dominoes | an encanto angst au

in the eyes of agustin madrigal

*Agustin's POV*

It was the night of the summer solstice. I was 10 years old, and was wandering across town with my friend, Felix, whom I met and befriended after playing football together during the fall.

Suddenly, someone patted me from behind, I turned around and saw another boy my age with wavy hair and a green ruana. He then asked if I wanted to see who my love was. Me and Felix agreed because of the curiosity we had. He then brought me to his house, and I realised he was from the family that heads the village.

He then brought us to his room, it was a large space with lots of stairs. We eventually got into his so-called "vision cave" and began forming a circle of sand and he put burnt leaves at the centre. He asked who wanted to go first, Felix lightly shoved me and smirked, and I raised my hand.

He then told me to step inside the circle and me and the boy in the green ruana must face each other. Then the boy got a vial of salt then put some of the salt on his hands and threw it on his shoulder. He then lit up the burnt leaves. He told me that I might want to hang on and encouraged me to hold on to him, so I did.

His eyes glowed green, and a dome out of sand was formed. A scene was made in that dome, and showed me a beautiful woman with black curly hair in a messy bun. I felt my face heat up.

Then the boy made a jade green glass that showed the image of the vision. His eyes also stopped glowing. Then he repeated his preparations for Felix, and when the vision was finished, Felix told me that he saw a curly haired woman with large earrings of the sun.

The boy then told us, "you may or may not be my future brothers-in-law"

We were surprised but laughed it off for a while, and we asked his name.

"M-my name's Bruno"

The boy was very timid and shy, and sometimes if I go out to town I see the boy getting beaten up by the people dissatisfied with his predictions or "visions" as he calls them. He then gets cured and assisted by his older triplet, which I think is the same woman I saw in the vision.

I then kind of forgot the vision, and since I was always clumsy, I always met that girl.

I accidentally bumped on a lamppost, and passed out, and when I woke up, I saw that girl close to my face, asking me if I was okay, then I said I can care for myself, but she cut me off by shoving an arepa in my mouth, that's when I first fell in love.

"You know, I always see you, but I don't know what your name is..."

"Ah, it's Agustin."

"I'm Julieta, Bruno's sister. He told me you had visions with him one time during the solstice!"

"Oh, sorry for that if I trespassed your house-"

"Oh no, don't be sorry. You see, I'd actually like to be your friend!"

Sparks flew, my face felt hot once again like what happened during the night of the solstice.

She said "I want to bring you to the best view in town!"

She then brought me to the church at the town square, then she led me to the tall flight of stairs that led to the bell tower.

I was breathless, I could see the whole town from up there. We would sit beside each other on the edge of the bell tower, and would share our stories, and eat her amazing food.

...

Most of my teen life was filled with injuries and I always needed to go to her house. We always talked for a while, and everything was...natural, from that vision at the solstice, from the first time we declared ourselves as friends for life, it clicked. We were confidants, and I admit, sometimes I would shake beehives in the forest just to get myself injured in order to see her.

Sometimes we would be described by the townspeople as "friends that are too close." It kind of flattered me, as we would compliment each other all the time, sometimes holding hands thinking that was normal for platonic friends, we always reassure each other, we have inside jokes, and hang out at the bell tower, our favourite spot.

As soon as I knew, we both fell in love. It was fast, it was like a quick waltz. I don't know if it's our hearts or time that sped it up.

...

It was the night of Mirabel's failed ceremony. We were distraught on how it went, on how Abuela's face went from happy to disappointment and frustration in seconds, on how her future will be.

It was extra stressful because Bruno...well...disappeared. We then vowed to ourselves, me and Julieta to protect Mirabel from those who ridicule and ostracise her. Unfortunately, we cannot protect her from Abuela's scrutiny. It hurted us as parents, we were seen as a disappointment.

I heard that Felix and Pepa were forced to have another child since Abuela thinks that the magic is dying because of a giftless child. But no matter what, we still loved Mirabel and our other children equally, gift or no gift.

Then Mirabel was too desperate to save the magic, to make Abuela proud, and it got her killed, and it was one of the worst days in my life. Then Julieta...died. She jumped off the bell tower, and now those memories of talking to her in the bell tower stings.

Waking up became too difficult for me, everyday was pain and torture for me. My life is finally crushed to bits.

I remembered, the afternoon before she killed herself, we were by the bell tower again.

"The sunset is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints."