Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mirabel released a deep exhale as her head hit the pillow, the fatigue of the day finally catching up to her. She turned her head, looking around the empty room for the first time. So much had changed today- and yet, here she was, still. In the nursery. Alone again.

She knew she would miss Antonio when he finally got his own room, but she’d forgotten how quiet and sad it was. She was alone in a room that couldn’t even be called her own.

She shut her eyes, not wanting to stare at the empty space where his bed used to lie. Not wanting to see the marks on the floor where it once stood. Not wanting to focus on being alone again. Tears strained to appear but she wouldn’t let them.

A sequence of tapping on the wall next to her made her eyes snap open. She sat up, straining her ears, but no noises followed. Must have been her imagina- There it was again.

Four quick raps, a pause and two more. Hi.

A small grin spread, as she repeated the pattern. She paused, listening.

An arrangement of taps followed. She traced the letters as they came. -.-- y --- o ..- u, a pause, --- o -.- k .- a -.—y ..--.. ?

A tired laugh escaped her lips. She thought about her answer. Before she could respond, more taps followed.

-- .. .-. .- ..--..

Mira. It had been a long time since he’d called her that. The name bought a flood of memories, nights just like this. The two of them communicated through the walls, knowing even Dolores wouldn’t be able to hear the words said.

It had been Cami’s idea, learning the code. Way back when he’d first been forced out of the nursery, after getting their own door.

“This way neither of us will be alone,” he’d said, giving the crooked grin they always did when he was trying not to cry.

She took a deep breath, before rapping a reply.

.. .----. -- / ..-. .. -. . .-.-.- / -.- .. -. -.. / --- ..-. .-.-.- / -.-- --- ..- ..--..

She held her breath.

- .. .-. . -.. .-.-.- / .. / -- .. ... ... / -.-- --- ..- .-.-.-

She let out a choked laugh, wiping at her eyes. She’d missed him too. She didn’t realise, but they hadn’t talked, really talked, in a long time. It might have been years now.

-- .. ... ... / -.-- --- ..- / - --- --- --..-- / -.-. .- -- .. .-.-.-

She really, really missed them. God, why did they ever stop talking?

-.-. .- -. / .. / ... .-.. . . .--. / .. -. / - .... . .-. .

Now that surprised Mirabel. He wanted to sleep in her room? When was the last time they’d had a sleepover? She couldn’t even remember. More taps followed.

.--. .-.. . .- ... . --..-- / -- .. .-. .- ..--..

She scrambled to tap a quick reply, not wanting them to assume she was ignoring him.

--- ..-. / -.-. --- ..- .-. ... . / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. --..-- / -.-. .- -- .. .-.-.-

She waited for a few moments, but no reply came. Soon enough more tapping came from her door.

“Come in,” she whispered, just loud enough so he could hear.

The door peeked open, revealing the young cousin. Mirabel had to stifle a laugh as she looked at him. Wrapped completely in their blanket, like a burrito, they shuffled slowly to not trip over.

As he waddled closer to the bed, she shuffled backwards, making room for them both, opening her arms as he joined her. They wrapped their arms around her waist, and Mirabel felt him shift, becoming a slightly smaller version of themself to better fit in her arms.

She closed her arms, giving the boy a tight hug, leaning her head against their shoulder.

“Hi,” she whispered against his hair.

“Hi.”

The two stayed, wrapped in a tight embrace for what felt like hours. Eventually, Camillo returned to his normal size. He pulled back a little to rest their head on the pillow beside her.

“Hi,” he whispered again, voice cracking.

“Hi,” Mirabel laughed, despite the tears building in the corner of her eyes. “How long’s it been since we’ve done this?”

“Not since Antonio,” he whispered, their voice catching in their throat. “I missed you, Mira.”

“I missed you too, Cami,” Mirabel leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

“This place still looks the same,” they muttered absently, shifting to look around the room.

“Hmm,” she murmured in agreement. Her room was the only one in casita not constantly shifting and changing with her emotions. A constant reminder that this room wasn’t for her. She didn’t have her own room, truly. Not like the others did.

“We should fix that,” the whispered words broke her train of thought.

“What?”

“We should change it. Make it your room,” he pulled her closer again.

Sometimes she forgot how perceptive her ‘twin’ could be. Behind the jokes and shifting lay a gentle soul. A kid gifted with the ability to read people better than anyone else.

They’d once said it was because shifting into a person’s shoes gave him a more solid view of how their lives were. She knew this was just a coverup. A mask to hide the gentle, often scared child. The child who read other people’s emotions but hid their own behind a facade of ‘characters.’

“Tomorrow Cami… tomorrow. For now, sleep,” she whispered, ignoring the stinging in her eyes as she shut them.

The two dozed off in each other’s arms, the promise of a new day tomorrow keeping them both hopeful.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Cami?” Mirabel questioned, glancing nervously at the walls.

Camilo rolled their eyes. This was the fourth time she’d asked this.

“Yes, I’m sure! Trust me!”

“I just think we should ask Abuela before we-”

“Mira, you know she’ll say no!” Camilo waved his hands for emphasis only to drop the roller he was holding, scrambling to catch it. “Now,” he turned back to his cousin, “we know she’ll say no if we ask! She’s still too stuck in her ways. Buuuut, if one day the walls are suddenly a different colour, it’ll be too late for her to do anything!”

They knew Mirabel wouldn’t be able to argue. Over the last few days, ever since the incident (Camilo liked to call it The Crumbling, but Papi said that was in bad taste), Abuela had been trying. She’d been getting slightly better, but she still had a long way to go. They all did, after all…

If you’d asked Camilo, they’d say Mirabel was being too kind to the family. None of them deserved to be forgiven as quickly as they had been. Ostracized for ten years. Pushed aside at family gatherings. Tens of family photos taken with no one noticing the youngest cousin’s absence…

If it had been Camilo, they didn’t know that he’d ever have been able to forgive them… They were a horrible person… They just let their twin be pushed aside…

“Cami?” He jumped when a hand waved only centimetres from his face. “You okay?” Mirabel tilted her head to the side.

“Fine, fine!” They rushed out, not wanting her to worry. “Come on! We gotta do this before any of the adults come looking for us!” He picked up the brush, shoving it into her hands and going over to the tray to fetch one for themself. “Now, which colour should the body be?”

The two had gone to pick out paint supplies the day before and had smuggled them into the nursery that morning. Mirabel had picked three colours, saying she wanted at least a little of each of them.

“What if we did the pink on these three walls,” she gestured wildly, “the purple on the fourth,” she pointed towards the window wall, “and the blue on the baseboard.”

Camilo scoffed, “super-subtle, cuz!” He laughed, doubling over. “No one will ever catch that!”

Mirabel’s face grew red. “No one besides you has even noticed the pin yet! Jeez, these people are dense!”

“And they claim to have a good gaydar,” they wiped a tear from his eye.

“That’s only because tia Pepa knew since you were four!” Mirabel huffed. “And that was before you could shapeshift!”

“What can I say, it’s destiny cuz,” Camilo popped their collar, making Mirabel roll her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah! Get to painting, my liege,” she added a mock bow. “Hey!” She cried with a laugh as Cami flicked his brush, splashing blue paint on her.

“C’mon! Hurry up!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Ugh! This is exhausting!” Camilo drawled out, draping himself over Mirabel. “Are we done yet?”

“Get off me, gordito!” Mirabel laughed, trying to shrug the boy off. “How do you have so much pink on your face,” she poked the large spot on their cheek.

“I dropped the brush,” they grumbled, face heating up slightly.

“You’re ridiculous,” Mirabel laughed, shaking her head at the teen. “I missed this,” she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

“I did too, cachetes,” they pulled her in tightly. “Can we never stop talking again?”

“Of course, changuito.”

“Come on, we gotta finish,” he pulled back reluctantly, trying to keep down the tears threatening their eyes. “Only one more wall,” they leant down, dipping their finger in the purple and flicking it at her.

Mirabel laughed wetly but moved back to her can anyway. She waited for her cousin to turn away before dipping two fingers in the blue and pouncing on them from behind. She ran her finger across his forehead.

“Simba~” She laughed, jumping back to dodge any retaliation.

Camilo crossed his eyes, trying to see the mark, making Mirabel giggle even more.

“Careful, your face will freeze like that again!”

“Mija? What’s going on in here?” The door opened, making the two freeze, Camilo’s brush halfway to Mirabel’s face. Agustín stared at the teens, they stared back. “I hear nothing, I see nothing.” The door closed.

The two teens burst out laughing again.

An hour and a half, and five more paint-wars later, they were finally done, both of them covered in mixes of colours.

“Woo, finally!” Camillo huffed a sigh of relief, half-collapsing onto the plastic-wrapped tiles.

“That took so much longer than I thought it would,” Mirabel huffed, plopping next to them and leaning her head on their shoulder. “I’m surprised no one else’s come looking for us yet.”

“I think we have tio Agustín to thank for that,” Camilo admitted, shutting his eyes, resting his head on hers. “Can we take a nap now?” They whined.

“On what bed, Cami?” Mirabel laughed, poking his side, “it’s still in Luisa’s room, remember?” Camilo just groaned in response, flopping onto their back, dragging Mirabel back with them.

“The ground is fine,” he rolled over, laying on their stomach, “I could nap here,” eyes drifting shut.

“Come on, slacker! That’s just the walls!” She shoved his shoulder making him groan. “We still gotta get Luisa to help move the new desk and cupboard in!”

“We can do that later, nap now,” they grumbled, shifting his head to the side to give her a puppy dog look, which looked quite ridiculous with half their face smooshed against the plastic.

“Okay, fine!” She had to admit, she could go for a nap too, “but let’s at least go sleep in someone else’s room!”

“Carry me!” They whined, holding their arms out like a toddler.

“You sound like a baby,” she rolled her eyes, raising from the floor. Camilo shifted to a four-year-old version of themself, making her roll her eyes again, despite the grin on her face. “Come here,” she leaned down, picking up her now-toddlified cousin. “I’ll ask Isabela if we can sleep in there.”

Chapter Text

Bruno’s hand reached for the doorknob again, only to yank back. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t go back to that room. He just couldn’t.

He ran his hands through his hair, releasing a deep sigh, continuing his pacing.

The rest of the Madrigals were likely all asleep by now. After all, he’d been here pacing for at least 20 minutes. He just… couldn’t go in there.

The room where it all started. Well- that wasn’t entirely true. It had started long before the vision of The Crumbling (a term he’d heard Camilo used. The teen had been scolded, but Bruno thought it fit). But that was where it all emerged. Years of not being good enough. Decades of horrible visions and placing curses upon the community. Decades of neglect…

A loud squeak came from his left, bringing his attention to one of the rats that had kept him company over the years. It jumped onto his arm, running to his shoulder where he petted it under the chin.

“I know, I know, Bell. But I can’t go in there right now,” he turned his eyes back to the door. “I’ll try again in the morning,” he turned away. “For tonight, let’s just go home.”

“He says his name is Milo, not Bell,” a voice made him whirl around. It was Pepa’s youngest. Antonio.

“Oh, uh, hi, hello. Hey,” Bruno waved awkwardly. He still wasn’t used to interacting with the kids directly. Hell, when he’d ‘left’ Camilo and Mirabel had been this kids age, and this kid wouldn’t be born for 5 years. Technically, they’d never even met.

“Hi tio Bruno!” The kid waved energetically, before holding his hand out to Milo. The rat jumped into the boy's hands, running up to his shoulder. “What did you mean go home? This is your home.” The words were said so confidently, Bruno almost believed him. Almost. He resisted the urge to laugh bitterly.

The kid was just a kid. It wasn’t his fault. There’s no way he could know how little the inside of these halls was of a home for Bruno. A home was supposed to be safe. Comfortable. The only place like that for him was inside these walls.

“Yeah, I know kid,” he ruffled the youngest sobrino’s hair. “You can go back to bed now, don’t worry about me,” a tight smile graced his face.

Antonio stared up at him, not saying anything. To be honest it kinda freaked Bruno out a little. He turned to Milo as the rat began squeaking- well, speaking to the kid.

“Milo says you were going to sleep back in the walls,” he turned back to Bruno.

Bruno flinched a little. Traitorous little rat. What a snitch jeez.

“I’m fine kid, just,” he paused, looking away, unable to meet the kid’s eyes anymore. “I didn’t wanna deal with all those stairs tonight.”

“Do you wanna sleep in my room?”

“Wait, what?” He whipped his head back to face the boy.

“Come sleep in my room tonight! It’ll be fun!” Antonio leapt forward, not hesitating as he grabbed his tio’s hand and began pulling him down the hall. The man was too stunned to put up much of a fight.

No one in this family had ever offered something like that before. Not even his own hermanas.

“My room’s just so big! As cool as all the animals are, I miss Mirabel!” The kid was talking in a hush now as they walked past other rooms. “It’ll be fun to have a roomy again! And I can meet your rats!” Antonio paused, turning back to face Bruno. “Do you want to sleep in my room? You don’t have to,” he kicked at the ground a little.

Bruno was stumped. This kid was so considerate. Maybe the family had changed if this was how the youngest was. No, he thought bitterly. That was just because he had a useful gift. Of course, this kid was allowed to shine. But still…

“That’d be awesome, thanks kid,” he ruffled the boy's hair, making him laugh.

As the two walked through the hall, Bruno heard a light knocking. The two paused between Mirabel and Camilo’s rooms. Morse code, he recognised. Bruno leant down to Antonio's height.

“You hear that?”

“Yeah, I think they’re talking somehow,” Antonio whispered back, straining to listen as well.

“It’s in Morse Code.” Bruno chuckled when the kid blinked, the words clearly meaning nothing to him. “I used to hear them do it all the time, for the few months after Camilo got his room.”

“Do you know what they’re saying?”

“I taught myself a long time ago, but I’m a little rusty. Let’s see.” The two sat in silence for a few moments, Bruno listening to the knocks that followed. “That one said, ‘pink suits you.’” Another pause. “And that said, either said, ‘you make a good simba’ or ‘you make a food sasui’ I’m not sure which.” That made Antonio laugh.

“You’re funny.”

“Oh shoot, someone’s coming out,” Bruno stood up, preparing to run but the door opened before they could go anywhere.

Mirabel opened her door, stepping out cloaked completely in a quilt, freezing when she saw the two.

“Hi!” Antonio waved.

“Hi,” Mirabel whispered back, chuckling.

“Seems you’re having a sleepover too, huh kid?” Bruno laughed.

Knocking on the walls interrupted any further greetings.

“That’s Cami, I should go. Good night Anty, tio." Mirabel kissed them both on the cheek before slipping into the shapeshifters room.

“I’m glad they’re talking,” Antonio whispered as the two continued on their way to his room. “Everyone said they used to be close, but I’ve never seen them say more than a few sentences to each other!”

Bruno glanced back at the door, knowing full well what event drove a wedge between them. He’d heard them talking through the walls become rarer and rarer in the year following the two’s ceremonies.

“Yeah,” was all he said, for now, following as Antonio opened his door and lead him in.

“Welcome!” The boy half-shouted once the door shut, making Bruno scramble to shush the boy. “Don’t worry, my room is soundproofed. The animals are too loud, Delores couldn’t sleep,” he laughed, petting the cheetah that came up to him.

Bruno flinched slightly as the big cat turned to him. It stared at him a moment before flopping onto its back, tag wagging like a dog wanting belly rubs.

“He likes you!” Antonio laughed, leaning down to pet the predator. “Now Diego,” he spoke sternly to the cat, “no trying to eat the mice tonight. They’re our friends.”

The cat rolled back over, eyeing the critter on his shoulder but eventually running off to play in the trees.

“So,” Bruno said after a few moments. “Do you wanna meet my rats?” Antonio’s entire face lit up, letting Bruno know he’d said the right thing.

The two sat in the middle of the canopy, Bruno whistling to summon the other rats he’d trained. He counted as they came scampering from the walls.

“This one here is Piper,” he pointed to a rat with a curled tail, “Fella,” this rat had a bigger head, “Jewel,” a rat with a pink tail, “and Gus,” the final one looked to have a nasty bump on his head.

“Awwe, poor Gus, you okay buddy?” Antonio picked the rat up, scratching his head, avoiding the bump.

“He gets hurt all the time. Seen this rat run into more walls than you’ve been alive!”

“Reminds me of tio Agustín,” Antonio laughed. Actually, now that he thought about it…

“AH! And these are the young ones!” Bruno burst out quickly, hoping to distract the kid from that train of thought. “Izzy and Lou,” he pointed at two rats who couldn’t possibly be more different, one thin with a shiny coat, and one big with a short tail. “Della,” he pointed at a rat whose ears were almost twice the size of its head. “And these are Milo and Bella, they look very similar, I can hardly tell them apart sometimes,” he pointed at the next two. He was right, the two looked almost identical, with the only difference being that one had one blue eye and one brown, while the others were both brown. “And the one on your shoulder is Tony.”

“It’s very nice to meet you all!” Antonio said happily, putting Gus back down and holding his hands out, laughing as Milo and Bella scrambled up a hand each, running to join Tony, tickling his arms.

Antonio paused to listen to the multi-coloured eye rat. “Milo says he wants me to meet Alejando and Julia? Are those more rats?”

Bruno’s eyes lit up. “No, no, no! Alejandro and Julia are characters in- well- how about we just show you?” He turned to the group of rats playing on the ground still. “Lou, will you go grab board four for me?” The rat did a half salute before running off. “Trust me, kid, you’re gonna love this.”

Chapter Text

“I really think you should tell the kids!” Bruno pleaded. “They need to prepare for a change like this! Pepa, please,” his hermana could barely meet his eyes.

“If they know then they’ll resist.”

“And if you spring it on them it’ll be worse!”

“They won’t understand why they have to split up. It’ll be easier to just let it happen,” the storm above the woman’s head was getting dark at every moment. “I hate hiding this from my pollito but it’s for the best.” Bruno went to argue but a crack of lightning cut him off. “This conversation is over. He’s my child, Bruno, not yours.”

Bruno wanted to argue. He knew how bad this could turn out if left unchecked. He was living proof of the damage isolation from his siblings could cause. But in the end, these weren’t his kids. As much as he kind of wished they were.

“I need you to back me up. Please,” Pepa pleaded, grabbing his hands. “Brunito… please.”

He wanted to pull away. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong. Because she was.

Bruno sighed. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do, Pepita,” he met her eyes. “I don’t agree with you, but I’m here. He’s your son.”

“Thank you, Brunito,” she pulled him in, tears mixing with the raincloud now above the both of them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“But mami, I don’t want to leave the nursery!” Camilo cried, holding Mirabel tight.

“I don’t want them to leave!” Mirabel was crying now also. “I don’t want to be alone!”

“But mija,” Julieta leant down, putting a hand on the young girl’s shoulder, only for her to pull away immediately. “Sweetie, Camilo needs to sleep in their own room alone tonight.”

“I don’t want to be alone!” Camilo interrupted, glaring at his tia.

“Mijo, this is a family tradition,” Pepa tried now, reaching out to her son, only for them to slap her hand away.

“Camilo Imitar Alba Madrigal! That is not how you treat your mother!” Alma glared at the child, making them drop their head.

“Sorry mami,” he whispered.

“Now both of you, it has been long enough,” Alma was sick of this show. “Mirabel,” she turned to the girl, feeling a rush of pride when she flinched back, “you will sleep in the nursery tonight.” She held her hand up as the children began to protest again. “Camilo, you will sleep in your beautiful new room, and that is the last we will speak of this until the morning.”

The room was still, the two children still clinging to one another. None of the adults breathed a word either.

Bruno felt sick to his stomach. These poor children. He’d tried to warn them. He’d warned them all. Kids needed time to process big changes like this. Being forced to stifle their emotions wasn’t going to lead to anything other than a lumpy rug and rocky relationships.

Slowly, Mirabel let go of her cousin, making them snap his head to look at her. Tears fell more slowly from the girl’s face now.

“Cami, it’s just for tonight,” the words sounded hollow. Bruno had a feeling that the children knew this wasn’t a temporary thing. She was a perceptive young girl.

“Just for tonight?” Camilo repeated slowly, sounding hopeful.

“Just for tonight, then we shall talk about this in the morning,” Alma broke in, lying to the crying children without a hint of remorse.

“Pollito,” Pepa leant to her son’s height, “Just for tonight, I promise.”

Bile burned the back of Bruno’s throat.

“We can make it through one night,” Mirabel whispered, kissing the other child’s cheek.

“Okay. I trust you, Mira.” Despite the words, the young boy was still bawling their eyes out.

“Now, it is time for you to both go to bed. Say goodnight and then move along.”

Bruno just didn’t understand how his madre could be so cold and unfeeling. It wasn’t a new thing, she’d been like this ever since he could remember, but he still didn’t understand it. Even less so as he watched the children separate, each leaping into their mothers’ arms.

“Goodnight, Cami,” Mirabel whispered, holding her arm out to him.

“Goodnight,” he whispered back.

Another twenty minutes passed before the two children were tucked in their own beds, both still crying openly when their parents left. Bruno stood outside Camilo’s room, waiting for the child’s mother to come out.

Pepa heaved a heavy sigh as she shut the door, leaning against it. She looked up, noticing Bruno. A storm cloud crackled above her.

“Don’t start. Please.”

“You promised him?” Was all Bruno said, folding his arms?

“I had to, Brunito!” She cried, standing up straight to face him. “You saw him! They never would have gone to bed if I hadn’t!”

“So you lied to them.”

Pepa flinched back. “We’re done talking about this!” She turned, storming away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“You said it was just one night!” Camilo screamed, tears streaming down their face as they glared at their abuela.

“Camilo Imitar Alba Madrigal, stop this childishness,” her cold eyes stared him down, making him flinch.

“Pollito, please,” Pepa leant down.

“But mami, it’s been a week! You said I’d be able to go back! You promised!”

“I know I promised but mijo,” she trailed off, searching the room for help, flinching when she met Bruno’s cold stare. “Brunito, help me,” she whispered, eyes tearing up, only to have Bruno turn away.

“I warned you, Pepita.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bruno watched in horror as the door before them began to fade. The glowing object began to disappear, from top to bottom until soon there was nothing left. Just a small child, standing frozen in front of a blank wall.

Mirabel turned to face her family, tears building in her eyes. Camilo moved to spring forward, only for Pepa to hold him back, shaking her head.

No one moved. The crowd was silent. The family was frozen. Mirabel tried to meet someone’s eyes, but Bruno saw most of the adults having silent discussions with one another. No one moved to comfort the child. He couldn’t believe these people.

Bruno moved forward, leaning down to the girl’s level, opening his arms wide. Mirabel didn’t hesitate to run forward, throwing herself into the arms of the man, sobbing into his poncho. Bruno stood, glaring at the adults, but focussing specifically on Julieta.

“It’ll be okay oruguita. It’ll be okay,” he whispered into the child’s hair, wishing what he was saying wasn’t a lie.

“Why didn’t it work, tio?” Her broken voice shattered his heart even further. “Did I do something wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong mija, I promise,” he paused, glaring one last time at the adults of the Madrigal family.

Less than an hour later, Bruno found himself tucking the sleeping girl into her bed, kissing her forehead before leaving.

Outside he found Julieta, Agustín and Alma waiting for him, just as he knew they would be.

“Why didn’t the child get a gift?” Alma spoke first, eyes narrowed at the now-closed door.

“I don’t know, I don’t understand,” Julieta cried, leaning into her husband’s arms.

“Who cares.”

“Bruno!” The three gaped at him.

“What,” he deadpanned, glaring at each one of them. “I don’t know why Mirabel didn’t get a gift, and I don’t care. What I care about is the fact that none of you did anything to comfort her,” he ended his cold stare on Julieta.

“I didn’t know what to-” a sob cut her defence off, making Bruno scoff.

“Bruno, come on now, I think we all just need to calm down,” Agustín attempted, trying to play the ever-calm peacemaker.

“No,” Alma spoke again, “we need to figure out why that child,” the way she said it, spitting the words out, made Bruno want to do something he’d probably regret, “didn’t get a gift. Have a vision, find out.”

Bruno couldn’t believe the gall of these people. Caring more about some stupid power than about a sad and broken child, who is even more confused than the rest of them.

“I won’t do it.” Alma glared at him when he said this, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. There was a certain point in time, a certain point where years of never being good enough, built up. And it bubbled into an empty void of nothingness.

“You will do as I tell you,” Alma stepped closer to him, both Julieta and Agustín flinching back at the look on her face. Bruno, however, hardly blinked. “You will use that curse that you have the gall to call a gift, and you will find out how to fix that broken child.”

“She isn’t broken,” Bruno spat, glaring at her, before turning to his hermana. “Aren’t you going to say anything? This is your daughter.” Julieta looked away.

“Brunito,” Bruno flinched at the name, “we need to find out why she didn’t get a gift. We just want to understand. Please,” she met his eyes, pleading with him.

Bruno’s resolve crumbled. He didn’t want to do it. He didn’t know what they would see, but something told him it wouldn’t be good. And the child would suffer because of it.

“Please,” she whispered, eyes watering.

Bruno felt his resolve crumble. “I-” he hesitated, “for you, Juliana, I’ll do it,” he glared at his mother one last time, before looking back at his hermana. “I hope for the child’s sake I see what you all want me to see.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As Bruno stared at the tablet, he felt his heart shattering again. There was a chance it wouldn’t happen. But he knew what his family would say. He knew how it would look. He imagined what would happen to the poor child if this vision was found.

He couldn’t do that to her. Couldn’t put her through this. So he hid. He couldn’t bring himself to leave his family. Despite everything, he loved his hermanas. He loved his hermanos-in-law. And he adored the precious children they’d bought into the world. He just couldn’t leave.

But once he was in the walls, he wished he had left. Screaming, crying, fighting. The tears shed and the words said would be carved into the broken pieces of his heart for the rest of his life.

The worst part was not being able to interfere. Not being able to do anything. Having to watch as children grew apart. As secret knocks and rendezvous trickled to a slow stop. As giggling and laughing turned into tight smiles and hiding in bedrooms.

As Pepa fell pregnant, and cried his name in her sleep, asking for his help.

He almost gave it all up, then and there. Instead, he plugged his ears and turned away, wiping furiously at his tears, wishing he’d left.

He should have left.

Chapter Text

“I’m serious!” Isabela laughed at the appalled look on her hermanas’ faces.

“He really said that to you?” Mirabel sat in a mouth gaping stare.

“He did! He thought it was so smooth, too!” Isabela released Luisa’s hand, letting her know she was done.

“So, Isabela,” Camilo morphed into the ex-boyfriend, “are you going to kiss me, or am I going to have to lie in my diary?” They broke a moment later, falling back gasping for breath.

“I can’t believe you kept dating him after that,” Luisa snorted, holding her nails to her face to inspect. “I think I like the gold better; can we do more of that?” She held her other hand out.

“Of course,” Isabela picked through the tubes, “and I totally blame abuela!” she defended. “She heard it and thought it was so sweet!” That only made the others laugh more.

“Wow, who knew abuela could be charmed by cheesy lines,” Mirabel shuddered, not wanting to think about that.

“Oh, puh-lease, the line had nothing to do with it,” Camilo wiggled their eyebrows, making his cousins laugh. “I mean, I can’t be the only one who noticed how much he looks like a ripped abuelo.”

“Milo, ew!” Isabela shrieked, throwing petals at the teen, “I so didn’t need that thought in my head!”

“He was pretty attractive,” Luisa said, Camilo nodding along, “ya know, for a guy.” Luisa side-eyed her hermana, “I just thought you were too,” she flopped her wrist, making Mirabel and Camilo burst into laughter again, “for guys.”

“I don’t even know what I am,” Isabel huffed, flopping back onto the bed. “I mean,” she threw some petals in the air, “I’ve been dating him since I was sixteen. Sixteen! I haven’t even thought about it.”

“And now that you are?” Mirabel asked, lying next to the girl.

“Joinnnn ussss,” Camilo hissed, poking the girl’s side.

“What will that be, if you are? Four out of five? Not including Antonio?” Luisa counted on her fingers, holding her index finger down.

“Five out of five,” Isabela corrected, before clamping her hand over her mouth. Three pairs of eyes turned to her.

“Wait so Dolores…” Camilo trailed off, connecting the pieces in his brain.

“I shouldn’t’ve said that!” She rolled over, shoving her face into the quilt. “Don’t ask any more! She should be able to say this on her own!” The words came out muffled.

“We won’t ask, don’t worry,” Mirabel put her hand on her hermana's back.

“Wow gays really do group,” Camilo laughed, immediately easing the tension in the room. “Speaking of, does anyone else get a vibe from tio Bruno?”

“Finally! I thought it was just me!” Mirabel sprung up. “Something about him screams bisexual disaster.”

“You’d know,” Isabela laughed, shoving her hermana.

“I happen to be an expert on the matter!” They all laughed.

“Isabela, mija, are you in here?” A voice called through the door as it started to open. “Dinner’s almost ready and I can’t find- oh!” Julieta paused, looking at the four cousins sitting on the eldest’s bed. “I was wondering where you all were, it’s time for dinner.”

“Coming, mami,” Mirabel spoke for the group, standing as she brushed the petals off her dress.

“There you all are,” abuela frowned as the group entered the kitchen. “We had to set the table without you.”

“Lo siento, abuela,” Isabela spoke quietly, going back into her shell as she sat. Mirabel took the seat next to her, resting her hand on her hermana's shoulder.

“We didn’t mean to be late, abuela. Just lost track of time,” she supplied.

“Está bien, supongo. Just don’t let it happen again.” With that, the conversation was over. Silence fell over the table as the family began eating.

Mirabel glanced at her twin when she noticed their leg bobbling under the table, likely due to how much he hated prolonged silences. She tapped her foot against theirs, making Camilo snap out of a trance and look at her. She tilted her head to the side, her silent question clear.

They ducked their head closer to her, “tio Bruno isn’t here,” he whispered, barely audible.

Mirabel snapped her head up, looking around the table. Sure enough, the estranged man was missing. It was then that Mirabel realised, even if he had been there, no chair was set up for him…

The Incident was four days ago now, had he been absent from every dinner since? She felt sick. How hadn’t she noticed? All the steps they’d been making to try and improve, and no one even regarded the tio wasn’t at their family dinner?

“Hey, has anyone seen tio Bruno?” She broke the silence, glancing around, observing the family’s reaction. Abuela simply continued eating, Julieta and Pepa hung their heads but didn’t respond, Agustín and Felix exchanged glances, Isabela and Luisa avoided her eyes, Antonio at least looked around worriedly.

Dolores held the girl’s gaze before tilting her head slightly at the painting on the wall. Mirabel realised a moment later what the girl was silently conveying.

“Nieta,” abuela spoke eventually, “I wouldn’t worry about Bruno,” she took another bite. “If he wanted to eat with this family, to be a part of this family, he would be here.” The table flinched at the cold words.

Mirabel opened her mouth to shout, not sure what she was going to say but unable to sit in silence, until-

“Estas equivocado!” Camilo burst, standing suddenly. “You haven’t given him a chance to try to be part of this family!”

Mirabel stared up at the teen in shock, as did the rest of the family. This wasn’t like them, being so outspoken. Especially towards abuela…

“Camilo Imitar Alba Madrigal! Cuida tus modales!” Alma rose, glaring at the child.

“He doesn’t even have a chair, abuela! How can we expect him to show up for this family when we don’t even give him a place to do so!”

“That is enough!”

“Did you all notice that he wasn’t here before?” Mirabel eventually asked, rising to stand with her twin. “Yesterday, or the day before?”

“Mirabel, I said enough. This conversation is over,” Alma sat back in her chair, levelling the teens with a cold stare.

“You may be done talking, but that doesn’t mean the conversation is over,” Dolores spoke softly.

Mirabel and Camilo turned to face the girl in shock before glancing at each other. Neither had really expected anyone else to agree with them. Especially with the way the rest of the family were avoiding their eyes.

“If the conversation is done,” Camilo eventually spoke, “then I think I am as well,” they left.

“I thought you were going to try,” tears welled in Mirabel’s eyes. “I thought you were going to do better, but you’re not. You still don’t really care about this family,” she met Alma’s eyes, making the woman flinch. “And you,” she looked at the rest of the family, “you still are just sitting in silence and letting her do it!”

Dolores rose from her chair, pulling the younger girl into an embrace as she began to cry.

“Let’s go, Mirabel,” no one tried to stop them.

As the two rounded the corner, they met Bruno and Camilo standing in an embrace.

“Hey kids,” Bruno laughed wetly, opening his arms to the girls. “Thank you.”

Chapter Text

“So, you always knew, huh?” Bruno sat on the floor, gesturing for Dolores to take his chair.

“I heard you,” she confirmed, ignoring his gesture and sitting across from the man on the floor.

“Can I ask why you didn’t tell anyone? From what I saw with the prophecy, I thought… well I assumed…”

“That I was a gossip?” Dolores laughed, “yeah, I kinda am. I…” she trailed off, unsure if she should say. “I heard you… and I heard abuela.”

Bruno tilted his head to the side, urging her to continue.

“When she asked-” she wrinkled her nose- “you to have the prophecy. I had to protect Mirabel.”

“You were ten, kid, you shouldn’t have had to protect anyone,” Bruno sighed. “But thank you,” his smile was tired.

“I… I love my family. I just wanted to protect them. You must have felt the same way.”

“I did. Not leaving was hard, but leaving would have been impossible.”

Dolores leaned over and hugged the man. “You shouldn’t have had to make that decision either.”

A tear escaped Bruno as he wrapped the girl in a hug.

“I’m glad the kids have someone like you to look up to,” he whispered, pulling back, looking at the two, curled around each other on the floor. “Someone older who’ll stand up for them.”

“I just said what I knew was right. I sat there and listened for too long, it was time to speak.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Dolores turned her head to the side, listening. She sighed, rising to a standing position.

“Mami wants me. I should go. Goodnight, tio Bruno.”

“Goodnight, Dolores."

She gave the man one last hug, kissing her hermano and primo on the forehead before leaving.

The halls were empty when she moved the picture, crawling out. It seemed everyone had gone to bed, but Dolores heard the hushed whispers coming from each room. The almost-silent tears of her baby hermano. The sweeping abuela always did when she was stressed.

She knocked on Pepa’s door, pushing it open when she heard Felix’s quiet acknowledgement.

It was dark, storm clouds rolling around on the open sky ceiling and fog circling the room. Pepa and Felix sat on the double bed in the centre of the room, the later holding the former as she took deep breaths.

“Hi, mami, papi,” Dolores spoke as she walked further into the room. Felix gestured for her to sit with them on the bed. “Are you okay, mami?”

Pepa let out a sob, reaching toward her daughter, holding her close. “I should be asking you that, mi hija. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, mami,” she pulled back.

“Where’s Camilo? Are they okay? And Mirabel?” Felix asked, shuffling forward to hold his wife again. He held his hand out to their daughter, which she took.

“They’re fine. Asleep in tio Bruno’s room now,” she eyed the two closely, unsure of what their reaction might be. To her slight surprise, they looked relieved.

“I’m glad. He’ll look after them,” Pepa smiled, her eyes watering again, sun peeking through the clouds for just a moment. A wave of thunder crossed the room again. “We owe you both an apology. And Antonio as well, I’m sure.”

“Mami, what-” her voice caught. She hadn’t expected that.

“It’s true, mija. We haven’t been fair to you kids,” Felix squeezed her hand. “We should have stood up for you all, tonight.”

“And before that as well,” Pepa spoke. “It’s a parent’s job to protect their kids, and we sat in silence while you suffered.”

Dolores blinked back a few tears. She’d expected them to be, well not mad, but upset, with her and Milo. For making a scene. For disrupting the dinner.

“I…” Pepa trailed off a moment. “I heard you say you knew Brunito never left.”

Dolores flinched. She hadn’t meant to let that slip. “I did,” she nodded, looking away. “Are you mad?”

“Not at all, mija!” Her papi shook his head. “I think we understand why you did,” he glanced at Pepa, who nodded. “We’re just sorry you felt that- no, that you couldn’t tell us. Or anyone.”

Dolores looked away for a moment, deliberating if she should tell them. “Luisa knew,” she finally muttered. The two turned to her, wide-eyed, but didn’t say anything. “It was when I accidentally found out she was a lesbian. I told her about tio. A secret for a secret.”

“Awwe, my baby girl,” Pepa cried, pulling her into another hug. “So considerate.
”
“I’m glad you had someone to share things with,” Felix joined the hug.

Dolores took a deep breath. Guess she was doing this too. “I’m also asexual.” The room was quiet. “Ya know… while we’re talking. Thought I’d say.”

“What does that mean?” Pepa asked, pulling back to look at the girl.

Dolores’ ears burned. She’d kind of hoped they’d know what it meant so she wouldn’t have to explain it. “It means I don’t feel any sexual attraction. Like, at all.”

Felix nodded slowly, “I think I understand. So, Mariano?” He tilted his head.

“I still feel romantic attraction. Just- when I look at him, it’s the same as a nice-looking sunset. Nothing physical happens to me.”

“Thank you for telling us,” Pepa kissed her forehead.

Dolores left the two not long later, as her mami’s eyes began to droop and the sky cleared to a soft midnight blue. She still had one more stop she needed to make.

She hesitated a moment before knocking on Isabela’s door. The whispers stopped.

“Come in,” the girl called quietly.

Dolores opened the door, pausing when she saw how different the room looked now.

What was once a bright pink and purple pastel, was now filled with greens and blues and purples. Rose petals still scattered the floor; however, they were now joined by exotic-looking plants, full of bright colours and spikes.

The bed, where Isabela and Luisa sat, still hung from the ceiling, now suspended by a tangle of tree roots instead of neatly trimmed vines.

“We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

Isabella and Luisa glanced at each other, wincing slightly as their cousin let herself in. They’d both been expecting this, knowing it was only a matter of time before Dolores hunted them down.

“Heyyyy Dela, what’s up?” Luisa asked, her grin coming off as a grimace.

“Hey? That’s it?” Dolores stood in front of the two, crossing her arms.

“Look,” Isabella stood up quickly, “we know we screwed up. If that’s all you came to say, you can leave,” she moved over to a group of Heliconia’s growing by her dresser.

Dolores sighed, unfolding her arms, sitting on the bed next to Luisa. “I didn’t come here to attack you, Bel. I just want to-” she paused, struggling for the words. “I don’t know, talk.”

“Yeah, I know,” Isabela sighed, moving away from the plant, “sorry.”

“We’re really sorry we didn’t back you up earlier,” Luisa eventually muttered, picking at her nail polish.

“I didn’t know what to say,” Isabela nodded, folding her arms in on herself. “If it were just about Mira I would have, but… I don’t- I don’t know how to defend tio. He left. We all spent the last ten years pretending he never existed! How do you come back from that?”

Luisa glanced at Dolores, who nodded. “He never actually left, Isa. He’s been here the whole time.”

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“He’s been hiding in the walls. I heard him from the first night,” Dolores confirmed, eyeing the girl carefully.

“And you never told us?” Isabela glared at the girl. “Tia Pepa and mami barely spoke to each other for a year! Abuela was worse than ever! Why didn’t you tell us?”

Dolores looked down, swallowing thickly. “I was scared… of what abuela would do to him and Mira, if she saw the vision.” Isabella’s eyes widened.

“But you told Luisa. And not me,” Isabela frowned, turning away, pulling herself tighter.

Dolores blinked, surprised. She’d expected her prima would be upset about the secret, but not because Dolores confided in her younger hermana.

“It wasn’t her fault, Isa. She said it to make me feel better when I accidentally outed myself,” Luisa stood up, going to pull her hermana in for a hug. The older girl didn’t unfold her arms, but she didn’t pull away.

“So he never actually left. And both of you knew,” Isabela pulled away, sitting on the bed again. “That doesn’t change the fact that he disappeared for ten years. He can’t just… come back and expect it to go back to normal. Right?” She glanced at her hermana, who reluctantly nodded.

It was silent for a few moments. “Would you have shown people the vision?” Dolores asked suddenly, making the hermanas blink. “Image you knew something, a shaky, half-guarantee that might destroy this family from the inside.” Isabela and Luisa looked down. “A vision of the future that could have easily resulted in a five-year-old being thrown out by her family. Would you show people the vision?”

“No,” Isabela sighed, “but he didn’t have to run away. He could have pretended- I don’t know, made something up. Pretended there was no vision, or make up a fake one.”

“Okay. So assume he broke the tablet and didn’t show anyone. If you were abuela, and your son was being cagey and refusing to show you a vision he had about the future of the magic. Would you assume all was well, or would you think the worst?”

“She would have thought the worst,” Luisa grumbled, her shoulders dropping as her resolve crumbled.

“Hiding was the only option,” Isabela agreed with a sigh, flopping onto her back.

“Tio Bruno loves this family, just like the rest of us,” Dolores smiled bittersweetly. “He left and lived in the walls for ten years. Because he was protecting Mirabel. Only the rats to keep him company,” she looked down sadly.

Dolores had her own regrets about it all. About how she’d handled the secret. She could have told him that she knew. They could have kept the secret together. She could have kept him company. But she didn’t. She stayed quiet. Just like she always did. Leaving him with only the rats.

“Did you know he named his rats after us?” She said suddenly, choking down a sob. “He loves us, and he missed us so much, he gave his rats a name close to each of ours.”

“Dela,” Luisa whispered, sitting next to the girl, putting her arms around her.

Dolores wrapped her arms around her cousin’s waist. “I knew he was here and I left him alone with the rats.” The dam broke, tears streaming down her face. “I- I was the only. The only one who- kn-knew about him, and I let him suffer alone.”

“Dolores, no!” Isabella sat up, putting her arms around the girl as well. “You were eleven. Don’t blame yourself.”

“Isa’s right Dela. You were too young to do anything. We all were,” Luisa chocked, the unspoken words clear. They were too young before, but now they weren’t they had to do better.

“We all owe him an apology,” Isabela whispered, trying to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “We’ll do better.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Camilo woke up, they found themself laying with Mirabel on a wooden floor, a pillow under their heads and a blanket draped over the top of them. He sat up, squinting to look through the dark room. This definitely wasn’t their room, there was a substantial lack of clutter laying across the floor.

A gravelly noise made them whip his head to the left, where he found tio Bruno, snoring loudly, laying in a dark green and brown hammock.

Part of them wanted to curl up and go back to sleep, but a bigger part longed to see the damage they’d done last night. Maybe even de-escalate the situation, if there was one, before Mira and tio Bruno even woke up.

He slowly shifted, trying to free themself from Mirabel’s grasp, only to wince when she grumbled, hand still gripping their wrist. They waited a few moments, making sure she was still asleep, before shifting into Cecilia, pulling her smaller wrist out of her cousin’s grasp.

Camilo shuffled the rest of herself out from under the blanket before tucking her cousin back in. Slowly, she opened the door and shut it once more, sighing in relief once she’d made it out, only then shifting back into themself.

When they opened the tunnel, the halls were empty, which surprised him. The sun was high in the sky, meaning it was at the earliest ten. Surely people would be awake by now.

Camilo peeked around the doorway to the kitchen, letting out a relieved breath when he saw only Isabela. No sign of abuela or his parents thankfully, all must still be in their rooms.

“Morning, Izzy!” They shouted, rounding the corner, sniggering when Isabela jumped and dropped a pot she was holding.

“Milo! Don’t do that!” Isabela huffed, tossing a mix of petals and thorns in their face, making him wince.

“Ey, ey! Watch it with the thorns, princess!” They picked a wild thorn out of their hair, holding it close to her face. “You could poke an eye out with this thing!”

The room was quiet for a moment before the two started laughing.

“Yeah, yeah, how dramatic,” Isabela scoffed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“So, what’s for breakfast?” Camilo smirked, shifting into Cecilia to dodge another flurry of petals thrown at her face.

“I was actually thinking of eating out this morning. I need to get out of the house,” Isabela huffed, blowing a piece of hair out of her eyes. “I was thinking changua. You wanna join?”

Camilo perked up, nodding wildly. It’d been ages since they’d had a bowl of changua, what with the warm summer mornings of recent. Luckily that morning wasn’t overly warm yet, so it would be perfect for the dish.

“It’s been a while since we hung out, let’s make a day of it!” Isabela grew excited. She’d always enjoyed spending time with the younger cousin, they riffed well with each other, knowing they could make jokes and throw flowers respectively, without the other getting upset.

“Sure! Sounds fun!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Ooh, how cute is this dress?” Isabela held the garment in front of her, waiting for her cousin to turn to see.

“Huh?” Cami spun to face the girl. In her hands was a lavender midi dress, with off the shoulder sleeves and deep blue and green splotches covering the skirt and sleeves, making it perfectly match Isabela’s new colour pallet. How she managed to find it in the stack of pinks and purples, Camilo would never know.

“Shorter than what you normally wear,” he gestured at her long dress, “but really nice. Are you gonna get it?”

“I think so,” the girl held it up to the light, smiling. “I need some clothes that aren’t just stained pollen,” she laughed, gesturing at the red and royal purple dress she was wearing.

Camilo watched, a small smile on their face, as Isabela began looking through the rest of the market for similar dresses. “You look a lot happier,” they eventually pointed out. “I’m glad.”

“Yeah. It’s weird, I feel like…” Isabela trailed off a moment. “Like I don’t even know who I really am. And I’m just starting to figure that out. Does that sound stupid?” She turned back to the teen.

“Hey, look at who you’re talking to!” Camilo went through a few quick shifts, from an older lady to a small boy, and then a young woman, before finally themself again, making Isabela laugh.

Isabela continued going through the open racks, looking for any other materials she might be able to either wear or use. So far, she’d picked up the dress from earlier, as well as a similar one with a yellow base and red splotches, and two rolls of green and pink fabric. She’d been meaning to have Mirabel teach her how to sew, a bonding experience between the two.

Finally happy with her selection, she spun to try and find her cousin, only to crash into someone, sending them both toppling to the floor, the fabric rolling out of Isabela’s hands.

“Sorry, sorry!” A voice called, close to Isabela’s face. “I totally wasn’t looking! Didn’t mean to bowl ya over.”

Isabela winced, opening her eyes to see a hand shoved in her face, which she took, using it to stand up. “I’m fine, don’t worry about-” the assailant used too much strength, making Isabela stumble, ending up only centimetres from the girl- “it…”

She blinked, staring into the eyes of the young woman in front of her. The woman had warm sepia skin, her deep caramel eyes shining with amusement. Her hair was a dark brown with a scarlet ombre, tied into a pineapple style on top of her head. She wore a loose, white, one-shoulder crop top, paired with a pair of light denim ripped shorts, and white wedge heels. The woman was really pretty.

A few beats passed and her lips started to tilt into half a smirk, making Isabela realise she was still standing- far too close- staring.

“Sorry!” She rushed out, heat racing up her cheeks as she stumbled backwards, only to slip on one of the dropped fabrics.

“Woah, there! You alright?” The woman was clearly trying not to laugh, as she stabilised Isabela, one hand on her shoulder and one on her waist.

“I’m fine, sorry,” Isabela laughed sheepishly, internally cursing herself. “I’m not normally this much of a mess, I promise.”

“I’ve heard,” the woman laughed, making Isabela blush even more, and avoid eye contact by leaning down to pick up her dropped items. She turned to leave, hoping to not embarrass herself any further, only to have the girl call out to her.

“Don’t forget this one,” she held out the yellow and red dress. “It’s really cute, it’ll suit you,” the stranger winked before walking away, leaving Isabela’s mouth flapping like a fish.

“Hey, Isa, there you are!” Camilo called, waving at her from across the market. Slowly, she blinked, shaking her head, sending one last glance at the long-gone girl, before making her way back to her cousin.