Chapter Text
Bruno woke up well rested, which had turned into a norm for him ever since he moved out of the walls. His joints no longer ached from sleeping on his uncomfortable chair, his back no longer sore from not having proper support, Bruno instead felt nothing but relaxed.
Upon Casitas rebuilding, he’d finally been given a bedroom, which replaced his then vision cave. Bruno was beyond thankful. If he hadn’t been given a bedroom, he’d have to go from sleeping on an uncomfortable chair in the walls, to sleeping on an uncomfortable hammock in his room.
Better sleep wasn’t all that was on the clairvoyant's mind however, he was also extremely excited to be back with the family he loved so much. Just thinking about spending another day in their presence made Bruno smile to himself. It had been almost half a year since his return, and it felt amazing to be back.
Bruno sleepily got up from his bed, making his way to his wardrobe. He put on his maroon button up and pants, before tying his hair back sloppily and carefully making the descent down his stairs.
He opened the door to his room and sauntered out, feeling determined to start a new day off strong. He made his way downstairs and into the dining room, where all his family members were sitting, chatting amongst themselves. Mirabel enthusiastically waved both her arms in the air at the sight of him, having a huge beaming smile on her face.
“Tío! I saved you a seat!”
Mirabel patted the chair next to her, eagerly waiting for Bruno to sit down. As he did, she wrapped her arms around him lovingly, before quickly going back to eating her food. Bruno chuckled at her spontaneity, you never knew what to expect from Mirabel.
Ever since he came back, she made sure to not even go a single day without showering him with physical affection, and the same goes for the rest of his family. Mirabel would just do it at random times, but it’s not like he minded. She was the greatest at giving hugs.
“How’re things, Brunito? I assume your room has been treating you well?” Alma spoke, smiling kindly towards him.
It felt a bit strange for him to see his mother smile at him so genuinely, he wasn’t at all used to it. It felt nice however, Bruno finally didn’t feel like much of a thorn in her side.
“It’s uh.. good.” Bruno answered rather dryly, “Nothin’ too shabby.”
“I’m glad.”
Alma went back to discussing something with Pepa and Bruno continued to eat his food, before he felt a gaze on him. He looked up from his plate to see Camilo staring at him, with that curious look Bruno knew all too well.
“..What? Is something wrong?” Bruno asked.
“How was it?”
“How was what?”
“Living in the- ow! ”
Just as Camilo was about to clarify his question, he suddenly yelped in pain. His head turned to Dolores and he stared at her with an angry glare, she had seemingly kicked him under the table. Everyone else’s heads perked up at the sudden scream, staring at both Camilo and Bruno. Camilo didn’t even need to finish his sentence, Bruno and everyone else knew what he was trying to ask.
He rarely shared what the experience in the walls was like, they all had their assumptions, and he didn’t feel like clarifying. Mirabel was the only one with a clearer perspective, as she was the only one to actually see his living conditions inside there before it all got destroyed. It’s only natural that they would begin to get curious.
“It was.. rough, I-I guess..” Bruno stammered, staring down at his plate and picking at his food.
All of their eyes widened in shock, they didn’t expect him to respond at all. None of them broke eye contact, and just continued to look at Bruno expectantly. He sighed, telling them at least a little more would probably stop awkward conversation like this from happening again, so he continued.
“As you can probably imagine, it was pretty lonely. All I had to keep me company were my rats, and well, my thoughts.. which uh, weren't always the kindest.”
He felt so awkward saying it out loud. Mirabel placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him reassuringly, the rest of his family also giving him encouraging smiles.
“It was.. almost excruciating. You were all just on the other side of the wall, but I couldn’t bring myself to reach out.. because I thought you were all better off..”
“Oh, Bruno!” Pepa suddenly cried out.
She ran up to Bruno and hugged him, tears forming in her eyes. He wasn’t quite sure what to do, as almost all of his family members came up and hugged him, his sisters and mother crying. A small cloud formed over Pepa’s head and began raining down on her and Bruno, slightly soaking them. He was terrible at comforting people, the best he could do was pat them on the back.
“We’re sorry for driving you away,” Pepa sniffled, “I can’t even imagine how horrible you must’ve felt over the years..!”
“We promise, we’re never gonna make you feel like you need to run away ever again.” Julieta smiled.
“I’m so sorry, Brunito.. I hope you know that none of us thought we were better off without you. We all love you so very much.” Alma said, kissing him on the forehead.
“Yeah!” The family said in unison.
It felt so reassuring to hear them say that, he felt so moved, moved all the way to tears. He just wanted to eat a good breakfast, not come out of it crying like a baby.
“Thanks.. guys..”
They all sat down again and he poured his heart out a little more, all of them listening to him patiently, and trying their best to offer support. It still felt a little awkward to be so honest about his vulnerabilities, especially around his younger family members, but it eventually started feeling a lot more natural. It encouraged everyone else to also open up, and before they knew it, the casual breakfast had turned into a group therapy session.
It broke his heart to hear all of his family members talk about how they felt the same way as him. In one way or another they all felt worthless, like they weren’t doing enough, and in different ways they all partially blamed themselves for Casita’s fall and his disappearance.
It was so eye opening for him. He knew they all had their own problems, but Bruno never knew the full extent. Out of all of them though, Alma seemed the most saddened. Bruno could see how guilty she felt, and how much she blamed herself.
“I’m so, so sorry.. I’ve made you all think these horrible things about yourselves..” Alma sniffled.
“Mamá, it’s okay. We all forgive you.” Julieta consoled.
“It’s gonna take a while for us all to heal,” Mirabel smiled, “But we’re gonna do it together!”
“Hell yeah!” Camilo cheered.
Alma looked at them with tears in her eyes, and smiled.
“I love you all so much.”
After everyone was finished comforting each other and crying, things quickly went back to normal. The family continued to chat casually for the rest of the morning at the table while they ate, the atmosphere being one Bruno still wasn’t quite used to yet. The laughing, smiling and joking around of his family members was something he was only used to spectating, but now he was actively a part of it.
Camilo and Mirabel would often make fun of each other, and they would ask Bruno if he agreed, dragging him into whatever squabble they were in. Félix and Agustín’s jabs at one another would now no longer be complete without them forcing Bruno to pick a side, whichever person he didn’t choose would then proceed to be jokingly pissed off at him for the rest of the day. There wouldn’t be a single day where they didn’t make him laugh so hard his sides hurt.
Breakfast concluded and Bruno stayed back in the kitchen to help Julieta wash up in the kitchen while the others went on with their daily tasks. There wasn’t much talking between the two, just comfortable silence as they washed the dishes together.
“So,” Julieta began, “How’re you planning on spending the day?”
Bruno let the thought ponder in his head for a while, he wasn’t really sure. He figured he could spend some time with his nieces and nephews, but maybe not. Everyone was already out in town doing their chores, and he wasn’t quite used to being there yet.
“I dunno,” Bruno replied, “Might just stay inside.”
“Y’know, you should try going out in town more. I bet it would make Mira extremely happy to see you out and about.”
He smiled at the thought, Mirabel would practically be over the moon. Every one of his small accomplishments would immediately be celebrated by her, it could be him simply getting along with a villager and she’d start jumping up and down in excitement. As much as he wanted to make her and his hermana happy, he’d rather spend the day working on his telenovela scripts.
“Eh, one day.” He shrugged.
Just as they finished washing up, they both hear a shout from behind.
“Tío Bruno!”
Bruno and Julieta turned around, being greeted by cheery Mirabel and Camilo calling out to him.
“Are you busy, tío?” Mirabel excitedly asked.
“No, not really. What’s up?”
“We’re gonna go into town, wanna come?”
There was one clear and definitive answer to that question.
“Uh, no thanks.”
“C'mon..! You can’t stay cooped up in here forever..!” Camilo whined, trying to drag Bruno out by the arm.
Bruno chuckled, “Wanna bet?”
Mirabel held onto his other arm, and together her and Camilo started dragging him to the exit of the kitchen. He dug in his heels, trying his best not to let either of them force him out, but to no avail. Julieta eventually started helping by pushing on his back, which meant he was at the entrance of Casita in mere seconds, he was no match for all three of them.
“There, now you have to come!” Mirabel beamed.
“Don’t even try to run hermanito,” Julieta giggled, “I might not look like it, but I’ll catch up.”
She cracked her knuckles while staring right into Bruno’s eyes. Despite her smile, he could tell that she was threatening him. He sighed deeply before reluctantly agreeing, there was no way out of this. All of them had started to implement tough love as a new way to motivate him to face his fears, and this was one of those instances. They weren’t gonna take a no from him.
“Yay! C’mon, we’re gonna go buy some new fabrics!” Mirabel smiled, grabbing Bruno and Camilo by the hand.
As they carefully made their way into town, Bruno could feel all eyes on him. Those looks, they were ones he was all too familiar with. He hated it, he just wanted to be back in Casita where he didn’t need to hear people whisper his name with malice. His walking slowed down, and he eventually lost track of Camilo and Mirabel.
He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he completely forgot to watch where he was going, and he knocked into someone. Bruno fell backwards and hit his head. He quickly sat up and started massaging the spot that throbbed, before looking up at who he knocked into.
“Ah.. s-sorry Osma..! I wasn’t looking, sorry..”
Osma reached for his hand and helped him back to his feet.
“It’s alright! No need to apologize so much!”
“S-.. I mean, yeah..”
Bruno stopped himself before he could repeat another apology, and it made Osma laugh a little.
“See you around, amigo!”
She patted him on the shoulder before turning the corner and disappearing. Bruno wasn’t quite sure what just happened, were they on friendly terms? Osma Pezmuertos was one of the villagers who held a strong grudge against him for a vision he performed. She believed him to be the reason why her pet fish died, and hated him ever since.
That grudge seemed almost completely gone, she even referred to him as a friend. Had Alma and Mirabel really shaken the village’s opinions on Bruno so quickly? He looked around him, and the looks he thought were judging glances looked more like curiosity than anything. He hadn’t been seen in public for a while, so he figured people would be intrigued.
All the eyes he thought were on him were only from a few individuals every now and then, not quite as many as his paranoia made him believe. The whispers he thought he heard eventually faded away, like they were never there in the first place. Bruno stood there, confused, for a moment. Was it all just in his head?
“Tío, what are you doing just standing there? Keep up!” Mirabel shouted, waving him over.
“Mira, you gotta be patient,” Camilo smirked, “He is an old man after all.”
“Why you little..” Bruno laughed.
Bruno shortly caught up with them, and spent the whole day in town helping Mirabel find new fabrics. Being outside Casita wasn’t as scary and frightening as he’d imagined, it was just like being any other normal person. He saw the people in town that would usually give him nasty glares be friendly with him. Even the ones that seemed previously afraid of Bruno were saying hi and waving to him.
Mirabel and Camilo were extremely happy for him, and would begin to cheer and dance around whenever he managed to finish a conversation, to Bruno’s embarrassment. He was happy that everyone welcomed him into the community so soon, but something still bothered him.
“Tío, Is everything alright? You look a little nervous.” Mirabel said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Uh yeah, it just feels a bit strange..”
“What does?”
He lightly chuckled, “Just having everyone be so nice to me. I haven’t done much to deserve it.”
Mirabel looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression, and so did Camilo. Bruno immediately thought he’d said something bad, and began apologizing.
“You shouldn’t have to do anything! You deserve to not be talked about like some monster!” Mirabel said.
“Yeah! Hehe, sorry, by the way..” Camilo awkwardly chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.
Bruno laughed recalling what Camilo had said about him. It was a bit hurtful at first, but Bruno understood that he meant no serious harm. He couldn’t exactly blame his sobrino either, the rumours did make for quite an interesting scary story.
“Don’t worry about it, and.. thanks.” Bruno smiled. “That makes me feel a lot better.”
As their shopping trip came to an end, the trio started making their way back to Casita in time for dinner. They sat down with the rest of their family and the same cheery atmosphere remained, but this time Bruno tried to contribute more. That simple day out seemed to lift his spirits. The only one who viewed Bruno as an outcast was himself, and he didn’t need to see himself as that anymore.
He started to make amends with the people who once hated him, he started to come out of his shell more, and there wasn’t a single day where his family didn’t make him feel like the luckiest guy on the planet. He was home, he was finally home. Dinner shortly concluded and everyone headed up to their rooms. Bruno decided to sleep in early, as the walking he’d done the entire day exhausted him.
As he laid down in bed, he felt an anxious feeling wash over him. Not just light anxiety, but unbearable anxiety, like something horrible was going to happen. This feeling would often come to him when he was about to have a vision, but he wasn’t having one. Bruno reached for his face, and as he did, a piercing emerald light hit his hand. His eyes were glowing.
His eyesight wasn’t obscured like it normally was when he was foretelling someone’s fate, he could see just fine. Suddenly, an intense headache came seemingly out of nowhere, making him wince. The pain didn’t have a single location though, it was his entire head that throbbed.
A headache this intense would never appear unless he had done a life changing vision beforehand, but he hadn’t. His powers had never acted like this before. He ignored the pit that was forming in his stomach and tried to sleep, figuring everything would go back to normal the next morning. It took a while due to his dreadful headache, but he eventually fell asleep.
⧖
Bruno woke up feeling his back ache excruciatingly. He tried to get on his feet, but being half asleep, he immediately fell to the ground. Instead of the hard floor he was expecting, he was greeted by soft sand hitting his face, dampening the otherwise painful fall. After allowing himself a few seconds to collect his thoughts and fully wake up, he looked around. He wasn’t in his bedroom anymore, and was at the bottom of the stairs.
Bruno got up and looked at the place he fell off of, it was his old hammock. He could barely process any of it as he looked back up at the stairs that were ten times as long as they were the day before, what was happening? The anxious feeling he’d felt came back, making his stomach churn. He quickly made his way to his door, passing the sand waterfall that coated his hair in a thin layer of it. As he reached for his door handle, he used his other hand to ruffle his hair free of a bit of the sand, but something felt strange.
His hair that would reach to his shoulders, was now much shorter. He let go of the doorknob and felt his hair with both his hands, just to be sure he wasn’t mistaken. No, it was definitely shorter than it usually was, had someone cut his hair in his sleep? Julieta had suggested a couple weeks ago that he cut it short to stop it from getting in his face all the time, but Bruno declined, not wanting to let go of his curly locks just yet.
She wouldn’t have done it without his permission, he was sure, but there was no other explanation he could think of. He was pretty livid, but as he finally opened the door to his room, his great confusion overpowered it. He looked around at the walls surrounding his door, and most of them were empty. All he could see were Pepa’s, Julieta’s, Alma’s and his own door on their wall, and the nursery right across. Everyone else’s doors were completely wiped from existence.
Not only that, but Casita in general looked a lot different. There were no signs of Isabela's colorful flowers and plants hanging from the ceiling, Mirabel’s small little decorations on the floors and walls or Antonio’s small animal friends that would usually be filling Casita with life. Bruno almost forgot what the place used to look like without them, but that was besides the point, why weren’t they there?
He walked closer to each wall, dragging his arm along them, hoping somehow that their doors would just magically appear, but they didn’t. Panicked thoughts started to fill his mind, had something happened to his nieces and nephews? And he’d just been sleeping through it like nothing was wrong?
He went up to his mother's door and began frantically knocking, when he noticed another weird detail. Instead of her name etched on her door being “Abuela”, it said “Alma”, her actual name. He didn’t understand. It’d changed long ago, and they didn’t even have images on their doors anymore, at least after Mirabel brought Casita back to life. His mother eventually opened the door, and his jaw almost dropped.
“Ay, Bruno! Stop with the knocking!”
He didn’t respond, but stared at her In disbelief, unable to completely grasp if what he was seeing was real. His mother, who was seventy, looked young again. Her gray hair that used to be neatly tucked into a low bun, was now black, and loosely braided into twin braids, not a single gray hair in sight. All the signs of aging on her face were almost completely gone too, she looked younger than Bruno.
“How.. old.. are you?” He muttered.
“..Are you feeling alright, Mijo? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
She reached over and touched his forehead, trying to notice a difference in temperature. Bruno gently removed her hand, and looked her in the eyes.
“How old are you?”
“..Thirty-seven, why?”
He couldn’t believe his ears, no way she was. This was just some elaborate prank that his family members somehow got his mother involved in, it had to be. He looked back at the empty walls and felt his heart sink to his stomach, this wasn’t real.
“W-Where 's Mirabel, Isabela, Luisa, Dolores, Camilo, Antonio, Félix, Agustín.. where are they?”
Bruno felt tears well up in his eyes, they were just here the day before. Alma looked at him like she had no idea what he was talking about. It made an intense anger well up in his chest, how could she not remember her own grandchildren and son in laws?
“..Brunito, I don’t know who you’re referring to. Are those the names of your rats?”
“ No! You know them, stop pretending you don’t! This isn’t funny!”
“I’m not pretending, I don’t know who those people are!”
“You do! They’re your grandkids.. a-and your yernos.. you love.. them.. y-y-you..”
Bruno eventually stopped speaking, trying to choke back tears. As he looked at his mothers increasingly worried expression, he realized that she wasn’t lying. She didn’t know who they were, and it broke him. Before she could utter another word, he ran into the bathroom, needing to confirm his suspicion. He walked up to the sink and looked into the bathroom mirror, not recognizing the person staring back at him.
Bruno leaned forward to get a better look, thinking his eyes were deceiving him, but no. What he was staring at, it was undoubtedly his own reflection. All the wrinkles that formed on his face over the years were gone, young, firm skin in its place. All his facial hair vanished, the only thing remaining was the baby face his sisters always used to tease him about.
He couldn’t grasp what was happening, why was he younger, why was his mother younger? It didn’t make any sense, there were no traces of his sobrinos or his cuñados. They were here just the day before, they couldn’t have just gone up in smoke. There was no other way to look at it, he had somehow gone back in time, back to a time where none of his sobrinos had been born yet.
Judging his looks, and what his mother said, he must be back to his teenage years. This wasn’t happening, this was just a dream. Bruno punched himself repeatedly in the head trying to wake himself up, hoping he was just having a really vivid nightmare, but it didn’t work. All it did was leave him a painful headache. If this was a dream, he would’ve woken up due to the extreme pain. This was no dream.
As the severity of the situation set in, Bruno sank to his knees and weeped. He missed them all, he couldn’t even imagine a world where he didn’t see their goofy smiles everyday, or hear their stupid jokes. Their support was what motivated him out of bed, what would he do without them? Especially now, he’d gone back to the worst years of his life.
This was around the time where he started slowly drifting away from his family, and the village rumors got even worse. He didn’t have his supportive family to help him through this anymore, because more than half were gone, and the ones remaining didn’t have the knowledge he had.
All the scrutiny he faced leaving Casita when he was younger, coupled with the fact that he still carried the trauma he had from being inside those walls and years to come, he didn’t know if he’d make it. Being forced to relive his most horrid memories would certainly drive him insane.
Bruno had just become a part of the community, he’d just managed to feel comfortable being himself again, but he had to be stripped of it. Now he was back to fearing or being feared by the villagers around him. They only saw the worst in him, and he couldn’t believe that he was back to a time where even his own family did too.
Bruno wiped away the tears streaming down his face, and tried calming his shuddering breaths.
Everything is fine, you’ll be fine. You’re a grown man Bruno, you can handle this.
He kept reassuring himself in his head, hoping that just repeating those phrases would make him less stressed. He eventually calmed his nerves, and felt relatively normal again. He got up from where he was sitting, took a deep breath and opened the door. Bruno stepped out into the hallway, staring at the empty walls. They were all gone, and there was nothing he could do about it.