Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dolores went to bed early on the night of Ephraim's first birthday, her mind whirring. She just kept thinking about that letter. The letter that she had had in her possession for one year and nine months, with explicit instructions for it to be kept on her at all times and then delivered on that specific day while being kept a secret from everyone until then. A letter that was addressed to a one-year-old baby who must've been conceived around the time that she was given the letter. A letter which contained information about the future.

The future, Dolores thought, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. The girl who gave her that letter knew the future - a lot of the future, it seemed - but not in the way that Bruno did. Bruno's visions were set in stone, destined to happen just the way he saw them. If Dolores understood correctly, it seemed the future that that girl had seen was not guaranteed, and it could change based on whether or not she did certain things in particular.

And it wasn't just the girl; there was also the boy who was with her who had claimed that they were on a mission to find out who Señora Santos was 'hooking up with'. Dolores would have known there was more to it than that even without the girl shushing him repeatedly and telling him he was giving away too much information. Maybe that was why the girl had met with her alone the second time: so the boy wouldn't give anything else away.

Everything about those two was a secret: their arrival, their identities, their purpose, even their current whereabouts. Dolores was all about secrets, but usually she was the one who had to keep them. This time it was Dolores herself that the secrets were being kept from.

There was something else Dolores couldn't understand, though: That girl was so self-assured when she showed up behind Casita with her friend, yet she was rattled by the thought of other people knowing they were there.

The girl hadn't denied it when Dolores accused her of being Bruno's daughter; she only broke down and begged her not to tell anyone - especially not Bruno. But why would she specify that? He had to have been in hiding for most of that girl's life. What would make her think that Dolores would be able to tell him anything? Nobody else believed that he was still around at that point. The only other person who ever thought she might know where he was was Camilo, but he didn't suspect anything until several months later. It had only been that one time, and he had never brought it up again.

Something had been off about her brother that night. Back then, Camilo never got flustered like that. It was only since he had been with Mirabel and Bruno that he would be so openly emotional.

The sudden interest in Bruno that night was very strange, as was the fact that Camilo was so certain she knew that their estranged uncle was there. It had been the first time in several months that anyone had even mentioned Bruno, the last time being Dolores's own conversation with that mystery girl when she gave her Ephraim's letter.

Now that she was thinking more about it, Dolores noticed another connection between the two incidents: that mysterious girl had said someone's life depended on her actions there, just like Camilo had insisted that him finding Bruno that night was a matter of life and death…

Everyone was heading for bed after dinner that night, Dolores looking forward to the peace and quiet of her magically soundproofed room. She heard scattered "goodnight"s as usual, but then a strange conversation reached her ears.

Camilo's voice called out, "Hey, where are you going?"

Mirabel responded, clearly confused, "To bed."

"Wait… Wait, this is wrong." Camilo said firmly. "Where's your ring? Where's my ring?"

Mirabel's reply mirrored Dolores's thoughts: "What are you talking about? I've never worn rings, and neither have you."

Dolores stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing Camilo's panicked voice saying, "This isn't funny, Dulzura! Something's wrong-"

"What did you just call me?" Mirabel said incredulously.

Dolores turned on her heel and headed toward her brother and cousin, thinking, Why would Camilo address Mirabel as 'sweetness'?

Camilo ignored her question to ask his own. "What about Tío Bruno?"

That was a baffling non sequitur.

It was a few seconds before Mirabel answered quietly, "We don't talk about him. He just disappeared. Camilo, are you feeling alright?"

"Am I feeling alright?" Camilo huffed. "I'm not the one who… who…" He trailed off for some reason, sounding shocked as he murmured, "No. No, this can't be!"

Camilo must've spaced out then as he didn't seem to notice his sister's approach. She gestured toward the nursery door, indicating that Mirabel could go to bed while Dolores took care of Camilo.

"Dolores," Camilo muttered to himself. "I have to talk to Dolores."

Dolores crossed her arms and said, "So talk."

Camilo blinked, clearly having been completely lost in thought judging by how surprised he was to see his sister standing there instead of Mirabel.

Dolores raised an eyebrow, tapping her foot impatiently. "Well?"

"I need to find Tío Bruno, and I know you know where he is," Camilo blurted.

Dolores tensed at the accusation. "First of all, what makes you think I know where he is, and secondly, why would I tell you if I did?"

Camilo groaned in frustration. "You knew he was still around after he 'disappeared' all those years ago, so you must know where he is now, too, and I need to find him! It's a matter of life and death!"

Dolores considered her brother for a minute. His earlier observation was correct: something was definitely wrong. The Camilo she knew was normally unflappable, able to mask his emotions just as effectively as his Gift could disguise his appearance, but now there was a huge crack in that façade.

What was with this sudden interest in Bruno? And why was Camilo so certain that Dolores would be able to tell him? The only other time someone had even implied that she knew where Bruno was was several months ago, when that mystery girl gave her the letter that she had been keeping in her pocket twenty-four-seven ever since.

Come to think of it, that girl had said someone's life depended on her actions then, and here Camilo was insisting that this was a matter of life and death, too. Was there some kind of connection?

"I can't take you to him," Dolores said at last, raising a hand to forestall Camilo when he looked like he was about to interrupt. "I don't know how to get to where he's staying. I just know when he comes out. I hear him sneaking around the house. He goes to and from the kitchen only when nobody else is in there, so he must be monitoring that room somehow."

"Ugh, I wish we had talked about this before," Camilo lamented. "Tío Bruno never wanted to talk about his time in hiding."

That careless comment set off alarm bells in Dolores's mind. Camilo was talking like he had spoken to Bruno at some point after the man had disappeared. Her train of thought derailed, however, when he spoke again.

"Wait, Dolores, you said you know when he's sneaking around! Can you tell me when he's out and about so I can catch him?"

"No," she told him firmly. "I've protected him for ten years. Why would I suddenly let you trap him? I told you he's monitoring the kitchen, so go there if you want to make contact with him. Let him decide whether or not he wants you to find him."

Camilo rolled his eyes as he headed for the kitchen with a sarcastic mutter of, "Thanks a lot." Shaking her head as he walked away, Dolores ∆(went to bed)✓ debated going to bed.

Dolores's breath caught in her chest as she faintly heard the echo of a small child's voice chanting in the back of her mind:

Suddenly, memories of the rest of that night came flooding back all at once. Dolores hadn't gone to bed when Camilo went to the kitchen! She had ducked into her room and held the door open just a crack so she could continue to hear what was going on!

"Tío Bruno?" Camilo called out, his voice echoing. "Tío Bruno, if you can hear me, I need you."

Dolores could hear Bruno leaving his hiding place immediately, following the path he normally took to go to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Camilo was saying, "Please come for me. Something is happening, and I'm… I'm scared. You're the only person I can think of who might be able to help me. Please, Tío…" He took a shaky breath, sounding as though he was fighting off tears. "Please, I need your help."

"I don't know what you think I can do," Bruno murmured.

There was a loud gasp then. "Tío Bruno!" Camilo's cry was accompanied by a sob. That couldn't be Camilo, could it? It must be someone else somewhere whose sobbing Dolores was hearing.

"Whoa, whoa, Camilo, take it easy. What's going on?" Bruno asked unsteadily.

"I have no idea!" Camilo sniffled. It really was Camilo who was sobbing! "All I know is that this isn't right!"

"I don't understand," Bruno said plainly.

You and me both, Tío, Dolores agreed.

"It's complicated," Camilo admitted.

Understatement of the year, Dolores thought.

"Let me grab some supplies and I'll let you come with me," Bruno offered. "I might as well stock up since I'm out here."

Dolores was surprised that Bruno was so quick to invite Camilo to follow him. He had always carefully avoided everybody whenever he ventured into the house proper, but the first time anyone called out to him, he revealed himself without hesitation. Why? What was the point of going into hiding if you weren't going to stay hidden?

"You were hiding out like this for ten years?" Camilo asked, awed, as Dolores heard them traveling the path to Bruno's hiding place.

"Just about," Bruno confirmed.

"How long are you planning to stay away again?" Camilo wondered aloud. "I mean with everything that's happened, and Mirabel being…" Dolores wondered where her brother was going with that sentence as he trailed off, and although Bruno offered no answer, Camilo deduced for himself, "You… weren't going to come back at all?"

"My Gift wasn't helping the family… but… but I love my family," Bruno declared quietly.

"I know you do, Tío Bruno," Camilo assured him. "You love this family more than anyone else. That's why you never left in the first place. Isn't that right?"

And that's why he was so quick to come out when Camilo said he needed him, Dolores realized. He's not hiding from us, he's just trying to stay out of the way because he thinks he's a burden!

"What did you need my help with?" Bruno asked in a transparent attempt to change the subject.

Camilo hesitated, then started rambling, "This place has changed, drastically, and not for the better. I first noticed it at dinner tonight, but it seems like I'm the only one who realizes anything is off. Our family is supposed to be bigger, for one thing, and-"

"Bigger?" Bruno interrupted. "Someone was supposed to get married? Or have a baby?"

"Both," Camilo confirmed. "Not to mention the shift in our family's dynamic, which seems to have been reversed…"

Dolores shook her head. This was too weird.

"When was all of this supposed to have happened?" Bruno asked.

"It's been a gradual change," Camilo commented, "but it all started just after Antonio got his Gift."

Dolores's jaw dropped.

"Antonio's Gift ceremony is still a week away," Bruno observed.

Dolores heard the sound of someone falling against the wall and Camilo stammering, "That… That's not… That means… That means I'm in the past!" he exclaimed, panicking. "I'm a year in the past! We were supposed to have celebrated Mirabel's sixteenth birthday a few months ago! That was…" He sounded choked up as he went on, "That was the best day of my life, and now… now it never happened?"

"How was Mirabel's birthday the best day of your life?" Bruno asked confusedly as Dolores thought the same thing.

Camilo was clearly crying as he answered, "I got pregnant that night."

"What?" Dolores whispered aloud. Camilo? Her brother? Pregnant? How?

Bruno's voice shook. "You… You what? You can…?"

Camilo sounded exasperated as he said, "Yeah, yeah, it never occurred to anyone else that having sex while I was transformed would make it possible for me to be impregnated, but it happened…" His voice turned maudlin then. "Or was supposed to happen, next year apparently." He grew more agitated as he went on, "Oh God, I hope it still does! I don't want my babies to never exist! How do I get back to my proper time? Am I just supposed to live this year all over again? I don't want to! I want to go back home to my wife and the father of my twins because even though my family is here they're not them and I can't stand having you look at me and not see me!"

"How am I not seeing you?" Bruno asked.

"You're not seeing me as the bearer of your unborn twins," Camilo said sadly.

"What the fuck?" Dolores murmured, unable to believe her ears. This scenario was more ridiculous that the most imaginative of Bruno's rat telenovelas!

"No," Bruno whispered. "Y-you're my nephew, how- why- who? Who were you disguised as when… when it happened? I can't think of anyone that I…"

Dolores frowned. He can't think of anyone? What about the mother of his daughter?

Camilo's voice was muffled, as if he had buried his face in his hands. "I've said way too much already. You obviously weren't ready to hear any of this."

Neither was I, Dolores acknowledged.

"Camilo, tell me," Bruno insisted. "I need to know."

"No, you don't," Camilo shot back. "You wouldn't be able to deal with this foreknowledge."

"My Gift is foreknowledge!" Bruno said frustratedly. "If anyone would be able to deal with information about the future it's me!"

After a second, Camilo said slowly and clearly, "Mirabel."

"Jesus," Dolores cursed.

"What the fuck?" Bruno blurted. "What… There's no way. You're crazy. It's impossible. There's no way that could be my future. You're just… making it up, or… or remembering a fever dream. I would never!"

Camilo huffed, "Told you you weren't ready."

"I refuse to believe it," Bruno stated.

Dolores didn't want to believe it either, but as crazy as it seemed, she had to admit that her brother sounded very sincere about it.

"I knew you wouldn't," Camilo grumbled. "Not until after you have the vision, anyway."

There was a pause, then Bruno said, "I don't do visions anymore."

"Yeah, I know," Camilo replied. "Because you haven't realized yet that everyone was wrong about you. Your visions don't cause things to happen, they're just a heads-up so people can be prepared. Whatever you see is going to happen whether you see it or not."

Dolores's eyes filled with tears as her mind turned to the vision that Bruno had had about her. The idea that she was destined to never be with the man of her dreams… It was incredibly painful.

"And what is this vision I'm supposed to have that will magically change my mind?" Bruno queried skeptically.

Camilo answered promptly, "You're looking for the future of la familia Madrigal, and you see yourself having sex with Mirabel."

"Of course," Bruno grumbled. "I should have guessed. What else could convince me?"

Dolores heard a bang then, like something hitting a wall, as Camilo let out a string of random swearwords.

"Camilo?" Bruno called uncertainly, having to repeat himself a couple of times increasingly louder.

Finally, Camilo responded tonelessly, "Tío."

Bruno was obviously unnerved. "You're… You're not okay."

Camilo snorted. "You think? Gee, I wonder why? Could it be because this morning I was pregnant with twins and I got fucked to within an inch of my life by my pregnant wife who subsequently came on my face as I ate her out while she blew her other husband before fucking him to within an inch of his life, but tonight after dinner my lovers both believe I'm crazy for thinking that there was ever anything between us?"

Dolores blinked several times upon hearing that. Camilo sounded so… well, devastated was the only word she could think of to describe it. Her heart was hurting on his behalf. It was very clear to her that the sarcasm in his voice was not because he wasn't serious, but because he knew Bruno didn't believe him.

"Lovers…" Bruno muttered. Dolores could practically hear the gears in his mind turning. "Pregnant wife… Other husband…" His tone was one of sudden realization as he said, "You're talking about Mirabel and me, aren't you?" There was no audible reply, but judging by his response of, "This is too much," Dolores assumed Camilo had nodded.

"Now do you understand why I have to get back?" Camilo asked tearfully. "I can't live in the past like this. I need to see the love in your eyes when you look at me. I need to hear you call me 'Único'. I need to hear you call Mirabel 'Novia', and see how much you love each other. I need to be able to call Mirabel 'Dulzura' and have her smile instead of freaking out. I need to have my twins in my tummy, and Mirabel's son in hers. I need to have my pussy so I can give birth. I need to have my breasts so I can nurse. I need to go home!"

As soon as Camilo said that, there was knocking coming from the same area that Camilo and Bruno were in, followed by a child calling out, "Papá? Tata?"

And then another child saying, "Can we come in?"

How in the world did a couple of children find their way into Bruno's hiding place? Dolores wondered.

There was the sound of a door opening, then Camilo cried, "My babies!"

What?! Dolores was baffled. I thought he said he was pregnant, not that he had children!

Camilo sounded beside himself with happiness. "How did you- oh forget it, I don't care how, I just can't believe you're here!" There was a pause. "It is you, isn't it? Wait, is this your Gift? Is that how you were able to find me? But how did I get here in the first place?"

"I'm sorry, Papá, it was my fault," one of them apologized, launching into a long-winded rapid-fire explanation which Dolores was barely able to follow.

Apparently the girl's Gift was able to send her own mind so far into the past that she hadn't been born yet, and when her mind was returning from there to her present she accidentally sent Camilo's mind back from that point in time to now. After that, the girl figured out how to use her Gift in a different way so she and her sister could physically come here to return his mind to his present time before presumably returning herself and her sister to their present time.

When the other girl spoke up, her voice was very subdued. "I have to make you both forget all of this until our Gift ceremony."

So one twin was capable of time travel, and the other twin could give people selective amnesia? Those were some very unique Gifts.

Camilo sounded discouraged as he asked, "Do I really have to forget meeting you? I don't want to forget that you… live," he choked out. "While you two are in my tummy, I'm so scared that you're not both going to live…"

There was a brief stretch of silence before one of the twins said sadly, "I'm sorry, Papá, but Tata said both of you had to forget everything that happened while your mind was here."

Papá and Tata... Dolores's brow furrowed in thought. Either of those words could be used for one's father, but this little girl was alternating between them for some reason. It seemed like she was addressing her father here as Papá while referring to her father in the future as Tata, except for the fact that she had said both when she knocked on the door here.

Dolores heard a sniff, and then the sound of a kiss twice before Camilo said, "I love you both so much. You know that, right?"

Both of the twins giggled, then one of them said, "Of course we know that, Papá."

The other twin added, "You only tell us that every day."

The first twin spoke again, "More than once a day."

Both of the twins then said in unison, "For our whole lives."

A few seconds later, Dolores heard one of the twins say, "I know you didn't know about us until tonight, and you won't remember us after we leave, but I just want to tell you that you're our Tata and we love you."

Dolores realized the little girl had to have been talking to Bruno there, since Camilo obviously knew about them already. So Tío Bruno is 'Tata' to them in order to differentiate between him and Camilo, who is 'Papá'? That's pretty clever.

"I'm sorry, Papá," the other twin apologized, "but I have to push you to send your mind back to your present."

"There's no point telling him that," her sister piped up. "I have to make him forget everything first anyway."

"We can't do this here," Camilo interrupted before they could start arguing. "I'm not supposed to know about this place." Dolores heard two sets of footsteps making their way back to the house proper, then a sigh from Camilo as he said, "I'm going to miss you two so much."

"No you won't," one twin said.

"We'll be there in your tummy," the other twin told him.

There was a long-suffering tone in her sister's reply of, "He's not going to remember meeting us anyway, so there's nothing for him to miss."

When Dolores heard Camilo's bedroom door open and close, she snuck out of her own room and went to lurk outside of his as she heard him say, "Alright, girls. Do what you've got to do. I'll see you when you get back." There was the sound of two more kisses, and then he said, "I love you."

Dolores waited a beat before knocking on Camilo's door.

There were two simultaneous gasps from inside the room, followed by one of the twins harshly whispering, "What should we do?"

"I need to forget too, girls," Dolores called through the door.

"Tía Dolores?"

"Of course, she would have heard everything!"

"Tata didn't tell us we had to make her forget too though."

"Maybe Tata didn't know she was listening?"

"Right, he must've thought she'd gone to bed already."

"Yeah, because her room is soundproofed!"

Dolores shook her head in amusement. "Are you gonna let me in or not?"

The door opened, but instead of letting Dolores in, the twins slipped out and shut the door behind them. They explained before Dolores could ask.

"Papá's gonna come to his senses soon."

"My Gift only stuns for a little while."

"And we can't let him see us."

"'Cuz then I'd have to do it again."

Dolores looked at them closely. They did bear a resemblance to Bruno, much like… She gasped in realization. The girl who gave me that letter!

"Tía Dolores?" one twin began.

"What's wrong?" the other twin finished.

Dolores was mildly stunned as she had just realized that she'd already met one of the children in front of her. She kept her mouth shut, though, as she recalled the girl had insisted, 'You can't tell anyone - anyone!'

When these girls grew older, one of them would travel even further back in time, accompanied by a boy who was around the same age as her. While she was there - purportedly to find out who Señora Santos was cheating on her husband with - she would tell Señor Santos to give his wife's next baby to the Madrigals. After that, the girl would give Dolores a secret letter which she still needed to deliver.

Dolores shook her head. "C'mon, let's go to my room. You can make me forget about you there."

The twins looked at each other, then spoke alternatingly, "The thing is…"

"…I don't know how much to make you forget."

"Tata told us how much to take from him and Papá, and for how long, but…"

"…I don't know how much you should forget, or when you'll need to remember it."

"Can't I decide?" Dolores asked as she led the girls into her room, shutting the door behind them.

"I guess so," one of the twins said with a shrug. "I don't really know how it works. I just say a bunch of nonsense words while looking someone in the eye, and then after they space out for a little while they can't remember whatever I wanted them to forget."

"Hmm…" Dolores thought out loud, "I need to remember everything from before everyone went to bed, since people expect me know it all because of my Gift. Do you suppose you could make me forget that I didn't just go right to bed when I came into my room after talking to Camilo tonight?"

"I should be able to do that," the last twin who spoke replied, "but I still don't know when your memories are supposed to come back."

Dolores considered that. Since one of these girls was going to give her the letter, she might need to remember this when the letter was finally opened. "June second of next year."

The twins' brows furrowed simultaneously as they turned to each other and began conversing under their breaths. "That would be…"

"…Ephraim's birthday."

"Why would she pick that day?"

"He hasn't even been born yet."

"Every day is someone's birthday," Dolores offered. "You don't think it could be a coincidence?"

The twins looked at her as one, each with a raised eyebrow, and said together, "No," before alternating talking.

"But you keep secrets well."

"So whatever your reason is…"

"…we know you won't tell anyone."

"Holy shit!" Dolores whispered as she sat bolt upright. When that girl had said Bruno couldn't know about her yet, Dolores assumed the girl's mother had never told him that he had a daughter. Now, though, Dolores could remember: that girl was Camilo's future daughter! One of the twins he was currently carrying! Nobody could know about her yet because she didn't exist then!

And what about the boy that she had been with? Dolores initially thought he was just a friend, but what if it was Ephraim? That would make sense, and it would explain why they had gone to the past. Maybe they wanted to find out who Señora Santos was having sex with because they were looking for Ephraim's father! If that was the case, then maybe the reason his letter promised they'd meet someday was because they already did! Perhaps the boy had gone with his father when they found out who he was, and that's why he wasn't there when the girl gave Dolores the letter?

Speculation aside, it was clear to Dolores now that the girl's knowledge of the future was because it was history where she came from. The girl's insistence that she keep the letter on her at all times must have been due to her knowing Casita would collapse before the letter was to be delivered. How else could she be sure it would be safe? If Dolores had left the letter in her room that day, it would have almost certainly been destroyed.

Dolores blinked in surprise when, a moment later, two young teenage girls appeared out of nowhere standing in front of her. One of them immediately let go of the other's hand and wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the floor. The girl who was hugging herself was the girl who had given Dolores Ephraim's letter. It looked like she had practically just come here from there, except she was much less composed now.

"Hola, Tía Dolores," the other twin greeted her.

"Hola," Dolores returned the greeting before sliding off of her bed and approaching the girl who hadn't spoken. "My gosh, you look terrible. What happened after you gave me that letter?"

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"It's what happened before she gave you the letter," the other twin mentioned. "It was all she could do to keep it bottled up until she got home."

"Before she gave me the letter?" Dolores glanced at the twin who had just spoken before looking back at the one who was hugging herself. "So, when you found out who Ephraim's father is?"

The girl hugged herself even tighter as she tried and failed to hold back a sob.

"That is what you were there to find out, right? You and…" Dolores trailed off. "Was the boy you were with Ephraim?"

"No," the more composed twin corrected her, "it was Oscar."

"Oscar?" Dolores repeated, her brow furrowed. "Mirabel's son?"

The twin who was in tears looked at Dolores sharply. "How did you know that?"

"I guessed," Dolores told her. "Antonio suggested it as a baby name on his birthday last month, and Mirabel said she'd give it to her son."

The girl who was doing most of the talking nodded. "He's our brother. It was his idea. He found out that Ephraim's been obsessing over that letter every year on his birthday and decided that it would be a great birthday present for him to find Ephraim's Papá."

"That is very sweet," Dolores concurred, keeping her attention on the twin who had hardly spoken since arriving there, "but that doesn't explain why… Is it Bridget? Was that what your brother called you when you stepped on his foot?"

Bridget sniffled and nodded.

Dolores continued, "That doesn't explain why you've fallen to pieces."

Bridget shook her head, giving her sister a significant look.

The other twin sighed softly, "You'll find out in fourteen years. That's when you can remember everything." The girl then stared into Dolores's eyes and began chanting:

Dolores went to bed early on the night of Ephraim's first birthday, (her mind whirring. She just kept) thinking about that letter. (The letter that Dolores had had in her possession for one year and nine months, with explicit instructions for it to be delivered on that specific day while being kept a secret from everyone until then.) ∆The letter that had appeared out of nowhere that morning.✓ A letter that was addressed to a one-year-old baby (who must've been conceived around the time that Dolores was given the letter. A letter which contained information about the future).

The mystery of that letter was impossible for Dolores to work out. She had no leads, no inkling of where it had come from nor who might have written it. She supposed she would just have to wait until the man made good on his promise. She would find out who he was when he finally came to meet his son.

Chapter Text

When she heard her eldest niece crying, Dolores ran behind Casita to where she knew Bridget and Oscar had gone to body-jump into the past. Seeing her nephew lying motionless on the ground, she knelt down beside him and gave him a gentle shake. No response. How did he get like this? she wondered, looking from his face to Bridget's. "What happened?"

"H- h- h-he…" Bridget gulped. "He was raped!" the girl gasped just before she turned away and began violently puking.

"Jesucristo en el cielo," Dolores swore, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as a flood of memories slammed into her, the events of the intervening years connecting the dots that she had missed before. "Hang in there, chica, I'll go get help," she promised as she ran back into the house and proceeded to tell the family what was going on outside. Mercifully, she only had to say it once since they were all in the same room together. She then sank to sit with her head in her hands.

Dolores had met Bridget before the twins were born, on more than one occasion, and had those memories locked away. Ephraim's letter hadn't arrived out of nowhere, it was given to her by Bridget. That had only happened moments ago for Bridget, it seemed. The girl had given her explicit instructions to pretend it had just appeared on the morning of Ephraim's first birthday, and to keep it a complete secret until then. After that, Bridget had appeared again, with Constanza this time, in order to make her forget about all of that until now.

It was obvious why those memories had to be locked away: Ephraim's Gift allowed him to read minds. If she had ever thought about the letter around him after he got his Gift, he would pick up on information that he absolutely couldn't have before now.

The fact that Oscar had just been raped explained Bridget's demeanor when she and her sister went to make Dolores forget about them and where the letter came from. That must happen relatively soon for the twins, and Dolores had a feeling that she herself needed to tell them to do it.

Oscar was obviously raped late at night, while Dolores was asleep, because there was no other way it could have occurred without her knowledge. There were many times when she had wished she didn't have her Gift, but this was the first time she had ever wished that her room didn't suppress it. If only she had heard what was going on, maybe she could have stopped it! …or could she?

Oscar and Bridget had gone to the past to find Ephraim's father. They must've succeeded, because they got the letter from him. But then how could Oscar have been raped on the same night that they found out who Ephraim's father was? Unless…

Dolores gasped. It was right in front of her. She knew Señora Santos didn't have a lover. The kids were there for an entire week, tracking that woman's every move the whole time without finding anything out. The morning after Oscar had been raped, though, not only was Bridget certain that Señora Santos was pregnant, she was also able to give Dolores a letter from Ephraim's father.

Bridget said, 'Someone's life depended on us being here,' Dolores recalled, choking on a sob. It was Ephraim's life that depended on them being there! Ephraim was only alive today because he was conceived by Señora Santos raping Oscar! Ephraim's father was Oscar! But if Oscar was comatose due to the trauma of his rape, how could he have written that letter to Ephraim?

Bridget quickly shook her head. "We're trying to make sure things don't change! Our being here and doing what we've been doing is what shapes the future that we know. We had to do everything that we did while we were here, because…"

"Oh, Bridget…" Dolores sighed shakily, tears falling as quickly as they formed. After realizing Oscar was Ephraim's father, Bridget must have masterminded the events that would follow so Ephraim would wind up here, with his true family, along with the information necessary to lead them back to where they needed to be for it to still happen.

That was an impossible choice that Bridget had been forced to make. If she had been in her place, Dolores wasn't sure whether she herself would be able to do the same. In order for her nephew to exist, she'd literally have to go out of her way to ensure that her own brother would be raped at the age of thirteen in order to unwittingly and involuntarily father a child.

Chapter Text

Dolores went to bed early on the night of Ephraim's first birthday and sat cross-legged in the middle of her bed to meditate. She visualized the storage chest which contained the secrets she was keeping from herself. Why she had that storage chest in her mind, she didn't know. It was a mystery, as was everything in it. She only had the slightest inkling that something was there, some knowledge about things that had happened in the past, but there was a very strong aura of undesirability about it which dissuaded her from looking into it very often. She always wound up crying after opening that chest, but she had no idea why because she never remembered what she had found out.

The thing was, she just kept thinking about that letter, and she couldn't shake the feeling that it had some connection to her secret chest. She had had that letter in her possession for one year and nine months, with explicit instructions for it to be kept on her at all times and then delivered on that specific day while being kept a secret from everyone until then. She wasn't sure how she knew that, because she couldn't remember being given that letter, but something deep down inside told her those instructions were important, so she followed them.

When it was discovered that the letter was for Ephraim, to wish him a happy first birthday, Dolores realized that he must have been conceived around the time she was given that letter - which was strange, because everything that was said in the letter hadn't happened yet at that point. Ephraim's father, whoever he was, knew the future when he wrote that letter. Was it actually knowledge of the future that she kept in her secret chest? Had Ephraim's father created the chest in her mind when he gave her the letter? Dolores wanted to find out - or, at least, she thought she wanted to find out - so she lifted the lid.

Dolores blinked the sudden tears from her eyes as she remembered everything. A moment later, two young teenage girls appeared out of nowhere standing in front of her. One of them immediately let go of the other's hand and wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the floor. The girl who was hugging herself was the girl who had given her Ephraim's letter. It looked like she had practically just come here from there, except she was much less composed now.

"Hola, Tía Dolores," the other twin greeted her.

""Hola," she returned the greeting before sliding off of her bed and approaching the girl who hadn't spoken. "My gosh, you look terrible." Dolores mused, Oscar's rape must have been very recent for her… Recent enough that she hasn't gone back in time with Antonio to exact revenge yet? "What happened after you gave me that letter?" she checked just to be sure.

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"It's what happened before she gave you the letter," the other twin mentioned. "It was all she could do to keep it bottled up until she got home."

"Before she gave me the letter?" Dolores glanced at the twin who had just spoken before looking back at the one who was hugging herself. "So, when you found out who Ephraim's father is?"

The girl hugged herself even tighter as she tried and failed to hold back a sob.

"That is what you were there to find out, right? You and…" Dolores trailed off. "Was the boy you were with Oscar?"

The twin who was in tears looked at her sharply. "How did you know that?"

"I guessed," Dolores told her. "Antonio suggested it as a baby name on his birthday last month, and Mirabel said she'd give it to her son."

The girl who was doing most of the talking nodded. "He's our brother. It was his idea. He found out that Ephraim's been obsessing over that letter every year on his birthday and decided that it would be a great birthday present for him to find Ephraim's Papá."

"That is very sweet," Dolores concurred, keeping her attention on the twin who had hardly spoken since arriving here, "but it was a lot more complicated than you thought it would be, huh?"

The crying girl sniffled and nodded.

"I'm sorry," Dolores offered sincerely. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just forget about it," she replied, giving her sister a significant look.

The other twin sighed softly, "You can remember everything in fourteen years."

"Wait." Dolores forestalled her with a raised hand. "I need to do something real quick."

The girl who had just spoken tilted her head to one side. "What?"

"I can't explain it," Dolores told her. "It's a secret. Please. You can wipe my mind after, I promise."

The girl was clearly bemused but ultimately agreed.

"Thank you," Dolores said as she sat on her bed to focus again, bringing her secret chest back to the forefront of her mind. If she was meant to remember everything when Bridget returned with Oscar after his rape, then all of her memories from before then should be safe to remember, too. However, the revenge trip hadn't happened for Bridget yet, so she figured it would be best to lock those memories back in the secret chest as that was its purpose in the first place. She compiled every bit of memory in which she heard or saw or thought about future Antonio and Bridget from that night, and she threw it into the chest. When she closed the lid, all of that was locked away - except for the chest's existence and how to use it.

Dolores opened her eyes when it was done and looked sadly at the twin who was crying. She knew this was the one who had given her Ephraim's letter, but she had no idea why the poor girl had fallen to pieces. She supposed she would just have to wait and find out when it happened. Turning to the twin with the memory Gift, Dolores asked, "You can make me forget anything?"

The girl's brow furrowed. "Sí. Why do you ask?"

"There's a storage chest that I want to forget about. You should be able to find it in my mind. I'd like you to take that away with the rest of the things you're removing right now," Dolores explained.

Chapter Text

Dolores ran back to Casita with tears blurring her vision. To think that Antonio - her baby brother - would someday stoop to such depravity that he'd travel through time just to track down a child rapist and retaliate by raping that woman's mouth himself… That wasn't justice, that was revenge, plain and simple. Nobody deserved that, no matter what they did.

"She might actually die from aspirating her own vomit," Antonio commented, sounding like he could hardly care less.

Dolores shook her head. She couldn't do anything about the life sentence that Señora Santos had been condemned to, being entirely at the mercy of a jagupard's whims, but she could at least ensure that it wouldn't become a death sentence by way of Antonio's indiscretions - and, in so doing, she would keep the blood off of his hands.

"Get out of here," the woman rasped at Dolores's approach. "That thing will kill me when he gets back if he knows anyone found me."

"He's not that close by," Dolores informed her. "I'll be gone before he returns. I just wanted to give you this."

Señora Santos frowned in bemusement as she accepted the proffered bundle. "Why?"

"Because I can't abide my brother becoming a murderer," Dolores said candidly.

Señora Santos's lips parted in surprise. "That… That young man was…?"

Dolores cringed. "I wish I could say it wasn't. Regardless, there's some food in there that will heal you."

"Heal me?" Señora Santos echoed as she unwrapped the old blanket she had been given. "So it's…"

"Julieta Madrigal's," Dolores finished her sentence. "And I found that dress on the ground at the forest's edge. I assumed it was yours."

"Yes," she murmured, setting the food and blanket down so she could pull her dress on. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Dolores said. "Do you know how to make a campfire?"

Señora Santos slowly shook her head, so Dolores showed her how it was done.

Dolores cocked her to one side and backed away as the fire grew to a reasonable size to keep the woman warm. "I'm afraid I can't do anything more for you. Regalo is on his way back now. It sounds like he's dragging something with him, so I assume he's bringing his kill here to share with you. You might have to butcher it yourself, but then you can cook it over the fire after skewering chunks of the meat onto a stick or by laying out strips of it on a rock that you've heated up with the fire."

Señora Santos's eyes filled with tears. "This is going to be my life now, isn't it? For as long as the beast decides to keep me alive, at least."

Dolores bowed her head. "I believe so. God only knows how long you'll have left."

Señora Santos shuddered. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to live like this, but she didn't particularly want to die, either. "Goodbye…"

"Goodbye," Dolores replied, realizing as she departed that that was likely to be the last human interaction Señora Santos would have before she died. One thing was certain: this situation was definitely going to be locked away in that secret meditation chest within Dolores's mind. There really are some things that it's just better not to know.

Chapter Text

"Tía Bridget?" Dolores heard Ephraim greet Bridget uncertainly.

"Yes, Ephraim?" Bridget answered nonchalantly.

"Are you okay?" Ephraim asked, sounding concerned.

Dolores paused, listening closely. Was this Bridget being erased from existence now?

"I'm fine," Bridget responded.

Ephraim seemed unconvinced. "Are you sure? Your thoughts are kind of… all over the place."

Bridget sounded like she was getting a little irritated as she claimed, "I've just got a lot on my mind."

A moment later, Ephraim gasped in pain and surprise.

What just happened? Dolores asked herself.

"On one condition," Bridget said. Apparently Dolores had missed something.

"What's that?" Ephraim slurred, seeming punch-drunk.

"You don't try to stop me," Bridget said firmly.

"S-stop you from… what?" Ephraim stuttered. A moment later he added, "N-no I don't."

They must be having part of their conversation just in their heads, Dolores mused, but why not all of it?

"She means me," Bridget said impatiently. "I want to change history, and I'm not gonna let anyone stand in my way."

'She'? Dolores thought confusedly. Is there someone else there? Someone who's able to talk to both of them silently? How can that be?

"You're… You're not Tía Bridget," Ephraim said haltingly.

"Right genius you are," Bridget sneered.

Dolores covered her mouth with her hand. Was this Camilo, just impersonating Bridget? Had both of her brothers developed a cruel streak? Antonio seeking revenge on Señora Santos was one thing, but Camilo threatening his own family like this? What was the world coming to?

"Wh-who are you?" Ephraim stammered.

"Don't say my name!" Bridget snarled, her voice unusually husky. Dolores guessed that Camilo had answered him silently in his mind before that warning was issued. Bridget's voice sounded much calmer as she mused aloud, "I suppose it was inevitable that you'd find out." After a moment she chuckled, "Mental Gifts are tricky to get around, aren't they?"

"Mental… Gifts…" Ephraim repeated dazedly before concluding, "You're a Madrigal."

What did Camilo do to him to make him so confused? Dolores puzzled anxiously.

"Took you long enough to figure that one out." Bridget said, her tone dripping with condescension, but then it was like a switch had been flipped as she snapped, "Yes, I do have to!" A couple seconds later, she growled, "But he would. Unaltered history unfolds the same way every time. If we leave without changing anything, then he'll just keep doing it. He needs someone to teach him a lesson."

Dolores was baffled. This was clearly only half of a conversation, but all she knew about the person she couldn't hear was that it was not Ephraim.

"Wh-what did I do?" Ephraim questioned. "Or, what will I do, I guess?"

Bridget huffed as she told him, "You just can't keep your mind shut."

Dolores shook her head. That was an odd sentence, but she supposed it was one way to accuse him of not being able to keep a secret that he had overheard in someone's mind. He had been getting better about that, though.

Contrite, Ephraim murmured, "I'm sorry."

Bridget snorted. "Of course you are. Everyone is sorry when they have to face up to what they've done - like your birth mother, for instance."

"You… You know my birth mother?" Ephraim stammered, gobsmacked.

"No," Bridget answered, "but Bridget helped with meting out justice." Dolores could hear the smirk as she went on, "It's the whole reason Bridget and Antonio got together in the first place." After a pause for dramatic effect, she continued gleefully, "Bridget got turned on from watching Antonio force his cock down your mother's throat."

Fuck, Dolores thought, not only shocked by that despicable anecdote but also appalled to hear cackling in the wake of those words. Poor Ephraim, she thought miserably as she quickly slipped into her room and sat down to meditate. If any part of that story was true, she would have that information in her secret chest. She lifted the lid to check, dreading to find out that it wasn't all lies.

Chapter Text

"Are we there?" Dolores heard a child's voice from the direction of Bruno's vision cave.

"Sí, we're here." That was Bridget's voice, coming from the same place, but Bridget was walking past right in front of Dolores at that moment.

"B-Bridget?" Mirabel spoke with difficulty.

Bridget from the future, Dolores specified in her head.

Mirabel's obsession showed in her reaction to the confirmation that her daughter was there; she did not greet her, but promptly asked about Bruno.

"Hello," the child spoke a second time before future Bridget informed her that Bruno was in fact there.

Sure enough, a moment later, Dolores heard her dead uncle Bruno address Mirabel by his nickname for her.

Mirabel's insanity was evident as it seemed all she could say at first was his name, even when he started asking her questions.

"Was living without me really such a terrible fate?" Bruno inquired sadly. "You couldn't just be happy with Camilo and our children?"

"You mean more to me than all of that," was Mirabel's response.

Dolores was floored when she heard Bruno reply, "Okay. You can come with me, then. Help her, mija."

"Yes, Tata," future Bridget said with a sniffle.

"What are you…?" Mirabel began to voice what Dolores was thinking, but she didn't finish asking, What are you doing?

"Papá taught me that knot," future Bridget commented.

She's untying her, Dolores deduced, poised to go and try to stop Mirabel from being freed…

…until future Bridget continued haltingly, "He… He taught me this one too…"

Dolores's heart skipped a beat. Could she be talking about…?

"…but he never intended for me to use it like this," future Bridget went on.

…a hangman's knot? Dolores wondered.

"Use it like what?" she heard Mirabel ask, followed by several seconds of silence in the wake of her query.

"I'm sorry, Mamá," future Bridget said tearfully.

"Don't apologize, mija," came Mirabel's voice, surprisingly lucid this time. "It's okay."

The two women exchanged "I love you"s before Mirabel added, "And thank you for this. It means a lot to me." Under a minute later, Dolores heard Mirabel supplicating, "Tío Bruno…" and then several seconds of breathless gasping, reinforcing her suspicion of what this was: an assisted suicide.

Bruno's voice took on an even more ethereal quality as he whispered beckoningly for Mirabel to come with him. After a little while, he spoke again, telling her to accompany him 'home'. This invitation was succeeded by an almost inaudible chuckle, followed by the sound of a kiss. After a quick countdown from future Bridget, Bruno's vision cave became silent as a tomb - which was fitting, as at this point it basically was one.