The Mask I Wear

In The Walls

            Instead of fleeing into the nursery, her makeshift room that she had been relegated to for her whole life Mirabel sat down in the center of the courtyard, glancing up past the staircase to look at Dolores's closed door. She frowned, It seemed dimmer somehow.

Pulling the jagged green pieces from her bag, Mirabel decided now was as good a time as any to see what Tio Bruno's final vision was. Fingering them she began working, seeing how to put this complex puzzle together and wondering all the while: what will I see? She stared, perplexed as she saw the broken vision come together. It looked familiar to her because it was happening, and it was happening now. There were cracks covering her beloved Casita, and in front of it there she stood. Mirabel shook, she couldn't tell what it meant. Was she bringing the destruction? Was it up to her to heal it?

Stumbling back away from the tablet she hurried back up the stairs, almost going into Tio Bruno's room when she saw a picture move, and she was startled to learn it was on hinges. Breathing heavily she approached it, peeking around into the dark tunnel it hid. "Tio Bruno?" she asked tentatively, wondering aloud if this had to do with him. Carefully she climbed into the darkness, crawling forward until she could finally stand upright. Crinkling her nose she tried not to sneeze at the dust that she had inadvertently kicked up and failed.

"Bless you." a voice said and she froze, peeking her eyes back open to see a small man in front of her. He was wearing green and looked like he needed a good bath, but he didn't look dangerous from what she actually could see. Mirabel squinted at him in the darkness, trying to make out more of his features properly, but he suddenly scampered away from her, realizing she had really seen him. "Wait!" she coughed before rushing forwards after him, hoping Dolores would listen for her safety. "Wait!" As she followed him through the harsh and narrow turns she stumbled over her own feet, unable to see where she was going. Clearly her eyes were not as well adjusted as his, and she stumbled as she leapt over what looked like a deep crevasse, just like the one in his room. A shriek was caught in her throat as she barely grabbed on to the edge. Terror gripped her and she couldn't even call to Dolores for help, the words stuck in her throat. Closing her eyes tight she accepted that she would soon no longer be a problem to the family as her fingers began to slip and lose their precarious grip.

Ready for the fall, she was surprised when instead of falling far, the man had come back and easily grabbed her by the wrists. The look on his face reflected her own, and she knew he wouldn't let her fall, not on purpose. "Tio?" she whispered as he pulled her up to the relative safety of the old wood once more. "Tio Bruno?"

"Hi Mirabel." His voice was only a touch or two louder than Dolores and she blinked in surprise. Gently he took her hand and led her to carefully follow him through the maze inside the walls. Finally they reached a small room lit up with candles. It was cozy, Mirabel decided, but still not a room, not really. Her Tio was just like her, even with a gift. No place to belong.

"I don't have much back here, but sit- sit." he gestured to the old recliner in the corner as he took his own seat in a tiny old wooden chair that looked a little worse for wear. "How'd– How did you– Um, how do I– How did you know I was back here?" he stumbled over his question multiple times before settling.

"I–I didn't." she gave a tiny shrug before wrapping her arms around herself.. "I saw a painting move and realized it was on hinges– a-and when I looked inside there was a tunnel. I thought maybe I could find out why Casita is cracking." Absently Mirabel dug her nails in and drug them down her arms. "I just want to help." she lamented in the quietest of whispers that Bruno had to strain to hear it. Shaking, his nervousness causing an almost constant tremor,, he slowly moved forward, reaching out to her, just as Camilo had done for Dolores, he gently pried her hands from her arms to stop the thin trails from forming. "Mira," Even his voice shook, "Mira you do help, you do. I see it." he twitched.

"I don't."
"You do."

"I don't, you do."

"No, I don't. You do."

The pair argued, shaking their heads exasperatedly at each other. "Mira, I'm the one who left, remember? I couldn't do anything to help my family, not like Mama wanted. I'm the one who makes bad things happen, not you." he hunched in on himself, reminding her of Dolores earlier.

"But- you're not responsible for any of that." she told him, confusedly. "You may see things, but that doesn't mean you are making them happen. You- you didn't kill that woman's fish, she didn't take care of it. You didn't force that man to eat junk food and neglect to exercise, he chose that. You didn't go and pull that man's hair out, it was hereditary. You didn't do any of these things."

"But what about Pepa's wedding? I caused her to hurricane. What about Isabela? I ruined her good future. What about Camilo? I made him not know who he is. What about Dolores? I took away her happy ending. What about you-?" he cut himself off at the last one with a wince before finishing. "What about you, Mira? You don't have a gift and that was the night I saw-"

"The cracks?" Mirabel finished her uncle's sentence, knowing what he was going to say. "The vision with the cracks. It doesn't tell for sure if it can be fixed, does it? Do you know what we have to do?"

He shook his head fiercely, turning his back and squeaking. "Hey! It's time for my telenovela!" He pulled her with him next to the end table which had a diorama on top. Easily he scooped up some rats and put them in it- their heads poking through the little face holes to become the characters. "Last week I got Dolores with a twist!" he said excitedly, accidentally letting it slip that he performed these dramas for both him and Dolores, that she undoubtedly knew she was here. "You–did?" Ignoring the fact that Dolores had been keeping this secret for over ten years she gave him an impressed look, "That's not easy to do." He hummed happily, "I know right?" Then he froze when she nudged him.

"Tio Bruno, do you think- I mean- can you- we- please let's see your vision again. Maybe there is something you missed? Maybe it's changed?" she stammered out the plea, "We need to know how to fix Casita, keep her from breaking."

"I-I really shouldn't- no I shouldn't- No, I okay." he couldn't fight her gaze, still full of hope even after all the pain that had laced through her heart. "I'll need my summoning circle." he stood up, determined to help his niece help their Casita. "Let's go."