Englishman in the Encanto

Mirabel was vibrating with what was a mix of excitement and anxiety as she stumbled out of Bruno’s room, the emerald shards of her uncle’s last vision secured in her bag.

After her talk with Luisa that morning, her resolve was even stronger. She couldn’t believe her sister felt weak. What was happening to her? She had to understand what this vision was and fast.

“Where are you coming from in such a hurry?”

Uh oh.

Mirabel froze. Abuela was standing in front of her.

Suddenly, the emerald shards in her bag made her feel as if the spot on her hip against which the bag leant was burning her flesh, “Huh, Abuela…”

“What is in your hair?”

Mirabel reached for her hair before Abuela could actually register that it was sand from Bruno’s room. She gave a short nervous laugh and opened her mouth to answer when Luisa stomped up the stairs. Mirabel was relieved for a moment then she saw that her sister was bawling.

“I’m losing my gift!”

Abuela immediately turned to her, “What?”

“I’m losing my gift!” Luisa repeated, “Mirabel and I were having this little talk about how I take on too much, so I tried to take a little less but then I was behind with chores and I was letting everyone down so I was grabbing all the donkeys but when I went to put the donkeys in the barn they were… HEAVY!”

Under Abuela and Mirabel’s stunned looks, Luisa broke down into sobs again and ran away to her room.

Abuela rounded on Mirabel, “What did you do? What did you say to her?”

“N-nothing, I just…”

“Mirabel!” Abuela said warningly, but before she could say anything else the church bell rang, “I have to go meet the Guzmans for Isabela’s engagement, stay away from Luisa until I can talk to her and whatever you’re doing, stop doing it!”

The injustice was unbelievable: she’d done nothing, just told her sister that she carried too much. Was that so horrible to say? Could it be that was enough to make Luisa lose her gift?

Mirabel just stood there, frozen in her spot as Abuela vanished down the stairs.

A hand landed on her shoulder and Mirabel jumped.

She turned sharply to see Sirius standing behind her.

“You look like you need a hug.”

Mirabel nodded and threw her arms around his waist, dropping her forehead on his chest and he gave her a tight one-armed hug that kind of felt like Tío Félix.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears and her throat seemed clogged like an obstructed drain when she spoke, “I wish you were my Tío too…”

She couldn’t tell why she felt him tense at that but just when she thought he was going to release her, he tightened the hug, patting her back, “Merlin, you’d get along splendidly with my Harry…” Mirabel opened her eyes and looked up at him, and he grinned at her, “He even has round glasses like you!”

Mirabel smiled, not really knowing why she suddenly felt better. Was it the fact that someone had merely taken the time to comfort her without telling her to shut up and not say anything? She doubted she had much in common with their guest but somehow he was the first person she met who seemed to really understand her feelings of inadequacy.

“Perhaps I can meet him?” she asked hesitantly.

“Maybe,” he said softly and it seemed to Mirabel as if he didn’t want to get his hopes up, “I think he’d like you.”

“Mirabel?”

“Ah – Mamá,” Mirabel played with her hair when she noticed her mother peek up the stairs from the entrance to the kitchen.

Sirius released her with a sudden jerky move, but his hands remained on her shoulders, “I think she deserves some of that excellent hot chocolate of yours, Julieta.”

“Huh?”

Julieta smiled at Mirabel’s bemused expression, “You think, huh?” she asked Sirius.

Mirabel turned to Sirius as well and he grinned at her, “Nothing better than hot chocolate with your mother when you feel down,” he told her, “Believe me.”

“Come along, Mirabel,” Julieta said.

“Mamá,” Mirabel started as Sirius pushed her toward her mother but Julieta shook her head.

“You haven’t eaten enough at breakfast anyway.”

Sirius kept smiling as he waved at Mirabel while Julieta dragged her away.

Mirabel found it unusual that her mother took her in the kitchen and served her chocolate santafereño all the while smiling a mysterious smile but genuinely interested when asking her what was wrong. But Julieta was always interested at first and when Mirabel tried to speak she would just tell her that she was just as special as anyone else in the family and would try to distract her from her problems. As much as she loved her mother’s warm hugs and kisses, Mirabel wasn’t going to bother wasting time with that strange loving dance with her mother, not when the miracle was at stake.

Mirabel could see that Julieta was hurt when she finally struggled free of her mother’s love and brightly told her she was busy and didn’t want to bother Julieta anymore while she had to prepare for Isabela’s engagement (she might have sounded a bit bitter there). Still, Julieta let Mirabel go just as Agustín came into the kitchen, distracting them both.

Mirabel slipped away and settled in the nursery.

She went to spread the emerald glass shards on her dresser, deep in thought.

“Why am I in your vision, Bruno?” she whispered.

The sound of thunder made her jump.

“Tía!” Mirabel exhaled, calming down at the sight of her aunt with a basket in her hands, “Jeez!”

“Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to –” Pepa said, throwing the basket on the other dresser in the room, “Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!” she pushed her cloud out of the room and shut the door behind it, “I wanted to get the last of Toñito’s things and then I heard… the name we do not speak!” a dark ominous cloud formed on her head, complete with thunder and lightning, “Great! Now I’m thundering! And that will lead to a drizzle and the drizzle will lead to a sprinkle… clear skies! Clear skies…”

“Tía Pepa?” Mirabel started slowly, “If Br… if he had a vision about you,” she spoke carefully, minding the dark cloud over her aunt’s head, “What would it mean?”

“We don’t talk about Bruno,” Pepa chanted automatically as she grabbed Antonio’s things from the dresser angrily.

“I mean hypothetically…”

“Mirabel, please!” Pepa complained, “We have to get ready for the Guzmans!”

“I know but was it generally positive or less positive —?”

“IT WAS A NIGHTMARE!”

“Félix!” Pepa reprimanded her husband after he had barged into the room.

“She needs to know, Pepi, she needs to know.”

Pepa was quick to jump to her feet and run up to him, “We don’t talk about Bruno!”

Félix ignored her, “He would see something terrible and then – Crack! Ta-ta-ta-ta! Bada-Boom! It would happen!”

“We don’t talk about Bruno!” Pepa insisted, obviously incensed about the subject.

“But what if you didn’t understand what he saw?” Mirabel asked.

“Then you’d better figure it out because it was coming for you!”

“We don’t talk about Bruno!” Pepa shouted shrilly, “But!” she turned to her niece, exasperated, “On my wedding day there weren’t any clouds in the sky, thank you very much, but then Bruno happens. He walks in with that mischievous grin of his and says ‘it looks like rain’! Well, he did it! I lost it and – a hurricane! I got married in a hurricane!”

“It was a joyous day anyway,” continued Félix, looking at his wife, starry-eyed, “But why did he tell her?”

“So, no, we don’t talk about Bruno!”

Mirabel was shoved out of the nursery by her aunt and uncle and she stood there on the balcony for a moment, stunned, as she listened to Tío Félix try to calm down his wife.

She hoped that maybe her mother would be more willing to tell her something when she was caught by the arm by Dolores. Her cousin looked at her apprehensively for a moment and Mirabel wondered about the pity and pain in Dolores’s eyes as she bit her lip.

“I grew up in fear of Bruno stuttering and stumbling. He’s always sort of muttering and mumbling, so I associate him with the sound of falling sand. You know, it’s a heavy lift with a gift so humbling, a great burden,” Dolores said and Mirabel tilted her head, noticing the different out-take her cousin had on the subject, “He always left Abuela and the family fumbling, grappling with prophecies they couldn’t understand, do you understand?”

Mirabel suddenly found herself shoved in a corner of the house. Obviously Dolores wanted to take her somewhere, perhaps she was going to say more?

They didn’t get far, though, because Camilo’s head popped out from the entrance hall and he grinned at them both, “I’m surprised you don’t remember him, Mira!” he said, “We’re the same age!” he shifted with a swirl of his ruana, “A seven-foot frame and rats along his back! When he calls your name it all fades to black! He sees your dreams and feasts on your screams!”

“Camilo, honestly!” Dolores said, her hands on her hips at his singing.

Mirabel was staring at the man Camilo had turned into, a seven-foot frame indeed, a pale face with dark greasy curls and eyes glowing bright green. Mirabel thought that the figure did seem familiar but it didn’t seem anything like the few, faded memories she had of her uncle. In fact, the only thing that did seem to compare with her memories was the green ruana and the sound of falling sand Dolores talked about.

Mirabel was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear Dolores call her name or see her smack Camilo upside the head.

While she barrelled through Casita, she thought she saw Sirius standing in the kitchen door frame but she couldn’t waste any more time.

She took a stroll in town and ended up going to confession to Padre Cristian, who told her how Bruno had told him he would lose his hair, and somehow the conversation went past confession and got both Osvaldo and Señora Pezmuerto roped in, who were all very happy to tell her how Bruno had cursed them into growing a gut and having their pet goldfish killed respectively.

Mirabel thought they all sounded stupid reasons to say that Bruno cursed them but she knew a thing or two about patterns and it did seem that every time her uncle made a prediction it turned out to be true.

She went back to Casita, thinking that the trip to town hadn’t helped at all and was stopped by Isabela, who scoffed at her with her hands on her hips.

“I hear you’re going around asking about Tío Bruno. Stop that at once, before you make even more trouble,” she paused, frowning disapprovingly at Mirabel, then sighed, “Just so you don't get any funny ideas like you always do, he wasn’t as bad as people say, you know. He told me that my power would grow like the grape grows on the vines. But stop asking before you get us all in trouble with Abuela!”

Mirabel had different feelings on the subject. On the one hand, she certainly didn’t want to cause trouble, especially since she was still a little rattled by her trip to her uncle’s room and her encounter with Abuela, which she was feeling better about only thanks to Sirius’s impromptu hug. On the other hand, Isabela always knew how to push her buttons and why did her sister dislike her so much? She was the one everyone loved, the only one to get a good vision from Bruno (big surprise there!) when Mirabel was at the centre of a terrible one, what did Mirabel ever do to her?

Dolores popped in front of her so suddenly that Mirabel was startled because she hadn’t really seen her.

“If you really have to know,” her cousin said quickly, “He told me that the man of my dreams would be betrothed to another. But people really didn’t understand him,” she rolled her eyes when the voice of Abuela called her to order, “Hm!” she squeaked, “We’ll continue this later…”

Mirabel watched her go, confused, then moved to the kitchen. She didn’t enter right away, though, because she heard some whispered voices.

“Sirius, relax.”

Mirabel frowned at the clear sound of a sob. It didn’t come from her mother.

“Take a deep breath and calm down. Mirabel!”

Mirabel blinked. Still deep in thought, Mirabel must have moved from her spot so, having been found out, she moved and stepped forward when she saw her mother sitting in front of Sirius.

He flinched at hearing Julieta call her daughter’s name so hard that he knocked both his and Julieta’s glasses on the floor and he had a haunted look on his face, a truly scary look when he glanced back to see her standing there.

His whole body seemed extremely tense and he was far from the kind man who had comforted her just earlier. He sharply turned his back to her and it was the first time he wasn’t cordial to her, Mirabel noticed, though the instant of hurt she felt passed when she noticed his shoulders slump and the shaky sigh he gave.

“Mamá, I wanted to talk…”

“Mira,” called her mother, a hand on Sirius’s shoulder, leaning toward their guest, “Mira, don’t come in, please, there’s glass on the floor. I’m sorry, corazon, I am very busy right now. Can it wait?”

Mirabel tilted her head but nodded and hesitated just a moment out of earshot. She looked back to see Sirius hide his face in his hands, “I’m so sorry, Julieta – I didn’t mean –”

“It’s alright,” her mother replied to his whisper, “You have a right to your feelings. I actually agree with you, you know!”

Without answering, Sirius raised the stick Mirabel had seen him use before. With a swift movement he waved it over the broken glasses and they all repaired themselves, much like he’d done with Mirabel’s candle-holder before Antonio’s ceremony.

“Ah, there,” Mirabel saw her mother give Sirius an amused laugh, “See, no harm done.”

Her mother knew? Mirabel hesitated again but Julieta caught sight of her over Sirius’s shoulder and shook her head at her.

Mirabel took a deep sigh and shrugged, deciding that she had other things on her mind, more important things than Sirius’s mood swings. She liked Sirius a lot, she really did, but he’d demonstrated several different moods already and she would have liked to help him with those if it weren’t for the cracks.

She’d have to speak to him, he’d promised to help her and she knew he would, but if he was upset right now – whatever it was that he was upset about – Mirabel knew she could wait for a while. He’d been so kind to her that she owed him a little privacy right now.

She ran back to the nursery – was it her room now? No, it wasn’t, she would just stay there alone before the next child was born. She shook her head to banish that line of thought. She had more important things to think about right now.

Mirabel put all the glowing emerald shards on her dresser much like she’d done earlier before being interrupted by Tía Pepa. This time no one came to stop her while she did the oddest puzzle game she’d ever done.

Her blood froze in her veins as she saw herself – the image was what she’d seen in Bruno’s room but with the full picture she saw herself in front of a cracking Casita.

“Miraboo?”

Mirabel gasped and turned sharply to see her father waltz into the nursery.

“Miraboo, do you have your party pants on? Because I do – Huh?”

Mirabel clumsily tried to hide the glowing image from Agustín’s view but even with Casita moving the dresser a little behind her, he’d seen.

“I –”

Mirabel knew there was nothing she could do to deny what had just happened, “I broke into Bruno’s tower, I found his last vision, the family is in trouble, the magic is dying, the house is breaking, Luisa’s gift is fading and I think it’s all because of – me?” her nervous grin vanished when Agustín stayed silent and open-mouthed, “Pá?”

Agustín pushed her aside gently and stared at the image on the green glass for a while longer.

“We say nothing!” he said finally, gathering the shards and shoving them in his pockets, “Abuela wants tonight to be perfect. Till the Guzmans leave, you did not break into Bruno’s tower, the magic is not dying, Luisa’s gift is not fading, no one will know. Just act normal!” he whispered quickly to her. Mirabel stared back in his bespectacled eyes and blinked at his plan, as he took her by the shoulders and shook her worriedly, “No one has to know!”

The door creaked as it opened, showing Dolores on the other side of the balcony, right in front of Abuela’s room.

“I know.”

Mirabel and Agustín watched her hurry away.

“She’s gonna tell everybody.”

“Mièrcoles!”

Just moments later, Sirius, sitting next to Julieta at the Madam’s left (because the spot to the right he’d been assigned to these days was tonight reserved for the old lady mother of that Mariano bloke supposed to marry Isabela), found himself witnessing the oddest stare down he’d seen since the one where his cousin Andromeda ended up confessing to the entire family her relationship with the man who would become her husband, the Muggleborn Ted Tonks.

Maybe it was his earnest desire for this stupid dinner to be over and done with so he could run to Bruno and help him prepare for his grand return but the meal seemed to go on for hours to Sirius. The slightly manic look in Julieta’s eyes had been mistaken as being emotional that her oldest daughter was getting engaged but by the way she kept patting his bony wrist and sending him excited smiles, Sirius knew it was more about her brother than anything else.

Sirius wondered not for the first time what was the point of this engagement anyway. It seemed that the only one truly invested in it was Madam Madrigal. And, sure, Mariano’s mother. The lad seemed a nice enough bloke, Sirius had spoken to him briefly at Antonio’s ceremony the night before, as, being the novelty he was in the Encanto, Sirius had been stalled by many villagers throughout the night, including Mariano. The young man had been pleasant, masquerading his curiosity better than most, asking politely about Sirius’s home country without the frequent suspicion he’d seen from some people here.

It still amazed Sirius how far away from the rest of the world this place was. In a good way. Azkaban was away from the rest of the world as well but he wouldn’t wish that place to anyone, not even Severus Snape – well, maybe – no, really, not even Snape.

There was such tension in the air that Sirius wondered if it was electricity from Pepa’s clouds, though the weather in the room was pleasant enough and so it was more so that at the other side of the table Mirabel kept her eyes straight on her cousin Dolores.

Next to his youngest daughter, Agustín was shaking like a leaf, his face sporting an awkward smile that was meant to be jovial but really wasn’t.

Luisa, on her father’s other side, had her shoulders slumped and such a pained expression that Sirius thought someone had died.

Dolores stared at Mirabel with a tense expression as well, eyes wide, ready to speak at a moment’s notice. About what, Sirius wasn’t sure but Mirabel clearly knew and didn’t want her to tell.

Camilo seemed to understand that there was something happening here but with the dinner going on he couldn’t say anything.

Félix and Pepa didn’t seem to know what to do and Antonio was completely oblivious to everything.

Mariano kept sending enamoured glances at Isabela who smiled back politely but Sirius was still surprised that no one noticed that she would have run to the hills had there been the chance.
The only one to keep the conversation going, the Madam kept conversing with Mariano’s mother whom Sirius found rather rude. Who started an engagement dinner telling the host ‘let’s hope tonight doesn’t end up as a horrible disaster’? Sirius would have thrown her out of the house for that comment, had he been in the Madam’s place.

He thought the people from town thought of the Madrigals as some kind of benevolent royalty. So, with that in mind, they should have all been honoured to enter the family instead of being spoiled and rude and taking the whole Madrigal family for granted. Sirius remembered the people who met with his Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella to bargain a match for his cousins and he rather doubted that the custom here was to insult your host and perspective in-laws when people like Lucius Malfoy had been so oily ready to lick his uncle’s boots for a chance to marry Narcissa.

The Madrigals were so very different from the Blacks, they actually did deserve the grace and awe people were always ready to bestow upon the Blacks.

They were pillars of the community but Sirius would feel honoured even if they weren’t pillars of the community: he’d witnessed their kindness and generosity first-hand. And how couldn’t he love this loving family Bruno was born into?

These were some of the best people Sirius had ever met in his life and he’d met some amazing people in his life. Their warmth and good heart reminded him of the Potters, who’d always welcomed him, especially when he ran away from home.

He certainly hoped they would all share the acceptance Dolores and Julieta had shown him and Bruno when they finally revealed that they were involved.

“Mirabel?”

Sirius turned toward the other side of the table, where Mirabel, sitting between her father and Isabela, was being addressed by a concerned Mariano, who looked at the younger girl.

“Everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine!” Mirabel said in a high-pitched voice that gave out the bald-faced lie.

“Yes!” added Agustín, “She’s just excited for you to propose, which – huh – you should do – as soon as you can!”

Sirius noticed Dolores turning quickly to Camilo, who was so shocked that he turned into Mirabel, Bruno and then himself, though with his face looking like the one of a victim of a spell gone wrong.
“Camilo,” whispered Félix, “Fix your face!”

Camilo obeyed his father but then whispered in his ear enough to let him spit the water he’d been drinking. Mirabel was fidgeting, clumsily running around the dining room and trying not to get any attention and managing the exact opposite.

Sirius was staring at the young girl who sent him a terrified look before throwing Mariano forcibly into a kneeling position to propose to her sister. Suddenly thunder rolled and Sirius had only just managed to look up when he felt Julieta’s nails in his forearm. He turned to her but she only managed to glance at him after staring at Mirabel.

He wasn’t exactly sure because in her frenzy Mirabel spoke too fast for Sirius to understand but she and Agustín were suddenly trying to catch a couple of Antonio’s coatis.

They weren’t successful because something emerald slid all over the table, ending up right in front of the Madam, who looked down at the slab of green glass, apparently unaware of the storm that had engulfed the entire room, raining on them all.

“Mirabel found Bruno’s vision! She’s in it! She’s going to destroy the magic and now we’re all – DOOMED!”

Oh, boy.

Sirius too stared at the green glass depicting Mirabel in front of a cracking house – the Madrigals’ very own Casita.

He didn’t know how this emerald tablet was Bruno’s vision – how did the Seer make it? – but clearly everyone recognised it as such. Was this a recording of some kind? He heard there was a Record of Prophecies in the Department of Mysteries but that was all he knew and he doubted Bruno had visions and then spent his time engraving emeralds, especially when people always gave him grief about his visions.

In the chaos, Mariano got punched in the nose by a plant suddenly sprouting from the floor – courtesy of Isabela, though it didn’t seem intentional on her part. Boo-hoo, the man ran away from the house with his mother on his heels, without letting Julieta heal him. The Madam ran after them, shouting what looked like apologies to Sirius, though he couldn’t be sure…

Agustín ran after Luisa who sprinted away from the dinner table sobbing after having failed to bring the piano over for Mariano to sing a song? To propose? Sirius wondered if it was customary or just a stupid idea of Mariano – or, more probably, his mother.

Pepa ran from the room as well, asking Mirabel what had she done while the girl tried to explain herself to her grandmother.

“It’s not me!” Mirabel shouted desperately, “It’s Bruno’s vision! I –”

Alone in the dining room with Julieta and Dolores, now that Camilo and Félix ran after Pepa and Antonio had gathered all his animals to reprimand them about their mischievous behaviour, Sirius waved his wand to give Julieta a break.

The woman was still in shock, staring at the emerald glass on the table while cutlery, plates and glasses floated around her and invisible hands put away all the remaining food in containers.

“He – he left for her.”

Sirius paused as the last bowl was covered and sent into the pantry, the table and the whole kitchen and dining room spotless, though the walls and floor were completely covered in cracks.

“Dios mio, Sirius,” she whispered, looking up at him with a face that told Sirius that perhaps he ought to have kept one of those bowls because Julieta was soon to be sick, “Bruno left for Mirabel,” Sirius stared confused, as Julieta’s eyes filled with tears, “This is one of Bruno’s visions,” she explained in a shaky voice, “Mamá thought he didn’t care about us but he must have gone into hiding because of this. He must have. He must have thought – oh, Sirius, he hid to protect Mirabel,” Julieta’s voice broke and she hid her face in her hands, “Ay, Bruno…”

Sirius reached to touch her shoulder but, much like Mirabel had done earlier in the day, she was quicker and hid her face in his chest. He wasn’t sure where everyone had gone but he did his best to comfort her, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder with a “There, there.”

His best was so, so lame.

Sirius wasn’t sure how long he was there patting Julieta’s shoulder, his anger boiling in his stomach at what he’d seen going on.

Isabela not being engaged to this guy wasn’t much of a tragedy, if he was honest. The girl’s smile was forced enough that her rage as she told her sister she hated her was very much uncalled for.

Pepa was clearly agitated and people kept trying to calm her down instead of letting her just work through her emotions, which were clearly overwhelming her. Even her husband and children, who did it out of love, kept talking softly to her to keep her calm like one would a rabid dog. As someone with a quick temper himself, Sirius knew he would have exploded five seconds into being told to calm down.

Dolores had rushed to some corner of the house, cowering in the wake of her mother’s thunder. Sirius was conflicted. She was overwhelmed herself but she’d just created a lot of trouble for Mirabel and Bruno too. He was trying very hard to understand her reasoning but he was too preoccupied in trying to comfort Julieta.

He’d heard Luisa bawling all the way to her bedroom, followed by Agustín’s pleas for her to wait.

A cough caught his attention and he turned to see Agustín’s stern face as he saw their guest comfort his wife, Julieta, bawling with her face hidden in his chest, with her arms wrapped around his waist.
Probably because he was stressed from the current situation, Agustín’s face settled on anger and he frowned deeply at Sirius.

“You don’t waste time, do you?”

Sirius froze. His anger was still bubbling in his stomach, kept alive by all that he’d seen and especially by Julieta’s wailing and the knowledge that Bruno had been gathering his things on the other side of the kitchen wall and had seen and heard everything for sure.

“What?”

“You heard me!” Agustín spoke in a challenging tone, “The moment this family is in disarray you make your move and try to seduce my wife —”

“You’re joking, right?” Sirius replied in a dangerous voice.

“And why are you taking advantage of my wife’s grief? You clearly have no one who cares about you so you decide to take my Julieta? After everything we have done for you!”

“Ay, Agustín!” Julieta jumped to her feet, releasing Sirius but keeping a firm grip on his wrist, “You have it completely wrong!”

“Wrong?” Agustín’s voice was strangely high-pitched, “We were nothing but kind to him and the moment – you think I didn’t see it the other night? He said you were sad about your brother but he was really —”

“Agustín, I told you the truth,” Sirius said, exasperated, “Julieta is a wonderful woman and you are a very lucky man but I am not interested. I told you I don’t swing that way.”

“I know and I know that you were just trying to cover your tracks…”

“Ay, Agustín!” Julieta repeated, releasing Sirius’s wrist and going to cup her husband’s face with her hands, “Sirius has been nothing but a gentleman, comforting me when you couldn’t, amor. We just connected on a personal level. He wasn’t trying to snatch me at all and he wouldn’t have been successful if he’d tried, mi vida, you know that!”

“I know that you would never, Juli, I’m upset that he tried – but you’re saying he didn’t? Then, why –”

Taking advantage of Agustín’s confusion, Sirius and Julieta shared a look, “Mi vida,” Julieta said, “Sirius is not at all interested in me. He already has someone.”

Agustín looked from her to Sirius, hesitantly, “You do?”

“Of course,” Sirius said, “I am not interested in married women. Julieta is not the Madrigal for me.”

Agustín tilted his head, pondering the sentence, “If you think I’d let you anywhere near my daughters…”

“Merlin’s beard!” Sirius choked, “Are you insane?!”

“I doubt that Félix would like it if someone tried anything with Pepa…”

“Oh, for goodness’s sake, are you going to suggest I have a thing for your mother-in-law next!?” Sirius exploded, then sent a look at Julieta who was suddenly much less sad than she’d been and she was snorting, trying and failing to hide her chuckles behind her hand. Sirius frowned at her and finally she took pity on him, “Agustín, amor,” Julieta said, “Sirius is Bruno’s novio.”

Agustín was stunned for so long that Sirius’s attention went to the sound of Pepa’s storm rumbling and the muffled sound of Luisa crying somewhere in the house.

“Come again?”

The three of them retreated into Julieta and Agustín’s room, where Sirius and Julieta brought the man up to speed.

The end of their tale found Agustín sitting on the edge of the bed, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

He’d recovered quickly from the news that Sirius had actually been in the Encanto fifteen years prior and met Isabela, Dolores, Bruno and even Luisa as a toddler. When they described the time Sirius had first found the Encanto, Agustín’s eyes grew even wider.

“Dios mio!” he cried, “I remember that! We all thought he was losing his mind when he started being all happy and suddenly he stopped coming out of his room for days at a time! That was because of you?”

Sirius looked crestfallen at Agustín’s description of Bruno’s reaction to his leaving the Encanto. Julieta placed a hand on his arm, “Bruno loves you a great deal, Sirius, it’s clear to anyone who has eyes.”
Sirius smiled softly at her, “I know. It’s the same for me.”

Agustín gave them only a few moments, before he interrupted them excitedly, “So he’s back?”

Sirius decided to let Julieta take the lead. The woman sat on the bed next to her husband, “Agustín, amor, Bruno never really left. He hid in the walls.”

“I’m sorry, que?!”

“Bruno was here the whole time,” Julieta specified, “Mamá asked him to look into the future and he saw –”

Agustín’s eyes grew even wider, “Dios mio, he saw that vision from earlier! Didn’t he? And he hid because of that? But – why?”

Sirius couldn’t help but snort, “You know, I’ve only been here for a short while but even I can see why and it’s so odd that none of you do,” Agustín and Julieta looked at him, “None of you have any idea what it feels like to be blamed for something, huh? I was accused of a crime I did not commit. And it’s nothing compared to a man who spent every minute of his life being blamed for every little thing. Can you imagine the anxiety he feels if he cannot open his mouth because other people hold their breath thinking he is giving a prophecy? I was appalled just by hearing what I heard today. You haven’t seen or heard of him for ten years and he’s been living hearing all of you talk shit about him not caring about the family.”

Julieta’s eyes were shining with tears and she hid her face in her hand, “What happened tonight is exactly why he left, isn’t it? He probably thought we would panic because the vision came from him.”

“Was he wrong?”

“But!”

Agustín’s voice faltered as he hesitated, Julieta and Sirius looking at him.

“But he must have been so lonely,” Julieta’s eyes softened at her husband’s crestfallen expression, and suddenly Agustín’s eyes grew even wider, “Dios mio, he left for Mirabel, didn’t he? He did what I did tonight and tried to hide the vision, that’s why it’s in pieces! He broke the vision so we wouldn’t find it,” Agustín suddenly looked up at Sirius, “Didn’t he?”

Sirius knew from their faces that they knew the answer already if what he saw in their eyes was any indication. He opened his mouth to speak –

“Agustín! Julieta!”

Sirius watched Julieta and Agustín jump to attention.

“O-oh.”

The Madam was back.