change 🍊- [c.madrigal]

fifteen

Pepa glared at her husband, then started singing. "We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no, no. We don't talk about Bruno. But-!"

She turned to face Mirabel and I. "It was my wedding day!"

"It was our wedding day!" Felix corrected.

"We were getting ready, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky," Pepa continued, with Felix popping in with 'helpful' comments.

"No clouds allowed in the sky."

"Bruno walks in with a mischievous grin --" I wasn't sure if it was a illusion or not, but I saw Bruno, a creepy man with a dark ruana, dark hair, and glowing green eyes. 

"Thunder!"

"You telling this story? or am I!?" Pepa frowned at her husband in annoyance.

"I'm sorry mi vida, go on!"

Pepa made a contented face, as she was allowed to continue properly. "Bruno says 'it looks like rain'."

"Why did he tell us..." Felix groaned.

"In doing so he floods my brain!"

"Abuela get the umbrellas..."

"Married in a hurricane!"

"What a joyous day but anyway --"

They sang together: "We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no, no. We don't talk abut Bruno!!!"

"Hey!"

Suddenly, Mirabel and I were with Dolores. The pretty girl pulled us close so she could sing in a hushed whisper. 

"Grew to live in fear of Bruno stuttering and stumbling; I can always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling; I associate him with the sound of falling sand."

A memory of Bruno's room and the sand waterfall -- sandfall? -- filled my head, as well as the ch, ch, ch sound of the sand falling.

Dolores pulled Mirabel and I along. "Got a heavy lift with a gift so humbling; always left Abuela and the family fumbling; grappling with prophecies they couldn't understand."

Mirabel and I stared at her, and she added, "Do you understand?!"

Before either of us could answer, Dolores was gone. In her place was ... Bruno? 

"Seven foot frame! Rats along his back! When he calls your name, it all fades to black."

No, it wasn't Bruno. Camilo stood over us, changing fluidly between himself and his tio. I shuddered every time I saw the glowing green eyes of Bruno. Camilo had a wild grin of his face, clearly having the time of his life while describing his creepy uncle.

"Yeah, he sees your dreams!" Camilo sung, twirling Mirabel and I around and around, making us dizzy. The world was spinning too much for me to tell very well, but I thought he shot me a wink at some point.

"Feasts on your screams!"

Mirabel and I fell, swallowed by darkness. Then, bright light blinded me. We were in the town square, and the villagers were singing. 

One woman came up to us. "He told me my fish would die!" She held up a glass fishbowl. "The next day -- dead!"

"He told me I'd grow a gut, and just like he said!" a fat guy mourned.

"He said that all my hair would disappear!" Some guy in a suit yanked off his hair, revealing a shiny bald top. "Now look at my head!"

The villagers surrounded Mirabel and I, "Your fate is sealed when your prophecy is read!"