Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Relationships:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2021-11-19
Completed:
2022-07-13
Words:
89,703
Chapters:
34/34
Comments:
1,180
Kudos:
8,562
Bookmarks:
1,548
Hits:
208,736

The Two Seers

Summary:

Having a gift doubled wasn’t the plan…

The family throwing the 5 year old out wasn’t the plan…

And taking care of said 5 year old who also has the same gift as him wasn’t the plan…

Or

An AU where Mirabel was also granted the gift of seeing into the future :)

Notes:

Get ready for some angst >:)

Enjoy!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Sudden Responsibility

Summary:

The ceremony of Bruno’s 4th niece doesn’t go as planned…

At all…

Chapter Text

“Sshh, we don’t want them to hear us.” Bruno whispers to his rat after the animal sneezed at some dust.

The rat nods, understanding what his owner means.

“Good.” Bruno says, putting the rat on his shoulder, before continuing his way through Casita.

Today was the day where his youngest niece, Mirabel, will finally get her gift. Since Bruno was also there for his older nephew and nieces’ ceremonies, he would definitely be there for Mira’s as well. Though it took quite a while sneaking through Casita while having to be awfully quiet, it was well worth it.

Luckily, Bruno makes it without any sound too loud. And just in time as well, as the ceremony begins. He’s hiding behind rose patterned curtains, making sure that he can see the ceremony while not getting caught

As usual, Alma tells the story of how Casita came to be and Pedro’s sacrifice to the townspeople. It goes on for quite a while, but finally, she turns the candle to Mirabel, giving her permission to hold it.

The girl can’t contain her excitement any more, and carefully takes the candle in her hands. As a result, the magic reacts, and creates her bedroom door. Her name gets written on the door first, but the illustration seems…familiar.

The illustration shows the girl standing behind what looks like an hourglass, hands spread exactly like a fortune teller would.

Then Bruno realizes it. It’s almost the exact illustration he has on his door…

No no no no! She can’t have the same gift as him! No one has ever shared a gift! Ever!

He hears his mother and Pepa gasp, indicating that something is wrong. It’s probably the illustration on the girl’s door. Bruno is sure of it. But then he hears the townspeople whisper to each other, as if something strange is happening.

Then Bruno sees it. When the 5 year old girl turns to her parents, he sees her eyes glowing a bright emerald green with huge black pupils, the exact same eyes he has when getting prediction.

No, this can’t be real…

The poor girl then gets a vision, a negative vision, given her saddened expression.

No one helps Mirabel as she’s going through the prediction, no one comforts her, no one holds her and tells her what her gift is. They all, including Julieta and Agustín, step back and gasp while they watch.

Bruno wants to step in, he wants to explain to Mirabel what her gift is and that he has it too. But then Alma will kick him out again, and will probably make sure he can’t enter Casita anymore.

He will definitely explain it to her another time, that’s a promise-

“BRUNO MADRIGAL!”

He jumps out of his skin at hearing his name being yelled by his mother, causing the rat on his shoulder to run away somewhere. Bruno sees her glaring daggers at him, before she walks sternly towards him, holding a tight grip on Mirabel’s arm.

Glancing at his niece for a moment, Bruno sees that she looks very confused and scared, not even knowing what her gift exactly is, and not even knowing why her abuela is dragging her.

His thoughts are cut off when he feels his ear being pulled harshly by his mother, dragging him along as he stumbles to keep up the pace. It’s when they’re outside did she finally let go of his ear.

Next, Bruno feels his mother’s palm being thrown to his face, catching him completely off guard.

He covers his hurting cheek with his hand, holding back tears. His gaze then falls on Mirabel, who’s eyes still glow emerald green.

She just saw that…

“Mamá, I-“

“You always ruin EVERYTHING!” Alma yells at her son, seeing red.

“Ma-“

“Your presence effected the magic, her ceremony!”

“It can’t!” Bruno is finally able to say without being cut off. “I was there at the other kids’ ceremonies before!”

“How dare you disobey me!” Alma yells, completely changing the subject. “We threw you out for a reason!”

“You know I can’t control my predictions!” he argues back, really wanting to bring up Pepa’s wedding as a point, until his gaze falls on Mirabel.

A horrible realization then comes to him.

“So… are you gonna throw her out too?”

Alma stays silent for a moment, trying to think of a response. In the end, she decides to answer bluntly.

“Yes.”

That single word shakes Bruno to his core. So, his mamá wasn’t only willing to throw him, her own son, out of the house, but her 5 year old granddaughter as well…

He looks at his niece again, and her expressions turn into one of shock and sadness. After just having her gift a few minutes ago, she’s being thrown out and now probably must live with an uncle she has never even seen.

And Julieta and Agustin are okay with this?! Did they sign a contract that they would agree to everything Alma will say or something?!

Bruno kneels down on the ground, making sure to get on Mirabel’s level.

“Everything will be fine, Mira.” He attempts to reassure his niece. Just then, Bruno’s eyes begin to glow the same emerald green, expecting a vision.

Mirabel sees it, and walks a bit closer to her uncle, feeling more comfortable around him knowing the area glows green around him too.

Bruno can see that his niece doesn’t understand her gift yet, that she probably only sees it as making green stuff move, but he will take her in, and teach her what it is, as well as how live with it.

The two predictors watch the surprisingly positive vision together, ignoring Alma’s glare.

•+•

The way through the forest to his house is filled with silence.

Bruno is walking in a slower pace, holding Mirabel’s hand as she carries her rolling briefcase.

After the drama outside, Julieta and Pepa heard what was going on, and quickly packed the 5 year old’s suitcase with her clothes and other stuff that was needed. Mirabel begged to stay with her mamá and papá and sisters, but Alma was insistent. Or rather…forcing the child…

Bruno glances at his niece again with a pang of sadness in his chest. It’s probably all too much for her. She might question why her family abandoned her, or what she did to be thrown out…

She may even blame herself for it…

“Tío Bruno?” Mirabel asks, looking at him as she walks along. “Will I see mamá and papá again?”

He stays silent for a moment, trying to think of an answer to give his niece.

“Of course you will.” Bruno eventually answers, sketching a smile.

It makes the girl feel a bit better, as her expression changes into what looks like a smile while she walks along

In reality though, he isn’t even certain if she’ll see her parents again, not after all this…

•+•

Taking care of a 5 year old child who also can see the future was…rather difficult.

But of course it was! She just got abandoned by her family on her ceremony day! Not to mention that she now had to live with an uncle she barely knew!

Currently, Bruno tries to sleep in the little night time he has left, hoping he won’t get any nightmares this time if he falls asleep.

He had to improvise on where Mirabel should sleep for the night, given that it was already 1 AM when they arrived at his house. So he decided that she could sleep on the couch for now. She was quite okay with it, surprisingly.

A few hours have passed since, and Bruno tries quite hard to just close his eyes and fall asleep, but he just couldn’t.

Then, he hears a soft knock on his bedroom door.

“Tío Bruno?” It’s Mirabel on the other end of the door. “I had a nightmare…”

Already?!

Bruno’s eyes snap open, and gets out of bed to open the door. When he does, Mirabel instantly runs up to him and hugs his leg, afraid of going to sleep again.

“Hey, it’s okay, niña.” Bruno reassures, getting down to his niece’s level again. “What was it about?”

Mirabel stays silent for a moment, still scared of her nightmare, but she eventually answers.

“Our toucan died…”

Oh no, it’s a sleep vision…

Those godforsaken sleep visions…

And Mirabel just had her first…

“Don’t worry about it, okey?” Bruno tries to reassure her again. “It’s just a sleep vision.”

Mirabel looks confused at that, not knowing what it means.

“It’s, well, something you dream that will happen.” he explains as best as he can.

“Wow!” Mirabel lets out of wonder, amazed by that fact, despite that she saw her family’s toucan dying.

“Now, go back to bed, Mira. Otherwise you’re gonna sleep the whole day.” Bruno says, picking Mirabel up and bringing her back to the couch.

“Sí, tío.” the girl answers as she crawls under her blanket. “Buenas noches!”

On his way back to his room, Bruno turns around at what his niece says, catching his attention.

“Buenas noches, niña.” he says with a warm smile, before stepping in his bedroom and closing the door.

•+•

The next day was where Bruno finally told Mirabel what her gift was.

They where picking berries and other food when the girl got another vision. It got quite intense for her, so Bruno had to find a way to explain it to her while also calming her down.

“Do you see those green people talking there?” He asks her, pointing at her vision. “That will happen in the future.”

Mirabel has to process for a bit what her tío means, given that her head is a bit aching, but she eventually gets it.

“I can see the future?” She asks with a big hopeful smile despite the intensity of her vision.

“Sí, you can!” Bruno answers, confirming the girl’s hopes. “That’s your gift!”

“Yay!” Mirabel cheers, jumping around for a bit.

The sight has the older Madrigal smiling, happy that she finally knows her own gift now. It clearly reminds Bruno of himself when he was 5. He was so happy that he could see the future, not knowing if the miserable consequences that would bite him…

“What’s your gift, tío Bruno?” the girl suddenly asks, looking up at her uncle.

It doesn’t take long for him to answer. “Well, I can see the future too, just like you.”

Mirabel almost doesn’t believe what she’s hearing. Her tío has the same gift as her! They can see the future together!

She runs up and hugs her uncle’s leg again, just as her vision ends. All though she’s curious as to why they have the same gift while others have different ones.

Bruno chuckles as he ruffles the girl’s hair. Yet, a part of him is worried. Worried that her visions may take a heavy tole on her as well, that she will grow to hate her gift over time like he had…

But that’s long ahead of them.

Now, she looks quite happy about it.

•+•

Having two seers, one of them being a child, live in a small house can be quite peaceful, yet hectic at the same time.

The latter being especially at night…

Sometimes, a wonderful vision can be triggered, but at a wrong time period.

“Tío Bruno, tío Bruno!” Mirabel calls out as she runs into her uncle’s bedroom, not noticing him sleeping. “I saw the sun shining!”

Bruno opens his eyes with difficulty, his sleep obviously being disturbed. Did this child even sleep properly?

“Go back to bed, Mira…” he says, turning over so his back is faced to her.

Luckily, Mirabel receives the message, and goes back to her couch-bed to lay and think about her vision.

When the morning arrives, the light is what wakes Bruno up. He sits up for a moment, before looking out the window.

And just like Mirabel predicted, the sun shines brightly in the sky.

•+•

And sometimes, they could be fooled by an horrendous nightmare.

“No!” Bruno wakes up, immediately sitting up on his bed, trembling and covered in sweat. He just woke from a nightmare, or a vision? He doesn’t even know!

But Bruno still remembers it clearly. He saw Mirabel, who was around 10 years older, dangling from many meters high, holding on to a small branch for dear life, looking extremely scared. He tried to reach her and grab her hand to pull her up, but she fell and-

That’s it, he needs to see her, just to check if she’s okay.

Bruno gets out of bed, walks to the door and quietly opens it. He carefully walks to the couch, making sure not to make too much noise that can wake Mirabel up. As he gets closer, he can see the sight of his niece sleeping safe and sound on the couch.

It calms Bruno down a bit, but the image of his vision or nightmare is still burned in his head.

He sits down at the other end of the couch, looking down at the ground in thought while holding back tears. He doesn’t want to lose her, not like his nightmare or vision framed it. But maybe it was a vision? Maybe it will come true in a decade?

Maybe? Maybe not? He can’t even tell!

Seeing the future can seriously mess with your head. Sometimes, Bruno can’t tell the difference between a nightmare or a night vision, just like now. Some visions could be so intense that it could cause a strong headache. And not to mention how brutal one could be…

And Mirabel still has to go through all of that…

Bruno buries his face in his hands as a tear slides down his cheek. He can’t do this all alone, he can’t take care of a future-seeing child all by himself while he already sees this world as a hellhole…

Can’t he just blow that candle out? Than all this misery will be solved for both Mirabel and him…

Damn his mother, damn his family…

“You okay?”

Those words cut him off from the train of miserable thoughts. Bruno turns his head a little, and sees Mirabel sitting next to him, having crawled out of bed once again, looking a bit concerned at him.

“Estoy bien...” Bruno answers, cracking a smile at his niece.

Mirabel doesn’t believe it though, and moves closer to hug her tío, trying to comfort him.

That almost melts Bruno’s worries away. He cracks a genuine warm smile at her before hugging her back.

Whatever struggle may cross their path, they will face it together, wether it’s a disturbing vision or something else.

The rest of their family can be damned for all Bruno cares.

Chapter 2: Moving Back

Summary:

When the small forest house becomes too filthy to live in, Bruno, after thinking about this many times, decided to move back to Casita with Mirabel.

Notes:

Decided to just make this a series😁

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Why do we leave home, Tío Bruni?” Mirabel asks him, confusing on why they are packing their things.

“Because, well, we can live somewhere better.” Bruno explains to the girl, before zipping a bag shut. “We’re…going back to Casita.”

In the year that has passed, the small house in the forest that they lived in became more and more unstable and covered with insects. Bruno was already struggling with his awful living conditions for Mirabel to grow up in, but the girl never even complained about it. The straw finally broke when insects started to invade the house, so he decided they should go back to Casita again. The living conditions there are at least better, and they will have proper food there.

But more selfishly, Bruno wants to see his family again, even if it was through a peephole.

Besides, Mirabel deserves to know and see the rest of her family.

The girl’s eyes widen at what her tío said, remembering how her abuela and mamá abandoned her. She doesn’t want to see them again! She just wants to stay here with her tío!

Bruno notices his niece’s uncomfortable yet sad look, and kneels down at her level. He doesn’t want her to think he’s leaving her there, or that she has to see her abuela.

“No te preocupes, Mira.” he reassures the girl. “We will hide from them so that they don’t know we’re there too.”

That seems to calm Mirabel’s nerves down a bit, as she cracks a smile at her tío.

“Bueno!” she says, before going to the couch to pack her stuffed animals.

As she does, a realization hits Bruno. His niece never even asked about her parents or sisters, if they still loved her and want to see her again. They will obviously go back to Casita tonight, and she clearly still remembers them, so why doesn’t she ask about them…?

But maybe Mirabel will someday. Honestly, Bruno is certain she will.

Right now though, they will get ready to move in a better living environment.

Or rather, hide…

•+•

After having packed everything, and after making sure no visions would disturb them and Casita, Bruno and Mirabel where on their way.

It was quite dark outside, but that was expected of the night. So Bruno held his niece’s hand to make sure she stayed with him.

After having walked for a little less then an hour, they finally came face to face with Casita once again after a year.

Not wanting to see the big house, Mirabel hides behind her tío’s leg, not wanting to go inside in fear of seeing her mean abuela again.

“Está bien, Mira.” Bruno reassures her, taking her hand into his. “I know how we can sneak in the house.”

He walks to the front door of the house, taking Mirabel with him as Casita carefully opens it. It catches Bruno a bit by surprise, but the duo continue making their way.

They quickly get passed the large square area of Casita that was the courtyard, silently yet quickly walk towards the painting next to Dolores’ room, where the secret passage ways begin. Bruno looks around and scans the area for a few seconds, making sure no one sees them, before opening the small door and gently pushing Mirabel through it, before following her and closing the painting.

“Stay with me, okay Mira?” Bruno says, holding her hand again as they walk through the dark passage way.

“Sí.” she answers, looking at the dark brown walls.

As the duo are walking their way, Bruno notices some cracks in the walls, though they aren’t that huge, but still big enough to notice. It makes his grip on his niece’s hand tighter.

Oh, he already starts to regret this…

“Where are we going?” Mirabel asks her tío, looking up at him.

“I don’t know yet.” he answers honestly, glancing at his niece. “We will find somewhere to stay, okay?”

In truth, Bruno doesn’t know if there are even secret rooms in Casita. He only ever used these secret passage ways when he was a child, but he never saw any hidden rooms there.

If there aren’t, well, they have to hide in his room, with a lot of stairs, something that Mira will probably find exhausting.

They continue traveling through the passage ways for about 10 more minutes, until Bruno finally spots something that looks like a room. He sees a glimpse of a yellow-ish comfortable-looking armchair through a dooropening, looking like a room.

Finally, they have found something.

“Mira, there it is.” Bruno says to the 6 year old girl, but when he looks at her, he sees that Mirabel is obviously tired from the whole night. So, he scoops her up in his right arm, before continuing the small distance left.

Having walked in the room, Bruno carefully puts his niece on the armchair, placing the suitcase and bags with their stuff on the floor before leaning on the edge of the armchair, keeping an eye on Mirabel as he processes where they actually are now.

They are in Casita again, with the rest of the family.

They have made it…

Analyzing the room a little bit, Bruno sees a couch and another armchair with a small table in front. A small shelve is placed against the wall with a few books on it. All while a soft light is glowing from the lamp hanging above. And it’s very close to the kitchen as well.

It’s obviously an old room, yet it looks nice.

They can live in here for awhile.

Looking back at Mirabel again, Bruno sees that she’s halve asleep at this point. He can’t blame her though, the night was full of walking and staying awake anyways. He proceeds to grab a blanket from out of the bag and covers her with it to keep her warm.

“Buenas noches niña.” Bruno says as he gives her her favorite stuffed animal.

“Buenas noches papá…”

Bruno freezes. No, there’s no way Mirabel knowingly said that. She clearly remembers her parents, and she’s half asleep anyways.

But…why does it tear so deeply into him? He only looks after her for, well, how long his mamá needs him to, even though it has been a year already with no visits whatsoever…

It’s then when Bruno realizes his attempt at convincing himself utterly fail. He had taken care of a child all by himself for over a year. He has been basically raising Mirabel in that time.

And just a few seconds ago, she called him Papá.

Bruno tries to hold back tears, yet they escape anyways. He thought he will never feel this happy again after his mamá kicked him out, but he is now.

As long as he’s here with Mirabel, his hija, he will be.

Notes:

Spanish translations:
-No te preocupes = don’t worry
-hija = daughter
-bueno = okey
-Está bien = It’s okey
-Buenas noches = goodnight

Chapter 3: Adapting

Summary:

While adapting to their new living involvement, Bruno gets homesick and wants to see his family again.

Mirabel disagrees.

Notes:

Here I am with a new TTS chapter!

Have our two favorite seers struggle with family issues :)

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“So, what are our rules for living here?” Bruno asks his niece-, no, daughter.

“Talk quietly, only grab food at night, and don’t be seen.” Mirabel recites.

“Exactly!” he says with a smile.

The day after they have moved into the room behind the kitchen, Bruno thought of and explained some basic rules to Mirabel, to insure they won’t be found. The girl luckily understood those rules quite fast, but Bruno had to keep in mind that it would be difficult for a 6 year old to remember them.

As for adapting to living in the small room, Mirabel took it surprisingly well. Though, she panicked a little upon waking up, asking her papá were they where, clinging to him as she did. Luckily, Bruno was able to explain everything from the previous day and night calmly, which calmed the girl down. Since then, Mira had adapted pretty well.

Though she did ask him if they where going to stay here this time, to which Bruno confirmed that they would.

“Now, we should-“ he says, about to grab two arepas for them to eat for lunch, but is cut off by Mirabel.

“Or abuela throws us out…” the girl says in a afraid tone, along with such an expression, remembering the night of her ceremony again.

“Oh no no no! Don’t think that.” Bruno says, reassuring her, putting a gently hand on her shoulder. “We will make sure she won’t see us.”

Mirabel gazes away for a second, unsure if she believes what her papá says. Her mean abuela is around and in this house, after all. But in the end, she decides to believe him, and meets his gaze again with a small smile.

“Sí papá.”

Bruno gives her a warm smile back, before giving her an arepa to eat for lunch.

•+•

That night, Bruno felt quite homesick from his family. He wanted to be with them, hug them again, talk with them again. He wanted to be around them again as if those gifts didn’t matter anymore, just like when he and his sisters where before they got their gifts…

He just…missed them so badly…

When he put Mirabel to bed (she still sleeps in a chair though), he silently sits at the small table they will probably use to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at, facing the wall where the kitchen is. Bruno looks at a peephole that’s in the wall, seeing the kitchen and the big dinner table in the middle through it.

At least he can see the rest of his family now, though they don’t know that both he and Mirabel are here…

A realization then hits him.

Bruno shifts in his chair, turning his gaze back to his adopted daughter who’s sleeping safe and sound. How will she look at the rest of her family in the future? Is she going to forget about them? Will she resent them in the future for abandoning her? Will she become interested in them, and will want to talk to them too?

Bruno honestly doubts the last possibility. Mirabel obviously looked afraid at even the thought of Alma, not to mention that she calls him papá now.

However…he can’t just replace Julieta and Agustin. Mirabel deserves to know her two biological parents who took care of her for 5 years, as well as the rest of their family…

But he will see how things are gonna go.

•+•

The next day arrived again, which ment time for breakfast.

“Buenos días papá!” Mirabel greets as she approaches Bruno, who’s already sitting at the table, obviously having slept well.

“Buenos días Mira.” Bruno says back, already having stolen food from the kitchen for them to eat as breakfast. It isn’t much, only a few tamales and two glasses of milk for them to eat and drink. “Did you have any night visions?”

“Sí!” Mirabel answers excitedly, implying it was a positive vision this time, before climbing on the chair at the right side of the table, having the wall at her right. “I saw a cat and kitties! And…”

While he listens to the girl’s story about her vision, Bruno looks out of the peephole, seeing the rest of their family eating breakfast happily.

“What do you see?” Mirabel asks him, noticing him looking at something.

Bruno snaps out of his thoughts and trance, turning back to face the 6 year old girl again.

“Oh, uhm…” he doesn’t know how to explain it to her. He had promised her that they would hide from Alma and the rest, yet here he’s watching them being happy. But…he can’t lie to her. “I’m…watching how your madre and padre and sisters are doing. You want to see them?”

Mirabel goes quiet, only shaking her head as a no, before taking a bite from her cheese-filled tamale.

Bruno can see the sheer uncomfortable look in her eyes as Mira chews her food. She doesn’t even want to see them…

Is the memory of her ceremony that tainted for her…?

You are my papá.” Mirabel suddenly says, having swallowed her food.

Bruno is caught by surprise by that sentence, yet it hits him straight in the heart. Did she just say out loud that he’s her papá, as if she saw him as such her entire life? No, he refuses to believe she already forgot about Julieta and Agustin and her sisters.

The only logical conclusion Bruno can come up with is that Mirabel does remember them, at least now, but she simply doesn’t want to see them, the memories of her ceremony instantly jumping in her small mind…

He really hopes it’s something temporarily, but he doubts that…

“Sí.” Bruno simply says, giving the girl a warm smile, before deciding to just change the subject. “You want to know what I saw in my sleep?”

“Sí! Sí!” Mirabel cheers, her smile and cheerfulness returning.

He chuckles, before telling the story of his night vision.

The memory of the rest of their family may taint Mira now, but he will try to let her see the positives about them.

At least he will try.

Notes:

Spanish translations:
-Buenos días = good morning
-Sí = yes

Chapter 4: The Food-Bringer

Summary:

When Mira gets quite sick, Bruno tries everything to make her feel better, but nothing works…

Eventually, someone decides to help them.

Notes:

Angst alert!!!🚨

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter Text

A few more days have passed since Bruno and Mirabel have moved into Casita again, and everything went pretty good. Sure, it may get lonely from time to time (for Bruno at least), and the room they stay in might be a bit small, but life was pretty good for them!

Until something came up…

It’s in the early hours of the morning when Bruno hears Mirabel coughing rapidly, while being in the middle of a vision. He instantly tries to snap out of the prophesy, not caring anymore what it is about, only wanting to check up on his daughter.

When the vision is finally finished, Bruno immediately goes to the girl’s side, who’s laying on her right side in her bed/armchair, barely being able to keep her eyes open. It’s obviously she has just woken up.

“Are you okay, Mira?” he asks the girl, kneeling in front of her to be on her level after getting her to sit up, leaning against a pillow on the side. Bruno can already see crystal clear that Mirabel isn’t okay, but he can’t help but ask.

She only shakes her head a little. “My head hurts…”

He analyzes her for a moment, suspecting that a heavy vision will come up. But surprisingly, given Mirabel’s coughing fit and tired state, that isn’t the case.

Yup, she’s sick…

Of course, it wasn’t the first time Mirabel didn’t feel well. She had a cold when it was winter, and had a few stomach bugs back when they lived in the forest. But it was never this bad…

“Okay, okay, uhm…” Bruno tries to think of something he can do to make his daughter feel better, while panicking inside.

Then, his eyes land on a arepa that’s laying on the table.

Bruno quickly grabs it, sits on the couch next to her, and gives it to Mirabel for her to eat. Sure this still has enough poten to heal her, right? It has to! Julieta made it!

Unfortunately, after having taken three bites of the arepa, Mirabel still looks as sick as a dog. And it doesn’t help that she has a coughing fit after having swallowed her third bite…

Oh no…

“Hey hey, keep breathing, okay.” Bruno says, trying to hide the panic in his voice, while patting her back.

He doesn’t know how, but Mirabel’s coughing calms down after less then a minute. Oh thank goodness she didn’t choke on a piece of food…

That ordeal has made the girl even more tired, and eventually falls asleep, leaning against her papá’s right side. Bruno notices, and smiles at the sight, relived that nothing bad has happend to her.

They stay like that until Mira wakes up.

•+•

As the day went on, Mirabel didn’t get any better.

The headache she got in the morning didn’t go away, plaguing her throughout the noon. Her coughing fits where luckily less, only having had two. Though her tiredness went away too.

Bruno tried everything he could to make Mirabel feel better. He made sure she drank more, pressed something cold against her forehead, and even gave her some coffee that was left over. Fresh food was off limits for them at the moment, since Alma and the others where in Casita right now.

He tried everything that could possibly work, but nothing really did anything…

And it didn’t help that the 6 year old girl is going through a vision at this moment…

Right now, Bruno is holding a crying Mirabel in his arms, her eyes glowing green as she feels like her head is gonna split in half.

“Someone, please help…” Bruno quietly begs, while trying to comfort his adopted daughter. He knows she won’t die from her headache and coughing fits, he would’ve ran to Alma and Julieta begging for help if that was the case, but he can’t bare seeing Mirabel like this…

Then, fifteen minutes later, it’s like his plead has been answered.

In front of an open crack in the wall, just big enough to get an arm through, lays a warm empanada, with a note that reads; “I hope she gets better.”.

At first, Bruno feels suspicious about this. The empanada may be poinoned, but why does anyone want to poison a 6 year old girl? Maybe one of the townspeople? Wait, no, they only visit Casita when there’s a ceremony.

He doesn’t give it any more thought, as he just grabs the empanada and gives it to Mirabel for her to eat. And surprisingly, after only twenty seconds, she’s happy and cured!

“Gracias Papá.” the 6 year old girl says, hugging him.

Bruno hugs his daughter back, already forgetting the strange ordeal. He’s just glad she doesn’t suffer anymore.

•+•

Over the course of the next week, notes and food and water would appear in front of the same crack.

One time, Bruno read a note saying; “I know you didn’t mean to break Teo and Carla up.”.

He instantly knows what the note means. When he still was with his family going to town to help the people, he got a prediction for a young couple. Bruno saw that the two would break up within a week, and told them. It ended with him receiving a slap from the woman before the couple stormed off. His his vision wasn’t wrong…

Or one time when Mira and him couldn’t have breakfast because they had ran out of food. The girl’s stomach growled loudly out of hunger because of it. And within an half hour, a plate of huevos pericos appeared through the same wall crack, with a note that read; “Disfrute de su comida.”.

Mirabel already called whoever was bringing them this “the food-bringer”.

It’s then that Bruno realizes that someone of the family knows he and Mirabel are in Casita…

He silently panics as he reads the note over and over again. Who? Who is the one that knows?! Will whoever it is tell Alma? Or will whoever it is keep it a secret?

It’s driving Bruno crazy at the moment, but he manages to keep calm.

At first, he suspects that it has to be Julieta that knows. Who else can heal people with her freshly baked and cooked food? But the longer he thinks about it, the more he doubts his suspicion.

No, he now knows who it must be. Bruno knows which Madrigal will sometimes give him and Mira food and notes when they need it. There’s no doubt anymore.

That person knows they are here…

Chapter 5: One Knows

Summary:

How the food-bringer found out…

Notes:

Man, this was probably the longest chapter I’ve written😅

Hope you enjoy it!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Dolores, can you bring your brother to bed, please?” Pepa asks her oldest child.

It only takes the 13 year old girl one glance to see that her mother is in a sad mood again, obviously missing Julieta. Though she would’ve done it anyways regardless. “Of course, mamá.”

She then walks over to the windowsill in the living room where Camilo is looking out of the window, already in pajamas, obviously waiting for someone.

Dolores’ expression changes into a sad one. Her 6 year old little brother had been looking out of that window every evening for a year now, waiting for the moment their youngest prima would return. Camilo was, and still is, too young to understand what went on last year, and why Mira was gone.

The 13 year old still hasn’t found the heart to tell him the reason as to why…

“Camilo, It’s time for bed.” Dolores says in her whisper-ish tone, yet loud enough for the 6 year old to hear.

“Bueno...” Camilo only says, not looking away from the window. It’s only when Dolores takes his hand and gently drags him with her that he does.

The siblings make their way towards the magical rooms just above the courtyard, passing various rooms before reaching the young shapeshifter’s. Dolores grabs the doorknob before opening the door, revealing a almost theatre-like room.

She walks over to the bed, still guiding her little brother with her, before tugging him in.

“Dolly?” Camilo says, sitting up with half the covers over his lower half. “When will Mira come back?”

Dolores doesn’t immediately answer, and stays silent for a while instead. Her little brother has asked that question countless times, yet she still struggles to answer it properly…

“Of course she will… Some day.” she eventually answers, reassuring her younger brother. “Tía Julieta and Tío Agustin, Isabela and Luisa try their best to find her and bring her back, okay?”

But Camilo isn’t done with asking questions.

“What gift does Mira have?”

Once again, Dolores doesn’t answer immediately, but rather tries to think of a response to give. If she’s completely honest, she doesn’t know what Mirabel’s gift exactly is either. She only remembers the girl’s door illustration, which is pretty much the same as tío Bruno’s, but that can mean anything! Maybe Mirabel can see the past? Or she can also see the future like their tío? The 13 year old doesn’t know!

“I…I don’t know…” Dolores answers truthfully, looking away from her younger brother for a moment, before looking back at him. “But…one day, she will be back.”

Camilo looks at his older sister with big eyes. “Promise?”

She hesitates for a moment, thinking this through again. She really doesn’t want to let her baby brother down, especially not after his best friend and prima was pretty much ripped away from him.

“Promise.” Dolores finally says with a smile. “Now, time to sleep, before mamá will let it thunder outside.”

“Okay!” Camilo complies, pulling the covers over himself immediately. “Buenas noches, Dolly!”

“Buenas noches, niño.” Dolores whispers, before walking towards the door to leave the room. She steps outside, looking behind her one last time to check if her little brother lays in his bed, before quietly closing the door.

•+•

Strangely enough, Dolores couldn’t sleep that night.

Right now, she finds herself wide awake in the middle of the night, 2 a’clock to be exact. No matter how long she tries to close her eyes, she just couldn’t fall asleep. It’s rather quiet at the moment, so Dolores can’t hear any noises that may bother her ears.

Until she hears…footsteps?

She lets out a “Hm”, and sits up from her sleeping position. She then cups her left ear to try and focus on where those footsteps are coming from.

They seem to come from downstairs…inside the walls? Dolores can’t quite place it yet.

“Where are we going?” she then suddenly hears from the same location. It sounds like the voice of a little girl, and her voice sounds so familiar, but the 13 year old just can’t think as to who.

“I don’t know yet. But we will find somewhere to stay, okay?” she then hears.

Yup, that’s Tío Bruno. That voice definitely belongs to Tío Bruno.

A lot of questions burst into Dolores’ mind. Why is he here? Wasn’t he exiled for his prophecies? Had he taken Mira with him-

Then it dawns on her.

That voice of the little girl she just heard was Mirabel

It just had to be her! Tío Bruno took her in after that whole ordeal at her ceremony! He would never abandon the kid!

Dolores refuses to believe that.

Both her and Isabela where only 6 when their tío was exiled, but she could still somewhat remember what he was like. She could remember him being the one that helped her deal with her super-hearing after her (quite traumatizing) ceremony. As well as remembering him looking after her and Isabela when their parents went to help the townspeople.

So the 13 year old girl knows her tío would never have the audacity to abandon a kid, let alone his own niece. Especially with him knowing that said niece was basically thrown out for her gift too…

Dolores just decided to lay down again, trying to sleep, but her curiosity gets the best of her, and just listens to the sounds she’s able to hear.

For a while, she only heard her tío and Mirabel’s footsteps echoing through her ears. It appears to stop for a few seconds, before Bruno says to his youngest niece that they have finally found a room to live in. The footsteps then continue, though at a quicker pace.

After what sounds like bags hitting the floor, silence hit again, and for quite a while too. Dolores guesses that the two already have dozed off to sleep, but she’s only half right, as she hears her tío wishing Mira goodnight.

The 13 year old expects that the night will be quiet again, that her tío and youngest prima have come back to Casita and will probably show their faces tomorrow, or some time in the future.

Until…

“Buenas noches papá…”

Dolores’ eyes snap wide open again. Oh no no no! Mira can’t recognize their tío Bruno as her dad already! She can’t! It has only been a year, so she must still remember Tía Julieta and Tío Agustin as her parents, right? And how long has Mira seen him as her papá? Surely not long!

If only tía Julieta and tío Agustin find out after they get back to Casita. They will be heartbroken once they do.

The former will probably poison him for it, heal him back to life, and then poison him again. The superhearing girl can already imagine it.

And not to mention that they, along with Isabela and Luisa, are currently looking for their youngest family member…

She has to tell them this, she has to tell Camilo that his best friend is back, she-

A lot of thoughts and questions run through Dolores’ mind, almost overwhelming her. Luckily, she’s able to calm her mind down by taking a few deep breaths.

From then on, a strong silence hangs in the air. So strong, that even the superhearing girl doesn’t hear a thing.

It starts to make Dolores doubt…

Maybe…she’s going crazy? Maybe she was just dreaming what she just heard?

She doesn’t know anymore.

In the end, Dolores decides to just try and fall asleep again now that there’s silence.

She will hear tomorrow if she has gone crazy.

•+•

Turns out, the next day proved that she hasn’t gone crazy.

It’s late in the morning when Dolores hears her tío Bruno greet Mira a good morning, before eating their breakfast.

She lets out a deep breath as she opens one of her fashion books, wanting to quietly look for some outfits she might like.

At least she’s now reassured that her ears weren’t deceiving her last night.

But…her concern and worry for Tía Julieta and Tío Agustin still grasps her mind. They will come back to Casita this evening to eat dinner with the entire familia, so she has to tell them about what she had heard last night, right? Isabela and Luisa deserve to know too.

And what about Camilo? She had promised her little brother yesterday that Mira would be back someday. And she now has the chance to tell him she’s back right now, living behind the walls! He would be so happy!

Even though tío Bruno and Mirabel are obviously trying to hide to remain close to them, they still deserve to know…

•+•

The evening arrived quite quickly.

Julieta’s side of the family have finally come back to Casita, to which Alma and Pepa and the rest greeted them with hugs and asking if they have found Mira yet, before being dragged inside to eat dinner.

When they all sit at the table with their food, Dolores notices that it’s pretty quiet from inside the walls to her surprise, which only makes it easier for her to tell her familia everything.

Though, the only problem she faces right now is that they’re talking pretty loudly…

“Uhm, Tía Julieta?” Dolores says in her whispering tone, trying to get her tía’s attention, but she doesn’t hear her. Taking a closer look at her and Agustin, the superhearing girl notices their saddened expressions, which only motivates her more to tell.

But won’t tío Bruno and Mira get kicked out again if she does? Abuela Alma already shunned both of them, so what will stop her from doing it a third time? She will probably make sure both won’t be able to enter Casita again, leaving them to fend for themselves. All because of their gifts…

It then sinks in to her, they’re hiding

“Sí, Dolores?” the 13 year old snaps out of her thoughts at the sound of her tía’s voice. “You wanted to say something?”

Dolores quickly thinks it through again, and finally makes the decision.

“Oh, uhm…never mind.” she says, gazing at her plate.

Julieta nods in response, still with the same saddened expression on her face, before turning to Isabela to say something.

Dolores stares at her plate of food while everyone talks, drowning in her thoughts. She almost told them, she almost gave away her tío and prima’s hiding space and secret…

It isn’t too late to tell her familia anyways, she can tell them literally any time, but it just feels…wrong. She understands her tío and prima’s situation, and understands the feeling of disliking your own gift. They didn’t deserve to be thrown out because of that…

It’s then that Dolores decides to keep their secret…

Lo siento, Camilo…

•+•

As time goes by, it became a bit difficult for Dolores to act normal in the eyes of her familia while hearing Bruno and Mira talk through the walls.

Such as the morning right after, when they where eating breakfast…

“Buenos dias, mija!” Pepa greets her daughter as she walks towards the table, placing Camilo who she was holding in her arms on a chair before taking a seat herself. “Did you sleep well?”

“Huh?” Dolores lets out, snapping her gaze from her plate to her mother. She was just busy listening to Tío Bruno explaining Mirabel a few rules he had come up with. “I-I slept well, mamá.”

Pepa does notice the little stutter. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing, mamá.” The 13 year old answers, trying to keep a normal tone. “Estoy bien.”

“Bueno.” Pepa says as she puts a cheese-filled tamale on Camilo’s plate. “But you know you can tell me anything.”

Dolores nods in response. “Lo sé mamá.”

A comfortable silence then hangs in the air, though she feels a heavy weight being lifted off her shoulders.

•+•

It was the next morning when Dolores found out how Mira felt about her parents…

She’s eating her breakfast when she hears the conversation. After having greeted each other good morning, Mira tells her tío Bruno all about what vision she saw in her dreams. She talks about a cat having kittens? Dolores guesses that her prima means the cat of the Hoyo family, since, well, that’s the only cat she ever sees around town. But how she will get kittens will remain a mystery until the girl’s prophesy comes true.

Apparently, tío Bruno is looking at something else, so Mirabel asks him what he sees. His answer catches the superhearing girl off guard a bit.

“I’m…watching how your madre and padre and sisters are doing. You want to see them?”

So he does attempt to inform Mirabel about her actual parents, which probably means that her calling him Papá a few days ago was small slip up. She sounded half asleep anyways.

It’s then silent for a little while behind the walls, which makes room in Dolores’ hearing for her familia talking about how they slept well and other stuff, though she tries to ignore that. It isn’t interesting anyways.

Then, Mirabel breaks the silence behind the walls.

You are my papá.”

Dolores almost spits her drink out at that. What? Why does Mira refuse to see tía Julieta and tío Agustin as her parents? She knows that they are, because tío Bruno brought it up! So why-

“Dolores, are you alright?” Félix asks his daughter, having noticed her almost choking on her drink.

“S-sí, I am…” she answers, wiping away some water that’s dripping down her cheeks. “I’m fine.”

Deep down though, she’s nervous and worried about the future, about what it may have in store for their familia…

•+•

It was three days later when something went wrong…

Dolores wakes up from what sounds like someone having a coughing fit. Still feeling sleepy, she rolls over on her back, giving both her ears room to hear properly.

Yup, it’s Mirabel who coughs rapidly…

Apparently, she has gotten a headache too, which the girl tells after Bruno asks her if she’s okey.

Dolores guesses and hopes that her youngest prima will be better in a few hours, and that the coughing and headache have already faded by that time.

•+•

She was wrong…

She was so, so wrong…

The early morning slowly changed into noon, and Mirabel still hadn’t been healed…

It’s right after they all have eaten lunch when Dolores hears it, the distressed cries of her youngest prima. It breaks her heart having to hear them. Mira is obviously in pain, horrible pain, with nothing in her or tío Bruno’s reach that can help her…

“Someone, please help…” Dolores then hears her tío Bruno say, no, beg.

That’s it! She’s going to do something about it!

The superhearing girl then leaves the living room, heading straight to the dining area. Luckily, no one is there to see what she will be doing. Dolores then snoops around in the pantry, and finds a plate with empanada that are still warm. She grabs one, and puts it on a different plate, ready to give it to her sick prima. But not after writing a small note wishing her well.

It’s all ready, but Dolores can’t find at least a hole or door to give it to Mira. How did she and tío Bruno get inside the walls in the first place? Surely through some secret door or whatever!

Then, an open crack in the wall, nearly reaching the floor, catches her attention. It probably isn’t big enough to get a plate through, but small portions of food can!

Having taken a deep breath, Dolores goes and kneels in front of the small opening, and sticks her hand with the note and empanada through, dropping the items before retreating her hand.

She really hopes that this will work…

And just like that, after only less then a minute, she hears Mirabel laugh again.

Dolores let’s out a sigh of relieve. Thank goodness, it worked…

•+•

After realizing how hard the future seers’ living situation actually was, she decided to help them out more.

That, and also because Dolores just couldn’t keep that secret all to herself.

Like one time, when she and her familia visited the town. She accidentally overheard a conversation between two woman. One of the two, who’s named Carla, confessed that she missed her ex boyfriend, and blamed Bruno for the break-up.

The superhearing girl just couldn’t resist reassuring her tío that it wasn’t his fault, so she slipt a note through the open crack telling him that.

Or one time when she heard Mirabel’s stomach growl loudly at 5 in the morning, and tío Bruno explaining to her that they couldn’t eat breakfast because they didn’t have food anymore. As quietly as she could, Dolores went to the kitchen early in the morning (with help from Casita, and grabbed enough huevos pericos that would feed both uncle and niece enough until evening, once again placing the plate of food through the crack (the plate could get through). And once again, Dolores left a note wishing them to enjoy their meal.

It felt so good to help her uncle and prima out, but guilt always hit her when looking each time at her tía Julieta…

As Dolores sits in the living room all alone, a wave of guilt and shame overcomes her again. Her tía and tío have tried desperately hard to find their third daughter with no result, they even will continue their search for her next week. But they have no idea that their third daughter is currently with them right now…

The thought makes Dolores want to tell them the truth, but she can’t. Abuela will kick both Mira and tío Bruno out, and sweep it under the rug again like she had last year…

Oh, she can still remember the hell that was the year before…

Notes:

Spanish translations:
-bueno = okey
-Buenas noches = goodnight
-niño = kid
-lo siento = I’m sorry
-Buenos dias = goodmorning
-Estoy bien = I’m fine
-Lo sé = I know
-

Chapter 6: The Year Before

Summary:

The year that Mirabel was send away was difficult one for the Madrigals…

Notes:

Mirabel wasn’t the only one that Alma screwed over…

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

“Pepa, I don’t think we should do this.” Julieta says, unsure of what to do as her sister finds a suitcase in the nursery’s drawer.

“You know what mamá has asked us.” Pepa says in a rush of a response, opening the suitcase before quickly going to the wardrobe to pack Mirabel’s stuff. She’s only pointing out the fact, though she doesn’t defend their mother’s actions or reasoning.

“But she’s my daughter…” Julieta argues. “W-we shouldn’t send her away…”

Pepa stops in her tracks of packing at hearing her sister so unsure and upset, and goes to comfort her.

”I understand how you about all of this, I don’t agree with it either!” Yes, she has told their mother how absurd her logic was, to send a 5 year old girl away right after her ceremony, but Alma shut that argument down immediately and just told them to pack Mira’s stuff. “But…mamá only wants to protect our familia and the town, our home. Having negative prophesies around won’t do that.”

Julieta only listens and nods in response. Her head stings, and she can’t think clearly enough to argue furthermore.

“And she isn’t going with a stranger or anything. Bruno will take care of her.” Pepa says, letting a bitter tone slip saying her brother’s name. He may have ruined her wedding with a prophesy, but he was at least good with caring for her children and nieces.

“Do you think she will remember me…?” Julieta asks, still unsure. “…remember Agustin and her sisters?”

“Julieta, she has known you and Agustin as her parents, of course she will.”

That seems to calm the healer’s mind a little, though she still isn’t able to think clearly. Everything is just too much for her at this point,

“Bueno, bueno…” Julieta says, trying to get at least some of her thoughts together.

Pepa stays silent for a moment, not knowing what to say, only putting a gentle hand on her sister’s shoulder. “We should…pack her stuff.”

“Sí…” Julieta only says, before going to the wardrobe to get her youngest daughter’s clothes.

Yet, something in her gut disagrees, but she does it anyways…

•+•

“But I want to stay!” Mirabel begs, almost cries, having finally understood what’s going to happen. She clings to her mother, desperately trying to stay with her. “Don’t leave me!”

Julieta can feel her heart break in a thousand pieces at her daughter’s pleads, hugging her tightly. She doesn’t want to let her go, she really doesn’t.

The healer gazes at her brother, who looks utterly unsure and sad for his niece. Surely there is a way to resolve this without sending anyone away. Surely their mamá doesn’t mean this.

But when Julieta shifts her gaze to her mother, she can see she’s serious and persistent about this, almost glaring…

“Tío Bruno will take good care if you, okay?” the healer says, pulling her daughter away to look at her. “We won’t leave you, mija. We promise…”

“And we will never forget you.” Agustin adds, giving his daughter a reassuring smile.

Mirabel slowly nods, tears streaming down her face as she looks at her mother. Then, Alma decides to just get this over with, and grabs the girl’s hand, leading her to Bruno so they can leave.

Julieta reaches out to her youngest daughter as she’s led to her tío. It’s then that the healer realizes that, yes, Alma is serious…

As Bruno slowly turns around and starts walking away, guiding Mirabel with him, he makes sure that his niece can properly say bye to her parents. And she kinda does, waving at her parents until she can’t see them anymore.

While Alma quickly goes inside Casita, Julieta, Agustin, Pepa and Félix watch the two seers walk further away from them until they’re out of sight…

•+•

It wasn’t until the next day that Julieta fully realized what she let happen…

She’s currently at the small dinner table that’s near her kitchen in her room, finally able to gather her thoughts together clearly, staring down at her empty cup of coffee.

She let her youngest daughter, her baby, be send away last night…

With a tío she didn’t even know…

On her ceremony day…

Right after having received her gift…

Tears start to burn in Julieta’s eyes. She should’ve done more to try and stop her mamá from going through with it. She should’ve stood up for her daughter properly, and try to find another solution…

The healer can’t even remember what gift Mira had gotten…

Her mamá was pretty furious when she saw Bruno, even yelling out his name for everyone to hear before dragging him and Mira out of the room to somewhere, so maybe he had something to do with it? Maybe the magic got effected by his presence?

Julieta sighs, holding her head in her hands. It all doesn’t matter in the end. She failed to stand up for her daughter, letting her be given away instead. Her mamá and Pepa may say that it’s for the best, for the family and the town, but she doesn’t see it anymore…

“Julieta?” it’s Agustin, standing at the other side of the small table. “Should we eat breakfast here?”

She slowly gazed at her husband, wiping her tears away. “Sí…”

In all honesty, Julieta doesn’t want to face anyone right now, especially Alma. She was the one who basically dragged Mirabel out of the house…

Agustin nods, holding his wife’s hand to comfort her a little, before leaving the room to get their two oldest daughters.

It feels like an eternity being alone in her room. Julieta doesn’t feel ready to explain this whole situation to her children yet, to explain that their little sister had to go somewhere else, and that they won’t see her for awhile…

Eventually, her door opens again.

“Buenos dias, mamá!” Isabela greets as she and Luisa walk through the door, towards the small table where they then sit at.

“Buenos dias, mijas…” Julieta greets as cheerful as she can, though she quite failed at it.

“Mamá, what’s wrong?” Isabela asks, noticing her mother’s saddened tone. The 12 year old girl doesn’t even turn her head for the delicious cayeyes her father puts on the table.

“Were’s Mira?” Luisa then asks, looking around the table, wondering where her little sister is.

Julieta panics inside. Félix had send all the children to bed last night, so they didn’t see where their youngest sister and cousin was going or what happend…

Gosh, she can’t explain it to them…

“She’s…uhm…” the healer tries to start, but just can’t find the words. “Mira…isn’t in Casita anymore…”

Isabela and Luisa look at each other in confusion, not instantly getting what their mother means.

“So Mira is in the village?” Luisa asks, assuming her sister will be back to eat with them.

Isabela however, catches up quite quickly…

“Mamá, where is she?” she asks frantically, panic showing in her eyes. “Where is our hermana?”

It’s then that Julieta takes a deep breath, preparing herself to tell her daughters the entire situation.

“Your abuela has send her to live with tío Bruno last night…” she finally gets it out, not being able to look at her daughters.

It stays silent for a moment, both Isabela and Luisa processing the shocking information that’s just given to them. Until Isabela breaks it.

“What…?” she asks, barely believing what she just heard. No, this can’t be true! Mirabel just received her gift last night! She should be here with them, practicing her magic!

But…why would abuela send her away…?

Isabela then leaves the table, walking out of her parents’ room towards the dining area where she knows her abuela is. She doesn’t care much noise she makes that can wake someone up. She only wants answers.

“Abuela?” the flower girl asks upon entering the dining area of Casita. Tía Pepa, tío Félix, Dolores and Camilo are in the room as well, but Isabela doesn’t care. “Abuela, why did you send Mira away?”

The question is straight-forward, as intended.

Alma is taken aback by the question of her oldest granddaughter, feeling her heart beating in her chest a bit. She had already planned to tell her grandchildren about Mirabel in the afternoon, but now that Luisa (and Agustin) has just entered the dining area too, having all the children together, she might as well tell them now.

“Yesterday night, at her ceremony, your tío was there too, watching from afar.” Alma starts, having nearly everyone’s eyes on her. “He must’ve had affected the magic, he must’ve affected her ceremony, because…” she pauses, trying to find her words. “Mira got a…very similar gift as him…” the room fills with a strained silence, mostly from the children processing their abuela’s words. “So, to protect the town and our familia, we have decided to send her to live with your tío.”

Hearing those words, hearing that their little sister and cousin has been send away just like that, and not even knowing when they will see her again…

All of the Madrigal grandchildren stare at their abuela, with a look that silently says; “How could you do that?”.

All hell then breaks lose. Luisa and Camilo burst into tears, crying loudly while Agustin and Félix hold them. Dolores has to cover her ears because of her brother and prima’s wailing while Pepa comforts her, though the hearer can’t blame them for a second. All while Isabela stares down at the ground, her mind still processing what her abuela has just said.

“So you just threw our hermana out the second she got her gift?!” Isabela yells at her abuela, boiling with anger. “You just send her to live with tío Bruno like-“

“Ah ah ah!” Alma cuts her oldest granddaughter off. “We do not talk about him!”

“But what about Mirabel?” the flower girl asks further, her tone firm.

Alma’s eyes widen for a second, before her expression turns into glare with a glimpse of enforcement.

“We don’t mention her…”

•+•

The rest of that week was nothing short of hell…

Isabela refused to talk to any of the adults for some time, only going to Dolores if she really needed something. She felt angry, feeling like her baby sister’s departure could’ve been avoided if her parents or tía and tío just stood up to abuela…

Luisa started focusing more on work around town to cope with the recent news. She tried to be strong and handle it with grace, but she would sometimes go to her older sister at night for comfort.

Julieta’s guilt grew even more as time passed. She wouldn’t come out of her room for a few days, feeling like she already failed as a mother. Agustin would comfort his wife the best he could, though he also dealt with the same guilt.

Pepa and Félix where pretty guilt stricken as well, especially Pepa. She heavily regretted what she said to her sister that night when they packed the girl’s stuff, basically unknowingly excusing their mother’s actions. It wouldn’t stop raining for days…

Camilo didn’t really understand the situation yet, only knowing that his favorite prima was gone for a short while, though it still saddened him. He would ask his big sister when Mira would be back, and she would always say his best friend would be back someday.

But in all honesty, Dolores didn’t have the heart to tell him Mira wouldn’t be back for a long time…

The girl’s door got boarded up by Pepa and Félix (both begrudgingly), the wooden planks covering the illustration. Soon after, the door lost its magic, leaving a dull color on the doorframe. Whenever one of the Madrigals walk past the room, they would get reminded of the girl’s ceremony. Even when they simply glance at the doorframe, they would see Mirabel’s illustration stare at them with her open eyes, resenting them…

No one dared to open that door…

Alma had to tell the villagers the same exact news about her youngest granddaughter. They took it much better then her grandchildren, since the townspeople already knew what the atmosphere was like with Bruno around. So, they agreed to not mention the 5 year old’s name in conversations, at least when Alma was within ear shot.

Her name itself became heavily taboo, even more then her tío’s…

Despite that, the villagers would still paint her on the wall with her other family members, just like they did with Bruno. At least that way, the Madrigal family would all be together. Alma allowed this, but under the same strict conditions.

If someone asked where the girl was? We don’t mention her.

If a child asked what the girl’s gift was? We don’t mention her.

If anyone said the girl’s name? We don’t mention her

•+•

After a few weeks of this, after weeks of living with these agonizing changes trying to get her youngest daughter out of everyone’s lives, Julieta had enough.

After dinner, she and Agustin went to their room and packed most of their stuff, at least enough to survive for a few months. Earlier, the couple came to a silent agreement that, despite Alma’s possible objection, they would try their hardest to at least get their youngest daughter back. Even if it ment searching the entire forest area.

“Mamá, papá?” It’s Luisa, standing in the doorway with Isabela, both sisters seeing their parents pack their stuff. “What are you doing?”

Julieta looks at her daughters for a moment, wondering what they may be thinking. She then approaches the two girls, kneeling at their level.

“We’re…going to try and find your hermana.” the healer explains, whispering so that Dolores won’t hear them. “We won’t be-“

“Can we come too?” Isabela asks immediately, cutting her mother off.

The healer looks at both her daughters for a few seconds, trying to think of a response. They both look so ready and dedicated to go them, to find their youngest sister…

“Beuno…” Julieta whispers, putting a hand on each of her daughters’ shoulders. “But don’t tell anyone, okay?”

Isabela and Luisa don’t need to be told twice, and instantly rush to their rooms to pack their stuff as well.

“Diosa, are you sure it’s a good idea to bring them with us?” Agustin asks his wife, doubting the decision a bit. It’s not like he doesn’t want their daughters with them, but he worries more about them possibly getting homesick.

“They miss Mira too…” Julieta says, turning towards her husband before putting a loving hand on his shoulder. “Ellas estarán bien.”

That night, after having packed everything, the small family snuck out of the house in the dead of night.

They didn’t tell anyone else about what they where doing, but the rest of the Madrigals would soon find out thanks to Dolores.

But Julieta and her part of the family didn’t care. They only have one thing on their minds.

Get Mirabel back.

•+•

As time went on, the search became longer and longer…

Julieta and Agustin planned to only be a month away from Casita, but that extended into nearly a year…

They searched the entire forest area, from square grass landscaps to the jungle, but they never found Mirabel. They did come across a few small forest houses that where spread around, so the small family would knock on the doors to ask the people there if they had seen a 5 year old with green glasses around, to which all of them said no.

Though there was one forest house they knocked on where someone didn’t answer the door. Julieta could see that there where people living there, but they seem to be absent. It was quite late in the night, so she figured the people living in the small house must’ve been asleep already. She and her daughters decided to not bother them anymore, and so they left.

After an 11 month long search, Julieta and Agustin decided to return to Casita to see their other familia again. Isabela and Luisa protested at first, but they soon understood.

When the small family finally returned to Casita, they where greeted with a big hug from the rest of their familia. They, especially Pepa, asked Julieta and Agustin if they have found Mirabel (out of Alma’s earshot, of course), to which the couple shook their heads as a saddened No. Alma even came up to them and embraced them, but she instead asked the couple and her granddaughters if they where okay, ignoring the whole purpose of their search.

Tension was surprisingly less, as Isabela and Luisa went on and on about their adventures and quest to find Mirabel, both sisters not even caring if their abuela was in the room. Dolores did kinda act strange, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Julieta’s family would stay at Casita for around 2 months, before continuing the search for Mirabel again. They just knew that she had to be somewhere in the Encanto, they just knew it!

But they had no idea…

They had no idea that their youngest daughter and sister, who they missed dearly, was now living behind Casita’s walls…

Chapter 7: Small Company

Summary:

Bruno and Mirabel aren’t the only ones living behind Casita’s wall…

Notes:

The rats have arrived!

Honestly, I’m not that proud of this one. If it seems all over the place, my apologies :(

Just a small note, but Dolores’ name is in this chapter, but it isn’t referring to our favorite superhearer :)

Oh, and from here on, songs will make their way in :) (The song lyrics will be italicized.)

Song: the “Sana Sana” rhyme (sung by Bruno and Mirabel).

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Ever since Bruno saw the cracks in the passage ways, he knew that they have to be patched up sooner rather then later.

And that’s what he and Mirabel are doing today.

“You doing okay there, ratoncita?” Bruno asks out of concern, looking up at one of the top book shelves where the 6 year old girl is patching up a nearby crack with sand.

“Sí papá!” Mirabel responds, looking at him for a moment with a smile, before turning back to the crack in the wall.

Bruno turns back to the crack he has been patching up, but that doesn’t really put his worry at ease. The shelve Mira is on is more then a meter high from the floor, but luckily with an armchair nearby.

Suddenly, he notices something move near the crack he’s working on. Bruno looks closer, and then sees the small snout of a rat. It looks at him with confusion yet curiously, wondering if the human will try to capture them like all the others did.

“Hey, amigo-“ Bruno greets, carefully reaching his arm out to the small creature, but it quickly runs off.

There goes his and Mira’s potential company…

“I’m done!” Mirabel announces, having properly patched the crack up. She then tries to get off of the shelve. The girl expects the height to be much lower, until she feels her right foot stepping on nothing but air. Before she can react, she falls on the armchair nearby, crying out as she painfully lands on her right side.

“Mirabel!”

She sits up, pain rushing through her right shoulder as her papá rushes to her side. Mira blinks a few times, thick tears burning in her eyes. No, she isn’t going to cry! Big girls don’t cry!

“Mira, are you okay?” Bruno asks with obvious worry, kneeling in front of her to get on her level. “Estás bien?”

Mirabel can only nod while holding back tears, rubbing her hurting shoulder.

Her papá notices it. No, she’s obviously not okey, so he’s going to do something about it.

Sana sana colita de rana.” he sings in a more happier tone, trying to cheer his daughter up. “Si no sanas hoy, sanarás mañana.

Mirabel recognizes it instantly.

Sanarás mañana!” she sings along, already feeling much better.

The seer duo soon find themselves singing the rhyme together, with nothing able to stop them.

Sana sana colita de rana. Si no sanas hoy, sanarás mañana.

By the end, Mira is already laughing again despite her hurting shoulder.

“Gracias Papá.” Mirabel says, hugging him.

Bruno sketches a warm smile, before hugging his daughter back. She may feel pain now, but she’s at least happy again.

“En cualquier momento, ratoncita.”

•+•

And so, the day went on as normal.

Bruno continued to patch most of the cracks up, with a vision here and there, while Mirabel helped him. After that incident, he made sure she was in his sight. No way would he let her climb the shelves again…

The food-bringer brought a plate with arepas for Mira to heal her shoulder around 20 minutes after the whole incident. It didn’t surprise Bruno anymore whenever food or notes appeared near the open crack, though he still found it strange.

One day, he would thank her for that…

The arepas luckily healed Mirabel’s shoulder, and the whole incident was (for the most part) behind them.

But a small visitor would somewhat remind the older seer.

“Papá?” Mirabel asks while walking towards him. Bruno, who’s working on another crack, can see she’s holding something in her hands. He’s about to ask what it is, but the girl already beat him to it. “Are they rats?”

She carefully unfolds her hands, revealing three rats sitting in her hand, gazing at whatever they see. Bruno isn’t that surprised, as he remembers seeing one of the rats earlier today.

“Where did you find them?” he asks his daughter, who only has her eyes on the three small creatures.

“Near a crack!” she answers with a bright smile. The rats then crawl off her hand, each going in a different direction. One goes to Mira’s left shoulder, the second goes to Bruno’s right foot, and the third one crawls up to his ruana on his shoulder. “Can we keep them? Por favor?”

The older seer doesn’t need to think of an answer.

“Of course!” he answers, giving her a warm smile. “But…” Bruno suddenly says, pausing for dramatic effect. It does startle Mira a bit. “…we must name them first.”

At that, the girl’s smile returns, and then turns to the rat on her shoulder. “I am naming you Queso!”

Bruno chuckles at the rat’s name. Sure, it isn’t the most original name in the world, especially coming from a 6 year old girl, but it fits well.

“And I’m naming you…” he pauses a bit, gazing at the rat near his foot. “…Pedro.”

Mirabel gasps at that. “After Abuelo?”

The older seer nods in response, confirming his daughter’s guess. “Sí.”

He may have never known his father, but Bruno held immense respect for him for somehow bringing Casita to them. Therefor, he always wanted to name a pet or even a son after the man. But since the latter probably won’t ever happen, now Bruno had the chance to honor his father.

“What about that one?” Mirabel asks, pointing to the rat on her papá’s shoulders. “What is this one’s name?”

Bruno glances over at the rat on his shoulder, who looks at him with curiosity. Huh, might be the same one from earlier, the one that peaked through a crack. Then, a certain name pops in his mind.

“Dolores.”

•+•

Over time, the seer duo slowly figured out the rats’ personalities. It may sound strange and ridiculous, maybe even crazy, but it was true!

Pedro was the hyperactive one, who just couldn’t sit still to save his life, even at night sometimes. Bruno and Mirabel sometimes couldn’t even sleep because the rat would run over them, or knock stuff over, or make a lot of noice.

Queso wasn’t the brightest, but he would always make the duo smile somehow. Once, he drank a sip of Bruno’s coffee that the food-bringer had made, and the rat flew around the room even more then Pedro.

And Dolores was the careful one, who never dared to do anything stupid like her rat-brothers. She would mostly try to convince the other two not to do those stupid things, but would mostly fail 90% of the time.

What all three rats have in common though? They where always there for their two owners, no matter what it was.

•+•

“Buenos días, Mira!” Bruno greets upon walking past the armchair that’s his daughter’s bed one morning. But what he sees next melts his heart.

Mirabel is still sleeping, laying on her stomach, with the three rats keeping her company by also sleeping on her back, laying on the blanket.

The sight surprises him a bit. Mostly, Pedro basically flies around the room and halls from one place to another without pause, but here he’s just sleeping peacefully with Mira and his rat siblings.

The sight is still heartwarming, though.

Bruno immediately regrets his greeting, hoping that she won’t wake up because of it.

He decides to just let her sleep in. It’s not like they can go somewhere anyways.

•+•

Unfortunately, they couldn’t take away visions, or the pain that came with them, but the creatures where there for them.

“Papá…?” Mirabel tries to get his attention, even shaking his arm, but he doesn’t respond…

Bruno is in the middle of a vision again, a vision so strong that he became unresponsive. It scares the girl immensely, but there’s nothing she can do then to let her papá go through it…

Thank goodness the three rats are there to comfort both seers.

Queso and Dolores crawl up to Mira’s shoulder, trying to comfort her, while Pedro climbs up to the older seer’s shoulder, attempting to snap him out of whatever it is.

Eventually, after what feels like an eternity, the vision finally ends.

Bruno stumbles backwards, clenching his aching head after the prediction.

“Papá?” Mira tries to get his attention again, concerned for his well-being. “Papá, estás bien?”

“S-sí, Mira…” Bruno barely manages to answer, his headache slowly fading. “Estoy bien.”

Despite her dad’s answer, the girl can see he’s still suffering, and gives him a hug.

Sana sana colita de rana?” she then sings, remembering how he had for her.

Bruno can’t help but chuckle, almost crying as he cracks a smile. He doesn’t deserve this kid.

Si no me curo hoy, me curaré mañana.

•+•

Time flew by, and soon it was the day before Mira’s 7th birthday.

Realizing this, Bruno really wanted to give her something special, something she really wanted. He couldn’t do that for her previous birthday unfortunately, since the forest only offered so much. But this year wouldn’t be like that.

Mirabel had always talked about clothes, and dresses she wanted to make. She would tell him that the rats deserve clothes too, even dressing Dolores up in doll clothes.

So, Bruno decided to give her some embroidery stuff. He knew that most of it would be in the nursery, since he and his sisters had sewed in their childhood years. Besides, Bruno could finally share something he had once done when he was her age, and for Mira to finally do something besides just waiting for visions.

That night, he snuck out of the passage ways for the first time, taking the three rats with him. Bruno felt quite strange walking through Casita again after so long, though he also felt…a bit scary. He would probably have to do this many times more in the future for one reason or another. Maybe Mirabel would as well, some day?

He and the rats quietly managed to make their way towards the nursery with Casita’s help. Luckily, all of the other Madrigal kids have their own rooms, so there was no one in the only magicless bedroom.

In the end, despite Pedro making a lot of noice throughout it, Bruno and the three rats managed to grab more then enough embroidery supplies. Unfortunately, the seer couldn’t bring the sewing machine with him, despite really wanting to. That would be a gift for next year.

Now, Mira’s birthday has arrived.

“Buenos días, Papá!” Mira says upon waking up, grabbing her glasses before turning her head to the couch, but she doesn’t see him or the rats in that moment. Maybe they’re at the table?

The girl turns her head to her right where the table is located, and that’s when she sees them.

“Feliz cumpleaños, ratoncita!” Bruno greets his daughter happily, the rats sitting neatly at the table. Sure, it doesn’t look like someone’s birthday, no balloons are floating around or garlands are hanging, but he couldn’t do any of that! Bruno has tried his best, but he still feels he failed…

Mirabel blinks a few times. It’s her birthday? Already? She doesn’t even know which day it is, let alone which day her birthday is. But is it really that day? Her pepá just said it is, so it must be her birthday, right?

But before she finally processes that fact, a vision appears.

The girl’s eyes glow that emerald green again, staring into blank space from an outsiders perspective. She doesn’t hear her papá call out to her as the vision appears.

She sees a boy and an older girl, playing together with what looks like their new baby brother. They all look so happy, like there’s no worry in the world. Oh, is that a bird? It’s beak is quite strange, though. It must be a special bird-

“Mira?”

After what feels like an eternity, sound returns to her ears, hearing her papá call her name. The vision slowly ends around that moment, leaving a soft but splitting headache behind for the girl.

“It’s my birthday?” Mirabel asks excitedly, as if her vision didn’t happen. The three rats move from Bruno’s back to her shoulders, all a bit confused.

“S-sí, it is.” Bruno answers,

“Yay!” Mirabel cheers, throwing her arms in the air.

Bruno smiles in relieve, before picking his daughter up from her armchair bed and brings her to the small table to eat breakfast. She must be starving.

“Oh, and we have a present for you!” Bruno says when they sit at the table, the three rats joining them as well. The older seer then grabs and gives the quite ugly wrapped gift to her.

Mirabel stares at it for a moment, before unwrapping her gift, and gasps upon seeing what it is.

“Sewing stuff!” she calls out, staring at the many colored fabrics and flosses, a few scissors, and needles. Though she’s a bit scared of those last objects.

“You… You like it?” Bruno asks nervously, looking away for a moment. “I thought that-“

But he gets cut off by Mirabel basically throwing herself at him, hugging him tightly.

“I love it!” she calls out, obviously happy with her present.

Hearing her response, Bruno hugs her back, the three rats soon joining as well.

“Feliz cumpleaños, Mira.”

•+•

Unfortunately, after only a week after that happy day, tragedy struck…

“Queso, Pedro, what’s wrong?” Bruno asks the rats that afternoon, wondering what’s wrong.

The two rats look at each other for a moment, as if silently contemplating wether or not to tell their friend, before crawling aside, showing him what’s wrong. Bruno doesn’t see the problem at first, but now he sees…

Dolores lays there near the two other rats, not moving an inch, almost…lifeless. Pedro desperately tries to wake her up, but she doesn’t respond…

Bruno’s eyes widen at the sight. He then carefully takes the lifeless rat in his hands to try and find a heartbeat, but he can’t find any…

Oh no…

Rats can only live up to 3 years, which is quite short…

He shifts his gaze to Mirabel, who’s at the table practicing with her embroidery stuff. Her heart will break into a million peaces if she finds out…

But…she deserves to know…

“Uh…Mira?” Bruno calls out, trying to get his daughter’s attention. “Can you come here for a second?”

Immediately, the girl’s attention is on her dad, and she leaves the table to go to him, knowing that this is serious. “Sí papá?”

This is it, Mirabel is listening and waiting for the reason why she’s here, but it’s as if Bruno can’t form sentences anymore. No proper words will come out of his mouth.

“Dolores is…uhm…” he tries to start, but he just can’t finish the sentence. Instead, Bruno lowers his hand, showing the girl the seemingly sleeping rat. “She’s…gone.”

Mirabel stares at the rat for a moment with confusion. She then gently pets the small creature with her hand, trying to wake her up. “Gone?”

“Yes…” Bruno answers, putting his other hand gently on her shoulder. “She isn’t coming back… I’m sorry…”

Those words reach Mirabel crystal clear. One of their three friends won’t come back? But she’s right here, sleeping! Though she isn’t moving…at all, not even an inch…

It’s then that the girl bursts into tears, crying as she clings to her dad.

Bruno glances at her, silently comforting her while Queso and Pedro crawl on his hand near their rat-sister’s side again, mourning her.

In the eyes of an outsider, mourning a rat’s death may seem crazy, but the seer duo doesn’t care. Those creatures are like family to them, and no one can change their minds.

That night, Bruno sneaks out of the passage ways again, this time taking Mira and the rats with him. While carrying the girl in one arm and a small box with the deceased rat in it, the two living creatures sit on his shoulders, as they quietly make their way out of Casita.

They’re gonna hold a small burial for Dolores, to show her that she really mattered to them and that she is family, even if it was for a short while.

They bury her behind Casita, under the grass that will glow bright green in the morning when the sun will shine tomorrow. The event is quite short, but not without tears being shed.

Bruno, Mirabel and the two remaining rats have to leave quickly after, fearing that they may be caught any moment.

At least they had given the rat a proper burial, one that they won’t forget.

•+•

Soon, Pedro and Queso would follow their sister into heaven, leaving Bruno and Mirabel devastated and to give then the same burial.

But, to the seers’ surprise, more rats so happend to live inside Casita’s walls. Many more who craved company.

It became an unending cycle. 2 or 3 rats would discover the small room where the seers live, they take the small creatures in and care for them as their family, until they pass away after less then a year, making room for yet another burial, and repeat.

It would continue like this for many, many years.

But Bruno and Mirabel would always know that they weren’t alone in Casita’s lonely walls.

Notes:

Spanish translations:
-ratoncita = little mouse
-amigo = friend
-Estás bien? = are you okey?
-En cualquier momento = anytime
-Por favor = please
-Estoy bien = I’m okey
-Feliz cumpleaños = happy birthday

Chapter 8: The Gift of Talent

Summary:

How the small rat theatre came to be.

Notes:

What? Two chapters in a row??

Yeah, this one is kinda shorter then the previous two, but this is just fluff😊

Song: Monica All Along (sung by Bruno and Mirabel)

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

“Papá, what are you making?” Mirabel asks one afternoon while sewing a small blanket, him sitting across from her.

“Oh, I’m making a small theatre for the rats.” the older seer answers, messing around with some pencils and paper. The new set of rats that are keeping them company, Peppe, Alba and Luca, are on the table as well, sorting through the color pencils. Yesterday night, they and Bruno had managed to steal a notebook and many colored pencils from the nursery, which must be enough to make the “theatre”.

When he was little, around Mira’s age to be exact, Bruno had fallen in love with acting. He would put on different personas when no one was around just for fun, or to escape the harsh words of the townspeople for just a moment. Heck, he even wrote a few stories that he would imagine as a play.

Acting had always been his passion and escape, so Bruno really wanted to share it with his adopted daughter.

“Can I help?” Mirabel asks excitedly, cutting her papá off of his thoughts.

“Sí, of course!” he answers, instantly knowing she can help. “Do you still have red fabric?”

Hearing that, Mirabel searches through her embroidery stuff, and eventually finds a quite large piece of red fabric, proudly holding it up for her papá to see. “Tada!”

Bruno looks at it for a second, already smiling from ear to ear.

“Perfecto!”

•+•

After the afternoon was over, after many hours of drawing, cutting and thinking of stories, the small rat theatre was finally done.

Basically, it’s only a notebook with drawings where the faces are replaced with holes for the rats to peak their heads through with a red cloth (that Mira had sewed up a little) covering the back and sides, and it looks beautiful…

“Okay ratoncita, which story do you want to hear?” Bruno asks her, going through all the small stories they have thought of. Mira’s bedtime is approaching, so why not give her a bedtime story?

“The one about Elena!” Mirabel says, already excited.

“Alright!” he says, before sitting in the armchair (where Mira doesn’t sleep). He then picks her up and puts her on his lap, ready to start narrating. “Once upon a time, there was a princess named Elena…”

As she listens to her papá narrating the story, Mirabel focuses her gaze on the small theatre where Alba and Luca’s small heads poke out of the drawings, somewhat acting the scenes out.

The story is quite short, but the 7 year old girl enjoyed it regardless.

“…and they lived happily ever after.” Bruno finishes, following the two rats leaving their positions on the “stage” too.

“Yay!” Mirabel cheers, giving her dad and the rats an applause. “Can we do another one? Please?”

“Nope, tomorrow again.” Bruno promises, picking his daughter up and bringing her to the armchair that’s her bed. Though his heart warms up knowing that she likes the small plays, so much so that she wants to see another one “Now’s time for bed.”

Mirabel a little at that, but still let’s her dad put her to bed. She feels tired anyways.

“Buenas noches papá.” Mira says, almost ready to fall asleep.

“Buenas noches ratoncita.” he says back, placing a kiss on her forehead before leaving her side to put the small theatre somewhere else.

It lights Bruno’s heart up to know that she loves it.

•+•

Over time, the duo not only used the small theatre for bedtime stories, but in the day as well. They even sometimes sing a musical number together while the rats just chill in the background.

Who’s been messing up everything?” Bruno starts, after a plottwist in a telenovela.

It’s been Monica all along!” Mira continues.

Basically, the telenovela was about two woman named Iris and Monica, who found themselves in another country that they didn’t know anything about. Through circumstances, the two ladies manage to adopt a rabbit named Dobby and make friends there while trying to get back to Colombia, but someone unknown kept sabotaging their plans. The plottwist then revealed that it was Monica…

It’s too late to fix anything, now that everything has gone wrong.” Bruno continues singing. “Thanks to Monica, evil Monica…

It’s been Monica all along!” Mira sings, finishing the song.

The girl then lets out a small gasp, before dramatically turning around to face her dad, her eyes glowing emerald green again unbeknownst to her. “And she killed Dobby too…”

Bruno jumps out of his skin at the sight, a chill running down his spine. Yes, many of the towns children, even some adults, where creeped out and afraid of by his glowing eyes and somewhat unkept appearance, even when he was five. So it really shouldn’t surprise him that Mira will have that scary appearance too sometimes.

People may most likely be afraid of her as well…

“Ratoncita, what do you see?” Bruno asks the 7 year old girl, pushing his previous thoughts out of his head, kneeling to her level.

But Mirabel only stares in blank space with a confused expression, as if she’s trying to figure out what she sees but it’s too vague.

“I don’t know…” she only says, before the emerald glow in her eyes fade. “I don’t…know…”

Bruno puts a gentle hand on her shoulder, saying that it’s okay. Sometimes, visions can be pretty vague, and you just can’t describe what you’re seeing. Well, or it’s something that Mirabel doesn’t understand yet.

“How about we watch another telenovela?” he asks her, knowing how to comfort her. “You can make costumes for the rats if you like.”

The girl’s expression changes in a bright smile at the question, before nodding her head as a yes.

The duo may have to endure visions that can ruin any moment, but they know what their real gifts are.

Acting and embroidery.

Chapter 9: Visions and More Visions

Summary:

Seeing the future can sometimes be exhausting…

Notes:

Merry Christmas everybody!

Have a new chapter as a gift!

No songs this time, but there’s angst this time :)

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

It took awhile to his surprise, but Bruno finally figured out that his and Mirabel’s visions each where a bit different.

While he saw visions of pain, sadness and sorrow, once in awhile, he would see something wonderful. Mirabel however, saw joy and happiness in her prophesies, but sometimes she would see something horrific in return…

It created balance, but Bruno wished that it hadn’t been that way. He wished he could take away those horrific visions from his daughter, and swap them with the beautiful ones he would sometimes see. He just wanted to spare her pain…

But…it was already hard for them living with having to see visions at every possible second…

•+•

Sometimes, one such vision would ruin a nice moment…

“…but alas, Julio was shunned by the village for his mistakes.” Bruno narrates another bedtime telenovela for Mirabel, the girl in question watching the rats act the scene out in the small theatre. “He would live on to be alone, with no-“

Hearing her papá cut his narration off so suddenly, Mirabel snaps out of her investment for the play, wondering what’s wrong with him. She turns her gaze to him, and immediately gets her answer.

He stares into blank space, eyes glowing that poisonous emerald green again, which can only mean one thing.

“Papá…?” Mirabel asks, shaking his arm to try and get his attention. But yet again, he’s unresponsive. It still has her scared though. Even the rats are, as they crawl up to the older seer’s shoulder.

Looking up at him, the 7 year old girl sees how sad and shocked her papá’s expression is, as if he’s seeing something truly terrifying. A tear even rolls down his cheek, making her even more scared.

Mirabel doesn’t know how long the vision plagued her papá. Minutes? Maybe hours? Maybe even days? It rather feels like it goes on forever without any end in sight.

But finally, the vision fades away, freeing him.

Bruno let’s out a groan, clenching his head that aches with a stabbing pain.

“Papá!” Mira calls out, clinging to him as tears burn in her eyes. She was so afraid he wouldn’t snap out of his vision, that he would be trapped like that forever. Mirabel knows that that won’t ever happen, but she was so scared that it somehow would. She starts singing the Sana Sana rhyme to comfort him, but also to reassure herself.

Repeating the rhyme over and over again, Mirabel feels the warm embrace of her papá, silently letting her know he’s okay.

•+•

Sometimes, visions could be truly painful…

“What are you making, ratoncita?” Bruno asks the girl, seeing her practice her embroidery again.

“A dress for Alba.” Mirabel, who’s already eight, answers as she sews the small green dress together.

The rat in question is sitting on the girl’s shoulder at the moment, watching the process of the dress’ making.

“I bet she’ll love it.” Bruno says, glancing at Alba.

Mirabel smiles at the thought of the rat’s reaction.

But in the very next moment, she feels an agonizing headache. Her eyes glow green as her happy smile changes into an expression of shock within a second. The pain is agonizing, horrific and unbearable, as if her head is being stabbed with a sword. Mirabel screams as she clenches her head, closing her eyes to try and block the pain out.

It’s a vision, it’s clearly a vision. But she doesn’t care what she may see. She just wants the pain to end.

Mirabel doesn’t notice her papá sprinting to her side, trying to comfort her and getting her through the vision. All the girl hears is her own agonizing screams through her pounding head.

She begins to lose track of time as she’s forced to see the vision, despite her head spinning with pain. Mirabel doesn’t see much happening in her prophesy, only seeing cracks forming over and over and over again, her head hurting more and more with each new one as if they are from her own skull.

It goes on like this, until Mirabel’s vision fades to black, taking her pain away as well.

The next thing she sees upon opening her eyes are the rats’ looking at her with worry, along with feeling the warm embrace of her papá.

The food-bringer brought an tamale to cure her headache that day.

•+•

Sometimes, visions go unnoticed.

“What are we gonna do in the halls?” Mira asks her dad one day, looking around the disoriented and torn space. Sure they have to…urinate in one of the halls, but thank goodness they aren’t there right now. The stench can kill their scent glands when being there too long.

“To explore them.” Bruno simply answers. “Try and keep up!” He then starts running back towards their room, swiftly jumping over a pipe before Mirabel loses sight of him. “The last one who reaches home is a tortita!”

“Wait!” the 8 year old girl calls out, running after her papá. Unlike him though, she stumbles and crawls through the many obstacles, struggling to keep up with him. Though she doesn’t notice her eyes glowing green again.

Mirabel eventually reaches a seemingly deep pit. Barely seeing how her papá uses a few loose side-planks to jump over it, she attempts to do the same, but slips on the second plank, causing her to step on air and fall. Luckily, she grabs on to a small pipe, leaving her to dangle above the seemingly never-ending pit.

“Help!” Mirabel calls out, looking up as she waits for her papá to help her. “Papá, help me!”

And just like that, here he is, holding her wrist tight as he pulls her up.

“You okay?” Bruno asks her, his eyes glowing emerald green as wel. “Sorry, I got a bit too carried away.”

Mirabel only nods in response, before both of their visions catch up to them, this time painless to their surprise.

“Can we do it again, running through the halls?” she then asks after both of their visions have finished.

“Of course.” Bruno answers, a bit surprised that Mira even asked after nearly falling. “But take Hernando with you. He isn’t afraid of anything.”

The small joke about one of her papá’s personas has Mira laughing a little, before hopping on a nearby pipe, basically saying that they should continue where they left off.

The rest of their day was filled with practicing their parkour through the hallways with no rush whatsoever, and no prophesy that could stop them.

•+•

Sometimes, visions could do long, that it had to be split in two.

“Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock on wood.” Bruno says one morning as he knocks on the wooden walls of the small room, having just come back from stealing breakfast in the kitchen. It alerts Mirabel, now 9 years old, who’s already sitting at the table. Ever since she was allowed to sneak around Casita as well, the strange saying actually became a secret “I’m home!” greeting for whenever one of the seers came back from outside the walls. “Morning, ratoncita!”

“Morning, papá…” she says back, though her tone sounds tired and confused, as if she’s thinking but also not having slept well.

“Is something wrong?” Bruno asks as he puts the food on the table and sits next to her, hearing the girl’s strange tone.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just a night vision…” Mirabel then pauses, as if trying to find her words as she fumbles with her hands. “I saw a man and a woman wrestle…”

“Oh, that’s it?” he says, ignoring the small gut feeling. “Who won-“

“…without clothes.”

Bruno almost choked on his own spit. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! Why?! Why did she have to see that?! Do these visions not have any restraint?!

Oh no, he isn’t gonna have “the talk” with her, not when she isn’t even 10 yet!

“Papá, are you okay?” Mirabel asks, seeing him quite shocked.

Oh thank goodness, she doesn’t ask further about…that

“I’m okay!” Bruno quickly answers, before basically shoving the empanadas he had brought with him in Mira’s hands. “Here, you must be hungry!”

The girl looks up at him, a bit confused about her dad’s behavior, before taking a bite from the empanada.

That strange vision would actually make sense the very next morning.

“Buenos días!” Bruno greets upon seeing his daughter awake. “Did you sleep better this time-“

“I saw a baby being born…” Mirabel suddenly says, shuddering at the last word. “They named him Antonio…”

Bruno blinks a few times, utterly surprised at the girl’s words. Well, that explains the previous vision, though he can imagine a child’s birth being a nightmare in a 9 year old’s eyes…

•+•

And sometimes, it wasn’t a vision…

Mirabel, now twelve, tosses and turns on the couch she sleeps on, desperately trying to lay in a comfortable position to sleep in as tiredness starts to take over her, but she just can’t. She hasn’t even slept once this night, but she didn’t have a bad day or anything!

She had helped her papá with some more “tv programs” such as sports, finally finished her very own green dress she had been working on for awhile, and had snuck into the kitchen to steal some food all by herself! So her day was rather a success!

But somehow, someway, Mirabel just can’t fall asleep…

She turns around again, this time laying on her back as her long messy hair sprawls all around her, eyes facing the ceiling.

It’s then that she begins to feel…strange.

Laying uncomfortable yet again, Mirabel tries to move from her current position, but she can’t. Her body refuses to move, as if someone is holding her down. What? What is this? Why can’t she move?!

The sudden feeling of fright then takes over her, her brain warning that someone is watch her. Mirabel tries to move her head to scan the room, but she can’t even move her eyes.

Then she sees it…

From the right corner of her stiffened sight, the 12 year old sees her abuela stand over her, looking at her as if she’s a disgrace…

Mirabel’s heart pounds loudly in her chest at the sight, feeling even more frightened, tears burning in her eyes as she feels her lungs crush.

She tried to forget her abuela and any of the other adults, tried to forget her terrible ceremony night that that woman ruined by just abandoning her like she was nothing!

She never wanted to see that woman or the other adults again…

But now her abuela is here, looking down at her with disappointment…

Mirabel has completely lost track of time at this point. She can only stare blankly at that old woman with no escape.

It may have last seconds, minutes or hours. But finally, oh finally, Mirabel is able to blink, and her abuela is gone.

She turns to lay on her left side, curling up in a ball as she silently cries. Mira doesn’t want to wake her papá, so she swallows her sobs.

She told him the next day, and he let her sleep some extra hours.

•+•

One day though, something didn’t go as planned because of a vision…

Bruno is writting another telenovela while waiting for Mirabel to get back from the kitchen, stealing themselves some breakfast again. It’s quite late into the night, around midnight in fact, but he knows Mira is careful. She’s 14 years old now, so obviously responsible enough. Heck, she even wears socks whenever outside the walls to prevent as much noice as possible.

Everything will be fine-

The older seer’s thoughts are cut off by a loud slam from the room’s door, even jumping out of his skin for a second. Panic then rushes through his mind. This can’t be Mirabel! She always knocks on wood to let her presence be known, like they have agreed upon years ago!

No, Bruno guesses it’s Pepa somehow, or Alma, or-

But when he hears panting, like someone is trying to breath for air, it is Mirabel…

Bruno rushes to the only door of the small room, where he sees her sitting on the floor in her self-sewed green dress, her eyes glowing that familiar emerald green again before it quickly fades, her long hair messy and all in her face, and her round green glasses that she had forgotten not being on her nose.

Everything is definitely not fine…

“Mira, what happend?” Bruno asks, kneeling in front of her. He can tell that something hadn’t gone as planned back outside.

Mirabel tries to explain everything, but fumbles over her words instead, not even forming one sentence because of it. Bruno manages to calm his daughter down, and then she manages to say one sentence…

“S-someone saw me…”

Notes:

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m very excited for the next chapter :)

Chapter 10: La Esmeralda

Summary:

There are many Colombian myths and legends. And Casita apparently has one too…

Notes:

Ah, the last chapter of this year😊

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

It was the dead of night, darkness covering all of Colombia as everyone rested for the next day.

But for some reason, Camilo just can’t fall asleep.

He just simply lays on his back, facing the ceiling of his room as he hears his stomach growl a little. Man, is he tempted to grab a snack from the kitchen.

Maybe he can sleep better after he has eaten something? Camilo cant find any other reason for not being able to sleep. The day went pretty okay, though Dolores seemed a bit distracted. But who’s he kidding? Hearing everything around you is definitely distracting on its own.

Camilo’s thoughts are cut off by another light growl of his stomach.

“Fine, you win.” he says, giving in to the temptation, before crawling out of bed and putting on his slippers. The shapeshifter then walks towards his door and reaches the doorknob, carefully turning and opening it as quiet as he can to not wake up his older sister, though he will probably fail regardless.

Having stepped outside of his room and closed the door, Camilo makes his way towards the kitchen. Since it’s quite dark, Casita decides to help him a little, which he greatly appreciates.

Making his way through the courtyard and towards the kitchen, the shapeshifter feels his stomach growl yet again. Dios mio, why does he have to eat so much to get by?

But when he finally reaches his destination, Camilo jumps out of his skin at the first thing he sees upon arrival. He takes a closer look, making sure his eyes aren’t deceiving him, and they aren’t…

At the kitchen counter, he sees a woman searching the cupboards, presumably for food. Her back is facing him, and her long and messy hair that reaches her waist covering most of the dress fabric, but Camilo can see from her long sleeves that she wears a green dress.

He wants to yell for his family to come, he wants to ask the woman who she is and what she’s doing in Casita and how she even got in, but the shapeshifter can only stand and stare at her, processing what he sees.

Suddenly, as if knowing someone is watching her, the woman snaps her head to him within a split second, revealing her green eyes that glow poisonous.

Camilo lets out a yelp, stumbling backwards as he can only look her glowing eyes.

Who is this?! What is she doing here?! Is she some homeless person? Is she secretly living here?

A million questions run through Camilo’s mind as he continues to stumble backwards, not knowing what to do with this lady that’s roaming the kitchen. He then feels his foot slip, throwing off his balance, already preparing for a hard and painful landing. But a hand tightly grabs his wrist, catching him. Camilo opens the eyes he has closed in anticipation for the fall, seeing that the woman has caught him. Although she’s standing closer now, the shapeshifter still can’t see her face, which is covered by the darkness and her emerald eyes that still glow.

For a moment, Camilo sees his vision turns green, the same green as the woman’s eyes. It’s only for a second though, as he decides to run. The shapeshifter rips himself from the woman’s grasp, sprinting away from her as fast as he can back to his room. Camilo looks behind him as he runs, seeing that the woman isn’t running after him or anywhere near him. That’s at least a good thing, but he doesn’t feel safe regardless.

Finally arriving in his room and having locked the door, the shapeshifter sits on the floor against a wall, trying to process everything that just happend.

Who was that woman?

Why was she getting food specifically from their kitchen? Was she wounded or something?

How did she even get in Casita?

Are the rest of the family aware of her presence?

Was she even real?

That question has Camilo doubting. She grabbed his wrist to catch his fall! If that isn’t prove that she’s…real, then what is? Maybe it was actually Dolores? Wait no, she never wears green. No one in the family wore green except tío Bruno. But it couldn’t be him either. It was clearly a woman!

Maybe it was…her, the Madrigal they don’t mention? The Madrigal he saw as his best friend a decade ago? But Camilo heavily doubts that. She has been gone for so long, he doesn’t even remember how she looked like besides the vague painting of her on the town’s wall.

No, scratch that, he does remember how she looked like…when she was five. Once, when Camilo was around that age, he missed her so much that he turned into her, which resulted into tía Julieta’s side of the family nearly crushing him with hugs, thinking that it was their daughter and sister. Their hearts where broken when Camilo had to turn back into himself again, revealing it wasn’t her. It got him a huge scolding from abuela as a result.

But regardless of his speculations, the shapeshifter won’t tell the rest of his family about what he saw. They will all probably think he’s crazy…

He was just hallucinating anyways. Maybe he was still half asleep and kinda dreamed about La Llorona?

Camilo’s eyes widen. That brings him an idea…

He grabs his sketchbook and pencils, and starts to draw the scary woman he has just encountered, real or not. Long messy hair, poisonous glowing emerald eyes, a long green dress, skinny as a twig, faceless… Yes, he has got it!

Finishing his sketch, Camilo takes a long look at it. Yep, she looks exactly how he saw her.

Man, is he gonna tell the towns children a few horror stories about her…

•+•

The next morning, Camilo immediately went to his big sister.

The superhearing Madrigal is just minding her own business, grabbing some breakfast when her little brother’s sketch is shoved in her face.

“Scary, huh?” Camilo asks her in a mischievous tone.

Dolores stares at the sketch for a moment, her expression almost…shocked?

“You should sleep instead of going to the kitchen.” she says while brushing past her younger brother.

That reaction stuns Camilo a little. Wait, so that means…

“Did you hear anyone else?” he immediately asks, turning around to face his sister while following her.

“Papi snored again-“

“No, no, no, I mean in the kitchen.”

Dolores goes quiet for a few seconds, and although her back is facing him, Camilo can see her tens up a little.

“I only heard you.” she finally says, though quite fast, as if she’s done with this conversation.

“No one else? Are you su-“

“Yes.”

Camilo’s expression changes into a confused one by his sister’s answer.

“Well, why where you awake last night?” the shapeshifter asks even further.

“None of your business.” Dolores rushes her answer again.

“Says the one who hears everyone’s business.” it’s meant as a joke, but the superhearing Madrigal definitely doesn’t laugh at it. “L-look, please don’t tell anyone, but I saw someone in our kitchen last night-“

“Must’ve been a dream.”

“No, I saw her! She even-“

“You where sleepwalking.”

“No!” Camilo calls out, frustration building up. “Someone was in our kitchen and you’ve heard it! If you know who it is, just tell me!“

“I CAN’T!”

Camilo jumps out of his skin at the sudden loud response of his sister, who’s now finally facing him. She never has yelled like that unless she was panicked or frustrated one reason or another.

Maybe he was dreaming that night…?

“Dolores, I…” Camilo attempts to apologize, but no other words will come out. Man, did he sound so stupid… “Lo siento-“

He then feels a pair of arms wrap around him, pulling him into a hug. He knows it’s Dolores, so he returns the gesture.

“Don’t be…” she says, hugging her little brother close. “I should be sorry…”

That confuses Camilo a bit. Why should his sister be sorry? All she did was answer truthfully.

“You really should sleep more.” Dolores then says, pulling away from the hug. She really means it this time. Knowing her little brother, she’s aware of his uneven sleep pattern, and has warned him a few times about sleep paralysis.

“Sé que sé.” Camilo only says, going back to the kitchen to grab breakfast for himself.

Knowing him, Dolores assumes he isn’t going to listen to her again.

The small argument quickly became old news, as the two siblings eat breakfast with their family afterwards as if nothing has happend.

•+•

“But who is she?”

“What was she doing in Casita?”

“Is she that scary?”

Those are some of the questions the towns children, Alejandra, Juancho, Cecilia, and even Antonio, ask Camilo after finishing his (slightly changed) story about last night’s events.

“Oh, you don’t ever want her to cross your path…” the shapeshifter says in an obvious dramatic tone, scaring the kids a tiny bit. “Her frame is so skinny, that it might as well be bone. Her long, unkept hair is all in her face that’s covered by the darkness. And you do not want to look in her eyes…” Camilo continues, empathizing the last part. “They glow with green poison, watching you if you walk in the dark. And if you look in her eyes for even a second…you will see your worst fear!”

The three towns children stare at the shapeshifter as they listen the end of the description. Cecilia and Antonio seem to be quite fascinated, though a bit freaked out by the whole story. Juancho is too busy sipping his umpteenth cup of coffee to even properly pay attention. And Alejandra just bursts into tears.

Well, at least his description is scary…

“Camilo, can you watch my hijo for some time?” a townswoman calls out from a distance. “I need to relax a little!”

“On it!” he answers, about to walk towards her when he feels a hand grab his wrist, holding him back. Camilo jumps out of his skin, for a second thinking that it’s her. Thank goodness that isn’t the case, as he’s reassured by hearing Antonio’s voice.

“Wait, what’s her name?” he asks his older brother, obviously invested enough to ask one more question.

The shapeshifter thinks about it for a minute. The similarities between her and La Llorona are definitely there, so the former should have a kinda similar name, right?

Then, he has it.

“Well, people often call her…La Esmeralda.”

•+•

From that day on, the tales of the horror figure quickly spread around town, mostly by the children.

It eventually reached the ears of parents, who soon used it as a way to keep their children in line.

“If you don’t come home before dark, La Esmeralda might see you.”

“If you leave your room at night, La Esmeralda might see you.”

“If you refuse to sleep, La Esmeralda might see you.”

People would sometimes refer her as “the woman who sees everything”, or “the all-seeing eyes”. But they mostly call her known name.

Unfortunately for Camilo, he would see the scary looking woman one more time through sleep paralysis. It was quite a scary experience for him, laying there so stif for who knows how long while seeing her standing next to his bedside, watching him with her horrifying glowing eyes…

That experience had taught Camilo to always listen to his older sister.

As time went on, more and more children where told the story of La Esmeralda, and parents would warn them about the horrifying legend.

But the thing was; La Esmeralda was in fact real, it just wasn’t her name…

Chapter 11: Some Miracle

Summary:

A new ceremony will take place in Casita, and Mirabel isn’t trilled…

Notes:

NANI??

Apparently someone made a whole TV Tropes page for this fic! Holy shit! Thank you so much to whoever made it!!

You can check it out here! (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheTwoSeers)

Anyways, now that a canon song has finally appeared, idk if I placed it in the right scene or context. Since it was Mirabel’s solo number and “I want” song in the film, I had to change it slightly, so let me know if it fits here, especially as a duet.

Song: Waiting On a Miracle (sung by Mirabel and Bruno)

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

Time flew by as always, even in the walls of Casita. Some days where great despite the circumstances, and some days where pretty bad and filled with pain.

Until one day arrived where Bruno instantly knew Mirabel wouldn’t like for a second…

“Morning, papá!” she greets happily upon sitting at the small table, though that excitement drops when she notices his nervous expression. “What’s wrong? Everything okay?”

“Oh, I’m okay. It’s just…” Bruno pauses, trying to choose the right words to explain it to his daughter without upsetting her, though he would probably fail regardless. “There will be another…uhm…ceremony, and-“

The second that certain word comes out of his mouth, Mirabel’s expression drops to a sad frown, already knowing what her dad is going to say or ask.

“You want to go.” she straight up says, trying to hide the sadness and fear in her voice.

Bruno is silent for a moment, avoiding eye contact with the now 15 year old. “Yes…”

Another moment of silence hits. Mirabel just stares at him, flabbergasted at what she just heard.

“Really?” she asks her dad, as if she wants to make sure she heard him correctly. “After…”

But Mirabel can’t say it, not when those memories still plague her. Bruno however, knows exactly what she wants to ask.

After what happend last time?

After what happend at my ceremony?

He knows today will be hard for Mira, so he will be sure to make it up to her until tonight.

He just…can’t bring himself to skip Antonio’s ceremony, not when he was there for his other nieces and nephew’s…

“I will be careful, ratoncita.” Bruno says in an attempt to put his daughter’s nerves at ease, but he can see she doubts his words. Heck, the older seer almost asks her if she would like to go with him, but that wouldn’t be a good idea…

“I just… I don’t want you to be caught again…” Mirabel admits, her eyes darting everywhere but him, tears burning in her eyes as memories from that night re-surface again. She’s not forbidding her papá anything, even if it’s secretly attending another ceremony. Though the fear of him being seen by Alma again just won’t leave her mind. But a huge selfish side of Mira’s mind just begs her papá to just stay here, to just skip that ceremony, and get this day over with.

“It won’t happen, Mira.” Bruno says, taking her hand in his to comfort her.

“Promise?” Mirabel asks, finally looking at her papá.

“Promise.”

That seems to make the 15 year old a bit better, as she cracks a small smile.

•+•

Unfortunately, the night couldn’t arrive fast enough…

After making sure Mirabel had everything she needs in the small room, along with a big reassuring hug to say that he’ll be fine, Bruno was out the door on his way to the ceremony, leaving Mirabel in the small room with the rats.

She tries to distract herself with embroidery, and playing with the rats, but that doesn’t help at all, and she ends up pacing through the room with every worry in her head. It nearly drives her crazy.

That’s it, she has to get out of this room before she loses her sanity!

Mirabel opens the wooden door, closing it behind her when stepping in the disoriented halls, leaving the rats in the small room, though they have their own exits.

The 15 year old parkours through the torn halls, jumping and swinging over obstacles as her mind clears of worry. It’s a pretty good distraction. Besides, practice makes perfect.

She has completely lost track of time at this point. She could’ve been parkouring for minutes or hours, but Mirabel eventually gets tired, and decides to sit on the floor of the hall to get some rest.

It’s then that her worries and fears catch up with her.

What if her papá has been caught again?

Surely Alma won’t take it well…

That puta will probably throw him out again, leaving her all alone in these halls…

Mirabel feels really tempted to see a vision right now, just to check if everything is going to be okay. After a few minutes of contemplating, she just gives in.

She pressed the tips of her fingers to the sides of her head, trying to focus on the vision. Her vision starts to fade green, the rotten wall she sits across turning into the prediction she planned.

The 15 year old sees a happy family, who look like posing for a picture, as they show off their gifts that they consider miracles (Ugh, miracles…). To her dismay, Mirabel recognizes several of them.

She first notices the two people who where suppose to take care of her, her madre and padre. They look so happy here, as if their youngest daughter hadn’t been send away a decade ago. But, when giving the two once last glance, Mira can see the pain in their eyes. She can’t help but feel a little bad for them, but that doesn’t change her resentment towards the two.

Then, the girl glances at her tía and tío, who are just as happily smiling as the rest. Although she doesn’t really remember them much (aside from tía Pepa being dramatic from time to time), Mirabel still despises them for their lack of action…

Shifting her gaze to the middle, she sees the boy, that’s probably a primo, that has appeared in a few of her visions before. Heck, Mira even had the displeasure of seeing his birth (and that detailed prologue…), so there has to be something revolving him.

Unfortunately, Mirabel doesn’t recognize the rest. Sure, they might be family, but she just…can’t recognize them. Well, aside from one…

Alma…

The woman who threw her out of Casita with seemingly no hesitation. And for what?! To have her perfect family?!

Mirabel’s eyes burn with tears as she takes a longer look at her grandmother. She doesn’t care what her excuses or reasons may be… This is all Alma’s fault…

She’s the reason they have to fend for themselves! She’s the reason the seer duo have to hide in the rotten walls of Casita! She’s the reason they have to savage for food late at night in their own kitchen, have to urinate in the halls which leaves an overwhelming stench, have to wash themselves with a wet cloth just to try and keep up with their hygiene, have to live in nothing more then one small room!

They have to live as less than human because of her

The vision ends, and that’s when Mirabel just sobs. She and her papá had lived better than this, lived in Casita were they where happier, and they could’ve continued living there! But they don’t…

Their lives have been reduced as nothing more than rats…

And all because of her

Unknown to Mirabel, the rats find her, and climb up to her shoulders to try and comfort her. Although she just wants to drown in her sorrow, Mira appreciates the creatures’ efforts.

“Mira?” the girl’s eyes widen and looks up to her right. It’s her papá, kneeling by her side. “Are you okay?”

She doesn’t answer, only looking at him with big, puffy eyes.

”Did they see you?” she asks, wiping her tears away.

Bruno shakes his head as a no, which the gesture alone has the girl relieved.

“How was it?” Mira asks in a small voice.

“It was…fine.” Bruno answers quite rushed, more focused on his daughter’s well-being. “Have you been crying? What’s wrong?”

He helps her stand up, both seers now leaning against the rotten wall, facing the wall across.

“Nothing, just…” Mirabel pauses for a moment, not knowing how to explain it. “Why do you still care about them, after everything?”

Bruno isn’t surprised at the question, at all. He knew that she would ask him that someday, knowing her resentment towards the rest of the adults in their family.

“Because, well, I miss them, and I still love them…” he simply says, glancing at his daughter. “That doesn’t mean you have to. You have every right to be mad, upset, and upset at them, especially after…you know.”

Mirabel stares at her dad for a second, trying to find the words to respond. Instead, she takes a small breath, and lets it all out.

Don’t be upset or mad at all…” she admits, as she leaves the wall and slowly walks through the halls. “Don’t feel regret or sad at all…

But hey, we’re still a part of the family Madrigal. And I’m fine, we’re totally fine.” Bruno attempts to comfort her, putting both hands gently on her shoulders. “We’ll just stand by the side as they shine.

That sentence really rubs Mirabel the wrong way, as fresh tears burn in her eyes again.

I’m not fine. We’re not fine.” she finally admits, wanting to let it all out, and she does. “We can’t move the mountains. We can’t make flowers bloom. I can’t take another night up in these halls, waiting on some miracle.

Bruno is shocked at the pain his daughter has been hiding, but he doesn’t interfere, instead letting her express it and let it out.

We can’t heal what’s broken. Can’t control the morning rain or a hurricane. Can’t keep down the unspoken invisible pain. Always waiting on a miracle, some miracle.” Mirabel continues, as she walks further in the halls, the older seer following her. “Always walking alone. Always wanting for more, like we’re still at our doors longing to shine like all of them shine!

All we need is a change.” Bruno tries to see the positive, tries to see the light in their situation. “All we need is a chance.

All I know is that we can’t stay by their side!” the girl argues back, turning to him with an expression that begs. “Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Open your eyes!

I would move the mountains.” Bruno tries to comfort her, keeping up with her pace. “Make new trees and flowers grow.

Someone please just let us know where can we go?

We are waiting on a miracle.

Some miracle.

I would heal what’s broken. Show this family something new.” Bruno tries to stay positive despite it all, facing Mira. “Who we are inside, so what can we do? We’re sick of waiting on a miracle…”

But you are my miracle!

Bruno turns to his daughter again, stunned for a moment at what he just heard. Then he gets reminded again, reminded of what he does have, and it’s right in front of him.

“I just…don’t want you hurt by them again…” Mirabel says, looking away. She knows how much her papá loves and cares for the rest of their family despite them having thrown both of them out, something Mira herself refuses to do. She may not get it, but she won’t forbid her papá from loving and caring for them.

Suddenly, she feels two arms wrap around her, pulling her into a warm hug. Mira instantly knows who it is, and just hugs him back.

“Lo siento…” Bruno apologizes as he holds his daughter. He didn’t mean to pressure her into forgiving a family (particularly Alma) that abandoned them both. He may have forgiven her for abandoning him, but he crossed the line when she did the same to Mira. And the girl has every right not to forgive that woman for it.

“It’s alright, papá.” Mirabel reassures, before pulling away from the hug, giving him a small smile. She’s just glad that he hasn’t been caught by her, and that he’s still here. Thank goodness the ceremony has passed, and that another one won’t arrive any time soon in the future.

It only takes silence for both seers to know the relieve the other feels, as they can leave this difficult night behind them.

Everything is gonna be fine from now on.

Chapter 12: The Incomplete Family Madrigal

Summary:

Antonio gets confronted with the existence of a certain prima, as well as something else…

Notes:

Here it finally is, the plot of the movie!

Shit will get real from here on out…

Song: The Family Madrigal (sung by Antonio, Alma, and townspeople)

Note: the kids aren’t the same ones in the canon version of the song, so you can just imagine how the kids in this version look like😄

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

The next 7 years fly by, in which the Madrigal family happily lived with their maniacal gifts in Casita.

And so, another day arrived.

The youngest Madrigal, 12 year old Antonio, is getting up from his bed, dressing up for the day, before leaving his room and going downstairs with some of his smaller animal friends following him.

“Morning, abuelo!” he greets upon running past the painting of Pedro.

The boy gets to the kitchen, Casita rolling a few plates for him to catch when he hears a voice from outside.

“Hey, when’s that gift-happening?” a kid asks, almost yelling.

“Oscar’s ceremony is tomorrow night.” Antonio answers as he puts the plates on the table.

”What’s his gift?” the same kid asks.

”We’re gonna find out!”

“What’s your gift?” another kid asks.

“Who’s asking?” the youngest Madrigal asks playfully.

“Us!”

“Well us, I can’t just talk about myself.” Antonio says, before turning to the family tree on the wall, though two names and illustrations are scrapped out. “I’m only part of the amazing Madrigals.”

“Who are the amazing Madrigals?!”

“Ah, you’re not gonna leave us alone, are you?” Antonio asks playfully again, a bird on his shoulder chirping in agreement. “Casita, help me out!”

The living house answers by obeying the youngest Madrigal with no questions.

Drawers!” he says, to which Casita opens and closes them. “Floors!” yet again, the house makes the courtyard floor move. “Doors!” And yet again, Casita makes (almost) all the magic doors light up. “Let’s go!

To start the day off, Antonio has to wake the rest of his family up, which he doesn’t mind.

This is our home. We’ve got every generation. So full of music. A rhythm of its own design.” the 12 year old knocks on everyone’s doors, letting them know that a new morning has come and that the town needs them again. “This is my family, a perfect constellation. So many stars and everybody gets to shine!

As everyone wakes up and gets dressed for the day, Antonio sees Alma walk out of her door, walking proudly and ready to help.

Whoa! And let’s be clear, Abuela runs this show. Whoa! She led us here so many years ago. Whoa! And every year our family blessings grow.” The Madrigal family quickly ate their breakfast, and then begin to make their way outside Casita towards the town. “There’s just a lot you simply got to know so…

Antonio opens the giant doors of Casita, letting the rest of the family walk out.

Welcome to the family Madrigal. The home of the family Madrigal. We’re on our way!” He, along with his smaller animal friends, waves bye to Casita, said house doing the same. “Where all the people are fantastical and magical. I’m part of the family Madrigal.

“Oh my gosh, it’s them!” The same three children say, running after the Madrigal they just spoke to.

Upon arriving in the town, Antonio immediately has the same three children on his tail, asking a lot of questions.

“What are the gifts?”

“I can’t remember all the gifts!”

“But I don’t know who is who?”

“Alright, alright, relax.” Antonio says, one of his animal friends chirping in agreement, but the kid won’t have it.

“It is physically impossible to relax!”

“Tell is everything! What are your powers?”

“Just tell us what everyone can do!”

One of Antonio’s animal friends faces the last kid, saying something in animal-language that he can understand. The youngest Madrigal then turns around as well.

“He says you shouldn’t drink coffee, it’s for grown ups.” Antonio says, warning the kid a bit.

But of course, the kid doesn’t listen, and takes another sip of his coffee. Oh well.

Regardless of that, the youngest Madrigal goes to the mural to introduce his family to the kids.

My mamá Pepa, her mood affects the weather. When she’s unhappy, well, the temperature gets weird.” Antonio introduces his mother, throwing the umbrella he’s holding away. “My Tío Bruno…”

We don’t talk about Bruno!” the townspeople warn him, but he decides to ignore them.

They say he saw the future. One day he disappeared.” Antonio continues, before moving on to the last of the triplets. “Oh, and that’s my Tía Julieta, here’s her deal. Whoa! The truth is she can heal you with a meal. Whoa! Her recipes are remedies for real.” Seeing his tía give food to the townspeople, Antonio approaches her. “If you’re impressed, imagine how I feel.

Seeing his Tía smile, the 12 year old knows she appreciates it. He then continues his way through town with the three kids and the animals behind him.

Welcome to the family Madrigal! The home of the family Madrigal. Hey, coming through!” Antonio says as he dodges a few townspeople in his way. “I know it sounds a bit fantastical and magical, but I’m part of the family Madrigal.

Now, it’s time to introduce the married couples of the Madrigal family.

Two guys fell in love with family Madrigal, and now they’re part of the family Madrigal.” Antonio continues. “See, Papá Félix married Pepa, and Tío Agustin married Julieta. That’s Abuela became an Abuela Madrigal. Let’s go, let’s go!

We swear to always help those around us, and earned the miracle that somehow found us.” Alma explains as she helps the town. “The town keeps growing, the world keeps turning. But work and dedication will keep the miracle burning, and each new generation must keep the miracle burning.

It’s then that the kids ask questions again.

“Wait, who’s a sister and who’s a cousin?”

“There’s so many people!“

“How do you keep them all straight?”

Okay, okay, okay, okay! So many kids in our house, so let’s turn the sound up!” Antonio continues, going back to the mural. “You know why? I think it’s time for a grandkid round up!

Grandkid round up!

Sister Dolores can hear a pin drop, Camilo shape shifts, and I can talk to animals.” the youngest Madrigal explains. “My older primas, Isabela and Luisa. One strong, one graceful. Perfect in every way.

As he hears the town chant Isabela’s name, his last sentence may be true to some extend, even though Antonio was joking.

Grows a flower, the town goes wild.” the 12 year old jokes again, earning a red flower in his hair from his oldest prima. “She’s the perfect golden child.

He then hears some townspeople chant Luisa’s name, reminding him.

And Luisa is super strong.” Antonio says as he and the kids stand on the bridge Luisa is holding, placing it back. “The beauty and the brawn do no wrong.

It’s now time to round it up.

That’s life in the family Madrigal. Now you know the family Madrigal.” Antonio continues, ready to finish it up. “Where all the people are fantastical and magical. That’s who we are in the family Madrigal.

That’s it, the introduction is finally done.

“Adios!” Antonio says, wanting to walk away, but one of the kids grabs his arm. “Oh…”

“But what’s her gift?” the same kid asks, running to the mural and points at the girl in the lower far right, next to Luisa.

Antonio looks at the illustration for a second. The girl looks quite a lot like Tía Julieta, wears a white blouse with a long grey skirt, along with green glasses, and her expression is indifferent, almost dull.

While she may be on the Madrigal mural, he doesn’t know who she is, only her name and that they aren’t allowed to say it for whatever reason, kinda like Tío Bruno…

It has Antonio suddenly remember that boarded up room that’s next to Luisa’s, the magical room that was never opened. Is that her room? Was she exiled like Tío Bruno? What exactly happend to her? Dios, does Antonio have a lot of questions begged to be answered.

And the kids want answers as well.

“Yeah, who is she?”

“We never see her!”

“Where is she?”

“Is she even real?

Before Antonio can answer, an older teenager from town is already ahead of him.

“Oh, that’s Mirabel.” She says as she stops in her tracks, looking at the kids before looking at the 12 year old with a smirk. “We don’t mention her.”

She walks away, leaving a shocked and slightly panicking Antonio to give the kids an explanation, who are all looking at him, wanting to know more about this Mirabel.

The 12 year old feels trapped, not wanting to upset Abuela by saying the name they don’t mention, so he has to find a way to escape this topic.

Ha! Well, she was once part of the family Madrigal. But now you all know the family Madrigal.” Antonio tries to change the subject, tries to go back to Casita, but the kids follow him everywhere, wanting to know more about the mysterious Madrigal. And combine that with a few animal friends trying to talk to him, it starts to overwhelm him. “I never meant to get autobiographical, so just to review the family Madrigal! Let’s go!

But what about Mirabel?

It starts with Abuela and then Mamá Pepa, she handles the weather.

But what about Mirabel?

My Tía Julieta can make you feel better with just one arepa.

But what about Mirabel?

My Tío Agustin, Well, he’s accident prone but he means well.

But what about Mirabel?

Hey, you said you wanted to know what everyone does. I got siblings and primas and-

Mirabel!

My brother Camilo won’t stop until he makes you smile today!

Mirabel!

My sister Dolores can hear this whole chorus a mile away!

Mirabel!

Look, it’s my cousin-in-law, Mariano. You’re great to my prima. And this is their kid, Oscar. He will get his gift tomorrow. Oh, I said too much and thank you but I really gotta go!

Mirabel!

My family is amazing!

Mirabel!

And she was in our family, so-

Mirabel!

Well-

“Antonio!”

The named Madrigal’s eyes widen, already fearing the worst. He turns around to see Abuela standing in the doorway of Casita.

“What are you doing?” she asks her youngest grandson, her tone and expression sounding a bit confused.

“Oh, they where just asking about the family-“

“He was about to tell us about Mirabel’s super awesome gift!” one of the kids cut in, not even caring that she shouldn’t say that name out loud, especially not in Abuela’s earshot…

Antonio swallows a lump in his throat, as well as feeling his heart pound in his chest a bit. How did that name become so taboo?

“Oh, we don’t mention her.” Dolores says, glancing from the side of Casita’s entrance before going back to do her chore again, saving her youngest brother from a scolding. “Hm!”

And oh, thank goodness Abuela only gives him a stern look as if saying; “Don’t you dare do that again.”, and returns to her chore…

All the kids then turn to Antonio, all confused about all of this.

“Why can’t we talk about her?” one of them asks.

The youngest Madrigal doesn’t answer immediately, thinking about all of this as well.

Like the kids earlier, he has a lot of questions.

“I…I don’t know…”

•+•

Thank goodness that no one else in the family heard the commotion from earlier (well, except Mariano, but he looked like he didn’t pay attention to it), as Antonio saw them just being busy with their chores in Casita shortly afterwards.

Speaking of which, he probably has to do some chores as well, if only to not have Abuela complaining.

“Antonio, can you help your Tío with organizing the groceries?” Julieta asks her youngest nephew from a distance.

“Of course, Tía Julieta!” Antonio calls out, before immediately running to the dining area with a few birds following him. Sure, putting the groceries in cabinets may seem lame, but at least he has something to do now.

“Hola Antonio!” Agustin greets upon seeing his nephew arrive in the dining area. Luckily, his bee stings have healed just in time.

“Tía Julieta said I can help you here.” Antonio says, already grabbing a handful of carrots.

Agustin only nods, letting the boy and his animal friends help him. Well, as long as the latter doesn’t have any bees.

As the two put the groceries in the cabinets, Antonio’s questions about the Madrigal they don’t mention resurface again. Should he ask Tío Agustin about her? Given her place on the mural, she seems to be from Tía Julieta’s side. And Mamá and Abuela aren’t here to shush the conversation down. Besides, Tío Agustin seems to be the nicest of the adults.

“Can you soon tell the bees again that they shouldn’t sting me?” Agustin asks his nephew, half joking, though he’s also quite serious.

“Sorry, they never really listen.” Antonio answers, feeling a bit sorry for his Tío. “Though the rats in the walls seem to hate me…”

“Hey, está bien.” Agustin reassures. “Sometimes things don’t go well, even with a gift.”

It seems to make Antonio feel a bit better about his power.

“Say, how did it go in town?” The giftless Madrigal then asks, changing the subject as he puts the rest of the groceries on the diner table. “Did the children ask a lot of questions again?”

“Oh, they did, it’s just…” This is it, the perfect opportunity to bring up the Madrigal they don’t mention. “They asked about a Madrigal named…Mirabel.”

Upon hearing the name, Agustin’s eyes widen, his expression changes into a saddened one. He turns away from his nephew, trying to hide the tears burning in his eyes.

“Tío Agustin, who is she?” Antonio asks, this time more carefully.

The giftless Madrigal wipes his burning tears away, turning to his nephew again as he sits down at the table.

“Mira is your prima…” Agustin finally says, looking down a bit. He then shifts his gaze to the family tree hanging on the wall, revealing the whole Madrigal family with two of them scrapped out.

“But what happened to her?” Antonio asks further, also sitting down at the table after asking his animal friends if they can continue putting the groceries away. “Why can’t we talk about her?”

Agustin blinks a few times, unsure of how to explain it all to his nephew, before looking up at him again.

“She got a gift that Abuela considered bad for the community…” he explains, still remembering that horrible day. “So she-“

“Antonio, can you tell Señora Morata’s cat to behave again?” Pepa calls out from another nearby place in Casita, unknowingly cutting off a quite important conversation.

Sometimes, they have to do the most simplest tasks for the villagers…

“On it, mamá!” Antonio says, quickly getting up and putting the last of the groceries away. He then turns back to his Tío. Even though his explanation got cut off, Antonio has a few pretty good images of what may have happend to Mira, and none of them are anything good… “Thanks for the talk, Tío.”

The boy sees his uncle crack a smile, as if he’s kinda relieved to talk about Mirabel and her absence. That, until Agustin’s eyes widen, as if suddenly remembering something.

“Please, don’t tell anyone else!” He says quite panicked.

“Not a word!” Antonio reassures with confidence, before he’s out of the dining area towards his next chore. Of course he’s not going to tell or ask anyone else about the Madrigal they don’t mention. They will either flip out or shut the conversation with a certain famous sentence down.

At least his Tío is willing to talk about her.

But this has the boy thinking. They are an incomplete family, they have been for years…

•+•

The afternoon came and went, to which followed dinner.

The Madrigal family are currently seating at the dinner table, enjoying Julieta’s meals as they talk about whatever topic comes to mind.

Antonio gazes at his food as he hears his family talk, struggling to keep his eyes open. He had to do quite a lot of chores to do for the townspeople, probably a bit too much to handle, but at least they and Abuela are happy.

“Antonio, you really should go to bed earlier.” Isabela says, who’s sitting next to him, noticing her primo struggling to stay awake.

“Sí, Isa…” he responds without looking at her. Does she really have to say that at the dinner table? Antonio knows his older siblings and primas have been quite protective of him ever since he was born, especially Isabela and Luisa, but it could sometimes be a bit too much.

Then suddenly, he hears something that sounds like a wall cracking.

Antonio’s eyes snap open at the sound, gazing around to try and find the source. But instead, he sees a lot more cracks forming right in front of him as the sounds get louder and louder, tearing the wall apart. Looking past Camilo, who sits across from him, Antonio sees even more of them.

“Casita is breaking!” he calls out without a second thought, startling the entire family. “I-I saw cracks in the wall, right there!”

Antonio points to where he saw them, but when the rest of the family look at the direction he’s pointing, the cracks are…gone? How? He saw them with his own eyes! He-

“Maybe Isabela is right, maybe you’re just tired.” Alma says, turning back to her youngest grandson with a soft expression.

The 12 year old wants to protest, wants to tell his Abuela that he really saw cracks in the walls, but he doesn’t have energy to.

The rest of the family seem to either think nothing of it, or they’re just too tired of the busy day, as they continue to talk and eat.

But Antonio knows what he saw, and his mind won’t let it go.

Chapter 13: Don’t Talk About Them

Summary:

It’s clear that the Madrigals don’t talk about Bruno, but what about Mirabel?

Notes:

Can I just give a huge thank you to everyone who supports this series, especially the comments from the previous chapter? The chorus suggestion especially made me cry😊😭

Songs:
-We Don’t Talk About Bruno (sung by Pepa, Félix, Dolores, Camilo, Isabela, Antonio, and townspeople)
-Let’s Mention Mira (sung by Antonio and Agustin)

Yup, the only chapter with 2 songs (one being a kind of reprise).

I’ve re-written the “Let’s Talk About Bruno” verses from All Of You for the latter, and added a few chorus’ myself. No way am I doing All Of You in it’s entirety😅

Also, I hope I didn’t fuck up Camilo’s verse in WDTAB, ‘cause I really think I could’ve written better😬

Anyways, enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

That night, Antonio can’t sleep for a second, not even trying to close his eyes unless he has to blink.

The image and sounds of the cracks have simply stuck in his mind ever since he saw them at dinner. He can even still hear them in his head.

He knows he wasn’t hallucinating somehow. And Camilo, if he will try, won’t scare or convince him that it was La Esmeralda’s doing. No, Antonio knows what he saw.

But…everyone else looked at him worryingly, as if they thought he wasn’t well, as if they didn’t believe him…

Antonio shakes the last negative thought out of his head. No, they will believe him eventually. He just has to tell them.

And he’s quite certain his superhearing sister has heard the cracks as well…

•+•

After a very, very long night, another morning has arrived.

Not having slept for a second, and only having one thing on his mind, Antonio goes straight to his older sister without even grabbing breakfast.

“Buenos días, Dolores!” he greets, forgetting about her superhearing for a second. “You know, you’re my favorite sister, so I feel like I can talk to you about anything. Like the cracks in the wall last night that no one seems to worry about, but maybe you heard about that-“

Antonio is so caught up in his rambling and tiredness that he doesn’t even notice that he isn’t talking to the real Dolores, as Camilo transforms back into himself.

“Woah, woah, Antonio, Calm down!” he says, concerned for his little brother. “Did you even sleep last night?”

The boy’s twitching eye and the bags under both of them already give Camilo his answer.

“Do you even know what day it is?” the shapeshifter asks further, to which Antonio shakes his head as a no. “Oh dios mío, it’s Oscar’s ceremony day!“

The animals even seem to know that tonight will be another ceremony.

Antonio blinks a few times, slowly remembering what his brother and the animals are talking about. “Oh…”

It’s still somehow quite strange to realize that Tía Julieta and Tío Agustin have been abuelos for 5 years already. Boy, does time fly by. And although Isabela and Mariano expressed the desire to be childfree, fate had other plans…

The married couple themselves don’t seem to express affection to one another, not even the slightest. But they seem to get along perfectly well, so nothing is wrong, right?

“Camilo!” It’s Félix, along with Dolores, both appearing from behind the side of the house. “Stop pretending to be Dolores so you can have seconds!”

“I know, papá! But-“ Camilo explains himself as he follows his dad to the table, leaving Antonio with the real Dolores.

“The only one worrying about the cracks is you.” She says, glancing at her little brother. “And the rats talking in the walls.” Antonio blinks in confusion at his sister’s words. “Hm!”

“There you are, Antonio!” It’s Isabela, walking towards him with her own plate of breakfast in one hand. “Have you wished Oscar a happy birthday already?”

The now 5 year old in question already sits at the dinner table, next to his father. Oscar is already dressed in the white outfit for his ceremony, the same white outfit Antonio had wore for his own, to be exact.

Most townspeople say that the young boy looks exactly like his mother, but also looks quite like his father at the same time somehow. A perfect blend of both parents, as Abuela had said when holding her first great-grandchild for the first time.

“Not yet, but I will!” Antonio reassures his oldest prima.

The moment is short lived, as Isabela also notices the bags under her primo’s eyes.

“Dios mío, have you been awake all night?!” she asks worryingly, before quickly grabbing a ton of food and shoving it into her primo’s arms. “Here, just eat this and you’ll feel great again.”

“Sí, Isa.” Antonio only answers as he walks towards the table with a bit of a struggle, almost not seeing anything because of the huge amount of food in his arms. Luckily, he makes it, sitting next to his mamá.

As he starts to eat an arepa, he can’t help but overhear Isabela talking with Dolores about something. Not that he means to, but Isabela kinda talks loud.

“Isa, uhm, can I maybe borrow…one of your dresses?” Dolores asks quite carefully, as if already knowing her prima’s answer.

“One of my dresses?” Isabela asks, as if wanting to make sure she hears her prima correctly.

“S-sí! I’ll bring it right back-“

“Like the time you promised to bring back Tía Pepa’s good napkins?! Or Mamá’s empanadas made for Luisa’s 19th birthday?! Papá’s shoes?! the gramophone?! My sandals?!” the flower woman lists off, getting madder with each instance. “Where are my sandals?!”

Antonio swallows his bite with great difficulty. He’s willing to bet that Camilo secretly borrowed all those things while pretending to be Dolores again. Why? Absolutely no idea. But Antonio knows that his big brother would definitely do such stunts for one reason or another.

That, or Isabela is just stressed for the ceremony.

“Calm down, mija.” Julieta tries to sooth her oldest daughter, going to her side. “Just look forward to tonight, okay?”

That seems to calm Isabela down, though she shakes her head with a glare at Dolores as a no, giving her an answer. The flower woman then joins her family at the huge table, sitting next to her son.

“Mamá?” Oscar asks, facing his mother with big eyes. “Will Tía Mira-”

“Shhh!” Both Isabela and Mariano shushes their son, before glancing around at everyone, hoping that no one else has heard.

While it looks like no one has, Dolores and Antonio have heard, but decide to keep quiet. No drama or sadness allowed on this day.

“Lo siento, mijo. But…” Isabela whispers, then pauses, looking down for a moment. “She probably won’t…”

“We’re sorry…” Mariano apologizes too, putting a gentle hand on his son’s back to comfort him.

This obviously disappoints the boy. His parents have told him vaguely about his second Tía (though with difficulty), and that she may be still out there. But why won’t she attend his ceremony? Why won’t she come back?

It’s at this moment that Alma arrives, seating herself at the head of the table.

“Family, another gift will be granted tonight.” Alma starts, giving Oscar a warm smile. “So today, we must prepare Casita again for the ceremony.”

Most of the Madrigals chatter excitedly at that, almost not being able to wait for tonight.

“Our community is counting on us.” Alma finishes, letting her family eat breakfast. “La familia Madrigal!”

“La familia Madrigal!” everyone else repeats, before continuing to eat breakfast to later decorate Casita.

Antonio takes another bite of his arepa, the cracks still on his mind. Oh goodness, does he hope they won’t ruin Oscar’s ceremony tonight…

•+•

A lot of chores and preparations had to be done, a lot.

And the Madrigals where under a lot of stress again.

Like how Pepa accidentally caused a storm when she started to worry about how her grandnephew’s ceremony will go, ruining all the flowers that where already decorated. Or when Luisa almost bursted into tears after having done so many chores, while also having to do many more.

But finally, oh finally, Antonio finds himself in his own room, being able to take a small break.

Though the cracks still hasn’t left his mind yet, even when doing preparations. It has the 12 year old feel a little guilty. It’s suppose to be Oscar’s day, his night, and Antonio only thinks about something entirely different.

Luckily, he can talk about it with his animal friends.

“But the cracks where there last night! I saw them with my own eyes!” Antonio says to his pet jaguar and a few raccoons.

One of the raccoons responds to that in his animal language, which the boy understands.

“The magic can’t possibly be in danger! It never has been, so why should it now?” Antonio argues weakly.

This time, his pet jaguar responds, going against the previous point.

“I mean, Casita is cracking, not the candle.”

Another raccoon says something again in response.

“What? N-no, I can’t!” Antonio says, almost not believing what his animal friend suggested. “I can’t possibly look for Tío Bruno-“

Suddenly, he hears a thunderclap behind him, making him jump out of his skin and scaring the animals. Antonio turns around while standing up, and sees his mother in his doorway.

“Mamá?” Antonio asks, a tiny bit scared, mostly from the thunderclap.

“Sorry. Sorry, mijo. I didn’t mean to…” Pepa pauses, but gets distracted by the cloud above her head, and tries to throw it out the door. “Shoo, shoo, shoo!” She manages to get the cloud out of the room with a bit of struggling. “I was just looking for you, and then I heard the name we do not speak…”

As a result of that sentence, another cloud forms above Pepa’s head, this time a darker one, ready to thunder.

“Great, now I’m thundering.” she says, obviously frustrated. “And that thunder will lead to a drizzle, and a drizzle will lead to a sprinkle…” Pepa panics a little, but manages to find her calm. “Clear skies, clear skies. Clear skies…”

Now that his mother has calmed down, Antonio feels like he can ask her something.

“Mamá? When Bru…” he pauses, seeing another dark cloud form above his mamá’s head. “When he left, did he leave on a random day, or after Mira’s-“

“We don’t talk about Bruno.” Pepa cuts her son off, the thundercloud above her head forming into a raincloud.

“I-I know, it’s just that there’s also Mi-“

Please, Tonito! We have to get ready for Oscar’s ceremony tonight!” Pepa says, already stressing a bit about tonight.

“I just want you to know that there’s also a second someone-“

“It was a nightmare!” Félix says dramatically, barging into his youngest son’s room.

“Félix!” Pepa warns, getting to his side.

“Hey, he needs to know, Pepi. He needs to know.” he says in response.

At first, Antonio hopes, even expects, that his parents will finally fully explain why his fourth oldest prima isn’t here, what happend to her. But no…

“Don’t talk about Bruno!”

“He would see something terrible.” he explains to Antonio, ignoring his wife’s protests. “And then… Kra, tick tick tick tick tick tick! Boom! It would happen!”

“We don’t talk about Bruno!” Pepa warns her husband again, but to no avail.

“What if you didn’t understand what he saw?” Antonio asks both his parents. Despite wanting answers on his prima’s absence, he still doesn’t get why they’re so against his Tío.

“Then you better figure it out, because it was coming for you!” Félix says in an attempt to scare his youngest son a bit.

It’s then that Pepa decides to just explain her son everything…

We don’t talk about Bruno, no, no, no. We don’t talk about Bruno.” she clarifies, getting to her husband’s side. “But, it was my wedding day.

It was our wedding day.

We were getting ready and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

No clouds allowed in the sky.

Bruno walks in with a mischievous grin.

Thunder!

You’re telling the story or am I?

I’m sorry, mi vida, go on.

Bruno says ‘It looks like rain’.” Pepa continues.

Why did he tell us?

In doing so, he floods my brain.

Abuela, get the umbrellas.

Married in a hurricane!

What a joyous day, but anyway.

We don’t talk about Bruno, no, no, no.” Both Pepa and Félix clarify to their youngest son. “We don’t talk about Bruno!

It’s then that Dolores decides to chime in.

Hey, grew to live in fear of them stuttering or stumbling. I can always hear them sort of muttering and mumbling. I associate them with the sound of falling sand.” she says to her youngest brother. “It’s a heavy lift with a gift so humbling. Always left Abuela and the adults fumbling. Grappling with prophesies she wouldn’t understand. Do you understand?

Apparently, Camilo interpreted a few sentences wrong, as he decides this is the perfect opportunity to get two horror tales into the mix.

Seven-foot frame, and a ghost covered in black. When they call your name, it all fades to black.” The shapeshifter says, attempting to scare his little brother a bit. “Yeah, she sees your dreams, and he feasts on your screams.

We don’t talk about Bruno, no, no, no.” His parents and siblings remind him again. “We don’t talk about Bruno!

It’s then that some townspeople decide to join in too.

He told me my fish would die. The next day, dead!

No, no!

He told me I’d grow a gut, and just like he said!

No, no!

He said that all my hair would disappear, now look at me head!” The priest even chimes in.

No, no!

Your fate is sealed when your prophesy is read!” Pepa, Félix, and Camilo conclude, though saying it to Antonio.

He told me that the life of my dreams would be promised and someday be mine.” Isabela says as she’s the center of attention again, slowly let down to the ground by a vine-swing, with little Oscar on her lap. “He told me that my power would grow like the grapes that thrive on the vine.

He told me that the man of my dreams would be just out of reach, married to another.” Dolores tells, but she knows no one is really listening. It doesn’t matter though. “It’s like I hear them now. It’s like I hear them now. I can hear them now!

Um, Bruno.” Antonio tries to tell something, but he has some other questions still hanging in his head. “But what about Mira? I really need to know about Mira! Give me the truth, the whole truth, Mira!

Isabela, Abuela is here!” Camilo announces, as if trying to cut his brother off.

Time for dinner!” Isabela and Luisa respond, as if they haven’t even heard their primo’s words.

It’s then that it becomes utterly confusing for Antonio to follow, as his primas and siblings repeat what they already explained all at the same time, making it very difficult to keep up with. Not being able to process any of it anymore, Antonio goes to his room again, though he can still hear them through the door.

Bruno says it looks like rain.

Why did he tell us?

In doing so he floods my-

Married to another, another. And I’m fine.

And I’m fine.

And I’m fine.

I’m fine!

She’s here!

Don’t talk about Bruno!” Antonio already hears his parents say to him.

Why did I talk about Bruno?” the 12 year old asks himself.

And don’t mention her too!

But I really need to know about Mira!

Another loud thunderclap from outside cuts his thoughts off, though not scaring Antonio that much.

However, he soon drowns in his thoughts once again. Why does almost everyone avoid even having to hear Mira’s name? Was her gift that dangerous, or scary? What was it about her that the family doesn’t like?

Its then that it finally sinks in. It was always “We don’t talk about them”…

“Tonito, dinner!” his mother calls out from downstairs.

It shakes Antonio out of his thoughts once again, the mere image of a stressful dinner replacing it.

Oh great…

•+•

The 12 year old wasn’t wrong when he guessed that dinner would be filled with stress…

If anything, it’s quite tense…

“My baby’s night has to be perfect, it has to be perfect! And the whole town will be coming! And-“ Isabela rambles on and on as flowers spring up on her head. Meanwhile, Mariano covers Oscar’s ears just in case a nasty word slips out. “I’m not afraid! I’m not afraid something will go wrong like-“

“Mija please, calm down.” Julieta says, while Luisa also attempts to calm her older sister down, despite her twitching eye.

“No, mamá! Anything can go wrong tonight!” Isabela answers, obviously stressed and nervous. She needs some reassurance, something that will make her remember again that everything is going to be okay. She then turns to her son, who’s sitting between her and Mariano, and grabs both of his small hands. “Just remember that we love you, no matter what gift you will get.“

“Even without a gift?” the boy asks, feeling kinda scared at the thought.

“Even without a gift.” both Isabela and Mariano answer, hugging their son to comfort him.

Antonio watches the adorable scene from across the other side of the table, eating his dinner as memories resurface. Both Luisa and Isabela behaved exactly like that when it was his ceremony day, and even before that. Somewhat overprotective, constantly reassuring that everything will be fine, even a bit clingy. Antonio figured that their reason was because he was the youngest of the family back than, and now it’s Oscar’s turn.

Well, that’s quite obvious, since Isa is his mother.

But after Tío Agustin’s vague explanation from yesterday, Antonio now suspects a different reason…

“Did you all finish decorating for tonight?” Alma asks her family, wanting to know how it’s all going. Of course, she has helped too, despite Julieta insisting she shouldn’t.

“Almost, just a few things that still need to be done!” Luisa says, to which Julieta looks at her with an expression that says; “Don’t you dare do any chores until you finish your plate”. Despite the urge to get those little things done, Luisa kinda appreciates it.

“Excellent!” Alma says in response, clapping her hands together. “The magic will grant another wonderful gift tonight, so everything must be perfecto!”

Both Isabela and Antonio can’t help but roll their eyes at that. As if that isn’t obvious…

Though the latter can’t help but notice Dolores’ saddened expression that she had wore the entire dinner.

His gaze then falls on the family tree hanging on the wall, noticing the two scrapped-out figures.

And what about them, Abuela?

It’s then that Antonio hears Casita cracking again. Unlike the crack from yesterday, which sounded loud and having seen them in the wall, the sound is small and faint, this time not visible.

This time, Antonio doesn’t even bother to tell the others, they have a lot of stress on their plates for tonight anyways.

•+•

Once dinner was finished, Antonio went straight to his room again, avoiding the others as best as he could.

He’s just laying in his hammock-bed, staring at the ceiling of his room as he drowns in his thoughts.

Where in the Encanto do these cracks come from? How is Casita cracking in the first place? Is it because of Tío Bruno and Mira? Do they have to come back to save the magic? Where are they even living? Are they still in the Encanto, or already left?

Antonio’s thoughts are cut off when he hears a knock on his door.

“Antonio?” It’s Tío Agustin, who carefully enters the room to not upset the animals somehow. “Are you in here?”

The boy in question shoots up from his bed upon realizing who it is, immediately climbing down to the ground to meet him.

It’s Tío Agustin! He has to be willing to give him some answers! He already did yesterday, so why not now?

“I’m here! I’m here!” Antonio calls out, sprinting towards his Tío, immediately bombarding him with questions. “So, do you know where Tío Bruno and Mira are? What happend to her? How-“

“H-hold up.” Agustin cuts his nephew off, getting overwhelmed by all the questions. “I was gonna ask you to get to the courtyard. The townspeople are already on their way.”

“Okay, okay…” Antonio just says, obviously not paying attention, rushing his answer. “Now, about Mira-“

“Not today.” Agustin says, almost saying it as a warning, but not in a strict tone. “We have to get ready for the ceremony.”

“I know, but everyone was talking about Bruno earlier, so-“

“Por favor, Antonio. We have to be in the courtyard.”

But the boy has enough of everyone constantly avoiding and dodging that certain name, and he will make that clear.

Just talk about Mirabel, well, well, well, well?

But Abuela won’t allow us to tell.” Agustin states, though that’s already obvious.

Stop! We’re gonna talk about Mira!” Antonio insists, not letting the topic go this time. “She’s your hija!

But I don’t know how to talk about Mira.” Agustin admits, feeling quite ashamed.

Well, just start.

Okay.” He says, and then it’s like the words just spill out of him. “It was at her ceremony. She got the gift of future-seeing. But Abuela didn’t like that. It was really upsetting. And I want you to know that I still miss her so, let it in, let it out, let growl, let it howl, let it go!

You mean just like Tío Bruno?” Antonio can’t help but ask.

‘Got a lot of things I really have to say.

Just let it all out, okay?” Antonio reassures, a wave of optimism suddenly hitting him. “They both could go back to the light!

The family all reunite!

And no matter what happens, we’re gonna find our way!” Both uncle and nephew conclude, already imagining them reuniting happily.

But…that won’t happen, it most likely won’t. They don’t even know where Bruno and Mirabel live, let alone how they feel about the family. They may hate them, despise them, resent them, wanting nothing to do with them. And the two estranged Madrigals have every right to be.

If the two will ever reunite with the family again, it probably won’t be one with open arms…

The thought makes the mood quite sad, as Agustin’s optimistic smile fades, guilt washing over him again. “I just want to know if you’re doing well, Mirabel…

Hearing that, Antonio suddenly doesn’t want to attend the ceremony anymore, and he’s pretty sure his Tío doesn’t want to either…

“Antonio, can you help Camilo with greeting the guests?” Abuela asks from somewhere in Casita, at least close enough to Antonio’s door for him to hear.

Speaking of the devil…

“We…we should go.” Agustin says to his youngest nephew, sketching a smile on his face.

Antonio nods in response, and tries to look on the bright side for tonight as he walks out of his room, his Tío following right behind.

They have a ceremony to attend.

Notes:

Just to get this out of the way; nope, Oscar won’t be another seer (past or future). Two is already enough😊

And yup, both Bruno and Mira heard WDTAB. Unlike the former, the latter wasn’t vibing, at all…

Unfortunately, Mira didn’t hear her reprise…

Chapter 14: History Repeats (Or Not)

Summary:

Another ceremony will take place at Casita, one that may repeat history…

Notes:

The awaited ceremony has come!

Edit: Just changed a few lines in chapter 12 so that Oscar won’t come out of nowhere in 13😅

No songs for a while, unfortunately :(

Anyways, enjoy😈

Chapter Text

As more and more townspeople and children enter Casita, all being greeted by Camilo and Antonio, the party begins to start. The newest door, swirling and glowing with golden dust, on display for everyone to see, ready to be opened.

The children have the time of their lives the second they were in the magical house. Some of them slide down the magical stairs Casita can move, some just run around, and some even cling to Luisa’s back for a piggyback ride. Luckily, she doesn’t mind.

Meanwhile, adults are talking about what gift the 5 year old Madrigal in question may get, as well as other stuff, while others grab some food, or admire the beauty and grace of a certain flower woman.

Speaking of which, Isabela is braiding kids’ hair with vines and flowers when she sees Dolores standing alone, looking quite saddened as she leans against the wall, covering her ears a bit.

The flower woman wants to check up on her prima, to ask her if she’s okay, as well as to apologize for ranting at her in the morning. So, she quickly finishes a girl’s braid, before attempting to leave the scene.

“Sorry, but I have to be somewhere else.” she apologizes to the other kids, giving them a reassuring smile to say that she’ll be back, walking towards Dolores afterwards.

“Isabela, can you grow some roses here?” Félix asks his oldest niece all the way from the balcony. In response, Isabela let’s a bit too much roses grow in that spot, all while continuing her way towards Dolores, without even looking at her Tío.

“Hola, Dolores.” the flower woman greets her prima, making sure her voice isn’t too loud.

Dolores simply nods in response, still covering her ears from all the noice. Isabela stares at her for a moment, until it sinks in.

Right, she should’ve known her prima can be easily overwhelmed…

Realizing this, Isabela guides her to the dinning area where no one’s there and where it’s quiet. Upon entering there, Dolores uncovers her ears, appearing to relax.

“Better?” Isabela asks upon closing the door.

“Yes.” Dolores answers, giving her prima a thankful smile. “Gracias.”

A moment of silence falls, before Isabela speaks again.

“Will you be okay for the ceremony?” she asks, putting a gentle hand on her prima’s shoulder. While she and Mariano have to wait next at the new door as Oscar’s parents, just like her parents had done before, Dolores has to stand in the courtyard with the rest of the Madrigal family and the townspeople. “I know this isn’t easy-“

“I will be fine, Isa.” Dolores reassures, along with a small smile. “You worry too much.”

This time, it’s Isabela who stays silent. She gazes at the ground as if she’s ashamed.

“And Mariano and you don’t deserve to suffer like this.” She says, looking back at her prima with a saddened expression.

Isabela has known about the two’s love for one another for eight years. And in those eight years, she had supported them with her entire heart, and kept their relationship a secret. Isa even sometimes did Dolores’ chores, just so she could spend some time with Mariano. They couldn’t do that often, since there roamed a huge family in Casita, and the three young adults just couldn’t risk someone finding out about the agreement.

Isabela just wished she had found out about her than-fiancé and prima’s feelings for one another sooner, before the wedding. Than, they could’ve called it off, protested, or objected, but it was already too late…

The two had already said their vows when Isa saw Dolores cry tears, but they weren’t of happiness. After the honeymoon, where they could properly talk about everything, the two newlyweds managed to pull Dolores aside to talk one day, and that was when both her and Mariano confessed their feelings for each other. They rapidly apologized to Isabela for the mess they have made, but she reassured them that it was okay, and that they could somehow make this mess work.

So, despite their wedding vows everyone heard, Isabela and Mariano mutually agreed that they could find other romantic partners if they wished. Their own relationship never went past friendship, though they sometimes had to initiate romantic affection for Abuela’s sake.

This, while also having to keep Mariano’s relationship with Dolores a secret from the rest of the family. Thank goodness the family tree in the dinning area only include marriages, otherwise they would’ve been caught already.

It was a mess, but it kept the three young adults a little happier.

“I know…” Dolores says quietly. “Please, just enjoy tonight, and don’t let anything bother you.”

She has a point there, but Isabela can’t seem to look forward to the actual ceremony…

“Are you sure you will be fine with the others?” she asks her prima a second time.

“Estaré bien, prima.” Dolores reassures. “I’ll look after Luisa so she won’t overwork herself again.”

That reminds the flower woman that her younger sister might very well still be doing chorus at this time.

“Do you know where she is?”

Dolores cubs one of her ears, trying to locate Luisa’s sounds and where she is.

“She’s in the courtyard helping the townspeople.” she answers after a moment of listening.

“Of course…” Isabela says, though a bit frustrated. Her younger sister is known for helping everyone without even remotely taking a break. But everyone has to relax a bit, even the ones who have super-strength. “I’m just going to get her so she can enjoy the party too.”

Dolores nods in response, as Isabela already makes her way to the door to exit the dinning area.

“Oh, and sorry about this morning.” the flower woman says, turning her head to her prima as she remembers going off on her before breakfast. “I was just stressed for tonight.”

Dolores accepts the apology with another nod.

“I still want my sandals back though.” Isabela says playfully, but also meaning it, before she’s out the door towards the courtyard.

Time to get Luisa to sit down for once…

Upon arriving at the courtyard, Isabela nearly runs into a towns-woman, since the whole town is here in a quite limited space. Luckily, despite the crowd, she spots Luisa, who’s obviously doing a chore.

“Hola, Luisa!” Isabela greets, causing her younger sister to jump out of her skin and almost drop the table she’s holding. “Why are you doing work at this hour? You should be enjoying the party before the ceremony begins.”

“Almost done.” Luisa says without even looking at her sister as she walks her way towards Casita’s exit to put the table away.

“That’s what you always say.” Isabela argues, already hearing another villager’s request from inside the courtyard. “Just take a break for once. It will do wonders!

“You sound just like Pá.” Luisa only answers, yet again not even glancing at her older sister.

It’s then that Isabela has had enough.

She lets a few vines grow that grab the table from Luisa, and put it outside, doing the chore for her.

“Luisa Lydia Madrigal, you will take a break this instant!” Isabela demands, her strict mother-ish voice coming through. Of course, she knows Luisa isn’t her kid and is also an adult, but Isabela just can’t stand seeing her younger sister overwork herself, especially on a day of celebration.

But she understands, she understands why Luisa constantly overworks herself. Abuela had put quite an amount of pressure on her grandchildren to help the community, especially her first and third. And while Isabela is already too far gone in her own pressure-issues, she, along with her parents, still desperately try to convince Luisa to take a break before she will get a burn-out from everything.

Well, that, along with a certain event that unfolded 17 years ago that they don’t speak of, yet still hasn’t been forgotten…

Luisa stays silent, only staring as if not knowing what to do now.

“Just…relax…for once.” Isabela repeats between pauses, wanting to make the message crystal clear for her sister to understand.

“But what if someone needs me?” Luisa asks, already expecting the next request the townspeople have for her.

“Than say you’re taking a break!” the flower woman simply says, but she knows the word ‘No’ doesn’t exist in her sister’s dictionary when it comes to chores, so that sentence won’t come out of Luisa’s mouth any time soon.

“But what if Abuela-“

“Just ignore her.” Isabela says without a second thought, as she starts to lead her sister back towards the courtyard inside Casita again.

Luisa still feels nervous as her older sister takes her back to the courtyard, expecting another request at any moment.

And sure enough, one is thrown at her the second the sisters walk in the courtyard.

“Luisa, can you move this table to-“

“She’s off the clock!” Isabela yells at the towns woman, not even sparing her a glance.

Using her vines again, she gives Luisa a drink and a snack. The younger sister looks at both things in her hands, not really knowing what to do with them, before taking an awkward sip of her drink.

“And now?” Luisa can’t help but ask.

Isabela stares at her sister as if she had just transformed into a donkey. Had she worked so hard that she forgot what relaxing was?!

“Just look around you, and don’t do chores.” she says, almost as a warning.

“Isabela?” It’s Mariano, appearing behind her. Where has he been anyway? “We should get Oscar.”

The woman in question nods, before following, but not after waving at Luisa.

“Abuela is finally done telling the story?” she asks jokingly as they walk towards the nursery.

“I guess.” Mariano answers unsurely. Like he said, he only guesses it. Another question then pops in his mind, and lowers his voice to a whisper. “Will Dolores be okay? How is she?”

“No te preocupes, she told me she will be fine.” Isabela reassures.

Mariano only nods in response. She can tell he misses Dolores, misses spending time with her. And the flower woman wishes the two can just spend time together without everything getting in the way, but there’s only so much she can do.

“Hey, maybe I can do her chores again this week.” Isabela says, reassuring her husband again. “Let’s just focus on Oscar and his ceremony, okay?”

Mariano nods as his response, this time more certain and with a smile, as he and Isa continue their way towards the nursery.

•+•

Apparently, it took quite a while for Alma to tell the story of the Encanto to her first great-grandchild. Mariano and Isabela could only guess that their son asked a lot of questions again, like he would mostly do when listening to stories.

But the married duo didn’t really care about time. The ceremony would happen anyways.

Then, finally, they see their son come out of the nursery.

“There you are!” Mariano calls out happily upon seeing the boy.

“Look at you, all grown up.” Isabela adds, kneeling to her son level, getting a bit emotional.

Oscar wasn’t planned, he wasn’t even expected, but the married duo love him nonetheless despite their situation.

Though it had made things much more messier then they needed to be…

Obviously, it started with Abuela nagging about great-grandkids, and a new generation of Madrigal blessings, and all that talk. Luckily, that topic didn’t get brought up until a year into Isabela and Mariano’s marriage, otherwise it would’ve driven them nuts.

At first, the two would ignore and dodge the topic of children, since Mariano secretly had an actual romantic relationship with Dolores, and adding kids to the mix would only make it more complicated. But Abuela would eventually insist, saying that there needs to be a next generation to keep the miracle burning.

The married duo would lie about having tried with no success, but Isabela’s face of discomfort gave them away at some point. And so Alma would keep insisting.

Eventually, the two snapped, and decided that they should at least try once, just once, with the help of a few sips of wine. No way they would do it while sober. Despite Dolores’ warnings that the two shouldn’t be doing this in the first place, especially if they both felt uncomfortable, they didn’t listen.

They would only do it once, just to prove that they really did try! What could go wrong? It was only once!

It was such a stupid idea…

So, abuela got her wish, a great-grandchild, leaving the three young adults with an even bigger mess.

But despite all that, despite the circumstances and the current situation, Isabela and Mariano love their son with their entire heart.

“You’re gonna make your family proud.” the flower woman reassures Oscar, cubbing his cheeks with her hands. “Gift or no gift.”

The boy giggles a little, feeling the nerves that have been building up wash away.

Alma can’t help but smile at the scene, before looking at the clock. “It’s time.”

Isabela and Mariano nod in response, the former not even looking at her grandmother as she stands up again.

“We will be waiting at your door.” Mariano says, before the both of them make their way towards said door, leaving Oscar with Alma.

Isabela takes a deep breath as she and her husband make their way towards their son’s door. It’s time for the big moment…

•+•

Soon enough, the big moment in question has arrived.

Everyone, the townspeople and all the Madrigals, are facing Alma, who’s holding the known magic candle with pride, ready for her to begin her speech.

“Fifty-seven years ago, in our darkest moment, this candle blessed us with a miracle.” Alma starts, her voice ringing through the courtyard as everyone else listens. “And we have used our blessings to serve this beloved community.”

As the woman continues her speech, all the other Madrigals can feel their nerves grow. Pepa and Félix tremble a bit, the former trying to get rid of the cloud forming above her head. Luisa twitches her eye while Dolores puts a gentle hand on her shoulder, though the latter looks quite saddened for one reason or another. Julieta and Agustin can hear their own hearts beat loudly, almost feeling it in their throats. Camilo tries to fake a smile, but fails miserably. Isabela trembles like a leaf as flowers sprout on her head, Mariano quickly getting rid of them before they’re seen. And Antonio? He simply notices everyone’s nervousness.

“Tonight, another will step into the light to make us proud.” Alma finally finishes, leaving a short silence in the air.

That’s Casita’s cue. The magic house lets the long red tile carpet roll out, pulling the curtains back that reveal Oscar, tilting the wall scones to put him into the spotlight.

The townspeople clap in anticipation, all their eyes now on the young boy.

As Oscar starts to walk his way towards the stairs, towards his Bisabuela, the nervous of the Madrigals only grow bigger with each passing second.

Julieta, Agustin, Isabela, and Luisa especially can almost feel themselves being thrown back to Mirabel’s ceremony. Even though it has been 17 years since that night, they still remember it like it happend yesterday. They try to push the memory out of their heads, to separate it from tonight. No, this is Oscar’s ceremony, they need to focus on him. Everything will be fine.

As he sees his grandson walk up the stairs towards the candle, Agustin notices something near the doors, or rather at the door. Shifting his gaze a little, he sees his wife’s door…flickering? It glows bright gold for a few seconds, before the glow dims, and then glowing bright again.

Darting his eyes at his family quickly to check if anyone sees the flickering door as well, but no one else sees…

He has to tell Julieta, tell Alma, tell someone-

“Tío Agustin?” the 12 year old boy asks, whispering as he lightly tugs on his sleeve to get his Tío’s attention, looking at the exact direction where Julieta’s door is.

Antonio sees it too. He sees it too!

“I know…” Agustin answers, whispering as well.

The topic is cut short though, when the two see Oscar a few steps away from the candle, paying attention to the ceremony again. But Julieta’s flickering door still roams the back of their minds.

“Will you serve this community, and strengthen our home?” Alma asks her great-grandchild as she holds the candle for him to touch.

Oscar promises with a nod, his two hands touching the candle. His gaze then shifts towards his door, letting go of the candle. With slow steps, he walks towards his door that awaits to be opened.

As she watches her son walk up to his door to receive his gift, Isabela trembles like a leaf, the scenario of a repeat of her youngest sister’s ceremony running through her mind. She doesn’t want that happening again, not again. Noticing her nervousness and fears, Mariano reaches out to hold her hand. Not in a romantic way, but to comfort her, meaning to say that everything will be fine without any words.

Now standing in front of his door, Oscar reaches his hand out, hesitating for a second, before touching the doorknob.

Everyone is silent, holding their breaths as they anticipate what gift the boy will get.

Then, Oscar pulls his hand away from his doorknob. Both his hands rush towards the sides of his head, as he hears…voices? Different voices? Voices in his head?

“What’s his gift?”

“Is he seeing the future like-“

“What gift did he get?”

“Is he okay?”

“Just tell us what his gift is!”

All the voices Oscar hears in his head begin to overlap, forcing him to hear them all at once with no pause. It begins to overwhelm him. It’s too much.…

“Oscar?” the boy hears his Papá ask through all the voices he hears, his parents getting to his side. “What’s wrong?”

The 5 year old doesn’t answer, clenching his head as the voices in his head continue to talk and overlap, leaving no room for him to think.

It’s then that Oscar breaks down, wailing as the overwhelming noice in his head gets too much to bare. Unfortunately, the voices continue to talk…

Hearing her son’s cries, Isabela swoops him up in his arms and tries to comfort him.

“Shhhh, everything will be fine, mijo.” she says in an attempt to calm him down. But that doesn’t help at all, as all the voices in Oscar’s head start to overlap even more.

This whole scene strongly reminds Isabela of Dolores’ ceremony, where she also wailed loudly upon receiving her gift, which her door illustration revealed to be superhearing.

Looking at the scene, Dolores herself is basically thrown back into looking at her own ceremony. It’s all so similar…

It then hits all of them that the superhearer’s gift may be doubled too…

Realizing this, Mariano is about to tell everyone to be quiet so that his son can adjust. But he realizes that…everyone is quiet…

Then, the door illustration breaks free. It obviously reveals Oscar himself, his hands near his head with waves above him, almost like Dolores’ door.

That’s when it sinks in to everyone…

Oh no, he can hear everyone’s thoughts…

He has telepathy…

Isabela slowly shifts her gaze to her Abuela, who looks absolutely shocked, almost horrified.

That alone throws the flower woman right back to her youngest sister’s ceremony, trembling as the memory resurfaces. Abuela will cast him out too, she will abandon him for his gift too! Just like 17 years ago, just like Mira! Isabela can just see it in the elder’s expression.

No, not again…

Notagainnotagainnotagainnotagainnot-

Without even thinking, Isabela creates thorned vines in the shape of an X in front of Alma within seconds, serving as a sort of shield to hold her back from reaching Oscar.

The flower woman doesn’t care hearing everyone gasp or whisper as responses to her actions. She doesn’t want history repeating itself again…

“Isa-“ Alma tries to start, but she’s cut off.

“You will not throw him out as well! Not again, do you hear me?!” Isabela yells without hesitation, holding Oscar like she’s going to lose him any second. She doesn’t care what her Abuela may think of her now. Her reputation as the golden child can burn. Isabela doesn’t care anymore. “He won’t leave this house, this family! Not on my watch!”

The rest of the Madrigals and the townspeople look up at the scene from the courtyard, all silent as they watch.

Julieta and Agustin share a look, guilt crippling back into them as they watch their oldest child rip Alma a new one. They should’ve done that. They should’ve called the elderly woman out on her behavior to defend Mirabel years ago, but they didn’t, even after multiple chances of doing so…

“No te preocupes, Isabela. I won’t do that again.” Alma tries to reassure her oldest granddaughter, but it doesn’t help much.

That response really rubbed both Isabela and Mariano the wrong way. The elderly woman has cast one of her own family out before, twice even, so why wouldn’t they assume she will do it again?

Instead of saying those exact words to the matriarch to point out her hypocrisy, Mariano decides to bring the focus back to the main event.

“Why don’t you go and open your door.” He says to Oscar, who has calmed down a little.

Isabela agrees, and slowly removes the thorned vines that block her Abuela, while carefully putting her son down on the ground so that he can go up to his door again. Oscar does so, trying to keep it together while everyone else’s thoughts keep talking in his head. He touches the doorknob again, and pushes his door open.

Taking his first step inside, Oscar sees the magic creating the space of his room. It forms into a regular looking bedroom suitable for a 5 year old, but with a few odd things, such as a pillow on the ground as if it’s meant for meditating. When the magic finishes creating the space, he smells something delicious that manages to calm his mind from everyone’s thoughts.

Isabela and Mariano’s smiles return when seeing their son’s room being created, forgetting the argument from a minute ago for a moment.

“We have another gift!” Isabela proudly calls out for everyone to hear, though Alma usually says that. “Let’s celebrate!”

Everyone in the courtyard agrees, and almost all cheer in response, already forgetting the ordeal from earlier.

While they cheer and clap, Isabela gives her Abuela a glare, warning her that she shouldn’t repeat history, even after the ceremony.

Alma can only look away. She understands her granddaughter’s fears, and she won’t cast her only great-grandchild out, but they have to keep the miracle burning, they have to protect the community and their family.

Luckily, that isn’t a concern for tonight.

•+•

The townspeople and the Madrigals mutually decide to throw the celebration where they are now, in the courtyard, since glimpses of Oscar’s room showed that the room is too small for everyone to fit in. Though that doesn’t stop kids from taking a glance.

While Oscar, Isabela and Mariano take a look inside said new room, everyone else celebrates the new gift the Encanto has granted with drinks, snacks, and dancing.

Agustin is handing Luisa an arepa when Julieta’s door catches his eyes again. Looking at it, he sees that it isn’t flickering anymore. Now, the golden light shines on the doorframe like it’s suppose to. But he saw the door’s light dim! Antonio saw it too, so Agustin knows he wasn’t hallucinating.

He has to tell Alma, tell Julieta. But not now, not tonight. Now it’s his grandson’s night, and there’s no room for problems.

Though, Agustin has a feeling it will get worse…

Chapter 15: The Telepath

Summary:

Having a telepath in your family can be really, really difficult, especially combined with a few other problems…

Notes:

Boy did I have so much fun writing this chapter, especially when exploring Oscar’s gift!😁

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Having a telepath in your family is really something to get used to for everyone, and it starts to show…

It’s the morning after Oscar’s ceremony, and the Madrigal family is grabbing their breakfast outside for them to eat.

Yet, even after the night’s sleep, Antonio and Agustín can’t get Julieta’s flickering door out of their minds.

“When are we gonna tell Tía Julieta?” Antonio asks his Tío, his tone in a whisper so that Dolores may not hear the conversation. They both are still inside Casita, while all the others are already outside.

“As soon as we can. Maybe at breakfast, but at least today.” Agustín answers, also whispering. Though at breakfast may not be a good plan. If they tell there, Abuela and maybe the others will be in a bad and sour mood for the rest of the day. Well, depending if they believe them.

Regardless, both tío and sobrino are willing to tell what they saw yesterday night. Better tell sooner rather then later. And now they have to remind themselves that they can’t think about it, or Oscar will know…

The two go outside to grab breakfast, being the last ones to do so. And just in time too, as Luisa also exits Casita carrying the huge table.

“There we go.” she says as she tosses the table on the ground, Casita arranging all the chairs.

At that moment, Alma arrives outside as well with her own plate of food.

“Everyone, to the table. Let’s go, let’s go.” Alma says to the rest of her family.

Hearing the matriarch’s words, and seeing Julieta sitting down at the table, Antonio and Agustin rush towards her to sit next to her on both sides. The latter is just is just in time to claim the seat, as Pepa was about to sit there, though she isn’t that happy about it by the thundercloud forming above her head. Luckily, Félix silently calms her down again.

“Family, we are all thankful for Oscar’s wonderful gift.” Alma says as she is the last one to sit at the table.

Hearing her Abuela’s first words, Dolores gazes away. She already considers her own gift of superhearing a curse half the time, but little Oscar’s gift is a hundred times worse in comparison…

What’s so positive about hearing others’ thoughts anyways? All it causes is severe scensory overload, as well as a huge lack of privacy for everyone else. The poor kid is gonna get it hard…

Gazing back at the rest of her family again, Dolores sees the boy staring at her from across the table, his expression saddened.

Oh no, she shouldn’t have thought-

“Tía Lola, is my gift bad?” Oscar asks, his voice small. The poor boy really looks stressed and tired already, probably from hearing all the thoughts of his family through the morning’s entirety. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners certainly won’t be fun for him…

Almost everyone turns their gazes to Dolores, all with an expression that asks; “What did you think?”

She nervously swallows the chunk of food she’s chewing. “O-of course not, niño. Your gift is…great.”

It takes all her willpower to not let her thoughts speak, instead just mindlessly returning to eating her food.

Luckily, everyone’s gazes leave her, and return to wherever they were before.

“As I was saying, we must never take our miracle for granted.” Alma says, encouraging the others to help the community again.

Meanwhile, Antonio and Agustin aren’t really paying attention, as they are distracted with their own dilemma.

Screw Alma’s words.

“Julieta, your door flickered last night, and maybe it has something to do with the cracks Antonio saw.“ Agustin explains in a rush, whispering so that the others won’t hear. He can tell Julieta doesn’t know what he’s talking about, given her confused expression. “We don’t know yet, but the magic-“

“Agustin, if you can’t pay attention, then let me help you.” Alma says, noticing her son-in-law talking about something else. “Casita?”

“Oh, actually-“ Agustin tries to reassure he will be quiet, but he’s already being pulled away from the table by Casita and brought to sit near Alma as if he’s a child, the living house knocking the air out of him in the process.

He gives the elderly woman a quick glare that goes unnoticed by everyone else. Agustin knows his mother-in-law never really liked him. She was skeptical of him from the start, probably because of how accident-prone he was (and still is), and even kinda tried to convince Julieta to find another man. Back then, Agustin understood the elder woman’s disliking of him, and tried to prove that his intentions where only good. But over time though, that dislike grew mutual. Starting with Alma basically living through Isabela, which resulted into Luisa’s needs being ignored, and the final straw being Mirabel’s ceremony…

Gazing at his wife from the other side of the table, Agustin can see she hasn’t really received anything he tried to tell her.

It’s up to Antonio now.

“As I was saying, we will work twice as hard today.” Alma continues her speech. “And I’m sure we will find Oscar’s blessing to good use.”

That last sentence really rubs Agustin the wrong way. Screw everything. Isabela was completely in the right to stand up against the matriarch, and now he’s going to follow suit.

“Abuela, he’s five!” The man points out, his tone showing a bit of anger. He saw what such pressure did to his two oldest daughters, he won’t let the cycle repeat again. “Just let him adjust to his gift! He barely got it! You really want to apply pressure to him when he just had his ceremony?!”

“We have to help the town, our home!” Alma argues back, nearly raising her voice.

“Uhm, Abuela?” It’s Mariano, cutting the argument short as he has a gentle hand on Isabela’s shoulder, who’s nearly fuming at her grandmother’s behavior again. “Maybe Oscar can help one of you with chores around town? You know, so that he has the time to get used to his gift.”

At first, Isabela agrees with her husband’s plan, but quickly realizes that it will only overwhelm their son with all the thoughts of the townspeople.

Mariano, you-

The flower woman immediately realizes her mistake, and instinctively covers her mouth with her hand. No way will she accidentally reach her son a nasty word…

Alma however, quite agrees with Mariano’s idea, as she nods in response.

“Excellent.” She says, ignoring Agustin as she leaves her seat at the table. “We must help the town however we can.”

“I will help Tía Julieta!” Antonio says in a rush, not having forgotten the plan he and his Tío have made, already standing up to leave the table, but Casita also shoves his chair in.

“Our community is counting on us.” the elderly woman says, ready to finally finish her speech. “La familia Madrigal!”

“La familia Madrigal!” Almost everyone (except Antonio and Agustin) say in return, before going to town to help the community out.

Remembering what he and Antonio where suppose to do, Agustin nearly trips out of his chair towards his wife, really wanting to properly explain everything he saw last night, but is stopped when a friendly hand grabs his shoulder.

“Ready for chores again, hermano?” Félix asks his brother-in-law, obviously being in an upbeat mood again.

“Y-yeah.” Agustin only answers, not even looking at the shorter man. That answer is apparently enough for Félix, as he basically drags his brother-in-law towards Casita’s direction.

Meanwhile, Antonio also rushes out of his chair and towards his Tía, ready to explain everything to her, but sees that Isabela is already talking to her.

“Antonio, what are you waiting for? Go help the town.” Alma says to her youngest grandchild, not wanting anyone to slack off.

As much as he wants to just tell his Tía what was going on with her door last night, Antonio knows his Abuela won’t leave him alone if he doesn’t get to town now, so he just decides to do as the woman says.

“Can you maybe watch Oscar for the day, mamá?” Isabela asks her mother.

“Of course, mija.” Julieta answers as she gently takes her grandson’s hand, holding a huge plate of empanadas in the other. “Did Camilo refuse?”

Isabela turns her gaze away for a few seconds. Usually, before Oscar got his gift, Camilo would be the one to look after her son. He’s great with kids, there’s no doubt about that. It’s just that her mamá has the most child-friendly mind out of the family.

“I don’t want him to scare my hijo again with horror stories.” Isabela whispers in a rush. While she doesn’t mind Camilo telling horror stories to the kids, Oscar is still in the process of getting used to his gift, which is telepathy of all things.

“Hey, he deserved to know about the specter of La Esmeralda!” Camilo says as he so happens to walk by, having heard what his prima said.

“You scared him!” Isabela points out.

“No, I didn’t!”

The flower woman rolls her eyes in response, before turning to her mother again.

“No te preocupes, Isa. I’ll look after him.” Julieta reassures, giving Oscar a warm smile, before the two make their way towards the town.

It’s time to heal the wounded.

•+•

Turns out, knowing your grandson can hear everyone’s thoughts can be forgotten pretty easily…

Julieta and Oscar aren’t even a minute into town and the latter already gets overwhelmed.

Maybe he should’ve just stayed at Casita with his papá, Abuelo and granduncle…

Julieta is about to heal a woman with a bloody nose, who’s named Gabriela, her first patient of the day, when the boy decides to ask something.

“Abuela Juli, what is a quickie?” Oscar asks, looking up at his Abuela.

The healer tries not to cringe at the question. She should’ve seen this coming from a mile away, but it still surprises her. Oh no, how is she going to explain this?

Looking down at her grandson, who apparently heard her recent thoughts as he looks like he’s expecting an answer, Julieta sketches a smile on her face.

“You will understand when you’re older.” She simply says, giving an empanada to Gabriela to heal her nose. Luckily, the woman ignores the boy’s question.

Oscar pouts a little at his Abuela’s response, but quickly focuses on all the townspeople’s thoughts on his head again.

Julieta sighs in relief, before attempting to walk towards another villager in need, but is stopped by Gabriela.

“Uhm, Julieta, is your healing always so slow?” The woman asks, pointing to her nose.

Julieta stares at the woman for a moment, flabbergasted at what she just said.

“N-no, it only takes a few seconds.” She can only answer, looking a bit panicked.

Gabriela however, isn’t happy, and brushes past Julieta with a glare.

The healer slightly panics. No, her healing is always quick and within a second! The process shouldn’t be slow at all! But why is it…?

For a moment, she also forgot that Oscar can hear her thoughts, but that doesn’t matter right now.

“Julieta, my hija scratched her knee!” Another villager calls out, asking for her help.

Pushing the panic in her head aside, the healer goes to the villager’s help, guiding her grandson with her.

Julieta can worry later. Now, the town needs her.

•+•

Meanwhile in Casita, chores has to be done.

Agustin is currently mopping the top floor where the doors are, while Félix and Mariano mop the courtyard.

Though that doesn’t really distract him from thinking about the magic potentially being in danger…

The cracks that Antonio saw a few days ago, combined with Julieta’s flickering door. It’s certainly a recipe for disaster. Agustin can just feel it.

He turns too look at the door in question, and to his surprise, the golden light flickers again. But then, it suddenly stops.

He only hopes Antonio has told her already…

His eyes then catch another door, a door that hasn’t glowed in years, and one that has never been opened.

Mirabel’s door…

It’s right next to Luisa’s, collecting dust as it waits to be opened by its rightful owner.

Guilt washes over Agustín again. He isn’t that surprised why Casita didn’t isolate the door like it had with Bruno’s. Maybe the house wants to remind everyone that Mira is missing from the family, and that she should be back.

Yes, she should come back, Bruno too, but that probably won’t happen…

A squeak then pierces his ear, cutting Agustin off from his thoughts. He looks down at the ground, and sees a rat sitting there, just looking at him for one reason or another.

“Hola, little one.” Agustin greets the small creature. He knows it won’t respond back, but at least he has some company now.

Suddenly, he feels something tickling his right leg, then his back, and then his shoulder. Turns out, it’s another rat who climbed up on his shoulder. Agustin glances at the small creature for a moment, not really knowing what to do.

“And hola to you too.” He says a bit awkwardly, gently petting the small creature. “I don’t know what- Aarrgh!”

The rat apparently decides to bite him in the finger for one reason or another, before jumping off of his shoulder and running the other rat towards who-knows-where.

Agustin looks at his hurting finger for a moment. There’s already a wound forming, but there’s luckily no blood dripping out of it.

Looks like Antonio isn’t the only one who’s disliked by the rats.

And speaking of the devil…

“Tío Agustín!” Antonio calls out while running up the stairs towards him. It’s only when the boy and his birds reach the end of the stairs did he continue. “I-I didn’t had the chance to tell Tía Julieta about her door.”

“Hey, it’s okay. We will tell her.” Agustín reassures his nephew. “Have you done your chores though?”

“Yup!” the boy answers confidently, hiding the fact that he had quite rushed them.

Luckily, his Tío seems to believe him.

“Agustín, don’t just stand there.” It’s Alma, walks towards her son-in-law and grandson’s direction. “And you need to be outside, Antonio.”

The two glance at each other for a moment. Finally, the perfect opportunity to tell someone about the magic potentially being in danger.

“I know Abuela. But we saw Tía Julieta’s door flicker last night and-“ Antonio tries to explain everything to the elderly woman, but his eyes catches that exact same thing happening in plain sight. “There! It’s happening! See?!”

The 12 year old points at his Tía’s door, wanting his Abuela to see it too so badly. But just when she turns her head to see what her grandson means, the flickering stops again.

Alma turns back to the two again, wearing a expression that’s a mix of confusion and indifference.

“W-what?” Antonio can only get out, confusion and disappointment weighing heavy on him.

“We saw it last night too.” Agustin continues, putting a comforting hand on his nephew’s shoulder to calm him down a little. “We don’t know for certain, but…”

His sentence is cut short when Agustin hears the voice of his wife.

“Mamá?” Julieta’s tone sounds saddened, almost afraid even. She just came from walking up the stairs, looking a bit scared. “I’m losing my gift…”

Alma stairs at her oldest daughter for a moment, as if trying to process what she had just said. “What?”

“T-the townspeople noticed my healing being much slower, or not working, and…” Julieta is full-on panicking now, trying to keep it together and to not break down in tears.

It’s what makes Agustin snap, and goes to his wife’s side, hugging her in an attempt to calm her down.

“Everything will be okay, mi vida.” He says, trying to comfort her. Julieta buries her face in her husband’s chest, not wanting her mamá to see her cry.

She manages to calm down just enough to stop her tears, before quietly going to her room. As much as he wants to go after her, Agustin can see that his wife needs some space, so he doesn’t.

It’s then that Alma’s gaze shifts to but her son-in-law and her youngest grandson, slightly glaring at them.

“What did you do?” Alma only asks, not knowing what else to say.

“We were trying to tell you, but-“ Antonio tries to explain, but is cut off by his Abuela looking at her watch, realizing that she isn’t even listening.

“I have to get to the town to make sure everything runs smoothly. We can’t have any more problems.” Alma says to both of them, walking towards the stairs to go to the courtyard. “And whatever you do, stop it.”

As the elderly woman leaves, Agustin and Antonio become speechless, not knowing what to do now. It’s all gonna come out eventually, it has to! And they want to help, but Abuela either is too oblivious or just ignores it!

Apparently, the two rats from earlier think so too, as they laugh in the corner.

•+•

And so dinner arrives.

And the first dinner where thoughts can be heard…

“Mamá, Señor Fonz is a horse!” Oscar suddenly says, quite loudly since he also hears a few thoughts overlap again.

“No, he isn’t.” Camilo argues, trying to correct the boy.

“He is!” Oscar argues back. “Señora Fonz thought he’s a pot-bellied stallion and wanted a ri-“

The rest of the family have heard enough, as they either spit their drinks out, choke on their bite of food, or look uncomfortable. It even causes a cloud to form above Pepa’s head.

Oh dios mio, she and Félix are basically thrown right back to Dolores’ first days with her gift…

Speaking of the superhearing woman, she can really see her younger self in that boy…

“Y-yeah, uhm… I hope she got it.” Mariano says, attempting to ease the tension.

It takes all of Isabela’s self-control to not rip her hair out.

“Anyways, how did your day went?” Félix asks everyone, trying to shift the focus to something more comfortable to talk about.

Everyone else immediately decides to follow his lead, as they all start to talk about their day, leaving almost no room for thoughts Oscar can hear.

Almost…

Antonio seems to be drowning in his thoughts. Is Abuela just ignoring what’s going on, or is Casita just bullying him and his tío? But why? Casita has no reason to! The house is definitely trying to warn them! But if Abuela finds out, they might as well go to he- H-E-double hockey sticks?

“Hell!” Oscar suddenly calls out, cheering the word as if it’s the funniest sounding word ever, which it probably is for a 5 year old.

And now everyone is quiet again…

“Camilo, please don’t curse in your thoughts now!” Pepa says to her oldest son, who sits next to her.

“Why is everyone always assuming it was me? I didn’t!” Camilo defends himself, but he can see that the others don’t believe him.

A small argument arose, which results into almost everyone talking about whatever is on their mind for a split second, leaving no room for Oscar to hear anyone’s thoughts.

Or at least, that’s what everyone hopes and expects…

The young boy moves his head to his left as if he hears thoughts again, but he doesn’t recognize the voices. Oscar turns to his mother, obviously wanting to ask her something.

“Mamá, I hear two voices.” The boy says, looking a bit confused. “But I don’t know them.”

Listening to the two voices in his head again, Oscar can hear they’re from a man and a woman. The woman’s voice kinda reminds him of Tía Luisa’s or Abuela Juli, while the man’s voice somewhat reminds the boy of Abuelo Agustín’s.

Isabela also looks a bit confused. What? Two other people thinking? It has to be townspeople, right? Maybe Oscar can hear thoughts from that far away, kinda like Dolores?

The boy then jumps out of his chair, and walks towards the wall where the family tree is placed. As he walks closer, he can hear the two unknown voices in his head become slightly louder and louder with each step. He cubs his left ear to the wall, trying to listen closely despite his gift being telepathy.

As everyone looks a bit confused at this point, no one sees Dolores’ panicked expression.

“I think he’s just overwhelmed a bit.” She says without really thinking, standing up from her seat before walking towards the boy and picking him up in her arms. “Should I take him to his room?”

Well, she isn’t really wrong. Today was the boy’s first day with his gift, and it definitely took a lot of energy for him to get through it while also hearing everyone’s thoughts.

While glancing at everyone, Dolores can see Isabela and Mariano silently protest against the idea. Not out of jealousy, oh no, why would they even be jealous? But more out of fear that a certain secret will slip out.

Alma however, agrees to her granddaughter’s suggestion.

“Please do, Dolores. He needs some rest.” The elderly woman says.

As the enhanced hearer walks past the table with Oscar in her arms, she glances at Isabela and Mariano again, who are basically silently begging her to not think anything that regards them or her or anything related to their agreement.

Message received.

•+•

Before bringing Oscar to his room, Dolores grabbed a clothespin on the way there, just in case the calming smells she heard where in the room could be quite strong.

“Tía Lola?” Oscar asks her when they step inside his room. “Do you know who the two voices are? You hear everything.”

He tries to listen again, but can’t hear them anymore.

Apparently, the magical rooms are not only soundproof from the inside, but thought-proof as well.

Dolores can’t help but chuckle at the boy’s question.

“Yes, I know.” She answers as she puts him on his bed, seating herself at the edge. It technically isn’t a lie, she can hear the two voices Oscar is referring to, just when they actually talk.

His eyes light up, immediately wanting to ask more questions.

“Tell me! Tell me who they are!” Oscar calls out, his voice too loud for Dolores to handle as she covers her ears until he’s done.

“Well, did you know that some walls can talk too?” She asks him. This is technically a lie, but truthful enough for a child to believe.

Oscar’s eyes widen of wonder, as if he has just heard the most magical thing ever “Really?”

“Really.” Dolores confirms, giving him a warm smile. “But only we can hear them.”

The boy looks at his Tía, listening as more questions pop in his head.

“What are their names?” he asks, expecting an answer.

“Well, there’s Hernando. He isn’t afraid of anything.” Dolores starts.

“Even ghosts?”

“Even ghosts.” The superhearing woman says, before continuing. “Then there’s Jorge. He is friends with the rats.”

“Like Tonio?” Oscar asks.

“Not quite. Jorge can’t understand them like Tonio.” Dolores answers.

“Oooh.” The boy says, understanding his Tía’s words.

“And lastly, there’s Mariana.” The superhearing woman shivers a little upon saying the name. “She…doesn’t like Abuela Alma…”

“What? Why?” Oscar asks, simply wanting to know the answer.

“Because Abuela was quite mean to her many years ago…” It’s only a vague image of the truth, all of it is, Dolores knows that, but it will due. “She was mean to all three of them…”

“But we are their friends!” The 5 year old says, attempting to make “Mariana” feel better. “Are we?”

Dolores can only smile, before pulling her sobrino into a hug.

“Yes, we are their friends…”

Notes:

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m very exited for next chapter…😁

Chapter 16: Behind The Walls

Summary:

The passage ways finally get discovered…

Notes:

There it is, folks…😁

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

“Mamá, papá! The walls talk too!”

The rest of the Madrigal have just finished dinner and cleared the table when Isabela and Mariano hear their son as he runs towards them.

The two look at each other for a moment, obviously confused.

“Oh?” Isabela asks as Mariano picks the boy up. “Who told you that?”

“Tía Lola! She hears the walls talk too!” Oscar answers, obviously exited to tell his parents everything.

At that moment, Dolores exits her nephew’s room too, looking a bit shy.

“Dolores, I thought you took him to his room to calm him down, not tell him stories.” Isabela says quite serious, not a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“I tried.” Dolores answers in her whispering tone.

“They even have names!” Oscar starts again, throwing his arms in the air. “They’re called Jorge, Hernando and Mariana!“

Isabela’s eyes widen at the last name her son mentions. She remembers that name. She has at least heard it before, but can’t really remember who’s name it is. However, it sounds quite close to…her name…

The flower woman shakes the thought out of her head before looking around to check if no one else is on the second floor down in the square courtyard. Luckily, no one else is there, which means that a certain couple can finally spend some time together.

“Mijo, why don’t you tell me more about what the walls say?” Isabela asks her son. As she takes him in her arms from Mariano she gives him and Dolores a nod, hinting that they should go to the latter’s room to spend some time together before she thinks about it, and they can’t have that, because if they think about their agreement, Oscar will know, and if Oscar knows, they’re doomed.

“Doomed?” Oscar asks his mother, looking up at her. “What is doomed?”

Isabela stiffens for a few seconds.

“N-nothing, mijo!” She answers, looking back at him. “Now, tell me more about those walls that talk.”

Dolores and Mariano take the hint, and quickly get to the former’s room before any questions are asked.

Upon closing the door, Dolores feels a weight being lifted off of her shoulders, and lets out a sigh of relief.

“Are you okay, mi amor?” Mariano asks her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“S-sí.” She answers, giving her boyfriend a warm smile. “It’s just, well, everything?”

Dolores can’t really put it to words, and Mariano notices.

“We know Oscar isn’t…easy for you to be around.” He says, turning so that he faces her.

“Oh, it has become easier.” Dolores reassures, along with a smile.

Ever since Oscar was born, the superhearing woman couldn’t really be around him without getting reminded of their circumstances. No, she couldn’t marry Mariano even if both really wanted to. They couldn’t have their own children unless Dolores wanted to get disowned by her Abuela and the family. She knew it wasn’t Oscar’s fault, and she never blamed him in the slightest. But looking at him on a daily basis had Dolores wondering what she could’ve had with Mariano…

But that somehow changed after the boy’s ceremony. Since the moment he received his gift of telepathy, Dolores somewhat saw herself in him, especially after today.

Now, she wants to help the kid understand and accept his gift, to come to terms and just to live with it. Just like Tío Bruno had done for her.

“Really?” His girlfriend’s answer surprises Mariano quite a bit.

“Really.” Dolores reassures again. “He’s a good kid.”

Mariano can only smile as he pulls his girlfriend in a hug, simply happy that she’s a bit happier despite everything.

And he knows how to make her even more happier. Poetry!

•+•

Meanwhile, a whole different dilemma is going on outside of the magical rooms.

Antonio is walking towards his room with a few birds flying behind him, walking past his sister’s room when he hears his name being quietly called out.

“Antonio!” It’s Tío Agustín, who’s nearly running towards him. It’s a wonder he hasn’t tripped over his own feet. “Your Tía‘a door keeps flickering.”

Still?!” Antonio asks out loud, causing Agustín to look around to check if anyone is near then. Luckily, everyone is either in their room, in town, or in the kitchen. “Casita is just messing with us, isn’t it?!”

His answer has come out a bit too loud, as tío has to shush him, just in case anyone may hear him.

“Just… What should we do now?” Antonio asks, entirely out of options. It’s not like they both tried to tell the family about what they saw all day, and their attempts being thrown back in their faces?!

Agustín paces for a few seconds, probably thinking about what to do next, before answering.

“We tell them nothing.” He says, whispering so that no one else can hear. “Abuela wants everything to be perfect. Until she sees it herself, there are no cracks. The magic is not dying. The house is not breaking. Julieta’s gift is not fading. No one will know.” It’s almost as if Agustín is rambling, but he wants to make it very clear without anyone else hearing it.. “No one has to know.”

Antonio nods in response, having received the message.

At this point, it’s better to let the situation escalate itself.

Both their thoughts are cut off when they hear rats squeaking. Shifting their gaze to the creatures, the two see that the rats are apparently running from or toedracht something, but one can’t tell.

“Antonio, what are they saying?” Agustín asks his nephew.

“They say…they have to be fast before they’re caught by…” the 12 year old pauses, shifting his gaze away for a moment. “…us?”

When returning his gaze to the rats, both Antonio and his tío see that one rat struggles to…get through under the teapot painting? As if it’s leading somewhere?

The rat succeeds, and disappears behind the painting, but that doesn’t stop the duo from investigating.

With his bird friends on his shoulder, Antonio slowly approaches the painting, and taps on it, causing it to move a bit as if it’s a light door. Noticing this, he tries to open it like a door, and it reveals a…hole? With an old hallway?

“What is…” Agustín asks to himself, seeing the strange sight as well.

But only seeing isn’t enough for Antonio, as he steps through the hole in the wall inside the rotten hallway.

“What are you doing-?!”

“Shhh!” The 12 year old boy has to shush his tío, just in case anyone else might here. With that answer, Agustín sees no choice but to follow his nephew and step inside the rotten hall as well.

It’s when the painting closes that they finally see it…

Crumbling, thin, almost sand-like wooden walls filled with cracks that can probably make the house collapse any moment. The hall is rather small, almost way too thin to even properly move in.

And it stinks horrendously in here…

It scares to two Madrigals quite a bit, even the birds hide behind them.

The squeak of a rat returns to their ears, making both Antonio and Agustín jump out of their skin and gasp. Their gaze returns to the rat, who runs on the small wooden floor towards the fog, apparently climbing something.

The two Madrigals can only question for a second what it may be before they hear a thunderclap, the flashing light of the lightning revealing the man himself.

Bruno…

It’s only for a split second, maybe a full second, but it’s still enough for only Antonio to jump out of his skin again.

Agustín on the other hand, is far more shocked to see his long lost brother-in-law again.

It takes another second for another thunderclap with lightning to pass, revealing that Bruno is gone, just like how he appeared.

It takes a second for both Antonio and Agustín to process it, but they soon have the same thought on their minds.

After him…

The duo turn the corner to another rotten hall, barely seeing a glimpse of him as they begin to chase him through the hall.

“Hey!” Antonio calls out as he runs, trying to get Bruno’s attention, but that only makes the seer run faster.

A few planks then block their sight. And while Bruno easily climbs and dodges them as if it’s nothing, Antonio and Agustín can’t, and have a bit of a struggle getting through them and keeping up. It causes them to have to look up while they run, since Bruno is now on a plank-ish bridge above them while they’re under. They even have to slide through an opening to keep up with him ecause of that mistake.

The duo have to cut a sharp corner, running on adrenaline as they both struggle to outrun the seer.

“Stop!” Antonio yells as they’re in a straight lining hall with less obstacles. The boy even almost manages to grab Bruno’s ruana, but the seer is just a tiny bit faster. “Stop!”

Antonio can almost grab ahold of the ruana again, but it’s then that Bruno quickly jumps on a few planks over a ditch, forcing the duo to stop their chase abruptly.

Without even thinking and seeing no other option, Agustín picks his nephew up, and jumps on the planks just like his brother-in-law did seconds ago. Luckily, his attempt succeeds for a second.

However, Agustín apparently stands on a loose plank, and falls through just as he is about to continue the chase, still holding his nephew in one arm. He manages to grab onto a pipe that sticks out, while Antonio grabs onto his Tío’s arm, leaving both of them hanging above the never-ending ditch. Even the birds can’t help them, since the animals are so small.

And it doesn’t help that the wooden pipe nearly snaps in half because of the duo’s combined weight…

“No! No!” Agustín looks down, seeing the deep dark ditch that can easily end both their lives if they fall. What where they thinking?

This is it. This is how they die…

“Help! Help!” Antonio yells, his heart beating in his chest as he clings to his Tío’s arm. He doesn’t want to fall, to get hurt or die without anyone else knowing… “C-Casita! Casita, help!”

But it’s no use. Casita can’t respond in these halls, the magical house can’t help them this time…

“Help us!” Agustín begs, losing his grip on the breaking pipe. He can’t hold on any longer. They’re going to fall… “Help us!”

His grip then slips. Both he and Antonio shut their eyes, preparing for the long and painful fall, when someone catches them again, holding a firm grip on Agustín’s wrist.

Both of them look up to see who stopped the fall, and are faced with a quite worried Bruno.

“You’re very sweaty.” The seer awkwardly says, before the planks break under him, falling down as well. Agustín is forced to switch hands to hold the pipe because of it, now holding both Antonio and Bruno up with the other.

For a moment, he thinks his arm will be ripped off thanks to the two’s combined weight.

Bruno looks at his brother-in-law for a moment, a combination of confusion and fear in his expression, before a squeaking rat exiting his sleeve, causing him to let go.

“No!” Antonio calls out, fearing and expecting his Tío Bruno to be hurt or lost.

Luckily, the fall isn’t even that deep to begin with, as the duo sees Bruno stand up, totally fine as he clears the fog away by waving his ruana.

Thank goodness…

He helps the two out of the ditch as well, an awkward pause following afterwards.

It allows Agustín and Antonio to have a good look at the missing Madrigal before them. His hair is messy and all over the place, he looks like he never had a full 8 hour sleep, and that is proven further by the bags under his eyes.

Agustín almost can’t believe his brother-in-law’s current state.

“Bye.” Bruno then says, before walking right past his nephew and brother-in-law.

“What? No, hold on!” Antonio says, wanting to ask questions first as he follows his Tío to wherever he’s going, Agustín walking close behind. “Wait! Wai- Ouch!” Yeah, they still need to watch where they’re going. “Do you maybe know anything about the cracks?”

“Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock on wood.” Bruno chants, before holding his breath while crossing his fingers as he walks on.

“I mean, there are quite a few in here, so…” Antonio tries to continue, but doesn’t get an answer. “Tío Bruno?”

“Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock on wood.” Bruno chants again, sounding more panicked. The 12 year old boy can only look confused at it, but Agustín knows what these things mean.

It’s for good luck, and Bruno is practicing them far more then he has seen.

“Bruno, what’s wrong?” Agustín can’t help but ask. If his brother-in-law is repeating these rituals, then something has to be up.

“You two shouldn’t be here, and especially you.” The seer says, this time facing the two while quickly pointing to his brother-in-law.

“What?” Both Antonio and Agustín ask, the birds also tweeting in confusion.

“A little salt.” The seer whispers, throwing a handful of salt over his shoulder that hits Antonio in his face. “Sugar.” And yet again, said handful of sugar being thrown in Antonio’s face. “Sana sana colita de rana…”

Yup, something is definitely wrong, Agustín knows it…

“How long have you been back here?” Antonio already asks, quite a bit concerned.

•+•

“You never left.”

Apparently, Bruno decided to lead his nephew and brother-in-law to the room in the walls he has been living in for years. The room is quite small, but not too small. It has just enough space for an armchair and a small couch to be placed without them looking crammed in. On the small couch lays a pillow with a blanket, as if someone is regularly sleeping there, while there’s also a closed hammock hanging from one side on the wall. There’s a lamp hanging on the ceiling that shines dim light with the help of some candles.

It’s overal looks quite cosy, at least for a small living space.

And there are rats everywhere!

It’s only a miracle that the birds haven’t tried to eat them yet…

“Well, I left my tower, which was, you know, a lot of stairs. And here, eh, kitchen adjacent.” Bruno explains while downplaying his living conditions. “Ooh, ooh, plus, free entertainment.”

Antonio can only look confused at his long lost Tío’s strange behavior, while Agustín looks almost saddened, as if he is sort of hoping or expecting someone else too, while also still shocked by his brother-in-law’s living conditions.

And just like in the halls, it also stinks in here, though far less severe…

“So, what do you like? You like sports? Game shows? Telenovelas?”

But Antonio’s attention already drifts to the clothesline in the room.

“Tío Bruno, do you wear dresses?” He asks as he looks at the piece of green clothing in question.

That immediately has Bruno panicking, his expression changing into one of dread.

“N-no, no!” He denies. “T-These are someone else’s!”

“Than who’s is it?” Antonio asks further.

“Doesn’t matter.” The seer says in a rush, before attempting to push both Agustín and Antonio out of the room. “Anyways, I think you two should go-“

“No.” This time, it’s Agustín who is persistent, standing his ground. “We just found you. We aren’t gonna lose you again. Screw whatever Alma will say, we’re gonna bring you home!”

“Just. Go.” Bruno repeats a bit more sternly. “W- I was thrown out for a reason. I only bring bad luck.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Agustín argues back. “Don’t you know that your sisters miss you, that we all miss you?.”

Well, as far as he knows, most of them do…

The 12 year old’s attention already drifts to something else entirely again, noticing a peephole in the wooden walls near the small table. Antonio walks towards it, and peeks through it, seeing the dinner table where the whole family eat dinner. His gaze then shifts towards the table, and sees what looks like a self-drawn plate that Bruno most likely drew, with his own name on it.

He missed the family too…

“Yeah, ou- my gift wasn’t really helping the family. B-but I love my family.” Bruno says, looking away from his brother-in-law and nephew. “I just don’t know how to… I don’t know how to…”

His attempted explanation is cut off by Agustín pulling him into a tight hug, trying to comfort him.

“Everything will be okay, hermano.” Agustín reassures the seer, before pulling away from the hug. “We will find a way, we always do.”

But there’s also that small problem still lingering…

“Tío Bruno?” This time, it’s Antonio, getting to Bruno’s side as well. “If you know anything about the cracks, about the magic, please tell us.”

Bruno stays silent, looking at his nephew as if he processes what the boy is talking about. He’s about to answer, but a voice he has known for 17 years is already ahead of him.

“What’s this?”

Antonio and Agustín snap their heads towards the direction the voice comes from, and see a figure of a woman standing in the doorway of the room as if she just entered. Through the bit of darkness covering her, the duo can see the long emerald green dress she’s wearing, along with her long messy hair probably reaching her middle, but her glowing green eyes stick out like a sore thumb.

Upon seeing her, Antonio can feel his heart beat loudly in his chest, looking at her with confusion yet a tiny bit of fear. No, she can’t be La Esmeralda! It’s only a horror story Camilo made up to scare him! But…why does this woman look exactly like her? Long messy hair, skinny as bone, glowing green eyes that are poisonous-

Agustín on the other hand, stares at her with disbelief. The first thing he notices are her round green glasses she’s wearing, and immediately knows it’s his youngest daughter, Mirabel. She was here, his little girl was here all this time without anyone noticing, both where! Agustín can’t be any happier. He just wants to hug his youngest daughter again, and apologize for not standing up for her 17 years ago, but something about her holds him back.

Something then clicks in his head. It makes sense, Bruno’s constantly repeating rituals and behavior back in the halls now make sense!

It’s her

The duo both think that exact thought, but for different reasons….

Blinking a few times, which causes the green glow in her eyes to fade, Mirabel steps a bit closer towards the two, staring at them with an expression that glares daggers.

“Oh, there you are.” Bruno says to her, trying to sound as normal and natural as possible as if Antonio and Agustín aren’t in the same room. “Where have you been?”

Mirabel however, ignores him, and takes another step closer towards the two.

“Get. Out!”

The words are loud and clear for the two to understand. Though it has Antonio back away a little, still thinking she is the known specter from his childhood. Luckily, some of the rats notice the boy’s behavior, and take a mental note to explain it to him when they finish eating.

“But-“ Agustín attempts to say, but is cut off by Bruno.

“Look, I really think you two should go.” he says, nervously darting his eyes at Mirabel.

“Great!” She says in response, before basically dragging the two unwelcome guests to the door. “I’ll help them find the way out.”

“Wait-“ But Bruno doesn’t have a chance to protest, as he’s cut off by Mirabel loudly slamming the door shut behind her, leaving him with the rats and birds in the room.

Chapter 17: A Talk (and Walk)

Summary:

Antonio and Agustín come face-to-face with the missing Madrigal herself, and obviously have a lot to ask.

Notes:

Oh man, the confrontation is finally here😬

 

Enjoy…

Chapter Text

Upon being dragged out of the room with his Tío and standing in the rotten halls once more, Antonio is hit with that horrendous stench again. Sheesh, are there dead bodies in here or something?

Agustín however, doesn’t seem to notice the awful smell in the air, as his mind seems to be somewhere else entirely.

But both their thoughts are cut off when hearing a door being loudly slammed behind them, making Antonio jump out of his skin for a second.

And now she stands before them, pinching the bridge of her nose for a second before she brushes past them. As she walks a few steps, Mirabel waves with her hand as she looks at them again with an impatient glare, gesturing that the two should follow her to the painting.

Both Antonio and Agustín do so, following her through the straight rotten halls as a heavy, uncomfortable silence hangs in the air, almost unbearable. So many questions and thoughts run through the duo’s minds, especially Agustín’s. Someone has to ask something, anything…

“S-so, you also live in the walls…?” Antonio asks nervously, slightly looking up. He doesn’t want to upset the woman he sees as La Esmeralda, otherwise she might watch him all night and make him see his worst fear-

She suddenly stops in her tracks, turning to look at Antonio with an expression of confusion, as if he is familiar to her

“Wait…” Mirabel takes a closer look at the boy, trying to figure out where she recognizes him. Despite the dark, Antonio can see the cracks in her glasses, as well as the bags under her eyes. “You’re the kid I sometimes see in my visions.” Taking another look, Mirabel is sure of it. “Antonio, right?”

The boy in question, as well as Agustín, look utterly confused at that.

“What?” Antonio asks. “Y-you know who I am?”

“I even saw your birth in great detail.” Mirabel answers with a shrug, leaving it at that. The boy’s eyes widen in shock, freaking out a bit. That’s not something he wanted to know… “Sorry about dragging you out, though. I-I didn’t expect you being here.”

Given how Mirabel looks at him, her apology is only directed at Antonio.

As they continue to walk through the empty rotten halls with a turn here and there, the boy in question takes the time to gather his thoughts together, question who the woman dressed in green actually is. Luckily, he doesn’t have to question longer, as a rat that had followed them who climbs on his shoulder explains everything to him.

Antonio listens to what the small creature says, and then something clicks in his head.

“You’re Mirabel…” He then says, barely believing it before it really dawns on him. “You’re Mirabel!”

“Uhm, yes?” the woman in question says, stopping in her tracks once again and turning towards him with a look of confusion. “You can understand them?”

The 12 year old however, ignores the second question.

“You’re here! You’ve been here!” Antonio can’t help but jump around out of excitement, accidentally throwing the rat in the air and nearly making Agustín trip. It’s only a wonder he doesn’t step on a lose plank. “All this time, you where here!”

“Okay, stop stop stop!” Mirabel says, trying to calm the boy down before someone else can hear. “Just…keep it quiet.”

Antonio does as she says, figuring that it’s better to follow her advise since she has lived here for who knows how long. When looking at her again though, he realizes that, all this time, Mirabel wasn’t La Esmeralda, but rather the other way around.

She was here for at least 8 years. And since Camilo made that whole horror story up in the first place, he must’ve accidentally seen her.

Well, time to plan his funeral…

It’s then that, for the first time since seeing his daughter again in 17 years, Agustín manages to ask something.

“How long have you been here?” He makes sure to ask it carefully, trying to not upset her somehow. It looks like both her and Bruno have lived here for years, given how they know these halls so well. Maybe they where here this whole entire time? But they all saw Bruno leave Casita with her that night, so they must’ve moved back here! Maybe that’s why they couldn’t find her when they searched for her, both her and Bruno where already here…

Or maybe they weren’t? Maybe Agustín and his family haven’t searched far enough? Maybe they should’ve kept looking for her until they found her? Than Mira wouldn’t have to live like a rat and…

Agustín blinks a few times, looking at his youngest daughter as he does. Even now, he can barely believe that his little girl has been living like this, living in these stinking unstable rotten walls among rats, right under their noses for years. And she’s 22 already, grown up without him or her mother or her sisters…

Agustín can simply see that she’s starving and sleep deprived, and it horrifies him.

And it’s all their fault…

It’s all Alma’s fault…

He should’ve stepped up that night. He should’ve made it clear that Mirabel stays with them regardless of what gift she was given, and he wouldn’t let her be thrown out. He should’ve done what Isabela did…

Right now, Agustín wants nothing more than to give her a big hug, apologize for everything, and reassure her that everything will be fine and that her mother and sisters would love to see her again, reassure her that she’s welcome in the family again.

But, given her reaction upon seeing him, Mirabel probably won’t really like a hug from him…

Agustín can see her counting something on her fingers. Probably something regarding his question?

And he’s proven correct.

“16 years.” Mirabel simply answers, refusing to even look at the man as she said it, before continuing her way through the walls with the duo trailing behind her.

So he was right; her and Bruno have been living here quite long. But that meant that they could’ve found her, Agustín and his family could’ve found them both and bring them home, but they couldn’t. The two future-seers had probably already moved back to Casita on the last days of the search…

If the family of four could’ve found them then they could’ve brought the two home much earlier…

Agustín’s thoughts are cut off once again by the mere sight of a ditch that blocks the way, that same exact ditch he and Antonio almost fell in.

“Don’t worry, it isn’t that deep.” Mirabel reassures the due despite only glancing at Antonio. “Watch your step, though. The fall can be quite nasty.”

She’s speaking from experience…

Mirabel then takes a small sprint and, just like Bruno had done, she jumps on two side-planks to jump over the ditch with ease. She turns around to face the duo who are still at the other side, her expression alone telling them to just get over here.

In response, Antonio tries to mimic his prima’s movements. He bounces from the right plank to the left, and before he knows it, Antonio is on the other side next to Mirabel.

“Yes!” He cheers, realizing he hasn’t slipped or fallen in the ditch that could’ve possible broke one of his legs. It even earns a small relived smile from Mirabel.

Now, it’s Agustín’s turn. And knowing him, Antonio can already see him with a broken leg…

Mirabel slightly glances to the man in question, her expression changing into an impatient one, telling him to also cross.

Agustín receives the message, and takes a sprint to also jump on the two planks to cross the ditch, hoping that his clumsiness doesn’t cause him to slip. But when jumping on the second and last plank, he falls through it. For a split second, Agustín prepares for the painful landing, knowing that he has nothing to grab on now. But once again, he feels a tight grip around his wrist, catching him mid-air.

Looking up, he expects Antonio to have saved him from a painful fall, but to his surprise, it’s Mirabel.

She looks at him with indifference, along with a tiny bit of confusion that asks; “How can you possibly miss that plank?”.

Despite everything, she still saved him from broken bones. Probably because it had definitely happend before.

It’s then that it truly hits Agustín. Mirabel, his little girl, has been living in these filthy halls for years, 16 years. She and Bruno had to be forced to be creative with their personal hygiene, if they even did…

That thought utterly horrifies him…

With Antonio’s help, Mirabel manages to pull Agustín out of the ditch and stand on the wooden floor again.

“Your dad Agustín, well.” Antonio whispers to his prima, to which she nervously twitches her eye. “He’s accident prone, but he means well-“

“Lets just walk.” Mirabel says, before continuing said walk

“Wait!” Antonio calls out to her, running towards his prima to keep up with her while Agustín decides to keep a bit of distance, the boy obviously having more questions. “If you where here, why didn’t you come back? You’re still welcome!”

“What do you think?” Mirabel answers, a tone of tiredness showing in her voice.

“But they miss you! Your parents miss you!” The boy argues.

“We all missed you.” Agustín adds, his tone soft yet uncertain.

Having reached the disoriented plank-staircase again, Mirabel steps with one foot on the first plank before pausing, hearing her father’s words ring through her ears.

“It didn’t look like that…” she says, almost sobbing, though her voice manages to show a tiny bit of bitterness. Tears are beginning to burn in her eyes as she continues walking again.

Agustín only has to hear her voice to know that she’s referring to her ceremony night.

Antonio however, refuses to back down.

“The family needs you, they need you both-“

“Look…” Mirabel starts as she continues walking, Antonio and Agustín trailing behind her. “I never understood why he still cares about all of you after everything,” She points to Agustín as she says it, specifically referring to the adults. “…but that doesn’t mean I do too.”

Even despite that answer, despite everything he has been told, Antonio refuses to give up.

“Please.” He begs, running a bit to keep up with her, before grabbing her hand to get her attention. “You have to forgive him.”

If there’s anything Mirabel and Agustín can mutually understand despite everything, it’s that a 12 year old kid simply doesn’t fully understand what forgiveness actually is.

“Forgive him…?” She asks, her expression shifting into a glare while her gaze shifts to the man in question, the tears that burned in her eyes already rolling down her cheeks. “You let me be thrown out by that puta on my ceremony night, and I’m suppose to forgive you?!”

Both Antonio and Agustín are silent upon her words, the former a bit shocked, yet loosens the grip on her hand to comfort her a bit, while the latter’s mind is thrown back to that mentioned night. He should’ve stopped Alma before she had the chance to do anything. He should’ve said something, done something. But he didn’t, no one did, and now they’re here.

“I’m sorry…” Agustín can only say, gazing at the ground. He doesn’t want to make any excuses, though there’s isn’t a single one to make anyway.

Saying sorry obviously isn’t enough, and he knows it.

“You don’t have to forgive him.” Antonio reassures, now understanding that what had happened can’t easily be forgiven. “But…we need both your help.” He still holds her hand, tightening his hold just a bit. “The house is breaking. We saw cracks in the wall, and-“

Upon hearing a certain word, Mirabel’s glaring expression turns into one of concern, looking at the boy this time.

“Cracks in the walls?” She repeats as a question, as if the ordeal seems familiar to her.

Mirabel then makes up her mind, and abruptly continues walking her way on the disoriented plank-stairs, gesturing for the two to follow her again.

Hopping off of said plank-stairs and being on decent floor again, they take a sharp turn to a right hall, and that seems to be their destination.

“Do these cracks look like this?” Mirabel asks the duo as they enter said hall, and that’s when Antonio and Agustín see it.

Large cracks are spread all across the walls in that hall, threatening to collapse if it isn’t for the sand that patches it up.

“Yes…” Antonio confirms, both he and Agustín staring at the damaged wall. “Wait, you and Tío Bruno have been patching up the cracks?”

Well, from only looking at the sand-filled cracks that somewhat keeps Casita from collapsing, that conclusion seems pretty obvious.

“Correction; me and Hernando.” Mirabel says, also kinda answering the question.

“Who is Hernando?” Antonio asks, utterly confused.

“Oh, you’ll meet him eventually.” Mirabel says, though it’s obvious she’s playing along with something. After a shrug, she returns to the topic of the cracks. “Yeah, we have been trying to keep those cracks at bay. Can’t have the house fall apart, after all.”

“Exactly!” Antonio yells, now by his prima’s side as both her and Agustín cover their ears a bit. “That’s why we need your help! Y-you can see the future, right? Just like Tío Bruno?”

“To be clear, we can only see it, not influence it.” Mirabel clarifies, her tone and expression turning quite serious. “So don’t go blame us if you don’t like a vision.”

“We won’t.” Agustín immediately reassures her. He’s quite certain she must’ve heard Pepa or a few villagers complain about the visions Bruno had given them, there’s simply no doubt. “We won’t do that.”

Mirabel gazes down at the ground, not knowing what to do as a short silence then hangs in the air.

“Please, we need your help with this, with having our home and the magic.” Antonio says, almost begs, as he looks at her. “If there’s anything we can do, you can tell us.” He gently holds her hand to get the seer’s attention a bit. “We won’t get mad if it’s something negative, we promise.”

Mirabel takes a deep breath, fixing her broken on her nose, obviously thinking of what to do.

“Okay, okay…” she says, seemingly having made up her mind as she looks at Antonio. “I will help you, and I think your Tío Bruno will too.” Mirabel gives the boy a reassuring smile. All though that candle can be dumped in a river, she won’t let this house fall apart, if only for her papá and this kid. She then shifts her gaze towards Agustín, her expression changing into a saddened one. “But…that doesn’t mean I forgive you, all five of you…”

The man in question can only nod. He has nothing to say anyway. What happend on her ceremony day shouldn’t be forgiven easily, if at all, and Agustín understands. And he will try his dang best to make it all up to her.

Now that they have to save the magic together, he can at least try within the time they have.

Chapter 18: The Longest Night

Summary:

Mirabel (and Bruno) may have agreed to help save the magic, but sleep comes first.

And Antonio and Agustín? They have to crash in the seers’ room.

Notes:

Yes, I know you guys where expecting the vision, but taking a breath and bonding moments are also important!😊 (not that the vision chapter doesn’t have bonding moments :) )

Yeah, sorry for the disappointment… :(

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“When you said you where going to help us save the magic, this was not what I imagined we first do.” Antonio says, gazing at one of his birds and a rat fighting over a small slice of cheese.

All four Madrigals are now back in the small room that’s Bruno and Mirabel’s living space, the former all informed. Apparently, after having asked for her help, Mirabel kinda did a 180 and decided to bring the two back to the small room so that they could stay and sleep there.

Not that she really gave them a choice.

“Well, sleep is kind of important.” Bruno says a bit awkwardly. “You don’t really wanna end up like us…”

“And I don’t really trust you to keep all of this all to yourselves without telling anyone.” Mirabel says as she sees two cloths together to serve as another hammock for Agustín to sleep in, as Antonio can easily sleep in the armchair. Not that she wanted to do it, especially since it’s for a parent that left her to hang years ago, but she also doesn’t want anyone’s back aching tomorrow.

Besides, she now has an excuse to sew something, so that’s a positive.

“But what are we gonna say to Abuela?” Antonio asks. Sure, he understands that Mirabel and Bruno want to remain hidden here with not many people knowing, but he’s pretty sure the rest of the family will lose their minds when two of them are suddenly missing.

Specifically his mamá and Tía Julieta, that’s for sure…

“Hmm, just say you slept somewhere else for a change.” Mirabel says, shifting her gaze at Antonio for a moment. That reason actually isn’t a lie, surprisingly.

Yet, it definitely doesn’t sound suspicious at all…

“That sounds…a bit off.” Agustín says, already imagining Julieta asking frantically where he and Antonio had gone. And don’t even get started on Pepa…

And why?

“Okay okay, uhm, or tell them you slept somewhere else in the house.” Mirabel suggests, starting to continue her embroidery work again. No way will she be responsible for his life turning into a telenovela. At least that lie is more of a vague truth.

Still a bit weird as to why, though.

“But why can’t you do the vision now?” Antonio can’t help but ask. “And who’s gonna do the vision?”

“We need a wide open space for us all to see it.” Bruno explains. Well, yes, he can just do a vision now, but they very well won’t believe him if he tells them what he saw. “And I will do it.” he answers the second question quite casually. He has done such visions before, and he knows it takes quite a lot of energy out of him, so he doesn’t really want Mirabel to do it. “Obviously, that space is my vision cave.”

He gazes at the others again, and sees his brother-in-law already dreading walking those many stairs…

“Oh, Mirabel, can you bring Gus and Blue Cheese here? I think they’re still in the halls.” Bruno asks, quickly changing the subject, knowing that she still has to go to the halls to get ready for bed.

“Sí, papá.” Mirabel simply says while continuing to sew the hammock together.

Agustín freezes upon hearing her response, feeling a lump in his throat. He should’ve seen it coming. He really should’ve seen it coming, yet it hurts him deeply. He knows Mirabel hasn’t said it to spite him, given how naturally she said it, otherwise she would’ve said it when they where in the halls, though she has every right to. He can’t blame Bruno, though, not at all. The man basically raised her for 17 years with whatever they both had, while Agustín himself couldn’t even stand up for her…

Slightly glancing at Bruno, he can see the seer’s nervous expression, as if he’s expecting to be chewed out or be yelled at. No, Agustín just can’t be mad at him, not when he has taken care of Mirabel for so long.

“Actually, he isn’t-“ Antonio says, obviously wanting to correct his prima. Agustín notices, and is about to warn him not to, but a few rats seem to be already ahead of him, as they jump on the boy’s shoulder and talk to him. “Oh, sorry…”

Mirabel however, doesn’t notice the slight ordeal at all.

“And done!” She says quite proudly, pulling the last thread off of the sewed-together hammock before standing up and hanging it somewhere in the room.

In that moment alone, Agustín can see that embroidery really is her passion.

It’s then that Antonio notices something pink beneath Mirabel’s feet, instantly suspecting what it may be. Taking a closer look, he’s proven right.

“Are you wearing Isabela’s sandals?” He asks without hesitation. Speaking of which, Agustín notices a pair of his shoes near the clothesline.

Wait, Isa herself asked Dolores yesterday where those were…

Oh god, she knew

Dolores knew Mirabel and Bruno where living here!

And Oscar heard their thoughts mere hours ago at dinner!

Mierda!

“Who?” Mirabel asks in response, turning to the boy with a confused look on her face.

Antonio and Agustín glance at each other for a second, uncertain of what to say.

“She and Luisa are your sisters.” the former says, hoping that she at least remembers the second name. “They also miss you.”

Her silence, as well as her confused expression, already gives a clear answer…

No…

“You don’t remember your sisters?” Agustín asks, his tone revealing how heartbroken he feels. He really doesn’t want to imagine Isabela and Luisa’s reactions to this. They’ll be devastated…

Once again, this isn’t Bruno’s fault, none of it is. He only did his one job, in which he succeeded.

But does she still remember her cousins? Dolores? Camilo?

Mirabel can only shake her head as a “No” at his question, confirming her answer once again. She then grabs her nightgown, which is also made by her.

“I’ll be back.” She says quickly, before disappearing in the halls once more, leaving the remaining three Madrigals in the room with their thoughts.

•+•

When they finally lay in their temporarily “beds”, Antonio and Agustín can’t seem to fall asleep, no matter how long they have their eyes closed.

Not that it’s surprising, since they are now suddenly somewhere else entirely. And their sleeping arrangements aren’t the best either. Antonio lays quite uncomfortably in the armchair, already feeling his back ache while hearing some of the rats talk, while Agustín tries to sleep in the sewed-together hammock that hangs mere inches from reaching the floor. Both have lost track of time at this point, and it already feels like they’ve been here for an eternity…

And to make it even better, the night started with them hearing Pepa panicking and frantically searching for her youngest son, as well as Julieta and Luisa calling out to their husband and father…

They’re both gonna get severely scolded tomorrow, that’s for sure…

As for the birds, they’re either sleeping near the rats or in Antonio’s hair.

Boy, this might be the longest night ever.

Eventually, after god knows how long, Agustín does eventually fall asleep in his hammock.

Their sleeping arrangements may be uncomfortable, but they have seen that Bruno and Mirabel tried their best to make those sleeping arrangements with everything they have.

Speaking of the two, they seem to be sleeping save and sound in their hammock and couch, as if it’s simply normal for them, which is most likely true, especially for Mirabel.

Shifting his gaze at his prima, Antonio notices a strange green aura around the room, through the dark. Is Bruno or Mirabel having a vision while they sleep? What are they seeing? Is it a positive or negative vision? Maybe it has to do with the magic-

Suddenly, Mirabel shoots up from her sleeping position, holding back a yell as her eyes glow that emerald green again.

It’s clear that she has woken up from a vision.

“Are you okay?” Antonio asks, obviously whispering so that he doesn’t wake up the other two people in the room.

“I’m fine.” Mirabel answers in a rush, not looking at him since she’s still seeing a vision. “You should sleep.”

It’s already too late though, as the boy already has a lot of questions.

“I thought we would do a vision tomorrow.” He asks, ignoring a rat who attempts to talk to him.

“We will.” Mirabel answers, this time not so rushed. She then pauses, letting her vision finish. After a few seconds, the green glow in her eyes fade, letting her eyesight return. “Pá and I just have a lot of unexpected visions.”

“What did you see?” Antonio asks further, quietly moving to sit next to his prima on the couch.

Mirabel doesn’t immediately answer, first trying to remember her resent vision again.

“I saw a butterfly flying around, and then one turned into a hundred of them.” she eventually answers. “It looked quite strange, but somewhat pretty.”

Antonio can already imagine it. It will definitely look pretty.

“What does it mean?” He continues to ask. “Does it have to do with the magic fading?”

“I don’t know.” Mirabel immediately answers, her mind a bit fuzzy from the vision. “It wasn’t that clear.”

Antonio only nods, before a tens silence falls, the only sound present are the rats’ squeaks.

“Why don’t we just use your room?” The boy then asks, gazing at her. “You and Tío Bruno can both see the future.”

“So my room will probably look the same as his.” Mirabel answers, brushing her primo’s question off. “It’s kinda useless.”

In reality though, she never wanted to open her room, and the thought of it still fills her with dread. That door only reminds her of that awful night where almost every adult gave up on her, abandoned her on a day that should’ve been one of her happiest…

She doesn’t want to relive it again…

“But…” Antonio pauses, almost as if he’s hesitating. “You and Tío Bruno can just come back. Then we can be a complete family again.”

“It isn’t that easy, niño…” Mirabel says, looking at him with a saddened yet understanding expression. She can’t be mad at him, though. He’s still a kid, and forgiveness and reconciliation are quite complicated, even for adults.

Another silence falls, in which both hear two rats having a fight.

“Ah ah, Blue Cheese!” the seer scolds the rat, seeing the small creature bite another rat’s paw. “Quit it, or you’re going back in the halls.”

Mirabel doesn’t mean the threat, but the rat in question still tries to explain everything.

“He says Anna started it.” Antonio corrects, hearing the rat’s explanation.

“Oh…” Mirabel looks at the other rat her primo mentioned, who’s look is basically a confession. She then gazes back at Blue Cheese with an apologetic look. “Lo siento amiguito.”

The rat only squeaks in response.

“He says it’s okay.” Antonio translates again, causing Mirabel to crack a smile.

“What do they think of Pá and me?” she asks this time, to which several rats who are still awake squeak and chatter.

“They say you two are amazing and that they love you.” Antonio translates again.

At that, Mirabel feels like she’s going to tear up.

“And they say they don’t like the birds.” The boy translates again as one of the rats adds the sentence.

The seer chuckles at that, though quietly. “Don’t worry, amigos. They will be out by morning.”

The two have a laugh about the silly joke, before another silence falls, this time a bit more tense.

“What if we can’t save the magic?” Antonio asks, starting to doubt a little.

“Hey, we will keep this house up, okay? Everything is gonna be fine.” Mirabel reassures him, specifically not mentioning the candle. “Now, go get some sleep. You’ll probably need it for tomorrow.”

The boy nods in response, before quietly crawling to the armchair he sleeps in, and snuggles back into a sleeping position.

“Thank you for helping us.” he says, gazing at his prima with sleepy eyes.

He can barely hear Mirabel warn the rats to not wake him up with their chatter before Antonio closes his eyes to try to fall asleep.

No worries are on his mind, they are for tomorrow.

Notes:

Next up, the vision :)

Chapter 19: Prophesies Read

Summary:

A vision has to be done, first thing in the morning.

It takes a lot of time and effort to even get there, though…

Notes:

And here it is, the vision chapter!!😁

Well, they also have to get there, so… O.O

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

The early morning that arrived wasn’t exactly the best.

For starters, Antonio and Agustín didn’t really get a lot of sleep. A bit, sure. But not enough. And the confusion that hit them upon waking up somewhere other then their own rooms didn’t really help.

Oh, and the birds decided to all take a dump in the small room at that time…

So yeah, the day didn’t really start off great.

As of now, the four Madrigals are making their way through the halls once more to get to Bruno’s room to do the vision, a bit of tension in the air.

“Bruno, are you sure your room is the best space to do the vision in?” Agustín asks his brother-in-law, uncertain if walking all those stairs to reach the vision cave really is a good idea.

Antonio looks up at the two adults. Is his tío’s room that bad?

“Well, we need sand.” Bruno answers a bit awkwardly, shrugging his shoulders.

That seems to be quite a logical answer, since none of the other rooms have sand.

“But-“ Agustín wants to argue against that point, but trips over a plank before he can say anything else.

Glancing at the scene, Mirabel looks very much done and annoyed.

They reach the painting, their exit out of the halls and the entrance to Casita. Bruno opens it a little and peeks through it, looking if there’s anyone walking around. Luckily, it’s still early in the morning, so the rest of the Madrigals are still in their rooms.

Bruno then looks for his door, which is next to Julieta’s at the end of the room row left. Unfortunately, the way to it isn’t that short. They have to quietly walk half of the area past several rooms, even past Abuela’s room…

“No one is here.” the older seer says to the other three Madrigals, turning to them while quietly closing the painting.

“Are you sure?” Mirabel asks, slightly opening the painting again to double-check. She really doesn’t want to be caught again.

Gazing at the area, her papá is correct, no one is there. She’s about to close the painting again when something else catches her eye.

She sees a light coming from a magenta-ish tower, the candle…

That damn candle that has given her and her Pá their torturous gifts, their gifts that has made their lives a painful hell. The magical object wasn’t even on Mirabel’s mind all that much, to her own surprise. But now seeing it again only reminds her of the pain she and her papá have suffered for years…

“Nope, you’re right.” the younger seer says, closing the painting again as she brushes her previous thoughts aside.

“Okay, so Mira and I will go first, if that’s alright.” Bruno asks, turning to Antonio and Agustín. The two nod their heads in response. Obviously, the two Madrigals who have been hidden here for 16 years should go first. The more seconds tick by, the more likely it will be that the rest will wake up soon.

One more moment passes, before Bruno quietly opens the painting again and carefully steps outside, followed by Mirabel.

The two try to not make the slightest of noise, making sure with each careful step they take.

Though, while she quietly follows her papá, and while they pass the first row of rooms, Mirabel’s gaze wonders to the candle again.

That thing just stands there, making both their lives a living nightmare. They had to be on edge for unexpected visions every single moment of every single day, like they’re constantly walking on eggshells. Even when they sleep, they’re still forced to see visions as if they are dreams.

Mirabel doesn’t remember the last time she has dreamed in her sleep…

Not only that. Certain visions can also be very painful, as if it’s splitting their heads in half, even when they sleep. They’re constantly on edge for that too….

Right now, Mirabel wants nothing more then to put that flame out, to finally free her papá and herself of their gifts- No, curses. To-

Her thoughts are abruptly cut off when she feels the flowing end of her dress snag on something, abruptly pulling her back a little, not allowing her to continue her way. Mirabel looks down to see what has caught her dress, and sees a seemingly loose plank pressing the end of her dress against the ground, as if it’s trying to hold her back from continuing her way.

And to make matters even worse, looking at her left, she’s right in front of her madre’s room…

“No, no..,” Mirabel panics. She frantically tugs at her dress to try and break free, but that stupid plank simply won’t let her. Her Pá however, is already too far ahead to hear her. She looks at the door at her left for a quick moment, her heart racing. If that woman sees her, she will be screwed… “No!”

The 22 year old looks around in panic, feeling her heart in her throat while roughly tugging at her dress to get out of here. No! This can’t happen now!

A few rats hear their friend’s struggle, and run to her side to somehow help her, though they don’t really know what to do.

Peeking through the painting to check if the two future-seers have made it, Antonio and Agustín see the ordeal, and the former immediately sends his bird friends to help his prima as well.

The two know it’s Casita’s doing, and they know what the house is trying to do…

The birds obey straight away, and fly to Mirabel’s side to help her. The creatures poke at the plank, but it doesn’t help, let alone do anything.

Finally, with one strong tug, Mirabel manages to break free, tearing a chunk of her dress off in the process. She doesn’t give it a single though, as she quietly runs towards and up the stairs to her papá room before anyone catches her, having seen where he went, the birds and rats following right behind her.

The teared piece of fabric from her dress however, is left behind, laying on the ground for anyone to see.

“Mira, what happend? Are you okay?” Bruno instantly asks upon seeing his daughter. He already suspected something was wrong when she wasn’t right behind him anymore the moment he reached the door of his room, but now her relieved expression says quite more.

“I’m fine, Pá.” Mirabel reassures him, cracking a small smile as two rats climb on her shoulders. “Just got stuck. No one saw me.”

Bruno let’s out a sigh of relief at that.

Now, it’s Agustín and Antonio’s turn.

They also carefully step out of the halls, succeeding in getting passed the other rooms without any noise and getting to Bruno’s door. On their way, when seeing the teared green piece of fabric, Agustín quickly picks it up and puts it in one of his pockets. He won’t let any obvious traces of the two future-seers linger around Casita, not when they don’t want to be discovered.

“No one saw us.” Antonio reassures his tío and prima once he and Agustín are also at the top of the stairs.

“Good, now-“ Bruno barely begins his sentence when he and Mirabel are almost thrown off the stairs by something, preventing the fall by holding on to the wall. Immediately, both future-seers run back up and get inside the older’s room before anything else like that can happen. Antonio and Agustín quickly follow, along with the rats and birds.

However, the animal speaker knows that that was another one of Casita’s attempts to get the two seen by the rest of the family…

“Please stop, Casita.” Antonio pleads with the house, turning around to look at the wooden ground at the other end of the door. He and the other three Madrigals are inside a magical room now, so he knows the house can’t do anything now. “They don’t want to be seen.”

Casita however, responds by rapidly moving the nearest tiles to the door up and down in a desperate manner, as if trying to say that they, especially Bruno and Mirabel, should come back here immediately.

“The house is alive?!” Mirabel asks, utterly dumbfounded as she stares at the moving planks.

Bruno and Agustín look at each other for a moment, obvious sadness showing in their eyes. She doesn’t even remember Casita…

But now is not the time to dwell. A vision has to be done.

Antonio decides to close the door, ignoring Casita’s pleads as he does. He and the other three Madrigals then turn around and look behind them, revealing a hourglass shaped entrance that will lead them further into the room.

With a sand-waterfall blocking the view…

“Can the living house turn off…that?” Mirabel asks her papá, pointing to the problem in question. Bruno shakes his head in response.

He can only wishing that Casita can do that, as well as make those stairs a lot shorter…

“Casita can’t really control our rooms.” Antonio explains a bit, a bird on his shoulder letting out a chirp.

Mirabel walks closer to the hourglass shaped entrance, trying to see through the pouring sand. Reaching her hand out, she feels the sand pouring down on her fingers.

Yup, it’s indeed sand.

“Doesn’t matter. We just need to do the vision, so we can save the- Aaaah!” The younger seer says as she steps through the sand-waterfall and through the entrance,still with the two rats on her shoulders, but her foot steps on air instead, making her fall.

Bruno and Agustín yelp, instantly fearing the worst as they rush towards the strange shaped entrance to see if she’s okay, only to see her tumbling off of a hill of sand.

With that, they and Antonio decide to follow, stepping through the sand-waterfall as well and trying their best not to tumble off of the hill.

As expected, Agustín fails miserably at the latter, even in the same fashion as Mirabel.

After wiping sand off their faces and out of their mouths and eyes, the four Madrigals finally see the mysterious room in its…sort of glory.

The first thing Antonio, Agustín and Mirabel see is a huge stone in the shape of a hand pointing up, with the written text; “tu futuro espera”. Looking up where the stone finger is pointing, they see that the vision cave is quite high up.

With a lot of stairs…

A lot of unorganized, messy stairs…

Bruno however, just fills a pot with sand as if it’s another normal day.

“A lot of stairs…” Antonio only says, his jaw nearly dropping like his prima’s.

Agustín almost has the urge to say he told him so.

“That vision isn’t going to appear itself.” Bruno says, attempting to cheer the other three up a little while walking towards the beginning of the stairs. “Come on, familia!”

The remaining three however, stand their for a moment.

“We’re all gonna die…” Mirabel says after a moment of silence, still staring at the huge amount of stairs with her jaw dropped as the rats on her shoulders hide behind her hair.

To Antonio’s annoyance, one of his birds chirps in agreement.

•+•

They can’t believe they’re doing this…

Walking an endless amount of stairs just for a vision…

What were they thinking?!

Welcome to the family Madrigal…” Antonio sings as he, Bruno, Mirabel and Agustín walk up the stairs to the vision cave, all at their own pace.

To the boy’s surprise, both Bruno and Mirabel walk quite a bit faster. Though that shouldn’t be a surprise at all. The two probably had to go all the way through the halls and back to get food and other stuff, and that for 16 years.

There’s so many stairs in la casa Madrigal…” Antonio sings through his exhaustion, the four of them already being a bit further up.

If only he had brought his beloved jaguar with him, this would’ve been so much easier!

Mirabel however, decides to stir up a conversation to something that has been on her mind recently.

“Sooooo, is the candle connected to this house, or is it just its own thing, or…” she asks so casually, it’s almost unnatural.

Antonio and Agustín are far too exhausted to even pay attention to her question.

“Bruno, couldn’t we have just done the vision downstairs?!” Agustín asks his brother-in-law, barely loosing his composure.

“No.” Bruno simply answers.

“And why?!

“Because there’s too much sand there.” the older seer answers. “And we need my vision cave.”

You think there would be another way to get so high ‘cause we’re magic, but no…” Antonio continues singing despite being too exhausted to think properly, his brain already having turned to mush.

“Please tell us we’re almost there…” Agustín says, mostly to himself, but also to Bruno.

“We’re almost halfway!” he answers, as if it’s no big deal.

Agustín wants to scream at this moment.

“Tío Bruno, your room is the worst!” Antonio yells out, jump-scaring Mirabel as a result.

Right after that sentence though, Bruno’s eyes start to glow green.

Oh no, they all know what this means…

“No no no no! Not now…” Bruno panics, the sight of the stairs in his room being replaced with the green sight of a vision. He drops the pot with sand, as his hands fly to his aching head. Luckily, Mirabel catches the object just in time before it can hit one of the steps and break into peaces.

Despite being absolutely exhausted, Antonio sees the scene, and tells his bird friends to help his Tío a bit. In response, the birds fly towards the seer in question, and try to guide him further up the stairs and continue his way without accidentally falling off, until his vision ends.

Mirabel glances Antonio’s way, with the pot full of sand still in her arms, and gives him a smile, thanking him for helping her papá.

They continue their way like that until Bruno’s vision ends.

•+•

Finally, after what felt like hours upon hours walking, after walking countless stairs, they have made it to the end!

Finally!

All three of them, Mirabel, Bruno and Agustín, reach the end utterly exhausted, the vision having taken a toll on the former. As for Antonio, he was too tired to continue walking at some point, so Mirabel had to carry him the rest of the way.

But all of that doesn’t matter anymore, they have finally made it to the vision cave-

And now they have to cross a giant gap to get to the entrance of that vision cave…

“You have to be kidding me…” Mirabel says, staring at their next obstacle.

“Miercoles…” Agustín blurs out upon seeing the gap, feeling like this room actually wants them dead somehow.

How did Bruno even sleep in here?!

Fortunately, Mirabel has a solution to this. She takes a few ropes used as handrails for the stairs, and easily ties it to a steady rock from above, tugging it to check if it can hold their weight without falling.

“I’ll go first.” Bruno says

“Wait, pa-“ but Mirabel can’t finish her protest, as Bruno grabs the rope and swings to the other side without warning, giving her and the rats nearly a heart attack.

To their relief, Bruno makes it to the other side safe and sound.

Now, it’s Mirabel’s turn.

The birds push the rope towards her to grab. She does, holding the rope tightly in one hand while holding a sleeping Antonio in the other. Oh, and the two rats are still on her shoulders.

Agustín wants to protest how this really isn’t a good idea, and that they can still go back, but Mirabel is already ahead of him.

“If we die, make sure we will get bigger thumb stones than Alma.” She says, this time looking at him with a serious expression.

He only nods in response, not bothering to point out that she just called Abuela by her first name.

After making sure her grip on the rope is firm enough, and really making sure she won’t drop Antonio, the younger seer leaves the ground, clumsily swinging to the other side.

This time, it’s Bruno and Agustín who almost have a heart attack.

It’s only a surprise when the two youngest Madrigals end up unharmed at the other side.

“Yes!” Mirabel cheers upon landing on the other side of the gap, waking up Antonio. That relief soon ends when the piece of stone she’s standing crumbles beneath her. Bruno quickly manages to pull his daughter and nephew to safe ground again, just in time before they could’ve fallen down with the piece of stone.

Out of curiously, Mirabel, Antonio, and Agustín who’s still on the other side, peek down to see where that piece of stone goes. To their utter surprise and horror, it takes around ten seconds until it finally hits the bottom. Are they that high up?!

They don’t have time to dwell on that though. Agustín still has to get across the gap.

That, to Bruno’s surprise, goes quite easier then expected, given how accident-prone his brother-in-law is. He reaches the other side exactly like they did, swinging with the rope.

It definitely could’ve ended far worse…

Now that all four of them have crossed the gap, they can finally enter the vision cave.

Entering the entrance hall, they see that it’s kind of a mess. Pots are laying everywhere on the ground, with strange carvings on the walls. While Mirabel seems to be quite intrigued by it all, Antonio trembles out of fear, hiding behind his prima. Looking at the scene, Bruno can’t help but feel ashamed. Noticing his brother-in-law’s expression, Agustín puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The four Madrigals walk through the quite creepy entrance hall, until they all see a large round door in their sight, creaked open as if it’s inviting them in.

“There it is.” Bruno confirms, now walking faster to reach it, and opens it further so that there’s more light in the room.

All four of them step into the vision cave, analyzing the room for a moment. It’s far less creepy then the entrance, but it’s quite dark, spacious and empty.

“Wow…” Mirabel says, noticing the circle on the ground. Is this where her Papá did those sand visions that others can also see? That seems quite cool!

Suddenly, the wind starts to blow harsher, causing the round door to slam shut, locking all for Madrigals, including the rats and birds, in the room.

In complete darkness…

“No!” Antonio calls out, sprinting back to the door to try and open it despite the darkness. They can’t see anything now, not even their own hands. The boy gets even more distressed when he hears the rats and birds panic, crawling and flying around to somehow escape the darkness.

The boy also begins to panic. He hears the overlapping sounds of his Tío Agustín asking how they can get out now and his rat and bird friends flying and squeaking in panic, one even accidentally hitting him. Antonio can’t take it anymore. Right now, he just wants to get out of here and eat breakfast with his family, and-

Suddenly, a little bit of light returns to the room, a faint green glow that is just enough to at least see something. It calms Antonio’s panic, as well as the animals’. He gazes up to look around a bit, only to be greeted with glowing emerald green eyes staring right at him.

La Esmeralda’s eyes…

He lets out a yell, flinching away from her. The mere thought has Antonio trembling. He knows it’s just a horror tale his older brother has made up to scare him when he was a kid, but actually seeing those haunting eyes, watching him…

It makes him shiver like crazy…

Those scary eyes then come closer and closer to him, as if they want something from him. They will follow him, make him watch his worst fear, and-

“-tonio! Antonio!” He hears Mirabel’s voice, becoming clearer when he slowly snaps out of his thoughts. Taking another look, Antonio sees through the light that those glowing scary eyes that have been watching him belong to Mirabel.

“Don’t worry, niño. It’s me, it’s just me.” She reassures the boy, having seen how scared he was of her, carefully taking his hand.

Antonio only nods, looking at his prima’s eyes. Is she having a vision? Or is she using her glowing green eyes to light up the room? It has to be the latter, otherwise she wouldn’t have seen him.

Carefully taking his hand, Mirabel leads her primo to the circle in the room, sitting on the floor, Agustín and Bruno already being there. The kid is obviously still a bit shaken from, well, everything that has already happend today. But he can rest later, that’s a promise.

Now, it’s time to do the vision.

“So, how does it work?” Mirabel asks, wanting to know what to expect as she and Antonio go to sit in the circle while Bruno surrounds it with sand. Both seers still have their glowing eyes for the other two to see a little bit, though Bruno’s begin to dim.

“With a lot of sand.” he simply answers, finishing the sand circle before stepping in it himself, sitting in a crossed position on the floor. “What if I show you something worse? If I see something that you don’t like, you’re gonna be all, ‘Bruno makes bad things happen.’, ‘Oh, he’s creepy and his vision killed my goldfish.’.”

“You don’t make bad things happen.” Agustín says with full certainty. “Like Mirabel already said, you can only see the future, not influence it.”

Bruno looks at Mirabel for a moment, giving her a thankful smile for already informing the other two.

“You can do this.” She says, fully believing in her dad.

“I can do this.” Bruno repeats, obviously nervous. “I can do this. I can do this. I can do this…”

He grabs a handful of salt out of his pocket, holding his hand wide open with it before throwing it over his shoulder. Next, he lights up a match, before bringing it to the small pile of wood he has in front of him, starting a small fire. Bruno takes a small branch that’s also burning out of the small pile, and brings that too four small piles of sand that surround it, starting four smaller fires.

At first, Mirabel thinks those rituals are only for good luck, but it’s actually part of preparing the vision, as the air around them turns into wind.

And unbeknownst to the four Madrigals, Bruno’s door starts to glow gold again…

“You might wanna hang on.” He says, reaching both his hands out for Agustín and Antonio to take. They each take one of his hands, Antonio even holding Mirabel’s hand as well.

Bruno’s eyes already glow green when he starts to focus, closing them again. The sand around them starts to swirl, rising up as green glows shine from it. The once dark area has now turned an emerald green, as the sand surrounds them now has the color’s hue, ready to form a vision.

Bruno opens his eyes again, revealing that same bright green glow.

It’s then that something appears in the swirling sand.

“Look!” Agustín calls out, pointing to it. The other three see it as well, but it vanishes just as quickly as it appears, another sight taking its place.

They then see the sight of the house cracking, followed by the sound of people screaming. They all see the sight of people trying to dodge the falling debris, trying to get to safety, trying to get out…

It’s horrible…

Antonio even looks away, hugging Mirabel tightly. Luckily, she understands.

Then, the current sight of Casita breaking down suddenly starts to flicker, as if it’s not allowing them to see further!

“No!” Bruno calls out, seeing what’s happening. His glowing green eyes fade away, returning to his normal ones as the vision continues to flicker. This has never happend before! What does he have to do now? He has to do something! The vision is just waiting, as if it waits for something or someone to let it continue!

Something then clicks in Bruno’s head.

Wait…

“Mirabel!” Bruno calls out, catching his daughter’s attention. “You have to continue the vision!”

“What?!” She asks, utterly confused, gently pulling Antonio away. “I don’t even know how!”

“Just focus!” Bruno says, instructing her what to do. “You can do it!”

Hearing those same words she has told him earlier makes her crack a smile. She then takes a deep breath, before she closes her eyes and focuses.

And just like that, the vision continues as planned, as the sight changes to another without a flicker.

Mirabel opens her eyes again, this time having changed to those that glow emerald green, just like Bruno’s from earlier.

And just like her papá, her own door starts to glow golden again, for the first time in 17 years…

All of that doesn’t matter though. She only has her thoughts on the vision, which seems to be something…good? Positive?

An apology?

“What is it?” Agustín asks, not being able to see it clearly.

“I see…Pá, sitting on a rock or something.” Mirabel describes, trying to look closer to see it more clearly. Again, Agustín gets reminded that he isn’t her dad, not anymore. “And a person who…looks like they are apologizing?”

“Who is it?” Antonio asks, still holding his prima’s hand.

“Come on, show us…” the younger seer almost begs at this point.

Then, after another moment passes, the mysterious person who seems to apologize gets revealed.

Alma?!” Mirabel calls out, almost yelling.

The vision the finally ends. Sand falls down to the ground, as a green tablet forms in the younger seer’s hands with the vision on it.

By the time Mirabel stares at the green glass in her hands, which is the only light in the room now, she has already processed her vision a bit. That puta, apologizing to her papá for everything she has done to him?

It’s like a dream come true!

It may not fix or forgive anything, but it’s something!

“You did great!” Bruno cheers as he hugs his daughter, ignoring the vision about him for a moment as he feels immensely proud of her.

Mirabel cant help but smile, giving the green tablet to Antonio and Agustín afterwards.

•+•

The four decide to stay in Bruno’s room a bit longer, taking a bit of rest before having to walk those cursed stairs again…

They’re obviously out of the vision cave. You literally can’t see anything in there unless you have glowing green eyes with you!

While Mirabel, Antonio, the birds and the rats are exploring the room a bit more (with a warning that they should be careful) despite Antonio being quite tired, Bruno and Agustín remain in the entrance with the strange carvings on the walls.

“What a great way to start the day…” Agustín says upon seeing his brother-in-law sit next where some pots stand, his back facing the carvings, looking at the green tablet in his hands.

He looks at the glass with pride, since Mirabel had helped him with the vision, but the vision itself has Bruno quite a bit conflicted. On the one hand, he really hopes Mira’s vision comes true, but the mere thought of facing his mother again has Bruno trembling a bit.

“Yeah…” the seer only says, snapping out of his thoughts, looking away from the green glass as the giftless Madrigal sits next to him.

Glancing at him, Agustín notices his brother-in-law looking…sad? Guilty? He can’t really place it.

“Everything okay?” He asks.

“S-sí, sí! It’s just…” Bruno gazes at his brother-in-law, almost a bit ashamed. “Aren’t you mad?”

“Mad?” Agustín asks, a bit confused. “Why would I be?”

The seer looks away from his brother-in-law, returning his gaze to the green tablet.

“I’m sorry…” Bruno starts, ““I-I didn’t mean to replace you. I wasn’t even trying to, I swear! It just- I should’ve corrected her when-“

“Bruno…” Agustín says, cutting him off. “You have raised Mirabel for 17 years, I didn’t. You took care of her in those years while living in the walls. You were there for her when I was too much of a coward to do so.” The giftless Madrigal puts a reassuring hand on the seer’s shoulder. “You are her father in anything but blood. You have raised Mirabel into a wonderful person, and I’m gratetful for that.”

Bruno listens to his words, though it doesn’t really convince him.

“So you aren’t mad, or angry?”

“How can I be?” Agustín answers, sketching a smile. “It does…hurt, but that isn’t your fault, not at all.”

Bruno only nods at that, cracking a small smile. He isn’t fully convinced, still feeling a bit guilty for replacing both of his niece’s parents in her life, but it’s nice to know that Agustín understands…

“Have you celebrated her quinceañera?” Agustín asks after a moment of silence.

“But of course. How could I forget?” Bruno reassures. “Mira made her dress all by herself. The rats even wore mini dresses and ties that day, and…”

Agustín listens as his brother-in-law describes and tells all about the younger seer’s 15th birthday, as well as all the other special and normal days they have celebrated and gone through.

Despite them having lived in the rotten walls, it all sounds wonderful.

Days full with parental love, guidance and care is everything a child needs. And Agustin is truly grateful that Bruno has given that to Mirabel, something he himself couldn’t give.

The two adults keep talking about those good memories, until the younger seer herself comes back to the entrance, holding a sleeping Antonio in her arms as she tells them it’s probably time to get back down.

The cracks forming in the stone walls only support her idea.

Chapter 20: Split

Summary:

While Antonio is back with the family, Mirabel and Agustín have a proper talk.

Notes:

Basically a lot happens in this chapter, and it even gets a bit emotional!

Im actually proud of said emotional scene! Hope I’ve nailed it😅

Also, just gonna pump the rating, which I should’ve done before because of the amount of adult jokes, but now there’s mentions of weed, so I kinda have to😅

Also also…Oscar is back!😊

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

“So let me get this straight one more time.” Mirabel says as she and the other three Madrigals walk on the last steps of the long stairs before stepping on sand again, making their way towards the exit. As for the recent vision they have taken, it’s save and sound in Mirabel’s purse. “We can only save our home by making Alma apologize to Pá, right?”

“Yep.” Bruno answers for the umpteenth time, though he doesn’t really mind.

“But what will we say to Abuela and the family?” Antonio asks while they all walk up the sand hill towards the same hall where Bruno’s door is.”

“Just say-“ Mirabel attempts to say, but is cut off.

“Why is my door glowing?” Bruno asks upon seeing the sight, rushing towards it.

“Huh, looks pretty.” Mirabel says, her and the others also getting to the door.

“Okay, okay, uhm…” Bruno thinks for a moment of what to do now. “What time is it now?”

Everyone stays silent at that, basically answering; “I have absolutely no idea what time it is.”.

Great…

“We really have to get out of here-“ Bruno says, opening his door to check if anyone is near their rooms so that they go back in the halls, but he cuts himself off when Casita moves the nearest tiles to the door again, as if the house has been waiting…

Oh no, not again…

“That house really wants us to be seen, doesn’t it…” Mirabel says, not wanting to take that risk again. She turns to Antonio and Agustín, obviously wanting to ask something. “Can one of you maybe go outside first? You know, to check if anyone is there?”

“I will!” Antonio immediately volunteers, his birds chirping in agreement.

“Okay.” Bruno agrees, holding the door slightly open. “Send us one of your birds when we can go.”

The boy nods, before getting out of the door with his bird friends flying right behind him. With a bit of difficulty, unfortunately. Antonio has to step over the first row of tiles that are still desperately moving. It’s a miracle he hasn’t fallen off the stairs yet.

With one of them out of the door, and Casita still trying to reach Bruno and Mirabel, it’s only a matter of hope that everything will go smoothly…

“Don’t expose us.” Mirabel warns the house, but of course it doesn’t listen.

Or at least it looks like it won’t listen…

•+•

Walking down the stairs of his Tío’s door, Antonio already feels that at least some of his family will be there, his nerves a bit growing at the thought.

And he’s indeed right, as he sees bits of Abuela, his Tía and his mamá’s dresses, looking like they stand near…Mirabel’s door?

“Antonio Bruno Ramos-Madrigal!” He hears his mother call out, jump-scaring him a little while the birds hide behind him.

Oops, full name…

“Where have you been?!” Pepa asks frantically, rushing to her younger son’s side to check if he’s okay and uninjured. As a result, a grey cloud forms above her head. “You disappeared after dinner, so we figured you where in your room but you weren’t there either, so-“

“Pepa, calm down!” Alma says, basically demands.

The weather woman decides to ignore her mother, simply waving the cloud above her head away.

“Do you know where your Tío Agustín is?” Julieta asks her nephew. “Was he with you? He also disappeared last night.”

The boy doesn’t have the chance to answer his tía’s question, his mother already cutting in.

“Mijo, where have you been?” She asks, this time more serious. “Have you been in…his room…?”

Antonio gulps at that. His mamá saw him come from the direction of his Tío Bruno’s room, and he has been gone all night…

Nope, he can’t lie his way out of this one.

“I, uh, I-I got lost.” Antonio finally answers, avoiding his mother’s gaze. If she of all people knows that he had to climb all those stairs and having to swing above a extremely deep cliff, she will ground him until he’s fifty. “I-I heard a rat ask for help after dinner, so I went in Tío’s room and helped him, but then-“

Pepa’s jaw dropped when she hears; “after dinner.”.

“You’ve been there all night?!” She asks, snow falling on her from the cloud floating above her head.

“Sorry Mamá…” the boy apologizes. But while Pepa thinks her son is apologizing for getting lost in Bruno’s room, it’s more for the fact that Antonio is lying to his own mother. He then glances over to Mirabel’s glowing door, getting a better view of it. “What did I miss?”

At that very question, Pepa’s cloud above her head disappears, replaced with a rainbow.

“Your prima’s door glows!” She says, almost squeals.

“My door didn’t glow?” Mirabel asks herself upon hearing the woman’s words, peeking through Bruno’s door along with the older seer himself and Agustín to hear the conversation. “I already don’t get this magic stuff…”

Meanwhile, Antonio is instantly hit with confusion. What? His mamá is actually quite excited to have Mirabel back? But she never really mentioned her, unless it’s to tell someone to not mention her!

“She has to be back in the Encanto, right?” Julieta asks, mostly to herself.

“We can still make it up to her! We should welcome her back and…”

As his mother rambles, Antonio shifts his gaze to the side. He can already hear Mirabel’s exact words in his head, that the family didn’t look like they missed her and that coming back to them may not be that easy…

“You know something about this, Antonio?” Abuela asks him, apparently having seen his expression that kinda has her suspicious.

“W-wha-“

“My son is a sweet mijito chiquito ángulito!” Pepa argues, hugging her son as she does. “He was lost in his tío’s room all night, mamá! You better leave him alone!”

Antonio gulps, already hearing the faint sound of thundering. His mamá’s emotions can switch so frequently, it’s almost scary.

It has him wondering where his papá is.

Despite her daughter’s heavy protest, Alma doesn’t drop the subject, giving her youngest grandson a look that means she’s serious, and that she wants an answer. It has Antonio tremble a bit.

“N-no, Abuela. I don’t know…” he manages to answer.

Casita however, knows that this is a lie, and it’s starting to annoy them…

The house intervenes again. The tiles in front of Mirabel’s door move up, pointing at it for a moment before lifting the other tiles like a path, even the stairs, until reaching Bruno’s room.

Antonio panics. The house is trying to give both Bruno and Mirabel away, trying to get them seen…

No, not again!

“Casita, is there something you want to tell us?” Alma asks the house, to which Casita moves another tile up and down as a Yes.

“Y-yes! Casita tells us her door just glows!” Antonio says quite rushed. “It’s probably nothing- Ah!

Casita responds by hitting the animal speaker with the railing, warning him to not put words in their movements.

“Are you sure, Antonio?” Julieta asks her nephew, hope slowly fading from her.

The boy feels a bit of guilt hit him. He can simply hear from his tía’s voice that she also misses Mirabel deeply, and that she has hoped she would be back.

But he has to keep Mirabel and Bruno’s presence a secret. He has basically promised them…

“We should look, just in case something might be wrong.” Alma insists, already making her way to Bruno’s room.

Antonio panics.

“No no no no no! There’s nothing in there!” He insists, trying to block his Abuela’s way a little. “B-besides, isn’t it time for breakfast?”

It’s only an excuse for his Abuela to not walk up to that door. And Casita knows that, responding by waving the tile path, desperately trying to say; “They’re here! Bruno and Mirabel are here, in this room! They should come back! Please get them back!

That attempt fails once again, as Antonio’s excuse actually works.

“Oh Dios mio, how can I forget? You must be starving!” Pepa says, a cloud appearing above her head once again. She’s obviously quite stressed even thinking about her son starving. She then grabs Antonio’s hand, basically dragging him outside to eat breakfast with the family if they’re still there. “You should eat too, mamá!”

Antonio let’s out a sigh of relief at that. Thank goodness…

“Pepa is right.” Alma admits, hearing her own stomach growl a bit. “We can sort this out after we have helped our community.”

Julieta doesn’t agree with this. Mirabel’s door, her baby’s door, just lit up again after 17 long years! They should get to the bottom of this! They should search again, checking if she’s back in the Encanto again! And where’s Agustín? He should see this as well! He would be so happy! But she lets herself be dragged outside to breakfast anyways.

With everyone gone, Antonio sends a bird to Bruno’s door, saying that everyone is gone, which allows Bruno, Mirabel and Agustín to finally get back in the halls again, though with a lot of obstacles and protests from Casita to the three’s annoyance.

Being the last to step through the hole behind the painting, Mirabel turns around to glance at the candle again, looking at the magical object with pure resentment. That thing played a part of ruining both her and especially her papá’s lives, even before her ceremony…

She knows because of how sad her papá looks every time she asks him a question about his childhood and gift…

That thing and their gifts are far more important to Alma then her own family, even if those gifts hurt them, and she has made that very clear years ago…

Closing the painting, Mirabel glares at the magic candle one more time.

She will get to that thing eventually…

•+•

“Félix, I found Antonio!” Pepa calls out upon seeing her husband at the breakfast table outside. Because of her volume, Dolores has to cover her ears a bit, though she’s quite used to it.

“Gracias a dios!” Félix says, a smile of relief appearing on his face. Camilo and Dolores turn to look at their brother as well, both looking a bit confused.

(Though Dolores’ look is only an act, as she knows where both her youngest brother and her Tío Agustín were…)

Taking a few seconds to look at the scene, seeing everyone at the table, Antonio’s eye twitches a little. At what time did they woke up to do the vision?!

“Where were you?” Camilo asks his younger brother, kinda worried that he may be hurt.

“I was lost in Tío Bruno’s room.” Antonio answers, avoiding his hermano’s gaze. The lie slips out much easier this time.

Pepa basically drags her youngest son to the table, grabbing a handful of food on their way and giving it to him to eat. Can’t have her baby starve!

Alma and Julieta appear outside the moment after, already having grabbed a plate from the kitchen. They go sit at their respective seats at the table, leaving one seat empty.

Julieta notices the detail, and she doesn’t really like it. So, she decides to ask the only Madrigal who hears everything.

“Dolores, can you hear where your Tío Agustín is?” She asks her niece. The healer really wants to see her husband, especially since she had to sleep alone last night. Julieta has barely even slept, the question of where Agustín was keeping her up.

Dolores nods, before focusing on the sound of her tío’s voice. She hears him, but he’s back in the walls with Bruno and Mirabel. If she tells her Tía the truth, Dolores would have to explain everything, giving away Tío Bruno and Mira’s secret. In front of the whole family non the less.

She can’t do that…

“He’s in the house.” Dolores only answers, about to return to eating her food when a voice stops her in her tracks.

“Abuelo Gus is friends with the walls!” Oscar says quite happily.

Dolores’ eyes widen. Can the kid hear thoughts from that far away? Oh dios mio, he will soon know about them…

Meanwhile, Antonio gazes at the 5 year old. Friends with the walls? He certainly means Bruno and Mirabel with that, even if Oscar doesn’t know it.

Wait, Tío Agustín is still in the walls?

“What?” Julieta asks, a bit confused on what her grandson means.

“Papá will show up eventually. He probably fell in a hole again.” Isabela reassures her mother from across the table. “No te preocupes mamá.”

Julieta nods, though she still feels a bit odd. Maybe it’s because she really believe her oldest daughter, or that she isn’t looking forward to helping the town after finding out her gift is fading.

Antonio nervously glances around the table, taking a bite of his arepa while doing so. He then sees Camilo’s eyes glow that famous emerald green. It stuns Antonio for a moment, but he quickly realizes that Camilo’s eyes must have shifted into those of…Bruno or Mirabel’s…

Antonio doesn’t know which seer’s eyes they are, but it will certainly land his older brother in trouble.

Oh, he already hears those famous bagpipes play at his hermano’s funeral when their prima is done with him. Antonio even imagines what is gonna be written on his thumb stone.

Here lays Camilo Madrigal - He wouldn’t shut up.

“Is Tío Milo gonna die?” Oscar suddenly asks, a bit distressed.

That catches everyone off guard, especially the Madrigal in question. Camilo’s eyes widen, resulting in unknowingly shifting them into frog-ish eyes.

“What?” The shapeshifter can only ask, obviously confused.

Antonio gulps. Oh boy, he forgot Oscar’s gift again…

And now breakfast is gonna be just like yesterday…

“Who thought that?” Alma asks the family quite sternly, though also as if she’s already tired. No, she doesn’t want her only great-grandchild to get silly ideas or take any thought literally.

“M-me, it was me.” Antonio admits. Normally, he would’ve stayed quiet, but now it’s better to take the blame for something small to shift all of the others’ attention away from a certain glowing door. “Sorry, Abuela…”

Alma let’s out a small but tired sigh. This is gonna be Dolores all over again, but worse

“Why don’t you go back inside to play.” Isabela suggests to her son, both her and Mariano noticing how distressed their son looks. Despite now having a gift, he’s still a child.

Just like her papá Agustín had said yesterday.

“Casita will play with you!” Mariano adds.

“Yay!” Oscar cheers, before running back inside the magical house.

Alma however, doesn’t approve of this.

“He should be helping the community.” She says, loud and clear.

“Abuela…” Isabela gazes at the woman in question with a bit of a glare. “Yesterday, he asked me what weed was…” The memory alone has the flower woman cringing. “Let him be a child, por favor.”

Alma looks at her oldest granddaughter for a moment, before turning to her plate, giving her a nod

At least for this morning, the boy doesn’t have any duties with his new gift.

•+•

Inside the magical house, Oscar is having the time of his life.

He runs around the courtyard, the thoughts of his family slowly fading away in his his head as he does. It looks like Casita likes to play too, as the house lifts up tiles for the boy to jump on.

Oscar laughs, trying not to touch the ground as he jumps on the lifting tiles. He loves this game! And now Bisabuela doesn’t get angry at him!

Eventually, Casita decides to stop the game, and decides on something else. The house then creates a staircase ending in front of the painting next to Dolores’ room, the bottom step appears right under Oscar’s feet, and it moves him up like an escalator.

The boy already looks excited, hoping that the stairs will turn into a slide. But that isn’t what Casita has planned. Reaching the top, Oscar stares at the painting for a second, not really understanding why the house has brought him here.

Not noticing any movement from the boy, Casita lifts the tile under his feet up, making him stumble and bump against the painting.

Feeling the impact and the bit of pain burning on his cheek, Oscar is ready to burst into tears, but not before he notices the painting…opening like a door?

He pulls the painting further open, revealing a hole and a hallway within.

Oscar’s eye’s widen at the sight, a wide smile appearing on his face.

•+•

Meanwhile in the halls, the remaining three Madrigals roam the walls in search for cracks to repair.

Though what Agustín is still doing here, the two future-seers don’t know.

Bruno however, is clearly and visibly tired.

“Papá, you should really sleep.” Mirabel says, basically begging him to go back to their small room and take a nap.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” Bruno reassures through a yawn, his eyes barely closing. It’s clear that the vision and the whole way walking down the stairs has taken a lot of energy. It has for all four of them, actually.

“Na-ah! You’re going to take a nap!” Mirabel insists, already pushing him in the direction of the small room.

Then, a few seconds later, Bruno suddenly falls asleep, falling backwards as a result. Luckily, Mirabel catches him easily, since she’s standing right behind him.

Agustín however, is really, really worried.

“He…does that sometimes?” He asks, looking at his brother-in-law with concern.

Mirabel only nods, before carefully dragging Bruno to the small room they live in, Agustín following close behind. They’ve already crossed that seemingly life-threatening ditch, so they don’t have to worry about somehow getting a sleeping Bruno over that thing. And they’re already close to the small room anyways.

Arriving at said small room, Mirabel carefully places Bruno on the couch where she usually sleeps, putting the blanket around him as well. She actually wanted to put him in the hammock where Agustín slept in last night, but quickly saw that the rats have made it into their personal toilet.

Agustín himself pinches his nose shut because of the added stench. But then he notices something, and walks towards it. Picking it up, he looks at the object for a moment, before putting it in one of his pockets. It’s definitely useful for later.

“Watch over him, okay?” Mirabel asks the rats who are already in the room, the rats on her shoulders leaving her side to join the others. The small creatures nod in agreement, some even crawling to the edges of the couch to keep an eye on him.

Receiving her answer, the younger seer grabs the bucket of sand and the two trowels, and steps out of the room again, quietly closing the door behind her.

Now, it’s just her and Agustín, and she doesn’t like it for a second.

“How do you fill up cracks with sand, exactly?” He asks as he and Mirabel walk through the walls once again. The question may come off as awkward, but Agustín feels like he has to say something.

In response, the younger seer gives him a trowel without looking at him, answering his question in an instant.

“Oh.” Agustín says, staring at it for a second until a rat pulls at his pant-sleeve, basically saying to continue walking or he will be bitten.

That warning isn’t even needed, as Mirabel already spots a huge crack in the wall at their left side. The crack looks like it just appeared, so they better get to work.

“Get to work…” Mirabel says quite sternly. It may come across as a demand like intended, but her tone also reveals how afraid the younger seer is.

Both of them waist no time, and immediately begin to spackle the crack.

“How long were those cracks there?” Agustín asks after a moment of silence.

“As long as I can remember.” Mirabel answers, sadness showing in her voices despite rushing her answer. She really doesn’t want to talk right now, let alone with him…

“L-look…” the giftless Madrigal starts, looking at the ground. “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. I understand…” Agustín gazes back at his daughter, unsure of what to say for a moment. “I just want you to know that I’m sorry for…everything…”

Mirabel’s eyes widen, filling with tears as her mind is thrown right back to her ceremony…

She remembers the way Alma gripped her arm while dragging her away from her door. It felt tight, firm, and quite a bit painful…

She remembers hearing the sound of someone being slapped, followed by Alma yelling at Bruno about how he ruined everything…

And she remembers her parents’ last words before she was forced to leave…

“We won’t leave you, mija. We promise…”

Mirabel leans her forehead against the wall, thick tears rolling down her cheeks as those words replay in her mind over and over again…

Liars…

“You left me…” she manages to choke out through her sobs, her voice trembling, closing her eyes to try and block it all out. “You and the others just let it all happen…”

Agustín forces himself to look at the scene. Now, seeing her tears and hearing her broken sobs, he finally sees how much she has suffered, how much emotional damage this has caused her, and he can’t find any words to make this right.

There are no words to make this right…

“I know…” Agustín says, looking away to give Mirabel a bit of space. “I should’ve said something. I should’ve called Alma out and should’ve been there for you, but I didn’t…” Agustín turns back to her, wanting to let her know that he’s sincere. “…and I’m so, so sorry for letting it happen.”

He isn’t asking for her forgiveness, because he knows she probably never will. He just wants her to know that he’s sorry for everything.

Mirabel slightly looks up, away from the ground, gazing at her biological father. She wipes her tears away, taking her broken glasses off to do so.

“What- what did I miss?” She then suddenly asks, her voice still trembling.

The question surprises Agustín for a moment. Yet again, the question itself is so broad, he doesn’t know what to answer.

“Just…” Mirabel attempts to say something, but cuts herself off. Turning around so that her back is against the wall, she looks quite ashamed about something. “I can’t even remember my own sisters…”

Hearing that breaks Agustín’s heart, but he may have a solution for her.

Reaching in his pocket, he grabs the object and hesitantly shows it to Mirabel.

The younger seer stares at it for a moment, taking it in her hands to study it a bit.

It’s a family photo.

Their family photo…

In the center stands Alma, holding the candle with pride while the rest stands by her side, Julieta’s side of the family standing on the left while Pepa’s stands on the right.

The photo itself is quite old, taken before Mariano even married into the family.

But for all Mirabel knows, this photo may be recent. Though Antonio obviously looks younger in it, so maybe not.

“You all look so happy…” she says, her tone saddened at seeing the rest of the family smile.

You all look so happy without papá and me…

Agustín gazes away for a moment upon hearing that.

“You and Bruno deserved so much better…” he says, shortly remembering that night 17 years ago. He quickly pushes the memory aside for now, focusing on where he is now. “Who do you remember?”

Hearing the question, Mirabel first points at the woman in the middle, Alma, the seer’s expression changing in a glare when doing so.

Agustín nods. Obviously, she would remember Alma, the one who got her and Bruno in this situation in the first place.

Next, Mirabel points with two fingers at both him and Julieta, still glaring. Her remembering them is quite obvious as well, since she instantly recognized Agustín, so why wouldn’t she recognize Julieta?

Then, the seer points at the other couple in the photo, Pepa and Félix, her expression cringing.

“Who are they?” Mirabel asks, slightly looking at her biological father. “I remember them from a…vision.”

“Oh, they are your Tía Pepa and Tío Félix.” Agustín explains.

Mirabel nods in response, before moving on to the two two women on the left. One is tall and seemingly super strong, while the other looks like she’s dressed as a cattleya trianae orchid. “Are they my sisters?”

“Yes.” Agustín says, moving to also point at the two. “This is Isabela, your oldest sister, and this is Luisa.”

The seer stares at her two sisters for a moment, taking in their appearances.

“They miss you too…” he adds, gazing away for another moment.

“I can simply see what gifts they have.” Mirabel says, cracking a smile.

She then sees a boy that’s kneeling besides a younger Antonio, though he kinda looks like he takes nothing seriously.

The young seer then notices a girl on the far right, posing like she tries to hear something. “Who’s she?”

“That’s your prima Dolores.” Agustín explains. “She can basically hear everything.”

The name alone sounds so familiar to the young seer. She can vaguely remember her papá naming one of their first rats Dolores, that unfortunately died within a few months. But now, hearing her prima’s name that sounds a bit familiar, along with said prima’s gift…

Something clicks in her head…

“It was her…” Mirabel whispers to herself, the realization of the food-bringer’s identity slowly hitting her. Tears of happiness fill her eyes, a small smile appearing on her face once again.

Dolores, her prima, was the one who brought her and her papá food, the one who helped them in their darkest moment, the one who helped them survive

The one who still keeps their secret, otherwise everyone would’ve known by now…

Dolores is the food-bringer…

“Are you okay?” Agustín asks, seeing Mirabel tear up.

“She helped us.” she only answers, not looking away from the photo. “Pá even named one of our rats after her.”

For a moment, Agustín doesn’t understand what his youngest daughter means, but then it hits him. Dolores hears basically everything, so she had to hear Bruno and Mirabel living in the walls for, like, 16 years?! And she never told anyone while secretly helping the two out!

Looking back now, at her strange behavior at some points, the family should’ve known…

“Huh.” the giftless Madrigal only says, before deciding to move on to the two who aren’t in the photo. “They aren’t in the photo, but you also have a brother-in-law and sobrino.”

“Really?” Mirabel asks, looking hesitantly at her biological father, to which he nods.

A moment of silence then falls, an awkward one at that.

“Look, I think you should go…” the young seer says, looking down at the ground. She doesn’t really want to talk to him anymore, not when he seems perfectly happy in the photo without her. “The others may think you’ve disappeared into thin air.”

She definitely has a point with that.

“Alright.” Agustín says, walking past her before stopping in his tracks and turning to her. “Antonio and I will see you again, right?”

Mirabel doesn’t answer immediately, continuing gazing at family photo.

“Maybe…”

The answer is quite vague, leaving room for a lot of questions. Agustín opens his mouth, wanting to ask her to at least think about it, but decides not to.

“You don’t have to…” he says, gazing away for a moment.
“A-again, I’m sorry for not being there for you…”

After that, Agustín turns the corner, walking his way towards the painting, leaving Mirabel alone with her thoughts.

The young seer stares at the old family photo for a moment longer. They all look so happy and perfect without her and her pá. Though she’s isn’t planning to come back to them anyways. In a strange way, Mirabel doesn’t really want to leave the walls, her home where she grew up in, though she knows she and her papá can live more comfortable than this.

But one thing is for sure, she isn’t coming back when Alma is still in charge.

That puta can burn in hell for all she cares…

“What is a puta?”

The sudden sound has Mirabel jump out of her skin. What? Did she just hear a voice of a child basically ask something as if they heard her thoughts?

She instantly turns to the direction the voice came from, panicking while wondering who it is.

Turning to her left, the direction where she heard the sudden voice, she sees a young boy stand there, looking at her with wide eyes…

Chapter 21: a Seer and a Mind-Reader

Summary:

Oscar finally gets to meet his Tía.

Notes:

(Just a heads up, but the next chapter may take a bit longer to write. ^^)

Basically Mirabel trying to be a good tía for Oscar while also trying not to adopt him ^^

Song:
Waiting On a Miracle reprise (sung by Mirabel and Oscar)

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

These have already been the most craziest hours Mirabel has ever gone through.

First, a random kid and one of her parents that she never wanted to see again suddenly stood in the small room she and her pá live in. And when she was leading them out of the halls, they manage to convince her to help them save the magic (though Mirabel only did it to save her and her pá’s home). And to avoid the possibility of the two blurring out their secret, she had Antonio and Agustín stay the night in their room (not that Mirabel gave them much of a choice).

Then, they had to do a vision in the very early morning, and the way towards that vision cave alone was absolutely exhausting. The way in question involving a living house trying to get her and her pá seen, an endless amount of stairs, and let’s not forget them having to swing over a very deep and deadly cliff. But hey, they did the vision!

And now, another kid has managed to get in the walls?!

“Where in Colombia are your parents?” Mirabel asks the boy who’s still staring at her. It has her kinda worried though. What reasonable parents let their 4 to 5 year old kid wander around on their own?

Unless that living house has led the kid here…

It clicks in Mirabel’s head.

Oh, son of a-

Wait, did that kid just ask what a puta is?

“Sí!” The boy suddenly says, like he’s answering a question.

Mirabel blinks a few times. What? She only asked a question in her head, in her thoughts that only she herself can hear!

Unless…

“What am I thinking right now?” Mirabel asks the boy, getting down at his level despite being a small distance away, as she has a random thing on her mind.

The question itself is quite a good excuse to avoid having to explain a nasty word to a child.

“Arepas!” the boy calls out with an excited smile on his face.

Correct…

Yup, this 5 year old kid can read other’s minds…

“Okay, okay…” the seer thinks of what to do next. There are still a lot of cracks that really need to be patched up, but she can’t drag this kid she has literally never seen before. “I’m gonna take you back to your parents.”

Before the boy can protest, Mirabel already stands up and walks towards him, taking his hand before starting to make their way towards the exit of the hidden walls once again.

As they walk, Mirabel gets lost in her thoughts again. Is this boy her sobrino that Agustín has mentioned? He has to be, right? He has a gift, and the colors he wears are quite similar to her oldest sister’s.

“Are you Tía Mira?” the boy suddenly asks, looking up at her.

The seer’s eyes widen at the question. What? He knew about her? How? Someone has to have told him, right? But the family haven’t seen her in 17 years, so how does this kid know?!

“You know who I am?” Mirabel asks the boy, to which he nods. “How?”

“Mamá and papá told me!” the boy answers.

She immediately knows who the boy is referring to; her oldest sister and brother-in-law. Mirabel may not know them, but she kinda appreciates them for telling him about her.

Her sobrino, this boy is her sobrino. She’s a tía…

“What’s your name?” Mirabel asks him. Admittedly, she feels quite a bit ashamed to even ask that. This kid is her sobrino, and she has to ask his name?

“Oscar!” the boy answers with a wide smile. “And you are Tía Mira!”

“Correcta!” she almost cheers, a smile returning to her face.

“You sound like Mariana.” Oscar suddenly says, looking at her again. “And you look like La Esmeralda.”

“Who?” Mirabel asks in response, having absolutely no idea who the people mentioned even are. Though the latter kinda sounds like one of those horror stories from childhood, like La Ilorona.

“Mariana is a wall that can talk!” Oscar explains. “Only Tía Lola and I can hear them.”

Mirabel’s eyes widen. He has heard her thoughts before, he has definitely heard her and her pá’s thoughts before discovering the walls!

And like an angle send from heaven, Dolores covered their presence with an innocent lie.

“Well, I can hear them too.” Mirabel says with a smile. Can’t have his heart broken! “They’re sleeping now, so let’s be a bit quiet, okay?”

Oscar only nods, his expression shifting to a sad one. He can still faintly hear some of his family’s thoughts, causing a light but annoying headache.

“And who is this La Esmeralda?” Mirabel asks, wanting to know about this other person her sobrino mentioned.

“She is a ghost who has scary green eyes and knows you worst fear!” the boy explains quite excitedly, not even remotely scared. And not even remotely quiet either.

Scary green eyes? That sounds quite familiar. Not that Mirabel herself has glowing green eyes whenever she has a vision, but more because she accidentally scared Antonio with those eyes twice.

And not to mention that someone of the family saw her 8 years ago.

Mirabel doesn’t want to draw any conclusions, but it all, including the talking wall thing, sounds kinda similar.

Regardless of all that, La Esmeralda kinda sounds intriguing, as if she came straight from hell.

“Hell!” the boy suddenly calls out, like it’s the most interesting word in the world.

It instantly reminds Mirabel that this kid can hear her mind…

Great…

“You can’t say other’s thoughts out loud.” she explains, her expression turning into a serious one. She isn’t scolding him, that’s her oldest sister’s task, but rather explaining that certain things just can’t be said.

Especially for someone who can hear other’s minds.

“Why?” Oscar asks, looking confused.

“Because some people may not like that.” That’s only putting it lightly. Most people would be seriously uncomfortable with having their mind being said out loud. “Especially bad words.”

Oscar’s eyes widen. He didn’t mean to make his family angry.

“Sorry…” he apologizes, looking down at the ground.

“Just don’t say what's on other people's minds out loud, okay?” Mirabel says, giving the boy a reassuring smile. In a strange way, he kinda reminds her of herself when she was his age. 5 year old would sometimes say what she saw, especially when her pá asked.

It makes Oscar feel a bit better, though he stays silent for a moment.

“What’s your gift?” he then asks, looking up at his Tía again.

“Well, I can see the future.” Mirabel answers, almost singing.

“Like Tío Bruno?” Oscar asks, remembering his mamá telling him about his granduncle.

Mirabel nods in response. Though she’s quite surprised the kid even knows about Bruno, since the family doesn’t really talk about him.

But then again, they didn’t really talk about her either.

“Tell me everything! Tell me everything!” Oscar says, excited to hear all about her tía’s amazing gift.

Mirabel chuckles at her sobrino’s excitement, before beginning to tell him about her gift.

•+•

The way towards the painting took the duo longer then expected, mostly because they took their time with walking.

They haven’t even crossed the pit yet.

At some point, Oscar became quite tired, and couldn’t really walk anymore. So, Mirabel picked him up, and continued their way while carrying her sobrino. After a minute, he fell asleep in her arms.

Mirabel glances at her sobrino, and cracks a smile. This kinda reminds her of the time when she was his age, where her papá would carry her back to the room they live in after another parkour run.

She wishes she could go back to those days, where she didn’t have to worry about anything, where she was still a kid who would sew costumes for the rats and watch telenovelas with her pá.

Now though, Mirabel hopes that her nephew will have a much more happier childhood than she had.

He deserves it…

At least he has parents who love him and haven’t abandoned him on his ceremony day. Because she won’t let this become some some cycle.

She won’t let history repeat itself…

Suddenly, she feels something flinch in her arms for a short moment. Looking down, Mirabel sees Oscar snap his eyes open, still half asleep.

“Tía Mira…?” the boy asks, too tired to look at his aunt. “What’s wrong…?”

Mirabel can’t help but look horrified. She has accidentally woke him up with her thoughts…

He can even hear thoughts in his sleep…

It brings her back to her childhood again, back where she would wake up from a scary vision in the middle of the night. She despises it, how she and her pá always have to constantly walk on eggshells every moment of every day, waiting for the next vision to be seen, even at night when they’re sleeping…

It isn’t always painless either…

Sometimes, she would abruptly wake up from another night vision with an agonizing headache. The pain mostly lasts for a few minutes, sometimes for half an hour.

But regardless, both seers would lose sleep because of their gifts…

And Mirabel hates it…

But now, seeing how her own sobrino literally can’t sleep near other people who are awake…

It has her want to put that candle out even more…

“No, nothing is wrong, niño.” Mirabel reassures her nephew, hugging him as well. “Nothing is wrong…”

Oscar stays silent, slowly waking up. Though he can’t even do that in peace. He faintly hears his Abuelo and granduncle’s thoughts in his head. It’s loud enough for the boy to hear, but muffled…

And it drives him crazy…

Tears fill the boy’s eyes, one rolling down his cheek. He wishes it can be quiet again, like before his ceremony. He wishes the others’ voices would leave his head alone…

Oscar can’t take it anymore. He clenches his head, burying his face into his tía’s shoulder as he sobs.

Hearing her sobrino’s pain has Mirabel’s heart ache. While she really sees herself in this kid, his gift alone is more a curse than a blessing. Hearing everyone’s thoughts, private thoughts, every single moment of every day with no pause. Even the thought itself is terrifying…

And, given how young her sobrino looks, he probably only has this curse for a week or shorter…

He deserves better…

You don’t have to feel upset, or sad at all.” Mirabel sings, catching her sobrino’s attention. “You don’t have to feel bad, or cry at all.

Hearing her tía’s soothing voice, Oscar looks up a bit, before pulling away from her shoulder,

Hey, you’re still a part of the family Madrigal.” she continues, wiping his tears away. “And you’re fine, everything will be fine.” It takes her mind back to 7 years ago, when her papá had said those words to her. “You just glow on your own as they shine.

While Oscar cracks a smile at his tía’s reassurance, he can’t help but see herself isn’t that happy.

But you’re not fine.” he points out. “You’re not fine.

This surprises Mirabel a bit, that this kid just notices that she really isn’t fine, but she decides to just share it all.

Well, we can’t move the mountains. We can’t make flowers bloom.” Yes, she has said those words before, but it’s true. They both, as well as Bruno and even Dolores, don’t really have the best or most useful gifts, now that Mirabel thinks about it again. “I can’t take another day, sun until moon, waiting on some miracle.

A short but saddening silence then hangs in the air. One in which Oscar can feel his tía’s pain, hearing her thoughts as a migraine returns to his head again.

But then, her pain goes away, a hopeful smile returning to her face. An idea has struck Mirabel, one she had before.

But…we can heal what’s broken. Show this family something new.” she sings, this time, louder, happier and hopeful. “Who we are inside.

But what can we do?” Oscar asks, a bit confused on what his tía means.

I’m sick of waiting on that miracle. So here we go!” Her tone is more confident, sure, and determent. Mirabel then puts her sobrino on her shoulders, easier to carry him. “We are ready! Come on, we’re ready!” Her determination and confidence shines through, as she runs through the halls. “I’ve been patient and steadfast and steady!” Oscar can’t really follow what his tía means anymore, but at least he gets to focus on her voice instead of other’s thoughts. “Bless us now like you’ve blessed them so many years ago, when you gave us that miracle!

They have now reached the painting, the exit out of the halls. At the beginning of their way, the plan was taking Oscar back to his parents, but that has obviously changed. With him still on her shoulders, Mirabel slightly opens it, and looks for something specific, and she sees it from a distance. The magical candle itself.

So maybe we can just end that miracle…

Notes:

Ó.Ò

Chapter 22: The Breaking Point

Summary:

Casita has finally reached their breaking point…

Notes:

Here it is, everyone… :0

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

Stepping out of the halls, Agustín looks around to check if there’s no one in the courtyard to see him.

To his surprise, no one’s there. On most mornings, he, Mariano and Félix have to chores around Casita while the others are outside, but that’s apparently already done.

Agustín quickly closes the painting behind him before anyone walks in, and starts to make his way outside towards the town, knowing that his wife and two eldest daughters are there.

Casita however, disagrees with that plan.

Just as Agustín is about to walk down the stairs, the house removes them before he can even take a step, basically trapping him upstairs.

Seriously? This again?!

“Casita, please. I need to be downstairs.” Agustín pleads, already getting a bit frustrated.

Casita however, doesn’t budge. They even lift a plank that points to the direction of the hidden halls, basically saying; “You will get back here and bring Bruno and Mirabel back!”

Agustín frowns at the implication. He has basically promised Mirabel that he won’t tell anyone about the hidden walls and the two Madrigals living there.

So no, he won’t listen to Casita’s demand.

Which means that he just has to get downstairs another way, and Agustín already knows how.

Noticing the nearest pole that Casita can’t move, he goes towards it and grabs onto it before the living house can stop him, and carefully climbing down. Sure, Agustín knows this really isn’t the safest way to go downstairs, especially when you’re accident-prone, but what other way is there when all the stairs are removed? Besides, he hasn’t even slipped or fallen yet!

That victory is immediately gone when he slips and falls down on the tiles.

The landing isn’t pain-free, probably leaving a bruise or a scrape on his cheek because of the painful impact. But Agustín has had worse accidents, how sad that may sound. The pain and wounds can be healed by his beloved wife’s cooking anyways, despite her gift fading…

He decides to not dwell on that, and gets up from the ground, before rushing out of the living house while said living house still trying to stop him, basically chasing him.

Agustín trips and falls over Casita’s many obstacles while running towards the door to get out, but he just quickly gets up and continue his way like it’s nothing, his eyes glued to the exit.

And just before Casita can lock it, he bursts through, tumbling outside where the house can’t reach him.

Catching his breath, Agustín looks back at Casita, feeling a bit sorry. The house desperately waves the front door, begging him to go back and get Bruno and Mirabel.

“I’m sorry, Casita…” he apologizes, knowing all too well how it feels to want someone back in your life. “I want them to come back as well, I really do, but we can’t make them…”

With these words, Agustín leaves the scene, walking his way towards the town where his wife and two daughters are.

With each step he takes, his nerves grow. What will he say when he sees them? He’ll certainly lie about where he was, that’s for sure, otherwise he may or may not get a vision from Mirabel revealing his death day-

“Agustín!”

He recognizes the voice of his beloved wife instantly, and turns to see her walking towards him. In the next moment, he feels her basically leap in his arms, holding him tight as if Agustín is going to disappear again.

“Where in Colombia were you?“ Julieta asks her husband, obvious worry showing in her voice. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, mi amor.” Agustín reassures her with a smile. “I just got lost in the forest.”

The lie comes out so easy, far easier than he expected.

If only she knew where he really was…

“Did you fall off something again?” Julieta asks, cubbing the bruise on his cheek. He can easily say that he fell down the stairs in Casita again, and it would’ve been half the truth, but he simply nods, keeping it vague. “I’ll get you an arepa.”

Agustín doesn’t even get a chance to answer, as he’s dragged towards the town by Julieta to be healed, and probably run errands for hours afterwards.

What a day already…

•+•

Finally, a long morning of helping the town is over.

Isabela and Mariano are walking back to Casita, both barely being able to walk.

The townspeople needed quite a lot of help this morning. First, a lot of apple and berry trees needed to be grown because said food was running out, which took Isabela a lot of energy to do. And on top of that, she had to act graceful and elegant the whole time she was in town. Meanwhile, Mariano had to run errands non-stop without pause.

So yeah, obviously the two are exhausted. But catching some rest isn’t the first thing on their minds surprisingly, as their son has been alone in Casita all morning.

The married duo finally make it up the hill and to the living house, Casita already opening the blue door for them as if the house wants them to get inside in a hurry.

“What’s with Casita?” Mariano asks his wife, noticing the house’ odd behavior.

Isabela only gives it a confused look, not giving it another thought. There’s no way Oscar could’ve gotten hurt, not on Casita’s watch. And even if he did, Casita would just give or lead him to the kitchen to grab an arepa to heal the pain.

Oscar isn’t hurt, she just knows it.

Yet, upon taking one step on Casita’s tiles, the house immediately drags both of them to the center of the courtyard, making both their hearts jump in their chests.

“What the-“ Isabela asks, her head spinning a bit, catching her breath.

“Uhm, Isabela…?” Mariano says, his tone full of worry, tapping her on the shoulder as he stares at something.

At first, the flower woman doesn’t get what he means, almost feeling a bit frustrated about it, but then she sees it…

The candle isn’t on Abuela’s balcony…

Isabela doesn’t believe it at first. Maybe Abuela decided to take the candle inside her room for safety for the day? Maybe Casita moved it somewhere else so that it won’t fall? But no. The candle has always been standing on that balcony, everyday when there wasn’t a ceremony or wedding, for 57 years…

No, there’s no doubt anymore…

The candle is missing…

Isabela panics. No no no! This can’t happen! They will lose their home! The Encanto will be in danger! The magic will be in danger! Casita will fall!

Abuela won’t like this. She will freak out, turn the whole Encanto upside down, maybe even accuse her own family of stealing the candle…

While Isabela silently panics, Mariano looks around to check if the doors still glow, which all still do. Though when he looks at Dolores’ door, he swears he sees the painting next to it closing like a door. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but Mariano can’t help but find it strange.

His thoughts are cut off by the sound of a crack. Looking towards the direction of the sound, he sees a huge crack in…Mirabel’s door?

It instantly takes him back to 3 days ago, when Antonio said that he saw cracks in the walls at dinner.

He was right…

This is bad, this is really really bad…

“Is something wrong?” It’s Dolores, entering Casita, along with Julieta and Agustín following behind her.

The absence of the candle already gives her the answer…

“The candle is missing…” Isabela manages to say through her panic. She’s trembling, tears burning in her eyes as the realization hits harder. “The candle is missing! It’s-“

“It’s going to be fine, mija.” Julieta tries to reassure her daughter, pulling her into a hug. Though her own trembling voice also reveals her own fear.

Agustín however, can only stare at the balcony where the candle is suppose to be. He’s thrown back to this morning, when he, Antonio, Mirabel and Bruno where walking up those stairs to do the vision. She had asked them something odd about the candle, but he can’t remember what. He and Antonio where too tired to even pay attention.

And not to mention that he had talked with Mirabel not even an hour ago…

Unlike most of the Madrigals, Agustín knows who has taken the candle. And unlike the others, he only has one question to ask…

“What have you done…”

•+•

Closing the painting behind her, Mirabel let’s out a sigh of relief, her legs almost giving out.

She has done it…

After all the obstacles and struggles that house has given her, she has done it…

“You’re back!” Oscar cheers, throwing his arms in the air. He doesn’t know what his Tía had done while she was gone, but he’s simply happy she’s back.

“Sí…” Mirabel only answers, giving her sobrino a smile. She then walks towards him, before kneeling to his level, wanting him to pay attention. “And I’ve brought something with me.”

Oscar’s eyes widen of wonder at the sentence, wanting to know what it is. He does see his Tía having her arm wrapped around something covered in blue cloth with a small light glowing at the top, as if it’s something secret.

Mirabel carefully shifts the object so that she’s holding it with it with two hands, one holding it at the base while the other gently at the side, as if she isn’t allowed to touch it. She shows the object to Oscar for a moment, before letting the blue cloth fall, revealing the magical candle itself…

The boy’s eyes widen at the sight. Is it really…?

“The candle.” He says, almost not believing that the magical objects is in front of him once again.

“Sí…” Mirabel answers again, cracking a small smile. It took a lot of time to get that thing, a lot of patience, multiple tries, pain, wounds and even a broken leg because that cursed living house obviously didn’t agree with her plan, but that doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is that she has got it.

Oscar reaches out to touch it again, but Mirabel quickly yet gently grabs his wrist to stop him.

“Don’t.” She warns him, her tone serious yet not too harsh. “We don’t know what will happen if we touch the candle a second time, so let’s not do that, okay?”

The boy only nods in response, somewhat understanding what his Tía means.

But the quiet moment doesn’t last long, as Oscar’s head is flooded with many, many thoughts all at once. He hears those of his mamá and papá, Tía Lola, Abuela Juli, and Abuelo Gus, all talking at the same time. They all sound like they are afraid of something, or sad.

Oscar clenches his head again, feeling his head ache again as the thoughts of his family overlap in his head. He wants to go to his room, where it’s quiet, where his head doesn’t hurt…

“Hey, don’t cry…” Mirabel says, her tone soothing and comforting. he gently wipes her sobrino’s tears away with her free hand, before putting it on his shoulder. “It will all be over soon.”

Now seems like the perfect time.

She holds the magic candle in front of her and Oscar for a moment, looking at the burning flame one last time. That damn flame that partly ruined her and her papá’s lives, and threatened about to ruin Oscar’s.

Mirabel takes a handful of salt out of her pocket. She holds her hand open with it for a few seconds, before throwing it over her shoulder, just like her pá has done. He has always said its for good luck, and they need it now.

Taking a deep breath, not knowing what to expect, the seer takes one last look of contempt at the lit flame, before she blows it out…

•+•

The sound of a dying flame catches Dolores’ ears for a moment, a very quick moment. Yet, in that short time, she knows which flame just died…

And she knows who just did it…

She doesn’t have time to drown in her thoughts and fears, as a second later, the loud volume she normally hears abruptly turns quieter…

“Ah!” she lets out, her eyes widening out of shock. This isn’t suppose to happen. She isn’t suppose to lose her gift like that. But she should’ve known. Dolores should’ve seen it coming the second she heard the magic candle being blown out by her youngest prima. She has heard Mirabel say she wanted to put the candle out, especially today. And apparently, from what she has heard, Mirabel went through with her plan when she ran into Oscar, and saw how much he was suffering because of his own gift…

But…it feels strangely satisfying to not hear the slightest of sounds, to not hear every little thing from a mile away. Dolores will never admit it out loud, but she feels relieved, as if she can finally breath again.

With her hearing turned down to that of a regular person, Dolores starts to focus on her sight, and she sees a lot.

She sees her older prima tremble in panicking, fearing their Abuela’s reaction to the candle being missing.

She sees her Tío Agustín’s suspiciously worried expression, as if he has realized something they don’t know about. But Dolores already knows, because she has heard it all.

She sees the crack in Mirabel’s door, almost like Casita is trying to tell them something, warn them about something. But yet again, she already knows…

And she sees the golden glows of their magical doors fade like candlelight…

“Our gifts are gone!” It’s Pepa, barging in Casita with Félix, Camilo, Antonio and Luisa following behind her. “What’s happening?!”

The mere sight of the candle’s absence, along with the brown wooden frames of their doors that is suppose to glow gold, simply give her the answer…

“Dios mio…” Pepa lets out, staring at the scene as Félix goes to her side to comfort her. Camilo is more focused on trying to shape shift again, obviously being in denial. Luisa looks visibly stressed, wanting to help, take away the burden, but she can’t…

Antonio however, already looks absolutely heartbroken. He was ready to burst into tears when his animal friends suddenly ran away from him, and the 12 year old actually did when he found out his animal friends couldn’t understand him anymore, and vise versa. But now, seeing the absence of the candle, as well as his family having lost their gifts…

It makes Antonio feel like a failure…

He has warned his family, especially Abuela, multiple times about the cracks, about the gifts possibly fading, but they never noticed, they never saw it.

Maybe he should’ve kept trying to warn them? Maybe-

“What is going on?” It’s Abuela, her tone stern as she’s the last one of the family to walk in Casita.

The elderly woman’s expression changes into one of shock in an instant upon seeing the absence of the candle…

It’s gone…

Missing…gone…lost…

No, not again…

They can’t lose their home…

“The candle…” Alma lets out, staring at her now empty balcony where the object is usually placed. Her gaze then shifts to the magical doors, which are now only wooden, having lost their golden glow.

No, this can’t happen!

This isn’t going to happen!

“Where is the candle?!” Alma demands, almost yelling at her family. It’s clear she’s panicking…

“W-we don’t know!” Pepa answers, just as stressed as her mother.

Mentirosos!” Alma yells, scaring Julieta and Dolores a bit.

“A-Abuela?” Antonio tries to warn her about the small cracks spreading from Mirabel’s door, but the elderly woman doesn’t even hear it, as she goes on.

“Tell me who took it!” She demands.

“Abuela, l-look-“ Antonio tries again, but she doesn’t hear him.

“It was one of you, wasn’t it-“

“You have to stop, Alma!” Agustín calls out, cutting her off in the middle of her ranting. The rest of the family look at him with confusion, wondering how this is gonna end. But that doesn’t matter to Agustín. He has had enough of her demanding behavior towards him and the others, and especially towards his daughters.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Mirabel listens in on the potential argument inside the halls, near the painting, while Oscar looks at the now-put-out candle.

“Look around you!” Alma argues back, refusing to back down. “Look at our home!”

“No, you get to listen for once!” Agustín snaps, losing his cool for a moment. Noticing this, he takes a few seconds to calm down, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “It all started with you. Bruno and Mirabel are gone because of you. Everyone is unhappy, Mirabel wants nothing to do with us because of you!” All the other Madrigals’ eyes widen at the mention of the two future-seers, especially the latter. What? How does he know all that? “Is the candle that important to you? More than your own family?”

“We cannot lose our home!” Alma argues back, completely ignoring the topic of her son and granddaughter.

“And what about us?” Isabela asks, having found the sudden strength to stand up to her Abuela.

“You all must help find the-“

Cállate!” The flower woman snaps. She has had it with her abuela’s behavior, and she’s gonna make that crystal clear. “We have been stuck being perfect and obeying you our whole entire lives!” It takes Isabela back to the times where she overheard the elderly woman tell Tía Pepa there was a cloud above her head, where Luisa had to do so many tasks for the town that she sometimes didn’t eat lunch with the family, where her mamá would stand hours upon hours in the kitchen cooking food for everyone, where Antonio had to translate what the towns animals where saying for hours on end, where Mirabel was kicked out of the family. There are too many of those memories to count. “All you have ever done for us is throwing our hermanita out and ordering us around like slaves!

“That’s not true!” Alma snaps in a very weak attempt to argue back, causing slight cracks to form in Casita’s walls.

“It is!” Pepa snaps back, focusing on the latter reason, remembering all those times when her mother would point out her clouds and negative emotions. “Pepa, there’s a cloud. Pepa, calm down. Don’t act like that, Pepa. Control your emotions, Pepa. Pepa, stop, don’t act like a child.” Félix let’s his wife rant, knowing that she doesn’t have her gift anymore. “I didn’t chose my gift, mamá!”

Even Julieta gives a small nod of agreement.

Hearing her Tía vent out her frustrations and feelings after so long, Isabela feels quite happy, relieved even, that she and her papá aren’t the only ones calling out Abuela’s behavior anymore. She looks over at Dolores, Luisa and Camilo, hoping that they will stand up to their Abuela as well, but they just stand there, not saying a word. Maybe they aren’t ready to do that just yet, and Isabela can’t blame them for a second.

Admittedly, she’s quite glad Oscar isn’t with them to hear this.

Antonio however, is

“We will never be good enough for you…” The boy says to his abuela, his voice trembling as the realization slowly hits him. For most of their daily life, they have to help the town with very little to no breaks, and Antonio just starts to realize that. More cracks start to form in Casita. “We all love this family, but…” Well, almost all of them. If it wasn’t for Abuela, Bruno and Mirabel would also be here, which only proves one thing. “…you don’t care…”

“Don’t you-!” Alma raises her voice at her youngest grandchild, but to her surprise, it doesn’t help.

“Tío Bruno and Mira are gone because of you…” Antonio says, looking at her with sadness in his eyes, because it’s true. Unknowingly, after saying those words, a huge crack appears in the center of the town, as well as a few in Casita. It’s then that Antonio realizes it. “The magic is dying because of you…”

Everyone’s eyes widen at that, a tense silence hanging in the air. Alma looks at her youngest grandson with shock, for once not knowing what to say.

For a moment, it stays silent, painfully silent…

Then, a huge crack appears in the center of the courtyard, between Alma and the rest of the family…

That’s when they all know it. Casita is going to collapse…

While being in the halls, Mirabel and Oscar hear the known sound as well. The former’s heart drops, knowing that this is bad news. She looks around, and sees the walls covered in cracks, small but uncountable amounts of cracks, enough to almost fall apart.

They have to get out of here…

“Alight, let’s go, kid.” She says, grabbing Oscar before running away from the painting and deeper in the halls, making her way downstairs to go outside where it’s safe. Even when the house is collapsing, Mirabel refuses to reveal herself.

It isn’t only that though. She can’t bring Oscar to his parents now, not when the living house is collapsing! It will only be dangerous if she drops him off like that, so the only possible and safest solution her mind can make up on the fly is to take her sobrino with her to find a way out of this mess.

A realization then hits her.

Her pá is still inside, asleep…

•+•

Bruno wakes up at the sound of cracks tearing in the walls. He has heard the sound before, but never this loud or close.

Oh no…

He snaps his eyes open upon properly processing the sounds, shooting up from his sleeping position. Bruno can just feel that something is wrong.

Then he sees it…

The walls of the small room are covered with cracks, so many cracks. The rats panic, trying to find a hole to escape the crumbling room. Some have already succeeded, others not yet. A piece of the ceiling then falls on the floor, and then another, and another…

Bruno also begins to panic, his first thought being Mirabel. Is she still in the halls? Or is she already outside, safe and sound? Or did she try, but-

He quickly pushes the worst case scenario out of his head. No, that won’t happen!

Bruno doesn’t think twice as he gets up from the couch, and bursts through the door, entering the halls.

Mirabel!” He calls out, frantically looking around. “Mirabel, where are you?!”

No answer.

Bruno sprints further into the halls, calling out his daughter’s name, but all he gets is silence as the walls begin to fall apart.

She has to be outside already, she has to!

But…Bruno won’t leave without her.

“Mira-“ He calls out again, but is cut off when rubble falls right in front of him, blocking his path.

Bruno looks around himself. He can’t go further anymore, the only way he can go is back, but given how some peaces of the ceiling are ready to fall, that seems like a bad idea.

He has no choice but to get out…

Bruno grabs a metal bucket full of sand that stands near him. He quickly empties it, and puts it on his head, before bursting through the wall.

Upon landing on the grass, Bruno puts the metal bucket off, his head spinning as he crawls a bit further away, looking over at the crumbling Casita.

He can only pray that Mirabel is already outside.

But he doesn’t know how wrong he is…

Inside Casita, Mirabel runs as fast as she can while carrying Oscar in her arms, desperately trying to find a way out for him.

The ground is shaking, peaces of wood and stone are falling down, and the walls are breaking, but Mirabel keeps running while trying to shield Oscar from it all. The kid shouldn’t see his home collapse.

“Get outside, get outside, get outside…” The 22 year old repeats to herself, frantically looking around for a way out.

Then, she notices a small hole in the wall, light from outside shining through it. With Oscar still in her arms, Mirabel crawls through it before a huge chunk of rubble can fall on her.

Immediately, she hides in a nearby bush in case one of the other Madrigals may see her. Glancing at Casita, further away from where she escaped, Mirabel notices a huge hole in a wall with a metal bucket laying near it.

Upon seeing the sight, she knows her papá has escaped already.

Oh gracias a dios…

Being reassured of that, as well as seeing the sight of the house slowly breaking to peaces, Mirabel decides to make a break for it, carrying Oscar with her as she walks away from the crumbling Casita. She has lost a home before, she isn’t ready to see it happening again. But most importantly, her sobrino shouldn’t see his home destroyed, not at 5 years old, not ever

“Tía Mira?” Oscar asks, looking at his aunt with confusion. “What is happening with Casi?”

Mirabel looks at her nephew for a moment, not knowing what to answer. In a way, she feels like this is her fault, but she isn’t even certain…

Right now though, she can only give the boy one answer…

“I don’t know…”

•+•

Things aren’t any better in the courtyard, as all the other Madrigals are still there…

The ground is shaking at the cracks forming in the tile floor. Antonio is clinging to his mother, scared of what’s to come. The animals in his room flee, escaping the danger as fast as they can. Dolores has a hand on Camilo’s shoulder, silently comforting her hermanito. Luisa tries to keep it together, while Agustín and Alma silently panic. Julieta tries to calm her oldest daughter down as Mariano keeps his eyes on the cracks, checking if the house keeps standing despite everything.

And Isabela comes to a realization…

“Oscar…” she says, panic hitting her as she hears more cracks forming, remembering that her son is still somewhere else inside Casita. “Where’s Oscar?! Casita, where’s mi hijo?!”

Agustín’s eyes widen of horror. His daughter’s panic over her own child’s safety serves as a harsh reminder that Mirabel and Bruno may or may not still be in the hidden halls…

The house doesn’t respond, not moving in the slightest.

So, Isabela and Mariano decide to take it upon themselves to save their son. The duo splits up, Isabela going to the direction of their son’s room while Mariano sprints towards the kitchen.

“Isabela!” Julieta instinctively calls out in an attempt to stop her daughter, Dolores instinctively reaching her arm out to stop both of them, but Isabela and Mariano ignore all pleads. All that matters to them is to get their son to safety.

It’s then that Casita finally responds. The living house uses the courtyard floor like a wave to push the Madrigal family out. They all crash to the ground where they are safe, Casita making sure not to injure them.

No!” Isabela yells, wanting to rush back in the house to get her child, but Julieta stops her before she can go any further. “Casita, please!

“Let us back in! There are still-“ Agustín begs, also attempting to rush back in the house to get Oscar, Mirabel and Bruno out, but he stops himself when he sees the inevitable happen…

Casita is collapsing…

The miracle is dying…

The mountains around the Encanto split open with a ‘Crack!’, allowing outsiders to come in. And all the cracks that have formed in Casita causes the walls to lose balance. Bruno’s tower goes first, falling and crashing down in the courtyard, which quickly results into the other rooms and parts of the house collapsing as well.

Now, Casita is on the brink of death, being nothing more then a pile of rubble that has just fallen apart. The living house opens and closes the front door one last time, as if taking their last breath, before it falls to the ground as well…

The Madrigal’s home, Casita, has fallen…

The miracle has died…

Alma falls to her knees, shock written all over her face. Her family’s home, the very thing she has tried to protect for 57 years, is gone, destroyed, crumbled to a pile of rubble…

Isabela, already on her knees with thick tears in her eyes, stares at the rubble that was Casita mere minutes ago, only one thought that her mind repeats over and over.

Her son…still inside the house…dead…

“No…” Isabela sobs, trembling as her legs give out, falling to her knees. Luisa and Julieta go to her side to comfort her, but Isabela doesn’t care. All she wants right now is her son being with her, safe and sound, but he isn’t… “No!

She cries, wails even, letting out her pain that she never could before. She should’ve checked on Oscar, got him out of his room or wherever he was, but she didn’t. Isabela feels like she’s the worst, most horrible human being on the planet, the worst mother in the world…

Hearing his wife’s cries, Mariano goes into action. He rushes to the pile of rubble that was Casita, and combs through it, desperately trying to find any sign of his son.

Agustín quickly joins his son-in-law in digging through Casita’s remains, unable to stand around and do nothing anymore. But while everyone thinks he’s looking for his grandson, Agustín also searches for any sign of Mirabel and Bruno…

Dolores and Antonio are the only ones that know…

“No, no, no, no…” Agustín says, losing more and more hope of finding the three family members. He does find left-overs of food, broken plates, and even a few dead rats, but no sign of his brother-in-law, daughter, or grandson…

Dolores looks at the scene, feeling very tempted to tell her family everything, tell them that Bruno and Mirabel have been in Casita all this time, tell them that Mirabel has blown the candle out and that Oscar was with her, but she can’t. She can’t tell them now, not when they have just lost Casita and their home…

“This is all your fault!” Isabela screams at her abuela, thick tears streaming down her face. She doesn’t care if the town hears her all the way from here, not in the slightest. “All of this is your fault, all of it! Oscar is gone because of you, you selfish entitled old perra!

Alma doesn’t say anything. She only stares at the remains of their home as she hears her oldest granddaughter yell at her. She deserves it, Alma knows she deserves it. She doesn’t exactly know yet what she has done wrong, but she knows she deserves it…

Unbeknownst to everyone, two rats appear out of the rubble, having somehow survived Casita’s fall. They run towards Antonio, each crawling on one of his shoulders before squeaking rapidly. The boy can hear that the two creatures are trying to tell him something, but he can’t understand them anymore.

It saddens him, but that doesn’t matter.

They have lost their home, their miracle, and maybe even a few of their family…

Chapter 23: Apart and Return

Summary:

The whole Madrigal family reunite again…

Notes:

This is it, the chapter with the apologies😊

Some apologies are saved for later, so Mira isn’t getting robbed of one, don’t worry!

Just to prepare you all, Alma’s apology is based on the one in the deleted scene (that one was honestly far far better than what we got in the film imo…)

I hope it’s any good though.

And everything that isn’t addressed here will be addressed later! :)

Oh! And we have an ending!

‼️Trigger warnings‼️)
-description of vomiting!
-description of a panic attack!

With all that out of the way, enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Tía Mira?” Oscar asks as his aunt carries him while walking. “Where are we going?”

Mirabel doesn’t answer for a moment, thinking of what she’s going to say. They all just lost their home, and she doesn’t know where the others are, so she doesn’t really have an idea of where to go.

“I don’t know.” Mirabel responds, putting Oscar down on the ground before continuing their way, holding the boy’s hand. “But I will bring you back to your parents, promise.”

If she is completely honest, even after everything that has just happend, Mirabel still has to get used to being a tía. Heck, she could’ve known about her sobrino’s existence sooner if she had just showed some interest in how her cousins and sisters where doing. Her papá did, and even tried to tell her about them for some time, but she refused to have anything to do with them at all, so he gave up, and so didn’t tell her about Oscar. Honestly, Mirabel can’t blame her pá. He probably figured that she didn’t want to do anything with the family that have abandoned her, so…

“Will you come back too?” Oscar asks, looking up at his tía.

Again, Mirabel doesn’t answer immediately. If she’s honest; no, she doesn’t want to come back, or at the very least not when that old perra is still around.

Thank goodness that her sobrino can’t hear her thoughts anymore…

“Maybe…” she finally answers, leaving it at that.

She has to admit that the outside world looks quite beautiful. All she sees is green grass and trees that shine in bright sunlight. Mirabel and her pá only went outside to bury their pet rats that have passed away, and that only at night when it was dark. So the world outside is quite new for her.

Suddenly, Mirabel hears rustling in some nearby bushes, footsteps sounding like they just walk by.

“Oscar, where are you?” A male voice calls out, seemingly being the one walking near the large bushes. Luckily for Mirabel, he can’t see her, since the bushes are large enough to cover her.

He has to be Oscar’s father, right?

“Are that your papá?” Mirabel asks her nephew.

“Sí!” Oscar answers quite excitedly, wanting to go to him and his mamá.

Mirabel can’t help but smile at that. Her sobrino will finally be with his parents like she had intended earlier, after all this chaos.

“Let’s get you to them then.” She says with a warm smile, before picking the boy up once again, and carries him to the bushes. Mirabel then carefully drops to her knees, and gently pushes Oscar through the bush to the other side where his father is, making sure to not accidentally hurt him.

“Osca-“ Mariano calls out again, turning around, but cuts himself off when he sees his son.

“Papá!” the boy calls out, running towards him, obviously happy to see him.

“Oh, gracias a dios...” Mariano says, feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders. After Casita collapsed, he and Isabela refused to believe that their son was still inside and had died along with the house, so they decided to look for him, just in case he was somewhere outside, and Mariano was right, because he has just found him.

He quickly picks his son up in his arms before hugging him tight. “Where were you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Oscar only smiles, making it quite clear that he isn’t hurt.

“Isabela!” Mariano calls out to another direction. “I’ve found him!”

The flower woman immediately runs to the scene, appearing from behind a few trees. Upon seeing her son alive and well, she lets out a sigh of relief, her shoulders visibly relaxing.

“Gracias a dios…” Isabela can only say, her voice tense yet relieved.

Her baby is safe, unharmed, uninjured, alive

Isabela reaches her arms out, wanting her son in her arms this instant. Mariano takes the hint, and hands Oscar over to her. Luckily, the boy doesn’t mind. He wants a hug from his mamá anyways.

The very second her son is in her arms, Isabela gives him the biggest hug she has ever given, tears of joy and relief streaming down her cheeks. She isn’t going let him out of her sight anymore, no. He could’ve actually been crushed by Casita’s debris. Oscar could’ve died. But that didn’t happen. He was safe and sound outside, far from the collapsing house. How and why he got this far away doesn’t matter right now.

All that matters is that her son, her and Mariano’s son, is alive and well with them…

“Lets go back to the others, okay?” Mariano suggests, putting a comforting hand on Isabela’s shoulder.

She agrees, and the small family of three begin to walk their way back, relieved and reunited.

As he’s being carried away, Oscar looks back at the bushes where he has last seen his Tía Mira. Where is she? Why isn’t she with him?

She will come back to them, right?

•+•

“Come on, Mira. Where are you?” Bruno asks to himself, his worry only growing as all kinds of worst-case-scenarios play in his mind.

Right now, he’s traveling through the forest on horseback, looking for his daughter. He had found the horse in a lawn, so Bruno decided to take the animal with him as transport. The former seer has lost track of time at this point. He may have been searching for Mirabel for hours, though it feels like he has been for days.

Bruno’s thoughts are cut off when he hears the sudden sound of streaming water. Looking down at his right, he sees that the horse he’s on walks next to a river. It’s a nice sight, relaxing even.

The horse then neighs, starting to walk towards the river to drink.

“You are thirsty, huh?” Bruno asks the animal, knowing the horse can’t answer, though he sees that the animal just wants to drink some water. So, he hops off the horse’s back, and goes to sit on a rock near the river. “You’re right, you deserve a break, amigo.”

A peaceful silence takes over, the only sounds that Bruno hears are the streaming of the river water and a light wind blowing in the air.

He never thought it would come to this point, a point where Casita is destroyed and all their gifts being gone. If he is being honest though, Bruno is somewhat glad that the latter happend. He never really liked his gift, let alone Mirabel having the exact same one as well. Their gifts had only caused pain and sleepless nights…

Suddenly, his thoughts are once again cut off when he hears a voice he never thought would talk to him again, a voice who hasn’t talked to him in 17 years…

“Bruno?”

It’s his mother…

She sounds surprised, maybe because she didn’t expect to see her son out of everyone in her family, or maybe because she didn’t expect him to be near this river.

Bruno shifts a bit to look at her. His mother’s expression screams uncertainty, doubt, exhaustion and a bit of shame. He can only look at her with confusion, not even knowing what to think, let alone what to say. He hasn’t seen her since Mirabel’s ceremony, for 17 years…

Slowly, Alma walks her way towards her son, before sitting next to him on a rock, yet keeping her distance.

A tense silence then hits, the sound of streaming water being the only thing that’s hearable.

“We shouldn’t have come back…” Bruno says, looking down in shame. “I shouldn’t have come back…”

Alma glances at her son for a moment, before looking at the river again.

“I said the same thing when I visited this river…” she says, closing her eyes for a moment. She had been near this river before, but never directly looked at it, let alone sit by it. It would remind her too much of…that. “And here I am…”

A short moment of silence hits again.

“You where right all those years ago…” Bruno says, looking away from his mother. “I always ruin everything…”

Alma shifts her gaze at her youngest child, finally looking at him this time.

“None of this is your fault.” She says, sincerely meaning it in her tone. “I chose to…” Alma hesitates for a moment. “I chose to abandon you, both of you…”

Hearing what his mother says, Bruno glances at her, as if he almost doesn’t believe her words.

“After I lost your papá, I was so afraid…” Alma admits. “I couldn’t bare the thought of losing anyone else….” Tears begin to burn in her eyes, remembering how she and her husband where forced to flee from their home with their newborn babies, remembering how her husband, her Pedro, was killed right in front of her eyes. “I thought that if our family was strong enough, if we worked hard enough, we wouldn’t lose our home again…”

Bruno can only look at his mother, hurt showing in his eyes. “Even at the cost of your own family…”

Alma slowly nods.

“You both must be so disappointed…” she says, looking at the streaming river. “I shouldn’t have disowned you because of your gifts… I was wrong…” Alma looks back at her son, sheer regret showing in her eyes. “…and I am so sorry…”

Bruno hears the crack in her voice, combined with her sincere tone. He looks away, staring at the river as he processes his thoughts for a moment.

Mira’s vision has just come true…

His mamá apologized…

But…he has some words to say…

“You abandoned us…” he says, his voice shaking as Bruno remembers both memories of him and Mirabel being kicked out. “You threw a 5 year old child out of her home solely because of her gift. You forbade everyone from mentioning us. You pretended we never even existed…” Tears are streaming down Bruno’s cheeks as he recounts everything. “You threw us away, mamá…”

Alma only listens to her son’s words, feeling guilt crippling inside her. He deserves to let his pain be known, especially after everything she did…

“But…” Bruno pauses, finding the right words to say, while wiping away his tears. Alma glances back at her son, having not expected that him to continue. “…we can still fix it, together.”

Yes, Bruno is fully aware that Mirabel most likely won’t want to see her Abuela, let alone talk to her. Mira deserves an apology from Alma as well, and he knows his mamá has to do it herself.

The elderly woman can’t help but smile at her son’s words, having found a bit of hope again.

Bruno carefully takes both his mother’s hands in his, giving her a hopeful and reassuring smile.

“Let’s go home.”

Alma now looks directly at her youngest child, listening and hearing his words. She’s ready to face the rest of their family, ready to fix what she has broken, ready to set things right.

Both mother and son stand up from the rocks, and walk to the horse that’s still drinking from the river. Bruno gently tugs at the rains, catching the animal’s attention, and saying their break is over.

He climbs on the back of the horse, helping his mother up immediately after, before riding off to Casita’s direction.

They’re going home, and they’re gonna fix it.

•+•

The ride surprisingly didn’t take that long, only about 10 minutes. Bruno even heard a few kids cheer that Dona Alma was back.

And before they both knew it, they have arrived at Casita, or what was left of the house.

Alma and Bruno step off of the horse, and while the latter decides to hide behind a still-standing wall, not ready to face his family yet, the former takes a few steps towards them, seeing the current scene.

Isabela holds Oscar in her arms with Mariano, Dolores and Julieta surrounding her, all happy and relieved beyond believe that the boy has made it out of Casita somehow. Félix is at Pepa’s side, trying to comfort her while she silently comforts Camilo. Antonio is busy trying to understand the two rats on his shoulder, wanting his gift to work again. And Luisa and Agustín, who’s already covered in bee stings, sit somberly on the debris, having lost hope or not knowing what to do to help.

The moment Alma is in sight, Pepa and Julieta see her, turning towards her.

“Mamá?” Julieta asks, both her and Pepa stepping closer towards their mother. They still don’t really know what to think of her after everything that has just happend.

“Sí…” Alma only says, gazing away from her two oldest children for a moment. “Are you all okay?”

“Are we okay?” Isabela asks with anger in her tone, handing Oscar to Mariano while looking straight at her abuela. “Casita has crumbled into a thousand peaces…” She starts walking towards the elderly woman. “One of us could’ve been crushed underneath…” Isabela stops in her tracks, looking directly at her abuela. “Look at us!”

Once again, Alma listens. She listens to what her granddaughter has to say.

“I know…” The elderly woman says, looking at everyone in her family. “I know that you all could’ve been hurt, that you are hurt…because of me…” Alma doesn’t gaze away out of shame this time. She wants her family to know that she means it, that she’s truly sorry. “I held on too tight. I was so afraid I would lose you too like your papá and abuelo…” She gazes at everyone of her family for a moment seeing their expressions of sadness, anger and confusion. “I’m sorry…”

All the other Madrigals stare at the matriarch for a moment. Some look at each other in confusion, like Camilo and Antonio. Some glare at her, like Pepa and Isabela. And some just stare at her while processing her words, like the rest.

Then, Julieta walks towards her mother, and takes her hands in hers, giving her a small but uncertain smile.

“We will try.” Julieta only says, her tone soft yet uncertain.

The other’s reactions are mixed. Some are a bit confused by her words, while others smile in hope of things finally getting better despite their current situation.

But, in the next moment, a huge swarm of yellow butterflies circle around the family, as if there’s something to celebrate.

They all don’t really know what it means, not even Alma, but it looks quite pretty.

Antonio however, is reminded of her prima’s vision she had told him about last night, about seeing a butterfly that turned into a swarm of hundred…

Her vision just came true…

The swarm of yellow butterflies then all fly in different directions, disappearing, leaving the Madrigal family by themselves again.

Alma looks behind her, noticing Bruno hiding behind rubble.

It’s time for her triplets to reunite.

“I think there’s someone who would like to see you.” Alma says, looking back at both Pepa and Julieta.

The elderly woman then steps aside, making room for her son to appear from behind the rubble.

And he does.

Bruno steps steps out of his hiding spot, revealing himself to everyone in his family for the first time in 17 years…

The two rats on Antonio’s shoulder immediately hop off and run towards their owner, happy to see him again.

Julieta and Pepa however, are shocked to see their brother again. Their eyes widen, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Then, both sisters are overtaken by happiness, as they run up to their brother and hug him tightly.

Bruno jolts at the sudden touch, not having expected to be hugged by his sisters of all things.

“Wha-?” He manages to say, the two rats struggling a bit to stay on his shoulders. “You’ve…missed me?”

“Of course!” Julieta says. “Why wouldn’t we?”

“But…” Bruno turns to Pepa, his expression utterly confused. “You said I ruined your wedding, and…” He pauses for a moment. “…I thought you hated me…”

Pepa’s eyes widen in surprise, not having expected him to know that.

“Hate you?” She asks, hugging her brother tighter. “Why on earth would I hate you?”

“We’re just glad you’re back.” Agustín adds, pretending that he hasn’t already seen his brother-in-law already, he and Félix joining in on the hug.

The triplets have reunited.

Suddenly, the two rats on Bruno’s shoulders jump on Agustín’s, as if trying to say something, before jumping back in the grass and running away towards the bushes, one rat even looking back at him for a second.

Agustín raises an eyebrow at this. Why would they abandon their owner like that?

Unless…

He follows the creatures, leaving the heartwarming scene without anyone knowing. Stepping near the bushes, he already feels relief wash over him, seeing where, or rather who, the rats have gone to.

“Mirabel?” Agustín asks upon seeing her through the leaves and branches of the bush.

Thank goodness, she’s alive as well…

Hearing his voice, Mirabel turns to him, only to immediately let out a small scream.

“What? What’s wrong?” Agustín asks.

“Oh, sorry, sorry.” Mirabel says, this time whispering. “You just look a bit horrifying.”

Oh yeah, she doesn’t know he gets stung by bees quite often…

Non taken though.

The two then stay silent for a moment. Agustín looks at the rest of the family, hearing his wife ask Bruno where Mira is.

“You can come back to us as well.” He suggests, looking back at her.

“I…” She starts, but then pauses, unsure of how to respond. “I can’t…”

What’s the point of going back to a family who threw her away, going back to a family she doesn’t remember?

Mirabel then looks at the rest of the Madrigal family through the bushes. She sees her pá being hugged by his sisters, happy that he’s reunited with them. She sees her sisters and cousins smiling, yet (most of them) knowing that someone is still missing.

She’s still missing…

Maybe she should come back, only for her pá, sisters and cousins?

It’s then that Mirabel makes a decision.

She turns back to Agustín, and reaches out her hand to him, silently asking for his help. If she’s going to show herself to the rest of her family, she won’t do it alone.

Agustín stares at her for a moment, eyes widening of surprise. He wasn’t expecting this, her asking him to help her back into the family, not after everything. Not after he simply stood by and let his youngest daughter be thrown out of her home…

But, despite not having forgiven him, he can see it in her eyes that Mirabel needs him, if only for now. Agustín can’t mess this up, he isn’t allowed to.

With a bit of hesitation, he takes her hand, and turns to face the rest of the Madrigal family.

“Guys.” Agustín says, catching their attention. “We’re missing someone.”

And that’s when he gently pulls Mirabel out of her hiding spot, revealing her to the rest of the Madrigals.

She looks at them for a short moment, then gazing away, fumbling with her hair as she feels so many eyes staring at her. Looking back at them for another moment, Mirabel recognizes some people, others not, but that doesn’t change the fact that so many people are looking at her…

Upon seeing her, Bruno feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

“Mira!” He calls out, running towards her and hugging her tightly, utterly relieved to see her alive and well. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, papá.” Mirabel says, reassuring him. It allows her to forget that people are looking at her, the rats even moving to Bruno’s shoulders.

Stepping forward to see her more clearly, most of the Madrigals (except Camilo) recognizing her. Looking at her a bit closer, their minds are filled with memories, some being from their own perspective, but most of them instantly remember her ceremony night…

Even Alma looks at her with shock, despite expecting to see her youngest granddaughter…

“Mirabel?” Julieta asks, her tone unsure, almost not believing that she’s seeing her youngest daughter. Yet, Julieta recognizes her round green glasses that are now broken, her facial features, her curly yet long and messy hair. “Is it you?”

Mirabel gazes away from her mother, not even wanting to say anything at all. Luckily, she doesn’t have to.

“Tía Mira is back! Tía Mira is back!” Oscar cheers, seeing his Tía from afar in his dad’s arms.

That’s all the confirmation Julieta, Isabela and Luisa need.

They fun up to Mirabel before hugging her tightly, not intending on letting go. Questions on how Oscar already knows her may come later, rebuilding Casita may come later. All of that doesn’t matter right now, because they finally have her youngest daughter and sister back.

Pepa’s side of the family, along with Mariano, Oscar and Alma, decide to just watch the heartwarming scene.

Bruno and Agustín however, can already feel that this isn’t gonna end good…

“Julieta, don’t-“ Agustín tries to warn his wife, but she doesn’t even seem to hear him…

It’s already too late though…

Mirabel freezes on the spot as she feels three people she doesn’t know, one of them having abandoned her and not even having apologized for it, hug her like it’s nothing. She can understand her sisters though, but she doesn’t even know them, barely even recognizing them. But it’s too much for her to handle, being surrounded by so many people at once…

“You’re here, actually here!”

“We missed you so much!”

“Where were you? How are you?”

Mirabel feels the burn of her stomach acids, sweating and shaking as she can’t hear what her mother and sisters are saying to her…

She can’t take it anymore, she needs her dad…

Her brain shuts down, as Mirabel pushes past her mother and sisters, freeing herself from their hug, and runs towards Bruno in a panic. She can’t keep her stomach fluids in any longer though, and throws up before she can reach her papá…

The arepa she had eaten this morning for breakfast spills out of her mouth as fluids on spills the ground, some of it spilling on her dress. Mirabel chokes on the fluid as her throat burns, tears spilling from her eyes.

Bruno immediately goes to her daughter’s side, trying to comfort her with words, but it doesn’t help…

She’s dry heaving now, her own vomit all around and all over her. How she looks right now doesn’t matter to her right now, Mirabel just wants to go home. She just wants to get out of here…

Bruno holds her as he looks at the rest of the family, some of the townspeople having just showed up as well. All of them, especially Julieta, Isabela and Luisa, look shocked yet guilty, not knowing what they’ve done wrong but really wanting to make it right…

It wasn’t exactly a great start for them, especially for Mira…

Far from it…

Notes:

Let the healing begin😊

Chapter 24: a New Normal

Summary:

Mirabel and Bruno talk about Casita’s collapse, and everything surrounding that, while adapting to a new temporary home and incitement.

Notes:

The first chapter without magic whatsoever! Which means (more) issues can get addressed!

Yeah, just because healing has begun (somewhat) doesn’t mean it’s all rainbows and sunshine ^^

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

Slowly opening her eyes when waking from her sleep, Mirabel is greeted with the sight of a wooden ceiling, a different wooden ceiling than the one in the walls. One that’s a bronze brown color, while the ceiling in the walls is very dark brown, almost black color.

She must’ve passed out after throwing up, or something.

Despite still feeling a bit sick, Mirabel sits up from her sleeping position, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before looking around.

The room is quite small, just like the room she and her papá had lived in. It has white walls, despite the light brown wooden ceiling. There’s a window at her left side, the curtains open, allowing bright sunlight in the room. A few small paintings hang on the walls, just so it doesn’t look bald.

Wait…

This isn’t her and pá’s room in the walls…

“Mira?” She hears her papá say from somewhere. Looking at where his voice comes from, Mirabel sees him sitting on the edge of the bed with a concerned look on his face. “Are you okay?”

“I guess…” Mirabel answers, scanning the room to look for the rats for a second. “Feeling kinda sick, though.”

“Just take some rest.” Bruno advises, giving his daughter a reassuring smile. “A lot has happend today…”

A moment of silence then passes, in which Mirabel quickly looks around the room again.

“Where are we?” she asks, obviously confused.

“Oh, we are in a villager’s house.” Bruno answers. “They offered that we could stay with them until Casita is rebuild.”

Mirabel rolls her eyes at hearing the last three words. Heck no she wants her and her pá’s “gifts” back! Those stupid powers only brought dreamless nights, severe headaches, and many more problems for both of them!

And she doesn’t even want to imagine Oscar getting his gift back. Poor kid will get a massive headache by simply eating dinner with his family…

Then, like she has been listening the whole time, a girl Antonio’s age appear in the doorframe.

“Oh, hola!” the girl greets. “You’re awake!”

Mirabel looks at the unknown girl for a moment. She seems to be 12, around Antonio’s age. She has fair skin, green eyes, and blond hair that’s styled into two braids.

The girl looks like she lives here, along with her parents.

“Hey…” Mirabel awkwardly greets the girl back.

“Oh, that’s Cecilia.” Bruno says, glancing at the girl for a moment. “She and her mamá live here.”

The girl named Cecilia goes to Mirabel’s side, checking up on her.

“Are you okay?” she asks, a bit worried. “You looked quite sick when you got here.”

“I’m fine.” Mirabel only answers, keeping the conversation short.

The girl however, is about to ask another question, but it’s then that her mother, Juana, cuts in.

“Cecilia, can you help me in the kitchen?” she asks her daughter from the room in question.

“Sí, mamá!” Cecilia answers, before looking back at Bruno and Mirabel. “Got to help mamá. Call me when you need something!”

And just like that, she’s out of the room, leaving Bruno and Mirabel by themselves again.

“A kitchen.” Mirabel says, repeating what Cecilia’s mother said. “What food do they have there? Maybe I can steal some for dinner.”

“Oh, we don’t have to do that anymore.” Bruno reassures her. “We can just eat with Juana and Cecilia.”

“But…” Mirabel is utterly confused now. “This is our room for now, so shouldn’t we stay here? And why is it so…empty?”

It’s then that it hits Bruno. Their lives living in the walls of Casita, of living in a small room with their necessities cramped in with rats as their only companions, was all she knew. She didn’t know any better, Mirabel didn’t remember any better…

And now she has to adapt to a much healthier and cleaner environment that she should’ve known her whole life…

“I’ll explain everything in time, okay?” Bruno says, giving her a reassuring smile. He first wants her to rest a bit before introducing her to everything she has missed.

Mirabel nods in response, agreeing with her dad. Though she does wonder where the rats are.

Then, another set of questions struck her mind.

“Wait, where were you?” Mirabel asks, changing the topic, glancing at her papá. “I knew you already escaped the house before it collapsed, so I was looking for you, but couldn’t find you anywhere.”

Bruno glances at her for a moment, thinking of what to answer with this sudden change of topic.

“I was looking for you.” he eventually answers. “I found a horse somewhere, and well, tried to find you.”

“But how did you run into Alma?” Mirabel then asks, her voice turning bitter at the name. “That woman came back with you.”

Bruno’s eyes widen a bit at the question, not having expected her to ask that.

“She saw me when I took a break near a river.” He explains, hoping that Mirabel will take it well. “She apologized for everything, for abandoning us and all.” Bruno takes a deep breath. “So, I said that, despite what she did, we could fix it-“

“What?” Mirabel asks in utter disbelief, cutting him off. For a moment, she goes silent, staring at her papá with confusion and disbelief. “After everything she did?!

“I know you still resent her, and rightfully so. I understand.” Bruno clarifies, putting a comforting hand on top of hers. “You don’t have to forgive her, but-“

“After she threw us away?!” Mirabel cries out, overcome with emotion.

She takes a moment to calm down, breathing in and out.

“Aren’t you mad…? Not even a bit?”

Bruno looks at his daughter, his expression sympathetic and understanding.

“I am...” He says with sadness in his voice. “But more for what she did to you.”

He remembers Mirabel’s ceremony like it was yesterday. Bruno remembers the then 5 year old girl being exited to receive her gift, and he remembers the instant confusion and fear in her expression when they where both dragged outside. But most notably, he remembers her cries, begging her parents not to leave her…

Of course Bruno was incredibly saddened when his mother kicked him out years prior. He was inconsolable for a whole week or longer, not even being angry. But having to see how 5 year old Mirabel’s heart broke when she was thrown out of her own home has Bruno still fuming.

Mirabel looks at her dad with confusion, yet a hint of sympathy showing.

“You deserve to be mad at Alma as well, you know.” She says, not forcing it on him.

“I know.” Bruno says, understanding his daughter fully.

The conversation then gets interrupted by the loud sound of Mirabel’s stomach growling, implying that she hasn’t eaten anything today (minus the arepa she threw up).

“I’ll get you some food.” Bruno says, not even waiting for Mirabel to answer as he already stands up and makes his way to the door “Stay here, okay?”

And just like that, he’s out of the room.

Mirabel is okay with it, honestly. Finally, some peace and quiet-

“Are you really okay?”

The former seer looks at the doorframe again, and sees Cecilia standing there again, looking a bit concerned. Though it’s most likely of the 22 year old’s frail and unkept appearance.

“I’m fine, really.” Mirabel answers, giving the blond haired girl a small smile.

“Oh, and there where two rats in our kitchen.” Cecilia says, said two rats then appearing from behind her. “Mamá wanted to kill them, but I stopped her.”

Mirabel can’t help but crack a real smile, despite what the girl just said, as the rats, Gus and Blue Cheese, run towards her, before crawling on her shoulders.

“There you are. I thought you two where lost or something.” she says to the small creatures with a smile. She looks back to Cecilia. “Gracias.”

“No problem!” The girl answers, before quietly leaving the room.

Mirabel turns her attention to the two rats again, petting Blue Cheese while Gus climbs on her head. It allows her to empty her head of everything that has just happened, if only for a bit.

If another person steps in this room, she will probably go mad.

“Mirabel!”

It’s Antonio. She can already hear him as he bursts in the room, jumping out of her skin at the sound of his voice.

Wait, how does he know she is here?

“Wha- What is it?” Mirabel only asks, utterly confused about, well, basically everything right now.

“Oh, I was looking for you, because I was wondering how you where doing after everything, since you where pretty unwell when you reunited with your mother and sisters.” Antonio explains in quite a rush, as if he only has a minute. That, or he’s just tired. “Mamá said you and Tío Bruno where in the village, so I looked everywhere.”

“So…you broke into people’s houses?” Mirabel asks, Gus tilting his head in confusion.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t.” The boy reassures.

“You just did, Antonio.” Cecilia says, peaking in the room again.

Antonio only awkwardly shrugs his shoulders with a grin.

“I just want to check up on my prima.” the boy says, not using it as an excuse.

“Wait, you’re technically a Madrigal, right?” Cecilia asks Mirabel, turning her gaze to the former seer. “You’re even on the mural, though you look a bit different there.”

Mirabel slowly nods in response. Well, she is a Madrigal, but she wasn’t really part of the whole family.

And wait, there’s a mural?

“Do- Uh, did you have a gift?” Cecilia then asks, quickly correcting herself upon remembering that the magic is now gone.

“Well, yeah.” Mirabel answer a bit awkwardly, trying to keep it short.

“What was it?” The girl continues. “What was your power?”

“Well, she could-“ Antonio wants to answer, noticing how his prima looks a bit uncomfortable, but is cut off by Cecilia.

“Shh, I want to hear it from her.” she whispers to him, looking at Mirabel with excitement, expecting an answer.

“I, uhm…I saw the future.” The 22 year old manages to answer, though while remembering a few times where she got massive headaches from visions.

“Just like-“ Cecilia wants to ask another question, but is cut off by her mother’s voice calling from downstairs.

“Cecilia, I asked you for help!”

The blond girl’s smile immediately drops.

“Duty calls.” She says, turning around to leave the room once again. “Knock before entering a house next time, Antonio.” The boy in question simply nods in response. “Bye, Mirabel!”

She walks out of the room, leaving Mirabel and Antonio as the only ones there.

“So, how are you doing?” The boy asks his prima, sitting next to her.

“I’ve been asked that three times already.” Mirabel says, trying not to come off as rude. “I’m doing okay.”

“You don’t feel…odd?” Antonio asks, feeling a bit odd himself. “We did lose our gifts mere hours ago.”

“Honestly, I’m kinda glad the candle went out.” Mirabel says, trying to keep it as vague as possible, but her emotions soon take over. “We can finally live without those powers in the way. No more worries about getting overwhelmed, sleepless nights, or major headaches. Isn’t that great?”

The way Mirabel says those words with such relief and happiness has Antonio’s eyes widen, something clicking in his head.

You did this…” the boy says, a bit of horror showing in his voice. “You put the candle out…”

Mirabel’s eyes widen for a second, before turning her gaze away from Antonio, realizing that she has slipped up.

“You took our gifts away…” Antonio says, almost not believing that she would do that. Doubt then clouds his mind, uncertain of what to believe anymore. “Did you hate us that much…?”

“Of course not.” Mirabel immediately reassures her younger primo, turning back to face him. She hears the sadness in his voice, and it breaks her heart. She obviously doesn’t hate her sisters and cousins, they didn’t do anything wrong. Yes, Mirabel despises the adults for abandoning her, but hate is a strong word. “Why would I hate you?”

“Than why did you put the candle out? Why did you take our gifts away?” Antonio asks in response, his voice cracking at one point.

“Because some gifts aren’t that great to have…” the 22 year old explains, her expression turning into a saddened one. “As you know, your Tío Bruno and I could see the future, and we would often get unexpected visions, but we had to suffer a lot of pain through them. Every single day and night…” Antonio looks at his prima, listening to what she has to say. “And it wasn’t just us. Poor Oscar probably had it the worst with constantly hearing others’ thoughts.”

Yeah, Antonio definitely agrees with that…

“I didn’t snuff that candle out of spite.” Mirabel explains. Well, maybe also to piss off Alma, but still. “I did it because that thing had made my pá and my life, and almost Oscar’s life, a living hell. And I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Antonio only stares with sympathy at his prima, understanding where she’s coming from. But at the same time, he’s angry at her for simply having done what she did…

But there’s also something else.

“So you won’t come back when Casita is rebuild?” He asks, his tone saddened. He and the family just got Mirabel and Bruno back, they won’t lose them again.

“I don’t know, niño.” She answers, not wanting to disappoint him.

“I can introduce you to the others right now.” Antonio offers, or more so insisting. “First thing after dinner.”

In all honesty, Mirabel really doesn’t want to see the adults, especially Alma, let alone them talking to her. Her sisters, cousins, her papá and maybe even Agustín are a different story, but still.

Besides, she already got introduced to the family thanks to Agustín.

Then an alternate solution comes to her mind.

“I heard there’s a mural of you all.” Mirabel says, remembering what Cecilia said. “Maybe you can show me that tomorrow.”

Antonio’s eyes light up at her words.

“First thing after breakfast!” He says, happy that his prima wants to know more about the family, even through a mural.

“Yeah…” Mirabel says, already imagining how that will go.

She may not want to come back after the house is rebuild, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to know her sisters and cousins.

Chapter 25: The Village of the Encanto

Summary:

Mirabel goes with Antonio to the mural as promised, and sees the family once again.

Notes:

And chapter 25 is here!

After reading a few comments saying that Mira’s confession that she blew out the candle was a bit underwhelming, here’s a more intense version where Mira shows her disdain towards the adults and the miracle to her sisters and cousins (minus Antonio. Since, well, she would properly meet them anyways!

And before you say she would do a 180 out of nowhere, keep in mind that Antonio is still a child (unlike the rest of the grandkids), and that he wouldn’t understand things such as abandonment and all Mira went through. And she knew that.

(Besides, a 22 year old venting to a 12 year old just doesn’t sit right with me :/)

Overal, I hope it’s at least decent😅

Anyways, with all that out of the way, enjoy!

Chapter Text

The next day has arrived, a bright sun shining in the sky as everyone wakes up.

Mirabel sits up from her sleeping position, already having woken up hours ago. She didn’t really sleep that good, most likely because of the whole new environment she’s in, that being this room at the moment.

The former seer gazes around the room in question again. It looks just as empty as yesterday. No couch is placed near the wall, instead a bed that’s placed in the center of the room for some reason. No table is even in here. No shelves are on the wall with all the necessities to survive. No closer hammock is hanging on the wall-

Mirabel’s eyes widen, wait, where’s her papá?!

“Buenos días, Mira.” It’s his voice, coming to the rescue just as she’s about to panic.

Mirabel turns to the door where his voice came from, her panic fading away, and sees her papá standing in the doorway, the door already open.

“Morning.” Mirabel greets back, getting out of bed.

“Breakfast is ready.” Bruno says, though a bit awkwardly.

Hearing those words, Mirabel looks around the room for a moment or two, as if looking for something.

“Where are we going to eat?” She asks confused. There’s no table in the room, only a nightstand, so where can they eat?

“Oh, we can just eat at the table with Juana and Cecilia.” Bruno reminds her. He has already said that yesterday, but he doesn’t mind.

“Are you sure?” Mirabel asks, not wanting to get in trouble with the villagers that live here.

“I’m sure.” Bruno says with a smile, before reaching his hand out for his daughter to take, wanting to guide her through this whole new environment. “Come on.”

Mirabel hesitates for a moment, unsure of wether to leave this room now that it’s morning, but decides to take his hand, and let herself be taken out of the room.

As they both walk through the halls past the other doors, and eventually down the stairs, it strongly reminds Mirabel of the halls she and her pá lived in. The directions you can go, the wooden stairs, the wooden floor. It’s almost as if they’re in the walls again…

But here, in the house that they’re staying in now, Mirabel notices that the halls are far more different from their home. It’s cleaner, it isn’t dark, no pipes or planks are sticking out, no stench of feces hangs in the air, no gaping holes or pits are in the floor for them to jump over, no rats crawling everywhere, the stairs are more organized. There even are more rooms than two, making Mirabel wonder who else lives here.

As she and Bruno walk down the stairs, the latter slowly sees the small and already set up table, with food already on plates.

Though it looks a bit strange to Mirabel.

“There they are!” Cecilia says upon seeing the two former seers. Though the girl and her mother can’t help but cringe upon seeing Mira’s appearance a bit more clearly. “Please, sit.”

As they take a seat at the table, Mirabel gazes at all the food that’s on her plate, huevos pericos.

It’s so much…

“Are we eating all that?” She asks a bit awkwardly, pointing at her food.

“Of course!” Cecilia says as cheerful as possible, taking a seat at the table as well. “Gotta eat before the day starts!”

“Enjoy your meal.” Juana says, being the last one to take a seat at the table.

As everyone starts eating, Mirabel looks at her cutlery.

“What are these?” The 22 year old asks, looking at the knife and fork at lay next to her plate. “They look like murder weapons.”

Cecilia manages to contain her laughter at hearing that.

“That’s cutlery.” Bruno explains after swallowing a bite. “You just pick a piece of food with your fork…” As he explains how eating with cutlery works, he picks a piece with his fork just as he says. “…and eat it.”

Mirabel glances at Juana and Cecilia for a moment, seeing how they eat with those things.

“But won’t you accidentally stab your tongue?” She asks as a response.

Juana looks at Bruno for a moment, her expression basically asking; “Where have you two lived?!”.

In the end, Mirabel just eats with her fingers, though making sure to not make a mess.

While eating her huevos pericos, she looks at the kitchen that’s nearby, staring and analyzing it. So that’s what a kitchen looks like in daylight. It looks quite nice, no dishes or food laying around. Though Mirabel does wonder what that grey square hole is suppose to be.

Juana notices this, and takes a mental note to have a talk with Bruno about his and Mira’s previous living conditions, because those seem to be really, really bad…

“Does it taste good?” Cecilia asks both former seers, wanting to stir up a proper conversation.

“It’s delicious.” Mirabel says, cracking a smile for a moment. “But I think I’m do-“

“Morning Mirabel!” It’s Antonio, bursting through the front door of the house.

“Oh no…” Mirabel and Cecilia say in union, the former remembering that she promised her primo to go to the mural with him, while the latter is already done dealing with him bursting in their house.

“It’s already 8 in the morning, so-“ Antonio can’t finish his sentence, as Cecilia slams the door shut.

Only for him to open a window…

“-can we go-“

Again, Cecilia slams it shut, but the 12 year old opens the door once again.

“-to the mural?”

It’s quite a surprise that Antonio’s wide smile doesn’t drop.

“Cecilia, be nice.” Juana says, scolding her daughter slightly.

The girl in question only shakes her head at that.

“She’s still eating breakfast, Antonio.” Cecilia says, giving him a warning glare. “Let her eat.”

“Actually, I’m done.” Mirabel says, shoving her plate a bit to the side.

She has only eaten a few bites, and Bruno notices.

He doesn’t agree.

“No, you haven’t even-“ He says, but gets cut off.

“Great!” Antonio cheers, grabbing Mirabel’s hand and drags her outside. “We will be right back!”

“Wait-“ Bruno tries to cut in, but to no avail.

And just like that, the two cousins are out of the house, the door slamming shut.

As much as Bruno wants to go after them and get Mirabel back here to finish her food, he can only hope everything will go well…

•+•

The second Mirabel stands outside, she’s hit with all kinds of bright colors caused by shining sunlight from the sun, as well as people and things moving everywhere.

She sees all kinds of people walking in every direction, some carrying supplies or their kids, some even looking at her surprised. She sees houses where people walk in and out of. She sees the bright blue sky above her.

“Wha- What is all this?” Mirabel asks, not being able to process everything she sees. It’s too much information at once.

“It’s our village!” Antonio quickly explains, before pulling her along with him to the mural.

On the way there, Mirabel sees some of the townspeople covering their nose, and some staring at her with…worry? Concern? She can’t really place it.

Her thoughts are abruptly cut off when she sees that Antonio is about to walk on a huge crack.

“Watch out!” Mirabel calls out, quickly grabbing her primo and carrying him across the crack, before putting him down.

“Thanks, Mira!” Antonio says, continuing his way while grabbing his prima’s hand again. “Oh, and here we are!”

Mirabel glances at the mural for a second, and it looks quite nice. Though there are already four kids standing there, but that’s okay.

Hearing someone approach them, the kids in question turn around to see them, and immediately look at Mirabel.

“Hola!” Antonio greets them cheerfully.

“Hey…” Mirabel also greets a bit awkwardly, waving her hand.

The kids stare at her for another few seconds, their expressions filled with horror, before they all run away, bursting into tears or screaming.

Mirabel can’t help but look utterly confused. “Did I do something wrong?”

“You’ll find out later…” Antonio answers, letting Camilo deal with that mess. “Anyways, let’s begin!”

The boy goes to stand near the mural, as if giving a presentation.

“Wait.” Mirabel says just as Antonio is about to begin, something on the mural catching her eye. She points at the illustration in question. “Is that suppose to be me?

The boy looks at where his prima points, and immediately gets what she means. He sees the illustration she’s pointing at, and instantly remembers seeing it before. Grey skirt, dull expression, green glasses.

But despite the differences, and now knowing how his prima looks like, Antonio has to admit that it looks quite like her.

“Yup!” He simply answers.

Mirabel finds it all quite confusing if she’s honest. She was kicked out, but she and her pá where still included on the mural?

Feeling that the conversation is over, Antonio decides to start.

“So, it all started with Abue-“

“Let’s skip her.” Mirabel says with a grumpy tone, though she quickly returns to her normal one. “Maybe you can tell me something about my two other cousins?”

“As you wish!” Antonio says cheerfully, before quickly moving on to Dolores. “Your prima Dolores had superhearing, and basically heard everything!”

The former seer nods. She already knew that thanks to Agustín, and already knew that Dolores was a blessing that was the food-bringer, but didn’t think that her older prima’s gift could be this bad. Hasn’t she gone insane from all the noise, from all the unwanted and loud sounds she was forced to hear?!

Looks like Mirabel has saved another family member from the candle, that being the food-bringer of all people.

She will still thank Dolores for everything though.

“Your primo Camilo could shape shift in whoever.” Antonio explains, almost sings, moving on to his older brother.

Mirabel looks at her primo’s illustration. He still looks like someone who trolls everyone, but he seems cool.

“Could he also shape shift into animals?” She asks, the question suddenly popping in her head.

“Luckily not.” Antonio answers, not wanting to imagine the amounts of pranks Camilo could pull.

“What about my sisters?” Mirabel asks, despite it being quite obvious what their gifts where.

“Oh, Isabela could grow flowers...” The boy says, pointing to her illustration. “…and Luisa was super strong!”

No, scratch that, Luisa is still super strong, just without magic.

“Huh, sounds like cool gifts.” Mirabel says, looking at both her sisters’ illustrations.

“Well, your Tía Pepa’s gift…wasn’t.” Antonio moves on to his mother, introducing his prima to her Tía.

Mirabel immediately knows what he’s doing.

Oh no-

“Her mood affected the weather.” Antonio continues, his tone a bit saddened.

The former seer can’t help but feel a bit sorry for her Tía. If there’s one gift that outright sucks, it has to be hers.

“And you already know our Tío Bruno’s gift!” Antonio immediately moves on.

Mirabel’s eyes widen at the sentence. Their Tío Bruno? She hasn’t referred her papá as Tío in years. She doesn’t even remember until now, but she always knew. Mirabel always knew that her papá was actually her Tío that had adopted her and raised her as his own.

But that doesn’t change anything. He will always stay her papá, no matter what.

“Stop…” She says, but not loud enough for Antonio to hear.

“And last but not least…” Antonio continues, pointing at Julieta’s illustration. “Your mamá could heal with her home-cooked food-“

“I said stop, Antonio!” Mirabel yells, though quiet enough that other townspeople don’t hear it.

Antonio’s expression changes into one of shock, not having expected that from his prima.

The former seer takes a moment to calm down a bit. She doesn’t want to be mad at her primo, but…

“That woman…” She points at Julieta’s illustration. “…isn’t my mamá.” Mirabel continues. “Agustín isn’t my papá.” Her tone softens a bit. “They aren’t, not anymore, not after my ceremony. Bruno is, because he took care of me for as long as I could remember.”

“But…” Antonio is kinda confused, a bit sad as well. “Does that mean Isabela and Luisa aren’t your sisters anymore?”

“Well, they are biologically, but…” Mirabel tries to explain, but can’t find the proper words to. “It’s complicated, primo. But we will figure it out.”

The boy gives a small nod in response.

He thought that, since Mirabel is back now, Tía Julieta and Tío Agustín would be her parents, since she is their daughter by blood. But sometimes, it doesn’t work that way…

Then, suddenly, an idea strikes Antonio.

“Oh, how about I show you the whole town next?” He suggests.

“Well, actually-“ Mirabel wants to protest, rather wanting to be in her empty room that already feels secure. But she doesn’t get to finish her sentence, as she’s once again dragged along by her primo.

This is gonna be a very long day…

•+•

After Antonio showed Mirabel the entire village, which included the church, the barns, and even the corn fields, it’s time for lunch.

Mirabel wanted to eat at Juana and Cecilia’s house again, since it’s quite secure there, but Antonio had somewhere else in mind.

“We should eat with our familia!” He says, already walking with a grip on her hand again.

“Okay?” Mirabel answers, following her primo to wherever they’re going.

But is this really a good idea though? Last time she saw the whole family, she threw up the only meal she had that day. But as long as she sits next to Antonio (or Dolores), everything will be fine.

When they arrive though, Mirabel already feels nervous and uncomfortable.

Near whoever’s house that is, there’s a long table standing outside, with all kinds of delicious food put on display. And of course, almost everyone of the family…

Even her papá is here, which calms her nerves a bit.

Everyone is looking at the two cousins, specifically at Mirabel, most of them not having expected her to be here.

Luckily, out of all the Madrigals, her pá approaches her.

“There you are.” He says, not having expected her here. “I thought that you would go back to Juana and Cecilia’s house, so I informed them that you would be back soon, but I guess not.”

Mirabel simply points at Antonio with a small smile on her face, as if saying; “It’s his fault.”.

Non taken, though.

“Everyone, it’s time for lunch. Let’s go.” Alma announces, signing for everyone to sit.

Mirabel rolls her eyes for a moment, finding it kind of ridiculous that that woman just decides those things for the whole family.

Of course, the former seer goes to sit next to her papá, who’s on her right, while Luisa goes to sit at her left.

Mirabel glances at her sister for a moment, and is absolutely flabbergasted at seeing how tall and muscular she looks. How can someone be this huge?!

Antonio is right, Luisa still looks like she has super strength.

When shifting her gaze to look at all the food that’s on the table, Mirabel sees that, of all people, her Tía Pepa sits across from her.

Great…

Already feeling awkward, Mirabel decides to just hide behind her long and messy hair, trying to avoid eye contact.

She already wants this lunch to be over…

As everyone is seated, most notice that there are three chairs left empty, as well as three people missing.

“Wait, where are Isabela, Mariano and Oscar?” Luisa asks her mother.

“They are at Señora Guzman’s house.” Julieta explains to her daughter. She doesn’t know the reason, but she’s certain that Isabela doesn’t want to see her Abuela after Casita’s collapse where Oscar could’ve been killed.

Julieta can’t really blame her daughter for that, though.

“Family, I think we are so thankful to all be well after…everything.” Alma says, trying to sound graceful, but she comes off a bit awkward when saying the last word. Her focus then shifts to Bruno and Mirabel, and goes to their sides, putting a gentle hand on one of each former-seer’s shoulders. “And that we’re all reunited again.”

Yes, Alma knows she hasn’t even said a word to Mirabel, and that she deserves a proper apology, but now she wants to let her youngest child and granddaughter know that they’re welcomed back in the family with open arms, and that they won’t be abandoned again.

Mirabel however, is far from happy. If anything, it takes all of her self control to not go off on Alma. She abandoned both her and her pá, forbid everyone from talking about them for at least 16 years, and now that old fart has the utter audacity to act like everything is perfectly fine?!

Looking around the table for a moment, Mira sees that everyone of the adults seem to act like everything is fine…

It definitely rubs her the wrong way…

Glancing at her papá, she’s kinda surprised to see he’s at least a bit uncomfortable with it as well.

Alma goes and takes the seat at the head of the table, to which the others start to pick and eat their lunch.

Mirabel simply grabs an empanada, finding that enough.

“Uh, why isn’t my bruise fading?” Camilo asks, having taken a bite from his arepa.

The others, including Mirabel and Bruno, stare at him with utter confusion. An awkward silence hangs in the air.

“Are you serious?” Antonio asks, not if his older brother is joking or not.

Even Dolores’ expression basically asks; “Are you kidding everyone?”

“The magic is gone now, remember?” She purposely whispers, not wanting her little brother to feel embarrassed in front of everyone.

“Oh.” The former shape shifter only says, feeling indeed a bit embarrassed.

Alma however, only heard Camilo’s first sentence.

“Camilo, if you can’t stop joking about everything, let me help you.” Alma says, her tone a bit tired. “Casita?”

This time, the rest of the family stare at her with utter confusion. Though Pepa looks a bit more pissed.

It’s even more awkward now, because Alma just scolded her oldest grandson for basically making the exact same mistake mere seconds ago!

Realizing the irony, both Camilo and Mirabel try to hold their laughter in.

Antonio can swear he hears crickets.

“Uhm, mamá, Casita has collapsed.” Julieta reminds her mother. “You said this morning that we will start rebuilding tomorrow, remember?”

“Oh, m-my bad.” Alma says quite awkwardly, giving Camilo an apologetic look, before continuing to eat her lunch.

If this lunch is already this awkward, Mirabel doesn’t want to imagine what previous family get-together where like…

•+•

Later that day, after going back to Juana and Cecilia’s house to pick up Gus and Blue Cheese, Mirabel decides to walk through the town a bit, on her own this time.

The town in question looks quite nice and welcoming, despite the cracks in the ground. The villagers seem friendly, but the former seer still doesn’t understand why most of them look at her weirdly.

Suddenly, Mirabel is cut off of her thoughts when she feels a hand gently grabbing her dress collar from behind, tilting her off the ground a bit, and Carrie’s her inside a…barn?

Utterly confused and a bit scared, Mirabel doesn’t know what’s going on, Gus and Blue Cheese hiding in her hair out of fear. It’s when the hand gently puts her down and lets her go that she sees it.

All her sisters and cousins (except Antonio) look at her, almost in disbelief that it’s actually her.

Yup, the hand that carried her here was definitely Luisa.

“Uh, hola…” Mirabel says a bit awkwardly as the rats peek their heads out from her hair, not knowing what else to say.

“Sorry for that…“ Luisa immediately apologizes, to which Isabela nudges her to not do that. Her younger sister already apologizes to much.

“We just wanted to see you again.” She explains. “We haven’t in 17 years, after all.”

Saying that sentence already has Isabela fuming at her Abuela.

“How are you?” Dolores asks her youngest prima.

“Just adapting to…basically everything.” Mirabel answers, giving her hero of a prima a smile.

“Yeah, same here with us, especially with our gifts. We miss those.” Isabela says, glancing at her younger sister and two cousins. “Except Tía Pepa, Dolores and Oscar. Their gifts were more like curses.

And papá and me.’ Mirabel thinks to herself.

“Whoever blew the candle out is a saint.” Dolores says, quickly glancing at Mirabel with a small smile. Unlike the others, she knows who has done it.

“Who even put the candle out anyways?” Camilo asks, still wondering who could’ve possibly stolen the magical item in question and snuffed it out.

“Oh, I did.” Mirabel says quite proudly. She simply blurts it out, but she isn’t in the wrong for having done it, right? Like Isabela said, Oscar and Dolores’ gifts were more like curses, just like hers and her papá’s!

Hearing what she just said, the other’s expressions (except Dolores’) immediately turn one’s of confusion and disbelief.

“What?” Isabela asks after a moment of silence. While she’s quite glad that the candle is out, mostly for the well-being of her son, something doesn’t add up. “Wait, no, you where somewhere else in the Encanto. We where looking everywhere for you!”

“She and Tío Bruno where living in the walls of Casita.” Dolores blurts out before Mirabel can answer. “Hm!”

Isabela, as well as Luisa and Camilo, look at Dolores for a moment. Tío Bruno and Mirabel where living with them for who knows how long? And Dolores knew? She knew all this time?

But now is not the time to interrogate her.

“Why?” Luisa asks her younger sister, turning back to her.

“That candle only brings misery.” Mirabel says, her tone a bit stern yet confident. She specifically refers to her pá, Dolores, Oscar and herself, but maybe that’s not all. “Imagine being given a “gift” at 5 years old…”

“Well, Tía Pepa’s emotions affect the weather, so-“ Luisa says, but gets cut off.

“I’m not talking about them.” Mirabel says, referring to the adults. “I’m talking about you all.”

“But mamá and Tía Julieta had it difficult with their gifts too.” Camilo argues.

“Than they should’ve known better before letting me be thrown out!” Mirabel calls out, almost yelling, all the pent up frustration finally coming out.

While Camilo is kinda confused as to what his prima means, Isabela, Dolores, and somewhat Luisa perfectly understand her. Despite their Abuela’s demands, and despite their own struggles with their gifts, the adults, especially Julieta and Pepa, should’ve stood their ground for Mira.

The former seer calms down a little, but she isn’t done.

“Once you get a gift that they don’t like, once they only see the worst in you, they will throw you away!” Mirabel calls out, her voice cracking, her ceremony playing in her head all over again. That’s how she sees it, that’s how she experienced it…

Hearing her prima’s pain, and having heard it for years, Dolores can’t help but remember her own ceremony. It was also quite traumatizing, suddenly hearing everything much, much louder without any control or pause. But Dolores never thought about her gift being deemed bad for the community like Mira and Bruno’s where. She did unintentionally invade everyone’s privacy everyday, the townspeople even complained about it sometimes. So Dolores can only imagine what could’ve happened if Abuela chose to throw her out…

It could’ve happened. It could’ve even happened with Oscar…

But that doesn’t matter now.

“It’s clear that that miracle is more important to them…” Mirabel says, her tone now bitter and saddened. “They’ve proven that twice…”

Dolores can’t take it anymore. She gently grabs her younger prima’s hand, and looks her in the eyes.

“We know about your pain, what you went through. I know.” Dolores says, giving Mirabel a reassuring smile. “Your parents, Abuela, Tía and Tío have changed. They have missed you, just like we did. But you don’t have to forgive them.”

Mirabel rolls her eyes at the mention of her Abuela, her sad expression still present. She’s pretty sure that old fart didn’t miss her at all…

“When they apologize, will you give them a chance?” Luisa asks this time. “At least mamá and papá?”

Well, the former seer will definitely give the latter a chance, since he genuinely apologized and all, but he has lost the role as a father for her, that much is obvious. As for Julieta…she still has to say sorry…

“I don’t know…” Mirabel answers, not really knowing what else to say. Well, aside from one correction. “And they aren’t-“

“It’s okay.” Isabela says, cutting Mira off, giving her little sister a warm smile, before it drops again. “But, we’re still sisters, right?”

“Of course.” The former seer answers, giving her two sisters and two cousins a reassuring smile in return. They’re at least still family, and nothing will change that.

She decides to let the correction drop for now. Her sisters and cousins seem like they would understand better than Antonio did.

A comfortable silence takes over for a moment.

They don’t hug the former seer this time, no matter how they, especially Isabela and Luisa, want to.

“I’m gonna head back.” Mirabel says, feeling like it’s time to go back to Juana and Cecilia’s house. She’s about to exit the barn when she hears Isabela’s voice, stopping in her tracks.

“Wait, wait!” Isabela calls out, noticing something specific about her youngest sister, even pointing at it. “Are you wearing my sandals?”

Mirabel looks down at her feet for a moment, before looking back at Isabela with a confused expression.

Dolores, a bit nervous if what she’s hearing, can’t help but let out a long “Hm!”.

It immediately gives her away, as her younger brother and two cousins turn to look at her, their expression a mix of confusion and small glares.

“Uhm, see ya.” Mirabel says before exiting the barn walking back, feeling an awkward tension rise.

Which leaves Dolores to deal with her mess…

“So, you knew…” Isabela says, her tone not even angry. Though she feels like she should’ve known, they all should’ve known, given what Dolores’ gift was. “How long?”

Dolores darts her eyes everywhere but to her brother and cousins, struggling to get an answer out for a moment.

“16 years.”

“16 years?!” Isabela, Luisa, and Camilo ask in union, almost not believing that she has kept such a secret for that long.

But…it explains a lot, it explains everything. Dolores’ strange behavior at breakfast or dinner, her refusing to answer certain questions, food and other stuff suddenly disappearing, even some things she told Oscar such as hearing the walls talk. It all makes sense now…

“And you didn’t even tell us?!” Isabela asks, raising her voice. “We could’ve kept that secret among ourselves, Tío Bruno and Mira could’ve been with us sooner, if you just told us!

“Abuela already kicked them out once.” Dolores argues back. “So what would’ve stopped her from doing it again?”

Another silence hits. She really has a point there.

“You’ve pretty much kept them alive, though.” Camilo says, as he remembers all the times he saw his sister act strange.

“Yeah…” Isabela says, Luisa and her realizing that as well.

Yes, their prima and sister has cared and kept Tío Bruno and Mira alive…

“L-look, I’m sorry-“ Dolores apologizes, but gets cut off.

“No, no, no. Don’t apologize.” Isabela reassures her prima. “We’re not mad, we’re just…uhm…”

In all honesty, she, Luisa and Camilo don’t really know how to feel right now. On one hand, they’re pretty disappointed in Dolores that she didn’t tell them about Tío Bruno and Mira’s presence in Casita earlier or from the start. But on the other hand, she had protected, provided and cared for them so that they could survive in the walls.

“Let’s just all be happy that Tío Bruno and Mirabel are back, okay?” Isabela says, Luisa and Camilo nodding in agreement.

Dolores smiles again at her prima’s response.

Feeling like the conversation is over, Luisa and Camilo say their byes and go back to town to try and help wherever they can, leaving Isabela and Dolores in the empty barn.

“So, do you still want your sandals back?” The latter asks the former.

“No, thanks.” Isabela answers, a smile appearing on her face. “Mira can keep them.”

Chapter 26: Happy Late Birthday

Summary:

Realizing that she forgot Oscar’s birthday, Mirabel decides to make him a self sewn present.

Notes:

Enter some fluff!

And this chapter is actually inspired by fanart of this fic made by Sansblue014 on Tumblr! Definitely go check them out!

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter Text

By the time the evening arrived, Mirabel was long in her temporary room with the two rats.

She already ate dinner with her pá, Cecilia and Juana. They ate something called Bandeja Paisa, and it was quite delicious. But again, it was quite much, especially since her pá and Juana didn’t let her leave the table until her plate was empty.

She felt quite bloated afterwards.

Currently, Mirabel is in her (still quite empty) room with Gus and Blue Cheese, playing with the rats in question as she thinks about everything that has happened.

How the heck did all of this happen in, like, 2 days? It all basically started with the cracks, but those where already there years beforehand. Then, Antonio and Agustín suddenly bursted into her and pá’s home, asking for their help and saying that the magic was dying. Then, because of that, they had to do a vision very early in the morning, which required walking a very, very long set of stairs and having to swing above a very deep gap to even get there. Then right after that, Oscar, her nephew, suddenly showed up in the halls and showed her just how much the miracle and that candle sucked. And right after she had made the decision to blow said candle out, the living house crumbled to peaces and died.

And all right after Oscar’s ceremony-

Mirabel’s eyes widen.

Oscar’s birthday…

She had missed it…

Granted, she had missed everyone else’s birthdays except her papá’s, especially when it was a gift ceremony. But Oscar’s 5th birthday is still fresh, 3 days ago, so can still give him a present, right?

Mirabel shakes her head. She’s gonna sew a present for her sobrino. Why not?

While Gus and Blue Cheese run off to another part of the room, she grabs her bag, and dumps everything that’s in it on to the ground, looking for her sewing stuff. Gazing at it all, Mirabel quickly finds a few needles and peaces of purple, blue, and yellow fabric. She quickly grabs it all, but the other things catch her attention for a short while.

The glowing green tablet that’s the vision from yesterday morning was still in her bag. Looking at the object now, Mirabel thinks of keeping it, if only as a memory of her first actual vision. Next to it lays the family photo Agustín gave her, the one where Oscar is absent and everyone else looks younger. Honestly, she will probably give it back to him. Unlike him, she didn’t know the family like that.

Mirabel snaps out of her thoughts, and gazes back at her embroidery supplies, remembering what she wants to do.

She puts the vision and photo on the nightstand next to her bed, before beginning to sew Oscar’s late birthday present.

•+•

After more then an hour has passed, she has finished it.

Mirabel looks at the object she has made for her sobrino. She has sewed a teddy bear, consisting of purple, blue and yellow fabric. It isn’t the best looking stuffed animal, but she has put a lot of effort and heart into it, and that’s what matters.

“Hey, Mirabel!”

The former seer turns to the door, seeing Cecilia standing in the doorway.

“What are you doing?” The girl asks, curious about what the former seer does.

“Oh, uhm, I’m just done with a present for someone.” Mirabel answers, thinking that this conversation will be over soon. But it then hits her that she doesn’t know in which house in the village Oscar actually is. Sure, Mirabel heard Julieta say he and his parents are at Señora Guzmán’s house, but where is that? So maybe Cecilia knows it. “Do you know where Isabela and Oscar stay?”

“I do! I could take you there if you want.” Cecilia offers. The former seer is happy to hear that, and ready to go, but the girl isn’t done yet. “But…you have to do something for me first.”

Mirabel swallows. Goodness, kids can be scary sometimes.

“Can I braid your hair?” Cecilia asks in a sweet and exited tone. “You’d look less scary.”

“Uh, sure.” Mirabel answers, relieved that it’s only a small request.

“Yes!” The girl cheers.

She quickly grabs a brush and a hair tie, before sitting on the edge of the bed, facing Mirabel’s back.

“You know, you kinda remind me of a horror legend I was told when I was younger.” Cecilia says while beginning to brush the former seer’s hair. “Though I can’t really remember who.”

Mirabel only shrugs her shoulders, not even knowing what the 12 year old is talking about.

But hey, at least kids won’t run away crying upon seeing her now.

•+•

It was torture…

Getting your hair braided is quite literally torture

Throughout the whole process, Mirabel felt pain, pain, and more pain in her skull, especially thanks to that brush thing.

“See? Now you look less scary.” Cecilia says as she and Mira walk their way towards the Guzmán’s house, Oscar’s present being put in her bag. “And now we match!”

The former seer strokes her braid, looking at it for a moment while she walks. It’s quite messy, some strands of hair sticking out. But it also looks nice, especially with the green bow tie at the end.

“Here we are!” Cecilia says, pointing to one of the village houses.

Mirabel turns her gaze to look at said house. Since the sun hasn’t even started to go down, they can still see everything clearly. It just looks like any other one in the village, nothing really special to find.

“Is it okay if I go to a friend’s house?” Cecilia asks the former seer. She doesn’t really have anything to do in the Guzmán’s house anyways. And besides, she wants to see Alajandra again.

“Of course.” Mirabel answers, giving the girl a smile.

“You know the way back, right?” Cecilia asks, not wanting the former seer to get lost.

“Sí!” The 22 year old answers.

The two say their byes, leaving Mirabel in front of the house.

She decides to just knock on the door and see who opens it and she does. What’s the worst that can happen?

After ten seconds or so, someone opens the door.

“Mirabel!” It’s Isabela, her expression quickly shifting into a smile. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing good, thanks.” Mirabel answers. They’ve talked mere hours ago, but oh well.

“Come in!” Isabela offers. Though she isn’t waiting for an answer, as she basically drags Mirabel inside, before closing the door.

Once in the house, Mirabel is greeted with a guy who looks like her sister’s husband staring at her.

The former seer can only wave at him, feeling a bit awkward.

“You’re Mirabel, right?” He asks, as if he has heard of her before. “Isabela’s youngest sister?”

“Uhm, yes.” Mirabel answers.

The guy gets up from his seat, walks towards her, and shakes her hand.

“I’m Mariano, your brother-in-law.” He introduces himself. “Isabela has told me all about you. Or at least what she could remember.”

Honestly, the fact that Isabela even told him about her youngest sister and what happened to her, obviously showed that she trusted him enough to share that whole ordeal. The two may not love each other romantically despite being married, but that doesn’t stop them from getting along like friends, maybe even best friends.

“What brings you here?” Isabela asks her youngest sister.

“Oh, I wanted to see Oscar.” Mirabel explains. “I want to give him a late birthday present.”

Both Isabela and Mariano light up at the sentence, but are also a bit confused. Wait, how did Mira know her nephew while struggling to remember her own sisters? Did Dolores tell her? But why wouldn’t she tell her about the others?

But that doesn’t matter right now.

“I’ll get him.” Isabela offers, not waiting for an answer as she goes upstairs to get her son.

Less than 10 seconds later, the boy comes rushing down the stairs, all exited.

“Tía Mira!” Oscar calls out as he runs downstairs, a huge smile on his face.

“Hey, kid- Oof!” Mirabel greets her nephew, but is cut off when the boy instantly hugs her.

“You’re alive!” Oscar cheers, hugging his Tía tightly.

“Well, yeah, of course I’m alive.” The former seer says, her tone a bit awkward. But that’s not the topic of discussion. “Say, do you remember your last birthday?”

Oscar pulls away from the hug, looking confused at his Tía. “You mean my ceremony?”

Hearing those words, Mirabel gazes at Isabela and Mariano for a moment, her expression basically asking; “So a 5th birthday is only a ceremony? No presents?”.

The married duo themselves look a bit ashamed. Well, when a Madrigal turns 5, their only birthday present is their ceremony. The mornings and afternoons are spend preparing said ceremony, with no cake or singing or presents whatsoever. Isabela knows because her own 5th birthday was like that, and not to mention that she witnessed her sisters’, cousins’ and Oscar’s ceremony going the exact same way.

“Yes, your…ceremony.” Mirabel says, her tone becoming a bit bitter when saying the last word. “Well, I have a present for you.”

She then opens her bag, and picks up the teddy bear.

“Happy late birthday, Oscar.” She says, giving the present to the boy.

Oscar looks at the teddy bear for a moment, his expression unreadable.

“He’s so ugly.” He says in a surprisingly happy tone. “I love him!”

Mirabel cracks a warm smile seeing her sobrino’s reaction. It strongly reminds her of her 6th birthday, her first one in the walls. Sure, there also wasn’t a birthday cake or balloons, but her papá had really tried to make it feel and look like one.

“Thank you, Tía!” Oscar says, hugging her one last time, before running off towards his room, happy and giggling.

Isabela and Mariano themselves have warm smiles on their faces.

“Gracias, Mirabel.” Isabela says to her sister.

“Oh, it’s no problem.” The former seer says. “I was always kinda uninterested about the family when we were in the walls, so wanted to make up for it.”

Honestly, even after properly meeting them yesterday and today, Mirabel really wants to get to know her sisters, cousins, and nephew. She wants to be there for them, talk with them, and have good memories with them. She wants to be part of their lives again, even after 17 years.

And given how happy Oscar just was upon seeing her, it’s definitely not too late.

Chapter 27: Fixing a Mess

Summary:

Camilo attempts to clean up a certain horror tale mess he had made for Mirabel.

It goes as well as you’d expect.

Notes:

It’s Camilo’s time to shine!

Enjoy!

Chapter Text

The day of beginning to rebuild Casita has arrived, which means a lot of work.

“Are you sure you can carry all that, Antonio?” Camilo asks his younger brother, who’s carrying quite a lot of tools to repair Casita in his arms.

“Don’t worry, I got this!” Antonio says, only to drop halve of the tools he’s holding. Just as he wants to pick it up again, he hears a familiar voice.

“It’s okay to ask for help, you know?” the brothers hear Mirabel say, walking towards the two. She picks the tools from the ground, giving them to Camilo instead who isn’t carrying anything.

The former shapeshifter in question looks at his prima, feeling a bit awkward around her, he did kinda vilanize and turned her into a scary horror figure in kids’ mind, so…

Antonio notices his brother’s discomfort around Mirabel, and instantly knows what it is about.

“Okay, I’m gonna help rebuild Casita, bye bye!” The 12 year old says, before running towards the crumbled house’s direction, leaving Camilo to deal with his mess.

An awkward silence takes over for a few seconds, none of the two Madrigals daring to say a word.

“So…what do you think of the village?” Camilo asks his prima, though a bit awkwardly. He can’t even remember her properly.

“It’s quite nice.” Mirabel answers. “Though for some reason kids constantly avoid me.”

Here it is, the perfect opportunity to admit that he was behind it…

“Yeah… That may or may not be my fault.” Camilo says quite quickly, almost rushed.

Hearing that, Mirabel’s expression turns into a glare mixed with confusion.

“What…?” She asks, her tone a confused yet bitter. “Wait, you where the one that saw me that one time 8 years ago, weren’t you?”

“I guess.” Camilo shrugs his shoulders, avoiding looking at Mirabel. “I thought you where some creepy ghost lady your parents tell you about.”

Seriously though, he got pretty scared.

“So rather than telling someone of the family that you saw someone in the house, you decided to make it into some horror legend and tell it to kids and traumatize them?” Mirabel asks, not seeing any logic in this. She has to thank him though, otherwise she and Pá would’ve been seen and potentially kicked out 8 years ago. And as much as she likes horror figured and legends, and as cool as it feels to basically be one herself, kids probably shouldn’t be traumatized…

“Yup!” A girl named Alejandra answers for Camilo, vividly remembering when he first told her and her friends about the scary legend. “He told us how La Esmeralda always watches us with her glowing green eyes and that we will see our worst fear.”

“He mentioned her in a song too!” Cecilia says as she walks past, now finally knowing who she reminded Mirabel of.

“Oh, I’ve heard the song…” The former seer says, her tone bitter. She remembers that damn song as if it was yesterday. Most of the family basically sung about how her pá sucks and how they don’t talk about him (or them). Yes, her cousins and Isabela took a part in it, which she’s kinda conflicted about. And sure, the song was catchy, but she will never understand why her pá dances along with it? Why?!

Now realizing how much of a mess he had made for his prima, Camilo decides to do something about it.

“You know what?” He throws the tools he’s holding recklessly to the side, not caring where they might land. “Screw rebuilding Casita. I should fix this.”

Before Mirabel even knows it, she’s being dragged to who-knows-where by her primo, the original plan that was helping rebuild Casita completely abandoned.

•+•

Plan A (or basically the only plan he has); Make Mirabel look decent, or at least less horrifying.

“You sure this is going to work? Just like that?” She asks her primo, doubting that simply changing her hairstyle is instantly going to work.

“It’s worth a try.” Camilo answers, finishing tying his prima’s loose hair into a bun. “And done!”

He steps aside a little to see how she looks.

“And?” Mirabel asks. “Am I “less horrifying” than before?”

“Yes…” Camilo answers, though his tone shows that he’s doubting about something. “But…you look old now.”

The sentence may have come out blunt and even a bit mean, but he isn’t exactly wrong. Mirabel’s hair is still messy, even in a bun, locks sticking out and some covering her face. And combine that with her broken green glasses, she looks like she’s in her 50s!

If anything, Mirabel looks almost exactly like Tía Julieta now. Just remove her glasses and dress her in blue.

The former seer in question stares at her primo with confusion “What?”

“Nevermind.” Camilo quickly says, not wanting to offend her. “Now let’s get those kids to like you!”

The two cousins begin to walk around town. And less than 5 minutes, kids are already flocking Camilo’s way.

“Milo!”

“Tell is a joke!”

“We’re bored!”

Mirabel can’t help but hide behind her primo, not wanting the kids to see her. Luckily, Camilo doesn’t mind. He can improvise like it’s nothing anyways.

“Alright!” Camilo says, happy to finally look after the village kids again after all the chaos that has happened. Besides, their parents are probably helping rebuilding Casita anyways. “But…my assistant will help me!”

That’s Mirabel’s cue. Camilo nudges her to come out of hiding. She does, though slowly and reluctantly. Once seeing the kids, Mirabel gives them a warm smile, not wanting to scare them.

Upon seeing her, the kids (except one) start to back away. Who is this scary lady? She looks like La Esmeralda. Is she gonna watch them with their scary green eyes too?

“Hey-“ Mirabel says, but before she can get another word out, the kids are already gone, this time without crying.

At least that’s an improvement…

Though she kinda ruined Camilo’s time with the kids…

She looks at her primo with an apologetic look, feeling a bit guilty.

“Do I look that horrifying?” Mirabel asks Camilo, her tone a mix of uncertainty and sadness.

“Well, it can be…better.” He answers honestly, though trying not to upset her. “I will ask Dolores if she would fix it.” He sighs, feeling guilty for all this. “Sorry for causing this mess…”

Mirabel wants to say that it’s okay, and that he had literally no way of knowing it was her that night 8 years ago. But just as she’s about to say it, she’s interrupted.

“What’s going on here?” It’s Bruno, coming from the direction of Casita.

“Oh, I wanted to fix a mess I left Mirabel with.“ Camilo explains. “It didn’t go well…”

“Kids are scared of a horror figure he made up that’s basically me.” Mirabel explains further.

Bruno shifts his gaze at Camilo. “You saw her?”

“Well, yeah, but as a creepy ghost that wanted to rip my soul out of my body.” Camilo says, Mirabel trying to hold back her laughter at the comment.

“Heh, that has me reminding of myself when I was your age.” Bruno says

Camilo’s eyes widen.

“Really?” He asks, while Mirabel doesn’t seem surprised at all. The former shapeshifter always thought that his Tío was some boogeyman, but not for that long.

“Sí.” Bruno says a bit awkwardly. “The villagers always though I was creepy and all.” He turns to Mirabel. “And kids where afraid of me too.”

The younger seer’s expressions turns into one of confusion, before glancing at Camilo, as if to say; “He caused that, thanks.”

“It will pass eventually… Or not.” Bruno says, shrugging his shoulders. “Now, go and help rebuild Casita, before someone is going to complain.”

That someone being Alma probably, or some townspeople.

The two cousins immediately obey, and begin to make their way towards Casita, or more like the rubble of said house.

“So, you don’t mind being some horror figure?” Camilo asks his prima.

“Like Papá said, it will probably fade away eventually.” Mirabel says, surprisingly calm. “You had literally no way of knowing it was me 8 years ago. Heck, I didn’t remember you all since I was 5.”

Camilo can’t help but smile at his prima’s sympathy

The rest of the day consisted of the two helping to rebuild Casita, with some jokes here and there. And some kids thinking Mira was La Esmeralda, without any crying to their surprise, but oh well.

Chapter 28: a Needed Make-Over

Summary:

Dolores gives Mirabel a much needed make-over, and they talk.

Notes:

Yes! A Mira and Dolores focused chapter!

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Just like Camilo had promised, Dolores would give the former seer a make-over. If only to look decent.

“You know, I’m quite glad you went to me for this.” Dolores says, an obvious excitement in her tone.

“Camilo suggested it.” Mirabel slightly corrects.

“Still.” Dolores gently grabs Mirabel’s hand, and leads her to the bathroom of the village house she’s temporarily staying in. “You should probably start with a shower.”

Upon entering the small bathroom, Mirabel is greeted with quite a lot of stuff. She sees some sort of bowl that’s closed, something that looks like a rain machine, and some sort of table with a hole in the middle…and where’s the mirror for?

The former seer then remembers her prima’s words.

“A shower?” She asks, a bit confused. “What’s a shower?”

Hearing that, Dolores gets reminded that her youngest prima doesn’t even know how to keep up with her hygiene properly. She had heard the sound of a rubbing cloth, but never sounds of falling water or bubbling soap.

“And what’s this bowl thing?” Mirabel asks further, pointing to the toilet.

“That’s a toilet.” Dolores explains. “You, uh…urinate in there.”

“Really?” The former seer asks, almost not believing it. “Pá and I always had to do that in a bucket in the halls.”

Dolores’ eyes widen of shock, almost not being able to imagine the horrendous smell the two had to endure for 16 years. And Mira just casually mentions it like it’s no big deal…

Maybe she should’ve told her brothers and cousins about Tío Bruno and Mira’s presence in the halls earlier…

“And what’s that?” Mirabel asks, pointing to the shower. “It looks like a rain machine.”

Dolores chuckles a bit hearing the remark.

“It kinda is.” She says, not even having considered that before. “It’s called a shower, where we wash our hair and body.” Taking another look at her prima, Dolores sees that the former seer’s hair looks quite oil-ish. “Now, let’s clean you up first.”

Mirabel looks at the shower again, interested in how it works.

Well, she’s going to find out.

•+•

Turns out that keeping up with your hygiene is much, much more complicated than Mira thought…

Apparently, you had to stand under that rain machine thing for a minute, wash your with soap called “shampoo”, rinse it out by standing under the shower again, wash your body with a cloth, stand under the rain machine for another minute, and lastly having to dry yourself with a towel.

What a hassle…

Yet, it went surprisingly well. While she was busy doing said things in that exact order one by one, Dolores gave her instructions from outside the bathroom.

“And?” Mirabel asks her older prima after having put on some light clothes and a bathrobe.

“Much better!” Dolores says, obvious excitement in her tone. “But we aren’t done yet.”

She grabs a hairbrush and scissors from the bathroom sink, before heading to her temporary room in the house, dragging Mirabel with her.

It’s a rather small room, but large enough to have some space on the floor. It has a bed, a closet, and nightstand with a lamp. There’s a tall square mirror leaning against the wall, something that Dolores constantly uses now. It may not be as fancy as her make-up table that was in her room in Casita, but oh well.

“What?” Mirabel asks, a bit confused. “What else do we have to do?”

“Your hair.”

The former seer’s eyes widen. Oh no, not this torture again…

Dolores leads her prima to the mirror, and goes to sit on the ground. Not knowing what else to do, Mirabel goes and sits down in front of the mirror as well.

Then, she feels a pair of hands going through her hair for a moment, which is soon replaced with one of a hairbrush. Mirabel expects to feel the same pain in her skull like last time, but it instead feels…okay?

“So, how are you and Tío Bruno doing?” Dolores asks as she gently brushed her prima’s long hair.

“We’re doing good.” Mirabel answers, starting to get used to the feeling. “But we’re still getting used to…everything.”

“I know.” Dolores answers, completely understanding their situation. The two have lived in the walls for 16 years, after all. So naturally, them being thrown into a normal town is a huge change. “Just take it one day at a time.”

Mirabel cracks a small smile at the advise, until a sudden realization hits her. She hasn’t thanked her prima yet for giving them food.

“Say, uh… Thank you for providing for us all those years.” She finally says, her tone awkward but grateful.

Dolores seems taken aback by this for a moment, but is able to brush it off.

“You two needed it.” She responds, still remembering the heartbreaking cries of her than 6 year old prima. “I’d gladly do it again.”

That response warms Mirabel’s heart. Yup, Dolores is definitely her favorite prima

It then stays silent for a moment, the only sound they can hear is the sound of a brush combing through hair.

“How did it start?” Mirabel then asks, wanting to know more. “Why did you do it?”

“You where sick.” Dolores answers. “Tío Bruno didn’t have any healing food, so I gave you one of Tía Julieta’s empanadas. And so it went from there.”

The former seer’s heart warms up again hearing the story.

“And you didn’t tell anyone?”

“No.” Dolores answers again. “I thought that if I told anyone, it would reach Abuela, and she would kick you and Tío Bruno out again.”

That’s actually quite a logical explanation, and something that could very well have happened…

“Thank you again.” Mirabel says, really wanting to hug her prima right now.

“Anytime.” Dolores answers as if it’s something small.

She finishes brushing her younger prima’s hair, now sure that it’s not as messy. “Do you want anything with your hair, like a braid?”

Mirabel thinks about it for a moment, until she has an idea of what she wants.

“Can you cut it shorter?” She asks her older prima. “Like, shoulder length short?”

“Sí, I can.” Dolores answers, already grabbing the pair of scissors near her. “Though it will take a minute or 10.”

“Can’t you just cut off a huge chuck at once?” Mirabel asks, holding her hair in a ponytail to demonstrate what she means.

“No, you can easily mess up if you do that.” Dolores explains. She had tried that exact technique on Isabela’s hair when they where 12, and the result wasn’t exactly good. Oh, and she got scolded by Abuela for that later.

Ignoring that memory, Dolores gets to work. She carefully cuts off small peaces of Mirabel’s hair, making sure every strand of hair lines up perfectly, while starting another conversation.

“I’ve heard all the telenovela’s you two wrote.” She says. “My favorite is about those two friends who where lost in another country and all.”

“Oh, Iris y Monica.” Mirabel says, remembering that childhood story as well.

“I didn’t expect Monica to sabotage everything.” Dolores says, still knowing the plot even after 14 years. “And how dare she kill Dobby. He didn’t do anything.”

“He’s a free rabbit now.” Mirabel says, playing along. “Say, why did you give us a gramophone?”

“Hm?”

“There was a gramophone just standing in front of the hall exit 9 years ago.” Mirabel explains, knowing that that was also her prima’s doing. “Why did you give us that?”

“Because you two deserve to hear music as well.” Dolores immediately answers.

“Didn’t the others at least ask where that thing was?”

“Oh, they did.” The former superhearer answers. “Tío Agustín pretty much turned Casita upside down to look for it.”

Mirabel’s eyes widen a bit. Man, she feels a bit sorry for him now.

Seeing her prima’s expression, Dolores quickly changes the subject.

“I heard you and Tío Bruno named a rat after me.”

“Oh yeah, we did.” Mirabel responds. “I didn’t even know about you back than, but I found it a cool name for a rat.”

Dolores chuckles, cutting another bit of her prima’s hair.

The two continue to talk, while the older Madrigal cuts the younger’s hair until it reaches her shoulders.

“And done.” Dolores says, cutting off the last uneven bit of Mirabel’s hair. “So, what do you think?”

Mirabel takes a good look in the mirror, and goes through her hair. It feels new, odd, as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

“It’s…nice.” Mirabel says, a smile appearing on her face.

“Great!” Dolores says, before getting up and going to her closet, opening it to reveal dresses of all colored. “Now, what would you like to wear?”

“What?” Mirabel asks, a bit confused. “Where’s my own dress?”

“Still in the bathroom, but that thing looks quite old.”

Dolores is right though. Mirabel has been wearing that dress since she was 14, so it’s probably time for something new.

“Do you perhaps have something green in there?” The former seer asks.

Hearing the question, Dolores looks through the closet to look for the specific color, and eventually pulls out a light green dress.

“Sí!”

•+•

Bruno couldn’t find Mira anywhere.

He had searched inside Juana’s house, walked through the whole village twice, even asked his nieces and nephews (minus Dolores) if they’ve seen her, but all lead to no results.

He’s currently walking towards Casita’s direction, figuring that his daughter will appear from somewhere eventually.

Bruno’s walk gets abruptly cut off when Dolores appears from out of a village house.

“Hola, Tío Bruno.” She greets him.

“Hey.” Bruno greets back, not having expected his second oldest sobrina to be here at all. Then, he remembers a certain question that has plagued him for awhile. “Do you know where Mirabel is? I’ve been looking for her for some time.”

“I know.” Dolores answers, before disappearing inside the house, only to return with Mirabel. “Ta da!”

At first, Bruno doesn’t know what she means, but then he takes a look at Mirabel. She looks different. Her hair is shorter and combed, reaching her shoulders, yet still just as curly. She wears a plain light green dress instead of her self-sewn one, looking quite like the kind Pepa is wearing.

The only things that remain the same are her sandals, and her broken green glasses that seriously need to be replaced.

But regardless, his daughter looks so different, almost like she has never lived in the walls, like she’s been living in the town all her life.

Like the life he always wanted her to live.

“Hola Papá.” Mirabel greats a bit awkwardly, fumbling with her hair. “Do I look okay?”

Bruno is about to answer, but Camilo is already ahead of him.

“At least much better than before.”

Dolores gives her brother a glare at that.

“You look beautiful, ratoncita.” Bruno says to his daughter, giving her a warm reassuring smile.

“All thanks to her.” Mirabel says, obviously revering to Dolores, before hugging her.

Dolores is caught off guard by the hug, but quickly hugs her back.

“Gracias, prima.” Mirabel says to her, still hugging her.

Dolores cracks a warm smile, happy for her younger cousin.

“No problem, Mira.”

Notes:

Up next: Pepa and Julieta’s time to shine (and properly apologize ^^)

Chapter 29: Catching Up

Summary:

While Bruno is dragged into spending time with Pepa, Mirabel is dragged into spending time with Julieta…

Notes:

Another chapter with an apology (that I’m quite proud of!

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“…Then she forced the thief to look into her eyes, making him see…his worst fear.” Camilo dramatically narrates to the few kids that listen, while Mirabel and her rats act the scene out.

Ever since the two cousins have tried to get rid of the La Esmeralda thing, and after Mirabel got a make-over from Dolores, Bruno suggested the idea of turning the whole ordeal into a telenovela for kids. While Mirabel was a bit nervous and even skeptical of the idea, Camilo was immediately on board.

And so now they’re here, wrapping up the telenovela.

“For years, she watched him, making sure the thief never stole anything again.” Camilo finishes the story in question. “The end.”

The kids clap and cheer, happy that it ended good.

“Gracias!” One of the kids says, before running off with the rest to somewhere.

Camilo and Mirabel look at the kids in question until they’re out of sight, both wearing a warm smile.

“Told you it wouldn’t be that bad.” Camilo says to his prima. “And the kids seem to like you now.”

“I guess.” Mirabel shrugs her shoulders, though she honestly enjoyed the whole act.

It’s then that Bruno walks up to them, most likely only having seen the ending.

“How did it go?” He asks his daughter and sobrino.

“Pretty good!” Camilo answers with enthusiasm.

“The kids seem to love it.” Mirabel adds, her tone a bit awkward.

Bruno smiles at their answers, happy that the whole ordeal has been solved.

The moment is cut short when the three see Alma, Julieta and Pepa walk towards them, all wearing exiting smiles as if they have planned something. While Camilo doesn’t think anything of it, Bruno and (especially) Mirabel immediately tense up, the latter even hiding behind the former.

“There you two are!” Alma greets the two former seers with excitement. “Camilo, would you be so kind to go somewhere else? We have something to discuss.”

Camilo simply nods, giving Mira a “See ya” before running off towards Casita’s direction, leaving Bruno and Mira on their own.

Mirabel doesn’t really like it…

“Is there something wrong?” Bruno asks, his tone a bit shaky.

“Not at all.” Alma says with a surprisingly genuine smile that it’s almost unrealistic.

“We just want to spend time with our favorite hermano!” Pepa says, putting a hand on Bruno’s shoulder.

“And catch up.” Julieta adds, clinging to Mirabel’s arm.

The two seers themselves however, look quite uncomfortable, especially Mirabel, who’s already trying to get away.

“But what about rebuilding Casita?” She asks, trying to find an excuse to get away.

“We can do that together.” Julieta happily suggests, leaving no room for any more questions.

Mirabel looks at her pá, gazing back and forth between him and Julieta as a silent plea for help. She doesn’t want this. She doesn’t want to spend time with the very same adults who have abandoned her, and who haven’t even apologized yet…

Luckily, Bruno gets the message.

“Mamá, this isn’t a good idea-“ He tries to warns, only to be cut off by Alma.

“Don’t worry, Brunito. Mirabel will be fine. She will be with her mamá.” The elderly woman reassures her son, but it only makes both former seers even more uncomfortable.

“No, Julieta isn’t-“ Bruno immediately tries to correct, but is cut off again.

“No te preocupes, hermanito. She will be okay.” Pepa says, before dragging him along with her to who-knows-where.

Now, Mirabel is left with the two very adults who she despises the most, who left her without saying a single sorry…

And she hates it already…

She’s trembling, really wanting to get out of here…

And unfortunately for her, Julieta notices…

“It’s okay, Mira.” The former healer says as she and Alma walk towards the direction of Casita, dragging Mirabel along with them. “You won’t get hurt. We will make sure if it. We promise.”

Like you promised when you had send me away… Mirabel can’t help but think, a sad expression appearing on her face.

At least she has Gus and Blue Cheese with her…

•+•

Just like the other times, there are a ton of townspeople working together with the Madrigals to rebuild the living house, and today isn’t an exception.

The stone walls are halfway done, ladders leaning against them.

Julieta and Mirabel are currently working on the inside of the house, specifically decorating the courtyard.

“You would’ve absolutely loved Casita.” Julieta says, starting a conversation with her youngest child. Yes, she now knows that her brother and Mira where in the walls for 16 years (thanks to Dolores), and the thought of them living in such horrifically bad conditions has her trembling. And as much as she loves her daughter’s new look, Julieta really wanted her to wear blue instead of green. But all that doesn’t matter right now. Mirabel however, only rolls her eyes at the comment, really wanting this to be over. “You know, when you were 2, you always wanted to help me with baking…”

The former seer isn’t listening anymore. It takes every bit of self-control to not go off on the woman that gave birth to her. She just acts like everything is fine, and that she had always raised her!

Without even saying a single “Sorry.”…

The two rats on her shoulder wholeheartedly agree, noticing their owner’s discomfort. Gus and Blue Cheese glare at the former healer, wanting her to leave their owner alone.

“Are you okay, Mira?” Julieta asks, noticing her youngest’s behavior.

Mirabel only nods, refusing to say a word.

“Julieta, can you put this plant somewhere?” Alma asks her daughter.

“Sí!” Julieta answers her mother, turning away from Mira for only a few seconds. But when she turns back to look at her, Mira is gone…

Julieta panics a bit. How can she lose her already? She just has her back! Maybe her little girl is lost? Or…

The former healer shakes her head, snapping out of her worries. No, she won’t lose her baby again. She and her side of the family had been searching the entire Encanto for a year for Mira with no results, because of her mistake of abandoning the girl. So Julieta is going to make it up to her, and make up for last time.

She wants to make this right, for her daughter…

•+•

Meanwhile, Pepa and Bruno take a walk through the forest.

“So, you and Mirabel lived in the forest for a while?” Pepa asks her brother as they walk passed trees.

“Sí, for about a year.” Bruno answers, leaving a few huge things out in case Pepa doesn’t know about his and Mira’s presence in the walls yet. Though he can’t help but worry about his daughter. Will she be okay with Julieta? Mira will certainly go off on her, that’s for sure. But is Alma near her? Trying to hide his worry, Bruno flips the question. “How where you all doing back than?”

Pepa looks away for a moment. She can still vividly remember that time. Julieta and her side of the family where away to try and find Mirabel, a 5 year old Camilo staring out of the window waiting for his prima to come back, all while it rained for days on end thanks to herself…

She and her family where alone in Casita with Alma for nearly a year. In that time, the matriarch still suggested (more like demanded) that Pepa should keep her emotions under control, that they all must continue helping the town even in the rain, that they should pretend like everything is perfect and normal…

No, they weren’t doing well, even after Julieta and her family returned…

“It could’ve been…better…” Pepa answers, her expression turning saddened, tears burning in her eyes. “I’m sorry for letting Mirabel be thrown out, for letting you be thrown out…”

Bruno turns to look at her. “I’m sure Mirabel would like to hear that as well.”

Pepa looks back at her brother, understanding what he says. Her sobrina deserves an apology from her as well.

Her thoughts are cut off when a drop of water lands on her head. Pepa instantly looks up, expecting a cloud floating above her head, but is met with a bright blue sky that’s covered by tree branches full with leaves.

“I heard you still went on about how I ruined your wedding.” Bruno says, changing the subject.

“Sí, I know you and Mira must’ve heard…” Pepa says, her tone still saddened. Bruno’s eyes widen, holding his breath. Had Dolores told her? But- “Dolores told me about you two living in the walls a few days ago.”

The former seer let’s out a sigh of relief, before continuing the subject. “I only made a joke.”

“Well, it was a bad one.” Pepa responds.

“So bad that you held a grudge about it for three decades?”

Pepa rolls her eyes, a smile appearing on her face. Unlike her, Bruno won’t hold anything against her.

She can learn something from her hermanito.

•+•

In another part of the forest, closer to Casita, Agustín is busy chopping wood in preparation for the winter. Sure, it’s the middle of summer now, but better be prepared.

And this time, there are no hives with bees that can stop him-

“Hey.” He hears Mirabel’s voice say, the former seer in question appearing from a bush out of nowhere.

Agustín jumps out of his skin, not having expected her here at all.

“H-hey.” He greets back, recovering from the jump scare. “I thought you were helping with rebuilding Casita.”

Was…” Mirabel corrects, her expression dropping to a glare. Not directed at him though, but at the situation she was thrown in thanks to Alma and Julieta… “Alma kinda forced me to spend time with…uhm…”

If she’s honest, Mirabel doesn’t know how to call her biological parents anymore. Yes, she had called both of them by their first names, but that’s kinda disrespectful now that she actually sees them now. Tía and Tío maybe? But wouldn’t that be a bit weird?

Yeah, it’s complicated…

“Julieta.” Agustín corrects her, to which Mirabel nods. “Did she say anything? Like an apology, or something?”

“Nope.” Mirabel answers, getting out of the bushes and leaning against a tree. “She just acts like nothing has happened.”

“Oh Dios mío…” Agustín says. Honestly, he kinda expected his wife to act like that, like Mirabel is still her daughter and that nothing has happened. He can’t really blame her though. Julieta had felt the most guilt for sending Mirabel away, and it ate her up for years. But she needs to know the truth, and how things actually turned out. “Just give her some time. She will get the message eventually.”

“Three weeks have already passed.” Mirabel points out, her tone blunt.

“Still.”

It then stays silent for a moment, both Madrigals not knowing what else to say.

Until Mirabel remembers the photo.

“I think you’d like to have this back.” She says, pulling the family photo out of her bag, wanting to give it to him.

“Oh no, you can keep it.” Agustín says, but Mirabel insists.

“Papá kept this to remember you all. And since we’re back, he doesn’t need it anymore.” She explains. “We didn’t know the family like this, but you did.”

Finally, Agustín takes the photo and looks at it with a smile, remembering those times 7 years ago. “Gracias.”

“No problem, uh…” Mirabel pauses, not knowing how to continue.

“Is there something wrong?” Agustín asks, a bit confused.

“No, it’s just…” The former seer says, only to pause again. “I don’t know what to call you anymore.”

Agustín’s eyes widen. That’s indeed a difficult dilemma, for both himself and her. Yes, he still wants his youngest daughter back, and be called Papá again, but he knows that won’t happen. He didn’t raise Mira for most of her life, Bruno did.

“How about…Tío?” Agustín suggests sheepishly.

Mirabel looks at him, unsure if he means it.

“Tío…” She repeats. It sounds a bit off. “Tío Gus.”

That sounds a bit better.

Though as a result, Gus the rat looks at his owner, wanting to know why she called his name.

“Oh, sorry, Gus. I wasn’t talking to you.” Mirabel apologizes, petting the rat in question, hearing Agustín chuckle.. Now she starts to suspect that her Papá had named said rat after her biological father. Oh well.

However, the moment is abruptly cut off when Julieta appears

“There you are.” She says, running to Mirabel’s side. In those few seconds, Agustín notices how the 22 year old’s smile drops to an uncomfortable expression. “Where were you? You suddenly disappeared, and I was so worried-“

“Uh, Julieta, I think you should-.” He advises, remembering his own experience with that, but is cut off.

“Don’t worry, Agustín.” Julieta says, Mirabel’s expression changing into a glare. “We haven’t got to spend time with her in years, but now we can finally make it up to our hija.”

That’s when Mirabel snaps.

“Would you please stop that?!” She calls out, pulling herself away from Julieta. “Stop, just stop! I’m not your daughter, not anymore! Not after you threw me away!

The former seer storms off towards Casita’s direction, leaving both her biological parents in the forest.

Julieta wants to go after her, but is stopped by Agustín.

‘Give her some space.” He advises, gently holding his wife back.

The former healer looks in the distance until her youngest daughter is out of sight, before turning to her husband.

“How do you do it?” She asks him, having heard a bit of his conversation with Mira beforehand.

“Well-“ Agustín wants to answer, but is cut off by a familiar voice.

“Oh, he and Antonio discovered Tío Bruno and Mira in the walls after Oscar’s ceremony.” It’s Dolores, passing by her Tía and Tío after picking some forest fruits. Even after losing her gift, she can’t help but blur out secrets she overheard. “Hm!”

Julieta looks at her niece until she’s out of sight as well, processing what she just heard.

Something then clicks in her head. Everything makes sense now. Why her husband and youngest nephew were suddenly gone makes sense now.

“So that’s why you two suddenly disappeared all night and morning…” Julieta says, not a single bit of anger in her voice. “You already knew…”

Agustín gazes away from his wife, still expecting her to get angry with him for hiding this from her, but she doesn’t.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Julieta simply asks.

“Bruno and Mira asked us to keep their presence a secret.” Agustín answers, turning back to his wife.

“But…how is she okay with you?” The former healer asks, wanting to know what to do to make it right.

“Well, she was quite angry with me as well, but it slowly got better, especially after I apologized.” Agustín explains, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I think you should give her one as well. She deserves it after…everything.”

Julieta nods, understanding what her husband means. She’s going to make it up to Mira, and she now knows how.

•+•

Mirabel is sitting on the small steps of what’s going to be Casita’s front door, looking at the sky as she plays with the two rats.

By now, everyone who has been working on the house decided to call it a day and go home. Not that that’s a bad thing. It’s actually quite peaceful now.

Mirabel’s mind begins to wonder about the living house. What did they think of all of this? The house did try to get her and her pá to be seen, after all.

Her thoughts are cut off when she sees Julieta approaching her…

But something tells her to stay where she is.

“Hey…” Julieta says, her tone unsure. Not knowing what to do, she goes and sits next to Mirabel. “I’m sorry for…today.”

Mirabel hears what she says, but doesn’t look at her, keeping her gaze on the rats.

“I’m sorry for everything…” Julieta continues, her voice starting to crack. “I thought that… I thought I finally had you back after so long…”

The former seer glances at her biological mother, hearing her voice that soon breaks into sobs.

“I wanted to make it up to you, make up for lost time with your Mamá, but…” Julieta pauses for a moment. “I’m not anymore, aren’t I…?”

Mirabel only shakes her head.

The former healer sighs.

“I understand… You don’t have to for-“ Julieta cuts herself off, thinking it will be best if she doesn’t finish that sentence. “I’m sorry for abandoning you like that…”

But Mirabel knows what her biological mother wanted to say before cutting herself off.

“It’s a start…Tía.” The former seer says, her tone surprisingly calm but lacking joy.

The sentence catches Julieta by surprise, not having expected the title, but cracks a small smile. It may not be what she wanted, but it’s something.

It’s a start.

Notes:

Next up: Casita and the miracle’s perspective on this whole mess… (AKA a flashback)

Chapter 30: What Happened To This Family?

Summary:

The miracle and Casita’s point of view of this whole mess.

Notes:

Yes! The Casita (flashback) chapter is here!

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Casita loved the family Madrigal.

From the moment the house saw Alma with her three babies in her arms, utterly lost and helpless, Casita welcomed them with open doors, happy to have some company.

The house saw the triplets grow into wonderful people, from just tiny babies to a fully grown responsible adults. As the years went on, the two older triplets each met the love of their lives, and started families of their own, making the family grow.

As for Alma, she didn’t get over her grief for her husband’s death, and it showed. As a result, the matriarch pressured her children into serving the town with their gifts, to keep their miracle burning. The oldest triplet, Julieta, had to constantly cook food for everyone for hours on end, rarely allowed to have a break. The second oldest, Pepa, had to suppress her emotions at all times to avoid any bad weather. And the youngest triplet, Bruno, was demonized by everyone for his negative visions, even by his own mother…

So Casita already suspected that, one day, it would get out of hand…

•+•

That day had come…

Alma had enough of Bruno’s constant negative visions, believing that it caused bad luck for the Encanto, that he was bad luck…

So, after the townspeople began to complain to her about the seer and his bad predictions, Alma decided to kick her own son out…

Bruno was of course saddened by the decision, yet he understood, and left to live somewhere in the Encanto’s forest.

But Casita disagreed.

The miracle disagreed.

The family should stay together! Alma couldn’t just decide to abandon one of her children just because of his gift!

As a result of that decision, Casita started to crack within the walls, where no one could see it.

So, the miracle made a plan…

Julieta’s youngest daughter, Mirabel, would soon receive a gift of her own. The girl probably wouldn’t mind seeing the future, just like her Tío, right? Surely, the family wouldn’t abandon the 5 year old child like they did Bruno. They would get used to the idea of a fortune teller, and they would welcome Bruno back shortly after.

It couldn’t go wrong.

•+•

The miracle was wrong…

The miracle was so, so wrong…

Instead of accepting little Mirabel’s gift, Alma doubled down. She threw the 5 year old girl out as if she was nothing, dumping her on Bruno to care for, to raise.

As much as Casita and the miracle hoped and prayed that Julieta and Agustín would do something, would stand up to the matriarch and fight for their daughter, they didn’t. One obeyed her mother without question, while the other didn’t even have a voice…

Casita saw how Pepa and Julieta packed the girl’s stuff in a hurry. The latter doubted about the whole thing, not wanting her youngest child to go and eventually forget her.

But in the end, Julieta went through with her mother’s wish. She and Agustín said their byes to their youngest daughter while she cried and begged them to not leave her. The two even promised her that they wouldn’t leave her, only to do that exact thing…

They left her, the family left her, and just dumped the girl with her Tío who they also abandoned…

The other Madrigals grandchildren where already taken to bed when it happened…

They found out the next day, and where all obviously distraught, confused or angry at the adults, the older children blaming them for it all while the younger ones where more sad and confused as to why their younger sister and prima was gone…

The sun didn’t shine once that day…

What happened to this family?

•+•

It took 3 weeks for Julieta and Agustín to take action.

They where going to try find their youngest daughter, and bring her home.

They asked their two remaining daughters, Isabela and Luisa, if they would like to go with them in search of their youngest sister, and the girls immediately agreed.

Casita couldn’t be prouder of the cool colored family, especially Julieta and Agustin. They were taking responsibility for their mistakes, and they would bring Mirabel and maybe even Bruno back.

They would find her!

•+•

That didn’t happen…

A year had passed, and the cool colored family hadn’t returned…

But instead, the two seers themselves returned. Though in the middle of the night, as if they didn’t want anyone to see them. But regardless, they came back!

Casita couldn’t be happier. The house immediately opened their door for them, welcoming them back in.

But…instead of going to their rooms, or going to Alma to let her know that they came back, the two went into a hallway that Casita couldn’t reach…

No, Bruno and Mira shouldn’t hide from their own family, in their own home no less…

But Casita understood. They understood that the seers’ decision. Besides, Alma could very well kick them out again…

The house decided to lay the issue to rest, figuring that Bruno and Mira would come out of the walls eventually.

The next day however, revealed that one of the Madrigals have heard the future seers enter, that said Madrigal knew of their presence.

Dolores knew…

It sparked a new hope in Casita and the miracle. Maybe she would bring the family back together, bring Bruno and Mira back!

But she didn’t…

Instead, Dolores decided to keep the seers’ presence in the house a secret, even going as far as providing the future seers food behind her family’s back…

Casita figured that she would spit the secret out, or that she would get caught eventually. But that didn’t happen…

Years passed without Bruno or Mirabel getting seen, without Dolores spilling the secret she kept, and without her getting caught sneaking food to the duo…

For 4 years, the miracle didn’t know what to do…

•+•

That changed when the next Madrigal was born.

Antonio.

He looked exactly like his father, though having his mother’s curls, and seemed to love animals.

That brought the miracle an idea.

The rats, Bruno and Mira’s pets, often crawl around Casita, no one understanding what they’re saying. But what if someone could? What if someone could learn about the seers from the rats, and eventually find them and bring them back!

From that moment on, Antonio’s gift was decided.

Unfortunately, at the boy’s ceremony, the rats quickly figured out what his gift was. They didn’t talk out loud anymore, avoided Antonio at all costs, and even sometimes bit him to avoid him.

Luckily, the miracle already had a plan B. They had another gift in mind, one that no one could escape from.

Telepathy…

It was only a matter of waiting for the next Madrigal blessing to be born.

•+•

Two years later, it finally happened. The first great-grandchild of the family was born.

Oscar.

The circumstances of his conceivement, and everything regarding his parents (thanks to Alma), was far from ideal, and it only contributed to spreading the cracks. But Isabela and Mariano loved their son despite everything, and the miracle admired that.

Just like Antonio, Oscar’s gift was already decided.

And just like Dolores, his ceremony wasn’t exactly the best. The second he touched his doorknob, he heard everyone’s thoughts at once, quickly overwhelming him.

It was for the best, to reunite the family…

But unlike 17 years ago, seeing the look of horror on her Abuela’s face, Isabela stood up for her son, not letting him be thrown out like her youngest sister was.

Some of Casita’s cracks healed in that moment.

Despite the spreading cracks and Julieta’s gift beginning to fade away, the miracle was happy with this outcome. In no time, the boy would find his granduncle and Tía, and the family would all be together again.

As expected, the day after his ceremony, Oscar quickly heard Bruno and Mirabel’s thoughts through the walls, and wanted to see them. The miracle couldn’t be happier. Their plan finally worked!

But Dolores made it difficult…

She took him away, and made excuses, saying that the boy was just overwhelmed, and took him to his room. Dolores must’ve lied or made something up, because when Oscar came out of his room, he told his parents all about the “talking walls” that only he and his Tía could hear.

Casita really wanted to interfere, to tell Dolores to shut up and just let things happen, but the house didn’t have to do that anymore.

Antonio and Agustín discovered the hidden halls a moment later, both going in and chasing someone who was either Bruno or Mirabel.

The miracle was ecstatic. The seers would be found! The family would all be together again soon!

But…Antonio and Agustín didn’t come out of the walls the whole night…

For a few hours, Julieta, Pepa and Félix searched frantically for their husband and son, not knowing where they could be.

It was the next day, early in the morning, when the duo, including Bruno and Mirabel, stepped out of the walls in daylight…

The miracle couldn’t believe it. They have finally been found! They where out! But someone needed to do something, to let the seers be seen by the rest of the family.

So, Casita got involved.

Seeing how Bruno and Mirabel stepped out of the walls first, and made their way towards the former’s room, the house immediately took action. They snagged the end of Mira’s dress on a plank, stopping her from going any further. But that didn’t work, as she freed herself by tearing the snagged piece of her dress off.

But the house didn’t give up. When the seers, along with Antonio and Agustín, where up the stairs leading to the older one’s room, Casita tried to throw them off, trying to reveal them to the rest of the family. That failed again, as Bruno and Mirabel held on to the wall and quickly fled to the former’s room where the house couldn’t reach them.

Being desperate, Casita rapidly moved the tiles up and down in an attempt to reach them, as if saying; “Get back here, please.”, but it was ignored…

Though there came a silver lining. Apparently, Mirabel had to perform a vision that required rituals, as her door that was never opened lit up again, shining the same golden light as the others.

And the family noticed!

However, that victory ended when Antonio appeared out of Bruno’s room, and lied about where he was, covering up the seers presence again.

That was the last straw for Casita. The house lifted a few tiles at Mirabel’s door, before lifting the other tiles in a path leading to Bruno’s door, as if to say; “They’re here! They’re here!”.

It somewhat worked, as Alma suspected something, but Antonio lied again, saying that it was probably nothing.

Utterly fed up, Casita softly hit the boy with a railing, demanding him to shut up.

Luckily, Alma and Julieta suspected something, and the former even going to Bruno’s room to check, but Antonio made another excuse.

This time, they believed it…

The boy and the three adults went outside to eat breakfast, though not forgetting about Mira’s glowing door.

It allowed for Bruno, Mirabel and Agustín to get back into the walls, though not without the house trying to hold them back. But that failed as well…

Casita became frustrated at this point. Was it so hard to simply reunite a family?!

Then little Oscar entered the house, and they had a new plan.

Casita let the boy play for a bit, but quickly lead him to the entrance of the walls. Oscar seemed quite fascinated by it, and entered.

This plan my not work, but it was something.

Around 15 minutes later though, Agustín stepped out of the walls.

This time, Casita wouldn’t let him pass unless he got Bruno and Mira out of those walls.

The house threw everything at him. Removing all the stairs, tripping him on purpose, and many more attempts to stop him. But it failed yet again, and Agustín escaped outside.

For some time, Casita was alone, not a single Madrigal being around, thinking of what to do next.

But then, Mirabel stepped out of the walls again.

The miracle and Casita couldn’t be happier, moving the tiles up and down out of excitement.

Mirabel however, ignored the house, and asked them to get her up at Alma’s tower, to the candle.

Casita complied without hesitation, carrying the younger seer up to where the candle was. They figured that she just wanted to look at it, but that wasn’t the case…

Realizing that Mirabel had sinister intentions, Casita let her fall, but the seer managed to grab the candle, taking it with her as she fell to the ground.

She quickly got up, and tried to sprint back towards the entrance of the walls, only to be stopped by Casita by tripping her. No way would they let her go now.

Just like with Agustín, the house tried everything to stop Mirabel from going anywhere else, even trying to block the entrance of the walls. But their attempts failed yet again, as Mira crawled back into the walls, this time with the candle…

This was bad…

Casita panicked, not knowing what to do. That, until Isabela and Mariano approached the house only seconds later.

Casita immediately opened the door for them, dragging them to the center of the courtyard the second they took a step inside.

This was urgent…

Naturally, both Isabela and Mariano instantly noticed the candle’s absence. They began to freak out, and in another attempt to tell them what was happening, Casita made a crack in Mirabel’s door.

Julieta, Agustín and Dolores walked inside shortly after, instantly noticing the mess. And despite the latter two knowing what was going on, and maybe even what was going to happen, they still wouldn’t talk…

Then, the golden glows of the doors faded away like candlelight, making all the Madrigal’s gifts disappear abruptly…

Pepa, Félix, Camilo, Antonio and Luisa stormed in not even a minute afterwards, stressed and saddened about their powers suddenly disappearing…

At this point, the miracle and Casita have lost all hope…

What happened to this family?

It was then that Alma entered the house, and all hell broke loose…

She panicked, demanding to know who took the candle, even accusing her own family of stealing it. It resulted in Agustín, Isabela, Pepa and Antonio to call her out on prioritizing the miracle over the family, and even saying that they were never good enough for her.

Seeing the family fall apart like that, broke Casita…

Figuratively and literally…

The house and the miracle knew it was their end, so they made sure that every Madrigal was safe, that everyone, including Bruno and Mirabel, was out of the house, before fully collapsing…

As the miracle died, and as Casita took their last breaths, they began to have hope again.

Hope that their beloved family would fully reunite when they where gone…

Notes:

Next up: Isabela, Mariano and Dolores telling a telenovela for the fam :)

Chapter 31: Telenovela Night

Summary:

Isabela, Mariano and Dolores have finally build up the courage to tell the family about their situation…through a rat telenovela!

Notes:

The ending of an (kinda) arc is here!

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Dolores, are you sure this is a good idea?” Isabela asks her prima, Mariano looking like he’s doubting too.

“How else are we gonna tell the familia?” Dolores asks both her boyfriend and prima. “We’ve been hiding this for 8 years. We can’t just tell them like it’s nothing.”

“But through one of Tío Bruno’s rat plays?”

“It will be fun.” Dolores says, trying to convince her boyfriend and prima. “It will be kinda like a guessing game.”

“Besides, our 8 year ordeal seriously sounds like it came straight out of a telenovela.” Mariano says, shrugging his shoulders.

He has a point there.

“Fine.” Isabela says, giving in. “But only for the familia, and no kids.”

Dolores and Mariano glance at each other for a moment. Yes, they heavily agree that Oscar probably shouldn’t be there, and that they should tell him in a kid-friendly way, in private, about his parents’ separation and all, but Antonio?

Well, he’s only 12, which is probably a bit too young to watch an actual telenovela.

“Okay.” Dolores and Mariano say in union.

It’s settled, the three are actually going to do this.

But they need a bit of help with it.

•+•

“So, you want to write a telenovela?” Bruno asks his two nieces and nephew-in-law, to which the three nod as a response. “All three of you?”

“Yup.” Dolores simply answers.

“What’s it about-“

“Spoilers.” The trio answers in union, cutting Bruno off.

Alright, the seer gets it.

“Do you need anything?” Bruno asks the trio.

“We don’t think so.” Isabela answers. “Sure, three rats and a stage-thing, but that’s it.”

“Alright.” Bruno says, Gus, Blue Cheese and another rat appearing from his ruana.

Noticing that the two rats are with Bruno now, Dolores wonders where the younger seer is.

“Where is Mirabel?” She asks her uncle.

“Oh, she’s with Luisa, working out or something.” Bruno explains, wondering how it’s going. He really hopes she doesn’t get sore muscles…

“I think we can go from here.” Isabela says, taking the three rats from her tío.

“Great! I am near Casita if you need me.” Bruno says, before making his way towards said house, only to stop in his tracks. “Oh, and I know…”

At first, Isabela, Mariano and Dolores have absolutely no idea what he means, until it hit them, their eyes widening.

Oh crap…

•+•

The evening has arrived.

The Madrigal family, informed of the trio’s telenovela, gather inside in Señora Guzmán’s house, curious what it’s going to be about.

“Bienvenidas everyone.” Isabela greets her family (plus Señora Guzmán) as they are all seated.

“Where are Oscar and Antonio?” Pepa asks, not seeing the two anywhere in the living room.

“They’re at Señora Perez’s house.” Mariano explains.

The former weather woman nods. She understands Oscar not being here because the telenovela may not be suitable for kids, but Antonio?

“And Dolores?” Félix asks, also not seeing her.

“Oh, she’s here.” Isabela answers, followed by a wave from Dolores behind the curtains.

“And what’s…Señora Guzmán doing here?” Alma asks, her tone unnaturally polite.

Isabela and Mariano glance at each other, both turning a bit nervous. Nope, they won’t deal bickering abuelas, not now!

“Because she’s my mother.“ Mariano quickly answers, leaving no room for any conversation or bickering.

“Anyways, let’s start…” Isabela says, already done with her Abuela before the telenovela even started. She switches off half the lights, ready to start.

Mariano goes along, opening the left curtain of the mini-stage, revealing Blue Cheese wearing a flower near his ear, before he swiftly disappears behind the bigger curtains.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl named Ines.” Isabela starts narrating. “She was kind, pretty, and the perfect hija and nieta.” The former flower woman glances at her family for a moment, who are all listening to her narration, not suspecting anything similar. Isabela doesn’t want it to be obvious just yet. “She was her Abuela’s favorite, but…she wanted Ines to be just like her in every way. Her appearance, behavior, morals, everything.”

Isabela then opens the small right curtain of the mini-stage, revealing the rat who plays the Abuela that’s a rat-shaped block of cheese.

The former flower woman looks at it for a moment. Wha- She thought Mariano managed to find another rat, not sculpture one from cheese! What even is this?!

But regardless, the show must go on.

“She eventually arranged for Ines to be married, to make sure there would be a new generation to come.” Isabela continues, the actual memories playing in her head as she narrates. “But Ines didn’t want to get married yet. She wanted to explore the world, away from her Abuela and her expectations.”

As a response, Blue Cheese straight up bites cheese-rat Abuela’s head off.

Almost everyone stares at the small scene with horror. That wasn’t planned, right?

Bruno is one hundred procreant certain that that is a jab at his mother, and he can’t help but laugh.

Meanwhile, Mirabel and Camilo really struggle to hold in their own laughter, so much so that they look like they’re ready to explode. That, until they both burst into a hyena-like laughter.

Isabela herself even struggles to hold back from laughing. Luckily, Mariano quickly swoops in to take over the narration, saving Isabela from embarrassment and breaking character.

“But she didn’t know. Ines didn’t know…” He pauses, placing the female rat who plays Inés’ husband(??) on the mini stage. “…that her soon-to-be husband, Marco, felt the same.“

Señora Guzmán, Alma, Pepa, Félix, Julieta, Agustín and Luisa all gasp at the reveal, not having expected that. Mirabel and Camilo seem to be quite invested upon hearing the twist, while Bruno just sits back and waits for the big reveal that this story actually happened.

“Unfortunately, the wedding happened without either of them knowing the other’s feelings.” Isabela narrates, her tone noticeably saddened as she remembers her and Mariano’s own wedding. “It was after saying their vows that they found out…”

“Ines, I didn’t want to marry you, because…” Mariano pauses again as he plays Marco, who’s basically himself. “…I’m in love with another.”

Everyone (minus Bruno) basically sit at the edge of their seats, invested in the story.

“Oh, gracias a Dios. With who?” Isabela says as Ines.

“With your prima…” Mariano reveals dramatically.

That’s Dolores’ que. She appears from the huge curtains with grace, carrying Gus, who has a red bow on his head, to the mini stage.

The family gasps at the reveal, with Félix spitting out the water he was drinking, Alma’s jaw basically dropping to the floor, and Julieta covering her mouth with her hands in shock.

“Lo siento, prima. I didn’t mean to make this mess for you.” Dolores says as her character.

“Está bien, Daniela.” Isabela says as Ines. “We can make this mess work.”

“So, the three made an agreement. Ines and Marco would stay married, pretending to be the perfect and loving couple for Abuela, while Marco and Daniela secretly dated behind closed doors, they and Ines keeping it a secret.” Mariano narrates.

“But it wasn’t long for Abuela to ask the married couple for great-grandchildren.” Dolores takes over the narration for a moment, seeing Isabela and Mariano both look incredibly uncomfortable.

Here comes to worst part, yay…

“At first, the married couple lied, saying that they where trying without succession, but the Abuela noticed their uncomfortable looks, and insisted to keep trying.” Dolores continues narrating, now trying to make it obvious. “So, Ines and Marco decided to try for real, only once. With the help of a bit of alcohol.”

Yup, now Pepa understands why her youngest son wasn’t allowed in.

Isabela can’t help but gag at hearing the narriation, the memories themselves flashing in her mind.

“What? Why would they do that?” Alma asks, a bit confused. “It’s best to be sober when conceiving a-“

“S-stop, Abuela. Not now!” Isabela says between gags. Both she and Mariano are ready to basically cry at this point.

Noticing the shear awkwardness, Bruno signs at the trio to continue the telenovela.

“U-unfortunately for Ines and Marco, that one try resulted in a child.” Dolores continues the narration. “The abuela was very happy, not suspecting a thing.”

Isabela and Mariano glance at each other for a moment, both really wanting this telenovela to be done, or at least make it so obvious that the family couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“The two were blessed with a beautiful boy.” Isabela takes over, her tone now happy as she thinks about Oscar.

“And they, including Daniela, loved him despite their situation.” Mariano adds.

The three decide to wrap it up, staying quiet as the three rats leave the stage and each crawls on their counterpart’s shoulder.

The whole family claps upon the story’s ending, having been quite invested in it.

“Will there be a sequel?” Luisa asks.

“Yeah, will Ines and Marco go their separate ways?” Pepa asks. “It’s best for everyone if they do. What’s a loveless marriage anyways?”

Hearing all those questions, the trio are trembling at this point, all ready to spill their secret. But Alma is already ahead with a question.

“Say, the characters’ names seem quite similar to yours.” The elderly woman points out. “Why is that?”

Isabela, Mariano and Dolores are basically cooking at this point. How can their family be this dense?!

“You tontas...” Isabela says, quiet enough to only be heard by Mariano and Dolores.

“Well, actually-“ Mariano says, but is cut off his girlfriend.

“Because it’s us.” She blurts out.

Everyone else except Bruno looks stunned, not knowing what to say.

“What?” Pepa asks, barely processing what her daughter just said.

Isabela and Mariano just glance at each other, letting Dolores blur it all out. She has carried this secret with them for 8 years

“What do you mean?” Señora Guzmán asks, a bit confused.

“Isabela and Mariano have been happily married for 8 years. I saw it with my own eyes.” Alma adds, just as confused.

Something in Isabela snaps at that sentence.

“No! We weren’t!” She yells without thinking.

Well, it could’ve been much worse.

“They didn’t want to get married, but Abuela forced them to, so they did. But Mariano and I were already together, and Isa found out after the vows, so we all agreed to keep it a secret while Isabela and Mariano pretended to be happily married. But then Oscar came along because Abuela pressured them to have kids, so everything became more messy.” Dolores blurts out in just a few breaths. Noticing that she’s a bit in distress, Mariano goes to his girlfriend’s side to comfort her.

Almost everyone, especially Alma and Señora Guzmán, are stunned at the whole reveal, almost not believing that Isabela, Dolores and Mariano did something like that right before their eyes.

But then something clicks.

It makes sense. All those times Isabela offered to do Dolores’ chores, all those times Mariano and Isabela didn’t show each other affection most of the time, all the uncomfortable looks they gave at the mention of having children…

It makes sense now…

Then, it all breaks loose.

How?!” Mirabel asks, utterly flabbergasted.

“How haven’t you three lost your minds yet?!” Camilo adds.

“Oh we did.” Dolores answers in a casual tone.

“Many times.” Mariano adds.

“Thanks a lot, you perra...” Isabela says under her breath, obviously referring to her Abuela.

“And you three didn’t tell anyone?!” Pepa asks. “You could’ve told-“

“And risk getting kicked out like Tío Bruno and Mira?” Isabela argues. The thought hasn’t crossed her mind before, but it could’ve been possible. “We don’t think so.”

“Did anyone secretly know?“ Agustín asks, to which Bruno awkwardly raises his hand.

“Wha-“ Pepa wants to ask why he also didn’t tell anyone, but is cut off by a voice she knows all too well.

“I kinda suspected it.” It’s Antonio, appearing from behind the open door that’s near the seats.

And with him is Oscar…

Well, now everyone knows Señora Perez isn’t a good babysitter…

Isabela, Mariano and Dolores can only stare at their son and nephew, looking panicked and shocked, feeling their hearts catch their throats.

This is it, now he knows…

“Mamá, papá!” Oscar calls out, running towards his parents, simply happy to see them.

Mariano picks him up, though he, Isabela, and Dolores can’t hide the on edge expressions on their faces.

“Hey, mijo.” Mariano greets back, his tone noticeably tense.

“Did you…hear the story?” Isabela asks her son, her tone just as tense.

It stays silent for a moment, the tension rising with each second that passes as everyone waits for what the boy has to say.

Oscar simply shakes his head. “I saw a lady bug!”

Isabela, Mariano and Dolores sigh in relief at the boy’s answer.

“What’s it about?” Oscar asks, wanting to know the story or fairy tale.

“We will tell you after Casita is rebuild, okay?” Isabela says,

Agustín however, heavily disagrees with his daughter’s compromise.

“How about telling him today? Then he doesn’t have to find out on his own.”

Bruno chimes in. “May I remind you that our gifts will probably come back after-“

“Never mind. We will tell him tomorrow or something.” Isabela goes back on her word. No, they won’t tell him in front of the family, not now. She and Mariano need to find a quiet moment to tell their son about their whole ordeal in a child friendly way. “Those gifts can stay away for all I care.”

“Yay!” Oscar cheers, throwing his hands in the air. Mirabel, Bruno, Dolores and Pepa can’t help but agree.

Meanwhile, Dolores quietly goes to her Abuela and Señora Guzmán’s side, wanting to talk to them.

“So, will you allow Isa and Mariano to separate?” She asks the two elderly women, just loud enough for the married duo to hear.

Alma and Señora Guzmán look at each other in confusion. Both have never heard about separating a marriage, let alone having witnessed that scenario.

“We don’t know if that’s even possible.” Señora Guzmán admits, both elderly turning to the married duo.

Isabela and Mariano look at each other in confusion, not knowing what the latter’s mother means by that.

The two elderly woman stand up, and walk towards the married duo. Seeing this, and figuring that they want to talk to them, Dolores quickly takes Oscar from her boyfriend and brings him to another room nearby so that he doesn’t hear the conversation.

“Isabela, Mariano, we’re sorry for forcing you both into…this.” Alma starts. The married can’t help but glare at her, not really buying it. “And we don’t know if a marriage separation is possible.”

The married duo look at each other in confusion again. If they’ve started a marriage with a wedding, there’s certainly a way to end it too aside from putting off their wedding rings, right? Or does it only end with death? Probably…

“But…we give you our blessing to go your separate ways.” Señora Guzmán says with a small smile.

Isabela and Mariano’s expressions turn into wide smiles upon hearing those words. Yes! They’re finally free!

The sound of someone clapping can be heard in the room, followed by the rest of the family applauding for them, with Dolores standing in the doorway applauding with everyone.

She, Isabela and Mariano can’t be happier. Yes, they still have Oscar and they have to explain everything to him, but the duo (plus Dolores) will continue raising him together. They won’t ever trade their son for anything in the world anyways.

But now, they finally feel free.

Notes:

Next up: the grandkids giving Alma a (somewhat) taste of her own medicine (with a song that starts with “We Don’t Talk About…”And an apology! :)

Chapter 32: Don’t Mention Her

Summary:

The grandchildren (minus Luisa and Mira) call Alma out, which leads to an apology.

Notes:

First off, my apologies for this chapter being late. It took me a lot longer to complete this one due to stress of finishing school and getting sick.

Anyways, the Alma call out chapter is finally here! And it includes the last song of the series!

Song:
We Don’t Talk About Mira (sung by Dolores, Mariano, Isabela, Camilo, Bruno, Antonio and Agustín)

Yes yes, I know I already did We Don’t Talk About Bruno, and that doing a different version of the song may be overdoing it, but I’ve written it in a way that it’s rather a “look what you’ve done” song than a villain song, so I hope I succeeded in that.

Anyways, enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The rebuilding of Casita is going smoothly. The walls are finished, the courtyard is kept neatly, and they’re now busy with making the roof.

Alma is currently drinking a cup of coffee in the small living room of the temporarily village house she’s staying in, catching her rest after working on the house in question.

Until Bruno suddenly bursts through the door.

“You still owe Mira an apology.” He says, jumping straight to the topic.

“For what?” Alma asks, a bit confused.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe for throwing her out 17 years ago?” Bruno says, reminding his mother of that fact. Boy, he’s pretty sure she’s starting to get dementia.

Alma’s eyes widen, now knowing what he’s talking about.

“I tried a few times, but she avoids me.” The elderly woman says.

“Not surprised…” Bruno says under his breath, turning back towards the door. He can still remember that 5 year old girl looking utterly confused as to why her Abuela hated her. “Try harder. She deserves at least an “I’m sorry” from you. You may have changed, but she doesn’t see that.”

The door slams shut, leaving Alma in the living room with her thoughts.

Yes, she hasn’t apologized to her youngest granddaughter yet. And like her son just said, Mirabel deserves one. But what can she do when your granddaughter constantly avoids you?

Alma looks at the framed family photo that was taken before Oscar’s ceremony. It’s incomplete. Her son and granddaughter should’ve been there with them, but they weren’t.

“Why, Mirabel.” Alma asks. “Why won’t you let me make it right?”

Then suddenly, she hears the front door swing open again, making her jump. Turning to see who it is this time, Alma sees Dolores standing in the doorway, covering her mouth with her hands as if she has heard something.

“Dolores, what brings you here?” The elderly woman casually asks her second oldest granddaughter.

“Oh, I was going to tell you that the roof is halfway done…” Dolores answers, then suddenly changing subjects. “But then I heard…the name we do not mention.“

Alma can’t help but look confused at her second granddaughter’s sudden strange behavior. She acts just like her mother.

“That’s in the past now.” The elderly woman reassures.

“Is it?” Dolores asks her Abuela. “Some townspeople still say it.”

“Look, I know that it’s quite hard to get used to-“

“We don’t mention Mira.” Dolores cuts her Abuela off, saying the sentence surprisingly happy.

“It wasn’t even that bad-“ Alma speaks, but is cut off again, this time by someone else.

“It was a tragedy!“ Mariano exclaims, dramatically bursting through the front door.

“Mariano, don’t remind me, por favor!” Dolores says just as dramatically, getting to her boyfriend’s side.

Alma is pretty sure they’re setting something up, specifically Pepa-and-Félix style. And if she’s honest, while she approved of Dolores and Mariano’s relationship despite the latter being married, she still has to get used to it.

“Don’t worry, Lola. She just needs to be reminded again.” Mariano reassures his girlfriend.
 

The elderly woman is even more confused. “Sorry, but what’s this all about?”

Dolores can’t help but groans out of frustration, being done with her Abuela’s obliviousness.

So she decides to make it crystal clear to her what she means.

We don’t talk about Mira, nah, nah, nah. We don’t talk about Mira…” Dolores clarifies to her Abuela, as Mariano goes to her girlfriend’s side. They both hoped that Mirabel herself would’ve been present to hear this, but oh well. “But, it was her candle day.

It was her candle day.” Mariano repeats as the couple dances in their imagination, back to that faithful night 17 years ago.

She was getting ready and there wasn’t a vision in sight.” Dolores continues.

No predictions allowed on this night.

Bruno walks in with a mischievous grin.

Chaos!

Are you telling the story or am I?” Dolores asks her boyfriend, fake-distressed.

Lo siento mi vida, go on.” Mariano goes along.

You said ‘She should go away’.” Dolores continues as she feels no shame in pointing it out, pointing at her Abuela.

Why did you tell her?

In doing so you made her cry.

Dolores, get the arepas.

Thrown out in the dead of night!

What a tragic day, but anyways.

We don’t talk about Mira, nah, nah, nah.” Both Dolores and Mariano clarify to Alma with no shame. “We don’t talk about Mira!

At that moment, Isabela decides to chime in on calling her grandmother out.

Hey, you grew to live in fear of Mira stuttering or stumbling. I can always see her sort of muttering and mumbling. I associate her with the sound of falling sand. Ch. Ch. Ch.” The former flower woman sings, almost whispering, at her Abuela. “It’s a heavy lift with a gift so humbling. Always left you and the family fumbling. Grappling with prophesies you refused to understand. Do you understand?

And of course, Camilo joins in on berating his Abuela.

Seven-foot frame. Rats along her back. When she calls your name it all fades to black.” The former shapeshifter sings, unfortunately not being able to shift into Mirabel. “Yeah, she sees your dreams and feasts on your screams.

We don’t talk about Mira, nah, nah, nah.” Dolores, Mariano, Isabela and Camilo remind their Abuela. “We don’t talk about Mira!

Alma soon finds herself in the town, where her son has some more things to say.

She told me your novio would ask the question, and yes!” He says to a couple who are recently engaged.

How great.” The other townspeople cheer in relief.

She told me you would soon expect, and just like she said.” Bruno says to a woman who’s currently pregnant.

How great.

She said that all your hair would grow again, now look at your head.” He says to the same priest who blamed him for going bald.

How great.

Your fate is sealed when your prophesy is read!” The townspeople sing, this time with joy instead as a warning.

Hearing what everyone has to say, Alma feels a pang of guilt. But Bruno isn’t done.

She told me that the life of your dreams will be waiting and someday be yours.” He says to a young girl who doesn’t really have the most loving parents.

She told me that your familia will grow like a sky at night full of stars.” Bruno tells a small family who already have two children, but they are overjoyed regardless.

Alma wants to say that she gets it now, and that she will talk with Mirabel, but Bruno still isn’t done.

And she told me that the girl of your dreams will be soon in your reach, but she’s somewhere far away.” He tells a young man.

Maybe I’ll hear her soon.” Dolores says to the young man in question, giving him hope.

Hey you” Isabela warns her Abuela, walking towards her. “I want not a sound out of you.

Uhm Mira.” Antonio says, playing along.

Yeah, about that Mira.” Agustín joins in.

We really need to know about Mira.

Give us the truth, the whole truth, Mira!” The two sing in union.

At this point, Alma has had enough, and goes back to the house she’s staying in. Yes, she gets it now. She should’ve never thrown Mira and Bruno out, and her grandkids have already pointed that out, but now it’s a bit too much. Heck, she can still hear the townspeople sing about their wonderful predictions.

But she’s here!” Isabela, Dolores, Mariano, Camilo, Antonio and Agustín cheer, before instantly switching their tone. “Don’t talk about Mira!

Why didn’t I talk about Mira?” Alma asks herself.

Not a word about Mira!”

I never should’ve thrown out Mira!

A gush of wind can be heard from outside, finishing the song.

Now that it’s finally over, Alma begins to realize what she has done wrong. Yes, she knows she should never have thrown her son and her youngest granddaughter out, but while she already apologized to the former, she hasn’t yet with the latter.

While she constantly avoids her, Mirabel deserves an apology from her Abuela.

Like Bruno already said, she should try harder.

It’s then that Alma makes a decision. She’s going to make this right, for her granddaughter.

•+•

That evening, Alma goes to the almost rebuild Casita where she knows Mirabel is. There aren’t that many townspeople around the house anymore, giving her more room to talk to her youngest nieta.

Alma looks around, and quickly sees Mirabel near the house sweeping some sand away.

This is it, she is going to make it right with her granddaughter after 17 years. The elderly woman hopes it will go well, but she has her doubts.

Taking a deep breath, Alma gently walks towards her youngest nieta, trying not to come off as demanding.

“Hola, Mirabel.” The elderly woman greets, her tone friendly.

Hearing her voice, Mirabel turns to glance at Alma, her expression basically saying; “What the hell do you want?”. Honestly, Mirabel doesn’t really want to see the elderly woman right now, and lets her know.

Alma notices this, but refuses to give up without at least having said an “I’m sorry”.

“I…I came here to apologize.” She says, her tone calm but unsure.

Finally…” Mirabel says, turning her gaze away from the elderly woman.

That single word hits Alma. Yes, it’s true. She finally gave her youngest nieta an apology after almost two decades, which she should’ve done way sooner.

The matriarch steps a bit closer towards Mirabel, but the glare forming on her face tells the woman otherwise, so Alma stays where she is.

“I thought that…” The elderly woman pauses, hesitating while searching for the right words. “I wanted to protect our home, protect our Encanto, so-“

“So you threw out pá and I because our gifts were bad…” Mirabel finishes Alma’s sentence, anger showing in her voice with a hint of sadness. She always thought that that old woman had thrown them out to protect that candle. Guess Mira was somewhat right.

Alma stays silent, not knowing what to say.

“I didn’t mean to-“ She says, but gets cut off.

“No!” Mirabel calls out, having run out of her patience. “You did, you did mean to abandon us!” At this point, Mira doesn’t care anymore. All her feelings and frustrations just pour out. “Pá and I had to live in the forest for a year! We had to hide and live in awful conditions in the walls just so we had a roof over our heads without you all knowing! We had to take food from the kitchen and drink out of a sewer pipe! We had to urinate on the floor and wash ourself with only a wet cloth! We had to live as nothing more than rats because of you! All because of you!

Alma listens to what her youngest nieta says as her expression turns into one of horror.

She really didn’t mean for them to live like that…

“Dios mio…” Alma can only say, horrified at what her youngest granddaughter just revealed.

Mirabel doesn’t say anything, instead looking at the ground, avoiding looking at the elderly woman.

“I…I should’ve never abandoned you…” Alma says, her tone saddened and full of regret. “I’m so, so sorry…”

It stays silent for a few seconds, Mirabel not saying anything as she looks at the darkening sky.

“You don’t have to-“ Alma says, the silence getting to much for her, but is cut off.

“Forgive you? I don’t.” Mirabel says with indifference, starting to walk away from the elderly woman towards the house she and bruno are staying in. “But…I hope I can someday…”

Alma watches her youngest granddaughter leave until she’s out of sight, leaving her with her thoughts.

She has apologized. She has attempted to make things right. Yes, Mira still avoids her and doesn’t forgive her, but Alma understands.

She understands now.

Notes:

Two chapters left to go…

Chapter 33: a Choice

Summary:

Casita is almost completely rebuild, and Mira and Bruno have a conversation about wether or not to stay in the village.

Notes:

And we’re back!

This chapter may be short, but an important one none the less!

Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“The house will be done soon.” Mirabel suddenly says to her pá while she is in the middle of sewing a blanket, the rats sitting on her shoulders. “What will we do?”

Bruno hears his daughter’s question, though it’s a bit vague. “What do you mean?”

“Will we live with the rest of the family, or…stay here?” Mirabel asks more clearer.

Her question has the older seer think for a moment. On one hand, it would be good for both of them to go back to live in Casita with the rest of the family, and further reconnect with them at home. But on the other hand, everything that has happened in the last 16 years have kinda tainted the house in question, as well as their own gifts.

Yeah, Bruno hasn’t really thought about it yet.

“I don’t know.” He says, glancing at his daughter. “What about you? What do you want?”

Honestly, Mirabel already knows. She wants to stay in the village. In the nearly two months she had lived there, Mirabel hadn’t felt more happier and at peace. In that time, She and her pá didn’t have to worry about stealing food, drinking unclear water, and keeping up with their hygiene. They didn’t have to hide and live like rats anymore. They didn’t have to be on edge all the time for painful visions…

“I want to stay.” Mirabel says, being straight forward.

Even without his gift, Bruno had seen this answer from a mile away. After everything that has happened in their time living in the walls, he knows his daughter wanted to live anywhere but in Casita with the very same adults who abandoned her.

Even after she talked with them about it.

“You want to live with the family, do you?” Mirabel asks her father, her tone a bit nervous.

“Only if you want to.” Bruno reassures her. “I won’t leave you.”

Mirabel smiles at her Papá’s words, appreciating his attempts at reassuring her.

“So, we’re staying here?” She asks, just in case.

Bruno nods in response as a silent “yes”.

It’s like a huge weight lifts off the younger seer’s shoulders, utterly relieved. But…

“The house will be rebuild, though.” She says, her tone turning saddened, not really wanting her gift back. “Our gifts will return anyways.”

“Don’t worry.” Bruno says, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We will go through it together.”

Gus and Blue Cheese agree with their owner, as they nod in agreement.

Mirabel’s smile returns upon hearing her Papá’s words, feeling a bit better. Yes, she still feels skeptical and nervous for what’s to come, but she has her Papá, the rats, and her sisters and cousins to be there for her, as well as the other way around.

It will be okay.

Notes:

One last chapter to go…

Chapter 34: Together

Summary:

This is it, the day has arrived. Casita has finally been rebuild.

Notes:

I present to you all, the last chapter of this fic…

Enjoy…

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

This is it, the day has arrived.

Casita has finally been fully rebuild.

Everyone is standing in front of the newly re-build house, looking at it with pride. The townspeople all stand a bit further away in a crowd, while the Madrigal family stand a little closer to the house, everyone standing with their respective sides of the family.

“Look at this home.” Julieta says, standing next to her mother.

“It isn’t perfect.” Alma says.

“Neither are we, mamá.” Pepa says, warning her mother a bit.

“Lo sé.” The elderly woman responds to her youngest daughter, letting her know that she gets it.

“But it isn’t finished yet.” Dolores points out, holding Oscar in her arms. “We need a doorknob.”

The triplets look at each other for a moment, as if they have planned something. They then turn to their mother, the youngest triplet appearing to hold something in his hand.

“We already made one.” Julieta, Pepa and Bruno say, the youngest triplet opening his hand to reveal a doorknob.

Alma takes it from her son’s hand, and looks at it for a moment. The doorknob has a golden color, looking exactly like the ones of the magical rooms. But now, there’s a letter displayed in the center, the M.

The M of Madrigal…

Alma cracks a smile, turning back to look at her children, before the triplets get back to their respective sides of the family.

This is it, Casita will be finished. They all don’t know if the magic will even return, but they have lived without their gifts for a while.

Besides, some of the Madrigals are way happier without their powers…

Alma walks towards the front door of the newly-rebuild house, at a slow pace given her age. As she does, she looks at each of her children’s families, her beautiful family. Julieta stands next to her husband with their two daughters, standing at Alma’s left. Pepa and Félix are at her right with the couple’s two sons at their side, Mariano even standing with them.

But the elderly woman notices that there are some members of her family missing. Alma looks behind her, where Bruno and his side of the family is standing, and she sees it.

Dolores, still holding Oscar in her arms, is standing next to Mirabel. Both cousins, including Bruno, look nervous and on edge. It’s like they expect the magic to return, but they don’t want their gifts back.

And well, Alma is right. Bruno, Mirabel, Dolores and Oscar really don’t want their powers back. For as long as they had them, the four have far more bad incidents and memories of their gifts than good ones.

No, their powers were no gifts, they were curses

Bruno experienced it first hand with Mirabel, as well as his own curse of a gift. While Dolores saw it with her own mother and nephew, as she dealt with her own “gift”.

They’ve been through so much, through hell and back.

Looking at them, Alma hopes for them that they won’t get their gifts back, or at the very least be able to turn their powers off whenever it gets too much for them.

Everyone watches the matriarch continues to walk towards Casita’s front door, waiting for the house to finally be finished. Bruno, Mirabel, Dolores and Oscar however, are watching with dread…

They watch as Alma finally reaches the front door. They watch as she glances at the golden doorknob for a moment, before putting it in the door.

The second after the matriarch has done it, something happens. Magic begins to spread around the house, forming it exactly like Casita’s appearance. It then spreads around the Encanto, returning magic to the area.

As it happens, the front door changes. The magic replaces the brown wood with a glowing golden images of the whole Madrigal family, including the two seers.

With the exception of Bruno, Mirabel and Dolores, everyone watches in amazement as it happens.

Then, Casita awakens.

The first thing the house sees is something they wanted to see more than anything. The Madrigal family all together…

Bruno and Mirabel are back, they have returned to the family.

They’re all reunited again…

Casita opens one of the windows, using it to wave at everyone, letting them know the house is alive again.

The triplets wave back at their childhood home.

“Hola, Casita.” Alma greets the living house, feeling more than happy that Casita is alive again.

But that means that the gifts are back…

Before the family can process that, Casita excitedly pulls them inside, warmly welcoming them with open doors. Bruno and Mira however, stay outside, watching as the house happily move the tiles around.

Once the rest of the family are inside the living house, they notice the presence of their gifts, and that some of them have…changed a little.

Luisa, Antonio, Isabela, and Julieta’s gifts pretty much stay the same, but the others are a bit different.

While Pepa’s emotions still effect the weather, she can now control it as well. Upon being dragged in the house by the house itself, Pepa feels more than happy that her childhood home is back, and dances with Félix while snow falls from the cloud above her head.

Not only can Camilo shape shift into other humans again, now he can also change into animals. When he sees Antonio’s animals, Camilo accidentally shape shifts into a jaguar.

Dolores and Oscar don’t have to constantly hear sounds and thoughts, as they can kinda turn their gifts off whenever it gets too much for them. When the townspeople also enter Casita while talking and thinking about whatever, Dolores and Oscar get quite overwhelmed, and their hearing and telepathy instantly turns down. Thank goodness…

And Bruno and Mirabel don’t feel any pain anymore during visions, as both their eyes glow emerald green without a thread of pain.

“Should we go? “Mirabel asks her Papá, not really seeing the point of joining the others.

“Why?” Bruno asks in response. “Don’t you want to see Casita?”

The house in question rapidly moves the tiles, as if trying to reach her and saying; “Yes! Please, step inside!”.

Mirabel looks at the living house’s movements for a moment, before turning back to her Papá.

“It’s just that… Are you sure we are welcome again?” Mirabel asks, hesitation in her voice.

“We are.” Bruno says, glancing at his and his daughter’s illustrations on the front door. He extends his hand, wanting Mirabel to take it so they can step inside the house as well. “Everything will be okay. Nothing will happen.”

Mirabel hesitates for a moment, not wanting to mess anything up and be kicked out again, but she decides to take her father’s hand and step inside the house together.

Casita can’t be any happier. They excitedly rattle the tiles like there’s no tomorrow as Bruno and Mirabel make their way inside.

While walking, the younger seer looks around. She sees everything in daylight now, unlike 16 years ago. And it’s beautiful.

When the seers arrive in the courtyard, the older one sees his mother who looks like she’s…counting something?

“…9, 10, 11.” Alma counts, pointing at the imageless magic doors that now glow with golden dust. She then sees her son and youngest granddaughter who have entered the new Casita as well. “I thought you two chose to live in the town?”

Bruno notices a hint of hope in his mother’s voice. Mirabel however, just tries to avoid looking at Alma.

“We are.” He says, seeing his mother’s expression change into a saddened one. “Why?”

“Casita gave you your rooms back.” Alma explains, looking at the two imageless rooms in question. “You two can still move in if you want.”

The living house seems to agree on the matriarch’s offer, as they lay a tile on both seers’ feet, as if to say; “Yes! Please, stay!”.

While Bruno chuckles at the house’s gesture, Mirabel looks a bit uncomfortable, before removing her foot from casita’s grasp. Nope, not this again…

“Gracias, Mamá. But we’re good.” Bruno answers, glancing at Mirabel who’s looking at what her cousins are doing. Turning back to his mother, Bruno notices a saddened expression on her face, most likely from his answer. “Hey, just because we live somewhere else, doesn’t mean we are no longer family.”

Even the rats and Mirabel nod in agreement with a small smile on her face.

Hearing those words, Alma feels reassured, and understands. It is something to get used to, as she hoped and kinda expected for her son and youngest granddaughter to live in Casita again, together with the family, but she understands now.

“Okay.” Alma says with a warmth in her voice. “You two will visit, right?”

“Of course!” Bruno answers, while Mirabel is busy with a sudden vision. “It’s not like we’re leaving the Encanto.”

Alma gives both seers a warm smile, before walking towards Pepa and watching her beautiful and happy snowfall.

“What did you see?” Bruno asks his daughter after her vision is over.

“I saw Isabela opening her door again.” Mirabel answers. “Her room looked like a jungle.”

Bruno cracks a smile at her words, already imagining how happy his oldest niece will be.

As they walk around in the courtyard, a silence then fell between them. Bruno looks at his sisters, seeing them with their beloved husbands as they wear the brightest smiles he has seen, while Mirabel sees her cousins and sisters, especially Dolores and Oscar, use their gifts with a smile on their faces.

But most importantly, they see each other being happy. Bruno sees his daughter play with Blue Cheese who’s on her shoulder and smiling, while the house and gift she had dreaded so much are back. Mirabel sees her Papá being happy, finally standing in his childhood home with the family he loves so much.

They don’t have to hide in the walls anymore, living in poor conditions like rats that they had to do for so long…

Yes, there are still a lot of issues that need to be addressed and resolved. But now, things are looking to get better, compared to the last time they both stood in this courtyard…

But that’s in the past, and the two seers can’t change it, even if they really want to at certain moments. Though, they got one positive thing out of that hellhole; each other.

One seer got a daughter, while the other got a father. And they both won’t trade it for the world.

Notes:

So, that’s it, the story has come to a close…

Man, what a ride these months have been.

For those who don’t know, this started out as a one-shot before the film even came out, but once it did, it turned into the series it is now.

And I can’t thank you all enough for the support you gave this story.

Thank you for the kudos, the bookmarks and the supportive comments.

Thank you for the waiting for each chapter, the criticisms that have helped me, and for sticking around.

Thank you all for the support.

As for a sequel, I don’t know yet. There are definitely some loose ends (Mira’s room, among other things), and already have ideas for chapters (Antonio’s animals not liking Mira due to her actions, Oscar getting used to having three parents, etc). But I don’t know yet.

But as of now, I’m going to take a break. Summer break has already started over here, so great timing😄 I’ll be focusing on writing other AUs on my Tumblr (under the same name; Toaverse) during this time, so check it out!

Until next time, and once again; thank you.

Notes:

Spanish translations:

-niña = kid
-Buenas noches = goodnight