To Fall Apart, To Reunite

Antonio

Antonio lay still in his bed, clutching his jaguar toy Mirabel made for him close to his chest.

He'd heard all sorts of stories about his mysterious Tio Bruno from his family, some more reliable than others.

Mamí and Tia Julieta told him when they and Tio Bruno were little, he was shy and quiet, and would always hang around his sisters.

Dolores, Isabela and Luisa described Tio Bruno as a sweet, kind and fun uncle, who always spoiled them with toys and treats, played with them whenever they asked, and gave them extra desserts at mealtimes when no one was looking.

Camilo was probably the most unreliable. Every time he asked, his brother would dramatically describe their uncle as a 7 foot tall, neon green-eyed, rat god who could create horrible nightmares and visions, shapeshifting into him to emphasize his point.

But Antonio didn't know what to make of his mysterious Tio. Everyone except him had known him, and everyone had a different opinion of him! He was either shy, sweet and kind, a bad luck magnet, or a crazy god! It was all so confusing!

Even more confusing than the broken vision of Mirabel surrounded by a breaking Casita.

The vision was wrong. Antonio didn't care what anybody else said or thought. It was wrong. It had to be wrong. Mirabel was the sweetest, kindest, most helpful girl in the encanto. She worked harder than everyone else, and would never, ever, ever hurt their family, or anyone else!

And after the dinner, Mirabel looked so sad. It made him want to go and curl up with her in the nursery until all the sad went away. He couldn't stop thinking about the glowing green glass, showing a broken Casita, with Mirabel in the middle.

Antonio wished everyone could've seen more of the vision, then maybe it would make more sense.

He yawned, exhausted but too anxious to sleep. He pulled his blanket closer, trying to relax, but then he heard a small, squeaky voice cry out.

"Come on, Sofia, Victoria! We need to bring these back to Bruno before anybody notices they're gone!

Antonio shot up and out of bed. He glanced around, trying to listen and find where the voice had come from. Suddenly, two more squeaky voices could be heard from in between his bedroom walls. He pressed his ear to the wall to hear better.

"We're trying, Alejandro!"
"Yeah! These vision pieces are heavier than they look!"
"And we don't see you helping us!"

Antonio pulled back. Bruno? Vision pieces? Wait a moment. Did Tio Bruno never leave and was still living somewhere in Encanto?

He glanced around his room, spotting his leopard friend Parce sniffing and scratching at his wall, attempting to make a hole in the plaster and wallpaper.

"Hey, Parce? Can you make that hole a little bigger for me, please? I think someone's in the walls," he asked politely.

The leopard complied, scratching harder and ripping away the wall making a small hole, only to reveal three tiny rats, one black, one white and one brown. He gasped when he saw the brown and white rats, each one of them holding a small shard of glowing emerald glass.

"Ahhhhh!!!"
"We're sorry!!"
"Please don't eat us!!"

Antonio knelt, gently scooping the three rats into his arms, the shards clinking on the floorboards.

"Hey, hey, it's ok! I just want to talk to you, okay?"

The rats shivered, before relaxing a little in Antonio's gentle hold, keeping close to each other.