Julieta's POV
I woke up at my normal time of five a.m., and I was going to the kitchen when I passed by Bruno's hallway and saw a figure there. I stopped to look and see who it was, and it was Athena.
She was curled up in a ball, crying. I don't think she heard me coming, because she jumped when I put a hand on her shoulder. She looked horrible. Her face looked like when Inez died. Pained. Like her favorite person in the world died. I had never seen her cry out of sadness, only ever when she was happy beyond comprehension.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
"Gone." She said shakily. "He's gone Julia."
Like her favorite person in the world died...
"Bruno's gone?" I asked her, not wanting to believe.
She did nothing but nod the tiniest nod and return her head to between her knees, rocking back and forth and crying again.
"Why's he gone?" I asked her. Mirabel was already broken, I didn't need two, possibly five broken people in the house.
She did nothing but shake her head. Did that mean she didn't know or she didn't want to tell? I sighed, and, not knowing what else to do, went downstairs and started breakfast. I would bring her some food. She'll feel better after having some.
Going downstairs, I didn't realize I had an entourage, nearly jumping out of my skin when I was in the kitchen and I turned around and Athena was leaning against the counter behind me.
She looked worse in the light. Her face was red, her eyes swollen, and she was staring at a single spot on the floor, as though looking anywhere else would make her start crying again.
"Why don't you go back to bed?" I asked her.
"No. His door isn't glowing anymore. No one is supposed to be in there."
I hadn't noticed. I was too focused on Athena.
"What about the others?" I asked, concerned.
"They're fine. At least, their doors are. I didn't want to disturb them. It was late..." She said.
"Do... do you know?" I asked, making a circle, which she told us to do if we wanted to talk about her abilities somewhere other than the hallway.
She nodded, and did whatever with her wand, making the whole kitchen silent.
"Hm?" She asked when she was done, back to her original spot leaning against the counter.
"Can you see?" I asked. If she could see, then she could see if he would come back. She seemed to consider it, her eyebrows came together and her forehead creased. She closed her eyes and I prepared myself to catch her if she fainted.
"Darkness. Why darkness?" She croaked after a minute.
"So you can see?" I said before thinking.
"Yes but it's fuzzy. There's nothing stable." She blinked away tears and sniffled.
Athena's POV
I looked to the future and saw many things, but what I took away most was that the farther away an event was, the clearer it was. I saw that it would be ten years before Bruno could come back. I almost started crying again, but I stopped myself.
No. I had to be strong. No one else knew what would happen. Things needed to happen, to make way for better futures.
I took down the silencing charm and went to Tia Inez's for the time being. I wrote a letter to Tia Inez explaining everything and what she thought I should do. I transfigured an owl from a cup and sent it to find Tia Inez. I made my way back to the Casita, taking with me an old cloak- the one I had on when I first met Bruno. I transformed it into a shawl to wear as Abuela did.
The sun was beginning to rise so I went and woke up Alicia, Isaiah, and Leonna, telling them to meet me in the hallway. They knew it was silent.
"You're papa is gone." I told them. "He is not dead, but he had to leave. I'm so sorry." I told them, bowing my head. I knew it wasn't my fault, but I couldn't help feeling like it was.
Alicia and Isaiah looked at each other, Leonna tilted her head, as though not understanding.
"Why did he have to leave?" Alicia asked.
"If I tell you you can't speak of it anywhere else." They all nodded.
"He had a vision. A bad one. To protect the family and himself, he left."
Leonna looked like she was going to cry, so I pulled her into my arms. Alicia and Isaiah also started crying, and I wrapped my arms around them. I didn't cry. I couldn't. They needed me to be strong.
Julieta poked her head into the hallway, a huge plate of food in her hands. She quickly set it down and left, head down.
We sat there for hours, all of us barely having a clue what to do.
"What is this?" Alicia asked abrubtly, slightly lifting my shawl to show what she meant.
Blinking back tears, I told her I was wearing it because Bruno was gone, like how Abuela wore a black shawl because Abuelo was gone. A new wave of tears overcame all three of them.
By nightfall the whole family had come and expressed their condolences, as well as some of the townspeople.
Alicia, Isaiah, and Leonna went to bed, and I went behind the portrait, to Bruno.