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Mama had called them into her room, only a few days after they had turned fourteen.
“The three of you will be fifteen next year.”
“You don’t say.”
Mama gave Bruno a warning look as his sisters sniggered at the comment.
“As I was saying, you’re starting to become adults now. Everyone will be looking at you during the next year, and it’s time you think about acting like adults now.”
“Which,” she continued, “means you don’t pull your sister’s hair anymore.”
Bruno, whose arm was inches away from tugging Pepa’s braid, flinched. Pepa shot him a glare and tried to smack his arm, only to miss and hit the back of Julieta’s head instead. Julieta jumped and was about to retaliate back when Mama cut in again.
“This is exactly what I mean. You’re acting like children!”
The triplets brought their arms back to their sides and avoided making eye contact with their mother.
“Please. All I’m asking is that you think before you act. Show some maturity.”
They gave each other incredulous looks. Maturity? When were they not mature?
How old did Mama think they were? Thirteen?
“We have to start our lessons now. I don’t have much time to turn the two of you into dancers.”
“Actually, Pepa.” Julieta corrected. “We have eleven and a half months. I think you might be exaggerating.”
Bruno grumbled as Pepa glared at her sister. “Why do we have to learn how the dance anyways?”
Pepa waved away the clouds at the top of her head. “I’m not dancing by myself at my birthday anymore. I’ve had it with the excuses.”
She cut Julieta off as her sister opened her mouth to argue. “‘I need to help in the kitchen’ isn’t going to work this year, Juli.”
“And,” Pepa turned to Bruno, “I’ll drag you out of that corner if I have to.”
“So, if I were you, I’d just start learning now. There’s no way you’re getting out of dancing.”
“Fine. But why do me and Julieta have to learn from you?”
“ Would you rather have Mama teach you? Now, get into your positions like I showed you.”
The two grumbled but did as they were told.
“Now, Juli, when Bruno spins you around, try to grab a bit of your dress and drag it with you.”
Pepa grabbed her skirt, and twirled to demonstrate. Julieta looked unconvinced.
“Show-off.” Bruno muttered.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Bruno, make sure to use a bit of strength when you’re going in for the spin.”
Pepa smiled at her siblings and she stepped back and clapped her hands. “Give it a try now.”
Bruno must have misunderstood exactly how much strength he had to use, because he spun his sister with so much force that she slipped away from him. The recoil had him teetering around as he tried to gain his bearings.
Julieta was still trying to grasp her dress as she crashed face first into the wall.
Pepa buried her face into her hands and groaned. These two were hopeless.
Bruno crouched by the door, face partially obscured by the slab in his hands, as he stared at the table.
Julieta had almost knocked him over when she had come in. “Bruno? Mama’s waiting for the prophecy outside.”
She noticed his fearful expression. “What’s wrong?”
He only pointed a finger at something by the table. She followed his finger to find him cowering....
Over a cockroach.
“That’s it?” She laughed as she stepped past him. “Funny that you’d be afraid of them with your rats and- EEK!”
The roach had moved slightly, and it seemed so.... big. Julieta jumped back to her brother’s side and kneeled next to him.
“Not so funny, now, is it?”
“Shut up, Bruno. Why don’t you go squash it?”
“Why don’t you squash it? What happened to looking after your little brother?”
“Oh, so now you’re fine with being Little Brunito.”
The two shoved each other before looking back at the bug. It was still there and was facing them.
“I think if we hold our breath for a few minutes, it might go away.” Bruno whispered to her.
They had only held their breath for thirty seconds when Pepa stomped in.
“Bruno! Julieta! Mama wants to know what’s taking the two of you so long.”
Pepa narrowed her eyes as she looked at her siblings huddled by the wall.
“What?”
Two fingers pointed in the direction of the roach. Pepa only snorted.
“This thing? It’s not even that big. What’s it going to do?”
She flicked her braid over her shoulder and walked confidently over to the table. “Watch as I handle this like an adult.”
The breeze betrayed her true emotions; the bug was blown a few inches away by the wind.
Pepa looked back at her siblings with a nervous laugh and raised her foot.
“Like I said, watch as I handle it like-”
They all screamed as the roach started to fly.
There were small bolts of lightning flying everywhere from Pepa’s cloud. Bruno gave a quick glance at his hands and threw the slab in the direction of that thing.
The slab shattered and they would never know what exactly brought the cockroach down. It lay dead on the floor in front of them.
“Is it dead?” Bruno whispered.
“I think so.” Pepa muttered. “My lightning must have killed it.”
“ Your lightning?” Bruno echoed. “I was the one who killed it!”
“You did not!”
“Yes, I did!”
“Julieta!” The two turned back to their sister to settle the debate.
Except Julieta wasn’t looking towards them at all. Her eyes were wide in fear as she pointed at something.
Three more roaches.
The triplets screamed louder this time.
Mama had rushed inside when she heard the second set of screams.
“What?! Are you all alright?!”
Mama’s worried expression changed to that of exasperation when she saw exactly what they were pointing at. She grabbed the broom that rested by the door, and brought it down upon the unsuspecting roaches. They were dealt with a quick and single blow.
Mama had a disappointed look as she passed Julieta the broom.
“What! Why do I have to clean it? Those two made the mess!”
“You all made this mess. I want it all cleaned up by the time I’m back.”
Julieta grumbled but started sweeping as her siblings reached for the other brooms. They worked in silence until Pepa started to grumble.
“Why did you have to smash the slab, Bruno? It’s so hard to sweep up these shards.”
“At least I killed the thing! All you did was have your lightning and wind mess everything up.”
“You didn’t kill it. I did!”
“No, I did!”
Julieta rolled her eyes and went on with her work while the two bickered away. She was about to tell them to stop when her eyes rested on the hole in the wall. Had that where the pests came from?
She walked over and slowly peered inside the hole. Julieta wasn’t sure but she felt as if she could see a larger space through a small gap. She was about to ask Casita to part the walls so they could check when she heard the screeching behind her.
Pepa had Bruno trapped in a headlock, a scowl on her face. Bruno flailed his arms wildly, aiming his broom for Pepa’s head.
“Let go of me!”
“Not until you take back what you said!”
“No! Never!”
Julieta sighed and went to break up the fight. The hole in the wall was left forgotten.
Julieta stifled back a yawn as she passed the plate to the boy in front of her. The boy took the largest piece from the plate and ate it in one bite. His pained expression had disappeared by the time he swallowed.
“Thanks, Julieta. That was the worst stomach-ache I’ve ever had.”
“It’s not going to be the last one if you keep on stuffing your face like that.” Bruno grumbled from a few seats over.
The boy glared but said nothing as he left the room. Julieta had only time to throw her brother a warning look before the next person entered the room.
“Julieta. It’s so wonderful to see you.” Senora Guzman greeted warmly. “It’s so good to see you helping your mother like this, unlike some people.”
She wrinkled her nose In Pepa’s direction, who pretended not to hear. Julieta saw her eye twitch in annoyance.
“I do hope you’re not planning to rain again this weekend. It’s awfully inconvenient to the rest of us.”
Both Pepa and Bruno gave her the side-eye, but said nothing more. Julieta quickly grabbed the plate and offered it up to the older woman.
“How can I help?”
“Ah. Well, I pricked my finger this morning. The bleeding stopped, but I still want it gone. I’m sure you understand.”
Julieta couldn’t hold back her yawn this time as Senora Guzman showed her the finger. The wound was barely noticeable; only a tiny red dot was visible if she squinted her eyes just long enough. She was about to apologize for her rudeness when Pepa spoke up.
“You know, Senora Guzman, there’s this wonderful thing called a bandage. Maybe you should try it the next time there’s another... emergency.”
Julieta gasped as Senora Guzman glared at Pepa, who only smiled sweetly back at her. The older woman snatched something randomly off the plate and hurried away.
“Your mother will be hearing about that mouth of yours, Pepa Madrigal.” Pepa only rolled her eyes at the comment.
Julieta ran to close the door and glared back at her siblings. “What were the two of you thinking, talking to everyone like that? What will Mama say?”
“Who cares what Mama has to say.” Pepa muttered. “You think we’re just going to watch everybody treat you like this?”
“Treat me like what?”
“You know what we mean, Juli.” Bruno joined in. “It’s supposed to be your day off today, and anybody who comes today is supposed to be an emergency.”
“Just look at you. You’re barely standing straight and all these people have the nerve to show up with the stupidest things.” Pepa added.
Her protests were cut off by a long yawn.
“Go to bed.” Her siblings were pushing her towards the stairs. She didn’t have the energy to resist them.
“But...the others...” Julieta murmured weakly.
“Don’t worry. It’s time the others figure out what exactly an emergency is.”
“Bruno is right. Pimples and indigestion are definitely not emergencies.”
Julieta had only climbed a few steps when she turned around again.
“The three of us will be in so much trouble.”
“ Two.” Pepa corrected her. “When Mama hears about how we’ve been chasing everyone off, she’ll be too angry to remember she had another daughter.”
She smiled down at her siblings. “How can I thank-”
“Just go already!” The two cried out in exasperation.
Bruno watched his sisters struggle with the sewing. He lets his eyes wander over the bundle of yellow clothes, all of which needed repair.
“Hey, Pepa.”
“What?” She grumbled as she tried to pass the thread through the needle.
“What’s the deal with yellow?”
The thread had gone through and Pepa looked up to give him an irritated look. “What are you on about?”
“Yellow. Everything you have is yellow. Your room is yellow. I don’t get it.”
Pepa’s irritation gave way to confusion. “I just like the colour. Julieta wears blue all the time too.”
Julieta didn’t look up as she stitched the tear on a sleeve. “I wear other colours too, and my room isn’t all blue. Bruno is right- you really do like yellow.”
“I just like the colour. I don’t get what the big deal is.” She was getting defensive now.
“Well, there’s liking a color, and then there’s liking a color.”
“What, are you going to dress your children up in yellow too?” Bruno joked.
He almost fell out of his chair when Pepa nodded.
“I think they’ll all look cute—Julieta, where are you going?”
Julieta had abandoned her sewing as she walked over to Bruno’s side. She had covered her mouth, and Bruno grinned when Julieta moved her hand away to reveal a mischievous smile.
“Hear that, Julieta? She’s going to dress her children in yellow.”
“I don’t see what’s so funny.”
“Oh, but we do, Pepa.” Julieta snickered. “So, do we know who the lucky man is going to be?”
Pepa’s cheeks started to turn red. “There’s no one. You know I didn’t mean it like that. ”
“Sure. We believe you, Pepa. Your secret is safe with us though.”
It was so much fun to get Pepa worked up like this. They didn’t even have to do much; she’d take the bait and just walk right into their trap.
Bruno and Julieta continued to laugh as they ducked to avoid the bundle of clothes Pepa had thrown their way.
“Say, Pepa.” Julieta teased. “Will you make him wear yellow all the time too?”
Pepa’s cheeks were crimson now. She started to stutter as Julieta grinned at her brother. Now, things were really going to get fun.
“I-I... I have other things that aren’t yellow.”
Bruno snorted. Was that it? Still, he gestured with his hands for Pepa to go on.
“My baby blanket. It’s orange .” Pepa sat back and crossed her arms with a confident smile. The smile soon changed to a frown when the other two started to howl with laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“Y-you still sleep with your baby blanket?” Bruno wiped the tears from his eyes.
“I bet he knows about it too. Does he know you still suck your thumb at night?”
The thunder was here and Pepa was marching towards them. Now the fun was really going to begin.
Julieta laughed as she pulled Bruno away from the charging Pepa. They were still laughing as Pepa cried out behind them.
“You’re really going to regret it now! I’m sending you both to Papa when I get my hands on you two!”
“She’s gone now! Let’s go.” Pepa ran past them.
“Come on, Bruno.” Julieta grabbed Bruno’s hand and dragged him along.
They came to a stop in front of Bruno’s room and he reluctantly moved to open the door.
He turned back to his sisters. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” Julieta hissed. Pepa didn’t even bother to answer, pushing past him to enter the room.
He tried to talk them out of it as he drew the circle.
“You know, Mama probably has a good reason for why she doesn’t want me to look into our futures.”
“Just shut up about it, already. We just want to see how we look like in the future” Pepa rolled her eyes.
He sighed as he took his sisters’ hands. It was a quick vision and neither of them had the time to process what was really happening when the slab had appeared in Bruno’s hands.
His sisters’ faces were obscured, their hands wrapped around Bruno’s chest.
“I look horrible!” Bruno complained.
“It looks like we’re wrestling Bruno or something.” Julieta turned her head as she tried to make sense of the scene.
“It’s a hug.” Pepa snapped.
The two looked down at the vision again.
“Well, that was disappointing.” Julieta muttered.
“We hug in the future. Hooray.” Pepa added dryly.
They turned to Bruno, only to find him glaring at the vision.
“I couldn’t even do a simple thing like this right. And why do I look so puny?”
The sisters glanced at each other as Bruno buried his face in his hands.
“Hey.” Julieta started gently. “This is a great vision. At least it doesn’t show us fighting.”
“Besides, I think you look fine.” Pepa added as she nudged Bruno. “I bet I had white hair and wrinkles in the vision. You don’t look too bad.”
Bruno raised his head and looked down at the slab. He still looked unconvinced.
“Guess we should figure out how to get rid of this before Mama finds out about it.” He muttered, clearly trying to change the subject.
“There has to be something we can do to make you feel better?” Julieta pleaded.
Bruno looked down at the slab, and then at Pepa. He paused before he turned to glance around the room. Then, he turned back to his sisters with a grin on his face.
“Actually, there is.”
~~~~~~~~~
“He’s going to get himself hurt badly.”
“At least he’s distracted now. Now, shut up, Juli. You’re making me nervous.”
“Don’t you need to be nervous to create the winds? I’m doing you a favor here.”
Pepa was about to retort when they heard a shout from above.
Bruno slid down the hill in his room, using the slab as a sled. The winds at his back only made him go faster.
They’re all surprised when he slid to a gentle halt in front of them. Not a scratch or a bump to be seen.
“Ha. What did I tell you, Juli?” Bruno grinned as he got off the slab.
“I told you it was perfectly sa-” He misjudged his steps, and slipped on the edge of the slab.
He felt sick when he heard the crack, but as he slowly raised his head, he saw that his head had cracked the vision apart.
He gave his sisters a sheepish grin. “See? I’m fine.”
Julieta was already running for the door. “Stay with him, Pepa. I’ll be right back.”
He felt the pain starting to spread in his head. “How bad is it?”
Pepa looked sick as she pointed a shaky finger at his head.
“I think I can see its heartbeat.”
Julieta was about to leave the kitchen when Bruno rushed in.
“Julieta! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine but what are you so worked up about?”
Bruno’s eyes widened and he whispered, “I had a vision that you got hurt.”
Julieta rolled her eyes and pushed him away. “I know how this prank works Bruno. You tell me you’ve seen a vision of me getting hurt. Then, you punch me and run away. You did it with Pepa last week. Very funny.”
“No, Julieta, wait!”
Julieta ignored Bruno as she left the kitchen...
….and collided straight into Pepa.
Julieta yelped as she grabbed her head. “Ah!”
“Ow! What’s with you?! Watch where you’re going, Julieta.”
They were both nursing their heads when they hear muffled chuckles.
Bruno had slipped the vision out of his ruana and grinned down at it.
“Man, the vision was hilarious but it didn’t beat the real thing. You should have seen the look on your faces.”
“You think that’s funny, do you, Bruno?” Julieta asked slowly.
“We’ll show you something really hilarious.” Pepa muttered. “Just as soon as the pain goes away.”
Bruno gulped and made for the door. Better make good use of that fresh start.
Something was wrong with Pepa. The clouds weren’t there but the circles under her eyes were back.
Bruno had noticed too. He had given Julieta a gentle kick under the table, and gave a subtle gesture in Pepa’s direction. Julieta had nodded at him.
They waited when Mama had gone to bed before they knocked on Pepa’s door.
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Julieta glanced at Bruno. Pepa wasn’t fine.
Their fears were confirmed when they opened the door and found themselves in the middle of a thunderstorm.
“Leave me alone.” Pepa sobbed into her pillow.
They climb into her bed instead. The rain was harsh and unrelenting, but they still try to block as much of the rain from Pepa as they can.
“Go away. You’re all going to get wet.”
Julieta took Pepa’s hand in hers. Bruno followed her lead, holding up an umbrella with his other hand.
“Pepa.” Julieta’s voice was gentle. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
The two stayed with their sister as the thunder got louder and the wind got faster. They didn’t complain though; Julieta only drew circles on her sister’s hand whenever she started to sniffle.
Eventually, the thunder went away, and the rain slowed down. Pepa didn’t move her face from where she had buried it in the pillow.
“It’s so hard.” Pepa cried. “I’m so tired and I just want to cry, but the Encanto needs the sun till the next week. I’m actually starting to hurt from keeping it all in.”
Bruno patted her hand. “I’m sorry, Pepa. You know you can always come to us.”
“I can’t.” She choked. “You won’t be able to handle my weather.”
“Don’t be silly, Pepa.” Julieta was back to drawing the circles again. “It’s always been the three of us. We’ll help you through this too.”
Pepa didn’t say anything, but she gave both of their hands a tight squeeze.
When they moved to leave Pepa, she had finally raised her head.
“No. Please don’t go.” Her voice had never been so vulnerable.
Bruno and Julieta only glanced at each other as Pepa made room for them. Without a word, they grabbed Pepa’s hand and settled back into the bed, once again.
Bruno snuck into the dark kitchen and looked around nervously. He paused and gestured for someone to follow him.
Pepa entered the kitchen with a quick glance behind her.
“You sure she’s asleep?”
“Yep.” Bruno whispered. “I heard her door close. Now look for it, quick!”
It didn’t take them long to find the arequipe. Julieta had left it by the window to cool.
They took a moment to waft the sweet scent as Pepa reached for a small bowl and spoon.
“Alright. I’ll go first and then it's your turn. Remember, don’t take too much. We don’t want Julieta to know.”
“Don’t want me to know what?” A voice asked from the shadows.
Bruno jumped back to find Julieta glaring at the them from the doorway, arms crossed.
“What are you two doing?”
“Uh...checking if you added enough milk.” Bruno’s excuse didn’t seem to convince their elder sister and she was making her way towards them.
He felt the bowl and spoon being shoved into his hands as Pepa pushed him away.
“Bruno, go! I’ll hold her off. Enjoy it for me.”
“Pepa.” Bruno said in a shocked tone. “But this is your favourite.”
She only gave him a small smile and turned towards Julieta; arms spread wide to stop her.
He had made it halfway when he turned around and extended an arm in vain towards Pepa.
“Pepa! I can’t do this without you!”
“Aye. But you have to, Brunito. Be brave, little brother.”
“Ugh.” Julieta grunted as she tried to push away Pepa’s arms. “Why do the two of you always have to be so dramatic?”
Pepa turned to look down at her sister with a grin. “Theatrics is the spice of life, Juli. It’s what makes life so interesting.”
“That was the worst game of ‘Madrigals’ I had ever seen.” Bruno grumbled as the three walked home from the town.
“They’re only children, Bruno.” Julieta chuckled.
“You weren’t there, Juli. Their impressions were horrible. I don’t always have a dark cloud above my head.”
Julieta said nothing but glanced at the cloud above Pepa’s head. Pepa snarled as she looked up and clawed away at the cloud.
“I don’t moan and groan like I’m sick when I have my visions.”
“They probably haven’t seen you when you have them. Just let it go.”
“Oh yeah?” Bruno shot back, “I’d like to see you defend them when you hear what they had to say about you.”
“What did they say?”
“They kept on fighting on who got to be you.” Pepa grumbled.
“How is that a bad thing?”
“They weren’t fighting over who got to be you. They were fighting who got stuck playing you.”
Pepa mimicked a child’s nasally voice. “I don’t want to be her. Cooking is boring.”
Julieta came to a halt. “Boring? Boring?!”
Bruno and Pepa exchanged a nervous glance as Julieta stomped back towards the town.
“Boring?! They take all of my food with their grubby little fingers and they call me boring?!”
Julieta’s siblings had each grabbed onto an arm, trying in vain to stop her.
“They’re just children, Juli.” Pepa said nervously.
“What happened to ‘let it go?’”
“Forget what I said. The nerve!”
The two managed to hold their sister back. She struggled for a few seconds and then went limp.
Julieta was still upset, giving frustrated glares towards the town as they continued their walk home.
“Hey, if it helps, I don’t think you’re boring.” Bruno tried.
“Yeah. Cooking is fun and so are you. Those brats had no idea what they were talking about.” Pepa added.
Julieta doesn’t say anything until they reach the gates.
“I suppose you two are right. Come on, I’ll make us something good.”
His sisters were fighting but he can’t say why. There wasn’t any shouting or shoving, but Bruno can tell by the icy looks they were giving each other for the past two days.
He can tell from the frigid blast of air that crept into the room whenever Julieta entered the same room as Pepa was in. Pepa would always be the first one to leave and glares would be exchanged between the two. The chill lingered even after Pepa had left.
He can tell when Julieta made Pepa’s least favourite food. She doesn’t even look at Pepa as she doled out the largest helping on her sister’s plate. She had passed Pepa the smallest piece of dessert. Everything tasted bitter to Bruno as he watched Pepa pick at her food.
He wanted to fix things so he asked the two separately to meet him at their usual spot on the roof. He pretended not to see the grimace when he said that he had also invited their other sister along.
They had shared many happy memories on the roof. Hopefully, his sisters had chosen to remember that too.
His sisters both arrived at the same time, but don’t speak a word as they sit on either side of him. Pepa and Julieta hadn’t looked at each other.
Minutes go by, and Bruno was about to give up when he noticed the plate in Julieta’s hand and the subtle change in the weather.
Julieta had made Pepa’s favourite sweets. Pepa was trying to coax the sun out, wanting its rays to shine down on Julieta.
Bruno realized that they were both trying to apologize in their own way and scooted backwards.
Julieta passed the plate to Pepa just as the sun finally started to shine on them. Pepa took the offering but stayed silent.
Bruno knew they had moved on when he sees his sisters’ hands reach for each other. As their fingers interlocked, they leaned their heads against each other and stared off into the distance.
Not wanting to ruin the moment, he moved to leave. His sisters still didn’t move from their position, but he felt hands grab onto his ruana.
Julieta was the one to break the silence. “I made these for you too, Bruno.”
The three basked in the moonlight as they lay on the roof again.
“Do you think anyone has been to the moon?” Bruno wondered.
“I don’t know. Could you even fly up there?” Pepa muttered.
They’re both surprised when Julieta sat up and turned towards Pepa.
“Flying! Can you fly, Pepa?”
“Me? Of course not.” Pepa said incredulously.
“But have you tried?” Julieta persisted. “You can summon the winds, right? No reason for you to not being able to fly if you summon a strong enough windstorm.”
Pepa looked unconvinced but Bruno looked at her eagerly. “Let’s try it tomorrow, Pepa. If it works, we all can fly.”
“Fine.” She muttered.
~~~~~
The next morning, they went to the tallest tree they could find and stared up at it. Pepa only gave them a small nod as she walked up to the roots. The other two watched from a distance as a small windstorm appeared around their sister and carried her up into the sky.
Pepa let out a whoop as she reached the top of the tree. She only appeared to be a yellow dot with how high she had flown.
“You did it!” They yelled at the sky.
“I can fly!” Pepa screamed back in delight. “Help me down so we can all do it!”
Bruno and Julieta only blinked at each other. Neither had thought about how to do that.
Pepa called for them again.
“What do we do now?” Bruno asked.
Pepa threw nuts from the tree now. Julieta avoided one as she turned to Bruno.
“Go tell Mama.”
Bruno nodded and yelled back to Pepa. “Don’t worry. I’ll get help!”
“I knew this was a bad idea.” Pepa screamed back at them.
As Bruno ran away, Julieta couldn’t help making the joke in her head. It was too good to not say it.
She grinned as she cupped her hands around her mouth.
“Aww! Is the kitty stuck in a tree?”
She couldn’t dodge the nut in time.
The villagers were giving Bruno a hard time today. Julieta gave a worried glance towards her brother as another villager complained about his visions.
She was about to snap at the girl who had started to rant about her dead goldfish when the clouds started to roll in.
The girl withered under Pepa’s glare as she walked up beside Bruno.
“You say a lot of dumb things, but that was the stupidest thing to ever come out from your mouth. Blaming him because your fish died? Get lost.”
Pepa pushed off Bruno’s arms and glared at the gathered crowd. “What are you all gawking at? Can’t you see the rain? Time to go home.”
“What about Julieta’s cooking?”
None of them really needed the food today. They had come only out of habit- and for some- out of sheer laziness.
Julieta pushed the platter of food into the rain.
“Oh no.” Julieta said in a monotone. “The food is all wet. It’s inedible.”
Bruno massaged his temples and Pepa rolled her eyes at her acting, but it got the villagers to leave.
The rain had started to clear as they walked back home. Bruno helped Julieta carry the food as Pepa marched ahead as she wringed out her hair. They both shushed him whenever he tried to get a word out.
They finally let him talk when they reached the roof.
“Why did you both do that?” He stuttered. “Everyone will-”
He flinched as Pepa flicked her sleeve in his directions, the droplets spraying his face.
“Shush, Bruno.”
He opened his mouth to argue but Julieta stuffed an arepa in his mouth.
“She’s right. Just eat and enjoy the weather. Pepa hasn’t blessed us with weather this nice in ages.”
The wind pushed them slightly, but Pepa was smiling with a bright-eyed look; it was only an affectionate and teasing breeze.
Bruno paused before he shrugged and let himself enjoy the day.
It was the night before they turned fifteen and they spent it on the roof together. The three would be too busy to talk tomorrow, so they tried to enjoy the moment.
“What are you wishing for when you blow out the candles?” Julieta started.
“A new ruana.” Bruno shrugged.
“World peace.” Pepa answered sarcastically. Julieta smacked Pepa’s arm and she scowled as she added, “Fine, I’m asking for earrings.”
“I’m wishing for our Encanto to always be blessed.” Julieta clasped her hands together.
Her siblings gave her confused looks.
“You know nobody else knows that we make birthday wishes, Juli.” Bruno brought his ruana closer together. “You don’t have to be Mama’s pet all the time.”
“Yeah. Be selfish for once. Ask for a new apron or rolling pin.” Pepa snickered.
Their banter died down as they looked up at the moon.
“Remember when we used to take turns and make the same wish? We used to be so childish.” Julieta broke the silence again.
“We haven’t done that since we were ten.” Bruno mused.
“It was a lame thing to do, but the wish always came true.” Pepa added.
They don’t speak for the rest of the night, lost in their own thoughts.
The three don’t get a chance to look at each other, much less speak, when the cake is placed is front of them. The topic of birthday wishes never came up again, but they all made the same wish that day.
The wish they all took turns to make as children.
I wish that we always stay together.