Pero en un beso fue que yo te conocí...

Chapter One

Every few years, the people of Encanto would forget their worries and allow themselves to have fun. El Festival de Luces, they had named it since they incorporated floating lanterns into it. There was music, lights, dancing, food, and merriment all around. The townspeople enjoyed The Madrigal's coming to mingle, too.

"Julieta, why—um—why do I have to be here? These people don't exactly like me..." whined Bruno Madrigal as he carried a plate of bandeja paisa. Julieta scoffed with a smile at her brother's complaint.

"We do so much for these people, Bruno. The least we can do is party with them. Make friends, you know?" she elbowed him lightly, nearly throwing him off balance. "Besides, Pepa wants us to say hi to her secret novio."

A storm cloud quickly appeared over their third sibling, "He's not my boyfriend!"

"You're not good at lying," Bruno couldn't help but smile. He raised a brow questioningly at the food he was carrying. "Who's the extra plate for, anyway?"

"Oh, Tia Lupita had a special request tonight," Julieta's smile saddened slightly. Bruno and Pepa exchanged looks before shrugging in unison. 

 Lupita Ruiz was a close family friend, having immigrated with Alma Madrigal all those years ago and witnessed the birth of their miracle. She was like an aunt to the triplets and they all loved her. She was also one of the few people outside the family to give Bruno the respect he deserved.

"Well, I guess I'll, uh, just tough it out..." the sheepish boy muttered, wishing he could hide away in his room.

When the three of them got to the city square, they were greeted by folks dancing, singing, and carrying paper lanterns. Julieta, Pepa y Bruno stopped at the fireworks stand first.

"¡Hola, Señora Ruiz!" Julieta beamed up at the darker woman. Her black hair cascaded down her back like a river of coal and her dark eyes were like finely cut onyx.

"Hello there, Julieta," Lupita chuckled, "My, how you all have grown! Brunito, ¡muy guapo! Pepa, que hermosa." Bruno's cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment and Pepa beamed brightly.

"I brought a special plate for your family, just in case you need it," Julieta clarified quietly. Lupita nodded understandingly, hiding the food behind the firework stand.

"Muchas gracias, cariño," she punched the girl's cheek for a second. "Some of the children are off dancing near the fountain. Fèlix should be there, too, Pepa." The older woman winked in the redhead's direction before turning back to her stall. Pepa snatched up Bruno and Julieta's hands and pulled them along.

Near a stone fountain was a small group of teens around their age, swinging and dancing to the beat of the music. Bruno flipped his hood on and tried to sneak away but his sisters pulled him into the crowd. Pepa managed to grab ahold of her "boyfriend", Fèlix, and pull him close. After a few minutes, Julieta and Bruno said their hellos then were left to their own devices as Pepa went off to dance with her partner.

"Are you sure I can't just...leave?" the brother fidgeted nervously. Julieta shook her head and giggled.

"Lighten up, Bruno. Mama said we had to come. Go decorate a lantern or something while I hand out food," she shooed the sweating boy away. He sat there innocently, emerald eyes widened in both shock and horror at the fact he had just been ditched by both his siblings at a party. With a dejected sigh, he wandered off to find a lantern to decorate.

The festivities only seemed to grow more joyous as dawn faded into night and the sky turned deep blue and black. Bruno had been looking for a quiet place to decorate his lantern but had no luck, per usual. Just as he began to question whether he should just go home or hide under a table, he noticed a strange girl sitting on the rim of the fountain.