Text; UN: Beekeeper

[pan_acea]

WHO: Julieta Madrigal
WHERE: Casita
WHEN: Late September
WHAT: Mirabel went home
WARNINGS: Sad mom.


For anyone who was friends with my daughter... Mirabel is... is not in Kaisou anymore.

[That's it, that's all there is. Her daughter was popular, Julieta is just making sure her friends know.

It's only in text so people cannot see how she's falling apart.]

Comments

Action;

[pan_acea]

[Julieta's room, once you get past the bookcases filled with endless medical journals and botany notes, is quiet, peaceful, empty. Sure, there are likely Bruno's rats able to get in and around, and some of Antonio's birds likely got in every now and again, but on its own? On its own, it was just a forest, soft and lush and quiet, peaceful without people clamoring for her to heal them, a place that could weather any of Pepa's storms when she was upset, a haven for Bruno away from all those stairs and sand.

She's sitting on a moss-covered couch, she doesn't look up when Bruno finds her, staring down at her hands.]

I... [Her eyes well up with tears and she lets out a long breath, covering her mouth and nose with her hands, trying to get herself back together.] I want you to lie to me. [She sobbed out, not able to hold back any longer, not able to hide under her triplet's gaze.] I want you to pretend you have a vision and lie to me that she's safe and happy and okay back home. [She looks up towards the ceiling, hidden behind the forest canopy, tears rolling down her cheeks.]

I want to hear that Agust is bundling her up in his arms while Felíx tells her a joke to make her laugh and then Camilo repeats it as a miniature him. I want Isa watching with her arms crossed but smiling anyways. I want mamá shaking her head but hiding her smile the way she always does when Felíx tells a joke. I want Dolores hiding a smile behind her hand as she listens from a distance.

I want you to lie and say we're there too. You, me, Pepi, Luisa, and our Antonio, all of us.

So please... lie to me, I already know what the truth is.

[wedonttalkabout]

[Julieta's room always provides intense comfort for Bruno. It's stuck in his memory forever as a safe place- somewhere he could hide where no one would find him. Where he and Julieta could sit without anyone demanding anything of them- a rarity as the years went on.

But right now, what matters to him is what his sister needs. He moves to sit next to her, putting an arm around her. ]

Okay.

[It's said gently, quietly.]

Every single one of us is back home- in the Casita back in the Encanto. And everything's fine. No weird magical worlds stealing us away and throwing us back. Kaisou? Never heard of it. It's just the Encanto, nothing else.

[It hurts to say, though- he's made so many important people here. There's a stab in his heart to act like he never met them.]

...You know I'll look for her if you want me to. Like I did for the others.

[pan_acea]

Thank you, I know you would. [She whispers, resting her cheek on his shoulder. She knows she's hurting her brother right now, which in the end, makes her feel worse. Bruno loves the people of Kaisou, he's happier here than he ever was in the Encanto.]

And... I may still ask but... I rather... [She took a deep breath.] I don't know... I don't want to leave my room. I don't want to face the world.

I don't know what to do.

[wedonttalkabout]

[He'll give her a lil' one-armed hug.]

Well, you don't have to. You're allowed to take time off which I know might surprise you but we won't actually disown you forever for taking a break. [He lets out a soft ha ha, wisely choosing not to bring his own break and definite disowning into this. ] It's okay, me and Pepa can handle things while you take a breather. Mostly Pepa. I'll try.

oooh this is about to hurt so much

[pan_acea]

[She wiped at her eyes with her apron, sniffling.]

I know with both of you here, I can be more at ease. We are always better together, the three of us.

[She manages a small smile before it falls.] You trying is more than enough for me, because I know how much it means to try.

SURE IS

[wedonttalkabout]

Yeah...yeah, we are.

[There's a pang of guilt in his chest. After all, he HAD abandoned his sisters to deal with things alone for a long time. But they're together now and that's what truly matters. They can start new here. Together.]

Hah...thanks. I'll try not to set everything on fire while I'm trying.

[pan_acea]

You're more capable than that. [She took his hand into hers and was reminded of Mirabel, of how she tried so hard to help. It wasn't that terribly different than Bruno's self-deprecation. She couldn't convince Mirabel to see she was perfect just as she was, and with Bruno...

She lets out a breath and uses her apron to wipe away any tear tracks.]

Bruno... do... do you think Mirabel was happier here? I keep thinking... how much of her dreams were met here. A gift, the chance to go to school where everyone just... liked her for her, no "Amazing Madrigals" to live up to, I know there's so many terrible things every month but... I don't know.

I keep thinking and wondering if she was happier here than the Encanto. [She wonders if it is the same for him but leaves it unsaid, she has enough "truth" on her plate.]

[wedonttalkabout]

Doubtful.

[He just doesn't have that much faith in himself. You get told enough times that you're not good enough at best and an actual harm to your loved ones at worse...well, you start to believe them. It's hard to shake that off.

He hums in consideration.]

I think she had the potential to be happier here- but I think that had more to do with us being here than anything else. We...we do better when we're together, gifts or no gifts.

[Except now they're split in half and he doesn't know how to handle that. He's been apart from his family for so long, but he could always see them, he could watch them live their lives and he could pretend he wasn't completely detatched. He can't even do that here. ]

[pan_acea]

[She doesn't fight his resignation, she wants to, of course, she wants to wipe such dark thoughts from his mind. But she knows she can't. Just like she could not show Mirabel how incredible she was, she can't do it for Bruno. She can say it until her face is as blue as her dress but it doesn't mean he'd believe it. But she will forever stand by him and be there for his journey if he would let her.]

We are better together, for all our flaws. [She smiles and wipes at her eyes again.] I'm scared to wake up one morning all alone, Brunito... I am not strong enough to be all alone. [It's unspoken, that she's not as strong as him, able to live all alone in the walls like he did. She could never, even for the safety of their family.]