Chapter Text
Gift ceremonies were the only times Bruno was happy to see the Casita full of people.
Just a couple short months after the last ceremony wherein his nephew was Gifted with shapeshifting, the bottom floor of the Casita was once again packed with people from the town. They filled every square inch of the room, conversations and laughter throughout the house melding into a mostly incomprehensible mess. That didn’t stop Bruno from hearing the occasional hushed comment as he passed, but for tonight, he didn’t mind. Tonight, his little sobrina was receiving her Gift.
The smell of charred corn and steaming empanadas wafted through the air, causing Bruno’s stomach to growl as he slowly pushed his way through the crowd and towards the base of the stairs. At the top, Mirabel’s new door glowed softly, casting Julieta and Agustín in a golden light as they stood a few feet back from it. Julieta glanced downwards just in time to catch Bruno’s gaze, and smiled when he gave a small wave. He was excited not only for Mirabel, but for her parents as well— seeing their youngest finally receive her Gift was something they’d been anxiously awaiting for years now. Even from at the bottom of the stairs, he could see how tightly Agustín’s hand was gripping Julieta’s shoulder. She laid her hand on top of her husband’s, turning to whisper something into his ear. He laughed, releasing his grip and rubbing her shoulder gently.
“Bruno.”
He spun on his heel to see Pepa, her husband and kids in tow behind her. Camilo, still new to his Gift, had spent the entire party so far greeting people as mimics of themselves, and was relishing in the attention it earned him. Even though it had already gotten him into a fair share of trouble with his parents, Bruno couldn’t help but see himself in his youngest sobrino, stifling a smile as Pepa instructed him to shift back to normal for the ceremony. For a moment, Bruno wondered what it was like to have a Gift like that.
“Pepa! What is it?”
“Do you mind if we stand here?”
He startled, freezing for a moment before nodding and taking a step aside to make room. “N-no, I don’t mind. Here, sorry.” He watched as her family lined a section of the walkway to the stairs, Pepa standing next to Bruno. He couldn’t help but wilt a little under her presence. While they’d never had what he would call a bad relationship, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t closer with Julieta than Pepa. Growing up, Pepa and Bruno would often butt heads, and while their conflicts never lasted long, he couldn’t help but spend more time with Julieta as time went on. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he and Pepa had had a real, one on one conversation. Was it a year ago? Five years ago? He wasn’t sure, but he was sure that he wasn’t the only one feeling the tension when his sister sighed and turned to face him.
“Are you alright?”
Bruno furrowed his brow. “Uh… sure? Why?”
“It’s just— I know these things are exhausting for you.” She gestured towards the crowd of people behind them and smiled sympathetically. “You know, if you needed to sneak off after the door appears, I could tell mama for you.”
He opened his mouth in surprise. Despite her being right, however, he shook his head, then having to brush a stray curl of hair out of his face.
“Oh, no. I want to see her room. But thank you.”
She nodded curtly, and as the crowd behind them suddenly quieted, he knew his mother had just arrived at the top of the stairs. He and everyone else in the Casita looked up towards the glowing door, and his mother held the candle out towards them. The ceremony had begun.
As little Mirabel passed by Bruno and Pepa on her way to the stairs, he couldn’t help but clutch the fabric of his rauna over his heart, watching as she seemed to move in slow motion towards her door. Everyone was silent, only the wind daring to make a sound as she made her way up. Bruno felt his sister place her hand on his back, giving it a gentle pat as they watched. He felt his shoulders sag, not realizing that they’d been tensed since the crowd had quieted. A Gift ceremony, no matter who it was for, was gift in and of itself to Bruno, finally having an excuse to be close with his family in a way that he didn’t know how to be otherwise. He struggled to find ways to spend time with his family, especially the younger ones. He was too strange, too secluded, too awkward. His visions were often horrifying to witness, so he tended to hide away if he felt one coming on— which was, unfortunately, quite often. Gift ceremonies were a rare opportunity where his family tried to ignore his otherness, for him to be close to his loved ones, as they celebrated their miracle together.
Mirabel climbed the last stair, and her abuela knelt down beside her. She recited the same pledge to Mirabel that she had at every Gift ceremony, and upon seeing her granddaughter nod excitedly, rose back to her feet and stood aside. Mirabel glowed under the light of her door, reaching up towards the knob. The room seemed to be holding its breath. Bruno crossed his fingers.
Please, please don’t give her a Gift anything like mine.
And then Mirabel’s door… dimmed.
Gasps escaped from those behind him as Mirabel’s door faded. He quickly looked at his mother, who was staring at her granddaughter in silent horror. Julieta and Agustín stared from behind her. Everyone seemed to be stuck in time, except for Mirabel, who looked desperately around the room for comfort, an explanation, anything. All she received was silence.
Bruno slowly turned away from his niece, looking at Pepa instead. She instantly met his gaze, sharing the same confused look. Behind her, he could see some people already turning to leave. Whispers started to flood the room, and he strained to hear those of the people near him and Pepa. After a moment, however, he nearly staggered backwards into the railing.
People were looking at him.
People were whispering his name.
He looked desperately back at Pepa, who also seemed to just be realizing what people were saying. She quickly turned, whispering something to Félix, who quickly nodded and started turning their kids towards the room’s exit. Her hand shot out and grabbed Bruno’s shoulder, pulling herself towards him. He winced as a rumbling cloud started threading itself together above Pepa’s head.
“Did you see this?” She leaned down towards his ear, keeping her eyes on Mirabel above them. “You know, before.”
“No! Of course not, I would have said something.”
Did people really think that he had something to do with this? Bruno could see as the guests finally decided the tension was too much, starting to file out of the Casita. Behind him, he could just barely hear Julieta saying something to Mirabel. He did not hear his mother.
“I’m going to talk to Mira. I think…” Pepa paused, leaning back away from Bruno. “She wants to talk to you.”
He didn’t need to ask what she meant. He turned back towards the top of the stairs, his mother down staring at him with an expression he was all too familiar with. Nervously, he rapped his fist against the wooden stair railing.
“Right. I’ll see you.”