you hear the thoughts of the people within the room. There was a bed behind a secret wall within the ballroom, along with a whole shelf of books lining one of the ballroom walls. It was beautiful and elegant. You stared around at the room in amazement, it had you awestruck as you gripped Bruno’s hand.

The party got underway almost straight away, music played, people danced, everybody enjoyed themselves as you danced around with your papá.

Little did you know, that two years later your father would be reading you a bedtime story for the last time before he left casita for good.

~ Hi all! Okay, so I know that this story isn’t really that interesting yet but I promise imma work on getting it there lmao. Just bare with me! 😂 Let me know what y’all think, angels! 😘 Stay hydrated, make sure you’ve eaten today, remember you’re loved more than you’ll ever know and stay safe, lovelies! Mwah! 💖

You knew that it wouldn’t be long until you had to come out of hiding, you were beginning to starve and you were beginning to show the first signs of dehydration. You were far enough away from casita that you didn’t hear Abuela’s thoughts anymore, but you also didn’t hear Bruno’s thoughts anymore either, and that was saddening you.

Abuela couldn’t help but get a sense of deja vu back at casita. Hearing the panicked calls of “where is she?!” And “we have to find her.” It all reminded her of that day almost nine years prior, it was the day after Mirabel’s 5th birthday and Bruno had disappeared. Nobody knew where he was, he’d gone. Even you had tried looking around for him, calling out for your papá. Abuela sat in casita, listening to the worried voices of the family as their voices strained and went hoarse whilst they tried to call out for you to return.

‘Where is she?!’ You heard the frantic thoughts of those who walked through the forest below you as your head rolled back slightly.

You hadn’t been sleeping properly, you were dehydrated and you hadn’t eaten in around three days, you felt numb. You felt nauseas. You felt as if you were about to pass out.

You felt your body falling to the side, you felt yourself falling off the branch, you prepared yourself for the feeling of your limp body crashing harshly with ground. However, the harsh impact never came, instead you landed against something slightly softer than the ground, you heard an “oof” followed by a “Papá! It’s her!” You recognised the voice as Mirabel’s but you were far too weak to reopen your eyes.

You felt your whole body go weak as you went limp.

Agustín ran towards his daughter, lifting your limp body off of the younger teen as he helped her to her feet, “Are you okay, mija?” He asked worriedly.

Mirabel dusted herself down before nodding, “Si. I’m okay, papá. I just wasn’t expecting to be used as a human crash mat.” She smiled as she adjusted the green specs on the edge of her nose.

She stared at her father before glancing at the limp body he was cradling in his arms, “Papá, is she okay?” Mirabel asked worriedly.

“I don’t know, mija. I think she’s unconscious. Let’s get her back home and we’ll see what your mamá can do, okay?” He told his daughter. She nodded, as the pair of them turned on their heels and began heading back to casita with you.

As they walked in, a loud gasp sounded at the state of you. Your hair was a mess, your lips were dry and beginning to look chapped, your face was pale, your dress was dirty and dusty. Julieta’s hand came up to cover her mouth before ordering her husband to take you into the dining room and lay you on the table. Agustín did as he was told and laid your limp body down on the empty dining room table as Julieta ran in with some food remedies and water.

Dolores appeared in the room as a soft squeak left her mouth, quietly knocking against the family tree painted on the wall behind the table, she heard somebody gasp on the other side; instantly realising that Bruno had seen you.

Julieta was trying different remedies, breaking off small pieces of the food so that it would just slide down your throat without choking you as Dolores heard the soft muttering of “Come on, mija. Wake up.” over and over again from the other side of the wall.

A cough sounded from your body as you pushed yourself to sit up and your eyes flew open. A sigh of relief left Julieta’s mouth as she handed you the glass of water and plate full of freshly made arepas, you gulped down the water and chewed down a few arepas before glancing around the room frantically.

“Thank you, tia, but I-I have to go. I can’t stay here. I can’t stay here with Abuela, she… I…” You began but stopped. The adults didn’t know about the bad thoughts Abuela had of you, they didn’t know that Abuela was the cause of most of your panic attacks.

“Abuela isn’t here, cariño. She’s out talking to the Guzman’s.” Julieta let you know as she delicately pulled a loose twig from your hair.

A sigh of relief left your lips as you glanced over at Dolores, she was standing rather close the the gap in the wall where your father had just let out the same sigh of relief as you. “Dolores…” You whispered.

She walked towards you and wrapped her arms around your frame, “I’m here, prima.” She whispered as she held you tight.

“I’m going to take (name) to her room, tia. Could you let the others know that she’s safe?” Dolores asked.

Julieta nodded, “We’ll let you know when dinner is ready, cariño.” Julieta let the older girl know, Dolores nodded as she pulled you off of the table and began heading to your room with you.

The months passed quickly and Antonio had soon received his gift, you couldn’t believe it. The boy you had helped to raise could now not only talk for himself but could also speak animal language.

A soft smile graced your features as you approached the breakfast table the morning after his gifting ceremony, you took your seat as Abuela gave her usual morning rituals whilst you ate quietly.

As everyone left to do their chores, you found yourself at the table with Abuela, your fingers rapped against the wood slightly before you stood up, pushing your chair back as you did. “I should… Uhm… I should go.” You mumbled. Abuela’s eyes averted to you, she nodded slightly before watching you hurry away.

She glanced down at the little locket in her hands, “Ay, Pedro, what do I do with that one? She’s not like the others, she can’t control her emotions, she can’t control the panic attacks she has and the whole town sees her as bad luck, as evil… Just like Bru-” She cut herself off with a sigh before turning and heading into casita, taking one final glance over her shoulder as she watched you disappear around the corner.

The day passed by in a blur for you, nothing much to tell other than hearing your fathers name a few more times than you should’ve but besides that, everything else just flew by.

You were currently sitting at the table at dinner, the Guzman’s were here and they were discussing Isabela marrying the Guzman’s son, Mariano. But the atmosphere between two of the family members was what sparked your interest, and their thoughts made you quirk a brow in suspicion; ‘God, I really hope she doesn’t tell!’ Mirabel had thought, her wide eyes boring into Dolores’. ‘I have to tell somebody!’ Dolores’ thoughts were frantic and panicked.

Your eyes wandered between the two as the bowl of avocado was shoved in Mirabel’s face, as quick as a flash, Dolores turned to Camilo and whispered in his ear; making him choke slightly as he shifted into Mirabel, your father and then himself but his facial features were all over the place. You frowned slightly, why did he shift into your father?

“Camilo, fix your face.” Your heard Félix whisper to his son and immediately shook his features back into place and stared at Mirabel with wide eyes. You glanced between the two of them as Isabela placed a jug in front of her sister, you giggled slightly before seeing Camilo turn to Félix and tell his father what Dolores had told him. Whatever it was had caused Félix to spit his water out across the table. You stared at Dolores, a frown painted across your features, she only shook her head as if telling you not to worry about it.

However, it wasn’t long until Pepa was being warned about a huge cloud she was suddenly making before she whispered to Julieta about, presumably, the same thing her husband and children were whispering to each other about.

It wasn’t long until things began going even more downhill as large cracks began forming, Dolores covered her ears as she yelled out, “MIRABEL FOUND BRUNOS VISION, SHES IN IT, SHES GONNA DESTROY THE MAGIC AND NOW WERE ALL DOOMED!” Your eyes widened as one of your fathers green tablets was pushed across the table, landing right in front of your Abuela.

‘Crap.’ Mirabel thought as she stood at the opposite end of the table. The walls around the room continued to crack and Antonio’s animals continued to go crazy as Dolores blocked her ears and squeezed her eyes tight shut. Camilo and Carlos’ gifts began playing up as the both of them began shifting uncontrollably and Luisa cried on the floor as her gift stopped working.

You watched on as the family ran from the dining room, glancing around at everyone as they blamed Mirabel, “I didn’t do anything! It’s Bruno’s vision!” She tried reasoning with them. You stared down at your plate, taking a final bite of avocado before standing up and leaving the dining room.

Least it wasn’t you that messed up this dinner.

You retreated to your bedroom for the night and decided to take a nap after all of the drama that had ensued in the moments prior.

You slept well, in the solitude and confinement of your own bedroom. You weren’t expecting to wake up and see exotic plants growing outside your window, this couldn’t be Isabela’s doing, she was only allowed to grow perfect plants. You rose to your feet, glancing out of the window to see Isabela and Mirabel jumping from the rooftops using vines, a smile graced your features when you realised that Isabela had finally dropped the princess perfecta act; her dress was splattered with multiple colours and no longer fit the perfect standard that had been forced on her for so many years.

However, their moods were about to be ruined. You watched as they dropped through the open roof of the foyer as you ran out of your bedroom to tell them how amazing it looked, however, you stopped at the balcony, noticing Abuela walking in through the doors.

“What is going on?!” Abuela asked, glancing around at the house.

“ABUELA!” Mirabel called excitedly. “It’s okay, everything’s… We’re gonna save the miracle!” The younger teen began.

You watched from the top of the stairs as Mirabel tried to explain what was going on but was cut off time and time again by Abuela. “YOU HAVE TO STOP, MIRABEL!” Abuela yelled, shutting up the teen.

You rolled your eyes, waiting for the barrage of insults to come in to play, “The cracks started with you. Bruno left because of you. Luisa’s losing her powers, Isabela’s out of control, because of you. I don’t know why you weren’t given a gift but that is not an excuse for you to hurt this family.” The elder snapped.

You shook your head at the top of the stairs, slowly descending them as you stared at Mirabel, you gave her a sad look but she simply shook her head before raising it and staring at Alma. Tears almost form in her eyes as the cracks around the walls emerged, “I will never be good enough for you, will I?” Mirabel asked, her voice breaking. “No matter how hard I try.” She spoke sadly, her tears falling down her face.

“No matter how hard any of us tries.” She gestured around to the family. “Luisa will never be strong enough. Isabela won’t be perfect enough, (name) will never be calm enough. Bruno left our family because you only saw the worst in him.” Mirabel spoke. A gulp sounded in your throat as you glanced down at your feet.

“Bruno didn’t care about this family!” Abuela tried to argue.

Your head shot up as you glared at your Abuela, you were about to say something but Mirabel beat you to it, “He loves this family. I love this family, (name) loves this fam- WE ALL LOVE THIS FAMILY. You’re the one that doesn’t care. You’re the one breaking our home.” Mirabel cried out, her voice was strained.

“Don’t you ever-” Abuela began.

“The miracle is dying, because of you!” Mirabel snapped. A rumble is what you heard before seeing a large crack form between the elder and the teenager.

The cracks began to snake along the walls and slowly began reaching up to Alma’s bedroom window where the candle sat.

“Casita, get me up there!” Mirabel called out, sprinting to make her way up to save the miracle.

You glanced around, watching on as everyone’s gifts failed them and the tiles began creating a wave, pushing everyone out of the house. Everyone was thrown out as you called out for Mirabel, “MIRABEL, LEAVE THE CANDLE! GET OUT OF THERE!” You screamed out.

‘Gotta get outta here and save these rats!’ You frowned as you heard your fathers thoughts again. You shook it off as you stared back up, watching in horror as your fathers tower fell and Mirabel went tumbling down the tiles.

You reached your arms out, “No, no, Mirabel.” You called as a large cloud of dust appeared around everyone.

You watched on as Julieta ran in to the rubble to make sure her daughter was okay, you stood there, staring around at the damage. Your eyes averted, seeing the ruins of casita before you and you couldn’t help but….

Smile?

~ Hi all! Hope you’re all well! I finished this at like 1am so I’m sorry if it’s rushed and just plain ole trash 😭 Lemme know what y’all think, angels! 😘 Stay hydrated, make sure you’ve eaten today, remember you’re loved more than you’ll ever know and stay safe, lovelies! Mwah! 💖