Upon Julieta's and Pepa's request, Alma allowed Bruno a day off, and he had no clue what to do.
Bruno laid on his hammock in his room, the sand around him softly swirling with his emotions. He tangled his hands in his ruana, thinking. He didn't really want to spend his day thinking, as his headache was growing stronger by the minute, but he didn't know what else to do. He didn't have the brainpower to do anything else.
It was about three months since he started giving visions to the people of Encanto, and an endless attack of migraines, little appetite, feinting, lack of sleep....it all plagued him every day. He knew that the pain he felt would probably exist for the rest of his life, and he dreaded that future. He didn't have to search among green sand to see that his future wasn't as bright as Julieta's or Pepa's.
Yet, despite this, he found himself believing that it may not be so dark, if Cassidy stayed being his friend. She, like she had said that she would do, visited him everyday, and those 15 minutes with her were the best moments ever. Sometimes they talked about anything and everything, while other times they just sat or laid in silence, her presence grounding him. Bruno really appreciated it, he knew that without her he would have given up at this point.
It turned out they had a lot to talk about. Not only were they both unappreciated by their parents, but Bruno's storytelling ability paired perfectly with her artistic ability. She would paint beautiful stages for his rats and Bruno would help them act it out. It was hard to do in less than 15 minutes, but they made it work. She always managed to find a way to make him laugh, and her light, hope filled eyes could stare right into his heart. Bruno couldn't lie to her if he tried. She was the best part of his life, sometimes. Julieta could never understand the pressure Bruno was put under, and Pepa couldn't see how hard he fought to be loved by the people of the Encanto. His mother never saw how much his visions hurt him, or how hard he tried to be good enough for her.
But Cassidy understood. She saw him for who he was, all of his pain, all of his struggles...and knew what it was like. She may not have any magical powers, but her gift made her hated nearly just as much as Bruno's did. Yet, she stood tall and never stopped smiling. Bruno couldn't understand it.
She was just so perfect, and Bruno had to be honest with himself. He was falling for her. He really was. Every day this feeling grew inside of him, the desire to spend time with her, to hear her laugh...this feeling of...love. He loved her. Bruno just didn't know what to do about it.
He heard a knock on the door and groaned, the sound not doing much to help his headache.
"What is it?"
A loud thumping of his thick door being opened and closed rang through the large room, and Bruno sat up. Julieta walked in, smiling.
"Breakfast is ready."
"Thanks, Julieta. I'll...come out when I'm ready."
She sighed. "No, you're going to come out now and then we're going to go hang out with Felíx and Agustín."
"What? What are you going to do?"
She shrugged. "We were thinking of going to the forest, just chatting and stuff."
Bruno looked down to the floor. "It doesn't sound like too much fun, and, besides, I wouldn't want to get in the way of you and Agustín, or Pepa and Felíx."
"What if I brought Cassidy along? I'm sure she'll have fun."
Bruno perked up at her name, and Julieta laughed.
"Come on. Let's just all hang out. It'll be great. And, that way you and Cassidy can chat for longer than 15 minutes."
Bruno smiled. "That would be great."
Getting to his feet, he took Julieta's hand and followed her out of the cave and into the hallways of the Casita, where Alma and Pepa were setting the table.
"Bruno! You came!" Pepa exclaimed, and Bruno shrugged.
"Julieta convinced me."
Alma gestured for them to sit down, and she spoke up in rich tones.
"Now, I understand that this is Bruno's day off, but if anyone asks for a vision I expect you to give it to them, alright, Bruno?"
He nodded, digging into the food put in front of him. He picked up an arepa and handed a piece of it to a rat on his shoulder. Alma sighed at the sight but didn't say a word.
The rest of breakfast passed in silence, but as soon as they were done Pepa dragged Bruno outside as Julieta started cleaning up. Agustín and Felíx were already waiting outside, the taller man holding his foot in pain.
"What did you do, Agustín?" Pepa asked. And he shrugged helplessly.
"Stubbed my toe. Is Julieta coming?"
Pepa nodded with a smile. "She'll be out soon."
Bruno walked over to Agustín and helped him sit down on the ground as Felíx kissed Pepa on the cheek, the smaller man standing on the tip of his toes to do so. Pepa laughed, and the light around them shined brighter. Agustín glanced at the Casita door longingly, and Bruno knew that it wasn't just for a healing arepa.
When it became apparent that she wasn't coming out soon, he turned to Bruno, who sat crouched beside him.
"And a friend of yours is coming along, Bruno?"
The youngest Madrigal nodded. "Cassidy Lopez, she's the shoemaker's daughter."
Agustín's eyes lit up with recognition. "Ahh, yes, Cassidy! I went to the same music class as her, but she wasn't very good at it. It was really great to hang out with her, though, she's a great girl. Very friendly."
Bruno nodded, the feelings he experienced before burning inside of him again. "Yeah...she is..."
It didn't take long for Julieta to finish up inside of the house, and as soon as she saw Bruno on the ground beside Agustín, her boyfriend's face red and foot clutched in his hand, she sighed.
"Agustín. Why can't you go one day without an injury?"
Agustín chuckled, "I don't know, mi amor."
She handed him an arepa, one that he took gratefully, his pain gone as soon as he took a bite and swallowed. Bruno watched the two interact so lovingly with a bit of jealousy. Felíx and Pepa were already holding hands, Pepa glowing at the touch. Juletia had pulled Agustín to his feet and kissed him.
Just as Bruno was about to get away and go back inside, knowing that this would not be fun with his siblings hanging out only with their boyfriends, Cassiy showed up wearing a huge smile.
"So sorry I'm late!" She explained, and Juleita turned to her with a smile.
"No problem at all! We're in no rush. Are we all ready to go?"
Pepa turned her gaze from Felíx and nodded.
Cassidy walked over to Bruno and yanked him to his feet, Bruno stumbling as he gained his balance. Julieta grabbed her basket of goods and led the way into the forest, everyone talking loudly amongst themselves, like they were young people with normal lives. Bruno tried to focus on the people and things around him instead of the fact he had to give people visions again tomorrow. This would be as normal as his life would probably get.
Cassidy hit her hip against his playfully, her brown eyes shining.
"Are you okay? You haven't said a word."
Bruno nodded. "Yeah...just can't stop thinking, you know?"
She smiled knowingly. "I get it. I can't imagine what's going on in that brain of yours, especially with the visions you see."
"It's so weird, being outside, hanging out with people that don't want visions from me...it's nice."
"Hopefully you'll be able to get more time off, I can't imagine being in that cave for the whole day. Especially with mean people that get angry at you all the time."
Bruno took Cassidy's hand as they climbed up a steep hill, grabbing some branches to help them up. Cassidy met his eyes, and he could tell that she was grateful. He was too, her hand was soft and comforting in his, like a reminder that she was there.
The voices in front of them began to grow softer, but the two of them didn't rush, instead choosing to drink up the moment as much as they could. Cassidy never let go of his hand as they continued to walk forward, the both of them casting glances at each other as they trudged forward.
Eventually they got to a clear place where the trees parted, revealing the Encanto below them. Julieta, Pepa, Felíx, and Agustín were already there, sitting in silence as they ate the snacks Julieta brought up. The oldest of the Madrigal sisters smiled at the sight of the two of them, gesturing to the basket of goodies.
"Take whatever you want."
Bruno and Cassiy let go of their hands to grab some food, sitting right beside each other to look at the view. Felíx cast a glance to Pepa, who nodded, understanding passing between them.
"So, Bruno." Felíx spoke up, breaking the silence with friendly conversation. "How are the visions going?"
"Tiring. I'm happy that I could have a break."
Agustín sighed. "It's crazy the amount of people that are talking about it. Every single day someone has a new story about what Bruno did to them."
Bruno frowned, not because he was shocked by the words but because he knew that it was true. It was always true. Every time someone got a bad vision they would go on and on about how he ruined their life and how no one would ever come to get a vision again. Yet, the same people would always come back the next day, begging to see their future.
"We don't blame you, Bruno." Felíx added, Agustín nodding in agreement. "We know you can't control it."
"Thanks."
Pepa sighed, a small cloud forming above her head. "I just wish you wouldn't get blamed for it, Bruno, you and Cassidy both."
Cassidy stiffened beside Bruno, brushing her hair behind her ear anxiously. Bruno looked at her with worry. The cloud above Pepa grew as she realized.
"You didn't tell him, Cassidy?"
"Tell me what?" His voice was quiet, and Cassidy frowned.
"I didn't want you to blame yourself, especially with everything going on with your visions."
Agustín opened his mouth, but Juleita put her hand on his knee, shaking her head.
"Cass, what's going on?"
"They're calling her a witch!" Felíx blurted out, and the sky darkened.
"Felíx!" Pepa yelled, and thunder rolled above them.
"Everyone knows that she's spending time with you, seeing you everyday for 'visions', and they think that she's a curse, too." The smaller man explained, and Bruno stared, horrified, at the girl sitting beside him. No. This was what he wanted to avoid. He didn't want her to become as hated as he was.
"Cassidy...I'm so sorry, I didn't want..." He stuttered, but she shushed him.
"No. I chose this, okay? I don't care what they think of me."
"But, they're saying that they're going to burn you at the stake." Pepa muttered, rain beginning to drizzle over her head, and Felíx rushed to push the cloud away, unsuccessful.
Bruno got to his feet and rushed away from Cassidy, clutching his ruana anxiously.
"No...no...no....sana, sana colita de rana..."
"Bruno...they're not going to hurt me. That would never happen. They're just getting bored of blaming you so they're blaming me." Cassidy said, but he didn't listen to her, turning away from her gaze.
Julieta went to wrap Bruno in a hug, but he dodged away from her, his hands reaching to his hair, pulling anxiously.
It was raining over all of them now, and Pepa tried to do everything in her power to make it stop, muttering apologies every second. Felíx tried to comfort her, but he knew that this was his fault, too. Cassidy stood up and pushed her soaked hair away from her face, gripping Bruno's hand desperately.
"It's going to be fine, Bruno, I don't care what they say about me, I only care about you! Let them call me a witch, they are just stupid brats that don't understand!"
"No! I'm not going to ruin your life! Not anymore than I already have."
Cassidy had to shout to be heard over the storm, the winds picking up around them as Pepa became more and more distraught. "You've made my life so much better, Bruno, you can never ruin my life even if you tried! I love you!"
Bruno's green eyes looked at her as he blinked away the rain and tears, all joy on his face gone, replaced with pain and confusion. She wondered if he heard her, but Pepa sure did. The rain suddenly stopped, but Bruno didn't even notice.
"You...you shouldn't be around me. Not anymore."
"I'm not going to just stop hanging out with you over this. I. Don't. Care. I love you, Bruno Madrigal."
He froze, fidgeting hands ceasing their movements. Cassidy was fully aware of all the eyes on them, but she didn't let it phase her. She wanted him to know, the secret had been stuck in her heart for far too long.
"You...you love me?" He whispered, and she nodded.
"Yes. I've loved you ever since I saw you in the village. Now, I know what everyone says about you, but I also know how good of a person you are. You're not someone to be feared, or a curse, you're someone special who's misunderstood. I'm not going to stop being around you. No matter if you push me away, or if I'm burned on the stake. Even if you just want to stay as friends I'll still be around. I promise."
Bruno stayed silent, watching her with wide eyes, as if searching to see if it was true. All of their clothes were soaked, and everyone else around them waited anxiously for his response. Bruno was crouched in on himself ever so slightly, but he never let go of her gaze. His mouth opened ever so slightly, shocked by her confession.
"Bruno?" Cassidy asked anxiously, and he took a deep breath.
"I love you too, Cassidy. I just...I just...I don't want to hurt you."
"You never will, Bruno." She let a smile form on her lips. "I promise."
Bruno, despite the tear stains on his cheeks and worry in his mind, gave a small smile back to her, and the sun began shining again.