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They were just taking a stroll through the Encanto. Pepa, Félix, and Dolores between them, holding each other's hands as she was happily chatting about her newest object of interest, which was the little spider that she had seen in the nursery in the morning, before Isabela had crushed it, which Dolores hadn’t liked at all. Dolores had apparently really liked the spider, and had gotten into an angry fight with Isabela afterwards before Pepa and Agustín had pulled the girls apart, and the situation had been explained.
Félix had made the situation worse with a comment about how he would have crushed the spider too, because of his intense fear of bugs, which had only caused Dolores to cry. It had been the wrong thing to say at the time, it was clear, especially with how attached Dolores had been to that spider. While Pepa might not be a very big fan of bugs herself, he was happy her daughter hadn’t inherited a phobia, at least. Especially not one as severe as Félix’s.
As Dolores had truly been in tears, Pepa and Félix had told her that they would go on a walk with her after lunch, going through the outskirts of the village close to the lake to watch the animals, which she always enjoyed. And this idea was further approved once Pepa had suggested they buy Dolores some candy on the way back home. Dolores had a real sweet tooth when it came to small candies, and the crying had quickly stopped after that, the spider long forgotten.
It had been a close call, but thankfully they wouldn’t have to deal with a cranky or sad Dolores for the rest of the day. Of course Pepa would take a stroll with her and give her some candy if it made her feel better.
After lunch they had left the Casita, taking a long stroll through the outskirts of the village, spending some time by the lake and the outskirts of the jungle were Dolores pointed at the birds, small animals and the bugs (and Félix almost passed out when he saw a praying mantis that Dolores found cute, all while Pepa chuckled at his reaction).
Now they were on their way home, one their way towards the town square to buy Dolores the candy they had promised her. She was constantly talking about candy whenever she didn’t talk about the spider, it being very clear that she hadn’t forgotten, as she made sure her parents wouldn’t either. If someone mentioned candy to Dolores, she wanted candy if it was the last thing she did, and repeated it until everyone remembered. There was no getting out of that one.
Not that she minded. Pepa would probably buy something for herself as well. She loved the same type of candy that Dolores did, enjoying how the taste was always the same and very predictable, as it had a nice texture that she enjoyed chewing on.
As they’re almost out of the outskirts of the jungle, the unexpected happens.
Just as they walk, Pepa soundly hears a very loud, cracking sound as if one cuts through wood, and a tree falls down to the ground, being uprooted by the force as it died, landing mere feet away from her. It was an old heavy tree, no leaves, clearly dangerous to be near, as shown by this. It should have been cut down long ago as a safety measure, but here they were, the three almost crushing them in an instant as she is startled, jumping up into the air as she feels the scared shiver and the terrifying realization of how quickly it had happened, and how loud the thump was.
In her sudden anxiety as she thought of what might have happened if they were just a few feet closer, the gray cloud quickly appears, and thunder strikes down onto the ground in pure shock.
The electric bolt strikes down into the very tree that had fallen in front of them, and in today’s dry, warm weather, and the fact that this tree was dry and dead, the fierce heat of the lightning strike makes the tree catch aflame. All at once, in a quick instant as Pepa sees the orange embers quickly turn into large flames that lick over the branches and the wood, slowly consuming the tree as it is engulfed in fierce orange, the flames pretty much playing a dangerous dance.
Fire, she’s started fire by accident, making her tense up and shiver at the same time, as she stares, not knowing what to do.
But if she was scared, Félix was terrified.
Pepa watches as he falls to the ground limp, the most horrified expression on his face that he has ever seen, staring into the flames as if he couldn’t walk away. It’s pure terror that she sees, and it fuels her own fear and nervousness as Dolores begins to scream from the surprised fire.
Everything becomes too much for her, all emotions running together with fear, but thankfully, that is a good thing for once as it starts to rain.
The fire is out quickly, and her own unease slowly disappears while Dolores grows quiet again, looking more safe and easy as the dangers of the flames are gone. Both of them are fine.
Félix is not.
He is still on the ground, staring into thin air in silence, his body beginning to shake as Pepa sees the tears streaming down his face.
She knows why.
She knows why he is absolutely terrified of fire except for when it is used in the kitchen. He is relieving the moment when he had to watch his childhood home burn down, all of his family trapped inside to be burned alive as he was the only survivor. It’s a horror that would never escape him, and one he sometimes talked about during the periods of the year when the nightmares were more present, because they never really stopped.
Fire has ruined his life, and seeing such a large amount of it out of nowhere before being warned, she knew what it must have done to him, as he continued to sob, falling down onto the ground, stomach against it as he sobs into the dirt. Distraught, panting quickly through sobs, as if the memories are right there as he reexperiences the horrors once more.
“Papá?” Dolores asks, not understanding his reaction. Pepa looks down at her.
“Papá is very, very scared of fire. Something very bad happened to him once, and he gets so scared by fire now that it can be hard for him to think for a bit if it scares him like this. He starts to cry and sometimes it makes him remember sad memories. I’m going to go to him and help him calm down, okay? Be a good girl and sit here.”
“Yes mamá,” Dolores says, and from her voice, it’s clear that she’s worried about Félix too, not used to seeing him crying at all.
Pepa walks up to him as he cries, sitting down in the ground beside him, ignoring the horrid texture for the sake of comforting him. She doesn’t touch him though, of course she doesn’t. She wouldn’t without permission when he was in a state like this.
“Félix, it’s me. It’s Pepa,” she says. “You’re not back there. The fire is extinguished. You’re safe.”
She sees how he tenses for a moment, letting out a soft wail as he sobs.
She repeats her words.
“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I’ll make sure that you’re safe. You’re not alone.”
In an instant, he gets off of the ground, jumping into her arms as he keeps sobbing into her shoulder, holding her in a tight grip, as if he is deadly terrified that she would disappear if he didn’t hold on tight enough.
Pepa hates seeing Félix so distraught, but now she’s there for him, just like he’s always there for her when she needs help. Now it’s simply time to repay the favor, since they always had each other’s back.
“Yes, yes. I’m here, I’m here.”