Blue Flames and Black Candles

Spring Cleaning Would Be Easier Without Allergies

The entire family had met back up in town the next day. Bruno had been dragged out of bed by Mirabel to play chaperone, mostly so Abuela wouldn't pitch a fit. The two met up with Tas in the clearing, Mira ready to get away from the village and all of the nosy people in it. She was super ready and then the old hag had to ruin all her plans.

"Mirabel, Antonio will be spending the day with you and Baltasar. He has missed spending time with his favorite cousin!" Abuela's stupid smirk was seconds from being smacked off her face. Mirabel had stepped forward, eye twitching, when Tas gently grabbed her hips and moved her behind him.

"Hola! I'm Baltasar, will you tell me your name?" Tas smiled at Antonio, who looked hesitant to be around him. "You don't have to answer. Why don't you go to your cousin, hm?"

"I am sure you will all find something appropriate to do for the day. Have fun!"

Tas turned around to see Mira hugging a crying Antonio, who was apologizing for being forced to ruin her day. The girl looked two seconds from murder. He walked over and sat next to the two, leaning against Mira and gently patting Antonio's head. How that woman could break such a sweet kid's heart was beyond his understanding. Eventually, the small child had cried himself to sleep in Mira's arms.

Bruno, who had been sitting nearby trying not to allow his anxiety to overwhelm him, gently scooped the small boy up as he began to drift off. Mira nodded at Bruno before grabbing Tas's hand while dragging him into the woods with Bruno at their heels. She led them into the woods with an ease and confidence. It took some time, but they eventually got to the cottage.

"Well, since you're here, you can help me clean this place up!" Mira looked extremely proud of having suckered Tas into cleaning. "If I want to keep using this as a get away from the rest of the family, we need to get it completely cleaned up."

"Do I get a choice in any of this?"

"No, no you don't. Tas, you're on sweeping. Bruno, put Antonio in my room and then you wipe down the counters and tables. I'll start on the outside planters and such."

Plan in place, the group split up to carry out their individual tasks. Bruno set Antonio up in Mira's room before starting to clean the tables and counters; which weren't terrible, but had a thick layer of dust covering them. Tas began to sweep out all of the rooms, quickly learning of a severe allergy to dust when he began to sneeze, cough, and wheeze. Mira had a grand old time ripping the weeds and dying plants from the window planters before moving to find wildflowers she could move.

They worked for an hour or two before regrouping in the dining room. Antonio had woken up from his impromptu nap. Tas had been in charge of lunch that day, he had a wicker basket full of home-made goodies he and his mother had made the night before. He preened as the others showered him in praise for the delicious arepas, patacones con hogao, and empanadas. They had a lovely lunch, periodically broken up with sneezing from Tas which Mira laughed at, and were back to work.

Antonio, who still shied away from both Tas and Bruno, helped Mira find plants to put in the window boxes. Once they had finished that, the two cleaned up the small stone path and water well that rested in front of the cottage. The front of the house looked spectacular as Tas finished sweeping out the last room, coughing and wheezing as he pushed the last bit of the dust outside. Bruno also finished up, though he had ended up tidying up the bedrooms after finishing the counters and tables.

The four laid in the front yard, basking in the sunlight before they needed to head back to the village. No one spoke, merely enjoyed the peace. That was until Tas became bored and decided to make that everyone else's problem.

The old bucket from the well was filled with water and then dumped on a slightly dozing Mirabel and Antonio. Sputtering something fierce, Mirabel lunged at the cackling boy with murderous intent. He managed to stumble back with a high pitched shriek before taking off at a sprint being followed by a shouting girl. Antonio and Bruno were laughing as Tas attempted to keep out of Mira's reach, though ultimately failing.

Mira tackled him and forced him into a hug, making sure she got as much of the water on him as possible. The evil laughter that erupted from her filled the air and caused another round of laughter from the other two. Tas tried to shove her off of him, but eventually gave up and accepted his fate, not that it was terrible he had a pretty girl laying on top of him. The four laid there laughing for a time before finally getting ready to go back.

They started the walk back, Antonio telling Tas all about his animal friends and about what the animals in the village talk about. Antonio was perched on his shoulders, carefully holding onto his hair as they wobbled along. Mira walked beside Bruno behind the two with a small smile. The group was almost back to the village when something small and fast blurred across the space in front of Tas.

Tas did not scream like a girl, thank you very much, no matter what Mira would tell people. Antonio had clutched to his hair when the two fell backwards. Mirabel and Bruno raced forward to help them when the creature returned: the weird blue light Mirabel had followed days before was now sitting in front of them. The tiny bird tilted its head as if curious.

"Oh! It's just you," the creature hopped into Mira's waiting hands with a chirp. "I thought I wouldn't see you again!"

"What is it? I can't understand it," Antonio looked both curious and slightly frightened.

"I'm not sure. It led me to the cottage a few nights ago. Whatever it is, it seems friendly enough."

"It's a Will O'Wisp," Bruno whispered in awe. "They're guardians and messengers of the fates. I've seen a few, but they always just looked like rats. I've never seen a bird Wisp."

"That would make a pretty good name for the 'lil guy, Wisp!" Tas voiced, gently stroking the bird's head. "Maybe Wisp wants to stay with you Mira! You make pretty good company, after all."

Mirabel just smacked the boy on the back of the head before moving to let Wisp onto her shoulder. They resumed their walk, accompanied by the cheerful chirps of Wisp. It took only a few minutes for them to be back in the village. Though judging by Pepa's angry stomping and thunder cloud moving towards them, the happy mood might not persist. However, Felix was right behind his furious wife, attempting to help calm her.

"Where were you? You took my son and just disappeared! You didn't tell anyone where you went! Do you know how worried we were? Do you?"

"We took a stroll through the woods and had a small picnic. We didn't think it would be a problem. You have my deepest apologies!" Tas's charming smile and gentle tone seemed to ease Pepa's righteous anger. Antonio's happy smile, along with no visible injuries, also seemed to help. "It was my idea, so I ask that you do not yell at Mira or Tio Bruno."

"Next time, tell one of us if you are dragging one of my children into the woods for the afternoon! We'll let it slide this once."

"Gracias! It truly was an accident! Alma Madrigal had upset little Antonio, so we thought a walk would help calm him."

"What do you mean?

"Abuela forced him to stay with me and Tas today because of the joke I made. He thought I would be upset and was crying. We calmed him down and explained that we would love to have him for the day. I'm sorry for not telling anyone we were going for a walk." Mirabel spoke softly, getting ready to be yelled at.

Pepa had whirled around angrily, yelling curses in Spanish that caused Bruno to go pale, Mira to blush, and Tas to quickly cover Antonio's ears. The wind had picked up to a furious pace and rain poured down. The four watched in horror and fear as Pepa stormed off to find Abuela with Felix at her heels, just as angry.