I do not own Encanto. This story is not for profit.
Chapter 46
Mirabel
November 11th
After breakfast, Abuela announced that they were going to have a town meeting, but she promised it was a much happier kind. With the help of word of mouth, she gathered everyone in the town square so that she could give a speech. She hadn't let on what kind of speech she was going to give. Mirabel was nervous.
The villagers constructed a stage in the market square of some wide planks supported by crates. The structure was humble but sturdy. Smaller crates served as stairs. The Madrigals gathered on either side of the stage, and the villagers gathered in front of it. Abuela ascended the stage with a supporting hand from Luisa, who acted as a spotter just in case while Abuela used the crate stairs. As usual, the two groups of Madrigals sorted themselves by Julieta and Pepa. However, Bruno stood beside Mirabel.
With a stately wave of her hand, Abuela hushed the crowd. "Thank you all for coming, and thank you for helping design and work on our new La Casa Madrigal. Your support means more to me than I can ever say, and when the new home is finished, everyone is invited to the biggest party this Encanto has ever seen." Abuela projected her voice effortlessly. Mirabel admired her grandmother's effortless public speaking skills, honed over a lifetime of leading the village.
People cheered.
"As my granddaughter Mirabel said, this is laying a new foundation. Out with the old, and in with the new. This applies not only to houses, but to beliefs." Abuela smiled.
The crowd quieted down.
Mirabel took Bruno's hand gently and helped calm his sudden look of anxiety.
"Those of you who were here when the Encanto was founded will know that at first, we used the power of our Miracle sparingly."
The gray-headed among the crowd nodded and murmured. Mirabel's Má and Tía Pepa exchanged glances, while Bruno looked at his shuffling feet.
Abuela made a gentle, sweeping gesture. "However, over time, that care was forgotten. Over-secure in our Miracle, we used the power for things that are petty, or for our own convenience. We no longer remembered to be respectful of the Miracle." Her brow contracted in sorrow. "And so, one day, the miraculous flame of the candle went out." Abuela gestured in the direction of the construction site for the new Madrigal family home. "And the precious, magical house, La Casa Madrigal, fell down around our ears."
Mirabel flinched. She couldn't help it. The next thing she knew, Má's arm was around her on one side and Tio Bruno's arm was around her on the other side. She glanced at them gratefully.
Abuela placed a hand over her heart. "My heart was as shut to the truth as all of you. Miracles are not for everyday use. Miracles are not here for our convenience. Miracles are for times of great need. Blessings are for the lost, the hurting, the hungry."
People murmured, looked at each other, and let their shoulders sag. A few people nodded.
Abuela spread her arms open wide. "Look at us. We are strong. We are prosperous. We are safe. Our time of great need, of great suffering, has long passed."
People straightened at this. Husbands hugged wives and parents hugged children. Bruno relaxed with a soft sigh. Má reached around Mirabel and clasped Tío Bruno's shoulder. Pá kissed Má's hand.
Abuela clasped her hands. "I can only pray, as we will all pray, that we will be given a second chance to take care of the Miracle." She raised her hand palm up. "And if we are given this precious Miracle once again…" She cupped her other hand over her first hand. "…we will take care of the Miracle as we have never done before."
Massive applause broke out.
There was music and dancing as everyone celebrated that the house would soon be finished and that a new era for the Encanto had begun: a new era of self-reflection and humility. Predictably, Tío Bruno slipped away, but he didn't go far, sitting instead on the sidelines as people danced and watching with a smile instead of trepidation. Pá took Má to the center of things and danced elegantly with her. Tía Pepa did a solo dance alongside Isabela.
Tío Félix approached Mirabel, smiling. "Maybe you didn't get a Gift because it was to bring us all to this moment."
Mirabel looked at her uncle with shock. "What?"
Tío Félix shrugged theatrically. "Think about it. If you had gotten a Gift like everyone else, you would have the same perspective as everyone else. Instead, you're unique."
Mirabel was in such awe of the idea that she fell silent. Before this moment, she had never considered who she might have been if she had been given a Gift. But Tio Félix is right. I would be a very different person.
"Who else could understand the point of view of the villagers and the point of view of la familia Madrigal at the same time?" Tío Félix asked, but it sounded rhetorical. He patted Mirabel's shoulder. "You see the Gifts from the outside, like me and your Papá, but unlike us, you understand the Gifts from the inside and feel comfortable around them in a way your Papá and I never will. Maybe you were meant to bring the house down for a good reason."
"Maybe I was," Mirabel whispered. She hugged him tightly. "Whatever happened for real, it led us to this moment, so it can't be all bad."
Tío Félix hugged her and thumped her back. "I'm sorry that I wasn't more sensitive to how you were feeling."
"It's okay." Tears burned her eyes, but her chest loosened. Mirabel gave him a watery smile. "It's okay now. I'm genuinely fine. Or I will be. It's going to be okay."
"There's more to life than pretending to be happy," he said with a surprisingly insightful expression. "And I want that for you. I want you to experience the fullness of life. Everything life has to offer." Then he bowed and held out his hand. "Now, would you honor me with a dance?"
She laughed. "Sure."
After dancing with Tío Felix, she danced with Camilo and Antonio, and then convinced Tío Bruno to share a short dance with her. Then practically everyone stopped to watch Dolores do a showy dance with Mariano, and to Mirabel's surprise, Tío Felix was smiling and clapping along to the beat of the music.
xxx
November 17th
The last week of the construction passed in a blur. Cool, but not cold, weather blew in. Mirabel was amazed at how fast the roof tiles finished being laid.
At Mass that Sunday the 17th, Padre Agudelo praised the town's efforts and prayed for the Miracle to be restored. After Mass, everyone changed into their regular clothes and ate lunch. Then, one by one, Mirabel's family members slipped away, all except Abuela.
Mirabel raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. "You wanted to talk to me?" she said wryly.
"Walk with me," Abuela said with a gentle smile.
"Okay." Mirabel humored her, and they set off. "So, I guess we're moving in soon, huh?"
"We're meeting the rest of our familia for a final check on how the construction of our new home has turned out, and if we need to make any last adjustments to the insides of our rooms. On the way, I thought you and I would talk about something very important."
"What is it?"
"You are important to this family, Mirabel." Abuela squeezed her arm. "And I never appreciated that, until our house fell down, and I needed to reckon with what I had been doing to this family. You have always done so much, and I have never appreciated or noticed. My eyes are opened. You were the first to rise every morning to set the table by yourself. You cleaned the house with Félix and Agustín. You cooked dinner when Julieta was tired. You brought up Antonio. You babysit children while their parents work in the fields. You make beautiful clothes, accessories, and toys. You always know where everyone is, despite not having Dolores' Gift of hearing. And, you were the first person to notice how Dolores feels about Mariano, and you fearlessly acted on it to protect and encourage her. Finally, you brought my son home to me, my Brunito, whom I had assumed I had lost forever."
Mirabel didn't know what to say. "I guess I did to all those things."
Abuela's expression became stern. "And you risked your life to do so. Bruno's room was not safe, but you were determined to find him, and so you went. You could have been killed several times over, and you even tried to save the Miracle while Casita collapsed. I could never have lived with myself if you had died trying to fix what I had broken."
A lump rose to Mirabel's throat. "I really needed to hear that." She adjusted her glasses and took a deep breath. "And I almost went across the river, Abuela. It wasn't that deep. I could have waded across. Something kept me from going farther away from all of you. And I think it must have been God calling out to me to stop so that you could catch up to me."
"Please don't ever feel as if you have to leave home to be accepted. I am so sorry that I made your life a misery."
Mirabel's chest burned. "All right, so, you did. Yes. And…I accept your apology."
They spent the rest of the walk to the new house talking about decorations and party plans, and how lovely it would be to sleep in their own beds.
As they arrived, they stopped and gazed at the magnificent, colorful, but not identical home that was now theirs. The house was almost complete. "Home, sweet home," she said to Abuela. "I like the new foundation."
Abuela assessed the house as well. "It isn't perfect…"
"But neither are we," Mirabel retorted with a smirk.
Abuela squeezed her gently. "That's true. Just one more thing, before the celebration."
Bruno approached. "We need a door knob."
Mirabel stared at him. Door knob?
Antonio ran up to her and held out something golden, something shining. "We made this one for you." He handed her a brand new doorknob with an 'M' on it.
Mirabel looked up from the doorknob cupped in her hands and saw the entire family gathering. This is a surprise party…for me? Antonio took her hand and tugged her along, walking her up to the front door of their new house. Mirabel wanted to laugh and cry at Antonio's sweetness in doing for her what she'd done for him the day of his birthday party, but both noises were stuck inside her chest. Her heart pounded. People from town started arriving. Mirabel knew at that moment that this had been planned out around her without her even knowing.
"We see how bright you burn," Pepa's side of the family said as Mirabel passed, their perfect unison showing that they had practiced their line.
"We see how brave you've been," Isabela and Luisa said as Mirabel and Antonio passed them.
"Now see yourself in turn," Mirabel's parents said. Julieta looked as if she were about to cry.
Bruno had taken a spot near the front of the line. "You're the real Gift, kid. Now let us in." He gestured at the door with smiling joy that made him look years younger.
Abuela waited right by the door, just like Mirabel's ruined 5th birthday. She touched Mirabel's cheek and smiled, looking deeply into Mirabel's eyes. "Open your eyes." Then, she whispered, her eyes growing bright with tears at the conscious repetition of that day, "Abre los ojos... What do you see?"
Mirabel looked at the doorknob in her hand and squeezed Antonio's hand in hers. Tears gathered in her eyes as she realized how much work everyone, even Abuela, had put into this. The doorknob was polished to a mirror finish.
She saw the tears in her own eyes, she saw the glowing smile she hadn't realized had grown on her face. "I see…me. All of me." Mirabel looked to her family. They all smiled back, tender, looking at her as if they finally saw her, too.
Mirabel turned, took a deep breath, and fitted the door knob into the door.
Golden light exploded with a rushing sound, flashing over the house, the ground, the sky, everything. The mountains themselves were bathed in golden light. Mirabel took her hand off the door knob, stunned. A golden picture of the entire family burned itself into the door, glowing. The house transformed, paint brightening, and suddenly the shutters were waving at Mirabel.
"Hola, Casita," Mirabel whispered, overwhelmed. She slowly waved in return. The magic was new, the feeling of this house different, but she was still recognizable as Casita. I broke you down…and I fixed you? We've come full circle. Tio Bruno's vision. The vision! It was never about making a choice. It was about the old Casita breaking and the new Casita being built…and me being at the center of both events.
Casitarippled her tiles and zipped Mirabel through the front doors and into the house. Mirabel looked back at her family and the growing crowd from town. "C'mon, get in here!" Joy warmed her from the inside out. We're home.
The house yanked everyone else inside. They laughed and exclaimed over Casita'swelcome.
Mirabel couldn't resist going to the courtyard so she could see everyone's doors restored. But as she slowly turned, taking in the doors, she saw that they glowed with a golden light, unformed. The hum of the magic felt new here, too. No pictures? What does it mean?
Antonio rode past her on his jaguar friend, laughing, so close that Parce brushed against Mirabel's skirt. She spun. "Whoa. Well, okay. Your Gift is back. So what's up with your door?"
Isabela, seeing Antonio, grinned and held up her hands, stomping her foot. Cacti and succulents burst out around her, and her dress transformed, blue streaked with decorative pollen. Likewise, streaks of blue appeared in her hair. She looked so cool and confident.
Mirabel gasped. "Isa, whoa!"
Luisa saw Isabela's display of power and experimentally lifted the heavy planter nearby. "I've got my Gift back, too!"
A donkey seemingly came out of nowhere and body checked her. She landed perfectly in a hammock. Mirabel whirled to see a second donkey serving Luisa a drink. Her eyes sought out Antonio. He stood with his jaguar just beyond, looking smug. Mirabel laughed.
Turning all the way around at a chorus of gasps, Mirabel took in the sight of Pepa and Félix dancing under a cloud shedding delicate snow. Half the town seemed to be watching, mesmerized. Bruno and Abuela were off to one side watching as well at all the Gifts unfolding.
Suddenly, Casitaused her floor tiles to grab Mirabel, Abuela, and Bruno, herding them together. The camera on its tripod was already set up. With a shriek of laughter from Antonio, Casitagrabbed everyone and squished them together. One of Bruno's rats scampered up to control the camera. Abuela called, "Everyone, together!" They barely had time to shout, "La familia Madrigal!" before the rat took the picture.
Mirabel laughed and hugged Parce as the jaguar jumped up on Agustín . "I see he still likes you, Pá."
"Down," Agustín said in a pathetic tone.
Antonio waved Parce down and then got back on the jaguar's back.
Abuela hugged Mirabel and Bruno tightly. "This is wonderful," she murmured. "And I know we only have our home back because of both of you." She kissed their cheeks.
Bruno looked embarrassed.
"That's right," Mirabel said for him. "Tío Bruno is the reason we have a home." She hugged him, too.
Bruno grinned and hugged her tightly in return. "No, I gave up. It's you, Mirabel. You're our Miracle."
Author's Note: There is only one chapter left. This has been a great experience for me. Thank you for all the support!