𝒮𝑒𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 <<Bruno Madrigal>>>

Chapter 29

Nighttime turned out great, it was the first time in a while that most of the town had gathered for an all-night celebration. There's not much that they have planned, but everyone contributed the food and blankets around the fire. The singing, the music, it's like a fiesta all over again. The Madrigals had set up a tent for when they needed to rest since the house isn't finished yet, but why would they ever want to sleep when they're all having so much fun.

Carina had never imagined these two to be the center of attention in a positive way, but Bruno and Angelo surprisingly lightened up the situation with their little ad-lib telenovela. She and others would laugh and drown in suspense to their two-hour show, and both men weren't even tired of it at all. Bruno with a simple female costume along with Angelo and his last-second formal change of attire, make a cute telenovela couple inside a makeshift square wood.

"But Juanito, mi amor, I can't stand the thought of losing you to her," says Bruno as he reaches out to the other actor.

"I have to," Angelo roughly turns around, "If it's for my family's sake. I will not let her bear a child whose father won't be there for them. I will not allow it, no matter how much my heart and soul yearn for you."

Pepa leans in from Carina's left, "They're so good at this."

"I know," she whispered back. "And if you look closer, I'd say they look alike."

Julieta sits back between the two of them, "Like two peas in a pod?" Her sister nodded in agreement.

Truth be told, they do look kinda similar now that Carina had given more thought about it.

"Ah~ I missed doing that," Angelo lies down on the long pile of lumber on the unfinished second floor of the Madrigal's house.

"You sure it's okay for us to be here, Bruno?" Carina asks.

"No one will complain. Everyone down there's had a sip of firewater from the storage," he chuckles, smoothening out the dusty mattress.

Why did the three of them decide to hang out up here? Well, it was Angelo's idea. He says it's for closure, and that he missed Bruno too much to pass on this opportunity.

"What's it feel like to disappear? I bet you missed hanging out with us like this, huh Bruno?" the man teases.

"Well if anything, it's nothing more peaceful than what I had hoped," he glares at him.

Carina looks straight at Angelo, making the two men silent, "You've known?"

Unable to reply under her gaze, Bruno answered for him, "He did. About two years ago, if I count it correctly..." He never got to question how he had known it in the first place since she always runs off and Bruno never spoke back from behind the wall.

"What's important is he's here now. At last, we're a complete set of trio," Angelo yawned and stretched his limbs. He gazes into the stars, a smile on his face and peace of mind. The other two went to their own spaces, a bit far from each other. This makes the younger man frown. He's been trying to glue these two together ever since they met up again, but it will take more than a day to make things more comfortable again. Leaving such thoughts out of his mind, Angelo started humming a tune. It was a lullaby for putting a child to sleep.

Carina and Bruno stared in his direction in wonder. She spoke after the hum came to a halt, "Is that a children's lullaby?"

Angelo smiled at the nostalgic memory, "It is. My ma always sings that to me when I was little."

"Well, that's sweet," Bruno shakes his head from where this topic is going.

The woman, however, chooses to sympathize with him, "Wherever they are, I'm sure they're happy that you're alive and well."

"Yeah..." he breathes out. The sky is getting lighter now, the sun is probably rising soon enough. Angelo rises from his spot and goes to the stairs, "I'll just go to the toilet for a minute."

"Toilet? But that spot still isn't...." before Bruno could finish, he had already gone down the first floor. "Good luck then."

Carina chuckles and gets comfy on the blankets she brought from her house, "Who would've thought we'd get to do this again at this time and age?"

He smiles. Actually, he had. He wanted to do this again with her, though not in the trio setting with Angelo. He promised himself he would try if fate brings him out of hiding then so be it. Neither he nor her would hide anymore. They're too old to do that kind of thing, it's high time that they'd be true to themselves. Just a little more time, and he'll finally have the courage to say it. 'Who am I kidding? I'm too much of a coward to say anything straight to her face. It was much more easier to practice behind walls'.

Thankfully, Carina turns to her side in an attempt to sleep. He doesn't need to speak if he doesn't feel like it, neither does she. Things like this are too awkward when forced so suddenly.

Sunrise. The first moment of the day that everyone rarely appreciates. The light hasn't reached everyone downstairs yet, but Carina, being the first person to bathe in the sunlight, immediately wakes despite the lack of sleep. The first person she notices is Bruno, his legs lazily lifted over a chair and head resting on a small bag of cement. She never expected to see him so vulnerable in his sleep, it's adorable. Bruno snored a little, making her quietly giggle.

On the other hand, Angelo seems to have not been back after searching for a restroom. She gets off her bundled blankets and went looking for him.

"Angelo?" Carina searches downstairs, but he wasn't there. All she saw were the tents on the foyer, but no sign of the man she's looking for. The woman began circling outside the half built house, calling his name, until she finally sees him, lying on his back on the grass. Angelo was awake, she could tell. His eyes stared at the cloud in deep thought. The rustle of the grass startled his out of wonder, seeing Carina come down to where he is.

He immediately stands and dusts himself up, "I didn't expected you to be up yet."

"I guess I can barely sleep if I'm not on my own bed. What's going on? You didn't come back up to sleep."

He scratches the back of his head, a saddened smile forming on his face, "I couldn't." Angelo sighs, staring at her. She felt like he has something more to say and didn't spoke in turn. Carina looked back in his hesitating eyes, silently telling him that whatever it is, he could tell her. The man gently cups her hands in his, surprising her, and kisses them. "There's more to me than you think. And since this may be the last time you'll see me, I think I may as well tell you the truth." Tears threatens to fall from his eyes as he continues while holding her hands tightly in his. Carina gulps, looking at them, then back up to him again. "You see—...."

Bruno wakes up as well, minutes after Carina, and notices that she and Angelo weren't there anymore. Passing by the tents and sleeping townspeople, he searched all over until he found Carina alone outside, standing still and staring into thin air.

"Carina?"

She flinches, wiping her face, then looks back at him with red puffy eyes, "Oh... You're awake."

She was crying. Bruno didn't know what to do, he could've consoled her, but felt like that would be crossing line here. Instead, he walks towards her with the question, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Carina forces a few chuckles. She suddenly grabs his hand, "Come on. Let's start making breakfast for the others."

Blood rushes to his cheek and lets her lead him to the new kitchen, having lots of words and questions stuck from his throat. What a great start of the day.