The Second Encanto

19. The Infirmary

Merella's POV
Since the Madrigals were out of town I had to pick up extra shifts at the infirmary. I was running around healing as fast as I could. I was also making sure to drink enough water so I wouldn't get dehydrated. Andres even popped in but he quickly left. I was helping one old man and when I finished I had to sit down and catch my breath.

"Merella! We've got the guy that broke his hand again!" A nurse shouts. I stand up, control my shaking legs and walk over with confidence. I helped the man and took my lunch break. As I sat outside I let my skin soak up the sunshine. I breathed out a sigh of exhaustion then turned to eat my lunch.

"Merella I brought you some of my mom's food. We had some leftovers after lunch." he said with a wave. I smiled gently and took the meal with thanks. I was still hesitant though. Something about Andres doesn't make sense. It's like maybe I knew him in another life. I  decided that I would try to stay away from Andres. At least until Camilo was back home.

"I don't think he means any harm." My mother says while folding clothes. I just smile and agree. I tried to tell her about how something felt off about him but she just shut it down. It was fine with me though because Camilo would be home soon and everything would be fine. I went up to my room to sleep but all I could do was lay there. So I rolled out of bed and snuck outside. It was shockingly easy to get out of my house. Once I was out I walked along a small stream. I crouched over the small trickle of water and dipped my fingers in. I rested my head on my knees and before I knew it, I was asleep.

I woke suddenly to a hand shaking my shoulder gently. My stomach flipped with nerves but was calmed quickly once I saw Bruno's face. "Merella what are you doing out here at night?" He asked me. His voice soothed my anxiety and I stood up.

"I couldn't sleep" I replied with a shrug. He just nodded and turned to walk away. I was saddened just a bit by this. Then he turned back and waved his hand gesturing for me to follow him. I ran up to his side and walked back to his house with him.

"Do you want some tea?" bruno asked quietly. I smiled and nodded. He stood up and quickly brewed some chamomile tea. He handed me the cup and when the warm liquid went down my throat it wrapped me in the feeling of home. Bruno was kind of staring at me so I just smiled at him. I was happy to see him smile back with a bit of awkwardness. "You know Merella, you're kind of hard to figure out." He said with a sigh. I laughed because everyone has told me my whole life that I was an open book.

"What do you mean exactly?" I said as I sipped my tea. Bruno leaned back in his chair and studied my face.

He stood up with a burst of energy saying "How would you like to see your future Merella?" I took his outstretched hand and followed him to Antonio's room. He sheepishly said "Mirabel broke my vision cave." I laughed and followed him up the tree.

He set it all up and then extended his hand out to mine. I took them watching with wonder as his eyes glowed. Suddenly sand started to swirl around us. I turned to look at this vision and saw flash's of two different fates. In the beginning there were two paths each leading to a different silhouette. Then there were flashes of myself when I was kid. But I couldn't remember what I saw. The last thing that was in the vision was a heart that would break then heal then break again. The sand fell and Bruno grabbed the tablet. On it was the heart. He handed it to me and smiled.

"Looks to me like you choose your own future." He said with a smile. I held the tablet close to my heart and thanked him for the tea. He smiled as I left. When I got back to my house I placed the glowing tablet right next to my bed. The last thing I remember was seeing the heart whole on the tablet.