Longer chapter today. This is my most loved fic so far so thank you so much! I really want to finish this (I've been known to abandon fics sometimes). I can see how I want the story to go, I just need to figure out that final ending. I hope you enjoy!
Mirabel was up bright and early the next day, despite the lack of sleep. Abuelo Oscar barely said good morning before she was out the door and off into town.
Despite the small town, too much happened for one person to keep straight. That is, except for one person.
"Dolores!" Mirabel called, seeing the girl walking down a cobblestone path. "Wait up!"
Mirabel ran up to her, breathing hard as she skidded to a stop, willing herself not to fall. Her former cousin looked at her, eyes wide, not betraying any emotion.
"Hey, um, I need your help. And that's what you do, right? Help?"
Dolores squeaked slightly. "What do you need help with?"
"Did you…?" This was going to sound crazy. "Did you notice anything last night? Hear anything, maybe?"
"I hear everything."
"Right, right, right. I mean anything unusual?"
Dolores's eyes widened…
"Did something bad happen?"
Both Mirabel and Dolores looked down. Clasping Dolores's hand was a young boy dressed in warm colors, looking innocently up at them.
Mirabel's breath left her as she realized who she was looking at.
"Antonio, why don't you go find Mami? She can show you around the Encanto," Dolores suggested, nudging the boy with her leg. But he stayed firmly planted, staring.
"Are you Mirabel?" he asked.
"Um, yeah."
"You don't have a gift." He didn't say it like it was a bad thing, just simply a fact, like the blue sky or green grass. "I was scared…scared I wasn't going to get one."
"Well you did," Dolores reminded him. "Now go find Mami."
Antonio finally broke off and ran down the street, disappearing into the crowds. But his big eyes and questions still left Mirabel rattled.
"So what unusual thing are you asking about?" Dolores asked, turning back to Mirabel.
"Um, anything really. Something about the baker or maybe the crops…or Casita."
Dolroes's eyes widened even further, if that was even possible. Her lips shrunk and her eyebrows twitched.
She knew something, that was obvious.
"No. Nothing unusual," she lied. "Bye."
Then Dolores turned and walked off.
"Wait!" Mirabel called, lunging after her. But Dolores was fast and was soon lost in the twisting allies of the town square.
Frustrated, Mirabel grumbled something her Abuelo would've yelled at her for and kicked a wall. She hopped back instantly, grabbing her throbbing foot. She hit a loose stone, and started to fall…
When she was caught suddenly by a bare of strong arms.
"There you go," Luisa said as she righted Mirabel, making sure she was grounded on her own two feet. "Careful where you hop, sis, lots of loose tiles."
"Thanks…" Mirabel watched Luisa closely as she picked up a donkey she had been holding before she'd caught her. Something was off. "You…doing okay?"
"Yeah, just a lot of chores. You know how it is."
Mirabel didn't but chose not to remind her of that. "You sure. Cause your eye is…twitching."
Luisa spun abruptly to face her, her smile noticeably gone. "What? No it's not."
But her eye twitched even as she said that.
"Your eye just…"
"It's fine. Really. Now, if you'll excuse me, donkeys won't get themselves back in their pen."
But Mirabel followed, jogging to keep up with Luisa's big steps. "Did something happen? Maybe last night?"
"No."
"Is something wrong with Casita?"
"No."
"Because I was there last night and-"
Luisa spun abruptly, half a dozen donkeys balanced on her shoulders, eyes wide. "YOU WERE WHERE?"
"Um." Mirabel fought the urge to jump back. Luisa was scary when upset. "I didn't go to the party or anything, I just talked to Julieta and…"
"Why?" Luisa demanded
"I was invited," Mirabel scoffed. "Just because I don't live at Casita doesn't mean I stop existing."
"You shouldn't have come." Her eye twitched even more.
"Why not?" She was close, she could feel it.
But Luisa suddenly clammed up. "You just shouldn't have."
Then she turned and left, going much too fast for Mirabel to follow. She sucked in her breath as her legs cramped from running after and she slumped against a low stone wall.
Eventually, after her heart stopped racing from chasing after Luisa, she headed back into town. Everyone seemed happy as music filled the square and children raced around, playing their games. Mirabel watched them with sad eyes. No child had ever asked her to play a game. They always thought something had been wrong with her since she hadn't gotten a gift.
She felt like she'd hit dead end after dead end. By moving out and Abuela telling her the others not to talk to her, Mirabel was perfectly iced out of her own family.
Not that she cared. She didn't.
Mirabel sat on the central fountain, watching the crowds. Her eyes fell on Isabela who was dancing with a group of people, flowers erupting on the ground everywhere she stepped. Every boy who was nearby melted at the sight and the girls trailed after her, putting her flowers in their hair and giggling.
For half a moment Mirabel imagined asking Isabela for help.
"Because you weren't special enough. You aren't blessed, Mirabel."
She almost laughed at the thought. Isabela had been no help before and she would certainly be no help.
The crowds swelled and shifted all morning as Mirabel watched. As the sun reached its peak, she caught a yellow figure darting through the crowd, laughter following him as he moved.
Camillo. Shifting into various people as he went, his smile beaming.
Mirabel finally moved from her seat, grinning. Maybe she'd finally find some answers.
Camillo crawled out from under the porch and handed the small girl her kitten. She gave him a gapped tooth smile and darted off.
"Camillo!"
He jumped, his face briefly turning into Mirabel's before he turned to look at her.
"Ay, Mirabel, you can't just sneak up on someone like that," he chastised, looking at his cousin. She was crouched next to him, leaning close, her eyes sort of frenzied. Camillo didn't like it. "What?"
"I need help."
Mirabel didn't know why she hadn't come to Camillo in the first place. Every year on her birthday she found a gift on her windowsill and every year on his Camillo found one in a small garden area near the cliffs he and Mirabel had liked to play by as children. No words had ever been exchanged but those gifts had said enough.
"Did you notice anything strange last night?" Mirabel asked as they settled onto the ground. It reminded her of their time in the nursery.
"Strange how? A lot of things happened last night."
"Promise you won't say anything?"
Camillo nodded, serious for the first time.
"Last night…I went to Casita. Julieta invited me. And when I got there…cracks started forming in the wall. The candle almost went out! I ran into the kitchen but when I came back…they were gone."
"Gone?"
"Gone. Do you…did you see anything? Or hear anything?"
Camillo pressed his lips together, looking at the ground. Emotions flicked across his face, too fast for Mirabel to evaluate, but he seemed to be at war with himself.
Finally, he looked up and met her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mirabel. But I can't tell you."
"What? But…but I saw the cracks and…and if you know something you have to-"
"Tell you?" Camillo interrupted. "Why? There's nothing you can do. This is…this is a family problem."
Mirabel felt her heart drop. "And I'm not part of the family."
Camillo blinked fast and sighed. "I'm sorry I can't help you. But you should really just forget about it."
Then, like all the others, he left.
Mirabel watched him walk away, hot tears streaming down her face. Yes, she wasn't a Madrigal. Yes, she didn't live at Casita. But she had thought her closest friend for all these years would have offered at least a little help.
She pulled herself off the ground and stumbled through town. She picked up things her Abuelo needed and used her last coin to buy dinner for herself. She slumped onto a bench, watching merchants clean up their stalls and families call each other home for dinner.
And Mirabel sat alone.
"Do you still need help?"
Mirabel jumped, almost dropping her empanada. She looked down, and there he was again.
"Antonio?"
The little boy was curled up under the bench, his head sticking out as he looked up at her.
"You look upset. And Abuela said we're supposed to help people."
"Oh yeah. And how can you do that?" Mirabel sighed. She didn't have it in her to be nice at the moment.
"Antonio!" a loud voice suddenly called. Felix was walking through the vastly empty square. He gave Mirabel a small nod before he wandered away. "Antonio, it's time for dinner with the Guzmans!"
Mirabel glanced down and saw Antonio had hidden again. Curious, she climbed off the bench and joined him below.
"Why are you hiding?"
"I like hiding. It makes me feel safe," Antonio said. "And I want to help you."
"Oh yeah? Why?"
He looked at her with those big brown eyes and Mirabel felt her icy attitude melt slightly. "Because we're supposed to help people. And…I think you need it more than other people."
"Oh. Well…thanks, I guess." Mirabel had to swallow past the lump in her throat. "So how can you help?"
A lemur suddenly slithered from underneath Antonio, onto his shoulder. "He heard the grown ups talking last night. About you."
"Me?"
"They said something about a vision. Bruno saw something and…"
Mirabel had never heard this before. "What did he see?"
"He didn't catch that. But he said that's the reason…you were sent away."
Everything froze. Mirabel crawled out from under the bench, wondering why people were still moving when the whole world had been shattered. She stumbled against the fountain, nearly falling, one word ricocheting through her brain.
Bruno.