How Times Change

la primera visión

When Bruno and Eva got to bed that night, just as she was about to blow out the candle beside her side of their newly sized bed in Bruno's room, he turned to her suddenly.

'I feel awful for this evening.'

'You shouldn't. I have to admit your family was ineffectual to me but believe me, I will be able to get over it. Now, let's sleep, I love you Brunito.'

'I love you too, Eva.' But there was insecurity in his voice.

Despite the events of the last evening Bruno still found himself babysitting for the two children and the story of Julia and Jose had grown a little larger as Bruno included a new baby. Since Delores and Isabela had never had to deal with a baby in the house, because they were both born in the same May of five, almost six years ago, he thought it would be best to educate them of this before he came along.

'And the baby loved his family very much but sometimes it did cry which could be annoying for his mama Julia.'

'Did I cry?' Isabela asked poignantly, putting down a tiny wooden train she had filled with roses, to stare at him with quizzical eyes.

'Yes Isa. You did.'

'Me? Did I cry too?'

'Si Delores but not as much, you were quite a quiet baby.'

'Did you cry Tio Bruno?'

'Yes, and that's okay.'

'Did you cry when you got your gift?'

'I- i... I learned to accept my gift, even if I didn't see how useful it could be before.' He lied.

He looked at the girls staring up at him for a second and forced a smile onto his cracked lips. Isabela quickly moved on to creating flowers for the rest of the train carriages and pushing them across the cobbles. Faster and faster she sped across the stoney floor and up the stoney steps where casita had formed a ramp for her, the train finally flew into the air slightly as it bumped into a cobble. The noise of its fall echoed in Bruno's head and he winced as it toppled over onto its side.

Suddenly, Bruno was young again. He found himself staring up at his mama Alma, fighting the urge to turn and run. From the newly engraved door, from his oncoming gift, from all the expectation his family and the crowd of people gathered at the bottom of the stairs casita had lit with candles to guide his way.

Also waiting with baited breath at the foot of the stairs was his sisters, holding hands with crossed fingers and eyes wide open.

He felt his feet shuffle forward and grasp the doorknob with a newfound confidence. It warmed his palm and forced him further forward, twisting the doorknob as golden sparks lit up the engravement on the panels.

Bruno thought about his sister's ceremonies, convincing himself he knew what to expect: the door would open, a beautiful new world and his beautiful new gift would be bestowed and the night would be one of merriment and complement.

The crowd watched as the door edged open slightly as a stream of sand broke through the crack and began to slither its way round the balcony, until it had encircled the entire people.

The audience were dead silent and huddled into the middle of the circle, almost nervous of the calm that they sat in: nervous it could be before a storm.

The candles littered neatly along the stairs crackled and whispered as if to tell Bruno what was to come and, as the sand had explained in their own silent language, the boy moved down the steps and into the center.

Then, with several gusts of wind the sand around the room lifted itself off the ground and a vaguely green light played with the granules forcing them into shapes and patterns that filled the air.

By then, the sand had already formed a large dome above the people and every one of them were in awe of the spectacle.

Bruno felt the muscles behind his eyes burn white hot and he brought his hands forward to attempt to control the beautiful chaos above them.

But

A single grain of sand broke the mold for a moment and as more followed it wasn't long before many others followed and another picture started to form.

A train.

A train that ran on it's tracks in a petty but perfect pace, smoke pouring generously out of the funnel on the top and families of people relaxed within the doors. It performed this for a while until someone in the audience, a young child, yelled and pointed to a wheel on the train that had broken off.

Gasps in the crowd. More wheels broke free and the train still rode down the tracks. Faster and faster it sped across the tracks, sparks crackling at its heals as it flew with great speed up rocky ramp until the train finally flew into the air and...

With a long terrible crash that echoed around entire house blocking out the cries of every person in the person in the crowd, everyone watched as the carriages completely derailed, violently crashing into each other. Fires sprouting from every surface, windows smashing into themselves and in between the wreckage, people: some attempting to climb out immediately while some were visibly not moving, and for good reason.

The burning pile continued to do so for only a few moments of chaos before the lights that swirled around in the sandy vision dropped to the ground with a thousand tiny shattering noises, leaving the room in silence, and Bruno with a large glass slate in his hand now, depicting the exact illusion the crowd had just witnessed...