𝒮𝑒𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 <<Bruno Madrigal>>>

Chapter 6

"Come on!" she whispers back to him.

Bruno barely leaves home, much less do any heavy physical labor. Hiking up the mountain made his blood run cold, but seeing Carina in a panic made him obliged to help with the situation as he is a Madrigal. Even so, he might not be of much help if he keeps on hyperventilating in each few feet they climb up on.

"Okay. So we're... willingly endangering ourselves.... and the village... to save an outsider. It's fine.. We're fine. We're going to be in big trouble."

"We can't just let him die there," she grunts, getting her balance back on both shaking and aching legs, "I promise if we're caught, I'll shoulder the blame."

He shakes his head, "That... That doesn't make me feel any better." Pito squeaks above his head, peering down at him. "What if I'll just say that I saw this scene happening on one of the visions I've had?— Oh wait, that still puts you in a tight spot." She reaches the top and pulls him by the hand to help him up. "Thanks."

Carina brings out the arepa from her pocket.

"Wait," Bruno blocks her with an arm, "Give it. I'll go there myself."

"Are you just trying to be manly right now?" Carina raises a brow.

He stutters, finding it hard to look her in the eyes, "W-Well, it's b-better if you're not the one who ends up hurt. You'll never know what might happen."

The woman went against protesting, not wanting to hurt his pride, "Suit yourself."

Bruno nods, tiptoeing out of the crevice to the other side of the mountain. There he indeed saw this man she's talking about. He's pretty much exhausted, but not to the point of skin and bones like Carina exaggerated in her story earlier. His hair isn't that disheveled, it would only take a bath to get rid of those grime an dirt. He first extended his foot, lightly tapping the man's arm to see if he's still alive.

The stranger slowly looks up, squinting at the ray of the sun that creates the silhouette of his new company. "Hey," the other person leans down to him. "Are you alright?" Once he sees the man's features, his dry throat can't help but let out a scream. Bruno screams as well, shocked of the reaction he was given.

Carina rushes out of her spot, pulling Bruno next to her, "Woah woah woah woah, stop! Shh! Stop it, both of you!"

The man sat up, his energy instantly returns to him at the sight of the two. He rambled whispers to himself as if talking to something imaginary to the right.

The two got a good look at him then, his whole facial features and form. This topless man looks strikingly similar to what they've seen before, making them look at each other in questioning thoughts.

"Uhm, excuse me..." he says, gaining their attention once more, "Are you.... gonna eat that?" his fingers pointed at the arepa that Bruno held.

Bruno slowly held it out to him, forgetting that it was something that Julieta made which would heal him in some way. It was already too late though, the man already gobbled it all up in mere seconds. He looks up at the kind person with a grin, "Thanks, old man!"

"Old," Bruno mutters to himself in disbelief.

Carina just stares at him, taking in his shaggy hair and slim figure, hazel eyes and face free from any beard. He must be around 20's at least, or perhaps younger, but he's undoubtedly much younger than her. Bruno's visions are never wrong, but if this guy is someone whom she'll spend her life with, then it clearly spells trouble and a whole lot of disasters.

The effects of the arepa didn't went through his head, it's as if he didn't have any problems at all before meeting her. "Thank you for the arepa. And thank you lady. I would've died if it weren't for you two."

"How did you find your way up here?" Carina steps a bit closer to him, "I didn't see you climb at all."

He stares at her, with a hint of admiration in his eyes that Bruno took notice. Love at first sight? Hopefully not.

"More importantly, why are you even up here? It's dangerous," Bruno asks.

"Well, first of all, let me introduce myself to my wonderful savior," he says directly towards Carina. He takes her hand and rubs his cheek on it affectionately, "My name is Angelo, and it is such a heavenly pleasure to meet you, lady."

She stays completely still, shocked to have a person cling to her in that way.

"Now hold on just a minute!" Bruno manages to pull her back, despite Angelo's hold on her arm. "You—You stay where you are. Exactly three feet away. And tell us how and why are you here. On this particular mountain."

The guy lost his smile at the loss of the maiden's hand, though this quickly turned into a smug smirk, "Well, you see.... I'm kind of on the run from some people who wants me dead. No panic. I'm just a humble palm reader, and my last customer just didn't like the idea that their marriage line cuts short by some.... unwanted circumstances."

Carina takes interest of this, "Palm.... reader?"

"That's right!," Angelo nods approvingly at her, "Palmistry is the practice of fortune-telling through the study of the palm. Simply put, palmistry is the art of analyzing the physical features of the hands to interpret personality characteristics and predict future happenings."

'A hand changes physical features every now and then due to physical labor. There's no way what he's predicting would be true,' Bruno frowned.

"And to answer your question," Angelo glances at him, "I'm merely overlooking the area to see if there's anywhere safe I can stay. You know, where no bad guys can catch me dead or anything?"

Carina may have placed herself on the neutral throughout his whole blabbering, but Bruno's right, this is going to be troublesome. And they've just set themselves up with a date for it.