Here is chapter three. Two short versions of Disney songs will appear and credit goes to Phil Collins. Enjoy the chapter everyone

Life in the Encanto

Life was just perfect for Mirabel and Juano. The same could not be said for those they left behind. In the town of Encanto, nearly a week's walk away, there was no happiness or joy. Just boredom and loneliness. Even the Casita held no happiness. It had no magic, nor miracle though being born from one, no gladness.

The Madrigal family were unhappy. Antonio sat in his room cradling the jaguar toy Mirabel had given him. He hugged it every night, praying that Mirabel would one day return. But his wish never came true. Isabela and Luisa sat alone in the kitchen, looking at the photos of when they were kids and they were so close to Mirabel before she turned five. They came to a picture of the three of them when Mirabel was just born. They held her with love and care. The memory made them cry.

Why couldn't we have been better sisters? Luisa asked herself.

I should have been there for her. Isabela lamented.

Camilo sat alone on the staircase holding a photo of himself and Isandra. He yearned for the golden days when they were young and so close together. He missed her so much not to realise she still wore the same pendant he gave to her.

Felix and his wife Pepa walked in the silent markets. Usually, the atmosphere was upbeat and moving but everything was glum and slow. All its ecstasy had vanished the day the miracle died. Their faces matched its vague spirits.

Dolores walked into another part of town. She tried to say hello to the locals but they ignored her. She was invisible. She tried to talk to Mariano, and confess her long-hidden feelings for them but he shunned her believing she had blurted out Mirabel's secret on purpose on that proposal night so the dinner would be ruined and Isabela wouldn't have to marry him. He accused her of trying to ruin his happiness and never wanted to speak to her at all. This made Dolores feel so guilty. She tried to visit the heartbroken Lopez who had never been the same again since the departure of Isandra and Gabriella. Once again she pushed away. She had begun to believe that her former ability to hear everything had been nothing but a curse. If she hadn't been so tattle-tailed perhaps things would have turned out differently for all of them. Mirabel and Juano's secret wouldn't have been exposed. They might have saved the miracle had everyone not been so against them.

Julieta and Agustin genuflected in front of a monument to their beloved Mirabel. Around her photo were all the things she had when she was a kid. Her ceremonial dress. Her bow. Her little toys. Though they knew out there she was alive and hopefully safe, the pain of not having her with them in their arms was so unbearable. They also had one for Bruno and Julieta had done a little drawing of him with Gabriella and Pedro. She wanted to remember her brother. She regrated deeply on how she never stood up to their mother and wasn't strong enough to stand up to the Lopez family so he could have a life with the woman he loved.

Alma, eighty-one years now wielding a cane waddled heartbrokenly around the garden. All the thrill she once beheld had long gone and she was now a distant old woman, ostracized by the community. And even much of her own family. She sat on a bench, the grey clouds brewing over her. There had been not much sunlight since that grave day her son and granddaughter left six years ago. She had never been the same at all. All she could feel was a loss, grief and tremendous guilt. All she could think about was all the pain she had caused her loved ones, especially her son and youngest granddaughter who she saw only the worst, who she had driven away. All those awful things she had done to them, came back to her, haunting her, punishing her for her mistreatment.

Everywhere I turn, I hurt someone
But there's nothing I can say to change
The things I've done
Of all the things I hid from you
I cannot hide the shame
And I pray someone, something will come
To take away the pain

There's no way out of this dark place
No hope, no future

Every day she had prayed to her late husband Pedro to make the pain go away, to undo all the damage she had done to their family. But she received nothing. It was as if Pedro wanted nothing to do with her after all the damage she had done.

I know I can't be free
But I can't see another way
I can't face another day

Tell me where, did I go wrong
Everyone I loved, they're all gone
I'd do everything so differently
But I can't turn back the time
There's no shelter from the storm
Inside of me

There's no way out of this dark place
No hope, no future

Alma knew she could never be free from the sins of her past. She wished she could turn back everything she had done. But to her, there was no refuge from the guilt that was plaguing her life and how long she would have left. There would be no happiness for her ever again. Not as long as she always remembered how she had torn everything that should have been perfect apart. As she finished singing, the rain poured down and she was drenched under the sky which reflected her grief.

Agustin and Julieta never left their memorial for Mirabel much every day. Each morning, afternoon and evening they would pray to Pedro that she and Bruno were safe. They prayed how they wished life had been much better for a Mirabel. "A girl who didn't deserve to be shunned just because she had no gift when she was special just the way she was," Julieta would cry.

"Our dear girl…" Agustin lamented. "Please come back to us. The family needs you now more than ever. We need you now," he glanced closely at Mirabel's smile in her photo, trying to remember her ecstatic expression whenever she was trying to bring joy to the family. But it was not real at all. All he could envisage was the sad neglected face of his youngest daughter. "Why didn't we try harder? Why didn't I do something?" Agustin felt he had failed as a father.

He stayed where he was for a moment longer with his wife. He stood up and left her alone for a while. He sulked in a private corner. His tears stained his glasses and he took them off to wipe them. When he put them back on, in front of him was a little girl. About five years old with glasses and short curly hair. She was crying. It was Mirabel, upset that her ceremony had failed and her grandmother hadn't given her a hug of comfort. Agustin's heart sank seeing her in this state. He bent down in front of the girl who was his child.

Come stop your crying
It will be alright

He held out his hand.

Just take my hand
Hold it tight

Five-year-old Mirabel placed her gentle hand in his.

I will protect you
From all around you

Agustin lifted her into his arms.

I will be here
Don't you cry

He began to carry her around the house to the hall. The room became dark but light stretched through the open windows smiling on the father and daughter.

For one so small
You seem so strong
My arms will hold you
Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us

Unlike Abeula he didn't care if she got a gift. All he cared about was that she was his little girl.

Can't be broken
I will be here don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart

He twirled her around and she laughed out for joy, holding her tightly.

From this day on
Now and forever more

You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart
Always
Always

Agustin felt the apparition of Mirabel disappear in his arms and he was alone again. No daughter to comfort and hold. But a daughter who would always remain in his heart for always. He loved her so much and that love would never die no matter how far apart they were. He made his way back to his grieving wife. "Come Julieta. Let's have some tea," The weak-spirited Julieta allowed him to guide her timidly to the kitchen. He managed to make some tea and bring it to her. She sipped it slowly.

Footsteps were heard but she didn't raise her head. Agustin did and he saw Isabela and Luisa enter inside with sad expressions. "How she's doing?" Isabela asked.

Agustin shook his head. "Doesn't feel like doing anything. And neither do I,"

"We'll cook dinner again," said Isabela. She and Luisa took a long time to cook. With Julieta in constant grief for losing their younger sister, it was up to them to run the household. Abeula was too old and they deemed her responsible for all the suffering they had been through since they lost their miracle and Mirabel and Bruno. Though it didn't stop them from feeling just as responsible for driving Mirabel away.

Dinner would have been quite enjoyable tonight if Julieta had the spirit to cook. But tonight, was just vegetable soup with bread. Nobody talked. Nobody had anything to say. The Encanto had lost its uniqueness and magic and with it all the capacity to feel happiness. All but Alma sat emotionlessly in the dining room, sipping their soup very slowly.

"I'm gonna go to bed," Antonio left with his jaguar toys. His parents didn't bother to stop him.

They heard footsteps and turned to see Alma enter. They didn't frown at her but they didn't express compassion either. She didn't blame them at all. "Is everyone doing all right?"

"You know it's not good at all Mama," said Julieta bitterly. "It's never been. Six years it has been,"

"I know. And I hate what's happened to our family since then. I know that if Mirabel and Bruno…"

"Don't you dare speak their names," Agustin snapped gently. "You don't get to speak to them at all. Three years after they left, you thought perhaps we should move on with our life. You wanted to because you just couldn't face up to your mistakes,"

"I know what I did was wrong. But I thought they'd want us to move on,"

"No. What they want is for all of us to be sorry for what we did to them," Isabela simplified despondently. "Mirabel's letter especially said you had to think of our feelings first Abuela,"

"Do you not care about how Mirabel and Bruno and Isandra leaving has affected us all?" Camilo demanded an answer.

"Do you think I miss them any less than you guys?" Alma asked.

"I should think you miss them more….since it was you who drove them away because you only saw the worst in them," Julieta cried. She stood up from her chair, gaining dominance. "I'm gonna say what I said before that night. This is your doing Mama. It's because of you that we neglected what should have been important. Mirabel wasn't given a gift because she was meant to bring our family together by making us realise that it was never the magic that was the miracle. It was all of us. But like Bruno said you chose a stupid candle over us. And for that we have been punished to live on this unending misery," she turned and left the dining room. Her husband followed.

The rest of the family left the dining room, leaving Abuela alone again. She sat alone at the table not taking a sip of her soup. She pulled out her pocket locket and opened it to reveal her Pedro. "Please Pedro," she beseeched tearfully. "Please, please send me an answer to my prayers. Tell me how I can make up for everything I did," She waited patiently again but as she expected nothing happened. There was no just no answer, no solution to atone for her sins with no magic.

She cried for many hours. As she wept, the candles slowly wet out by themselves and it became dark. She was already in darkness as her eyes were shut tight. But a low audible voice awoke her.

"Alma. Alma.."

Alma felt a swish of light air fly into her bun of white hair with very few grey strands. Her face rose from her palms and she saw Pedro, young and handsome as he was the day he died floating above the table before her. She was breathless. "Pedro…"

"You have neglected the true meaning of family. I saved you and our children so you could all live. Not so you could take that miracle for granted and care more about the magic than the family. I gave my life out of love," Pedro was not angered. He was hurt and downheartedly disappointed.

"I know you did. And I know I've made so many mistakes with my family. I never realised how much I was hurting them before it was too late,"

'Why did you push Mirabel away? Our son away?"

Abeula struggled to answer. She could hear her eldest daughter's words echoing in her head again and Mirabel's too. "Because I saw only the worst in them. I treated our son like he was a man who brings bad luck. And I shunned them because she didn't have a gift,"

"Why was she not good enough for you?"

"Because….because…"

"Like Bruno said you put the magic first before the family. Like Julieta said it was never a miracle that brought us together. It was the fact that we were family. Mirabel wasn't given a gift because she was meant to remind you and everyone in our family that the miracle is not magic but the person you are. She was blessed to have no gift because she is the true gift,"

Her words tore Alma apart. Mirabel's failed gift ceremony wasn't a coincidence. It was meant to happen. It was a test to test her resolve for accepting and loving the family for exactly who they were. And she had failed it. "Please, Pedro. Tell me what to do. I've wanted to make things right for years. But how can I when I don't even know where they are?"

Though Pedro remained heartbroken by how their family had been torn apart by her perfectionist attitude, something held him back from expressing anger. He knew the reasons why but he would not express them. He wanted his family to be whole once again and reuniting them with his youngest granddaughter and son was the only way. "Very soon a disaster will come to this place. It means you will all have to leave and when you do you will be led on the path to find Mirabel, Bruno, and their loved ones,"

Alma felt the smallest spark of hope blooming in her heart. This is my chance and I can't blow it.

"When you find them, put an end to this sad story. Make amends with them and tell them how wrong you were,"

Alma cried. "I will,"

"But know this. It will not just be up to you. It will be up to Mirabel as well. Whether she can forgive you or not,"

Alma's hope vanquished. "But what if she doesn't? What if she pushes me away forever?"

Pedro remorsefully shook her head. "That I cannot answer. Whatever happens, will come and only you can decide what to do," a moment of silence passed between them. "Not a day goes by that I have not thought of you Alma. Or our children. Or our family,"

"Nor I you," Alma lamented.

Pedro took one last despondent glance at her then in a gentle poof of golden glitter, he was gone. The candles lit up and Alma was alone again.

That's chapter three done. What did you all think of the Madrigal family? Sorry if some of you who are fans of particular characters didn't enjoy how they were depicted but that's just how it's been for them since Mirabel left with Bruno, Juano and everyone else. I would love to see your opinions. I hope you are all enjoying this still. Once again, credit for the songs from Brother Bear and Tarzan goes to Phil Collins. Bye! See you all soon