Tío Bruno, la familia & the Fish Lady

From Parties to Pigeons

The river glistened with an intense blend of yellow, maroon, and violet from the sky. Most of the aquatic plants in between the rocks where the water trickled over appeared dimmer as the sun descended below the valley. Bruno sat near the water and stared at his reflection for a long, hard moment. After searching it for reassurance but to no avail, he splashed the water with his hand in frustration and stifled a sob. Not even the clarity of the water could change the way he saw himself. It had felt as if a couple hours had gone by, but only about forty-five minutes had elapsed since he went outside.

He was broken out of his daze when he heard a faint rustling of vegetation accompanied by footsteps from behind. Each step sounded calculated; tactful; it was almost as if whatever that was back there didn't want to scare him off. Bruno instinctually straightened his back as he realized a person was standing near him, but he did his best to cover his puffy face while scrambling to mimic a "normal" appearance.

"T-tío Bruno?" It was Mirabel, but she sounded hesitant and seemed to notice his anxiety. He slowly turned to her with his head still half-concealed and forced out a smile.

"Hey kid," He chuckled uncomfortably before looking back down at the dirt. Bruno internally winced at how his voice cracked at the end. Mirabel noticed that his cheeks were stained with tear streaks and placed herself down beside him. Both of them looked out past the river and waited a while in silence, and Mirabel decided to be the one to break it.

"Interesting party, huh? That photo we took was kinda funny,"

"Yeah, casita just couldn't resist being part of it,"

"And a bunch of people had blueberries at the bottom of their shoes by the end,"

"Yeah, Antonio and Emilio are quite the duo. The rats wouldn't stop taking those blueberries. If you can believe it, I even found one in my pocket! and I know I did not put that in there... hold on, wait𑁋yup, here it is!" he took out the mushed berry from his pocket and laughed a bit wetly but genuinely this time. Mirabel smiled with relief in her eyes. She hated seeing him look so sorrowful, but she still wanted to get to the root of the problem if he was willing to.

"Hey, I know it might be a bit soon, but why did you run out of the house...out here?"

Bruno's breathing hitched. He steeled himself and tried to formulate an answer that at least made some kind of sense.

"I-uh, I needed a breather. N-not that the party wasn't fun, it's just that I, I... never mind,"

"Take your time. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to,"

Bruno inhaled deeply before continuing. "I remembered someone I knew from when I was around your age, and I was reminded of them and my other friends," He fiddled with his hands. "For some reason, I reacted in a really weird way to not j-just that but everything that followed, everything that came after in my life up until now."

It then clicked in her mind: he was processing trauma. When she sat at this spot by the river, after casita had collapsed, her memories throughout her life flooded back to her: regrets. Happy memories. Sad ones. Breaking down wasn't a choice. Her body acted on its own as if it were trying to cleanse away a deeply rooted pain that never fully unveiled itself when she was younger. She felt it before, but it was just there in the background yet still very much present. It ebbed and flowed depending on what was happening in her life, but ultimately, there came a time when she needed to let it all go regardless of whether she wanted to or not. Her tío had put up an unsustainable wall that crumbled against his will, and he was left picking up the pieces alone.

"Not to be rude, but-ah, you're thinking kinda loud there. Are you alright Mirab-" Bruno was cut off by Mirabel pulling him into a massive hug.

He tried to speak, but the words couldn't escape past the lump in his throat. He would have moved heaven and earth to not let the dam break in his eyes, but he failed. Once he accepted her hug, a wave of comfort washed over him along with the tears spilling down his face. He appreciated how sweet and caring his youngest niece was. Pulling back to give her space, he spoke to her.

"Thank you, Mirabel." Bruno beamed with a joy Mirabel had never seen despite the ghost of sadness still evident in his eyes. "I'm sorry I pulled you into this. You didn't have to come out here but you did anyway. You𑁋wowowowow! Hey! Don't go all waterfall on me!"

Mirabel was a watery, snotty mess. "Too late!" She giggled. Bruno returned a hug before their light laughter evolved into a roar loud enough to scare all the birds by the river away. After seeing a group of startled Toucans flock in a panic similar to what pigeons do when chased after, the two couldn't even form words from the silence choking them in between their spazzing. 

Dolores turned from her bed and the book she was reading toward the sound of joy and smiled.