11. Sick

Pepa did not expect to come downstairs to breakfast to find her hermana and mamá in an argument. She blinked at the scene a few times. Even walked out and walked back in to make sure she was actually seeing what she was seeing.

Well… that was new.

“They’re sick mamá!” Julieta half snapped, half pleaded. “Their fevers are too high for them to even leave their beds, much less Casita.”

For once, their mamá seemed to falter in her argument. The pair stared each other down.

“We can’t let the village down Julieta,” mamá pointed out after gathering herself again.

Yeah, no. Pepa had gathered enough of what was going on.

“Luisa and Isabela are sick?” she asked, cutting into the argument and startling them.

“Uh, sí,” Julieta answered. “They caught the same bug…”

Pepa nodded her head decisively. “Bruno won’t mind watching them I’m sure.”

She would offer but it was her one day to water the crops and she didn’t want the villagers whining. And Felix always went with her.

Bruno was good with the niños when they were sick though.

Mamá pursed her lips.

"I'm sure the village can survive without a fourteen and twelve-year-old for one day." She didn't even try and hide how her voice dripped with scorn as she spoke.

For a moment, it looked like mamá might argue further but then she let out an annoyed sigh.

"Very well," she snapped. "But you can't neglect your duties, Julieta."

"Sí," Julieta assured quickly, flicking a grateful look at Pepa.

Pepa just thought that they were lucky their mamá didn't push it.

She was perfectly willing to water the crops with a thunderstorm instead.

"Thank you for agreeing to this Bruno," Julieta said again as she hurriedly packed the last of her food with Agustin’s help.

Bruno waved the thanks off.

"I don't mind."

Things were still a little strained between the triplets but it was getting better over time. There were just topics they needed to avoid.

Namely, mamá and Mirabel.

It saddened Bruno that they'd drifted apart somewhat over this. But he refused to change his mind, to take back anything he said.

Besides… his headaches had practically disappeared over time as he stopped doing constant visions. He didn't feel exhausted all the time either.

He hadn't felt this good in a long time and he wasn't about to give that up so that the village could yell at him about being a bad omen again.

He still did at least one vision a day and he passed the important ones on to the relevant people (aka asked Pepa to do it since he really didn't like going into town.)

Julieta pointed out the soup she made one last time as she finished packing and then faltered when the two youngest in the house ran in.

"Tio!" Cami yelled. "Come play with us."

Mirabel looked up at him eagerly.

"Ah, not today guys," Bruno said as he crouched down in front of them. 

"Why not?" Mirabel pouted.

"Tio is taking care of Isabela and Luisa today," Dolores answered for him as she walked into the kitchen. "They're sick."

"Oh…" the pair looked at each other while Dolores spoke to Bruno.

"I can't look after these two today Tio," she told him regretfully. "One of the kids wandered into the forest early this morning. I'm going to go help find him."

"That's not a problem," he assured her, thinking quickly. "They can be my helpers today."

Camilo and Mirabel perked up.

"We can?" They asked in sync, excited.

It was probably the best way to keep them out of trouble and they genuinely did like to help.

Bruno nodded at them with a smile while Dolores chuckled a bit before leaving on her search.

Julieta hesitated for a moment before she left as well, gaze briefly flicking over to Mirabel before she was gone.

Bruno looked over the excited pair.

This shouldn't be too bad right?

Julieta needed to stop understating things.

The 'pretty bad fever' that she'd mentioned was actually at the point where the girls were experiencing hallucinations. The poor things were barely aware of what was going on at all.

Luisa was crying and when Bruno tried to comfort her, she latched on. Meaning he was pretty much stuck there until she let go.

That left Mirabel and Camilo to help Isabela.

They'd been a little wary about it since she was the one that tended to snap at them the most. They'd long since stopped trying to spend time with her and Luisa avoided them.

This was the most time the pair had been around them in three years.

It didn't go as they expected.

"Cami! What am I supposed to do?!" Mira asked in a panic while Isabela clutched her and wailed.

"I don't know!" Camilo replied, equally freaked out by their prima's behaviour.

He flitted around the bed, not sure what to do.

Mirabel focused back on the older girl holding her in a death grip.

"Isa, Isa, it's okay. You're just sick," she tried to tell her but Isabela only sobbed harder.

"It's not okay!" She wailed, burying her face in Mira's hair.

She was radiating heat which was probably really not good.

"Maybe we need mami?" Mira whispered to Camilo.

Before he could answer, Isabela hiccuped and spoke again. Her voice was muffled by Mirabel's hair and a little slurred from the sickness.

"I lost my Mira," Isabela said miserably. "Nothing's been okay for years."

Mirabel and Camilo stared at each other in shock while Isabela continued to cry quietly.

"What do you mean?" Camilo asked, climbing onto the bed with them now.

Isabela hiccuped again and then the words just seemed to spill out, like they'd been locked up for a long time.

"We can't say no to Abuela but she said I can't be close to Mira anymore since she didn't get a Gift. And I panicked cause everyone was scared and I was mean and awful and I lost my Mira and she hates me now!"

Mirabel stared at Camilo, looking lost. It didn't seem like Isabela was really aware that Mira was actually here. She seemed to think that this was all her imagination. 

"And now Luisa's sad and cries all the time," Isabela continued, breathing hitching with sobs and breaking her words occasionally. "And mamá cries and papá is sad. But it's our fault and we still can't say no to Abuela cause- cause she's Abuela."

Mirabel felt tears prick her eyes. They didn't talk about… that. They didn't talk about it because she had a mami and papi and she loved them. Dolores was the best hermana and she always made sure they were okay. And she had her mellizo, her best friend, in Camilo.

She was happy now.

Like Tio Bruno said… some things couldn't be undone and she didn't want to go back. Because her family had been there for her when she needed it. Had stood up for her.

But…

"Tio Bruno and Tia Pepa hate me cause I'm terrible and Tio Felix too," Isabela was still rambling and it broke Mirabel's heart.

"Isa, Isa," she tried to get the older girl's attention.

But Isabela didn't seem to hear her.

"And Dolores and Cami definitely hate me," she sobbed. "Cause I'm awful and terrible and- and- and-" her voice broke on the next words. "I miss my Mira."

Mirabel wondered if Dolores could hear this from the forest. She wished her hermana was here since she gave the best advice. 

But with everyone else out and Tio Bruno stuck in Luisa's hug, it was just the two of them who could help Isabela.

"Isa," Mirabel finally wrapped her arms around the older girl, her heart breaking at the flood of stressed-out rambling that had spilled out. "Isa, I don't hate you."

"Neither do I," Camilo was quick to add.

"No one hates you," Mira continued. "Tio Bruno volunteered to take care of you and Luisa remember? And it was mami's idea cause she didn't want you guys working when you're sick. Papi definitely doesn't hate you. And Dolores doesn't either."

"She misses you," Camilo admitted. "She misses her friend."

Isabela whimpered at the words.

"But I'm awful."

"You said some mean things," Mirabel had to agree. "But you said that you panicked. What scared you?"

There was a beat of silence where Isabela sniffled before answering.

"I was scared that Abuela would stop loving me too if I didn't listen…" she whispered.

Mirabel tightened her hug on the girl.

It made her want to cry. She'd lost Isabela because she was afraid that Abuela would stop loving her. Like she did with Mirabel after she didn't get a Gift.

Like she did with mami and Tio Bruno when they stopped listening to her.

All Abuela did with her parents and Tio was fight now. She hadn't seen her hug them or smile at them in years. 

The same for Dolores and Cami.

Isabela… and maybe Luisa? They'd been scared of the same thing happening. And they'd always been really close to Abuela. They loved her so much.

It wasn't fair.

"I've missed you too Isa," she whispered. "Cause… you're still my prima you know? But we never get to play or anything because of… all this."

"I miss when you let us climb your vines when no one was looking," Camilo admitted quietly. "It was so cool."

Isabela sniffled. "I don't want to be mean anymore. But it's the only way I get to talk to you…"

"It doesn't have to be," Camilo said suddenly and Mirabel looked at him curiously. "We just have to make Abuela think that Isa and Luisa are still avoiding you."

Isabela finally turned her head to look at Camilo. She looked awful, all flushed and her eyes were red from crying.

"I'm sure Dolores wouldn't mind helping. We can be sneaky about it. And I know mami, papi and Tio Bruno would help too."

"I don't get it," Isabela sounded confused.

"You pretend to ignore Mira but when no one's looking then you can be our prima," he explained.

Isabela blinked at him in confusion while Mirabela was getting excited.

"Yeah! We can sneak around and play like we used to! All of us." She turned back to Isabela. "It doesn't matter if you're a hermana or a prima Isa. Cause I still love you. Can we please try?"

Tears welled up in Isabela's eyes again and Mirabel let out an 'oomph' when she latched on in a hug, wailing again.

"I love you too Mira, I didn't stop. I promise, even when I was terrible."

Something that had been hurting since she was five healed up at those words and Mirabel returned the hug tightly. Camilo glomped onto them as well and they both tried to calm Isa down with reassurances that everything would be okay. That they'd fix it.

Tio Bruno found them like that when he carried a sleeping Luisa to Isabela's room and he looked mad when he heard the whole story.

Sitting down next to them, he brushed a hand through Isabela's sweaty hair and waited until her fever-glazed eyes met his own.

"We will always love you Isa," he told her firmly. "Nothing will ever change that, okay?"

Her lip wobbled as she nodded shakily.

"We'll fix this mi flor, I promise."

Hearing the old nickname made her wail all over again as she tried to hug her Tio without letting go of Mirabel. They all ended up in a hug pile after that.

A few hours later, after a lot of water and soup and sleep, Isabela was a lot less delusional and a lot more embarrassed. 

"I acted like a baby," she whined, covering her head with a blanket.

"Everyone's allowed to do that sometimes," Tio Bruno chuckled while Luisa didn't want to let go of Mirabel at all.

She’d broken down crying when she woke up to Mirabel offering her a hug.

They all looked up when the door opened and Dolores walked into the room. Isabela sat up straight, biting her lip nervously. There was no way that Dolores had missed all of that unless she’d been on the other side of the Encanto.

Isabela had been loud…

Dolores walked right up to Isabela and lifted her hand to flick her on her forehead.

“You can be such an idiot sometimes Isa. You could have just talked to me, I would have listened,” she scolded gently. Then she smiled and opened her arms.

Isabela couldn’t help the renewed sobs as she hugged her prima, and best friend, for the first time in years.

Dolores just rubbed her back soothingly, not really bothered that Isa was a mess at the moment.

“I told mamá and papá about it,” she said to Tio Bruno. “Mamá said she was going to pick a fight with someone so that everyone was stuck in town for longer.”

“Of course she did,” Tio sighed, but he looked fond.

“That gives us enough time to clean you two up and make some plans,” Dolores continued, pressing the back of her hand to Isabela’s forehead and frowning at her temperature. “And then send you two back to bed. You need to rest.”

She smiled gently at Isabela. “We’ll figure this out. We’re pretty good at sneaking around. And Casita will help us.”

Isabela gave her a shaky smile in response.

Mirabel and Camio looked at each other with grins. Their hermana was the best.

Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Bruno crept up to a painting hanging innocently on the wall. Taking a deep breath and feeling hopeful, he swung it back, revealing the hole that led into the walls.

After a short walk he came across what he was looking for and stood and stared for a few minutes.

He left the walls with a smile and feeling lighter than before.

The cracks were still there, but they were smaller.

The family was healing. Slowly, but it was getting there.