"You can stay with us" Mariano spoke up, his mother by his side as they both stared back at the family in mourning.

"M-Mariano?" Dolores's eyes widened at the man.

"We've been watching for a while, and I believe that what Dolores said was right. We've relied too much on your family and it's time for us to repay you all" he said with a determined smile. Pepa and Julieta both looked at each other with unshed tears as the rest of the family could only mirror each other's grateful looks.

"Thank you so much Mariano," Julieta said to the man "nonsense, we may not live in a house as big as yours but hopefully we'll be able to rebuild Casita during your stay" he smiled sadly, knowing that the family was going through a lot.

The rest of the family gave their thanks, although not as lively as they'd like since they're all still saddened by the loss of Mirabel. Agustin pulled his daughter's corpse onto his back as he stood with a pained expression. The others only watched quietly.

As they followed the boy and his mother, Abuela stayed back, not moving a muscle as she stared at her broken family's backs. Dolores stopped and turned to her grandmother. Although she hated the woman for all that she has done, she couldn't help but hold a small amount of love for her. She knows that once upon a time Abuela was a kind woman. She used to not care as much as she did now about these stupid gifts.

But gradually she changed, that warm smile that she would aim her way slowly turned cold.

And yet she hopes. Hopes that maybe after all of this, her image of her grandmother would return. It'll take time but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Abuela" Dolores said out loud as she stayed back and waited for her grandmother. The rest of her family was already quite far away as they all didn't notice- too caught up in their own thoughts- that two members of their family were left behind.

"Hurry before they leave us behind"

Abuela was surprised, looking up at her grandchild who just moments ago was yelling at her. Scolding her for failing her family. Everything she said was correct of course, but she thought that her grandchild despised her with the amount of venom that was in her eyes when she glared at her.

"But- I thought that..." Abuela stuttered out confused

"I don't forgive you. Don't get the wrong idea, but you're still family. There was a time I looked up to you, not just me but the rest of the family... So I'll give you a chance- a chance to see if you've learned your lesson and maybe- maybe our family could be fixed again" She faltered a bit at the end, but kept her eyes on the old woman.

"I- I see... thank you..."

They wordlessly walked along side each other as they tried to catch up to the rest who stopped in their tracks once they noticed their disappearance. If they noticed the tears in Abuela's eyes, no one brought it up.

The funeral was quiet. The whole village was there, eyes filled with pity as they watched the Madrigal family stand in front of Mirabel's grave, all with tears in their eyes as they stared at the piece of stone with her name carved into it. Antonio was confused but kept to himself because of the somber aura surrounding everyone.

The whole thing passed in a blur for the family, they were silent whenever someone would offer their condolences and were silent when they returned to Mariano's house.

He and his mother sent concerned looks their way but it was ignored in favor of going to their rooms, all of them sharing with someone because of their large number.

Days turned into months as the Madrigal family tried to get used to living without their gifts. And of course- Mirabel. After two months their house was rebuilt with help of the villagers who- after being scolded by Mariano's mother -learned that what they've done was wrong. They're now trying to repay the family they've overworked for so long.

The Madrigal family were all changing. Their past daily routines completely ruined.

It was weird for them to wake up by themselves and not to the daily knocks on their doors.

Julieta sometimes forgot that her youngest daughter was no longer present anymore as she would ask for a specific tool in the kitchen out loud, only to realize she was the only one there. The silence after that realization only made her clench her hands as she was fighting back the tears that were threatening to form.

She still made food for everyone but sometimes she'd gain help from other members of her family. She also decided to continue healing people, but the old fashion way. She didn't like her past with healing, despising the gift for putting so much pressure on her from such a young age, but she still liked helping people. Maybe it's because she couldn't help her daughter in time but nobody had to know that...

Agustin too would accidently shout out her youngest daughters name whenever he got injured so that she would call for Julieta. Whenever he realizes that Mirabel is in fact gone, he would only stare off into the distance, eyes blurred, before being snapped out of it by anyone passing by who spotted the man.

He continued his usual errands, helping out people even though he knew it wasn't necessary. He also became quite overprotective of his daughters and was more than happy for the annulment of his eldest daughters engagement. Although he'd look at the two with sad eyes every now and then, he knew that he now had a purpose. He would protect his family no matter what, he won't keep quiet like he did when Mirabel was suffering.

Luisa sometimes hallucinates a younger Mirabel, following her around as she completes chores. High pitched voice complimenting her strength in awe, with stars in her wide round eyes. She doesn't do as much anymore- 'not that she can do much without her gift' she thinks -but she still does some small stuff around the house.

She would burst into tears and just crouch down and sob into her arms when she realizes what she's doing. Somebody always has to console her whenever this happens.

She knew that she wasn't useless, her family reminds her everyday. Her older sister even sends her soft smiles although she looks paler now a days. But that voice behind her head still nags at her. Telling her all these things that her family tells her that aren't true. It's hard the first few weeks but then she meets people. She never socialized, always being to busy or tired but after one of her breakdowns, a group of 2 girls and 1 boy around her age approached her.

They asked her if she was alright and since then they've been friends. She felt more relaxed than ever. She still cried a lot but she now had people other than her family by her side. She was happy.

Isabella isn't coping any better. The sight of flowers disgust her, reminding her of what she once was. What she once did.

She spent most of her time in her room, contemplating her life and what she thought was her purpose. With her cousins words that she said all those months ago still nagging at her.

She would be dragged out of her room by her mother who would force her to help her out in the kitchen. At first she was frustrated, but after a while she liked to use these moments to distract herself. It was nice.

If sometimes she would just stop and stare into nothing with tears leaking down her eyes, Julieta said nothing. Only placing a hand on her eldest daughters shoulder, eyes tired and full of understanding.

Whenever she's not in her room scolding herself for her past actions, she goes around and visits her family members. Usually just saying hello or giving them a tired smile. It's hard getting up these days but she copes. She goes on with life for Mirabel. Knowing that she didn't have any right to contemplate dying, after all she had to live on for her. Live on because she couldn't. Tio Bruno however comes around to talk with her when she ventures outside the house. It's usually small talk. She knows he's looking out for her and as much as she wants to tell him to go away, she's thankful.

She's just glad she doesn't have to marry Mariano anymore.

Pepa felt better. Although the reminder of her niece makes her tear up and look down in shame, she felt much better now that she didn't have her gift. It was hard not trying to control your emotions 24/7, but with the help of her husband and children, it started to become easier. She became free.

It still saddens her whenever she spots the old knitted sweaters that sit in her room. Made by her niece which was gifted to her when she was first pregnant with her youngest son. She would stare at the thing for who knows how long before her husband comes by and snaps her out of it. Oh how she wishes she'd done more for Mirabel.

Pepa now gardens to pass time, sometimes in the kitchen with her sister to help cook. Other times she approaches her brother, Bruno, and just sits with him. She know he doesn't want to hear her apologies so they just bask in each others presence. It's comforting.

Felix knew his wife was having a hard time. Everyone was after what happened a few months ago. Hell- he knows that he isn't fine after what happened. The bloodied face of Mirabel coming up whenever he closes his eyes. Whenever he thinks about her, those moments he made her laugh would always be replaced with her corpse. He only wished that he could have made her laugh one more time.

Although he tries to be there for his family. He'll make sure that none of them ends up like Mirabel.

Dolores was still getting used to not hearing everything that goes on in the town, now not having to wear her ear muffs whenever she has to go to bed. She doesn't throw it away though, it was gifted to her by Mirabel after all. Mirabel is a sore topic for her, or well everyone in the family. She felt the most guilt for her, knowing that she could have done something. Could have been there for the girl. But she wasn't, and she knows that she will just have to live with that fact. She still gets dreams though, nightmares about the girl. She knows that everyone probably does, seeing as how they've all grown eye bags over the couple of months.

Of course things started getting better once Mariano approached her. She was taken a back, I mean, she still crushed on the man but she didn't think he would confess his feelings to her after all this time of her telling herself to give up on him. It was surreal.

Turns out he heard about Isabella not actually liking him and how she did it for the family, so he decided to do her a favor since he didn't want to live a loveless marriage and annulled the engagement. They started off small with romantic dates that she smiles whenever looking back at it, but then they started getting know each other better (although Dolores knew most of the things he mentioned about himself, he didn't need to know about that), before finally they announced their relationship to the family. They decided to wait a bit longer until marriage of course, taking things at a steady pace.

So far Dolores was happy. Her smile falters whenever she remembers that Mirabel won't be here in the future once they're married but things have been getting better.

Camilo spent the years before earning his gift sharing a room with Mirabel. So he looks back and wonders why he doesn't remember hanging out with her as much after he turned 5. He would stay up some nights and just blankly stare at the ceiling. He still played with the neighborhood kids, not as much as before of course but he always made sure to come around every now and then.

Now that he doesn't have his gift, not having to entertain anybody with tricks or anything, he wonders what a teen boy like him does in his free time. He's given some chores, but they're simple and easy. He goes up to his father and asks which earns him a sorrowful look.

He said that he should pick up a hobby or makes some friends his age. And so, after a month of searching he met Lia and Hugo who are siblings and spends most of their time at their family's bakery. He also picked up on playing soccer with the two and some other kids. It was nice... he felt normal.

Although he'd still get a pang in his heart whenever he'd see a bunch of kids run by and his cousin wasn't in the mix he was doing alright...

Antonio was confused. He was told that Mirabel won't be coming back because she's somewhere far far away but for some reason he finds it hard to believe when they give him that strained smile. He hangs out with some of the other kids, usually talking about his amazing cousin whos super fun and nice. They wish to meet her but he says that she's in a far away place right now, and can't come back right now.

He doesn't understand why the parents of the kids usually give him pitying looks, but he's happy. He can't speak to animals anymore but they're still really nice, and plays with him and his friends every now and then. Everybody in his family has been acting weird but he just shrugs it off, they probably just miss Mirabel too.

He hopes Mirabel comes back some day so he can introduce her to his friends. Also so his parents and siblings could stop looking at him with those pained eyes.

Bruno cried. He cried every night. He hopes Mirabel knows that when he talked with her, after being by himself for so long, he was happy. He was so so happy. But now she's gone and although he's glad to be back in his family's life, it still hurts. The pang in his chest whenever he thinks about the young girl makes his eyes burn with unshed tears.

He tends to walk around a lot, usually outside since being inside only reminded him of old memories he'd rather forget. Nights where he was so very hungry, but too scared to get caught if he ventured out. Nights where he would watch everybody laugh and eat dinner without him through the crack in the wall. Moments where he'd hear his family warn the children not to talk about him.

So that leads to him sitting with a lot of different people and just starting up small talk. Main person being Isabella. He knows she's still mourning but he tries to be there. He also knows that his sister, Pepa, still holds a lot of guilt over not being there for him. He forgives her of course.

These days have been peaceful. He just wishes that he could have had more time to know his niece.

Abuela learned a lot. She reflected a lot these past months and realized in horror just how much she messed up. She was so blinded by the past that she believed that what she was doing was right. Now her family is a complete emotional mess.

She observed from afar as everyone tried to move on, noticing at the beginning just how lost everyone was. By the end of course they picked up new things, new friends. Of course she still saw that same look in their eyes that they had months ago, but there was improvement.

She knows everybody feels uncomfortable around her, and she deserves it. She knows that. She has already apologized for what she has done but they all waved her off, either saying that there's no point or that it's okay.

She knows that her relationship with her family will never be the same but that doesn't stop her from trying. She'll live up to the chance she was given, and change.

It'll take years to earn back their trust but so be it.

The Madrigal family never feel complete. Ever. But they'll try. They'll try and live on with the weight of Mirabel's smile, now transparent in their mind.

Maybe in the future things would go back to normal. One can only hope.

- The End -