Chapter 4:
(Isabella POV)
I looked down at the cactus I just grew. I did not know I could do that. "I just made something unexpected" I reached out to touch it and was stunned back as it grew bigger, "Something sharp, something new." I picked up the flowers that were growing underneath it as I examined it with so much fascination, "It's not symmetrical or perfect, but it's beautiful and it's mine." I was suddenly rushed with the idea that there were so many other things that I can do, "What else can I do?"
I went off to go deeper in my room. Mirabel kept trying to talk to me, get me to hug her or something. "I grow rows and rows of roses, Flor de mayo by the mile." I looked at all the flowers in my room. I also needed Mirabel to understand what my life was truly like, unlike the fantasy she made it sound like. I went to my hedge gallery of the poses I painstakingly practiced for hours each night. "I make perfect practiced poses so much hides behind my smile." I destroyed one of them needed to let it all go.
I ran near all my flowers brushing my hand against them making them change to reflect what I actually felt rather than the pink flowers that everyone else seemed to love, "What could I do if I just grew what I was feeling in the moment? What could I do if I just knew it didn't need to be perfect?" I hopped up on my bed and used the vines to fly up higher, "It just needed to be? And they'd let me be?"
I began thinking about all the different things I have ever wanted to grow, "A hurricane of jacarandas, strangling figs, hanging vines, palma de cera fills the air as I climb and I push through. What else can I do?" I made a tree that was growing higher and higher as I saw Mirabel was following me, "I wanna feel the shiver of something new. I'm so sick or pretty, I want something true, don't you?" I was hoping that Mirabel might finally understand everything that I had been going through. Please, please let her understand. I have been perfect my entire life and I just wanted her to understand that I never wanted to be.
She looked up at me, "You just seem like your life's been a dream, since the moment you opened your eyes." It was someones dream it just wasn't mine. This wasn't the life I dreamed about. "All I know are the blossoms you grow," I wanted to shrink away. She wanted me to be perfect too, "But it's awesome to see how you rise." I smiled, "How far can I rise? Through the roof, to the skies."
We began flying around on vines as I reacted on pure instinct. I just wanted to see what I could do when I was absolutely free. I grew more and more plants on the house in town. Suddenly a puff of color popped out and got on my dress. Abuela would be so upset, I looked toward Mirabel and she was smiling nodding her head as I hit more flowers and got more of the colorful dust, dye, I wasn't really sure but I let it completely coat my dress.
This was so much fun. The last time I remembered having fun was when Camilo got us all up to play hide-and-seek. I danced with Mirabel as we flew around some more and then I wrapped her in a hug, "Thank you." I said. I then let us fall into a pile of flowers that were on the ground laughing as I looked over at Mirabel, "You are a bad influence." I flicked a flower over to her. She was still laughing. Mirabel was still happy and I wasn't being perfect. Maybe I didn't need to be perfect for the family to be happy?
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" Abuela screamed and I snapped back up to attention. That was why I never stopped being perfect. Abuela was so mad and disappointed and I just wanted it to stop. The flowers around us they were going to make things worse they needed to go away. My dress was a mess, so was my hair. This wasn't going to be good. I stood up as Mirabel started to explain what was going on. I just wanted to shrink back into myself, "What are you talking about?! Look at our home! Look at your sister!" Don't cry Isabella. That will make things worse.
I began running my hands over my dress trying to see if I could get any of the color out. I kept looking around for any type of escape from Abuela's disapproval, "Isabella wasn't happy." Mirabel said. Why did she say that to Abuela? "Of course she isn't happy you ruined her proposal." Right the proposal. I knew that it was still going to happen. I wrapped my arms around myself looking at the ground, "She needed me to ruin her proposal," Mirabel started and my eyes widened. I looked at her and at Abuela, but when I saw that Abuela was only getting angrier I started to back away, "And then we did all this and the candle burned brighter..." Mirabel gestured to everything we had done. She understood that I didn't want to be perfect, but I don't think she understood why I was anyway.
"YOU HAVE TO STOP MIRABEL," Abuela yelled and I shrank even farther into myself. Why was this happening? I could barely breathe as I tried to think of the right thing to do. I spent my entire life being perfect, there had to be a perfect way out of this. Luisa came up behind me as I kept shrinking into myself, "The cracks started because of you. Bruno left because of you. Luisa is losing her power. Isabella's our of control because of you." So when I wasn't exactly what Abuela wanted I was out of control? Why did that hurt so much? Did Abuela only love me because she thought that I was perfect?
"I don't know why you weren't given a gift, but it is not an excuse for you to hurt this family," Abuela continued laying into Mirabel. The house began to rumble as my eyes widened as more cracks came out on the floor. "I will never be good enough for you. Will I? No matter how hard I try." Mirabel was talking back to Abuela. She had never done that before. Why was this happening? She looked over at us, "No matter how hard any of us tries." What was she going to do? "Luisa is never going to be strong enough," I looked up at Luisa who was looking down at the ground ashamed. Did she really feel that way? Was I so caught up in myself that I never noticed that she wasn't ok, either? "Isabella," My eyes turned back to Mirabel, "won't be perfect enough." I wasn't perfect enough? Even before this I wasn't perfect enough?
"Bruno left because people only saw the worst in him," Mirabel continued. "BRUNO DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THIS FAMILY!" Abuela was yelling. Mirabel had so much fortitude in her expression, "He loves this family. I love this family. We all love this family. You are the one who doesn't care. You are the one breaking our home." Mirabel kept continuing as more and more cracks formed and the house was shaking more violently, "DON'T YOU EVER..." Abuela was starting but, Mirabel wasn't done, "The miracle is dying because of you."
Author's Note:
This chapter is shorter than the other chapters mostly because I needed an emotional break from everything that just went down. The next 1-2 chapters will wrap up the movie segment of the story after that it will get more into Isabella's story outside of the movie. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
