TW: Anxiety attack
"What kind of vision is that?! Are you saying that I will be alone, single forever?"
"N-no, sir, y-y-you are mistak-"
"Forget it! You're always trouble. I should've never asked for this in the first place."
As the raging man stormed out of the sand-filled room, he left a speechless and sorrowful Bruno sitting on the ground.
It had always been like this from the start.
Ever since Bruno Madrigal got his gift of precognition, he had to endure all of the negative reactions to unwanted futures.
Although his twin sisters, Pepa and Julieta, tried to console him, the pain never ceased to haunt him like nightmares in the dark of the night.
He always wondered if he would ever be good enough for his family, and for the Encanto. The village that he lived in and adored.
Abuela Alma, their mother, expected better from him. From the time he was but a young boy of five until now, her expectations weighed on him heavily, suffocating him of genuine happiness.
Tears started to fall from Bruno's emerald eyes, one after another. His trembling hands were still holding onto the slab of jade green glass.
He shakily stood up and threw the slab to a small mountain of other similar slabs, each having a different bad vision. Walking down his tower of stairs, his mind started to drown with the insults he had received over the past decades.
(Bruno's POV)
Seeing no one around as I opened the door of my room, I sneaked out of the Casita with my hood on and walked outside for some fresh air. As I was walking, I heard whispers all around me, coming from the townspeople.
My shoulders tensed up as I quickened my pace.
I knew what they were thinking, and I knew what they were mumbling about because I'm Bruno and everyone assumes the worst from me. Mama does, Pepa does, heck, even Julieta doubts me sometimes.
As I went further away from Casita, more and more people stared at me. When I walked past the townspeople, I heard them whispering about me while they pierced me with their deathly stares.
I couldn't stand it any longer, so I hid myself from them, making my way towards the mountains surrounding the Encanto. They looked so calming and quiet, and because no one really goes inside the forest, I went there to have my own space.
I found a fairly large boulder and sat down on it, with my body quivering.
Is this all what my life is for?
To be blamed for the future that I have no control over?
I couldn't help but weep uncontrollably as I burrowed my face into my hands. I screamed, and I knew no one heard me, since I was so deep inside the forest.
(No one's POV)
After Bruno's heart-wrenching cry, he heard something peculiar, something that wasn't supposed to be heard in the forest.
As he listened closely, the noise was revealed to be similar to the cry of an infant.
"No, no, it must be my imagination." he thought out loud as he wiped his tears away.
"How can new mothers possibly go so deep into this massive forest?" He chuckled to himself, thinking that he must be insane.
But it was not a hallucination. The crying came again, coming from somewhere in the forest.
Confused, curious, and strangely filled with compassion at the same time, Bruno started to wander around the forest, following the direction of the wailing. Moments later, the wind dried all his tears away, and as the crying got louder and louder, he stopped as he got to the supposed place of where the sounds were coming from. He looked up to see a small box beside a tree stump. The crying came from the box, loud and clear.
Cautiously walking towards it, Bruno knelt down and gently opened the box. His eyes widened in fear, pity and shock by what was in front of him.
A helpless infant was inside, wrapped with nothing more than a piece of worn-out cloth.
Just moments after the baby saw Bruno's face, it started to calm down. The baby smiled at him, giggling and attempting to reach for his face.
Even though Bruno never had a child before, his fatherly instincts washed over him almost instantly. He knew he couldn't leave the poor child alone.
(Bruno's POV)
I knew I couldn't leave the child. So, as gently as I possibly could, I held the baby in my arms and tried my best to rock the baby to sleep.
The moment I touched the baby, I felt something I had never felt before. It was like lightning, running down my nerves and filling my whole body. I felt like I held the responsibility for the baby. It was crazy, but even so, something told me that this was meant to be as the baby started to doze off.
I looked at the baby, smiling sadly. How could anyone be this cruel to abandon this little ray of sunshine?
When the baby finally fell asleep, it was almost night. The townspeople were most likely in their homes, so I started my journey back to Casita. The weather became colder, so I took my ruana and wrapped the trembling baby with it.
I opened the doors to Casita and whisper shouted, "Mama, hermanas! I need to show you something! "
(No one's POV)
Popping her head out from the kitchen, Julieta silently shrieked as she saw the baby in Bruno's arms.
"What's wrong, mija?" Abuela Alma asked worriedly. Spotting Bruno and the baby, Abuela gasped in shock.
Pepa was the last to come, with her husband Felix. A cloud started to form above Pepa's head as she stared at her outcast-of-a-brother holding a baby from who knows where.
Felix's jaw fell to the ground.
"Pepa, calm down. " Abuela demanded softly, still frozen with unbelief.
"Clear skies, clear skies... " Pepa mumbled.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Bruno started his explanation quickly. "IfoundthisbabyinthemountainsaroundtheEncantoandIcouldn'tjustleaveittheresoIpickeditupandI- I don't know what to do with it! "
After slight hesitation, Julieta approached him. "But why were you in the mountains in the first place, mi hermano?"
"Well, umm, uh, " Bruno stuttered, "I wanted to, uhh, well- to see the sunset! Yea, because I had never seen the sunset in the mountains before.. " He drifted off with an awkward laugh.
"But anyways, uhm, Juli, this little guy needs your help. " Bruno reminded her, holding out the scruffy baby.
"Si, si." She smiled.
When she was done washing the baby, Pepa walked up to her and questioned excitedly, "So, is it a boy or a girl?"
"A healthy, beautiful baby girl!" Julieta replied with a warm smile plastered on her face.
Bruno came to look at the baby and couldn't help but grin at the now cleaned up little one.
"Hey Bruno, nice to see you in a good mood! " Felix commented.
"You should smile more, hermano."
Bruno, on the other hand, was hardly listening as his attention was all on the baby girl, mesmerized by how tiny and fragile she was. Yet, she survived who knows how many nights in that box.
Abuela coughed, trying to get everyone's attention. "Well, since we don't know her origins yet, she can stay for the night. In the morning we will discuss about this matter further. Julieta, you can keep her until we decide what we will do. "
~time skip brought to you by Luisa's donkeys~
At breakfast time, Abuela walked up to the front of the table.
"I suppose you all know why I called this family meeting for." When she got their full attention, she continued, "Last night, Bruno found a baby girl in the mountains, so today, we will make the decision whether to keep her or give her to the townspeople here. Any suggestions?"
6 year old Isabela, Julieta's eldest daughter, chirped up. "Abuela, the baby doesn't look like any of the people here."
5 year old Dolores, Pepa's eldest, added, "I didn't hear anyone saying about abandoning a baby too."
(After much discussion and questioning from the townspeople, the Madrigals decide to adopt her. Julieta and Pepa both have their newborns, Mirabel and Camilo, so they don't have much time to take care of another baby.)
Abuela sighed and thought for a moment. Then, she then looked toward Bruno and sighed. She pondered about this decision, wondering if it was the right thing to do. After all, Bruno was the black sheep of the family. But maybe, this can help him change.
"Bruno?"
"Yes, mama?" He asked, with his mouth full of arepas.
"Do you want to take care of this baby?" Abuela asked.
"W-wha-what-what-what??" Bruno stuttered. He almost choked on his food. After gulping it down, he started to smile.
"W-well, umm, I-I would love to.. " His smile grew wider and wider by the moment.
"But a child is a very great responsibility, mijo." Abuela added.
"Don't worry, mama. Me and Pepi will teach him everything he needs to know." Julieta smiled confidently at her mother.
The elder sighed again, finally placing her trust on all her children.
"Alright."
Turning towards the rest of the family, Abuela declared, "Everyone, we have a new Madrigal! Let us all welcome her, and hope that she will make our family proud! La familia Madrigal!"
"La familia Madrigal!" The family all shouted in unison.
A small rainbow started to appear on Pepa's head as she looked at Bruno. "Look at you, mi pequeño hermanito, all grown up!" She teased.
"Stop it, Pepita, we are the same age!" Bruno chuckled, a light, red hue spreading across his face.
"But you're still a few minutes younger!" Julieta smirked, gently nudging her embarrassed brother.
Little Isabela held Dolores' hand and walked up to Bruno, followed by a four-year-old Luisa. "Tio Bruno, may we see the baby? She doesn't even have a name yet!" She grinned.
"Yea, we can give her a name!" Dolores squeaked delightfully.
"I wanna see the baby!" Luisa added, while jumping up and down.
"Okay, okay," Bruno waved his hands to try to calm them down. "She is in the nursery, but you have to be quiet, because Mirabel and Camilo are sleeping with her, alright kids?"
"Okay, tio!"
"We promise not to say anything."
"Uh-huh!"
At noon, the man and his nieces quietly went inside the nursery. Bruno stopped by at one of the cribs and held the baby again. He sat down in a nearby chair as the 3 girls looked in awe.
"I hope she doesn't cry, babies cry very loudly. I hear them everyday. " Dolores whispered, rubbing her ears.
"Shh!" Isabela shushed her gently.
Bruno couldn't help but smile delightfully at the baby girl, knowing that she is his only child now. He tried hard to hide his giddiness, but was failing. The baby was like the ray of light that shone in his dark world of misery and misunderstanding, giving him a newfound hope.
Carresing the baby's tiny cheeks, he whispered,
"Welcome the the family, mi princesa."
After a while, Bruno thought about something. Kissing the baby's forehead and settling her down in the crib, he jestured to the 3 girls to come with him and meet up with the family.
(Time skip to when the family has been gathered)
Bruno started to speak.
"Uhh, I have an idea of what we can name the- my baby." He muttered nervously, fiddling his thumbs.
"Really? What's her name then?" Abuela asked.
Bruno thought for a second again.
"Miranda. Miranda Madrigal."
A brighter rainbow appeared above Pepa's auburn hair. "Aww, that is such a beautiful name, hermanito!" Bruno couldn't help but grin at the rare compliment.
"Miranda it is, then. Thank you for helping, Brunito." Abuela smiled. This was one of the very few times she has ever smiled to Bruno.
"Miranda, mi princesa preciosa. My strong little warrior. I'll protect you forever."
A/N
Ohhh my gosh first chapter done!! I worked on this until about 1:45 am last night and I continued on in the morning and now it's alomst 10 am.. I hope you like the first chapter! I will keep on updating for sure! And I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit long too hehe..
Anyways,
Eat healthy,
Drink healthy,
Love yourself,
And have a good day/afternoon/night!!! ❤❤❤❤❤
2023 UPDATE:
Well, folks, I have successfully edited this chapter and even though I am out of my Encanto state I'm still gonna finish this book, so be prepared for some updates cuz I'm having a really long holiday this week until MAY😎😎
Now, stay tuned~