Most people probably wouldn't have noticed the door today with it being so busy preparing for Antonio's ceremony.
Mirabel probably wouldn't have noticed it either if Abuela had been letting her help. But she wasn't, so she did notice the door tucked in a corner near Bruno's room. A door that never existed before.
She paused and instead of heading to the nursery she walked over to the door and looked at it in shock. It looked like any other Madrigal family member's door and that was the problem.
It lite up with a carving of a girl facing to the left holding up an hourglass in her left hand and above the carving was the name Casandra.
Mirabel looked at the door in shock. Where did this come from? Why? How? Who is this Casandra person? Why did...why did she have a door?
"Casita, where did this come from?" Mirabel asked looking at the floor to see it ripple in confusion, "No idea either huh. I should get someone. Mom or Abuela."
She turned to race to get one of them but paused as she noticed the door was slightly ajar.
Mirabel had never really entered her family's rooms, except her parents as a child. But this was different. This was a stranger's room, she grabbed the handle and gently pushed it open and slipped in.
Her jar dropped a little as she scanned the deep blue walls that seemed to go one forever with stars in them. There was a large bed to the side along with a desk, several bookshelves, dresser, and wardrobe all rather ancient looking.
But along the empty looking void walls there were clocks. Not one or two but hundreds and all different times and styles. Hourglass, sundials, grandfather style, and some that Mirabel had never seen before. All seemingly stopped on a different time and date.
But what confused Mirabel though as she looked around was another door on the other side of the room. One identical to the one behind her. What? No room in Castia had 2 doors.
The 15 year old was officially creeped out and turned to leave and couldn't help but notice a picture by the door. Mirabel picked it up and looked in shock at it.
It was a family photo, her family. The only one missing was her as she studied it looked recent. Actually Antonio was in his ceremonial clothes and was surrounded by animals and they looked like they were in a jungle, she flipped the picture to check the date, her familiar always wrote the dates on the back.
She almost dropped it in shock, "What?!"
It was today's date and it read Antonio's Gift Ceremony.
"That doesn't make sense!" Mirabel cried and turned to leave and show the family this but was stopped as the door swung open and she was hit against the wall.
The opener of the door must not have seen or noticed Mirabel cause she didn't stop at all and continued trucking across to the door on the other side of the room. Mirabel rubbed her face where she had been hurt and looked at the person.
It was a girl probably about her height and build. She only saw her back and rushingly walked across the room, but noted the straight black hair that was in a low ponytail. The person was dressed brown pants, brown shoes, and a green vest with a hood that she noticed had an hourglass on the back. She was also holding a place she recognized from the kitchen earlier that had her mom's arepas.
Wait, was she stealing the food?
Before she could really think about it, the girl had opened the other door and was out it without looking back at all and leaving this door open as well in her rush.
Mirabel turned to leave and entered back in the house to get Abuela but paused as she turned back to looked at the door on the other side of the room and looked to see almost identically railing to Castia's.
"What the?"
She knew she should turn back, should get Abuela or her mother or someone. But she found herself instead walking to the other side of the room and tentatively looking out the other door to see….Castia?!
She stepped out and blinked. It was also almost a mirror image of the other door, people were running around setting up for a party.
She looked to the right and blinked as she saw the door next to her was a door she had never seen either, it had a picture of a boy running across it with a smile in his face with the name Jaime on top.
First Casandra now, Jaime?! Who were these people? She glanced around seeing more she didn't recognize.
Edgar, Reyes, Victor, Juan, Ivan, Ana, Diana…. The names just keep going on and on. She stopped finally seeing one she recognized.
Antonio.
But it was an older Antonio surrounded by animals.
Wait, was she…
"Cas?"
Mirabel turned around to see a girl around her age in a white and red dress with little yellow stars and moons. She looked kinda like Dolores and she was carrying an white outfit in her hands with two chairs.
Huh?
"Cas? You good?" The girl replied as she let go of the chairs but instead of them falling they just float in place.
Mirabel blinked in surprise, "Wha…."
"Hello?" the girl waved at her face, "Casandra, you good? What's with your outfit? Very old fashion."
"Um, I'm good," Mirabel lied as she inched back to the door but was stopped by little hands grabbing her skirt. She looked down and saw a smiling boy in an outfit very similar to Antonio's but the boy was a bright blonde hair boy.
"Cas! Diana! Look at my outfit!" The boy smiled as he did a little twirl.
Aw, he was so cute, Mirabel thought as the other girl, Diana?, knelt down to straighten his vest.
"Primo, you look adorable," She smiled as looked at Mirabel, "Mateo does look good. Your Abuela did a great job."
Mirabel was getting so lost in this conversion as Mateo's smile dropped a little, "Do you think Tia Mirabel is well enough to do the ceremony? I know Tia Sofia would do a good job. But she's not Tia Mirabel."
Tia Mirabel? Mirabel pieced it together. Very quickly as she glanced at the door behind her and stared at the hourglass on Casandra's door. She was in the future? Oh goodness she was in the future!
She took a deep breath as she noticed Mateo was still looking up at her hopefully, "You know what. Let me go check on her."
Mirabel quickly walked away from Diana and Mateo.
Okay, Mira, she thought. You're in the future. You're in the future and it's Mateo's ceremony. They're calling you Cas so you must look like Casandra's whose room you were in and if she looks like me she must be my daughter? Maybe?!
Mirabel groaned and ran into a wall of a person.
"Wow, careful, sorbina," a gruff voice told her.
Mirabel gasped as she saw Luisa. But a much older Luisa. Like older than Abuela. Mira watched her put a chair down.
"Huh, why are you dressed up like your Abuela?" Luisa asked as she took a moment to yell over to some teenagers goofing around with streams, "Gaspar! Jaime! If you aren't going to help please go outside!"
Abuela?! Mirabel is this Cas girls Abuela?! She's that far in the future?!
"Casandra? You okay?" the older Luisa asked as she looked at her.
Mirabel nodded awkwardly as she didn't want to cause a scene. Especially on this Mateo kids ceremony day.
"Okay, why do you go check on your Abuela then?" Luisa smiled at her as she gently moved a table over, "I think she was trying to calm Sofia down about performing the ceremony tonight. She's been stressing out. There in the kitchen."
Just saying that Casita decided to move Mirabel without warning to the kitchen.
"Casita! Casita stop!" Mirabel furiously whispered to the house, she was stressed out. So so stressed. She honestly just needed to wait till it was clear and try to go back to that room. Cassandra's room and try to get back to her time.
But then she heard a voice.
"I haven't tasted one of my mother's arepas in so long. It still tastes amazing,``an aged voice laughed, a smile evident her voice.
"Abuela, are you feeling better though?" a young voice asked, a voice rather close to sounding like Mirabel's.
"Casandra, your Abuela Julieta's food always worked. My hip is all better."
Curious, Mirabel glanced from around the corner Casita had left her at and peered in and blinked. She recognized the girl earlier by her clothes. It was the girl from the room which now seeing her face, she did look like Mirabel. Like almost a mirror if not for their hair being different.
"Holy crap," Mirabel whispered to herself as she realized that was Casandra, who from what she gathered was her granddaughter. Which meant the person she just called Abuela was….
Mirabel studied the woman in awe. She was in an aqua colored dress, with a golden butterflies sown into the trim, her curly white hair was tied in a bun, she had a black shawl she recognized that had belong to Alma Madrigal, and she still wore round green glasses.
Mirabel Madrigal. But clearly in her 70's.
"Good," Casandra smiled at her grandmother, "You can do this ceremony. Mateo will be so happy."
"Cas," Mirabel, well Abuela Mirabel, started giving her a look, "Sofia could have done the ceremony. Honestly, she still should."
"No! You have to! I need you….I mean Mateo needs you to," Cas corrected hurriedly, not meeting her grandmother's eyes.
Huh? Mirabel stared at the scene in confusion.
"Casandra," Abuela Mirabel started softly, "I think I understand. You're scared of what it means if I'm no longer the gift giver, the candleholder, the matriarch of the Madrigals."
"Even if you don't give the gift tonight you're still the matriarch," Casandra argued, desperation in her voice, "Like no one is taking that from you."
"Cas, if Sofia does the ceremony it means I'm getting older," Abuela Mirabel said giving the girl a soft look, "it reminds you I won't be around forever. It reminds you that you may lose me."
"Abuela, I've dealt with people dying before," Cas stood up as if to leave the room.
"Casandra Isabela, sit back down," the old woman warned.
That threw young Mirabel for a loop more than anything. The knowledge that her granddaughter was named after Isabela? Isabela?! Really?!
Cas sat back down as Abuela Mirabel sighed.
"Losing me is different. You lost your parents and even if the rest of the family helped, I still more or less became your third parent and raised you," Abuela Mirabel explained with the softest look in her eye, "And you're worried about losing another parent. That is very evident. You traveled back in time just for the arepas. You haven't traveled in time since…."
Abuela Mirabel trailed off deeply distressed, Cas faced mirrored the look Abuela Mirabel had.
"I won't be here forever, Cas," the grandmother explained as she leaned forward and placed a hand to Casandra's face, "I don't want you holding on."
Cas looked devastated at that but she nodded anyway.
"Ay, there is my amazing brave granddaughter," Abuela Mirabel smiled as she put her other hand to Cas' face, "Who I love so much!"Abuela Mirabel started embarrassingly kissing Casandra's face.
"Abuela!" Cas giggled and rolled her eyes.
"With her big smart brain!"
"Stop…"
"And her cool glasses!"
"Abuela, I get it!" Cas giggled as she smiled and hugged her grandmother, "I love you."
"I love you too, Cassie," Abuela Mirabel replied and looked forward and her eyes went wide.
Mirabel wondered why till she noticed that her olderself was looking directly at her.
"Casita!"
Before Mirabel knew it was had been shuffled into the room and was tripped into a chair next to Cas.
Cas looked confused as she stared at the girl before her face morphed into shock, "But….But…I….How did you get here?! Are you….."
Mirabel looked guilty as turned to look at the older woman, "Hola…"
"Hola, little me." Abuela Mirabel studied her, "You look like you mean at about…14?"
"15."
"Hmmm," Abuela Mirabel looked very amused, "You saw Casandra's door and got nosey."
"I wouldn't say nosey….She left the door open…." Mirabel argued as she pointed at Cas.
Cas looked offended at Mirabel, "Did you just throw me under the bus? My own grandmother threw me under the bus?"
"What's a bus?"
"Cas!" A little voice called. Mateo?
"Go check on him," Abuela Mirabel told Cas.
"But…" Cas looked at Mirabel.
"I got it," Abuela Mirabel told her.
Cas got up and left the kitchen leaving Mirabel and her older self.
This was awkward as she watched Adult Mirabel study her.
She opened her mouth to speak when a man in his forties ducked into the kitchen laughing, his smile immediately clicked in her head who he was related to. A woman followed him, same age it appeared, lights floating around her.
"Ernesto! Estela!" Abuela Mirabel scolded the adults, "Not on Mateo's day please!"
Ernesto laughed and ran out the room as Estela ran away from him, "I'm going to blind you!"
"You're going to have to catch me!"
"Why did Camilo have to have twins?" Abuela Mirabel groaned, rubbing her temples.
"Camilo's kids?" Mirabel stared after them in amazement.
Abuela Mirabel nodded, "Anyway…."
Suddenly a man appeared looking very stressed out as he wandered into the kitchen, "My baby's day needs to be good! What if he doesn't get a gift?! He's adopted, Reyes! We don't know! No Madrigal has ever been adopted! What will we do?! He won't understand! His sister and brother have a gift!"
A red headed man followed the other into the room, "Mi Vida, please! Calm down. Casita made him a door, he's going to get a gift and a room. David, deep breath! Even if something happens, we will love him regardless and build him a room!"
Mirabel gulped and felt a pit in her stomach at that. They were so supportive….her parents never offered to make her a room and everyone talked about loving her but their actions spoke differently than their words.
The worried man David turned to the counter and saw arepas and started eating them, "I'm a terrible father! I'm suppose to be strong for our boy! But no Mateo is asking for Cas and Jaime! Does he look up to them more?!"
"Stop stress eating!" Reyes told the man as he tried to pull the food away.
Mirabel glanced very confused as the very done looking face of Abuela Mirabel.
"Let's go to my room to talk," Abuela Mirabel finally said as she stood up to leave.
"My what?!" Mirabel cried in shock.
Before Mirabel knew it she was in her room. Her room.
Tears were in her eyes as she cried looking at the door.
Her door.
It was an image of her older self with a candle. The Candle.
It was like her Abuela's door but it was hers. Hers.
"I understand it's a lot to take in, dear," Abuela Mirabel said as she sat next to her on the couch in the room.
The room was not as fantastical as her families'. It was a simple room with a fireplace and family pictures all around. But that was okay. Cause it was her room.
"Am I….I…..The candle…." Mirabel tried to asked but was so confused.
"We decided on the term Candleholder," Abuela Mirabel explained as Casita moved the desk holding the candle towards them, "If the current one isn't willing to let go….well Casita can't force the door to appear. I knew I needed to let go. To not be like Abuela in that regard. So the candleholder after me, Dolores' daughter Sofia, always has known she will lead the family and Encanto one day."
Mirabel stared at the candle as it was placed in her hands. It was warm, welcoming, and felt right in her hands, "I was never broken. I was never giftless?"
"No, we never were. The family will learn that soon I suppose for you," the old woman smiled at her, "But it didn't matter. We should never have been treated like that. But we can not change the past but you can look forward to the future. As you saw we live happily and have a very lovely granddaughter for example who needs to learn to close doors."
"Rude."
The Mirabel looked up to see Casandra walking into the room with little Mateo in her hands.
"Tia, why are there two Cassies?!" Mateo asked in amazement.
"Long story, Sobrino," Abuela Mirabel laughed at the matching annoyed looks on Mira and Cas' faces as they looked at each other in disbelief as they did look a lot like each other. Probably as much as Isabela resembled Alma, "Now Cas is going to take our friend back home so we can focus on your ceremony."
With that Mirabel suddenly remembered, "Antonio's ceremony! I have to get back!"
Abuela Mirabel gave Casandra a look, "From Anotnio's ceremony? That was a very delicate time. Casandra, I think-"
Before the grandmother could finish she was handed Mateo as Cas pulled Mira to her feet, "We'll talk later love you bye!"
Mirabel was pushed out of the room and down the hall. Mirabel felt embarrassed as several young women paused to stare at the pair.
"You're in trouble I see," a young man, Maximiano, maybe because he was exiting a room labeled that.
"Shush," Cas muttered as they reached her room and she pushed Mirabel in with little ceremony.
"Hey, little less pushy with your grandmother," Mirabel complained.
Cas studied the girl, "You're not my grandmother yet."
"Hey, respect your elders at least," Mirabel muttered as they walked across the room to the other door.
"I'm older than you at this point in time," Cas smirked a little as she saw Mirabel pout.
They got to the door and Mirabel looked through the door at her Casita, "Time kept moving?"
"To end a connection I have to shut the door all the way," Cas explained with a shrug, " I think. I don't time travel often. Not since…anyway, you better go before it's time for Antonio's ceremony. They tell the story a lot. It's kinda the beginning of well….the you saw today."
Today? Really? Mirabel thought surprised.
"Also please stop doing possible dangerous things like wondering into the future," Cas scolded earning her a done look from Mira.
Mirabel stepped out into her time and looked one last time at Cas standing in her doorway, "See you later I guess?"
"December 7, 1996."
The 15 year old paused and looked at Casandra, "What?"
"You'll see me again on December 7, 1996," Cas smiled at the girl fondly, "That's when I'm born. After all, What grandma misses their granddaughter's birth."
Mirabel's chest panged a little at that with longing as the two girls shared one more look as Cas' shut the door and Mirabel watched the door fade away.
Mirabel was left looking at the blank wall for a minute till she heard her mother call her name.
Julieta looked at Mirabel concerned, "corazon you okay?"
"Yeah," Mirabel smiled at her mother brightly.
And she meant it cause for once, she wasn't worried about the future.
Now 15 year old Mirabel continued in her time fulfilling her story that led to the future she was.
But the 76 year old Mirabel proceeded to do her last gift ceremony, next year she said Sofia was definitely doing it.
So, she let Mateo touch the candle with a soft smile as his overly worried fathers, Reyes and David, watched with Mateo's older sister and brother, Cas and Jaime.
Then everyone gasped as one again they watched a Madrigal touched their doorknob and the gasp grew louder as for the fourth time the image of a Madrigal holding the candle appeared on a door.
Author's Note
If you guys want to see more of Casandra and the other future Madrigals please check out my other Encanto works. Hope you enjoyed it.
Please review and thanks for reading.
