I do not own Encanto. This story is not for profit.

Chapter 47

November 17th

Evening

Mirabel

After the wine was drunk and the villagers went to their homes, the Madrigals stood in the center of their new home among the messy remnants of the party. Confetti, streamers, and dirty dishes were everywhere.

Mirabel took off her shoes with a groan. "It's got to be like three in the morning." She'd danced so much that her feet were swollen. Juancho, Alejandra, and Cecilia had all asked her why the magic came back and how and what it meant that she was standing in front of everyone in the picture on the front door. She had been as patient as she could in explaining that she didn't know anything either.

Casita bounced her clock along the floor tiles.

Mirabel lifted her glasses, rubbed her tired eyes, and picked up the clock. She groaned again. "It's 2:36 in the morning, you guys."

"But the house is a mess," Má said, looking around with concern that she had seemingly left behind during the party. Her hair was escaping her bun in little tendrils.

Luisa groaned. "All right, I guess we better get started. Casita, can you help us with gathering all the dirty dishes and sweeping the floor?"

Casita tapped out an affirmative. She rippled her floor tiles, shooing what she could out the door. At the same time, dishes rattled and slid their way into the kitchen like a ceramic army.

"I'll get the brooms," Félix said. "As long as they're still in the kitchen closet."

Abuela held up her hands. "Everyone, it has been a long month. And it has been a lovely party, but a long one. We are all tired. Please, stop. We can clean in the morning."

Everyone stared at her.

"Are you sure?" Julieta asked.

Bruno looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

Abuela lowered her hands with a rueful laugh. "Yes. Casita will still be here in the morning, and so will we. Right now, we need rest." She gestured. "And that means discovering what has happened to our rooms now that the magic has returned."

Mirabel grinned nervously. "Yeah…about that…did anyone else notice something?"

"I don't have my Gift back," Dolores said, unafraid and up front, although she still spoke quietly.

Mirabel nodded.

Camilo looked shocked. "You, too?" He gestured to himself. "I didn't get mine back, either!"

"Not me," Tío Bruno said. "And-and thank goodness. I won't miss those headaches. They were brutal."

Isabela glanced at Luisa. "But we got our Gifts back."

"And I have mine," Antonio said. He petted Parce, who sat beside him.

Má stepped forward with a small smile. "I didn't get my old Gift back, either."

Pá's jaw dropped. "What will we do?"

Abuela frowned at him. "We will trust in God."

Pá took off his glasses and cleaned them. "Right. Of course." He put his glasses back on, unsuccessfully trying to look as if he wasn't having a panic attack.

"So…how come some of us have our Gifts back and others don't?" Camilo asked. "Does it have something to do with how the magic came back?"

Everyone looked to Mirabel. She almost folded under the amount of attention and expectation. Antonio came to her side and squeezed her hand. Mirabel exchanged smiles with him and took a deep breath. Concentrate. They're all looking at you. You brought the magic back somehow. Maybe your intuition will tell you what's going on. "It's because the people who were hurt by their Gifts get to pick new ones."

People exchanged glances. "New Gifts?" Abuela asked, looking shocked.

"Why not?" Pepa asked.

Tío Bruno scratched the back of his neck. "I-I always assumed my Gift would be for life. That's why…why…"

Mirabel put together the glowing image on the front door with how many glowing doors she counted upstairs waiting for them. "And, Pá, Tío Felix, you get Gifts, too."

"Wait, is that why all our pictures are on the front door?" Tío Felix asked. "The whole family gets Gifts now? This is amazing!"

Pá stared at Mirabel. "How do you know something like that?"

Abuela came to Mirabel's side and placed a gentle hand on her back. "She knows, because God has chosen her to be the next bearer of the Miracle." She smiled at Mirabel gently. "Isn't that so, mi vida?"

Mirabel teared up. "I don't know. I guess? I just…know things. About the magic. That I didn't know before." The idea of being the bearer of the Miracle overwhelmed her. So if it goes away again, it'll be my fault? Why did this happen? How can this be happening? Would the Miracle have always traveled from Abuela to me? Is that what Tío Bruno's vision meant?

Abuela inclined her head. "Mm-hmm." She brushed away Mirabel's tears. "Our family needs you. Please, guide us. Help us understand our new Miracle."

"We believe in you," Antonio whispered.

Mirabel squared her shoulders. I can do this. Because I have to. "Okay. Here's how this is going to happen. The people who don't have Gifts yet will go up to one of the blank doors. Pick any one. It doesn't matter. They're all blank right now. When you touch the doorknob, make a wish. Wish for whatever you want most deeply, or wish for God to give you the right Gift." She shrugged. "Whichever you're more comfortable with. Whatever comes out, comes out. That's your Gift." If this actually works, then I'll know that I'm the Miracle Bearer like Abuela said.

"I think that's a great way to do it," Bruno said.

Mirabel smiled at him. She could barely breathe for the nervousness that welled up in her. Why me? I'm not special. What if I'm not strong enough to hold the magic? What if the Miracle fails everyone because of me?

"That includes you, right?" Camilo asked. "You get a Gift now too. You appeared on the front door."

"In fact, you're in front," Bruno said. "So you've got to get a Gift."

Mirabel shoved the thought of having to do another Gift ceremony away. That really will make me panic. "I do have Gift, remember? I've got Abuela's Gift now. Go on. You, Camilo, Dolores, and Má get up to the second floor and pick your Gifts."

Everyone else gathered at the base of the stairs and looked up at the row of people.

"Do not be afraid," Abuela said. "Open your hearts."

"What're you going to wish for?" Má asked Tío Bruno.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Bruno fidgeted. "You go first. I'll touch my doorknob once I know what to wish for."

Má approached the door. "I know exactly what I want." She touched the doorknob.

Mirabel held her breath, her chest tightening painfully. Suddenly, a rush of warmth went through her. Golden sparkles exploded from Má's door and rushed through the house. At the same time, little golden flecks of light landed on Má herself and sank in. Mirabel stared, her mouth falling open. The magic. It came out of…me. I am the Miracle Bearer! What would have been panic was numbed under a wave of shock and a sense of unreality.

Má touched her throat.

Pá ran up to her. "What is it?"

She turned to him. "Don't be afraid." Smiling, she hummed a beautiful melody that echoed and hung in the air. Everyone relaxed, including Mirabel.

Mirabel placed her hand over her heart and inhaled deeply. "That felt great." I really did it. I gave Mamá a new Gift.

A picture of Má appeared on the door. There were no symbols to indicate what her Gift might be. It was simply a portrait of Má, with eyes open, smiling. She looked as she did at the moment.

"We have a new Gift," Abuela announced. "A musical Gift. A wonderful Gift!" She paused halfway up the stairs. "But why are there no pictures showing what you can do?"

The answer flashed through Mirabel's mind. "Because we're not our Gifts."

Abuela turned toward her with a look of shock, but her features quickly relaxed. "Ay, you are so wise. Of course. We are not Gifts. We are people." She finished walking to Má and hugged her. "Congratulations, mi vida."

Má hugged Abuela in return. "Thank you. I am so happy, I don't have words for it." Everyone gathered round and took turns congratulating Ma. "It's true. I felt the magic come to me. It's a new magic. We have new freedom. We can have whatever Gift we want. Whatever we want." She wept and hugged Mirabel tightly. "Thank you. Thank you so much for setting me free."

That made Mirabel cry. "Te amo mucho, Mama." I did it. I finally set everyone free from their Gifts. We can all be more, now.

"Te amo mucho."

Everyone then felt they had to say it, and they all exchanged loving words with each other. Once they calmed down, they looked at each other and at the doors with expressions of wonder.

Bruno squared his shoulders. "I'm doing it. I know what I want. And if I can have it, then I'm going to get it." He crossed himself. Then he screwed his eyes tightly shut and touched his doorknob. The golden magic flared to life and imprinted an image of Bruno on the door instantly. This image was true to life, depicting him as he was, not some tall and menacing figure. His eyes were open and he was smiling.

Again, Mirabel felt the rush of warmth, and she saw the golden dust settle on Tío Bruno and absorb.

"Whoa," Camilo said, staring.

"W-What?" Bruno opened his eyes and fell silent. He touched his image with gentle fingertips. His expression was awed. "It happened." His trembling lips curved upward in a small smile. "I wished for it, and it came true."

"What is it? What's your new Gift?" Pepa asked.

Bruno slowly turned toward her. Tears trickled down his cheeks. "I wished to be good luck."

Everyone hugged him, talking at the same time and rendering everything unintelligible. Making things even harder to understand, Bruno talked and laughed and cried. Finally, he hugged Mirabel. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't ever thank you enough."

Mirabel's face hurt from smiling. "You deserve it. You deserve a new start."

They looked into each other's eyes, sharing the special joy of outcasts who were outcasts no longer.

"My turn," Camilo announced. He touched his doorknob. Again, golden light exploded outwards, racing through the house, dusting Camilo with particles of magic, and etching his likeness on the door. His portrait's expression was soft, almost timid, and his head was cocked in a friendly way.

Mirabel was getting used to the rushes of warmth. "What did you pick?"

Camilo looked puzzled. "I don't know how it's going to work yet. I mean, it's a whole new Gift. I guess it'll take a while to learn all of it. But I guessed…I guessed to sort of, slow things down when I need to. What I want most is time. Just…more time. Breathing room. So, we'll see." He shrugged.

"I wish the doors would tell us, but I understand why we can't be reduced to the Gifts we hold," Abuela murmured.

Camilo smiled. "I don't want a door to tell me what to do. I want to figure it out myself."

"I'm going," Dolores announced. She touched her doorknob. This time, Mirabel wasn't surprised at the resulting rush of warmth and fireworks and magic dust. Dolores turned to face everyone with a look of pure serenity that matched her portrait on her door. "I know what I wished for and how it works." She locked gazes with Má. "I wished that I could heal people. I don't know if it's going to be food, or something else, but I wished to be able to do what you used to do."

"Dolores," Má protested.

"You didn't have to do that," Abuela said, looking alarmed and concerned.

Dolores shook her head with an impatient smirk. "I wanted to. I wanted this for me. I've been jealous of Tía Julieta my whole life."

Mirabel understood. "Oh…When we asked you if you wanted to learn how to cook, you ran away because we were wrong about which part of Má's Gift you were jealous of. I get it now." She grinned. "Well, no more jealousy needed. You've got what you want. And so does Má. This is working out great."

Tío Bruno hugged Mirabel gently. "Yes, it is. People work the best when they have the freedom to do what their heart calls them to. Families are healthiest when they're bound by love, not obligation. When we stop holding on too tight, we gain the freedom to actually love each other."

Mirabel felt a surge of joy and warmth. "Oof. I think you made the Miracle kick inside of me." She laughed. "At least we know God is happy right now." She turned to her Pá and to Tío Felix. "All right, your turn to pick Gifts you've never had before." She gestured.

Pá rushed the door and grabbed the doorknob. "I'm doing this before I overthink it." He closed his eyes. A split-second later, the magic rushed out and over him. He slowly let his hand fall away from the door and opened his eyes. He lifted his hands as if he'd never seen them before. Then he slowly stretched, as if he'd been sitting in one place for a long time. Tears filled his eyes. He wiped them away and ran to Mirabel, hugging her so tightly and quickly that he lifted her off her feet. "Thank you." His voice was thick with emotion. "I'm never going to belittle the Miracle again. This is – This is more than I ever could have dreamed of. You have no idea…" He stopped speaking, his chin quivering.

"What is it? What did you ask for?" Má asked.

Pá released Mirabel, wiped his eyes again, and gave Má a watery grin. "Luisa, throw something at me. Not too heavy."

Everyone looked at him oddly.

"Throw something?" Luisa asked.

"Something small," Pá said.

No one moved.

Pá laughed. "I'm not crazy. But, fine. How about this?" He walked out of the group of them, down the hall, and then did a series of backflips and handstands back to where they stood. "Ta-da!" He held his hands up. "I wished for the grace I always have wished I had. No longer am I going to be known as clumsy Agustín."

Bruno laughed. "I should have seen this coming. Instead of superhumanly clumsy, you're superhumanly agile!"

"Now that's thinking, bro!" Tío Félix said, hugging Pá and clapping him on the back.

"What about you?" Pá asked. "What have you always wanted?"

"I only get one power, right?" Tio Felix asked Mirabel.

Mirabel smiled wryly. "Right. Just one. You've got to pick. And you know what? You don't have to pick right now. I know it's a lot of pressure. If you don't know, wait and think about it. Just go to sleep in Tía Pepa's room."

Pá looked awed. "Oh, right. This means we actually get our own separate rooms now."

"Everyone should have their own room," Mirabel said with a flash of pain that she tried to cover up with a smile.

Antonio hugged her. "We all get rooms," he whispered. "I know you'll get a cool room. I'll want to visit all the time."

Mirabel hugged him in return.

Tío Félix held up his hands. "No, I've got it. I know what I want, and if God has no objections, then that's what I'll get." He approached the shining door and took the knob, closing his eyes and murmuring a short prayer. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the golden magic exploded out of the door, washed through the house, and settled on him like glowing dust. His image appeared on the door, looking unusually calm. His eyes were open and he looked straight ahead with a small smile.

He stepped back from the door and looked at it, then crossed himself. "Dios mio. It worked." He turned to Tía Pepa. "Is this how you feel?"

She nodded.

He shook his head slowly. "I'm at a loss for words. Truly."

His children gathered around him.

"It's big, right? And warm," Camilo said.

"And it fills your whole body," Dolores said.

"It tickles!" Antonio added.

Tío Félix hugged them all. "Yes, yes, all of that. And more."

Tía Pepa wiped her eyes. "Congratulations, Corazon."

They kissed.

"What did you pick?" Tía Pepa asked.

He grinned. "It'll be a surprise."

"Félix!" She swatted his arm.

He laughed. "All right, all right. I wished for the ability to help people speak from the heart."

Camilo's eyes widened, and his shock and trepidation showed Mirabel that Tío Felix's wish had some extra meaning for him. "Is it because of…me?"

Tío Félix crossed over to him and hugged him. "Yes, because of you." He gestured to Tía Pepa. "And because what I have been telling my beautiful wife all this time is that life is simpler when you let things go and let things flow instead of blocking them up inside."

"That's easier said than done," Tío Bruno said.

Tío Félix grinned. "Which is why I wished for my Gift, bro! I'm going to put my money where my mouth is. If I want people to open up, I should encourage them."

Mirabel locked gazes with Abuela and nodded. "Your turn."

Abuela looked at everyone and found everyone looking at her. "Me? But…"

"Come on, Mamá," Bruno said quietly.

"Don't be so shy. You already had a Gift. Your Gift made the first Casita. Your Gift made the mountains rise up to protect us," Félix said, urging her with wide, expressive gestures.

"You don't have to keep the same Gift," Mirabel said. "You can wish for a new one. Instead of wishing for some way to hold onto everyone as tightly as possible so that the soldiers don't get them, you can wish for something else." She took her Abuela's hands and led her up to one of the two remaining glowing doors. "Please. Let me give you a new life. It's never too late for hope."

Abuela embraced her tightly, weeping. "I do not deserve you."

"Grace isn't something you deserve, Abuela. It's something people who love you give, because we do. We love you very much." Mirabel's pain at how Abuela had treated her for years was a dull ache in her chest, and this current moment, warm with magic and being able to give her family miraculous gifts, somehow being imbued with the power of God to do amazing things for her family, gave her the ability to rise above the ugliness of their shared past and truly see Abuela as a woman who needed saving, who needed a chance to make new decisions and live a new life.

Abuela released Mirabel, stroked Mirabel's cheek, wiping away a tear Mirabel hadn't noticed until then, and faced the door with her chin up. "I am a proud woman, and I beg God for the Gift that best suits me, or perhaps can help me to be the person I wish to be instead of the person I am." She grasped the door knob and gasped, her whole body jerking back as the magic rushed up through Mirabel, exploded out of the door, rippled through the house, and settled on Abuela as a fine dust. Abuela's picture appeared on the door. The portrait showed Abuela as she looked now, wide-eyed and with an expression of amazement.

"What did you get? Tell us," Tío Felix urged.

Abuela shakily placed a hand on her chest, over her heart, and slowly turned to face them. She looked raw, almost haunted. "I can feel you all so much right now. In here."

"Feeling? Magical feeling?" Agustín asked.

Expressions of dawning understanding appeared on several family members' faces, including Dolores.

"Magical empathy," Dolores said.

"What?" Mirabel's Má gasped.

Abuela gave everyone a tremulous smile. "Do not be afraid, my children. God is great. Surely He would not give me a Gift I cannot handle. I wished for this. For some way to be more as I should be. This is my way, my path to redemption. Too often I was able to close my heart to others. Now I have a magic, a miraculous Gift, that will allow me to keep my heart open at all times." She hugged everyone, and kissed her children's cheeks.

Finally, she ended up with Mirabel. She cupped Mirabel's face. "Your heart is pounding so hard, mi vida. But be still. Have confidence in yourself. Claim what has always been yours to claim: a place in our family as a bearer of a Gift. Believe that God will give you a blessing, as well as the responsibility as the bearer of our Miracle. He would not leave you out."

Mirabel faced the moment she would have to open her door. She nodded, stepped forward, and wiped her suddenly sweaty palm on her skirt, then froze for a split second, realizing she'd done the same thing ten years ago. She took a deep breath, conscious of that echo, too. Then she stepped forward and forced herself to put her hand on the doorknob.

As soon as her hand touched the warm metal, the Miracle rushed through her and throughout the house, and she felt something new and profound settle over her. But being the Miracle-bearer is a Gift, isn't it? Still, the new presence remained. And her picture appeared on the door.

I'm home.