Cocooned

The Search

The house was gone. The miracle was gone. But worst of all?

The entirety of the 3rd generation of the Madrigal household was gone.

The dust had settled, and there was nothing but ruins and debris where Casita used to be. No sound, nothing.

Absolute and total silence.

Until two guttural, shrieking, inhumane screams ripped throughout the entire town. Screams that came from the soul, the sound was heart-breaking, distressing, saddening, unfortunate, tragic.

Those two screams came from the mothers of the children that could no longer be heard: Pepa and Julieta Madrigal.

Big, heaving, ugly sobs came from the two. They had just lost their kids, their children. They watched as their children were dragged away from them as they tried to claw their way back into the collapsing Casita. They heard them scream for them, and they didn't make it in time.

Pepa was absolutely devastated. Her children were gone in a blink, her babies weren't there. Dolores, Camilo, Antonio, she couldn't hear or see them. Her sobs were big and heavy. The sun shone high in the sky in place of what would have been the worst storm the encanto would have faced, it was a lie to her. A sick, disgusting lie. Her emotions were finally being let loose. 45 years of pent up emotion were now pouring out of her. She had wished for a way to get all her emotions out, but not like this. Never like this.

Julieta clutched the ground below her, her loud wails racking her body, causing her to shake violently. The tears spilled and spilled, but she couldn't care less about how pathetic and weak she looked at that moment. She was more worried about where her children were. Isabela, Luisa, Mirabel. Why aren't her ninas with her, next to her? Where were they? She asked this question over and over, her cries still coming out, never seeming to end. She feared the worst.

Felíx and Agustín ran into the wreckage. They began to dig and dig, not caring about their clothes getting dirty, or their hair getting messy. They pushed aside debris, knocking over broken furniture. Where were the kids? Why weren't they there? The husbands soon began to cry themselves, wondering where their kids were. Had they gotten buried in the wreckage?

Pepa and Julieta joined their husbands, the 4 adults screaming the names of the 6 missing children. They dug and clawed at the ruined house, leaving them with bloody fingertips and ruined nails, their blood smearing onto the broken walls. But that was the least of their worries. They need to find their ninos.

Alma also called for the children, but instead of digging, she went around the surrounding area, what would have been the back and front yard. The elderly woman clutched her shawl together tightly, more than ever before. Big tears came from her eyes, but that did not stop her from going around and calling out their names, her already raspy voice cracking. She needed to find her nietas and nitetos. She had to, for the sake of her and her children. She didn't know what she would do if she lost any more family members far earlier than needed.

Bruno rushed from the trees and into the ruins. He may have been terrified of what his family would think of him coming back, but his love for his sobrinas and sobrinos overrode that feeling entirely. He may have been shorter than his sisters and a tad thin, but in the walls, he had to parkour across large holes and swing along support beams to evade dangerous situations. The man may have been gangly and skinny, but he did have some strength and stamina on his side, which he was happy for as he could move the debris at a much faster and efficient pace.

The other 5 noticed the estranged and lost man, but only faltered for a second to register his presence before turning back to screaming the names of the children.