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foreveranevilregal · 7 months

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Encantober Day 1: Sunset

Pepa sat down on the hillside overlooking the meadow. Today was easier than usual. She had been tasked with drying out a field that had gotten flooded when the river grew too full. It had been a rainy spring. Not her fault, of course. Okay, maybe some of it was her fault. Her boyfriend, Carlos, had broken up with her, and she took it pretty hard. But not all of it! Not all weather was her fault. She kept trying to tell people, and no one listened…

Thankfully, drying things out didn’t tax her as much as making it rain did. All she had to do was think happy thoughts and the sun came beaming down, strengthened by her gift. Usually, she’d think of her siblings. Or if there was a cute boy that she had her eye on, that worked too. When she was younger, it was animals that did the trick. She had no shortage of happy thoughts. It was the sad ones that were harder.

She’d settled in with her book, opening it eagerly. It was a new book, and she was dying to see how it would end.

A couple chapters in, she felt a shadow blocking the sunlight. Peering up, she saw a guy she didn’t recognize. Someone new, in their town? That didn’t happen often.

“Mind if I join you?” He spoke up.

“Go right ahead.” She folded the corner of her page and closed the book, setting it on the grass beside her.

“Hope I didn’t interrupt you reading.” He sat down next to her.

“No, it’s fine.” She was dying to know what happened next, but this new guy intrigued her. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new here?”

He nodded. “My family just moved here. My name’s Félix.”

“Pepa.” She took his proffered hand, shaking it. His hand felt strong, rough. Pepa felt sparks go through her that had nothing to do with her gift.

“It’s nice to meet you, Pepa. I was exploring around and came upon this little meadow here.” He held a hand in front of his face conspiratorially. “To be honest, I needed a break from my little siblings. They drive me crazy sometimes.”

Pepa laughed at the comment. “How many siblings do you have?”

“Five. And I’m the oldest.” He rolled his eyes playfully. “Do you have siblings?”

She nodded. “A brother and sister, but we’re triplets, so no one is really the oldest. Well, Julieta acts like she is, but she’s only like five minutes older. Can’t have gained that much wisdom during that time.”

His laughter was one of the most beautiful sounds she’d ever heard. “Oh, I’m sure she gained so much wisdom. Those five minutes were very important.”

Pepa gasped and shoved him reflexively.

He fell over. For a second, Pepa was afraid she’d hurt him, but he sat up like nothing was wrong. “Hey, us older siblings have to stick together!” He defended himself.

“She’s not-“ Pepa began, outraged, but stopped short at the grin that cracked on his face.

“I’m kidding.” He shook his head good-naturedly. “Lighten up, Pepa.”

Those words struck dangerously close to home. How many times had the other kids told her the same thing? How many times had her mamá warned her to rein in her emotions? She blinked rapidly to quell the tears. Clear skies, clear skies, clear skies…

Félix cleared his throat. “Okay, that was a bad joke. Sorry.” He offered her a sheepish smile. “Anyway…you said you had a brother too?”

“Bruno.” Her voice was flat. She’d managed to stop the spiral, but it always took her a little bit to pull herself out of a funk. “His name’s Bruno.”

“Bruno.” Félix scratched his head. “I haven’t met him yet.”

Pepa barked a laugh. “I don’t imagine you would have. He hardly ever leaves his tower.”

“Tower?”

Pepa gestured towards their casita. It was barely visible from this distance, but one could still make out the distinctive shape of a tower.

“Okay, Bruno has a tower. Why not?”

Pepa appreciated his nonchalance. People weren’t so accepting of Bruno. Granted, Félix hadn’t met him yet, but Pepa had a feeling he’d be different. He was so friendly; she just couldn’t imagine him being mean to Bruno.

“Wait…” Félix appeared to be puzzling something out. “My papá said that’s where the Madrigals live. Are you a Madrigal? Is it true what people say, about the magic gifts?” He sounded genuinely curious, his voice lacking the usual tone of suspicion.

“Yes, I’m a Madrigal,” Pepa said simply, ignoring the second question. “Tell me about your family. I feel like we’ve just been talking about mine.”

Caught off guard by her abruptness, Félix shrugged. “Well, they don’t have magic gifts, but they’re still pretty cool. Most of the time. My papá is named Roberto, my mamá is Antonia, and then there’s my siblings: Felipe…”

If Pepa said she remembered all the names he listed off, she’d be lying. She was too focused on the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled, the excitement in his voice as he told her about all his family members. It was clear he loved them very much, and she found that sweet.

Suddenly, he stopped talking. “Is it just me, or did the sun get brighter?” He shielded his eyes, glancing up at the sky.

Horrified, Pepa followed his eyes. It was true. She’d become so happy, enthralled by his presence, that she’d unwittingly made the sun shine more brightly. “Sorry,” she apologized, rubbing the end of her braid nervously.

“Why are you sorry?” He asked, confused. “It’s not like you control the sun.” He tried to meet her eyes, which bored firmly into the ground. “Wait- do you control the sun?” The realization seemed to dawn on him. “Is that your gift? You control the sun?”

He sounded awed, not scared. Pepa took that as a good sign. “Technically, I affect the sun,” she corrected. “Other weather too. It’s connected to my emotions.”

Her cheeks grew red. Why did she admit that? Félix had a way of disarming her. She was in trouble if he kept going like this.

But he seemed to take it in stride. “What does bright sunlight mean?” He pointed up at the still blazing sun.

“It means happiness.” A thin veil of fog enveloped Pepa, for which she was grateful.

“And the fog?” Félix observed her. “Wait, you’re blushing. Are you okay?” His eyebrows wrinkled concernedly.

She gave a noncommittal shrug. “Whatever I feel visibly manifests as various weather phenomena. My emotions are on full display for everyone all the time.” She swept her hand over her head. “You tell me if I’m okay.”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” he deduced. He scooted closer to her. “That seems like… a lot.”

She scoffed. “You can say that again! Julieta got the most useful gift. She can heal people with her food. And Bruno, he sees the future. What do I get? Here, Pepa; why don’t you get a gift that makes you thunderstorm when you’re mad and rain when you’re sad? That’ll surely help the town!” She huffed. The cloud that had sprung up overhead weighed heavily on her.

Félix studied her. “And makes the sun shine when you’re happy,” he pointed out.

“What?” Pepa was still mired down in her turmoil.

“Earlier, when the sun was brighter, you said it was because you’re happy.” He reached out his hand towards her, placing it on the grass between them. “So it’s not all bad.”

“I suppose not,” she conceded. “It’s still dumb though. And a lot of pressure. You try dealing with the knowledge that the town’s crops depend on how you feel that year.”

“Because you’re so happy you’ll dry them out?”

“Try because if I’m too sad I’ll drown them.” Pepa hmphed. The corner of her lip curved upward though in recognition of his attempt to cheer her up.

“I see.” Félix tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Guess we’ll just have to make sure you stay happy.”

Again, the words she’d heard a million times before came out of his mouth. Once again, they lacked the tinge of cruelty that normally accompanied them. She peered over through her fingers to see him beaming at her. “Good luck with that.”

“I seem to be doing a pretty good job so far. You were happy earlier,” he noted with a smirk.

Pepa couldn’t help the smile that erupted on her face.

“There’s that beautiful smile,” Félix said. “Glad to see it again.”

Was he flirting with her? Pepa couldn’t believe it. Okay, lots of boys had flirted with her, but this one was different. He was special. She could feel it. With a start, she looked up to find the cloud had vanished and the sun had returned to its previous brightness; albeit far lower in the sky.

She cleared her throat. “It’s getting late.” She pointed towards the setting sun. “I should get back home before my mamá starts wondering where I am.”

“Of course.” Félix helped her up. “Wouldn’t want her to think you were out with a boy or something.” His lip quirked into a smile.

Oh, he was definitely flirting with her. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” She flashed him a coy smile. Two could play at that game.

They walked back together until he reached the street where his family lived. “Until next time, rayo de sol.” He waved goodbye.

The townspeople who were outside later said they’d never seen such a brilliant sunset.

#pepa madrigal #felix madrigal #encantober #pepa x felix #encanto #felix x pepa #encantober 2023 #sunset #foreveranevilregal writes #writing encanto #writing feliepa #gonna try to do encantober this year #let's see how it goes

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