𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘶 | 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗹

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 13

Encanto, Colombia
1949

The early sun was shining on the streets of the town and Elena was setting up her canvas in the town square whilst scoping out for some inspiration, it had been awhile since she painted something big, something that would impress someone other then herself or Bruno. A little girl, no more then 4, ran around chasing a butterfly giggling away and Elena smiled, taking inspiration from the child as she finished setting up her painting supplies and quickly got to work, her brush having a mind of its own as it smoothly graced the canvas in front of her. The little girl continued to play about unbothered and enjoying being on her own as Elena smiled and continued softly dragging her paintbrush around the canvas in front of her, her eyes following the paint trail her brush left behind. Her eyes darted back to the spot the little girl was only to see no one but passing by villagers, the girl seeming to have disappeared into thin air, or just growing bored.

"That's pretty..." a soft voice stated from her left side as she turned over to see the young girl admiring the unfinished work on her canvas, her cute curly hair fighting its ponytail to be free. "Why, thank you, little one" she smiled as the little girl shyly walked closer to the canvas and admired the unfinished work. "Tia Elena?" A voice called from afar as Elena turned her head in the direction of the sound and waved to her on-coming oldest niece, Isabela, who had a big smile on her face as a plants grew and followed her every happy step. She turned back to her side to introduce the little girl to her niece only to see nothing, the little girl had vanished. She looked around but nothing, she didn't even get to know the cute girls name. She shrugged as Isa grabbed her hands and pulled her up and away from her canvas, spinning around and around as exotic colours of plants grew all around them. "Oh, my beautiful niece, what has gotten into you?" Elena smiled as Isa laughed and let go of her hands to allow her to twirl round and round, the fabric of her skirt twirling beautifully along with her. Isa grabbed the hands of a now dizzy Elena as they both smiled and giggled. "You're so beautiful when you smile like that, tia!" Isa complimented as she twirled her aunt around again and her smile got wider. There was a whistle and Elena turned her gaze to a far off Bruno, smirking and giving her a wink as she smiled and shook her head, Isa next to her pretending to look disgusted but in reality, she adored the love they had. Another twirl into their dance and Elena was brought into a memory from so long ago, dancing with her best friend.

....

"Aye, you're so stiff! Come on, amor, lighten up!" "Elena, I'm trying to fix her hair, will you stop getting her to move about please?" Pepa fought as her hands worked to make sure Julieta's hair was nice and tidy. It was Julieta's wedding day, and she was rightfully nervous, but Elena wasn't having any of it. "Pepa, she looks great, both of you stop worrying! Come on, I want smiles on both of your faces! You're nervous, I know, but after the stress you'll be dancing the night away with your husband" Elena comforted as Julieta smiled with a tear in her eye, Pepa patting her shoulders to let her know she was alright. "Are you ready?" They bothed asked as Julieta took a deep breath and let out a shaky laugh. "Yes, let's go".

The ceremony was beautiful and Elena couldn't help but shout and clap when Julieta sealed the deal and kissed Agustin. The after ceremony was even more beautiful and fun as everyone danced to the upbeat music. Elena laughed as she twirled Julieta around in her beautiful white gown as they shouted happily into the loud crowd. They calmed down just as the music began to change and Elena looked to her best friend, all grown up and married, just like her. She could feel herself begin to tear up. "You are so beautiful in that dress, Julieta. And I'm so proud of you..." She smiled as Julieta wiped a tear off her own cheek. There was a tap on her shoulder and she turned around to face the groom, who was smiling at the both of them. "May I have my wife's hand to dance?" He asked politely as Elena smile and nodded, handing Julieta over to him and watching them walk off as the music changed into a slow dancing beat and a pair of arms slithered around her waist, grabbing hold of her hands and the person resting his chin onto her shoulder. "Speaking of dancing, would you care to join me?" The voice asked as she nodded but still looked off to Julieta and Agustin, who were slow dancing together. She smiled as she turned to her husband who gently twirled her around and pulled her close to him. Though she had her head rested on Bruno's chest, she still managed to look over to Julieta dancing with Agustin as he lifted her into the air and she smiled, her dress waving in the warm breeze.

....

"Alright, amor, I think that's enough twirling around for me!" Elena smiled as she rested her hand onto her temple, dizzy as ever. Isa smiled and nodded in agreement as waved her hand and placed a flower crown on top of her aunts head. "A beautiful crown for my beautiful tia" she smiled as Elena pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. "You're a gift, Isabela".

•
•
•

The evening air was warm and the casita was quiet, everyone was relaxing in their respected rooms. Elena was sitting in her quiet room working on the same painting she had been working on earlier that day and the little girl crossed her mind again. She stopped her placed her brush down as she sighed, that little girl, she didn't even get to know her name. She was so cute, so kind, so much something she didn't have. She looked down to her lap and sighed again, her stomach was flat. But, she didn't have much time to think about this reoccurring thought as a distressed Bruno bursted into the room and caused her to jump out of her spot. "Bruno, amor, what's wrong?" She asked as she began to approach him. She looked closer to his face, examining him and recognizing his look, a look she knew from long ago, from the last time she ever heard of his premonitions. "Is it..?" She began to ask but paused as she trailed carefully on what to say next as he just hugged onto her, breathing heavily. "Oh amor..." she comforted and trialed her fingers through his hair to hopefully calm him down and get him to talk. She pulled him onto the bed where they could lay more comfortably and let him rest his head on her chest as she continued to play with his hair and calm him down with a soft hum. "It's always the same, no matter what they say....never enough, never good enough, my fault...." She whispered out as she hugged him close. "Always my fault....why was I given this curse? Why?"

"Not a curse, a gift, a gift no one else understands. No, a gift people take for granted. It's not your fault, never was, never will. Oh, my love, you're such a gift, my gift. Don't listen to them and please, never leave me again just to please them...please..." He hugged her tightly as he dug his face into her chest in an attempt to hide away his tears. She just hummed into the darkness of their room as she listened to his heavy breath and traced her finger along his back. Both of them wouldn't sleep much that night.

"I love you" she kissed the top of his head.

word count: 1359