Fly High, Butterfly

Chapter 31

Camilo leapt in surprise as he felt it. Looking down, he saw four rats speeding around, one having dashed over his foot. He started to laugh at the display until he realized with just how much frenzy they were darting back and forth. He hadn't ever seen the rats in such a panic. His stomach sank as one of them looked up at him and then back to the staircase leading to Bruno's room.

Walking with speed, Camilo did his best to avoid the rats which were now all but circling him, clearly trying to get him to continue his path towards Bruno's room. He creaked open the door cautiously.

"Tio Bruno?" he called as he stepped inside, closing the door, "Your rats are really freaking out. Is everything—" his words died in his chest as he finally spotted his tio.

Bruno sat on the floor against a wall, knees brought up tight against his chest. Even from where Camilo was, he could see how bad the man was shaking. His head was up, but his eyes were unfocused, more occupied with pouring tears than seeing.

Camilo rushed forward, kneeling beside him, "T-Tio Bruno, what's wrong?" he asked, "You gotta calm down!" he realized just how quickly Bruno was breathing. He was already hyperventilating.

He didn't even seem to register Camilo was there for a long moment, but eventually his eyes darted over to his nephew. He seemed to try and speak, but his words died in his chest the moment he attempted it.

"Breathe, Tio. Okay, you-you gotta breathe." He held his hands out placatingly, as if he could subdue the man's panic. It didn't work.

"It's—" he once again tried to talk, but his breath hitched almost immediately, drowning out whatever he had tried to say. Camilo shook his head.

"Don't, you've gotta calm down first, Tio." Camilo urged him. He watched Bruno seem to try once again to calm down, silently going through his knocking rituals with violently shaking hands.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a wide-eyed Dolores, "What's going on? I-I heard..."

She trailed off as she saw the state her Tio was in, quickly rushing over. She took a seat beside him, holding her hands up.

"Hey, Tio, look at me," she spoke with that calming urgency only someone who knew what was happening could muster, "Come on, four-seven-eight, okay?"

And she slowly counted to four, showing it on her hands as she did. Camilo watched as Bruno shakily inhaled, stopping as she reset the count to begin counting to seven. He only made it to three before he broke, sputtering with the same level of panic.

Dolores shook her head, a patient but determined smile on her face, "It's okay, come on. Try again. I'll do it with you, okay?"

And they did. It took several minutes, Bruno struggling as he tried to get himself calm. Camilo watched helplessly as his sister managed to fix things. The tears that had been aggressively flowing from Bruno's eyes had slowed considerably, and his breathing no longer hitched. His legs were still brought up to his chest, but looser.

Dolores smiled gently, "There. Are you alright, Tio Bruno?" she spoke softly. Bruno nodded shakily, still having some residual trembles wrack through his frame.

"Y-yes, I—thank you, sobrina." He wrung his hands, still seeming upset, "I just... lost myself there for-for a moment..." he stuttered. Camilo quirked his head.

"What happened?" he asked, not oblivious to how startled Bruno seemed when Camilo spoke up for the first time in several minutes, "I haven't seen you that panicked in a while."

Bruno's gaze fell, avoiding eye contact. "No, es nada." His tone dropped in volume, "Sorry to... to worry you..."

Camilo put his hands on his hips questioningly, "Tio, if you don't tell us what happened, we'll get Mami."

Bruno's eyes widened, "No, no, you don't need to tell Pepa!" he took a shuddering breath, picking at his ruana, "It's estupido."

Dolores put a hand on his shoulder, an encouraging smile on her lips. "Tio, if it's got you upset it's not stupid. I promise."

"Yeah, and even if it is, we won't laugh or anything—hey!" Camilo added, yelping when Dolores elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ignore him. He's the real estupido one here."

Bruno gave a small chuckle before his gaze dulled once again. After a moment of hesitation, he uncurled from himself considerably, letting go of his legs, pointing to the visible crack from where he would look out of when he lived in the walls.

Bruno gave a wet laugh, "I saw it and it kinda made me feel really sad again." he curled back up slightly, hiding his face again. "I told you two. It's... it's just me being dumb."

Camilo understood, guilt settling in his chest. "Oh, Tio."

"No, it's fine," Bruno shook his head sadly, "It's just a crack. I shouldn't—I don't need to..." he trailed off sadly. "Sorry I panicked. It just kind of—I guess it hit me all at once."

Camilo chose to ignore such statements, instead choosing to quickly lean forward and wrap his arms around Bruno. Bruno faltered for a moment, seeming unsure, before he unsteadily reciprocated the hug. Dolores smiled, scooting closer to join the hug.

Bruno sniffled, "I—sorry for being so..." he shook his head slightly, and Camilo just gave him an extra squeeze before parting the hug.

"You're okay, Tio Bruno." Camilo reassured, backed up by a vigorous nod from Dolores. "I know why that's gotta be really hard."

Bruno nodded shakily, eyes falling to the pieces of the bucket. "Si. It almost feels like... I was in the walls again."

Camilo put a hand on Bruno's shoulder, "I know that its hard to be reminded of the feeling."

Bruno wiped some of the stray tears from his face, nodding. "G-gracias, Cami. You too, Dolores." He gave another almost pitiful laugh, "I don't know what I would do without you. Or the rest of the familia."

Dolores gave a tiny smile, "Is there anything else we can do to help, Tio?"

He hesitated, looking at cracks once more. "No gracias."

"Don't worry, Tio Bruno. That will never happen again. Not while we're around."  Camilo smiled, "If you need anything, just let us know, okay?"

"Si," Bruno smiled lightly, wiping another stray tear with the heel of his hand, "Gracias, Cami. Gracias, Dolores."

The pair nodded, quietly exiting Bruno's room. They didn't have to say anything to each other, they both thought the same exact thing.