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Despite having every reason to believe, Pepa decided that fairy tales were stupid.
She swore off love when she was about 12, still developing an understanding of her gift. Love was clouding her mind, causing unpredictable and extreme weather changes. There was a boy, Ricardo, of distant relation to some townsfolk, and Pepa was convinced she had met her future husband. The visitor was as attractive as a 13 year old could be.
Ever the obvious one, it did not take long for Pepa's feelings to become common knowledge.
After 2 weeks of uncontrollable heat and hurricanes, somebody in town finally had snapped. Little Ricardo was dragged to Casita in his Sunday best with some weeds gripped in his sweaty palms, asking Alma for permission to take Pepa out. Not oblivious to the village's needs and her daughter's wants, she allowed Pepa to get her first boyfriend.
There was a rainbow gracing the sky for weeks after that.
Though Pepa was consistently happy for the first time since she had recieved her gift, their relationship was not sunshine and roses. Their "dates" consisted of Pepa trailing after Ricardo while he played with his friends. So in love, she did not notice, or willfully ignored, the fact that Ricardo didn't seem to like her very much. Her attempts at holding hands and other relationship standards were only fulfilled when adults and the other Madrigals were watching or little clouds were forming above Pepa's head.
Both were sad when he left the village to return to his home, in fact he seemed quite crushed.
Pepa had been expecting dramatic confession of feeling and love, and Ricardo, surprisingly, delivered.
Just to the wrong sister.
You see, as a rambunctious little boy, Ricardo frequented Julieta's stand to recieve some of her healing food. While nursing Ricardo, Julieta was unknowingly nursing a crush that had sprouted in Ricardo's heart. He approached Casita the day before his departure, begging an appalled Julieta to come with him, rebuking Pepa. The whole village could hear him crooning for her.
Including Pepa.
Ricardo was whisked away from the village earlier than expected, but the damage was done. Pepa, embarassed and ashamed, was hurt beyond the point of Julieta's ability to heal. A blizzard, heat wave, and tornado raged that day before settling into a gloomy tain tha that encompassed the city for the next few weeks.
Her siblings tried to cheer her up, to restore clear skies. Julieta made all of Pepa's favorite recipes and treats, which she thoroughly enjoyed, but it did little to soothe the ache in her chest. The rain persisted, much to the town's dismay.
Even Bruno took a chance and predicted the future, one day he scurried into her room holding a smooth green tablet. He spoke of a grand love for her like no other. A man that loved her so strongly that he could push through any hurricane.
Pepa just laughed bitterly. That love just didn't exist for her. Any man could not love her as the insane little weather girl.
As the months went on, the rain became an occasional drizzle and left the village, eventually only pouring on Pepa's head when she thought of Ricardo. She all but forgot about him, but the lesson remained. She needed to be controlled if she ever wanted to be loved. A mantra of clear skies accompanied by a tight smile was her reaponse to stress. Did it work? Debatable. Did Pepa believe it did? Yes.
~
Her next foray into romance was named Milo. It took two months before he got sick of getting rain on everytime they fought, which happened more more than it should have.
Then there was Manuel. He was sweet, but Alma liked him more than Pepa ever did.
Then Enrique, he was a farmer, and insulted her one too many times to "test out" her gift and make it rain.
Salvador was a little bit of a dirtbag, but it fed into Pepa's rebellious streak at the time. He was kicked out by Casita for trying to sneak into to her room in the middle of the night once and never returned.
Mateo had a second family in the next village over.
Then Milo decided to try again. He made it 4 months this time.
Then Manuel, again, just as a date to Julieta's wedding.
Then Milo. On and off.
(What can she say? She likes to have company.)
With these men, came a neverending cycle of weather. One could always predict Pepa's relationship status by just looking out the window or checking the temperature.
It was embarassing having her life broadcasted to the village, but she became desensitized to it all.
But it was during that time she met Felíx Garcia.
Well, not exactly.
The talkative man showed up at the village one day, being tasked to run his uncle's shop while his uncle recovered from a nasty illness. He was cheery and helpful, or at least that's what Pepa was told. The village tended to keep away from her unless absolutely necessary.
Pepa saw him, a short man, yet cute guy, wiping the windows, every morning while she walked, and he saw her. Felíx smiled at her without fail every morning, toothy and wide. She usually smiled back, or at least nodded.
On a particularly rough day for Pepa (another break for her and Milo), snow dusted the area. Not one person was outside, the unusual chilly temperatures were unfamiliar to most. It was a nice solitary time for Pepa while she walked around town, not willing to face her mother's silent judgment for her failure to provide a good husband like her sister.
But she was not as alone as she thought, apparently.
Not willing to compromise his routine, Felix Garcia was scraping the ice off the windows today. He glanced over at Pepa and grinned like always, and she smiled plainly right back. Pepa walked past, prepared to continue on with her day like normal, but he had other plans.
"Senorita! Do you want to join me for a for drink inside?"
She froze, turned slowly, and stared at him with wide eyes. Maybe if she didn't move he would forget she existed and let her go on?
"I have some hot chocolate or some tea, just a little escape from the chill," he continued on.
Pepa almost burst out laughing right then and there. The chill was going to become worse if he invited her inside, seeing as she was the source of it. He might not have known. So why not?
And now she was sitting in his messy, little kitchen, steaming, chipped mug of liquid in her hands, not feeling any warmer. Felix did not seem to feel the cold, chattering away while cleaning up atound her.
"I've been many places in my life, but never have I seen such temperatures in all my life! It's astounding!"
Pepa thought she might as well have fun today. "Ay? You know why right?"
He turned towards her, intrigued. "Hm?"
Pepa took a sip of her tea and smirked into her drink. "It's those Madrigals on the hill. One of those girls can control the weather with her head. When she gets sad or mad, rain or some other crazy temperature. " She paused for dramatic effect and sipped, imitating her mother. She tutted. "I swear, I don't know how they do it."
Felíx raised an eyebrow. "Really!" He was frowning, but Pepa paid no mind.
She hummed in affirmative response. "What a crazy family! The weather girl is one of the very... special ones, let's say." It was entertaining, she decided, speaking in exaggerated tones just to prove her point.
Felix, however, did not find it as funny as Pepa did. "I'm sure she doesn't find it fun being sad either." He turned his back to her returned to his cleaning, though at more precisey than last time. "Why isn't she allowed to feel emotions like everyone else? Just because there's a little rain or snow involved doesn't make it any different than me feeling sad or mad."
Pepa felt like she was choking. She took a big mouthful of tea to avoid responding and to swallow the resulting feelings. In her head, the mantra of clear skies was on loop. She nodded absentmindedly and hoped he didn't push the subject more.
Though her emotions became confused after that, the temperature rose significantly. If Felíx noticed, he didn't say anything.
~
After that day, Pepa found herself walking past Felíx's shop more often and more deliberately than she used to. What was once just smiles, became small conversation and discussions over shared interests.
To him, she was not Pepa Madrigal, the girl who caused droughts. She was Pepa, the girl who liked to dance and the color yellow because it was the color of happiness.
Their relationship soon became less friendly and more romantic, but Pepa wasn't willing to let her last name or her Gift interfere with her chance at happiness. She insisted on intimate picnics in the woods and snuck out of her room at night to meet him after dark. It was by some miracle that he didn't seem to know she was a Madrigal. In any case, she felt happy, and when she was alone with him, there was no need to mutter clear skies to herself to keep the peace, it just came naturally.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end. And that end came as her 27th birthday approached. As a Madrigal, it was expected of them to have a grand party whenever they aged another year to celebrate not only themselves, but their Gifts.
They would open up the Casita and recieve the entire town for dancing, food, and pure celebration. It was more stressful than it was happy for the triplets, but it had to be done. Pepa didn't think about the fact that this might tip her relationship too far into her life until Felíx questioned her about it while they were on a little forest excursion.
"Mi vida," Felix murmured into Pepa's neck while they embraced on the forest floor, "I know how much you love to dance."
Pepa simply hummed her acknowledgement, content with their position.
"What do you think about going to that huge party, up at the Madrigal's?
Pepa took a second, absorbed his question, and reacted suddenly. Going to the party would mean revealing that she was a Madrigal and that she was crazy weather girl. Going to the Party meant that he would meet Mother Madrigal, and being forced under her exacting eyes. She was not going to let her life be ruined like this. Pepa stiffened. Before he could do anything about it, Pepa was removed from Felíx's arms and glaring down at him a few feet away from him. "Absolutely not!"
Clear skies. Clear skies. Clear skies.
"What? Mi vida, I-" He was stammering out his reply, something to convey his confusion.
"I just can't talk about it!" She ran her hands through her bangs, mussing up the curls more than they were already. The sky above became darkened, and the winds picked up. Either she was crying, or tain was falling onto her face.
clearskiesclearskiesclearskies
"Please, Pepa, I don't understand why!" He had gotten to his feet, and was now grasping for her hand in an attempt to comfort her. "You can tell me."
"I can't!"
It was of no use now. Clear skies gave way to thunder, there was a very prominent storm cloud hovering over her head.
"Pepa, mi amor, I love you, but I cannot properly be there for you if you do not tell me what is wrong!" It was breaking Felíx's heart, it hurt to see her in such pain. He was trying to come closer to her, fighting the wind pushing him away, braceing himself against the ground.
Wind picked up even more, and Pepa twisted herself out of his grasp. "No!" Trees were bending under the force of the winds. "Felíx, leave me be!" She gave him no choice. He was struggling against the weather, which gave her the perfect opportunity to flee She ran into the trees, away from the village, into the unknown.
~
Pepa ran until her lungs ached for air and her sides burned, and continued running after that. Her shoes, not made for such heavy use, had not stayed on and she was barefoot against nature. The ground was wet and squished in between her toes, thanks to the heavy rain. Somewhere along the way her favorite skirt had become torn, but her mind was elsewhere.
Her head was flooded with questions and random thoughts.
Why had she run?
Where could she go?
How could she get back?
Would Felíx take her back?
None of which had answers she particularly wanted to think about.
With no other ideas, she just continued, alternating between running and walking when she felt the need. She was drenched in rain, the chill catching up to her. The thunder and lightening was little distraction from the even louder thoughts in her head. Her feet hurt, she had for sure stepped on too many things to be completely unscathed. The discomfort was the least of her problems, however. The sky became dark, not only from her storm, but from the passage of time. How late was it? Her mom was going to kill her. As sun became lower and hid behind the trees, her vision became more obscured and-
SNAP!
Pepa tripped and opened her lips in a silent scream. Or was it loud? She didn't know. She clenched her eyes shut as her ankle throbbed, tears joining the rain on her face. She was no Julieta but she was pretty sure she just broke her ankle, or at least something equivalent. When trying to move, she was met with searing pain through her foot. The most important thing is that she was rendered immobile.
From her place on the ground, she gazed up at the sky. She was too tired to feel sad or mad or anything, so the rain stopped, a little comfort in the time of such pain. She wondered how Bruno, Julieta, and her mom would feel now that her rain stopped, but she also wondered how Felíx was. Before she succumbed to her exhaustion, she felt oddly at peace, despite the pain, discomfort and cold.
~
And then she woke up at home, of course. Strangely, she was disapointed, mostly because she knew her mother was going to chew her out and/or ground her until she turned 50.
The next thing she knew is that her ankle hurt like hell. So much so that before she even opened her eyes, she let out a groan of absolute pain.
"Oh hush. Julieta, give your sister some soup."
Pepa felt her sister's soft hands on her face guiding a spoon into her mouth, she swallowed and sure enough her pain seemed to evaporate. She kept her eyes closed, thinking that she might not have to deal with the consequences of her own actions if she didn't look at her mother.
"Pepa Madrigal, what were you thinking?!"
Well, there goes that hope.
"Mama, I am so glad to see you." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't necessarily true either. She opened her eyes and was greeted with three pairs of eyes looking down at her, Bruno, Julieta, and her mom.
"Don't give me that crap! Imagine my worry when your boyfriend, who, might I add, I knew nothing about, comes banging down our door telling us that you have run away!" Mama Madrigal was scolding her, but only from a place of genuine hurt and heartbreak.
"I'm sorry, Mama," and she was. Pepa adjusted herself in bed so that she was sitting up, on a more even playing field with her family. "I just- It was just too much. I was tired of being Pepa Madrigal."
Her mother furrowed her brow and pursed her lips and said, "It doesn't matter now, I think you've quite possibly worried somebody else more than me." She turned to leave. "Pepa, I think you need to address this on your own." She motioned for Bruno and Julieta to follow her, and they did. Julieta winked slyly at her before sliping out the door.
Pepa was left in stunned silence for only a moment before the door burst open. A crazed Felíx stood in the doorway and examined Pepa before rushing over to her. Under his breath, he was muttering, "Oh thank every star in the sky that you are okay, mi vida."
By her bedside, he dropped to his knees, like he was praying, and pressed a kiss to her palm and it was there that she got a good and true look at him. His hair was messy and his eyes were bloodshot. His clothes were muddy, and he had obviously not bathed in a while. Pepa was choked with the knowledge that she had done this to him, and doubted that she looked much better. "Felíx?" Her voice was hoarse with emotion. "You're here..?"
"Pepa," he whispered back, "I don't think I could be anywhere else knowing that you were in danger."
"But, it's my fault!" Her voice broke. "I caused this. I put you into danger"
"You were only scared," he took a deep breath, "I would do it again any day if it would keep you safe."
Pepa was silent, too afraid of causing rain if she cried.
"It's okay. You can let it out, mi amor."
She resisted, at least until he brought out a ring box.
Needless to say, they both emerged from the room drenched, but too immersed in the other to care.