Chapter Text
‘Oh, Luisa!’ Mirabel cried, rushing over to her big sister without a second thought.
Mirabel leaned up against her arm, hoping to bring some comfort in the same way a little plush toy might.
Isabela gasped and rushed over too. ‘Aw, hermana…’
‘I-I’m fine…’ Luisa said, her broken voice indicating that she certainly wasn’t . ‘S-She finally found love again, b-but then… a-and she was so lost, a-and…’
‘It’s alright, Lu.’ Isabela said in her softest voice. ‘It was a sad story. Let it allll out.’
Antonio climbed through the crowd and perched himself on Luisa’s lap. He was absolutely tiny in comparison, and sat there much like a kitty. It was very comfortable.
‘Do you need a hug?’ He asked, reaching his arms up.
Of course, asking Luisa for a hug came with inherent risks that he was well aware of. Not that he cared: someone needed cuddles, dang it! Still, he could feel the air getting squeezed out of him when the absurdly strong arms lifted him up and pressed him up against Luisa’s chest. Luisa had to go out of her way to make sure she wouldn’t squish him in her grasp, the thought of which didn’t exactly help. She couldn’t stop weeping, but having a little primo to hug certainly did help. And Antonio didn’t even care that certain unpleasant bodily fluids from her eyes and nose were soaking into his clothes.
And Bruno had to watch the whole thing. His smile had disappeared immediately, and already he could feel his heart sinking. It was one thing to see one of the kiddos crying to begin with. But to know that he did this - that it was his idea that made her so upset - was on another level entirely.
It was Pepa’s wedding all over again.
‘Wait, no!’ He cried.
He ran off the stage as quickly as he could - dead forward. If it wasn’t for Casita lifting up the floorboards to give him a smoother landing, he would’ve face-planted into the floor hard enough to break something. Luisa was already surrounded by all the other grandkids, except for Camilo who had simply stayed in his seat. Not that he was happy about the situation. Even Parce moved from their spot to cuddle at her legs, like a little kitty cat.
Bruno’s mind was absolutely racing. It was all his fault. He upset the sensitive kid. Someone was crying because of him. He hadn’t learned from the ‘Looks Like Rain’ incident!
‘Oh, I am so sorry, Luisita!’ He pleaded, getting as close to her as the little crowd would let him. ‘I-I didn’t think… I should’ve known…’
If Luisa was listening to a word he was saying, she didn’t show it. She continued to cry, quite loudly too, and held Antonio tight in her arms. Even with her size, it was surprising just how much fluid could come out of her body. Bruno opened his mouth to apologise more, but found himself speechless. To ease his rising stress and concern, he knocked his hands against the wood of his stage and then against his skull.
It took a few minutes - though it felt like hours to Bruno - for Luisa to regain just enough control that she could speak once again. Tears still flowed down her cheeks, and putting words together was hard with how badly her lungs wanted air, but she could manage it.
‘I-It’s not your fault, Tio…’ She said. ‘I-I’m fine. R-Really, I am. That play was so… b-beautiful. I l-love it, I swear! It’s just so-’ A hiccup interrupted her. ‘So s-sad!’
‘What she’s trying to say, Tio,’ Isabela said. ‘Is that you don’t need to apologise.’
‘She’s just really sensitive.’ Mirabel added. ‘Like, reeeally sensitive. But she still loved it.’
The knowledge that Luisa was not upset with her Tio soothed Bruno’s worries just a bit, but only a bit. At least he hadn’t ruined yet another relationship, but she was still upset.
‘Sooo…’ He said. ‘She doesn’t hate me now, right?’
‘I-I would never hate you, Tio!’ Luisa cried.
Bruno cringed; that only seemed to make her cry more, now out of guilt for making her Tio so upset too. He gave himself another mental kick - hated by all for a while because he could literally see the future, and yet he couldn’t predict that his sad play would make his emotional sobrina cry!
Then he noticed that Camilo was gone.
‘Wait…’
He double-checked the grandkids, to make sure that there weren’t any doubles, and then looked for any strangers who weren’t supposed to be in the room. Dolores’s eye line directed him onto the stage, where he could just barely see Camilo standing in the shadows behind the curtain. Before Bruno could ask himself what the teenager was about to do, Camilo suddenly spun around and changed shape into what appeared to be a bootlegged and even more exaggeratedly-handsome Mariano, changing the little details just a bit so he looked like a different person.
‘Oh, Valentina!’ He yelled, with a gorgeous suave voice. ‘I have overheard your unfortunate conversations, since I sat conveniently next to your table in the cafe every other day! Alas, your name is the only thing I know, because I too have amnesia. Oh, what a shameful coincidence!’
The sheer weirdness of the display was the only thing that could distract the grandkids - and Bruno - away from Luisa, who was still crying quite a bit. Dolores and Antonio chuckled at their brother’s shenanigans, while Mirabel and Isabela looked at him in confusion.
‘What is he…?’ Mirabel asked, unable to finish the sentence.
‘Come back, Valentina!’ Camilo continued, reaching out for the invisible woman, before he unleashed an overdramatic gasp for air. ‘I do not know how, due to that infernal amnesia, but I just know that you hold the key to unlocking the rest of my memories. I JUST KNOW IT!’
He whispered something, so quietly that only Dolores had even a chance of hearing it.
‘Oh!’ She murmured. ‘Okay, I get it.’
Everyone was so distracted by Camilo’s shenanigans - perhaps assuming he was doing this as a parody of Bruno’s work - that they didn’t notice Dolores scampering behind the curtains and jumping out onto the stage. By this point, Casita understood what was happening and dimmed the lights once again, shining a spotlight on Dolores and another on Camilo.
‘Oh, um… Carlos!’ She said, saying the first male name that came to her head, speaking just loud enough to be heard by everyone. ‘I… I don’t know how I know your name already, since I have amnesia, but somehow I… I remember yours. How, erm, amazing!’
Camilo’s usual attitude pushed through when he gave her his usual look, through the Mariano-esque appearance. ‘You are not good at improv.’
Dolores gave him an exaggerated frown. ‘Then you shouldn’t have chosen me to play Valentina!’
‘Okay, fine, I’ll do the leading.’
‘You’re doing great, Dolly!’ Bruno said, giving her a thumbs-up. ‘Keep going!’
A sneaky smile crept across Isabela’s face as the realisation of what was happening sunk in, and she had to fight the urge not to laugh while her sister was still in need of comforting. Mirabel could only grin and roll her eyes, until she got another look at Luisa’s face. The big girl was smiling now, even if just barely. There were still a few tears on her face, but the weeping had been reduced to nothing more than barely-controlled sniffling. And then, she laughed. She, honest to goodness, laughed. It was a weak little chuckle to be sure, but a chuckle nonetheless. Only then did it dawn on Mirabel what exactly Camilo was doing. He wasn’t doing this to mock Bruno’s telenovelas or anything like that.
He wouldn’t stop until he made you smile today.
‘Oh, Valentina!’ Camilo cried, getting a little closer. ‘There is something about your face… your eyes… your voice! I cannot imagine what it is, but it seems strangely familiar. But what is it? I must know!’
Dolores grinned nervously, well aware of how difficult it was going to be to catch-up with Camilo’s brilliant acting. Bruno’s smile was all she needed to keep going.
‘Uh…’ She cleared her throat. ‘Perhaps, Carlos, it is… fate? Yes, fate! There must be a reason why we were brought together, despite our horrible memory loss! When I look into your eyes, I realise that I…’ She cracked a smile. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m just-’
‘Flirting with your own brother?’ Camilo finished. ‘Yeah, it’s awkward for me too.’ He leaned in and whispered, ‘But it’s making Luisa laugh, so we gotta deal with it.’
‘Okay, fine.’ Dolores stepped back and continued her line. ‘I realise that… that I… that I recognise those beautiful brown eyes! It’s like I met you… once upon a dream. It’s as though I… remember you.’
Despite doing a subpar job when it came to improv, Dolores had nailed every single line delivery. It was still a little over-the-top, and yet she managed to deliver some genuine emotion through her lines. Perhaps she was remembering the times that she could only pine for Mariano instead of kissing him, and worked that into her glorious performance. Compared to Bruno and Camilo, who were clearly just hamming it up, she sounded as though she was making a real effort to sound real.
‘You… you are not my nephew again, are you?’ She asked, sounding genuinely heartbroken. ‘I have already had my heart ripped apart before by such a revelation! I cannot let it happen again…’
Camilo stared ahead in thought. ‘You make a good point, Valentina. But, that cannot be the case. I have every reason to believe that we are the same age, are we not? I know for a fact that I am… twenty-nine.’
Dolores gasped. ‘Why, I’m twenty-nine too! While I’m sure it is possible for someone’s nephew to be of the same age as them - if not older, maybe…? - but I do not think that is the case here. In fact, I refuse to believe that our similar ages are a coincidence! May I… take your hand?’
Camilo was taken aback. Whether it was the character or the actor who had been surprised by this plot development was yet to be seen, but the art of improv required him to go along with it. So, he held his hand out for her. She took her steps towards him slowly, looking like she was worried he would explode or something.
Then, Luisa gasped and leaned forward once again, wiping up any remaining body fluids with her arm. This time, she was making sure that she didn’t fall off her seat.
‘They were lovers once!’ She murmured. ‘They had to be. There’s nothing else it could be!’
‘Well, keep watching.’ Mirabel said. ‘I’m sure you’ll find out.’
After what seemed like an eternity, Dolores finally took Camilo’s hand. This is quickly turning into a very different kind of fanfic, but I can assure you they were only acting. As soon as her palm came into contact with his, Dolores gasped.
‘It’s… it’s all coming back to me!’ She said. ‘The way you hold my hand is so familiar, I…’ She gasped again, extra hard this time. ‘It all makes sense!’
‘What makes sense, mi vida?’ Camilo asked, before he whispered, ‘No, seriously, what? You’re going off the rails.’
‘I am not going off the rails. I believe this is a perfectly logical conclusion.’
‘Yes, I get what you’re going for, cos it was my whole idea… but, seriously? Through hand-touching ? That doesn’t make any sense!’
‘It’s a telenovela, Milo. It’s allowed to make no sense.’
Camilo shrugged. ‘Yeah, I get it. Keep going.’
Their attempts at keeping their argument quiet didn’t work, for the entire crowd could hear every word. Though it completely ruined the immersion, Luisa was laughing once again while Mirabel had her face buried in her palm.
‘Don’t you see, Carlos?’ Dolores said, back in-character. ‘We are not mere strangers to each other. There’s something much more to it, more than we could ever imagine. It is impossible to make up! Look into my eyes, and I’m sure you’ll understand.’
Following the instructions of his fellow actor - and trying to ignore the inherent awkwardness of pretend-flirting with his own sister - Camilo looked into ‘Valentina’s’ eyes. And then it was his turn to do a dramatic gasp, outdoing hers by miles.
‘Yes, of course!’ He cried, going full-on with the scenery-chewing. ‘How could I not see it before? We aren’t strangers at all. I recognise your beautiful eyes and gorgeous hair, and that strangely-specific pattern of freckles on your face. Yet, you are not an aunt, or a sister, or in fact part of my family at all. You are… my girlfriend!’
‘I KNEW IT!’ Luisa yelled. ‘I called it!’
Antonio laughed. ‘You’re so smart, Prima!’
Bruno gave the kids a real round of applause. ‘That’s the spirit, guys!’
Camilo took a short break from his performance to glance at Luisa again. No more tears, no more sniffles… just entertainment from the relationship on display and possibly satisfaction out of guessing the plot twist. It was simply adorable, and it made him smile too. Then Dolores interrupted it by bringing him into a big hug, like one might do if they just remembered that the strange man in front of them was actually their boyfriend.
‘Finally…’ She said, sounding as though she was on the verge of happy tears. ‘My life has been so confusing, and I didn’t understand anything because I couldn’t remember a thing. But, now that I have met you again, it’s all becoming clear. I’ve been so sad for so long after it turned out that Diego was my own nephew, but now… now I’m happy once again!’
Camilo gave his best attempt at a flirtatious grin, which was difficult since he was talking to his sister. ‘Oh, Valentina, this is proof that our love is never ending! If destiny determined that our love was not to be, then destiny would not have brought us together through our double case of amnesia!’
Isabela emitted a light-hearted groan. ‘Oh, I get it. Of course Tio Bruno’s plots involve a lot of destiny.’
‘You nailed it, kid!’ Bruno said. ‘Destiny is both a wondrous and cruel mistress. She makes any story better.’
It was becoming clear that the story was wrapping up at this point. There was no need, or even desire, to throw in another ‘she was his aunt’ plot twist that could only serve to make Luisa upset again. Yet, Dolores could not quite bring herself to end the story just yet. She could hear the slightest whisper coming from her youngest brother.
And there was no way she could turn down his request.
‘Hey, Milo.’ She whispered. ‘Tonio wants to join in.’
‘Now?’ Camilo replied. ‘The story’s almost over! What are we supposed to do now?’
‘Well, we can’t just exclude him.’
‘Of course we can’t exclude him! But how are we gonna…?’ He grinned. ‘Okay, I’ve got something.’ He turned to his glorious Bootleg Mariano voice. ‘And there is but something else I just luckily remembered! We, uh, did a lot more than you may remember while we were deeply in love.’
Dolores immediately saw where this was going, and found herself sighing at his questionable little joke. A joke that wouldn’t even be noticeable if it wasn’t for the blatant emphasis on the word ‘did’. It was moments like this that reminded her that her hermano was a teenager.
‘And that is… that we had a son together!’
Luisa’s jaw dropped. There were so many twists it was like a rollercoaster. And Dolores couldn’t believe that she now had to pretend that her youngest brother was her and her older brother’s son. Still, she motioned for him to come up onto the stage, and he responded with a little cheer so adorable that it put the little rat costumes to shame. He hopped onto Parce like the jaguar was a horse, and the duo leapt onto the stage so quickly that he split the ‘couple’ apart.
‘Hi Mamá!’ He said, like they had just come home and hadn’t just forgotten his existence for an indeterminate amount of time. ‘Hi Papá!’
Camilo did a fantastic fake gasp. ‘What lucky timing our little boy has! Just as we were talking about him, he and his… very affectionate little kitty-‘ Parce emitted a quiet growl at such a title, at least a little aware it was patronising. ‘-have happened to find us again!’
‘Where were you, my lovely little boy?’ Dolores asked.
Antonio chuckled. ‘I was lost, in this… this great big jungle! But I wasn’t scared. Not at all!’
Dolores smiled. ‘I know you weren’t, my amazing little boy. I’d expect nothing less from you!’
Very high-pitched and manly sounds escaped Bruno’s mouth. The cuteness on display was through the roof! Then again, adding Antonio to anything made it so much cuter. Actually, scratch that: adding any of those amazing grandkids made anything cuter.
Upon seeing this, Isabela decided that she could deny it no longer, and stood up. ‘You know what? If Tonio’s joining in, then so am I.’
Mirabel laughed. ‘Are you going to be their daughter or something?’
‘Nope. That’s too boring.’
‘Alright!’ Bruno yelled. ‘Let’s mix this up!’
‘Just don’t hurt anyone!’ Luisa cried. ‘Not too much. Please?’
‘I won’t hurt the kid.’
Next thing anyone knew, Isabela leapt onto the stage from behind the curtains. In just a few seconds, she had taken her pollen-stained dress and dyed it a crazy mix of red-and-black, adding whatever ‘frightening’ plants she could think of to the ends of it. Even her hair had intense red highlights going down it, very much looking like someone trying too hard to have a villainous appearance.
Because that’s precisely what she was doing.
‘Uh, Isa…?’ Camilo said, completely breaking character. ‘What on earth are you…?’
‘A-HA! It is I, Miss Sundew!’ Isabela yelled, her voice brimming with ‘evil’. ‘Your adorable little son has inadvertently led you into a trap! I have been biding my time, waiting in that big scary jungle, to exact my revenge upon you, Carlos!’
‘... Why?!’ Camilo asked, as Camilo and not as Carlos, while Dolores failed to stifle her laughter.
‘Because of that time years ago when you walked through my garden and ruined my beautiful jacarandas!’
Dolores and Camilo had been brought to silence, only able to exchange confused glances with each other, while Antonio kept laughing. After a little while, Camilo simply shrugged.
‘Alright then.’ He said, before he got back in character. ‘But Miss Sundew! I cannot remember doing such a thing because that particular part of my memory has not returned yet. Still, I am sorry for such an act, assuming I actually did do it and you’re not just claiming I am! Please, forgive me!’
‘You FOOL!’ Isabela shouted, clearly enjoying her villainous role a little too much. ‘You foolishly think that I am the forgiving type. I NEVER WAS!’
‘Isn’t that the truth?’ Mirabel remarked, which got a little laugh out of Luisa.
Isabela put her hands on her hips. ‘Well, this bespectacled bystander before me best thank her lucky stars that I am sparing her from my mighty power, in spite of my tremendous power! If I wanted to, I could dangle her from the vines… BY THE NECK!’
While everyone else was taken aback by the sudden death threat - Mirabel most of all - Bruno just applauded her.
‘Now that’s the sign of a good actor.’ He said. ‘Someone who can deliver a wonderful response to a critic while remaining perfectly in-character!’
Mirabel just put her hands up. ‘Noooo thank you. I think I’m happy to just watch the craziness folding out in front of me. If I hop onto that stage, I might lose it.’
‘Well!’ Isabela said. ‘If this scared little bystander-’
‘HEY!’
‘-is done, I wish to continue exacting my revenge on this little brat and his annoying little family!’
‘You’re mean.’ Antonio said, crossing his arms, as though he was dealing with a random schoolground bully.
Isabela pouted, just a little. ‘If you weren’t so freakin’ adorable, I’d have you fed to the pitcher plants! But, since you’re so cute, I’ll merely settle with this!’
She raised her arms up towards the sky like she was trying to raise the dead, and suddenly three strong vines broke through the stage’s floor like it wasn’t even there.
‘LOOK OUT!’ Luisa yelled, as if she didn’t just watch the three heroes jump in surprise.
Taking a quick moment to murmur apologies to both Bruno and Luisa for breaking the stage, Isabela commanded those vines to seize all three protagonists and wrap around their waists. The vines’ grip wasn’t that tight at all - because Isabela didn’t want to hurt her cousins - but the three got the picture and remained stuck in place. Parce, meanwhile, was left a little confused until Isabela extended Antonio’s vine to wrap around their paw.
‘I HAVE YOU NOW!’ Isabela declared to the heavens above. ‘And your little cat too! This is what happens when you dare cross the path of MISS SUNDEW!’
‘You’re still mean.’ Antonio said, again.
‘OH, WOE IS US!’ Camilo yelled, dramatic hand-to-forehead and all. ‘Because of a silly mistake I made and yet cannot even remember - still making me wonder if I even made it to begin with - I have gotten my girlfriend and son trapped in some vile lady’s vines! I… wasn’t even aware that plant manipulation powers were a thing in our world, but apparently they are.’
‘Oh, what a shame this is!’ Dolores said, hardly able to contain her laughter. ‘Thrown up against a horrid villain just as our lives were looking up again! Is this all just fate’s cruel, cruel game?’
Isabela belted out an impressive evil laugh. ‘NO ONE CAN STOP ME NOW!’
Dolores flinched and squeaked.
‘Oh, sorry!’ Isabela whispered. ‘I’ll try to tone it down a bit.’
Mirabel got another look at Luisa. The big girl’s fists were clenched and shaking, and she murmured ‘come on, COME ON’ to herself over and over. And seeing how Isabela had successfully taken over the story…
She leapt to her feet. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, Miss Sundew!’
Isabela gave her sister a snide little look, which Mirabel couldn’t tell was coming from her or ‘Miss Sundew’.
‘Does the mere bystander dare defy me?’ Isabela asked. ‘The great and powerful Miss Sundew?!’
‘While it is true that I may just be a bystander,’ Mirabel said, doing a good job for someone who said she wouldn’t do it. ‘I have an older sister who is the toughest person in the world, and she’s going to kick your carnivorous grass!’
Silence. Everyone stared at her.
‘I said… I have an older sister who’s going to kick your grass!’
More silence. Her head snapped over to her middle sister.
‘Luisa!’ She whispered. ‘Get on the stage and kick butt!’
Only then did Luisa realise that she was a part of this now. She had been so invested that she forgot that the real world even existed for a hot minute.
‘Oh, you mean me!’ She said, trying not to become flustered again. ‘Wait, what am I supposed to do?’
‘It doesn’t matter!’ Mirabel replied. ‘Just go on stage and start saying stuff.’
Luisa wasn’t certain, at first, if she could truly embark onto that stage and be the hero that the story demanded. The rest of her family was awesome - no one could argue with that - but she was still getting over that ‘I’M A LOSER!’ phase. One month wasn’t nearly enough time for someone to recover from their self-esteem blowing up in their face.
‘Come on, Lu!’ Antonio yelled, quite cheerful for a little kid trapped in vines. ‘You can do it!’
Her little primo being the cutest kid in the world certainly helped though.
‘Get on that stage, kid!’ Bruno said, trying (and failing) to drag her off her seat. ‘Oh, you are heavy… I-I mean, you are asombrosa!’
Seeing the anticipation coming from the rest of her family - and Bruno’s poor attempts at moving someone twice his size - was that little push that Luisa needed. She took a deep breath, and stood up. It was fortunate that her build and posture emanate confidence by default, because she certainly wasn’t feeling confident.
‘Uh… stop!’ She yelled, sounding a bit more ready for it than she felt. ‘You, uh, you… you bundle of poison ivy!’
‘Ooh, nice one!’ Bruno said, mostly just to boost her self-esteem. ‘Keep going.’
‘I, uh, don’t know who you are, because I don’t think I’ve actually ever… seen you before, unless there’s a backstory I’m supposed to know?’ Her voice rose in pitch the more she spoke.
Isabela eased her awkwardness with another evil laugh. ‘You? I’ve never seen you in my whole life! Do you really hope to stop me? You…’
Then, for the first time since stepping on stage, she had no idea what to say next. If it was Mirabel who had decided to be the hero, there were a few hundred one-liners that Isabela could spout at her expense. But now she was dealing with someone whose self-esteem she was terrified to hurt. Yes, she was playing a character, and she knew that Luisa knew that, but it wasn’t a risk she wanted to take.
‘You… NEVER MIND!’ She said. ‘I don’t have the time to bother with a stupid little insult. I have revenge to exact!’
‘A-HA!’ Luisa cried, sounding more confident already. ‘You won’t be exacting any revenge against anyone while I’m here!’
‘WOOO!’ Mirabel cheered. ‘Go and teach her a lesson… whatever your character’s name is!’
Luisa leapt directly onto the stage, making for quite the impressive THUD when she hit the wooden floorboards (a somewhat risky move, seeing as the vines had already weakened them a bit). In an attempt to boost her own confidence and appear more heroic, she mimicked the poses that Heracles would often strike. At least, the poses she figured he would strike. Combined with her already-impressive build, she looked like the exact heroine the story needed.
‘Let them go!’ She yelled. ‘Or I’ll… do something! … Whatever that is…’
Isabela let out another evil laugh - she was so good at them. ‘I’ve seen your type before… ALL BRAWN AND NO BRAIN!’
She immediately regretted the words as they left her mouth, until she heard Luisa laughing. Quite loudly too. So, not only was Luisa bad at not laughing in the middle of a performance, but Isabela had no reason to be worried.
‘And that’s such a shame!’ She continued. ‘Because your silly little brawn will do you no good! … But, I’m feeling merciful. What’s your preferred method of execution: strangled by vines, digested slowly by a pitcher plant, or consumption of ‘suspicious’ berries?’
Luisa frowned. ‘Um… neither?’ She grinned again. ‘I mean, uh… I will not be executed by the likes of you!’
‘So be it! If you do not wish to surrender, then how do you hope to defeat me? Your foolish and brainless brawn will be no match for my fantastic flora!’
Thank goodness this ‘pressure’ was entirely made up, or Luisa might have had a moment right on that stage.
‘Please help us, random stranger!’ Camilo yelled. ‘With muscles that mighty, there is no doubt that you’ll defeat Miss Sundew and save the day. You’ll be like Heracles himself!’
‘Did you not hear what I just said?’ Isabela demanded. ‘Her brawn will be hopeless against my plants! Ever try to force your way through vines? It’s a fantastic way to hang yourself!’
‘What is your obsession with hanging people by vines today?’ Mirabel asked, not surprised when she received no answer.
This put Luisa in a bit of a tight spot. Three ensnared people behind her, and a nasty supervillain in front of her. It would’ve been absurdly easy to simply uppercut ‘Miss Sundew’ and tear through the vines like they were paper, but this wasn’t a real supervillain she was dealing with; it was her sister. And even a fake punch backed up by her muscles and gift could easily knock Isabela out, if not something even worse.
But the play had set her up to, quote, ‘kick carnivorous grass’!
‘Oh no!’ Dolores cried, if only to fill the silence. ‘Our heroic… heroine is getting nervous! The might of Miss Sundew must be too much for her to bear. But I know she can overcome it! Lui- uh, whatever-her-name-is must be one of the most awesome people in the world!’
‘Your praise for this random stranger is about unsubtle as it gets!’ Camilo yelled.
Despite the genuine praise coming her way, Luisa still wasn’t sure what to do. Until, of course, she heard her Tio.
‘If you don’t want to go down the expected path,’ He said. ‘Then do whatever you want! It’s improv. We expect weird and wild stuff to happen!’
So, Luisa took another deep breath, and readied herself for her next move. Everyone leaned forward from the excitement, anticipating whatever crazy move she might make to move this story forward.
She held her arms out somewhat weakly. ‘Do… do you need a hug?’
Her usually bold voice petered out, as though she realised how silly it sounded. In fact, Isabela had to visibly fight off her laughter.
‘A hug?’ She repeated, almost breaking character for a moment. ‘A HUG?! You plan to defeat me and my astronomical might with… an embrace?!’ The silly thought of it was enough to have her belting out the most impressive evil laugh you could imagine.
Mirabel shrugged. ‘Well… I almost saved a miracle by hugging someone. I don’t see why it couldn’t work.’
Camilo grinned. ‘Of course! I see her master plan. Look at those arms of hers. She could snap a thick tree in half with arms like that! If she could bring Miss Sundew into a hug, she could easily render that villainous witch helpless, if not lifeless!’
Luisa noticeably winced.
Dolores gasped. ‘Wait a minute… I don’t think that is her plan at all! I cannot be sure, but I think that this lady in front of us… may not be using her strength at all.’
‘Miss Sundew’ was too distracted with her glorious evil laugh to notice the mountain of a lady (and I mean that descriptor in the best possible way) approaching her with her arms out. Next thing she knew, Isabela had been thrown into the tightest hug she had ever been in. Luisa didn’t hug people very often, solely out of fear of hurting them, so when she did choose to hug someone, she went all out. Despite Isabela feeling like she was about to turn into putty, it felt oddly… warm. It was almost as if this was why Luisa was granted the gift of strength, instead of for lifting churches.
‘LET ME GO!’ She yelled, in-character, as loudly as her crushed lungs could manage. ‘BEFORE I… before I…’
Isabela’s tense muscles relaxed, and she allowed herself to melt into this loving embrace. The vines that had her cousins constricted in place suddenly weakened and dropped to the floor, and - through a bit of wiggling around - she wrapped her arms around her big-little sister’s waist. It wasn’t nearly as easy for her to fully-embrace Luisa as it was for Luisa to absolutely crush her.
‘I… I can’t believe it.’ Isabela said, struggling to speak in Luisa’s grasp. ‘I have never been hugged until now.’
Luisa gasped. ‘You… you haven’t?’
‘No… and I probably won’t ever again if you snap my spine.’
‘Oh, sorry.’
Luisa finally let her sister go, and Isabela needed a good moment or three to get her breath back. Maybe that was why Luisa didn’t hug people very often. What a shame.
‘You are the first person in the world who’s ever offered me a hug!’ Isabela cried. ‘Now that I have had one, I realise just how much I’ve missed…’
‘Oh, you poor thing!’ Dolores said. ‘No wonder you were so vindictive.’
‘How horrible!’ Camilo yelled. ‘What a sad and totally-not-ridiculous backstory that perfectly explains why you just tried to kill me and my family for a mistake I may not have even made because I don’t remember anything other than my girlfriend and son!’
He managed to get through that whole paragraph in a single breath. Meanwhile, Luisa seemed like Miss Sundew’s unfortunate backstory would activate the waterworks again.
‘It’s amazing!’ Isabela said. ‘I was expecting to get a fist to my jaw, and yet… you used your heart to overcome my vicious plants and managed to speak to me in a way no one else could before!’
‘I-I don’t like confrontation.’ Luisa admitted. ‘Uh, I mean… I could not bear to fight someone who was clearly just a victim of… of neglect and mistreatment! My little sister once said that a warm hug cures being upset, and… well, she’s always right.’
‘HOORAY!’ Antonio cheered.
Isabela stared up at her saviour. ‘Now that I know how much people can truly love… can I be with you, forever?’
Luisa gave her a strange look. ‘You mean, as a girlfriend, or…? Because, er, I kinda prefer guys. Sorry.’
The fact that she was saying this to her own sister - and that the only thing stopping them was apparently Luisa’s personal preferences – was not lost on her. Judging by Isabela’s barely-stifled laugh, they both thought this situation was a little awkward.
‘Oh.’ Isabela said, sounding strangely disappointed. ‘Adopted sisters instead?’
Luisa smiled. ‘Uh, sure! That works.’
Though this would make for a perfect conclusion, this play could’ve gone on for at least another hour if the Madrigal grandkids had it their way. But, before anyone else could figure out what crazy plot point could keep it going (after the villain was subdued no less), Casita bounced a little clock across the floorboards until it landed at Bruno’s feet. When he picked it up to read the time…
‘Oh!’ He yelled. ‘Looks like time really got away from us. It’s almost dinner time already!’
‘Welp, sounds like that’s the end of that.’ Camilo said, returning to his normal form. ‘I mean, this was fun at all, but I ain’t missing out on dinner.’
Dolores chuckled. ‘You can never get enough, can you?’
He shot her a look. ‘You were a teenager once too, you know!’
Antonio hopped on Parce and guided them off the stage, looking surprisingly happy seeing as the fun had been cut short rather abruptly.
‘We’ll do this again, right?’ He asked his Tio.
The look on the little boy’s face was so excited and hopeful that Bruno - even if he wanted to, which he didn’t - could not find it in himself to say no.
‘Of course we will!’ He declared. ‘You kids looked like you were having too much fun to stop it now. I’ve still got hundreds of ideas, and with all of us brainstorming, we could have enough fun stories to last us a lifetime!’
‘I call dibs on playing the villain again next time.’ Isabela said, replacing the red-and-black with vibrant green-and-blue. ‘My little stint as Miss Sundew was waaay too short.’
‘Hang on!’ Camilo said. ‘You don’t get to be the bad guy twice in a row. Next time, I’m the villain. And this time, I won’t be defeated by a Luisa Hug, no matter how powerful they are.’
‘Oh, alright then. But you’ve got a tough act to follow.’
‘And maybe,’ Mirabel said. ‘I’ll join in for real. If I think I can handle it.’
‘No sad endings, right?’ Luisa asked.
‘No sad endings!’ Bruno replied. ‘If someone isn’t happy, I won’t be either!’
Casita bounced the clock around some more, getting a lot of height too, just to remind the grandkids and Tio that they needed to hurry up. In fact, Dolores could already hear Julieta wondering where they were. While Camilo wanted to get there first (as if Antonio and Parce hadn’t already beaten him), he found himself stopped by someone grabbing him on the wrist.
And reeeally tight too. No guessing who that was.
‘Hey, Camilo.’ Luisa said, clearly trying not to cry tears of joy.
‘Hey.’ Camilo replied, clearly unhappy with being stopped. ‘It’s almost dinner time, so this better be important.’
‘I just wanted to say… thanks. You know, for hopping onto the stage and doing all of that just to make me feel better. That was really nice.’
The boy grinned. ‘Alright, that was pretty important. You’re welcome. But if anyone outside of our little acting group asks, I was doing it just to show off my brilliant acting skills.’
Of course, that wasn’t the end of everyone’s acting escapades. They must’ve put on a new performance at least once a week, eventually inviting the rest of the family to watch it too. No one - not even Abuela - could stop smiling through every performance.
And, as far as Bruno was aware, it made those ten long years of watching his family from the outside worth it.
THE END!