57. Without Them

It was hard.

It was so very hard.

It was incredibly, impossibly hard not to panic. To not break down into terrified tears, worrying about every little thing.

But La Familia Madrigal tried their bests.

Four of their own, and one destined to become one of their own, had been gone for a month now.

Off in some strange land, far away from the safety of their home.

Fighting dragons.

Keeping it together was a daily struggle.

A struggle Julieta was struggling with, as she lied awake in bed.

Morning had risen, the sunlight peeking through her windows. Illuminating her room, which resembled a bedroom-sized pantry.

She really should be starting breakfast right now. Everyone was counting on her.

But she just couldn’t find the strength to rise up and start the day.

Her every waking thought was overcome with worry. Terrified for her daughters, her nephew, and the boy she’d come to love as a son.

She was supposed to be the level-headed one. Balancing out the volatile emotions of her sister, the skittishness of her brother, the clumsiness of her husband, and so on.

She was a pillar, that the others could lean on.

But right now, she felt like she needed someone to lean on.

And that someone arrived, in the form of Augustin.

He was already dressed and ready for the day, as opposed to his wife. Who hadn’t even moved all morning.

Something was clearly wrong. And he knew exactly what.

He took a seat next to her, on the bed. Laying a hand on her shoulder.

“Do you…want to talk about it?” He asked, softly.

From her horizontal position, she shook her head.

“No, I…I need to get up. I’m already late…” She began to stir, attempting to rise out of her bed. But she was stopped, once he placed a gentle hand on both her arms.

“Nuh-Uh.” He shook his head. “You aren’t moving from this spot, until you tell me what you’re feeling.”

She tried to protest, but she soon found that she couldn’t fight the concerned glint in his gaze.

With a deep sigh, she spoke again. “…You know what I’m feeling…”

“I just…I-I don’t know what to do!” She nearly shouted, suddenly overcome with emotion. “They’re so far away! Anything could happen, and-and I’m not there to help them if they get hurt!”

Augustin simply listened, as she continued. “They can’t even send us a letter! We’ll have no idea how they’re doing until they come back! If they come back!”

“They will come back!” Insisted her husband, stroking her arms to try and comfort her. “You saw Bruno’s vision.”

Julieta didn’t seem convinced.

“What if it’s wrong?” She asked, eyes trembling with uncertainty. “What if this is the one time he gets a vision wrong?”

Augustin hesitated for a moment, before he grew a steadfast expression.

“Even if it is wrong, they’re still coming back!” He declared. “They’re strong, all of them! They will succeed, and they will come back to us!”

She searched her husband’s eyes, and could see that he truly believed what he was saying. Without a shadow of a doubt.

She sighed again, and asked a question. “How are you doing this? How are you not scared?”

His visage of assuredness crumbled into one of meekness. “Oh, I’m scared. I’m terrified! Sometimes I can’t help but imagine a giant monster burning our- “

He noticed his wife’s horrified expression, and figured he’d better stop.

Clearing his throat, he got to the point.

“But…no matter how scared I may be, I just remember who it is we’re talking about here.” His eyes sparkled, as he thought about them.

“Mirabel, and Hiccup! They’re too determined and, quite frankly, to stubborn to fail!” He proclaimed, with a small grin. “And with Isabela, Luisa, and Camilo backing them up, there’s nothing they can’t do!”

Seeing his confidence, Julieta shakily nodded. “You’re right, I shouldn’t be afraid…”

“Now I didn’t say that.” He rebutted. “It’s perfectly fine to be afraid. I’m just saying that we need to have faith. In our daughters, our nephew…”

“…Our son…”

That last part got a shocked look from Julieta, who faced him with a wry smirk.

“Don’t you think you’re jumping the gun a bit?” She asked.

He waved her comment off. “He’s basically there already! It’s just not in writing!” He laughed.

She laughed too. And she couldn’t deny that she felt the same.

As the laughter died down, she wore a genuine smile. “Gracias, mi amor. I…I needed that.”

She began to rise, until she was stopped again by Augustin.

“Actually…” He started, as he began to remove his shoes. “I was thinking we could sleep in today?”

“But…what about breakfast?” She questioned, befuddled.

“There are five other adults in the house!” He chuckled, shimmying under the covers. “Someone else can cook! It’ll be fine!”

Once again, she was inclined to protest.

But now that she thought about it…the bed was looking very tempting.

With a youthful and mischievous smirk, she hopped back into bed with her husband. Her fears temporarily quelled.

Though not forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not hearing their every single movement was unnerving.

Dolores had familiarized herself with the sounds of every member of her family.

The stomping of mighty feet, the zapping of lightning, the growls and hisses of animals…

While it could be rather unsettling, hearing every single thing they were doing, there was a comfort in knowing just where your loved ones were at all times.

Five sources of noise were gone. And had been gone for weeks.

It frightened her.

She couldn’t hear them at all. She couldn’t know if they were in trouble. She couldn’t get help in time.

The girl had felt so helpless. For all the annoyances her gift could bring, she prided herself on being the first to hear any danger. Responding to it as soon as possible.

She couldn’t do that here. They were hundreds of miles out of her range.

The last she heard of them were their voices, making idle chatter. Slowly fading as they walked farther and farther from the Encanto.

She kept those sounds in her memory, at all times. Eagerly listening for the moment she heard them again.

But she was unsure as to how long it’d be until that moment arrived.

She tried to stay optimistic. Not just for herself, but for the rest of her family.

But it was really difficult sometimes.

She walked towards the dining room, ready for another gloomy breakfast. Their meals always felt incomplete, these days. With four empty chairs at the table.

Adjusting her headband, she stopped when instead of the familiar sounds of her Tia whipping up another stellar meal, she heard the strangest combination of noises.

Pour CRASH Ugh!

Over and over, the cycle repeated.

Pour CRASH Ugh!

The voice was recognizable, it was clearly her mother. But what was she doing?

Heading towards the kitchen, Dolores saw that her mother was indeed there. Bent over the stove with a thundering storm cloud above her head.

She had a bowl of batter in her arms, and was pouring it into a pan. But every time she did, lightning from her cloud would crash down onto the batter. Turning it into ash, and causing the woman to groan.

This happened more than a few times.

Moving forwards from the doorway, the quiet girl softly spoke. “Mama, what’s wrong?”

Startled by the sudden presence, Pepa swiftly turned. Gaining a strained smile upon seeing her daughter.

“B-Buenos Dias, Mija! I-I didn’t see you there!” She chuckled, nervously. Setting the bowl on the counter.

She then answered the girl’s question. “I was trying to make breakfast. Juli isn’t feeling up to it today…not that I blame her…”

“I wanted to make some pancakes, but I keep thinking about your brother and how he loves pancakes, and then I remember that he’s gone to Dragon Land! And that makes my cloud start zapping, which ruins the pancakes! And I can’t- “

She began feverishly stroking her braid, muttering her mantra to try and calm her storm. But she stopped, when Dolores placed a hand over hers.

She graced her mother with a gentle smile. “You can let it out, Mami.”

Pepa hesitated, just for a moment.

Before her thunder cloud began pouring with rain, and she burst into tears.

“I’m just so scared!” She cried, crushing her daughter into a hug. “I know I shouldn’t be! I know I should trust the vision! But…But I am!”

Her rain cloud began thundering again, and her face grew a grimace. “And Camilo! What was he thinking!? Running off without telling anybody!”

“What if we didn’t notice?” She exclaimed. “What if we didn’t see him leave, and we thought he just…disappeared?”

“I can’t go through that again, Dolores! I can’t lose someone again! I just…” Her weeping stopped anymore words from getting through, so she just cried her tears into her child’s shoulder.

Dolores held her mother, stroking her back as she sobbed her fears.

Pepa felt so weak. She was the mother, she should be the one giving comfort here. Not the other way around.

But it was so overbearing sometimes, this fear in her heart. She needed to let it go.

After a while, the sobbing turned into sniffling. And the heavy rains became a light drizzle.

Thoroughly drenched, Pepa parted from her daughter. Looking quite frazzled, but smiling appreciatively.

It felt good to just let it out.

“They’ll be okay.” Dolores whispered soothingly. “They’re all coming home.”

If she was being entirely honest, she was terribly worried too.

But her mother needed cheering up right now.

“…And then you can ground Milo for eternity!” She grinned, earning a tearful snort from her mother.

Dolores then grabbed the batter bowl, and began mixing more ingredients into it. At Pepa’s confused look, she smiled.

“Don’t just stand around, I’ll need someone to flip them!” She said. “And no one flips pancakes like you, mama!”

A ray of sunshine sparkled over Pepa’s storm cloud.

She grabbed the spatula, and mother and daughter got to cooking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a lot of salt in here.

Littered about the floors, piled up in the corners, scattered on every surface…

Antonio didn’t think he’d seen so much salt before in his life.

“S-Sorry about that…” Tio Bruno chuckled, plopped in his reading chair. “I’ve just been really trying to bring some good luck…”

“I-I mean I dunno if it’ll work, ‘cause I’m here and the kids are all the way in who knows where…b-but y’know I…” He sighed. “It feels like I’m doing something to help…”

This was nothing compared to last week, when he'd knocked on wood so hard his knuckles nearly bled.

Antonio nodded, as he knew exactly what his uncle felt. “I wanna help too! That’s why I’m here!”

He whistled, and a toucan fluttered into Bruno’s lounge-like room. Perching on the boy’s arms.

“Do you…” The boy began to look very shy. “Do you think you could have a vision?”

Bruno nearly choked on out his coffee.

Swallowing it hastily, and beating his chest while he coughed, he spoke again.

“I-I don’t do visions for family, kid…”  He mumbled, nervously. “It tends not to end well…”

“No, I meant the last vision!” Antonio corrected.

The boy brought his arm forward, presenting the bird. “I want you to have the same vision you had last time, so he can see what Berk looks like! Then he could fly there, see how everyone’s doing, and come back and tell us!”

The seer couldn’t help but snicker at the idea. It was the type of plot only a child could come up with.

“It’s a good idea, Tonito. But I think Berk is a bit too far away for a toucan.” He said.

Upon hearing this, the boy glanced to the bird for confirmation. To which the toucan feverishly nodded. The very idea already making his wings tired.

The toucan then flew away. And Antonio slumped over, defeated. “But…how are we supposed to know if they’re okay?”

“I don’t think we can, kid…” Bruno’s sentence petered out, when he saw the child’s eyes.

Those big, puppy dog eyes. Overflowing with concern for his cousins and his brother, and on the brink of tears.

He had to rectify this.

“But!” He started, with a nervous grin. “I-It’s alright! Because I sent Hernando with them!”

Antonio tilted his head in confusion, as the scruffy man continued. “Before they left, I asked Hernando to follow them. And keep them safe. And he said- “

He put his hood on, and began speaking in a silly voice. “Don’t fret, my friend! I shall protect them from all dangers, great or small! For I am Hernando, and I fear nothing!”

Antonio giggled, before asking “But isn’t Hernando just you, with your hood on?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about...” Bruno denied.

He tousled the boy’s hair. “So we don’t have to worry! Hernando’s battled pirates, and dinosaurs, and…crazy ex-girlfriends! He can handle a big dragon!”

He took on a more somber tone. “But, there is one thing we can do…”

He sank down to one knee, to look his sobrino straight in the eyes. “We can believe in them! If we do that, everything’ll work out just fine!”

It was simplistic advice, and not the most realistic, but it seemed to work on the child. He nodded with a small smile, before running forward and hugging his uncle.

While initially surprised, soon Bruno found himself returning the hug.

“I really miss them…” Antonio whispered.

“We all do, kid…” Bruno replied, with a sigh. “We all do…”

“Hey, there you are!”

They looked up to see Felix, leaning on the doorway. His usual wide smile on his face, though lately it’s been a bit more subdued.

“I’ve been looking all over for you, Tonito!” He walked forwards, gently grabbing his son’s hand. “Come on, its breakfast time! Your mom and your sister made pancakes!”

As soon as he heard the P word, Antonio rushed forward. Yanking his hand from his father’s grasp, and zipping down the stairs with an energy only children seemed to possess.

Julieta’s food was unquestionably amazing, but there was something special about dishes made by your beloved mother.

The two men chuckled as they watched the boy run off, before Felix turned to his brother-in-law.

“Everything alright, bro?” He asked.

Bruno hesitantly nodded. “Yeah, he was just-he was just worried about the kids…”

Felix released a deep sigh, and for once he frowned. “He’s not the only one…”

But just as quickly as it left, his smile returned. “But hey, they’ll be back! Your vision says so!”

The seer was nowhere near as confident. “Yeah, my vision! Heh…”

His vision.

It was the only thing keeping his family from falling apart.

The promise that the kids would return, victorious.

Life would go on, the family would grow...

And they'd all be happy.

For decades, he’d have a vison and hope it wouldn’t come true.

So now that he had a vision that he desperately, more than anything, wanted to become reality…

He really hoped his bad luck wouldn’t rear its ugly head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breakfast had come and gone, just as melancholy as every meal had been for the last month.

It was hard to crack jokes, with so many less people to laugh at them.

It was hard to tell stories, with so many less people to listen to them.

They’d had Mariano and Valentina over even more frequently, for the last month. Trying to fill some of the dead air, and just wanting anyone they cared about to be close.

But it was still hard.

Especially for Alma, who now sat alone at the table.

Breakfast had been over for a short while now, but she didn’t get up.

Several members of her family had come to check on her, but she assured them that she was okay. So she didn’t have to get up.

She really should be heading into town right now, but she didn’t want to get up.

She couldn’t stop thinking about her nightmare. One she’d had multiple times.

It’d start with the memory of Pedro, walking towards those horrible men. A moment she’d relived too many times to count.

But then Pedro would morph and shift into one of her grandchildren. Mirabel, Luisa, Isabela, Camilo…

One time it was even Hiccup.

After that had occurred, the ground would split open. The men would be blasted back, as an absolutely ginormous dragon rose from the earth.

With eyes as red as hellfire glowing against pitch-black scales, teeth splattered with blood, a monstrous wingspan, claws like blades, and a crown of demonic horns on its head.

Alma would be there, sometimes young, sometimes old. She’d try and run towards them, to pull them back or knock them aside or anything.

But she couldn’t move.

No matter how hard she ran, she stayed locked in place.

Forced to watch it absolute terror, as the dragon devoured a member of her family.

Or burned them to a crisp. Or sliced them in half. Or smashed them to pieces.

She’d always wake up in a cold sweat, panting with fear. She’d try and regain her composure, but some nights were harder than others.

She kept Bruno’s latest vision on her nightstand, after basically begging her son for it. Whenever she had this night terror, she’d look at it.

To remind herself that it was all going to work out.

To remind herself of what the children were fighting for.

To remind herself that she hadn’t made a grave mistake in letting them leave.

She did this as she sat at the table, refusing to get up. Just gazing at that wonderful vision, of her family’s wonderful future.

And praying that it would come to be.

But eventually, she knew she had to get up.

The town needed her guidance, now more than ever.

Pepa’s perpetual paranoia had caused the skies to be permanently overcast.

Projects got finished much slower, without Luisa’s help. The village looked much less colorful, without Isabela’s personal flair. Without Camilo, Hiccup, or Toothless, the children were in poor spirits.

And without Mirabel…

Nothing felt right without Mirabel. The Encanto wasn’t as magical without her.

Even Casita seemed much more downtrodden. Still happy to help, as always. But its movements were more sluggish and less peppy.

She needed to be strong now, her people needed their leader to help them through this.

So she got up.

She would go about her day, doing what is necessary, before returning home.

And when it came time for bed, she’d go to sleep with a prayer.

A prayer that the next day would be the day when her family was whole, once more.