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Antonio knows people don’t tell him things. And he hates being too little to understand when people do tell him things. His animals don’t hold back, and he likes that, but sometimes he doesn’t really understand what they mean.
He’s in his room, the squawking sounds of chattering birds and growls of various other mammals filling the space with a never-ending noise, when one of his uncle’s loyal rats skitters onto his lap.
“Antonio,” he squeaks. “Antonio, you need to make things right.”
Antonio frowns. “What?”
“Bruno, Bruno hates dreaming. Hates it, dunno why. You gotta make him sleep, make him sleep!”
Antonio tilts his head. “Why would he hate dreaming?”
“Not the point Antonio, Antonio you have to make him sleep!” At that, the rat jumps off and skitters away.
Antonio lets his head fall onto his jaguar’s soft shoulder. “Do you think Tio Bruno’s okay?”
The jaguar licks his face comfortingly, sandpaper tongue making Antonio giggle. “Probably," the animal answers.
Pepa saunters into Antonio’s room, a warm breeze following close behind her. “Tonito, it’s dinner time!”
Antonio holds his arms out to be held. His mother’s arms are dewy, she’s probably been rained on at some point today. But it’s familiar, and he’s comfortable, so he rests his head in the crook of her neck and lets her carry him to the dinner table. A few birds follow him, perching in various places around the room. “Don’t eat people food,” Antonio orders them as Pepa sets him down in his seat.“Hey ‘Tonio,” Mirabel elbows him playfully. He giggles, turning to reach onto his plate.
Tio Bruno is sitting next to him, scarfing food like he’s seen his jaguar do before. His eyes are dull.Mariano is loudly regaling the family with a tale from his past, and Antonio is enamored.
Antonio almost forgets to talk to him, almost allows his Tio to run off before anyone else is finished with dinner. If it weren’t for the rat that hops onto his lap, he likely would have. But as it is, he turns to his uncle with a frown. “Tio Bruno, are you okay?”
His uncle turns to him calmly, but there’s a look in his eyes that makes Antonio inexplicably nervous. “I’m alright.”
“But the rats told me you haven’t been sleeping.” The five year old lifts the rat from his lap to his uncle’s nose.
“Antonio, no animals at the table,” Abuela snaps once, before continuing her conversation with Felix. Antonio smiles sheepishly, lowering the tiny animal to the ground. He places a hand on Bruno’s, gently. They way Mirabel does when he’s upset and she’s about to hug him. “Sometimes I can’t sleep when I’m lonely. Do you want to sleep in my room tonight? I have lots of space.”
A soft look comes over Bruno’s face, and he tugs his hand away from Antonio’s to place it in his nephew’s curls. “Oh ‘Tonio. I - I’d love to but I’m not…maybe some other time.”
Antonio nods. He’s disappointed, surely. He’s let down his rat friends, and his uncle. But he’s sure Bruno’ll be okay. He’s an adult! Adults are always okay.
Dinner ends, and Antonio thanks Casita as she pulls his plate into the kitchen for washing. Bruno skitters off, much like the rats that follow him along the wall, calling out for him to wait up and asking for leftover food.
Antonio begins to head to his room, letting his animals swarm around him. Before he reaches the not-yet-formed stairs, he hears a yelp from the direction of the lounging room. A few of his birds fly away at the sound. “Casita, can you take me?”
The house wiggles a few stones, as if pondering. Then, the floor begins to move around him, and he arrives at the scene of the ruckus faster than he could have if he’d walked.
"Bruno!" Mariano exclaims. The man is on the ground, breathing heavily.
Antonio takes a step forward. "What happened to Tio Bruno? Is he gonna be okay?"
Felix lifts Antonio into his arms, attempting to tuck his son’s face away into his strong arms where the boy won’t be able to see the happenings around him. Antonio fists his hands into his papa’s shirt but wiggles his face out. His curiosity and worry has won over his fear and anxiety. “Tio Bruno?”
Prima Luisa picks the man up from the ground. She looks around confusedly, searching for guidance. “What do I…”
Tia Julietta places a hand on her shoulder. She falters, seeing something on Bruno’s face that Antonio can’t see from where he is. “Um. Bring him to the couch with me.”
“Are you gonna heal him?” Camilo asks. Antonio tenses a bit at the worry in his brother's voice. What does it mean if his brother is scared?
Julietta sighs. “No. He doesn’t need healing. He - I think he just needs a little rest.”
Tia Julietta leads Luisa to the lounge. Antonio wiggles out of his father’s arms, puttering after them as fast as he can. He knows the rest of the family is following close behind, but it doesn’t really matter to him either way.
“Tia Julie?” He tugs on her shirt as they walk. “Is he gonna be okay?”
She smiles comfortingly. “Of course, Tonito. He just needs to lie down a bit. Why don’t you go to your room with Mirabel while we wait to see what happens?”
Mirabel grabs his hand, smiling assuredly. Antonio shakes his head. “No, I wanna stay here!”
Mirabel picks him up. “C’mon Tonito. They’ll call us right back as soon as he wakes up.”
At that, Antonio allows his cousin to carry him to his room. The humid warmth of the area reminds Antonio of his mom. He orders his jaguar to bring Mirabel up to the hammock, swinging and climbing after them the way his animals taught him to. Her surprised yelps make Antonio smile. It’s always fun to show his prima something new that he learned, she always congratulates him and gets super happy.
“That was awesome, ‘Tonio!”
He smiles timidly. “Thanks!” The smile falls. “What happened to Tio Bruno?”
Mirabel frowns a little. “We were talking to him…he was a bit dazed, I think, and then he just - fainted. He didn’t hit his head hard though, so we have nothing to worry about!”
“What’s gonna happen?”
Mirabel sighs, pointing a finger at her chin in exaggerated thought. “Well. Tio Bruno will wake up, and we’ll ask him what happened, and then we’ll make him rest some more probably. And then after that, we’ll just be more careful about overwhelming him!”
Antonio bites his lip. “What does overwhelm mean?”
Mirabel pauses, thinking for real this time. “Um - like when, uh. When a lot of things are happening at once it can be hard to - focus on them all. So you don’t understand anything that’s happening. I think that happened to Bruno and his body said ‘nope! I’m outta here!’” Mirabel crosses her fingers and flops backwards onto the hammock, mimicking their eccentric uncle.
Antonio nods slowly. “Oh.”
Mirabel sits back up, pulling her young cousin into her lap. “Listen. When he wakes up, and the adults get everything sorted out, I’m sure he’d be very happy to tell you everything.”
Antonio lets his head fall onto her chest. “Okay…thanks Mira.”
They stay there, him in her lap as she plays with his curls. Antonio is almost asleep when his sister Dolores enters the room.
"He's awake," she says, quick and quiet.
Antonio shakes himself from sleep. "Take me to Tio Bruno please!"
Dolores holds back a wince at his voice. "C'mon."
The three scamper out of Antonio's room, lead towards...Dolores' room.
"Where are we going," Mirabel asks.
"Tia Julietta said Bruno needs to rest more. Mama volunteered my room."
Antonio bounds ahead, reaching up to turn the doorknob before his sister can hold him back. "Bruno!"
Their uncle grins. "Tonito!"
Antonio hops into his uncle’s lap, holding the man's face in between his hands. “Are you okay?”
Bruno smiles. “I’m great! Julietta made me postre de natas! Don’t know how she made it so quick. I think she had it ready for something.” He gestures towards the tray on the bedside table. The milk pudding cups make Antonio’s mouth water. “Do you want a bite?”
“Yes!”
The two snack on the dessert in peace while Dolores and Mirabel gradually shift out of the room, satisfied with their uncle’s wellbeing. Antonio watches his uncle savor it, mimicking his expressions the way Camilo does. Bruno makes a silly face, then, sticking his tongue out and trying to touch his nose with it. He laughs when Antonio tries to copy him this time.
When they’re done with the sweet treat, Bruno lays against the headboard, watching his nephew wipe his mouth on his sleeve. “Good?”
Antonio nods. He watches as Bruno closes his eyes. “Are you sick?”
Bruno shrugs. “Not really. I just - you were right. I didn’t get enough sleep.”
Antonio bites his lip. “Why not? Mirabel said you were ‘overwhelmed.’ Do you get…nightmares?” The kid whispers the word, as if saying it aloud will doom it to be true.
Bruno sighs. “Yeah. Sorta.”
Antonio frowns. Nightmares aren’t a good thing, he knows that for certain. “Whenever I have scary dreams, Camilo or Mirabel snuggle me ‘til I can fall back asleep. Do you need snuggles too?”
Bruno shakes his head in a way Antonio can’t decipher, but there’s a smile so he thinks it must be good.
“I’d love that Tonito.”