Chapter Text
Bruno's POV
"Tío Bruno!" Dolores called to me from the doorway of her room, as I walked up the stairs. "Can you do me a favor?" She grinned sheepishly, practically bouncing on her toes.
"Anything for mi sobrina!" I responded cheerfully, walking over to her.
"Could you maybe do a little vision for me?" She requested, holding up her thumb and pointer finger a centimeter apart. "I just want to see what Mariano is wearing to our date tonight, but he won't tell me where we're going, much less what to wear! And like that isn't bad enough, he's started writing down all his conversations to his mamá, which means I have no idea what he's planning! So, could you do a vision for me? Please?" She begged, holding her hands together tightly in front of her.
I winced. "My visions, seeing such a specific event...they don't work like that, Dolores." I tried to explain to her gently.
She visibly wilted. "But, I guess I can try-"
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed happily, tugging me into a hug.
Shocked, I barely had time to wrap my arms around her, before she was dragging me back down the stairs to the courtyard, which had become my unofficial spot for doing visions for visitors. Grabbing the materials from the corner of the room, Dolores quickly made the circle of sand, the center circle of leaves with a wood stick, and the surrounding four piles of sand with shredded leaves in them. She practically dived to the ground, shoving a handful of sand and the matchstick at me.
I gaped, taking the items from her. How did she...I guess I have been doing more visions lately. She's bound to have seen them once or twice, I suppose. I reasoned, sitting down. Throwing the sand over my shoulder, I lit the match, setting the leaves on fire. Feeling the power rising up from within me, I grabbed onto Dolores, holding her tightly as the glowing sand formed a dome over us.
"There!" She exclaimed, nodded her head towards the sand figure of Mariano. "He's-He's wearing his gardening pants?" She huffed, her voice incredulous.
"Oh! He's planning a midnight picnic. How romantic!" Dolores squeaked, viewing herself lying down beside her novio, holding hands and pointing at the stars. "I know just what to wear! Thank you so much Tío!" She shouted once the vision ended, grabbing the glass picture from my hands and racing away to her room.
"You're-" her door slammed shut-"welcome!" I stared in bewilderment at the mess of sand around me. "At least she liked the vision." I muttered, happily sweeping up the grainy mess.
I had just put the leaves away, and was about to set the vase of sand back in its spot, when Luisa burst through the front door. I jumped in surprise, accidentally dropping the ceramic container.
My eyes widened, and I lunged forward. Fumbling with the fragile piece of pottery, I finally managed to catch it, right before it hit the tiles. Grinning in triumph at my somewhat miraculous feat, I glanced up at Luisa.
"Hola Luisa! How are you-"
"Are you doing a vision?" She questioned, staring at the vase.
"Well, actually I-"
"Because I could really, really, really use a vision right now." She pleaded. "There's this festival next week in town, and I want to ask this guy, Julio, but I'm just not sure how he feels about me, and I don't want to make a fool of myself, and-"
"Relax, Cariña. Any guy would be lucky to have you." I assured her as I stood up.
"You're my tío though. You have to say that." She muttered, frowning at the ground.
"Doesn't make it any less true!" I insisted, patting her shoulder briefly.
She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." She turned around, dragging her feet while she walked away.
I pulled at a loose thread on my ruana. "But, if you really want, I suppose I could do a vision-"
"Thank you Tío!" She shouted, quickly taking the vase from my hand and making a circle and four piles of sand. She set the vase down, before rushing over to the leaves and twigs pile and setting up those also. Does everyone in the family know how to do this now? I wondered, blinking in surprise when Luisa handed me sand and a matchstick.
She plopped down on the floor, the tiles around her going airborne for a moment due to her abrupt descent. Fighting back a laugh at my niece's enthusiasm, I sat down in front of the piles, repeating the ritual I had done not even fifteen minutes prior for her cousin.
Again, I felt the power rising up within me while I grasped Luisa's hands tightly. That's strange. I pursed my lips slightly in concentration, staring at the semicircle of sand forming around us. Usually it's not this hard to control the magic.
I glanced at mi sobrina, who was fixated on watching herself talk to a cute (if scrawny) young man in the middle of town square.Then again, I usually don't do these things back to back like this. I realized, as the vision faded, and I caught the glowing green glass. Or try to focus on such specific events.
"He said yes!" Luisa squealed, hugging me so tightly I could feel my bones creak.
Black spots dotted my vision, and I could feel my legs becoming weak. Just when I thought I was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen, she let go of me, plucking the glass from my hand.
"Thank you Tío Bruno!" She yelled, racing back out the front door.
"You're welcome." I wheezed.
The door slammed shut, and I collapsed, taking in lungfuls of much needed air. Coughing violently, I did my best to rub away the pain in my chest. I just hope she doesn't accidentally kill Julio via hug when he says yes!
I chuckled slightly at my own joke, the sound setting off another round of painful hacking. Okay, no more laughing. I grimaced, clenching my teeth to fight back a groan.
Finally, after a few minutes of just laying there breathing, I felt well enough to get back up. I pushed myself to my feet, studiously ignoring the way that my arms ached from the simple action.
"Woah!" I gasped, my knees shaking slightly underneath me. "That's not ideal."
I frowned, noticing how heavy my body felt. Maybe no more visions for-
"Bruno!" Pepa walked out of the kitchen, interrupting my train of thought. "Wow, what happened here?" She asked, looking around at the messy room.
"Hola Pepa! I was doing a vision for-"
"A vision!" Pepa interrupted. "Can you do one for me too? Félix's and I's anniversary is coming up, and I want to take him somewhere nice, or do something for him, but I'm not sure what! It's our 25th, and I want everything to go perfectly, and I'm just not sure what to do! Please, can you help me Brunito?" She rambled, a storm cloud slowly appearing over her head.
I opened my mouth, about to say no, before closing it abruptly. I do kind of owe it to her, I realized, mentally cringing at the thought of her wedding day.
"I suppose one more vision-"
"Oh, thank you Bruno!" She grinned, quickly setting the room back up. At this point, I'm not even surprised, I thought, watching her set up the piles and circle expertly. Sitting back down, I held out my hands, figuring that she would know what I needed.
It is nice to be able to help like this though, I admitted to myself as I took the sand and match from her. Moments later, the power rushed through me like a storm, and I quickly grabbed onto Pepa's hands.
This doesn't feel right.
I had to work so hard to keep the power in check, I didn't even notice the vision ending. The glass would have fallen on my head if Pepa hadn't caught it, glowing with happiness. Quite literally, too, I smirked tiredly, enjoying the warmth of the sun beams shooting out from above Pepa's head.
"A candlelit dinner where we got married! Oh, future me, you are a genius!" She shouted, hurrying to clean up the mess left behind from the vision while she planned out loud for the special day. "Thank you Hermanito! This will make a great gift." She cheered, rushing out of the house.
"You're welcome." I muttered, lying back down. I'm...I'm fine. Completely fine. I'll catch my breath, and go take a nap, and it'll be like nothing every happened. Just get to my sofa first. Somehow.
I had finally mustered enough energy to sit up, when Mirabel came flying down the stairs. I grinned weakly at my youngest niece.
"Hi Mirabel! How are you today?" I asked, trying my best not to let her see how sore and exhausted I was.
If I let my smile fade for even a second, she will instantly realize something is wrong. She is far too observant for a fifteen-year-old. Her and Camilo, really. Although, at least Camilo--
"I'm great! I was just looking for you, actually." She said, rubbing the back of her neck. "See, I have this gift planned for Abuela's birthday, but I'm not sure if she'll like it or not, and I was wondering if you could maybe give me a vision?" Her voice squeaked slightly as her shoulders hunched upwards.
"I just want her to like it, and I feel like I owe it to her to get her a good gift, because of what happened with the house and everything and I...I don't know. I know you don't like doing specific visions, but, just this once? Please?" She pleaded, grabbing my hands, her eyes big and hopeful.
I hesitated, but couldn't bring myself to say no, not when this was so important to her. "Yeah, okay. But you have to do the set up!" I agreed. We're eating soon anyways. I'm sure after some food, and rest, I'll feel a lot better.
Thanking me happily, she jumped to action, constructing the proper layout. Slowly, I grabbed the sand and matchstick from her hand, taking a deep breath in the hopes that it would help to at least mentally prepare me for the battle ahead.
I tossed the sand, and stared for a moment at the small flame, before starting the ritual. Immediately, the power tore through me like a hurricane, and I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I hurried to grab Mirabel once the sand around us slowly started to swirl, worried that if I let go of her the magic would react poorly to the outside presence.
"Lunch!" I heard Julieta call from somewhere nearby. I flinched at the responding sound of thundering footsteps on the staircase.
"A vision? What are you looking at?" Antonio questioned.
"Abuela's birthday! I want to see if she'll like my gift!" Mirabel shouted over the sound of the sand steadily moving faster and faster.
"Ooh, me too!" Antonio yelled. My eyes shot open at the feeling of Mirabel's hand being replaced by Antonio's
"Antonio, I can't-" I protested, feeling the power rebel against me at the sudden distortion of the circle.
"Ooh, I want to join!" Camilo jumped over the ineffective barrier, joining between Antonio and Mirabel.
"Camilo, you can't just-"
"A vision? Count me in!" Félix interrupted me, hopping over the rising sand and settling himself between Antonio and Camilo.
"No, no, no..." I muttered, feeling the energy slowly winning the fight against my restraints. The house creaked, sensing the change in the atmosphere too. "This is bad, this is bad, I can't-"
"I suppose one vision before lunch can't hurt." Julieta commented, leaping into the circle with a small laugh and grabbing Camilo and Mirabel's hands.
The sand rose, forming lightning fast flashes of pictures. I groaned, knowing I was too late to stop this disaster. Rather, clenching my jaw, I fought against the energy's need to be released, to fill the air, to be free.
I could do nothing but stare in horror at the chaos surrounding me. However, no one else seemed to share my sentiments. Mirabel and Julieta merely laughed as their hair began floating, awe clear as day on their faces. Antonio and Félix were trying to interpret the prophecy, not realizing that the rapid fire images meant the vision was failing.
And Camilo?
I glanced at the boy who I had grown close to over the last few months. Unlike the others, he was looking straight at me, with furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips. He tried to yell something to me, but at this point, I couldn't hear him over the ringing in my ears and the rushing of the sand.
"I love you, familia." I whispered, shaking my head, ignoring the way that Camilo's eyes widened at my words.
I will not let you hurt them.
Quickly, I joined Antonio's and Mirabel's hands. Grimacing, I stuck my palms straight into the dome of energy. Immediately, I screamed at the feeling of pure, raw power coursing through every part of me.
It's too much, too much, I can't do this, please, please, please, PAIN, STOP-
I visualized the energy entering my fists, trying to imagine grasping it in my hands. My fingers burning, I slowly brought my arms back to my body as tears streamed down my cheeks. Without hesitation, I slammed my palms on my chest, over the core where I drew from to use my gift.
Please make it stop, make it go away, just let it be over, let it be DONE, ANYTHING TO STOP THE HURT-
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the excruciating agony faded away. Panting, I spat on the ground, trying to rid myself of the sharp, bitter taste that assaulted my tongue. I grimaced as I watched the sand fall, leaving dozens of floating green shards of glass a foot above the ground.
I opened my mouth to say something. To apologize, or ask if everyone was okay. But suddenly, I felt a bone-deep fatigue overtake me, my vision going black. No longer in control of my body, I felt a searing pain in my temple when it impacted with the tiles beneath me. The sound of the glass shattering on the floor was the last thing I heard, before I knew no more.