Fixing the Past

Chapter 10

Fèlix, Agustín and Bruno walked into the dining room, greeting the rest of their family.

"Hola Bruno, did you have fun with your hermanos?" Abuela asked, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"Sí mama, it was amazing," Bruno smiled brightly, taking his seat.

"Oh, did you get new clothes?" Mirabel asked as she noticed his new ruana and clothes.

Bruno rubbed his neck nervously, chuckling a bit. "A-Ah, yeah...Agustín had commissioned Senora Valeria to make me a new ruana, and he bought me some new clothes as well. Honestly, I really love the ruana, I'll wear it forever."

Julieta kissed her husband, setting her plate down and sitting next to him. "That was so nice of you. You look amazing Bruno," Julieta smiled. Bruno squirmed a bit and muttered a thank you.

"B-But what about you Mirabel, did you have fun with Antonio and Pepa?" The teen looked at Mirabel, who handed the mentioned infant to his mother.

"Oh yeah, we made a ton of bracelets and charms! On that topic..." Mirabel dug through her bag, seeming to search for something. A second later, she pulled out a green bracelet. It was made of rope and had some green beads in the shape of an hourglass attached to it. "I made this for you! I made one for everyone, and you know I had to include you!"

Bruno's face was one of shock as he gently took it out of her hands and examined it. He broke out into yet another wide smile, sliding it on his hand. He practically knocked himself and MIrabel out of their chairs as he hugged her. "Gracias Mirabel," he said. Mirabel patted his back.

When everyone settled, the family began talking, the conversations ranging from what they did that day to what they'll do tomorrow. Bruno was talking to Pepa about what he did with her husband and hermano, laughing when she said Antonio shouted colors for 5 minutes. But as he talked, a thought came into his head that he had brushed off earlier. His plate.

"Ah, mamá, discúlpame, um, I have a question,"Bruno fiddled with his fork.

"Of course, what is it mijo?" Alma turned towards her son, a small smile on his face.

"Um...so about my plate. A couple days ago when I first got it, it was...it was dusty. It looked like it had been put away? W-Why did you put my plate away?" Bruno asked. Suddenly the whole table's conversations ceased. It was dead silent as Bruno awaited his answer. Was what he asked that bad? Did everyone know something he didn't?

Alma froze, the smile on her face quickly falling. Bruno fidgeted some more, quietly knocking on the wood under the table. "Mama?" he asked again.

Alma snapped out of her trace and stared at Bruno for a minute before turning her head to the side a bit, avoiding eye contact. "We-Well...You see, future you...well I put it away because future you...and..." She drew out the last word, trailing off. She was trying to think of a way to explain it to him without making it seem so bad. But there was just no way to do that.

Bruno perked up at the mention of his future self. "Future me? W-What did I do?" He fully turned to face his mother, face filled with determination. She said nothing, which worried him. He turned to the others, who quickly took to looking at something else. "Guys? What happened?" He asked again, this desperate.

Dolores held her breath, but she didn't want to leave him in the dark, she hated keeping people in the dark enough as it is. "Future you leave after having a vision of Mirabel and Abuela gets super mad and puts your plate away and tells us not to talk about you-" Dolores slapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide. Everyone stiffens visibly.

"Wh...What?" Bruno whispered quietly. "I left...and you...you told them not to talk about me?"

"I had a reason, I put the plate away because I didn't want them to-" Alma was surprisingly cut off by Bruno.