The following day, Julio woke up in a room that was both old and new to him. It was weird how comfortable he felt in there, as if it had been his own for his entire life. And he honestly didn't mind it. Here, he had a mother who loved him, friends of some sort who would rely on him and who he could probably rely on, someone who he cared about and who seemed to care about him too and a lot of fun to come, besides his new power. He would proudly take those memories and emotions as his own and think of his previous life as nothing but a bad dream, one that kept him away from his true life for five years.
After getting up, Julio used his still new speed to freshen up and get dressed, before heading towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast. That was one thing he didn't bother using super speed for, since he would still have to wait for the pan to heat up naturally. Though he might have read an entire recipe book in a few seconds and grabbed everything he needed in a microsecond.
"Julito, what are you doing?" Josefina asked her son while looking at him as an animal in the zoo. Never in Julio's entire life had she seen him preparing any sort of food, even less so breakfast that early in the morning.
"Oh, just decided to do everything I couldn't do in the past five years." Julio answered while drenching a slice of bread in beaten egg and milk. Indeed, Julio was preparing french toasts, with a top of avocado and bacon. The recipe wasn't in the book he read, but he really liked to have french toasts for breakfast and was sure he could coin it and make it famous in the town.
Josefina was happy to see her son so lively and seemingly happy. She was happy to just see him standing there, being a young adult. She was a bit sad that he had grown so much and she had missed those five years with him. But having him back... there was no sadness that could overthrow that kind of pure glee she felt. Her son was now a twenty three year old fine gentleman.
*
After breakfast, Julio told his mom he would go around town asking the people if they needed help with anything. What surprised him the most was how quick news travel.
"Ey, Julio! Nice to see you're back!" A man with a big belly greeted Julio.
"Señor Gómez! Been a while right?" He answered right back, only to see someone else talking to him.
"Ah! If it isn't Lito Acosta! Thank you for what you did yesterday kid, that was my grandchild you saved." And olf woman thanked Julio, who nodded in greeting.
"Please granny Moreno, I did what I had to do, no need to thank me!" Julio answered before hurriedly rushing towards the fields from which they got most of their grains. There, he saw one person who he cared about and still hadn't met.
"Well, well, well. Do my eyes deceive me? The little hero in town came to greet this old man, I thought you would be too busy after your little escapade with Miss Dolores yesterday." And old man with short grey hair and a mustache of the same color greeted Julio in a merry tone.
"You know that I love you too much to not visit you, Abuelo!" Julio said while rushing to the old man and giving him a big bear hug.
"I missed you kid. Glad to have you back." The old man, Hernán Acosta, said to Julio. He was none other than his grandfather from his father's side, and the first Acosta to live in Encanto. He was of the same generation as Alma Madrigal herself, and a good friend of hers too.
"Yeah, I'm glad to be back too, gramps." Julio said while looking at the fields. Ever since coming to Encanto, his grandfather had taken a liking to agriculture and farming, becoming the only provider of grain, vegetables and tubers. Of course, Isabella passed by from time to time to check on the fields and help if it was ever needed. And talking about the devil...
"Oh, it's good that you're here too, Julio. We wanted to invite you to have dinner with us." Isabella said as she arrived, before greeting Hernán. She was doing one of her weekly rounds to the fields and was just lucky enough to meet Julio on the way.
Julio stayed for a few hours to catch up with his grandfather, after which he took Isabella to her house and went back to his house to prepare for dinner at the Madrigals' place. Before that though, he decided to buy a ruana for himself.
*
"No, no, I insist, I have to pay for it!" Said Julio to the owner of the store, a plump woman who had an amicable air around her.
"Oh please, you saved my niece yesterday, so just take it as a gift!" The woman insisted to the point Julio had to give in, seeing how she wouldn't stop until he took it as a gift. Because of that, he decided to buy a pair of Flamenco shoes as a gift for Dolores. He bought an orange pair, which he thought would look very good on her and contrast with her long red skirt, while combining with her shirt.
Julio left the store while wondering if the little girl he had saved happened to be a relative of everyone in the town. After all, he didn't know the girl. She had been born in the five years he had been absent.
Without hurry whatsoever, he arrived at the door of the Madrigals home. Of course, he hadn't prepared a gift only for Dolores, since that could've been seen as a lack of manners. Hence, he brought something for everyone. Knocking on the door, he was greeted by Camilo disguised as his father. How could he tell? He knew Camilo since he was born, so of course he could easily tell him apart from the original.
"Hey Camilo, nice look you got going there." Julio said while entering without bothering to ask for permission. He was used to doing that when he was younger and used to play with Dolores and Isabella, Luisa too when she was born and then Camilo and Maribel. He hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Antonio yet since he hadn't been allowed on the conversation he had yesterday with the Madrigals.
"You're not fun bro." Camilo said while faking annoyance, also used to such a thing happening. The Madrigal's were also very happy to see Julio back, even more so when they learned of him also having a Miracle of his own. Camilo respected him since he was little, and even more so when his father died and he still seemed positive and proud. The rest of the family had a similar outlook towards him.
"Ah, Julio! You finally came, we were waiting for you my boy!" Felix greeted with his usual brightness that seemed capable of lifting any atmosphere.
"Julito, so nice of you to come dear!" Pepa greeted with as much enthusiasm. A little kid with a mat of hair very similar to Felix's was hiding behind her, a bit shy about meeting Julio who was clearly a stranger to him.
"Hey Tío Felix, Tía Pepa. And this little one must be Antonio, right? How old are you this year buddy?" Julio asked while kneeling to be as near Antonio as he can be, though he was still a few centimeters taller. Slowly, Antonio moved towards him, encouraged by the naturality of his family around him and Julio's own charisma with kids.
"I'm five Mr. Acosta." Antonio said while looking shy still, only to be lifted by Julio and sat on his shoulders.
"What is that Mr. about? Call me big brother Julio or I will get mad, champ!" Julio said jokingly, while Antonio laughed since he was now the tallest person in the house. The Madrigal's felt extremely warm seeing the scene of Julio playing with their youngest, Antonio. It made them realize that no matter how much time passed, Julio remained the same kind kid who used to play with their daughter and who used to carry Camilo on his shoulders too.
"Julio, um... you're already here, hehe... hi." Dolores said, not at all awkwardly. Julio just laughed and put Antonio down while moving towards her, before hugging her softly, much to everyone's surprise, bar a few knowing eyes which just smirked while looking at each other.
Julio quickly gritted Isabella, Luisa, Mirable and their parents, Julieta and Agustin, before Alma took over the conversation and quickly presented him with someone that wanted to talk to him.
"Hey, Lito. Been a while right?" A man somewhere around 5'4" with old, extremely worn clothes and a green ruana could be seen standing there, while awkwardly holding his arm and trying not to look into Julio's eyes. Julio on the other hand, just smiled brightly.
"How are you doing, Tío Bruno?"