𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗦

xi

"But after whatever this is, is over, promise for a date?"

Birds squawked and flew out of Antonio's huge forested room, the trees shook vigorously and the entire house creaked with more cracks appearing every second.

"We might wanna hurry." Mirabel suggested, taking a seat on the ground in her knee while her uncle walked around distributing sand.

"You can't hurry the future." Bruno deadpanned, stopping and chuckling nervously at the animal on his way. Clearing his throat, he continued distributing the sand around the animal, "What if I show you something worse?" He shooed away the critters, "If I see something that you don't like, you're gonna be all, 'Oh Bruno makes bad things happen. Oh, he's creepy and his vision killed my goldfish'." He ranted, sitting.

"I don't think you make bad things happen." Mirabel comforted him.

"Yeah," Elena nodded with a warm smile, "I think you just witness what has already been fixed."

The lips of Bruno tugged upwards to a ghost of a smile at the two's sincere words. He raised a brow at his young nephew handing him a stuffed doll he had received on the day of getting his gift. "For the nerves." Antonio whispered with a salute and Elena giggled. He had gotten that from his brother. He climbed upon his Jaguar and left.

Bruno smiled softly and placed the doll down. He inhaled deeply. "I can do this. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this." He repeated and Elena's eyes widened in amazement when he held up a flames matchstick within a second of throwing out some powder.

Elena and Mirabel shared a look and closely observed when Bruno flamed a bunch of dead leaves with his matchstick, beginning from the bugger bunch and then to the smaller ones all around. It was a sort of ritual. The wind rustled. The surroundings dimmed. Elsewhere, Bruno's door glowed yellow as he cracked his knuckles, Elena unable to keep her gaze off his glowing emerald eyes.

"You might wanna hang on." He warned extending his arms each of which was held by either girls. He closed his eyes and took a deep breadth, concentrating. The green stones buried in the sands glowed further and a strong gust of wind caused the sand to fly all around the three of them.

The sand showcased a green vision windowsill on which the family magical candle stood broke into two. It then changed to citizens screaming, a large crack in the middle of the entire road. Then to the figure of Elena pulling up a fallen and injured Camilo. The last of the vision morphed to Elena turning around and standing in front of the casita, the cracks appearing and disappearing.

"It's just the same thing. I gotta stop!" Bruno exclaimed, losing hope and filling with negativity.

"No. I need to know which way it goes." Mirabel shook her head, her and Elena looking everywhere for a clue, "There's gotta be an answer. Something we're not seeing!"

"You're looking at the same thing that I am—" Bruno retorted but he was cut off as soon as he spoke.

Elena squinted her eyes at a tiny glow of a glittery golden object around the sand. "There!" She exclaimed, pointing to it, the three immediately rushing to it.

"Butterfly!" Bruno recognised the shape, "Follow the butterfly!" He instructed, the teens following it.

"Where is that?" Mirabel wondered at the butterfly sitting on an unidentifiable object. Her uncle shrugged, not knowing as well.

"It's all out of order." He answered, eyes widening at the next scene which showed the candle's flame windowsill firing further with Mirabel standing near it. "It's the candle. The candle's getting brighter! I think you're gonna help the candle!" He yelled loudly.

"How?" The spectacled girl inquired.

"Uh.... th-there's someone with you." Bruno stuttered pointing at the approaching figure, "And you fight her!" He guessed, his niece screaming at that, "Wait, no, no." He corrected himself at the figures moving to hug, "is that a hug?"

"Am I fighting or hugging?" She growled getting impatient but the answer lay right before her eyes, the two green figures embracing one another warmly.

"An embrace! To make the candle bright, you have to embrace her!" Elena said with a bright grin. It wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Embrace who?"

The figures pulled apart, the mysterious figure's face getting closer. "Almost there." Bruno and Elena giddily cheered, "Almost there! I got it!" Elena's grin faltered immediately at a familiar someone flipping her smooth hair.

"ISABELA?!" Mirabela incredulously shrieked, stopping her foot and balling her fists.

The sand dispersed indicating the end of the vision, Elena using a piece of the green stone tablet to shield herself from the falling sand before handing it her friend's uncle who grinned, unknowing of the messy and sad reality of the two sisters' relationship.

"Oh, your sister? That's great!" He chuckled showcasing the tablet of the two embracing. Mirabel growled furiously while Elena giggled. She had never imagined such a day would come when would see her best friend hugging her eldest sister. "Every time." The man sighed, throwing the tablet on the ground causing to shatter.

"Embrace your sister then." Elena patted her friend's back, "I gotta go to Camilo before he gets too worried. I'll try to sneak in." With that, she ran off outside.

Mirabel noticed her uncle's raised brows and hanging jaw. "Don't worry. Nobody ever saw it coming but the two are kinda a thing."

.

"Where were you Princesa?" Elena was met with Camilo's frantic embrace the second their eyes met. "You just disappear with Mirabel and the entire family's looking!"

Elena blushed at the endless rantings of her boyfriend and shut him up by placing a hand on his cheek and going on her toes, pressing her lips to his forehead in a soft peck. "I'm sorry, bebé. Thank you for being so patient with me. I promise that the mission is almost over." She sighed softly, their foreheads still pressed against.

Camilo's lips tugged upwards and he nodded in understanding. "It's alright. I trust you, princesa. But after whatever this is, is over, promise for a date?"

Elena nodded and the two laughed at his uncharacteristically shy nature and nodded, embracing one last time. Elena had missed being in her boyfriend's warm arms and his childish antics. Camilo had missed his girlfriend's jolly and adorable company.

Pulling apart at Pepa's scream for her niece, they held hands and decided to look for Mirabel together, Elena hoping that her best friend could work it out with her sister. Isabela wasn't too bad. Inside the proud exterior was a confident and nice young lady. She wished Mirabel could see it.