Chapter 4

An hour before dinner, Julieta looked out the window at the sky, worry clouding her face as she heard thunder rumbling in the distance.

"It's not me," Pepa assured her, looking as well.

"I don't like it," Julieta stated, feeling as though the impending storm was a portent to something else. "It doesn't even feel like a natural storm." As the clouds continued to slowly build, she hugged her arms, shivering for just a moment. "Something is coming," she warned. "Some trouble we'll have to weather."

"If the storm hits while the Guzmans are here," Pepa cautioned her sister. "-this is going to be a very long dinner."

Hearing footsteps behind them, the two sisters turned to see Felix looking nervous and Camilo looking slightly annoyed. "Pepi, have you seen Antonio?" Felix wanted to know. "He's been missing since breakfast."

"I told you, Papa," Camilo insisted, sounding impatient. "He's probably just exploring his new room. Leave him alone. Let him be a kid for a once. It's not the end of the world if he disappears for a bit." He started to say something else but stopped immediately. "If he doesn't turn up for dinner, I'll take him a plate later, alright?"

Turning to his wife, Felix expected Pepa to be concerned as well, but she was surprisingly calm. "Camilo has a point," she admitted, taking a deep breath. "We work ourselves into a panic whenever one of our children goes missing, when they could very well just want some privacy."

Although Felix wasn't so sure he bought the reassurance, the absence of a storm cloud above his wife's head confirmed that she wasn't worried about Antonio. Getting utensils while Camilo grabbed the company plates, the pair worked to set the table, each wondering what new developments the night's dinner would bring.

x

"I don't like the looks of this," Mirabel muttered as she joined Bruno and Antonio in Antonio's jungle room. "Have you seen the sky outside? I wouldn't be surprised if it turned into a hurricane."

Antonio was puzzled as he pointed out, "Mama can fix the weather, can't she?"

Mirabel shook her head as she sat in one of the hammocks nearby. "It feels like the magic... but there's something... uncontrolled about it... unleashed."

Hugging his toy jaguar close, Antonio looked from Mirabel to Bruno as he whispered, "I'm scared."

Hopping out of the hammock and kneeling before her primo as she gave him a reassuring smile, Mirabel gently took the jaguar as she asked, "Do you know why I named him 'Hernando'?" When Antonio shook his head, she looked up at Bruno, giving him a wink. "It's because of your Tio Bruno."

"Who is this 'Bruno'? I am Hernando, and I am scared of nothing!"

The loud, intimidating voice startled Antonio who jumped to his feet, letting out a small gasp as he looked at Bruno who had pulled his hood down, covering most of his face. But it wasn't just the change in voice, Antonio noted, fascinated. His tio seemed to be suddenly more assertive... direct... fearless. Whoever 'Hernando' was, he didn't have anxiety attacks or stammer when he was nervous like Bruno did.

Looking to Mirabel, Antonio let out another gasp as he saw that his prima had vanished. Dashing about for a moment, he didn't see her anywhere. "Mirabel?"

"My name is Mariposa," a soft, feathery voice spoke up. "I am seldom heard and rarely seen..."

Feeling something drop onto his head, Antonio whirled about, grabbing his toy jaguar as Mirabel dropped nimbly to the ground from one of the trees, her own hood pulled down.

When the trio were seated once again, Mirabel explained the rouse. "Sometimes, Tio Bruno needs to be braver than he actually feels. So, he created a persona that is afraid of nothing. When he puts a metal bucket over his head, he becomes Jorge, who is very straightforward and just wants to work on spackling the walls and not talk about things."

Nodding a bit, Antonio frowned at Mirabel. "Who is Mariposa?"

Mirabel glanced at Bruno, blushing a bit as she saw his expectant look. "Mariposa... is a guardian angel, who wants to check on the family she loves... Especially because at one point... she believed that her family didn't really love her."

Antonio's crushed expression was heartbreaking and he quickly scooted over to Mirabel, hugging her as tightly as he could. "But they do love you! And Abuela's only angry that you left because it's easier for her to be angry than admit that she's sad."

Hugging Antonio back, Mirabel let out a deep sigh. "I know how my parents and sisters feel now," she assured him. "I... Think about it like this. You can't see the stars at night when it's cloudy, right?" When Antonio nodded, she went on. "Well...my fear and sadness and worries were like clouds. I had to go away for a while so I could learn to push them aside so I could see the stars again."

X

As she listened to the storm building outside, Alma Madrigal looked at the picture on her dresser of herself and Pedro on their wedding day.

She'd never liked the old saying 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'.

In her experience, absence of any kind hardened the heart and caused nothing but pain.

The absence of Alma's parents when they'd died had brought a sudden realization that she would have to live on her own, relying on friends and relatives for food and shelter.

The death of Pedro had stripped Alma of what little security she had and built up her fear of losing her children or even her own life.

When Bruno had vanished without so much as a 'good-bye' note, Alma's fears increased, wondering what her son had seen that had been so terrible he'd needed to leave.

Unless there was another reason he'd never come back...

It wasn't as if Alma didn't know what kind of mother and abuela she was. She tried to convince herself that what she was doing was right, but she knew that she was lying to herself.

But it was easier to be angry than to admit that she was afraid... that she was sad...

She didn't ban Bruno and Mirabel's names because she hated them. It was because thinking about her only son and youngest granddaughter caused her to conjure worst case scenarios, imagining finding that the two had tried to leave the encanto, only to be killed by the same men who murdered Pedro.

And yet... none of that explained how Alma felt about Mirabel before the girl disappeared one night.

Mirabel had left because she didn't feel loved.

She hadn't felt loved because Alma had pushed her away when the door faded away.

And Mirabel's door had only faded because Alma had begun caring more about her family's Gifts than the family themselves.

Even without magic, Mirabel had always tried her best, wanting to help everyone in the family.

It was all so confusing, Alma realized as she sat on the edge of her bed, not sure of what to do to help fix things.

Hearing a faint knock on the door, she stood, pulling her shawl about her shoulders as she headed out.

"They're here," Dolores whispered nervously before hurrying off down the stairs.

'After dinner tonight,' Alma decided, feeling weary of all the conflict swirling inside of her. '-I will talk to my family, and we will figure out what to do.'

Making her way towards the dining room and listening to the collection of voices, Alma paused when everyone went strangely silent for a moment. Moving a bit quicker when she heard the voices return with even more volume, she froze in her tracks when she heard Julieta declare loudly, "I thought the two of you were DEAD!"

'Dead'?! The statement didn't make any sense. Why would Julieta think...?

Alma's heart sped up and for a moment, she allowed herself to hope.

Hurrying towards the dining room, she tried to push away all the doubts she felt.

Could it be...?

Could it really be...?

"Bruno...? Mirabel...?" Alma whispered, hesitantly, as she came into the room, looking to where the rest of her family was gathered around.

"He-Hey, Mama," Bruno greeted her, waving nervously as everyone else stepped aside.

"Hola, Abuela," Mirabel murmured, looking just as anxious.

10 years of worries and fears flew away as Alma crossed the floor, pulling her son and granddaughter into a hug. "Lo siento mucho," she whispered, tears in her eyes as she pulled away. "I am so sorry. I have no excuse for how I hurt you before. I'm so grateful the two have returned at last."

Hearing someone knocking on the front door, Alma kissed Bruno's cheek before doing the same to Mirabel. Instructing Felix to find two more chairs, she turned to go welcome Victoria and Mariano Guzman.

"That went way better than I expected," Bruno whispered to Mirabel, trying to sound optimistic.

"It's not over yet," Mirabel pointed out. "She's going to want the whole story. That's the part that's not going to go over well."

However nervous Mirabel and Bruno were, that was back-burnered as soon as Julieta, Pepa, and Camilo began putting platters and bowls of food on the table.

Mirabel's stomach let out a fierce growl and she blushed with embarrassment as her mother gave her a startled look before studying her closely.

"Ai, Dios Mio!" Victoria Guzman exclaimed as she saw Mirabel and Bruno. Turning to Alma, her eyes were wide with surprise as she wanted to know, "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"We... sort of just got here," Mirabel replied, quickly. "It's... kind of a long story."

"One which I'm sure can be discussed later, after our company leaves," Julieta added, giving Mirabel a side-eye.

"It all smells delicious," Mariano declared, sensing that a more neutral subject needed to be highlighted. Once everyone had sat down and said grace, he turned to Julieta. "Your arepas are the best in the encanto. I would love to know how you make them."

Catching Camilo's curious look, Mirabel raised an eyebrow in return. "I was just wondering where you got the ruana," Camilo stated. "It looks good on you."

"Oh, I made it myself," Mirabel replied, cheered by the compliment. Avoiding any further questions by digging into her dinner, she was surprised when she looked down a short while later to see that she had cleaned her plate. Reaching for seconds, she caught her father's look, and she explained as vaguely as possible. "Er... I found Tio Bruno in this little one room home. We kind of made do with what we could find as far as food and supplies."

Before anyone could make any further inquiries about exact locations and such, Pepa looked from Bruno to Mirabel. "And his anxiety attacks? Bruno always had problems with those. It's one of the things I worried about most after he left."

"Mirabel helped me a lot with that," Bruno replied, giving his sobrina a grateful smile. "My OCD habits have greatly reduced as well. She took care of me as much as I tried to take care of her."

x

Despite a somewhat awkward start, dinner progressed smoothly with Bruno and Mirabel matching Camilo in appetite.

Mariano and Julieta discussed recipes and cooking tips.

Dolores, Camilo, and Bruno talked about Bruno's rat telenovelas and the storylines.

Mirabel traded off chatting with Antonio about his new Gift and Isabela on her departure from her old Senorita Perfecta role.

"The dress looks amazing, Isa," Mirabel noted, beaming. "I can't believe you kept that drawing."

Not sure of how to respond without bringing up the past and her rotten behavior, Isabela changed the subject to describing the variety of plants she'd begun growing the past 5 years.

When the dinner dishes had been cleared away and dessert had been brought out, everyone enjoyed the continued lighthearted conversation which had led to Mariano asking Dolores to marry him.

Once the Guzmans had finally left to head home, Alma turned to the rest of her family, fixing Bruno and Mirabel with an unyielding look. "Tell me everything," she instructed, simply as everyone once again gathered around the dining room table.

Bruno began the tale, describing the vision of Mirabel and the cracks, 'leaving' the family and finding the room in the wall spaces.

"You've been here this whole time?" Julieta asked, pain and sadness heavy in her voice. Turning to Mirabel, she felt her heart ache as she realized how close her little girl had been for the past 5 years.

"I was planning on leaving the house," Mirabel confessed. "I thought... I thought you didn't love me because I didn't have a Gift. I just felt... I couldn't stay here, Mama. But I found the wall spaces and Tio Bruno... I never meant to stay away forever. I just... I just needed to find who I am. I couldn't do it being where I was."

"She was scared, Juli," Bruno piped up, defending Mirabel. "We both were. I was scared about what everyone would think about the vision, and Mirabel was thinking that..." Turning to Mirabel, he put an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "Tell them, Mira."

Mirabel took a deep breath, trying not to cry as she spoke. "Mama... I was in a dark place when I left. Between feeling useless without a Gift and... and feeling like no one wanted me around... I thought it was better if I wasn't here. I even... There were days I wished... that you never had me."

"Oh, mi vida... Mi corazon..." Julieta breathed as she stood, dashing to her daughter's side, wrapping her up in an embrace. "I am so sorry. I'm so sorry we made you feel that way. I love you, Mirabel. I love you so much and I don't know how I can ever make up for what happened in the past."

"Why are you apologizing to her?" Alma asked, the warm, welcoming attitude she had exhibited earlier becoming harsh and cold. "Mirabel and Bruno should be apologizing to the family!"

Pepa stood up, giving her mother a direct look, a storm cloud beginning to build above her head. "We caused them to leave!" she pointed out. "Our attitudes, our lack of consideration and understanding! You welcomed them back earlier, Mama! Now you want to drive them away again? Just because they've been in the walls, listening to everything we say?"

"'Drive them away'?" Alma repeated, stunned by how her daughter was trivializing the situation. "They were 10 feet away! They let the family think that they were dead because they didn't want to have a difficult conversation! Do you have any idea how much your selfishness hurt this family?" Abuela accused, angrily as she bore down on Bruno and Mirabel. "You have done nothing but cause this family more pain!"

"You think I don't know exactly what I've done to everyone?" Mirabel murmured, her voice cracking along with her heart. "You think I...? I sat on the other side of the kitchen wall every time Mama cried to Tia Pepa about me being gone. I thought I was the worst daughter in the world when Papa confessed to Isabela and Luisa that I ran away because he was a terrible father!" Anger began to creep into her voice as she stood up against her grandmother, 10 years worth of pain in her eyes as she went on. "And I heard you every time that you banned my name along with Tio Bruno's because you couldn't admit that this-" she gestured to the cracks that once again began slowly appearing through the house. "-was all your fault!"

"How dare you!" Abuela bellowed, furious.

"You put more value into the Gifts and the magic than your own family!" Mirabel snapped. "As soon as Bruno and I became useless to you, you cast us aside! I didn't hurt the miracle! Bruno didn't cause the cracks to start! The miracle began breaking because of you!"

Horrified at her daughter's accusation, Julieta couldn't look away from Mirabel's expression. In the past, when someone had yelled at Mirabel, she might defend herself briefly, but ultimately, she would withdraw, becoming meek and submissive just like Bruno had done in his youth.

But this Mirabel... this young woman standing up against her grandmother, she was strong and determined and even though tears were streaming down her face, Mirabel never wiped them away or broke eye contact.

Likewise, Bruno was steadfastly defending Mirabel, pointing out that the two of them had been trying to patch the cracks and breaks.

Trying to channel her youngest daughter's courage, Julieta squared her shoulders as she turned to her mother. "Mama, enough."

Alma froze, stiffening as she glared at her own daughter.

"Julieta is right," Pepa agreed, agreeing with her sister. Pointing to the cracks, she added, "This fighting is doing more damage. Let's leave it for tonight. We can discuss things more in the morning when we've all had a chance to calm down."

As though she knew what Abuela would say about Mirabel and Bruno going back into the walls where they belonged, Isabela spoke up. "Mirabel can sleep in my room tonight. And Bruno can spend the night in Antonio's room."

Alma's chilly demeanor spoke volumes as she silently left the room, heading up to her own bedroom and Dolores winced as she heard her grandmother slam her door behind her.

"Slumber party in my room," Isabela declared, brightly, grabbing Luisa's arm and Mirabel's, pulling her sisters away.

When Julieta and Pepa looked like they wanted to talk to Bruno alone, Agustin came to his brother-in-law's rescue. "Tomorrow, Juli, amor. I'm sure it's nothing that can't wait another 12 hours."

With great reluctance, the sisters agreed and as everyone headed up to bed, they didn't notice a few of the cracks slowly fading.