I do not own Encanto.
It had been a few months since the Madrigals had made up. They were true to their word. They spent as much time as possible with Mirabel. They let her help them. Even Alma was being nice to her, so why did Mirabel still feel off? She played with her food.
" What's wrong, sis?" Isabella asked.
" I don't know. Something seems off," Mirabel answered.
" Maybe it's because you're still getting used to all the love we're giving you," Isabella suggested.
" I don't know. Maybe."
Isabella frowned. She hated to see her sister down. Today was her birthday. She had to cheer her up. She looked at Camilo, who seemed to understand. He got up and walked over to Isa. Mirabel looked to see what they were up to. Camilo shapeshifted into Mariano.
" Hello, princessa, I came to wish your sister a happy birthday," Camilo said.
He made kissing noises. Mirabel tried to hide her smile. Isabella threw flowers into Camilo's mouth. Camilo pretended to choke and fell to the ground dramatically. Mirabel bursted out laughing.
" Yes, we did it," Isabella cheered.
" Mission accomplished," Camilo added.
He coughed up some flowers.
" Too much?" Isabella asked.
" Nope," Camilo assured her.
Mirabel smiled at them. " You remembered my birthday."
" Yep, and the birthday girl shouldn't be so sad on her big day," Isabella told her.
Mirabel frowned. She looked down at her food. Something still was on her mind. Something she couldn't forget. Something she couldn't understand. Isabella gently took Mira's hands into hers.
" You know you can tell me anything, right?" she inquired.
" And you won't get upset?"
" No, I promise."
" It's just… I don't get any of this. Why you all forgave me. Why I felt like something was taking over my mind. Why it chose me. Why I did everything that I did," Mirabel admitted.
" Oh, Mira, we all made mistakes. None of deserved your forgiveness. You deserved ours because we treated you so horribly. I don't want to think about that, anymore. I like the way things are now. I like spending time with you. I like being the big sister I've always wanted to be. I like how peaceful things are. I like it all," Isabella expressed.
Mirabel gazed into her eyes. There was nothing but seriousness, love, and honesty. Mirabel smiled sweetly at her. Isabella gasped when she embraced her out of nowhere. She smiled and returned the hug.
" I promise, Mira, no matter what happens, I will always, always be there for you. If you need me, but I'm busy helping people, I'll stop what I'm doing. Nothing and no one is as important as family. I realize that now."
" And I promise, I won't dump rats and cheese on you again," Mirabel teased.
Isabella playfully punched her. Julieta smiled at them. She was glad they were getting along again. She remembered all the times Isabella would grow flowers for Mirabel. She would always cradle her and play with her. If she was busy, she would drop everything. It was all about Mirabel. Water poured all over Mira and Isa. Everybody looked at Pepa.
" I'm sorry, it's just this is so sweet," Pepa cried.
Mirabel chuckled. " I needed a bath anyway, Tia."
Pepa breathed in and out. Eventually, the clouds went away. Mirabel excused herself, so she could go get changed.
Casita waved at her. Mirabel smiled and waved back. She knew Casita would be on her side no matter what. Casita helped her look for an outfit to wear. Mirabel thanked her, making it clap the cabinet doors together. There was a knock on the door.
" Come in," Mirabel commanded.
Antonio and Camilo came into the room. Mirabel turned to face them. Their smiles made her frown.
" What are you guys doing?" she questioned.
" Well, today's your birthday," Camilo started.
" And we've been waiting forever to give this to you," Antonio continued.
" And we can't wait any longer, so we're giving it to you now!" The two brother's finished.
Mirabel put her hand on her hip. She smirked, quirking an eyebrow. Antonio and Camilo shared a look.
" What if I told you I don't want it?" Mirabel asked.
" Aw, please, prima," Camilo pleaded.
" Yeah, you won't regret it," Antonio added.
Mirabel put her index finger and thumb over her chin. She tapped her toes onto the ground. Antonio and Camilo let out a playful whine. Mirabel growled playfully. Antonio and Camilo didn't seem to notice that it sounded like the growling sounds Mirabel made when she had an emotional breakdown.
" Oh, alright," Mirabel agreed.
" Yes," Camilo and Antonio cheered.
Mirabel chuckled. Antonio got out a gift box tied in a blue bow. Mirabel let him place it in her hands. She sensed their excitement. They were bouncing up and down. That made Mirabel curious about what was inside. She gently tore it open, as if she didn't want to ruin the box. She gasped when she saw what her gift was.
" We made it just for you," Antonio told her.
" Yeah, with our own two hands," Camilo went into further detail.
Mirabel smiled sweetly at them. She couldn't believe they had made it for her. It wasn't perfect, it had stitches sticking out of it. But they made it for her. A blue and purple ruana with a yellow and red bird on it.
" You probably can't wear it unless you want to get poked by a bunch of stitches," Camilo said.
He and Antonio looked embarrassed. The sweet look on Mirabel's face never disappeared. She took out a bunch of sewing objects. She sewed the stitches together, so they weren't sticking out. She showed it to her primos.
" Now I can wear it," she stated.
She put it on. It matched her outfit perfectly. She hugged her primos.
" It's perfect, thank you guys," she remarked.
" Thanks, it was Camilo's idea," Antonio told her.
" But, you're the one who made the most of it," Camilo replied.
" Oh, it doesn't matter, guys, even if it couldn't have been worn, I still would've kept it," Mirabel assured them.
Camilo and Antonio stood up straight. They looked really proud of themselves. Another knock was heard.
" Yes?" Mirabel asked.
Dolores came into the room. She studied the ruana. She gave an approving nod.
" Looks good on you," she mumbled.
" Thank you," Mirabel replied.
Dolores nodded. She took out a wrapped up gift. Dolores gestured for Mira to open it. Mirabel did, surprised at what was in there.
" I made it myself, which is why it is sloppy. It's a necklace, only I broke it in half. One side says primas, the other says forever," Dolores explained.
Mirabel took the half that said primas. Dolores put on the other. When they connected the two pieces it read: Primas forever. Mirabel hugged Dolores, who gladly returned.
" Thank you, it's beautiful."
" I spent weeks working on it. I thought about getting a jewelry maker to make it, but then I decided that making it on my own would make it more special," Dolores told Mira. " Happy birthday, 'cuz."
" Yeah, and come on," Camilo commanded.
He grabbed Mirabel's arm and pulled her away. Dolores smiled and followed him. Antonio put a gift card on Mirabel's dresser. Mirabel's family were waiting for her in the family room. They all were smiling at her.
" Uh, I'm confused," Mirabel said. " What's going on?"
" Today's your birthday, sweetie, we have to give you our gift we made for you," Julieta answered.
" Aw, you guys are making me feel greedy. You're spoiling me," Mirabel whined.
" It's your birthday, silly, you're supposed to be spoiled," Isabella replied.
" Yeah, consider it us making it up to you for all the gifts we didn't give you on your other birthdays," Luisa added.
" Was I supposed to?" Mirabel asked.
She was lost. Maybe Isabella was right. Maybe she isn't used to all the attention and love. Isabella gave her a bouquet of roses. They smelled so good. Mirabel loved the smell of flowers. She remembered when she was a little girl, Isabella would always grow her flowers, so her room would smell sweet and refreshing. The smell of flowers, expeccially roses, would help calm her down.
Luisa made a bracelet out of beads. She put a charm on it that said: Stay strong. Luisa began flexing her arms, showing off her big muscles. The family laughed as Luisa pulled Mira into a tight hug.
" I missed squishing you all the time, it always made me feel better," she cried.
" Me too, sis," Mirabel managed to choke out.
Luisa put her down. Pepa and Isabella joined together. They made a pretty much indestructible umbrella that would protect Mirabel from Pepa's weather powers.
Felix and Augustin worked together to make a statue of Mirabel. It was the same height, weight, and length as Mirabel. It was creepy. Mirabel thanked them before trying to walk away. Julieta grabbed her by the arm.
" Hold on, Missy, I have to give you the gift I made for you," she said.
" Oh, of course," Mirabel replied.
Julieta brought out a whole blackberry cake. That was Mirabel's favorite dessert. Julieta looked really happy to give this to her.
" The best part is, it's all yours, nobody else's," she whispered.
" Thanks, mama," Mirabel remarked.
After hugging Julietta, it was time for a family hug. Casita took a picture of the family. Mirabel looked around the room. Julieta immediately knew who she was looking for.
" Apparently, Mami had something more important to do than celebrate your birthday," Julieta explained in a cold voice.
Mirabel felt dizzy. The room began spinning. A loud and cold growl escaped her lips. The room began shaking.
" What's happening?" Isabella inquired.
" I don't know!" Julieta shouted over the loud noise.
Mirabel's eyes turned ice cold. Her teeth turned to fangs. Her hair floated in the air.
" ROOOOOOOOOOAR!"
A blackish- gray blast came out of her mouth. It hit the wall, destroying it and everything on it. The family looked in shock. Mirabel groaned before fainting. Luisa caught her before her head banged onto the ground. Everybody gathered around. Alma came into the room.
" What the heck just happened?" she questioned.
" I think I have an answer to that."
Everybody turned around. They gasped at the person they saw. It wasn't just any random man, but it was…
" Bruno!"
To be continued.