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Age 5
Julieta dusted her dress off and cried silently while she stood in the corn field. Even though she was barefoot and beyond distraught, she still didn’t want to upset her mother by ruining her dress. She was coherent enough to do at least that much.
But, still, it never felt like she was doing enough for her mother and family. She was clumsy, struggling in school, and just always seemed to disappoint her mother.
Pepa was outgoing and had a knack for making others laugh and smile.
Bruno was brilliant, excelling in his schoolwork and making creative art.
Julieta always felt like the odd one out of the trio.
Even today, she had tried to help her mother in the kitchen and dropped eggs all over the floor. It was too much for her and she bolted out of there with her mother and siblings calling after her.
“Juli?” Bruno’s timid voice called out to her.
Of course they would have kept up with her all this way. This was the place they always played. The farmers didn’t seem to mind and it was way too much fun to run around trying to tag each other for hours when they didn’t have school or chores to worry about. The three of them had an uncanny knack for finding one another while everyone else always had trouble navigating the fields.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” she whined quietly.
Bruno and Pepa emerged from her right, holding hands with concern in their eyes.
Pepa piped up with a hesitant smile. “It’s alright, Juli. We already cleaned up for you. I don’t even like eggs that much! They come from chicken butts,” she ended while cupping her mouth with her free hand as if she was telling a secret.
Bruno side eyed her and turned his attention back to Julieta, “Come on back. We’ve got to do the door thing later. We should to do it together.”
That only made her feel worse. She looked down at her feet and felt her tears starting up again, “I mess up everything.”
“That’s not true!” the younger two said in unison.
“I’m not smart like you, Bruno. And I’m not a sunbeam like you, Pepa… My door will probably just disappear as soon as I touch it,” her voice cracked.
They both walked up to her, each taking her hand as if their minds had synched up. Pepa squeezed her hand, “We’re a team. Bruno’s the brains. He’s got the plans and drawings. I’m the arms. You know, for hugs and waving and stuff. And you’re the heart. You hold us together. We work together! It’s not the same without you… We need you, Juli.”
Bruno gave a small smile, “She’s right. You’re like our glue.”
“No, she’s like the heart.”
“Glue.”
“Heart.”
“Glue!”
“Heart!”
“Okay, guys! I’ll be both,” Julieta giggled at their bickering. “… Thanks.”
Age 9
The three sat in a circle, holding hands. Julieta instructed them, “On three. One… Two… Three.”
They carefully leaned in and had a three way kiss, a promise between them.
As they pulled away, Pepa spoke first, “It’s a little weird.”
“Yeah,” Bruno agreed. “But, no matter what-”
“We belong to each other,” Julieta finished.
“No matter what… Happy birthday, guys,” Pepa said with a large smile
Age 12
Pepa stalked through the corn field, raining all over the place with her dark cloud over her head. It was out of control, but at least the farmer would be happy she was getting her crops watered.
“Pepa, I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” Julieta tried to calm her down.
She spun around, “Who goes around throwing umbrella’s at people?!”
Bruno, who was trailing behind, spoke up, “Félix apparently. I don’t think he was trying to throw it to make you mad. I think he’s just frustrated with how people react to your gift.“
“Easy for you to say Golden Child! He’s a pig! I hate him!” It was obvious Bruno was revered the most for his gift of clairvoyance, but none of them ever expressed any disdain for it. Bruno looked hurt, not responding.
Julieta sighed and sat down in the small clearing, pulling Bruno with her. The trio met up here infrequently, the farmer never seeming to find this little area. “Come on, Pepa,” she pleaded, holding out her hand.
She rolled her eyes and complied, sitting on her knees in their little circle. Her cloud was merely thundering now. Without looking up, she glared at the ground, “Sorry, Bruno.”
“I-It’s okay. You shouldn’t have to deal any of that.”
“Regardless, we’re each other’s teammates,” Julieta quipped. “And turning on each other is not good for the team.”
Pepa bit her lip, rain threatening to start up again. Her eyes trailed up to Bruno and she silently took his hand. He gave a crooked smile, squeezing her hand.
“Happy birthday,” they all said together, pulling a giggle out of all of them. They leaned in and kissed.
A rainbow appeared over their heads.
Age 20
“You’re supposed to be marrying Agustín.”
Julieta sneered at Pepa, a rare occurrence for the patient woman.
“Do you even like him?”
“Of course! I love him. But, I can’t leave you guys behind…”
“We’ll be next door! Literally!”
“It won’t be the same!”
The two women were at a standstill, glaring at one another as they sat in their circle. Bruno looked around awkwardly. “Uh… I’m thinking of growing out my hair.” His sisters looked at him in annoyance, knowing he was trying to avoid the confrontation. With a sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose, he lowered his voice, “We don’t wanna lose you either, Juli. But, we can’t marry each other.”
“Says who?”
He opened his arms and looked at her incredulously. “Literally everyone? Mama? The entirety of Colombian society?”
Julieta shifted her attention to Pepa, “And what about you when Félix proposes?”
“I’ll marry him in a heartbeat. I know who’s number one in my heart,” she replied with folded arms. This seemed to resonate with Julieta, who bit her lip and stared down at her folded hands. They were soon covered by Bruno’s massive hand.
“I’m your number one?”
“No, Bruno is. But you’re a close second,” she joked, rubbing her arm after Julieta playfully punched her. With a sideways glance to Bruno, she squinted with a smirk, “I think you’d look handsome with long hair.”
Age 31
Bruno and Pepa shifted awkwardly a bit, not particularly liking being here without Julieta. But, with her heavily pregnant with her second child, there was no way she would be taken off of bed rest by the midwife. But, they still came here, holding hands. Things were still a bit tense when the two of them were together without Julieta. After the wedding fiasco and all of their butting heads lately, it was hard for them to get along without their heart and mediator.
So, they just looked at each other silently, not able to make conversation in the slightest.
It was better than pretending that everything between them wasn’t falling apart.
“Happy birthday, Pepa.”
“Happy birthday, Bruno.”
Age 41
Julieta sat in the rain, not at all bothered by Pepa’s downpour. Out there, she tried to hold in her emotions to spare everyone else of her weather changes. But, in here she didn’t have to. It was their small sanctuary away from the harsh outside world.
Out there, Julieta was stone faced about him, never giving anyone a hint as to how she felt about her brother’s disappearance.
Out there, Pepa was furious, feigning the anger from her wedding.
In here, they could let go.
The corn surrounded them and swayed with the wind from Pepa, who was pacing slowing around the small clearing. Suddenly, Julieta pulled her down into her lap and held her close.
That was all it took.
She wailed, crying loudly into Julieta’s bosom as her hair was stroked gently. Julieta rocked them back and forth, not rushing their rare moment of vulnerability.
Soon, the tears died down a bit. Pepa’s face peeked up at her. They were able to still communicate so much just through touches and looks, but it wasn’t the same.
A part of their team was missing.
Slowly, they inched in and let their lips barely graze the other’s.
There was a bit of warmth going through their bodies before they were covered in the snow from Pepa’s cloud. Their foreheads pressed together and they held each other close. Quietly, they both spoke in unison, the words sounding hollow without the deeper voice to hold the bottom.
“Happy birthday, Bruno.”
~
Bruno stepped into the clearing, hoping his grey ruana was enough to let him blend in to the night air. It was unexpectedly warm, making him regret wearing real shoes instead of his standard sandals. But, to not be noticed, he needed to not look like himself, a feat he wished he could have pulled off long before he went into hiding.
It was empty, as expected.
But, it was a tradition that he hadn’t broken in 35 years.
So, even by his lonesome, he came to say the three words.
“Happy birthday, guys.”
Age 51
Casita was being rebuilt.
It was their first birthday together in over ten years. They sat in their same circle they always had in the past. It almost felt exactly the same to-
“I’m so sorry, Bruno!” Pepa said, tackling Bruno to the ground. All of the wind was knocked out of him and he looked up at her crying face. Julieta stared with concern, used to Pepa’s outbursts but wondering what exactly brought this one about. “I was so cruel to you! We’re supposed to be a team! We’re supposed to be each other’s number one and I didn’t treat you like it!”
Bruno placed his hands on Pepa’s shoulders above him, “Uh… It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not!”
“Yes, it is, Pepa.”
“It’s not!”
“It is!”
“Okay, that’s enough! Pepa get off of him,” Julieta interjected with annoyance. Some things would never change, it seemed. “We can act like adults.”
Instead of getting fully off, Pepa stayed between his legs on her knees, grabbing his hands tightly. “I just missed you.”
Bruno’s eyes softened and he pulled her into a hug. Julieta was unable to resist and collapsed to join the hug. He was overwhelmed, “I missed you, too. So much.”
The corn was still around them, unaffected by Pepa’s absent gift. But, the still air was peaceful, allowing them to hear each other and pay attention to one another as closely as the used to so many years ago.
Their unit felt complete again.
Age 85
Julieta leaned into Bruno despite her being taller. He was the quietest, the meekest, and still was the strongest out of the three of them…. The two of them.
“You remember she used to call herself the arms?” He asked with a small chuckle. Reminiscing was his way of coping, while silence was Julieta’s. But, it felt wrong to keep everything in in this safe space.
“Yeah… I do.”
“I think she might have been wrong,” he said lowly, meeting Julieta’s confused eyes.
“What, was she the legs or something?”
“Well she was pretty tall,” he replied jovially. “But, I think her role was even more important than that.”
Julieta swallowed thickly, letting her warm memories of Pepa pool into her brain. Never before had she missed her sister. They had always been together. Through thick and thin she had been there. And now, like a flash of lightning, she was gone.
“What’s that?” she asked, choking on her words, tears streaming down her face.
“The sun.”
Age 100
Bruno stared up into the sky, his back flush with the soft Earth below. It took him forever to get here, his body not having the gusto it once did. Nor did he have Julieta’s cooking in order to give him a temporary burst of energy. However, it was worth it. He came here every year. Every single year after both his sisters passed. It was his duty.
They were a team.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun that reminded him of Pepa. Sweet, chaotic Pepa who was so passionate about everything she loved and held dearly to her. She was their arms, the fire and the one who kept her heart on her sleeve. When she left, it was if she had taken that joy with her.
The corn around him reminded him of Julieta, the amazing cook who fed a giant family for decades, never complaining. She had once wondered if she had a place in the family. But, as their glue- heart, she seemed to take his passion and love for life with her. He silently was thankful for Mirabel for taking the place as the family glue. However, he had detached himself long ago, knowing that it would never be the same without his sisters.
Once upon a time, he had wanted nothing more than to go to the corn field on his birthday. To see his sisters and tell them how much he loved them. To kiss them and hug them with all of his strength. And… he still wanted that. However, instead of being a few feet away in the walls, they were high above the clouds, watching over him as he remained.
It wasn’t fair.
He didn’t have children. He never married. His gift wasn’t vital to the community.
Why wasn’t he the one who went first?
Why was he the only triplet left?
…He was no fool. There was no point in kidding himself. He didn’t care much about his sisters’ deaths disappointing everyone else.
He just wanted them back.
Why did they leave him behind?
Why was he alone yet again?
A single tear fell from his eye.
His vision had shown this clearly.
It wouldn’t be long before he would join them.
They would finally be a team again.
Everything felt lighter and he smiled at the reunion that lay ahead of him.
“Happy Birthday, guys.”
🫓☀️⌛️