Storytime

Pulling out a chair, you sat down at the table after Abuela had helped clean your face. If you were going to be honest, it felt super nice having a parent-like figure to help care for you. You almost forgot how it felt after all these years.

Of course, you appreciated the love and care she expressed, but it never would amount to your parents'.

Clearing your mind and taking in a few deep breaths, you tried to calm yourself down. But those vivid memories continued to haunt your brain, and they ate at you from the inside.

You snapped out of your thoughts when you detected movement in the distance.

There were nine—no, ten people coming your way. But you seemed to have recognized these people...

You gasped as the memories started to flood into your brain and you could remember who they all were.

"Tía Julieta, Tía Pepa, Tío Agustín, and Tío Félix!" You laughed as you got up out of your seat and went to hug each individual one.

These people weren't really your tíos and tías, but you called them that out of respect.

Tía Julieta blinked a few times as her eyes widened. "It is (Y/N)!" She exclaimed. "You're so big now!" She grabbed your face and smothered it in kisses.

"Tía Julieta." You groaned, but laughed at the overwhelming feeling of love you were being given.

"Hey, Tío Félix." You chuckled, pounding his fist.

Not forgetting about Tía Pepa and Tío Agustín, you also said hello to them.

Peeking out from around them, you saw the three other people you favored most in the world.

"Dolores, Luisa, Isabela!" You ran up to them and gave them bone crushing hugs.

"Hey, (Y/N)!" Luisa greeted, ruffling the top of your head.

You let out a laugh and fixed your hair.

Dolores and Isabela also greeted you and gave you bone crushing hugs of their own.

"It's been forever!" Isabela giggled, caressing your face and placing a flower in your hair.

A chuckle left your lips. "Yeah," you nodded. "I guess it has."

Noticing a small child standing right next to Mirabel, you bent down so that you were face to face with him.

"Sup, little man? I don't recognize you." You smiled.

He hid behind Mirabel, gripping onto her dress.

"Ah, you're the shy type, I see." You laughed and held out your hand. "I'm (Y/N)."

He looked at you and then at your hand and then back at you.

"I—I'm... Antonio." He whispered, hesitating as he shook your hand.

"Well, Antonio, I have a feeling that you and I are gonna become the best of friends." You booped his nose and ruffled his floofy hair before standing back up.

He giggled and let go of Mirabel's dress as he gained some of his confidence back.

"Alright, let's set up dinner. Perhaps (Y/N) will be willing to share everything that's happened since the last time we've seen her. You know, catch us up on some things." Tío Agustín said.

"Haha... yeah..." You let out a nervous laugh, not really feeling up to it.

~~~

You and the Madrigal family sat at the table, your plates piled with food, especially yours.

Gosh, you wondered when the last time you had actual good food was.

Not that the empanadas those kind villagers gave you weren't good,. But it had been such a long time since you've had a proper meal with people other than yourself.

Devouring an arepa con queso, you heard someone call your name.

"So, (Y/N)," Tía Pepa started. "What brings you here? It's been such a long time since we all have last seen you and now you show up out of the blue."

Swallowing the food that was in your mouth, you answered.

"Um, well... my Mamá and Papá wanted to visit you all because they wanted to find out why... why..." You trailed off, unable to finish your sentence.

"Why...?" Tía Pepa asked, waiting.

"Why... I have powers?" You responded with a nervous grin.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at you in shock, especially a few certain people...

You looked back at everyone with furrowed brows and a confused look on your face.

"What?" You asked. "Was it something I said?"

Mirabel stared at you with shock and disbelief written all over her face. "You—You have powers?..." She asked, wanting to confirm.

"Like... a gift?" Isabela added.

Abuela looked around, also pretending to act shocked as beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

"Uh, I guess you can say that." You shrugged, scarfing down more of your food in a polite manner.

"Oh, (M/N) and (F/N). How are they?" Tía Julieta smiled. "More importantly... where are they?" She questioned.

Gulping down your food, you hesitated to answer that question.

You had no clue what you said that would lead to someone asking that specific question. But you knew you couldn't avoid it.

"So, yeah, how's the house?" You asked, changing the topic. "From what I recall, it goes by 'Casita', right?"

"(Y/N)... your parents?" Tío Félix reminded you, filling you with dread.

Looking down at your hands that rested in your lap, you fidgeted with them.

"(Y/N)?" Tío Agustín called.

"My parents..." You started.

Mirabel and Camilo both looked at you with sorrowful eyes, already knowing the truth.

"My parents... died..." You continued, feeling the tears starting to well up in your eyes. "They died... four years ago..."

Everyone at the table now shared the same sorrowful look with each other.

"Wha—What happened?" Tío Félix asked.

You fiddled your thumbs, blinking back any tears that threatened to fall.

You remembered the moment as if it had happened yesterday. The memory was burned into your brain, engraved in it, even.

"Well, it—it was a stormy night." You began. "We'd been traveling for... a while, I-I'm not exactly sure." You looked up, meeting the glances of the others.

Your eyes darted to a nearby window, and you saw that the sun had set, making way for the moon to shine bright in the night sky.

"The sun had set not too long ago, so it was dark." You continued. "There was thunder and... it started to rain." Looking back to the others, you carried on with the story.

"The ground started to rumble, and it began to split open. We urged the horses to pick up the pace, but it was useless. It would only catch up to us, no matter how fast we went."

"I tried to do something, but me being a child, there was nothing I could do. And before I knew it, my Mamá, who threw me off the horse... fell through the crack in the earth, along with my Papá and the horses."

Your breath had become shaky and your voice trembled.

"I—I tried to save them. But, But I couldn't... it's my fault that they're dead. They were so eager to find out why I have these... these powers, which I'm sure isn't even a blessing. It's more like a—a... curse!"

You rambled on about how you were to blame for the death of your parents when Tía Julieta stopped you.

"Hey, (Y/N), (Y/N). Listen to me, calm down." She instructed.

You looked up at her, now realizing that you've been crying this entire time.

Feeling your face, there was wetness. It was from the tears you've shed throughout the entire time you were rambling on.

"Take deep breaths. Deep breaths..." She told you.

Doing what she told you, you calmed down, catching your breath. Finally, in the right state of mind, you excused yourself from the table.

"I-I'm sorry. I—I'm gonna go outside for some fresh air." You wiped the remaining tears away with your sleeve and pushed your chair in.

The Madrigals only sat there, taking in all the information that you had told them.

Walking outside, you closed the door behind you.

You traveled further from the house and sat down in front of a tree, leaning back against it.

Sniffing, you took some more deep breaths to calm yourself down. To take your mind off of what happened, you looked out into the distance.

You admired the last of the light that shone from the sun before there was only total darkness in the night sky.

"I'm sorry, Mamá, Papá..." You sighed, staring out into the darkness.

Flipping open your satchel, you took out your canteen. With a few hand movements, the water in the canteen traveled out. And with every hand movement, the water followed your exact movement.

Over the years, you realized that water had a calming effect on you. So you learned to keep some near you at all times, just in case.

But little did you know, there was someone watching you from afar.