《 Honey Bees 》Julieta Madrigal

☆ Part 1 ☆

Gifts

Everything was dim, except the light of a candle that can be seen upstairs being held by a woman around her 20s.

Her children, julieta, pepa, and bruno looked anxious yet exited about the occasion, looking at their mother for reassurance. Alma happily smiled and nodded at them. As they arrived at their doors, holding their doorknobs, their doors glowed bright, and an image was showed at each door as if it was carved.

They stood there in awe, looking at the image that appeared at each door.

The children giggled in happiness as they went to their mother for a group hug. Alma took photos of the occasion and hung it up a wall.

____________

Years past, the triplets grew to know their gifts and tried their best to help around town with their mother.

"Mama! Can you help me with this?" Julieta yelled for her mother, but alma was helping the townspeople with other things.

'I guess ill ask pepa for help' julieta thought

"Pepa?"
"Yea?" Pepa answered, entering the door with a thundercloud over her head.
"What's the matter?"
"I tripped while walking here" she frowned and her thundercloud became a raincloud pouring rain

Julieta looked at her with a concerned face and asked if she hurt herself. Pepa showed her knees covered in dirt and a little blood.

"Okay out. Your gonna get everything wet. Where's bruno anyways?" Julieta said
"He's outside playing with ants" pepa answered.

Julieta let Pepa outside and rinsed her knees as she yells for Bruno.

"Wait right here. Im gonna get some arepas. Its the only thing i know how to cook." Julieta smiled as Pepa giggled and her cloud began to disappear.

When Julieta returned, she saw Bruno crying next to Pepa with a cloud on her head. Julieta sighed and went to her siblings.

"Bruno, what happened?" Julieta asked
"I got attacked by ants" Bruno replied, his face covered in tears and his body covered in ant bites.
"And thats what happens when you play with ants" julieta rolled her eyes and gave both of them an arepa.

As pepa and bruno took a bite from the arepas, they made weird faces at julieta.
"Too salty" bruno said as the ant bites slowly disappeared.
"Mine's kind of bitter" pepa said as the wound on her knee slowly healed.
"Hey, atleast both of you are better now" julieta shrugged smiling at them.

"You really gotta improve on your cooking, sis. Its your gift and you dont even know how to cook properly" pepa sighed, looking at her sister with concern.
"You should ask mama to teach you how to cook, julieta" bruno said with a smile.
"I know im not a great cook, you guys. Im still a kid, and i still got a lot to learn" julieta answered them as she held her hands out to help them up.

When they went back to casita, the three of them looked at each other with shocked faces.

"Something's burning..." bruno mumbled.
"JULIETA! Did you forget something?!" Pepa yelled looking at julieta, a cloud forming on top of her head.
"AAAAAAAAA!!!!!" julieta screamed rushing towards the kitchen and seeing a small flame has formed.

The three of them panicked and ran outside casita and yelled for help. A man who was walking by noticed them and waved hello. He began to worry about the three when he noticed their alarmed faces. He quickly rushed towards them and asked what was the commotion about.

"Casita is on fire!!!" Pepa screamed and the man ran inside to check and found the source of the fire.

Pepa and bruno ran to town to find their mother and julieta was left to wait for the man. She waited anxiously walking back and forth worried that he might have gotten hurt in the flames.

Some time later, the man came outside sweating and tired from getting buckets of water and extinguishing the fire.

Julieta cried and hugged the man. The man looked over her and told her everything was fine now. They sat in front of casita's entrance and waited for alma, pepa, and bruno.

"Did you get hurt?" Julieta asked in concern.
"No im fine. Im just tired" the man sighed and leaned back to relax.

Some time later, julieta saw their mother running towards them. Alma hugged her tight and tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked at the man and thanked him, shaking his hand in gratitude.

"Thank you. I dont know how to repay you" alma said with a shakey voice.
Pepa and bruno went to julieta and hugged each other tightly.

The man said it was okay and they didnt have to repay them anything.
"How about we repay you with dinner? Do bring your family" Alma said.
The man looked at alma and thanked her.

The man left and alma looked at her children who showed scared faces.
Alma hugged them tightly and asked
"How did this happen?" She looked at them.
"It was an accident mama" julieta said
"I know... im just happy you three are safe"

A few days later, they replaced everything that was burnt by the fire. The man and his wife visited for dinner, bringing along their son who was a few years younger than the triplets.

The grown ups continued talking as they finished dinner. The children went to a different room to play.

"Hey little guy. What's your name?" Pepa asked
"Its agustin" he smiled at them "And who are you?"
"Im pepa, this is julieta, and this is bruno" pepa happily introduced them.

Agustin blushed when he saw julieta waving at him. Bruno also waved at him and they got along pretty well.

"Why are there rainbows over your head?" Agustin asked
"Oh, its my gift" pepa smiled
"You have powers?"
"Yea, the three of us have powers" pepa exitedly said
Agustin giggled as he was in awe when he saw the rainbows.

A few hours later, agustin grew tired of playing and fell fast asleep on the floor where the four of them were playing. Bruno informed his parents and they decided that it was time for them to go home.

They waved them goodbye as they were walking out. Agustin opened his eyes and saw that the triplets were waving goodbye. His tired eyes couldnt keep open for much longer. He smiled and waved goodbye to the them and soon fell asleep once more.