In the three years since Mirabel had been forced to attend one of these council meetings, she had forgotten just how inane they could be.

The treasurer, a short, graying man she knew as Señor González, was droning on about the upcoming yearly budget changes and she was finding it difficult to focus. She briefly snuck a glance at Abuela, before daring to doodle a small swirl on the edge of her copy of the agenda.

She squinted at the clock above the door.

Gracias a Dios, it was almost over.

Clang-clang, clang-clang, clang-clang…

Mirabel's thoughts were interrupted as the church bell across the street began to ring, and muffled shouts echoed in from the street outside. Señor González trailed off and the small gathering inside the council room whispered to each other, some standing to go look out the windows.

Mirabel frowned and looked at Abuela. Her grandmother's mouth was pressed in a firm line and she stood, ready to address the uneasy crowd.

Before she could say anything, the doors to the council room were thrown open and Mariano stormed up the aisle before coming to a stop before the council members, breathing heavily.

"Mariano Guzmán, what is the meaning of this interruption?" Abuela demanded sharply.

Mariano stood to attention before her.

"Monstruo!" he boomed.

Mirabel let out a loud gasp and abruptly pushed out of her seat and stood as whispers rippled through the gathering. People were looking at her but she didn't care.

This must be about something else, it can't be…

Abuela raised an eyebrow at her reaction. "A monster?" she questioned, turning to address Mariano. "There is no such thing—"

"I saw it with my own two eyes, Doña," Mariano continued, glancing at Mirabel. "It did something to Señora Rojas before fleeing the Castillo's farm into the jungle, and—"

"And Antonio is missing!"

Félix stood in the doorway to the council room, his broad arms folded across his chest. Tucked under his arm, a sheathed machete.

Mirabel's blood ran cold. No, no, no, this-this isn't happening—

People leapt to their feet, shouting. More villagers streamed in from the street, and Mariano and Félix were quickly pulled into a large group of men, all of them demanding more details. Abuela sat down, pressing a hand to her chest. Mirabel put her hand on her shoulder and Abuela reached up and clutched it.

"Abuela," Mirabel whispered. Abuela wouldn't look at her. "Abuela, we need to stop this—it's-it's not what you think—"

Mariano pushed his way through the crowd to stand before them. "Doña Alma," he said lowly. "What do you wish us to do?"

"Find my grandson," Abuela said immediately. Her eyes flicked up to him; they were hard as flint. "Kill the monster."

"No," Mirabel whispered.

Mariano's gaze snapped to hers, furrowing in confusion, but he was pulled away as men began shouting directions, dividing themselves into groups, and the room rapidly emptied out until only Abuela and Mirabel remained behind.

"We must get back home," Abuela said then, starting to stand. "Pepa will be frantic—"

"Abuela—please, I need you to listen to me," Mirabel said. Tears blurred her vision and she furiously blinked them away. "This is—this is all wrong, the monster—Abuela, the monster is…he's, he's Bruno—"

Abuela stiffened, sinking back into her seat.

"What did you say?" she asked, her fingernails digging into Mirabel's hand. "What did you say?"

"It's a long story," Mirabel said desperately. She knelt before her grandmother. "And I'm-I'm sorry I kept it from you but we didn't—we weren't sure how to tell anyone, but I-I went to the Encanto, just a few days ago and I found him, Abuela, I found Tío Bruno, but he-he was changed, by the witch, somehow, and—"

"What are you talking about? Bruno is—Bruno is dead," Abuela said. She withdrew her hand and stood, glaring down at her nieta. "How-how dare you mention his name in the same breath as you speak of monsters!"

Mirabel stood, her fists clenching and unclenching. "Because it's the truth—!"

"Do you even care about this family?"

Mirabel flinched back, and a tear slipped down her cheek. "What—"

"Antonio is missing because of this monster and you stand here ranting about my dead son, as if that will make me change my mind—" Abuela scoffed. "You're just like your mother, always trying to subvert my wishes, allowing your sisters and cousins to let their-their curses run unchecked—it is long past time that you understand that magic has only hurt us, Mirabel—"

"You're the one who's hurting us!" Mirabel cried, the words tearing out of her before she could stop them. "No one can even breathe properly when you're around! Nothing we do will ever be enough—they can never hide their Gifts enough—Dolores was never going to tell Mariano the truth because of you, Camilo can't ever be himself because of you. And-and I will never be perfect enough for you! And the one time—the one time!—I ask you for anything, I'm accused of not caring about this family?"

Mirabel took a breath, her chest heaving. "I love this family. I'm trying to help this family. I'm trying to save Tío Bruno from that mob but-but now I have to save him from you."

Abuela stepped back like she'd been slapped. But Mirabel didn't have the energy to care anymore.

She left the council room, the door slamming shut behind her.


Her lungs burned and her side hurt, but Mirabel ran the entire way back to the farmhouse.

She passed a few neighbors on the road, carrying flashlights and lanterns. A few had machetes. Some called out to her, trying to ask after Antonio, but she didn't acknowledge them and she didn't slow until she reached the edge of the orchard and barely contained a gasp of horror.

It was snowing. A light dusting of white covered the tops of the trees and the dirt below, and Mirabel's heart beat very fast at the implication. Pepa was terrified—and was losing control.

Dios mío, I haven't even been gone for one hour! she thought, frustrated. That's it, I am never leaving again!

Inside the house was chaos. Pepa was pacing the floor, her cloud steadily dumping snow on top of her as she stroked her hair and muttered her mantra of clear skies under her breath. Her mamá was sitting at the kitchen table, her head in her hands, a cup of cooling coffee in front of her, and a blanket draped around her shoulders. Her pá was next to her, head bent and whispering in her ear, rubbing her back.

Before Mirabel could get further into the house, Luisa grabbed her arm and hauled her into the sitting room, shutting the door behind them.

Dolores and Isabela sat together on the couch. Dolores looked terrible, like she'd been crying for hours. Camilo was pacing, a mirror to his mother outside.

"Dios, what happened?" Mirabel demanded.

"Everything went to hell, that's what happened!" Camilo snapped. "Your mamá saw Tío Bruno, then Mariano saw him running into the jungle, and we think Antonio went after him because Parce isn't here either!" He threw up his hands. "Now Mami's making snow, Pá went with Mariano to rally a mob, and-and goddamnit, Mirabel." He stopped ranting, breathing heavily. "We've ruined everything."

Mirabel took a deep breath, resisting the urge to pull at her hair. "No, no, no, we didn't—we couldn't have ruined everything," she said desperately. "There's-there's gotta be something we can do—some way we can fix this—"

"We should've told everyone right away," Luisa said miserably, wringing her hands. "Then none of this would have happened."

"Yeah, well, hindsight is a bitch, isn't it?" Camilo retorted.

"Everyone just shut up for a second," Isabela snapped, leaping to her feet. They all looked at her. A tiny cactus sprouted at her feet, growing larger as she spoke. "If we're right and Antonio is indeed out looking for Tío Bruno…then we have to buy him some time before the rest of the village catches up. Camilo, Luisa, and I will go after them. Dolores—you have to find Tío Félix and explain what happened."

Dolores still had tears gathering in her eyes, but she nodded. "I'll talk to Mariano. The village…they'll listen to him."

Isabela placed her hand on her prima's shoulder and squeezed.

"What about me?" Mirabel asked. "I want to help look for—"

"No, you are staying here," Isabela said, her tone leaving no room for argument, "and explaining everything to Mamá and Tía Pepa. Mamá—she figured it out, Mira, and she's freaking out."

Mirabel's mouth snapped shut, and she nodded.

Isabela nodded too. "Right. Good luck."

With that, Luisa opened the door and strode outside, Camilo and Isabela right behind her. Mirabel watched them go, feeling numb.

Dolores hesitated in the doorway, like she was about to say something, but instead clenched her jaw and left.