Fly High, Butterfly

Chapter Nine

Bruno, we are going."

"No." Bruno said point plank, hands crossed over his chest. They were currently in Bruno's room, which had received a drastic makeover with the return of the magic. Gone was the infinity of stairs and black hole abyss. A large room with intricately laced carvings on natural clay walls decorated the perimeter. Arched ceilings and doorways separated several spaces in the room, with Bruno's bed on a raised platform and tons of pillows off to the left. Magical lights and plants (courtesy of Isabella) decorated his room off to the right, with several small houses interwoven for his rat companions. Half-a-dozen steps down into the center was a large sand beach that cascaded into a large body of water in the corner, which rhythmically feathered the edge of the sand with relaxing waves. This last addition was unexpected, but not unwelcomed. He had always wanted to see the ocean as a child.

"Bruno," Pepa tried again, "You haven't had any new clothes in years. ¡Dios mío! Por favor, mi hermano, please be reasonable!" Pepa simply rolled her eyes as a cloud began to form over her head. Bruno continued to ignore her. Pepa did not seem to notice the designs on the walls in Bruno's room become more wide-spread and intense as her brother's frustration grew. Bruno subsequently continued to ignore the growing tempest before him that was his sister.

Several small squeaks made Bruno look behind him, causing him take note of one of his rat companions. He sighed, taking a deep breath and listening to the waves in the corner of his room.

"Again, my answer is no." He stated more calmly, hands still crisscrossed over his chest. He was currently sitting cross-legged on his bed with his sister on the step closest to his sleeping quarters. The same rat, whom he had named Lolita, suddenly appeared on Bruno's shoulder mimicking his expression and posture, catching Pepa by surprise.

"Ugh, fine." Pepa turned around and quite literally stormed out of the room, clouds and all.

Mirabel was standing nearby and was on her way up to her room when she noticed Pepa and her raincloud simultaneously burst through Bruno's door in a trail of showers and thunder. "Uh, everything alright, Tía Pepa?"

"No! Your uncle is being more stubborn than a donkey's behind!"

Mirabel just side-glanced her aunt awkwardly as she walked away, unsure of what had just transpired. She turned her attention to Bruno's doorway and hesitantly knocked. "Uh, Tío Bruno? It's me, Mirabel." She pushed open the door and saw her uncle sitting on the edge of his bed, the same rat from earlier now patting the former's shoulder sympathetically with her little paw.

"Oh!" Bruno quickly stood up, the rat now jumping from his shoulder. "Mirabel. How can I help you?"

"I was just going to ask you the same question...do you want to talk about what just happened with Pepa?"

Bruno sighed. "She wants me to go into town with her to go shopping."

"And that is an issue because...?"

"She said that my clothes are old and ragged, and that I need a change."

Ouch. Mirabel's eyes widened at the bluntness of his statement. That...did sound like something Pepa would say. She eyed what her uncle was wearing.

"...She mayyy have a point. I mean, you did spend about 10 years living in the walls of a house with lots of cobwebs, dust, and debris." She walked over to her uncle and sat next to him on the bed. Unfortunately, she had to agree with her aunt that his green cloak had seen better days. "I'm sure she didn't mean it the way it sounded. Tía Pepa means well. She just can sometimes be a little too emotional."

"And tactless." He added. Bruno proceeded to pick up Lolita in his hands, scratching her head fondly.

Mirabel frowned, unsure how to continue. She looked down again at the cloak he was wearing, and noted it seemed to be haphazardly stitched in several places.

"You've tried to fix it in several spots. It must mean something to you." Mirabel reasoned. He nodded.

"I have had it long before any of you grandkids were born." His hands traced the edges of the cloak, smiling to himself as he remembered unspoken memories and happy times. "I agree with Pepa I should probably get some new threads, but I don't want to throw away one of the few things that remind me of well...me."

"I don't think your sister would ask you to do that." Mirabel said. "She may want you to take a bath and dress in something clean, but I don't think she's that heartless to imply she'd want you to throw out one of the only items that is special to you." Bruno snorted.

"I bathe plenty." In truth, he had gone swimming in his new room multiple times. Mirabel simply laughed.

"I could always fix it up for you." Mirabel offered, gesturing to the poor patchwork. "I'm good at sewing, but it might take me a little bit."

"I'd like that a lot, Mirabel. Just promise me you'll be careful with it." She nodded. He smiled, and with another deep breath removed his poncho, revealing his purple undershirt. He folded it neatly in his lap and gave the green ruana over to his niece.

A knock on the door made both jump in surprise.

"My mother is down in the kitchen with Camillo. He's trying to calm her down...and failing." Both Mirabel and Bruno turned to see Dolores in the doorway. She grinned at them. "I don't think Camillo would be opposed to going shopping with you either. He already said he wouldn't mind modeling all the clothes for madre, Tío Bruno." Both Bruno and Mirabel stared at Dolores. She shrugged and closed the door.

In the end, Bruno consented to the shopping trip. He also surprisingly enjoyed spending time with his sister. Pepa went from thundering to positively blinding everyone with her sunny disposition by the end of the day. Camillo came along and enjoyed shapeshifting into Bruno to prove why his critique on several different outfits was correct. All Bruno had to do was sit back and watch mother and son bicker about what colors "other than green" would be best suited for his complexion. They all settled on a black poncho with custom golden embroidery and a burgundy undershirt with matching pants, which Pepa paid for in full. When Bruno went to protest, she grabbed both his hands firmly and said. "Silencio, Bruno. You are my brother, who I just got back and don't want to ever lose again. This is my gift to you."

--------------------------------------------------------

It took about a month to finish Bruno's ruana. He had taken to wearing (and loving) Pepa's gift to him in the meantime.

The seams had been repaired and reinforced with new stitching. Mirabel had also gone to great lengths to color match any new wool and had been able to preserve the length. Her last detail (and her favorite) was the detailing she had added to the hourglasses that decorated his poncho. Julieta, Mirabel's mother, had procured the expensive, golden thread after hearing about her daughter's most recent project. Her mother did not elaborate, but stated knowingly the added detailing would make her brother extremely happy. Mirabel had then undertaken the long process of delicately interlacing the golden thread throughout the entire ruana.

When presented with the restored garment, Bruno eyes widened. "How did you?" He continued to admire Mirabel's golden handiwork. "Why did you?" She simply gestured to her mother and aunt standing nearby, who were smiling affectionately at their brother.

For the first time in a decade, Bruno openly ran to his sisters and enveloped them in a hug.