Por amor al arte (Julieta x F!Reader)

Part 3

song used: ¿Dónde estás corazón? by Mocedades

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The day was cold and dark, even though Pepa Madrigal didn't have her powers, it seemed that the sky still reflected her sadness. Not just hers, but her entire family's. They walked in silence to the small village cemetery. Julieta was flanked by Luisa and Mirabel, with Isabela behind them, arm in arm with Alma. Her sister, her youngest nephew, and niece followed a few steps behind, while Felix, Camilo, and Bruno carried the wooden coffin.

Some people had leaned out of their windows to wave somberly, and a few others had joined their pilgrimage, but no one said anything. Not that the brunette would heard them anyway. She was too focused on the road in front of her.

She had lain awake all night, waiting for the crying to come, but it had never happened. She contented herself with looking at the face of the sleeping woman across the room, finding comfort in how different she seemed to her. The next morning and while she dressed in the black dress that you had lent her, she waited again for the tears to appear. But they didn't.

She knew that she was broken. That she wasn't okay. She wanted to hate herself for being unable to mourn the love of her life. She wanted to scream and break everything, she wanted to hold on to the pain. But she had to be strong for her daughters, she was the only thing they had left.

Julieta didn't say anything or have any reaction during all the words that the priest said. To her, they sounded empty and meaningless, so why bother paying attention? She knew what a good person her husband had been, she knew that he had loved her and their daughters with his soul. She didn't need to be reminded of it.

As the coffin began to lower, she had to hold Luisa tightly against her chest to keep her from throwing herself after him. Her sweet girl, she might have the appearance of steel, but deep down she had always been a daddy's girl and she knew her heart broke with every inch the box lowered.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her precious Isabella holding her younger sister tightly against her chest, whispering soothing words, but her hands trembled as she ran them through Mirabel's curls. Her niece looked devastated and Julieta thought maybe it was a good thing that they didn't have their gifts at the moment, Dolores didn't need to live with the burden of hearing her family's hearts break.

And still, she didn't cry.

She knew that people looked at her, she knew that the less subtle whispered. She knew she was being judged. Some would say that she was a good mother, staying together and strong for the sake of her daughters, others would say that she had not loved her husband as much as she claimed. She didn't care. She didn't know why she was unable to bring tears to her eyes either and she didn't have the strength to find out.

A gentle breeze ruffled a strand that had come loose from her bun and for a moment she allowed herself to look away from the ground. Her mind didn't seem to understand that this box being covered in dirt was the man she once loved anyway. She looked at the faces of the people around them, all filled with a false pity that made her feel sick and want to throw up. However, her eyes met others farther away, small but full of innocence and life.

You and your brother were far away, under a big tree. She wondered for a moment why their hosts hadn't been with them, but she quickly remembered that you had been willing to give them space, only slipping into their bubble when you served them breakfast. Julieta quickly reviewed your traits (or at least the ones she could distinguish) once again finding comfort in them.

Then those eyes called her again.

The woman knew that everyone was paying attention to the image in front of them, the widowed mother with daughters to comfort, the family that had had everything and was now broken. But the baby in your arms seemed to be the only one looking at her. The night before, those same eyes had locked on hers, as if they wanted to tell her something. And now, she found warmth and hope in them.