"Mira?" Antonio's soft voice called out in alarm, as he pointed a chubby hand at her arm, where several bruises had formed on her arm, "What happened, was someone mean to you?"

Mirabel looked down at her arm with a frown, "I don't know?" she insisted, "I must have bumped it while in town," she said, before smiling at Antonio, "Don't worry Tonito, I'll eat some of Mama's food, and be healed up right away."

"Good," Antonio said, with a nod, "Let's go," he insisted, grabbing Mirabel by the hand and dragging her out of the nursery.

"Tia," he called out, as he dragged Mirabel into the kitchen, "Mira's hurt."

Abuela looked up from where she was working at the table, helping her daughter prep for the upcoming meal, "What did you do?"

"I don't really know," Mirabel insisted, "I can't think of anything that I did to cause the bruising."

"Were you fighting?"

"No!"

"Then what were you doing?" Abuela demanded.

"I don't know," Mirabel insisted, "All I did today was hang out with Tonito."

"You obviously did something," Abuela insisted, "You got into a fight didn't you?"

"No, Abuela I didn't."

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses until you tell us the truth about how you got those bruises, you won't get any healing food."

Mirabel glanced at her mother, after all, when it came to her children, she got the final say.

"She has to learn not to get into fights," Abuela insisted, "She'll just have to go to bed without cena tonight."

"Abuela's right, I can't permit fighting, I'm sorry Mirabel, either tell us what really happened or you can go up to the nursery for the rest of the day."

…
Mirabel sat on the edge of her bed, a handkerchief pressed up against her nose as she tried to slow the stream of blood coming from it. She hadn't been doing anything when it had happened. Since Abuela had sent her to the nursery for the rest of the day until she confessed that she had been fighting. She wasn't going to confess, because it wasn't true, she had been reading a book when all of a sudden there were large red splotches on it. Which was really, really bad, since this wasn't her book, she had borrowed it from the library, what were they going to think about the blood splotches? How much would it cost to replace it? Probably quite a bit, the book did come from outside Encanto after all.

There was a soft knock on the door, but Mirabel didn't answer, it was probably Abuela, wondering if she was ready to confess yet.

The door creaked open, "Mirabel?" a soft voice called out.

Dolores, of course, it was Dolores, but what was Dolores doing here?

"I told Tia that I overdid it and needed an Arepa," Dolores announced, "Here," she offered, handing the younger girl the baked good, "That should help with the bloody nose."

"Danks," Mira muttered, biting off a chunk, before carefully chewing and swallowing, watching in amazement as the bruises that lined her arm disappeared.

"I tried telling Abuela that you hadn't been in any fights recently, but she didn't believe me," Dolores muttered, "She told me that with everything I hear all the time, I'm bound to miss certain things."

"Yeah," Mirabel agreed, dropping the bloody handkerchief as she looked at her oldest cousin, "What does Abuela have against me anyway? I get that I don't have a gift, but neither does she or our fathers, yet she never just assumes that Pa was fighting when he comes home covered in bruises."

"I don't know," Dolores insisted, "I really don't know, but I do know that this bruising isn't good, something's wrong, seriously wrong, you need to see the doctor."

"Abuela will just get after me if I distract Mama and Pa about a doctor's appointment," Mirabel muttered.

"Who said anything about them having to take you?" Dolores insisted, "You're fourteen right, you can go to the doctor without a parent. I'll go with you if you want."

Mirabel nodded, "Thanks Lolo."

"No problem," Dolores whispered, squeezing her shoulder, "I need to go, Papi's looking for me, if you need me just call out. I'll keep an ear out for you."

"Mmm hmm," Mirabel hummed, "I will."

…
The next day, Mirabel woke up to find bruises down her arms again, which was concerning since she had eaten an arepa before going to bed the day before. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about her Abuela finding out that Dolores had snuck her an arepa.

At the breakfast table, Dolores cleared her throat, "Are you busy today, Mira? I could use your help."

"Que?"

"I need help picking out a Navidad present for Tonito," Dolores insisted, winking at Mirabel.

Mirabel nodded with a sigh, "I guess," she muttered, she really was going to drag her to the doctor.

…
Mirabel sighed as she tucked her sewing project back into her bag, "How much longer is Dr. Ruiz going to be?" she asked, "We've been waiting for over an hour for him to come back."

"Relax," Dolores insisted, "it's only been forty minutes and he's just finishing up the last of the…" Dolores's face paled as she let out a squeak, the clear sign that she heard something somewhere else that was upsetting, "Tests," she whispered.

"If you need to go deal with something else, you can go, I can meet with the doctor by myself."

"No, no, I most certainly not leaving you alone to hear this news by yourself."

"You heard Dr. Ruiz say something, didn't you? How bad is it?"

Dolores shook her head, "He's headed this way," she insisted, "I think it will be better for you to hear it from him. He'll be able to answer all of your questions."

Mirabel nodded, as the door opened and Dr. Ruiz walked in, shaking his head, before looking at Mirabel, "Perhaps you want to wait until we fetch your parents for this diagnosis?"
Mirabel shook her head, "No that's okay, I don't want to worry them, don't worry though, I'll be a good patient and take my medicine and follow your instructions. They won't even notice that I'm sick."

Dr. Ruiz gave Dolores an alarmed look, and Dolores nodded her head sadly, it was true, even though she knew what he was about to say, there was a good chance that the others won't notice that she was ill, nobody would care.

"I'm afraid this isn't something that I can give you a pill for," Dr. Ruiz said, "You have leukemia, and that's just something I cannot cure. Maybe someone outside of Encanto has discovered a cure now, but…"

"How long…" Dolores began, but trailed off, eyeing Mirabel slightly.

"I don't know, it really depends on Mirabel and how fast the cancer spreads. I wish there was more that I can tell you. Like I said before there might be a cure outside of Encanto."

"Abuela will never allow us to leave the Encanto," Mirabel muttered.

"If she knew that it was your only chance of survival she might," Dr. Ruiz insisted, "She'd do it."

Mirabel shook her head, "I doubt it, besides, there's no guarantee that there's anything for my condition out there. It could just be a waste of time, time Abuela and Mama don't have to spend on me. Besides, I don't want Mama to worry about me. I'd rather if you don't tell the family," she turned to Dolores as she spoke, pleading with her to keep this a secret.

"We can't just not tell the family, Mira, this is serious."

"What's the point in telling them though," Mira asked, "They won't believe me, or you, think about it Lolo, they thought I was trying to cover up the fact that I was in a fight when I told them I don't know how I got the bruises yesterday. They'll just think that I'm trying to cover up the fact that I get into fights and trying to get sympathy and distract Mama. No, it will be best if we don't tell them."

Dolores pursed her lips, she had a point, after all, "Fine I won't tell them, but if they start getting concerned about your health and want to take you in for testing like what I did today, then you have to tell them the truth. Deal?"

"Deal."

…
"What did you do with Loli today?" Antonio asked as the four-year-old ran into the nursery later that day, "What did you buy me?"

"Tonito," Pepa called out, walking in after him, a frown forming as she noticed the bloody handkerchief sitting on Mirabel's nightstand, "What happened here?" she demanded, hands on hips.

"Oh nothing, the air's just a little dry, that's all," Mirabel said, only to wince afterward, she had just complained about the weather, to her tia, who literally can control the weather with her emotions.

"Why didn't you tell me!" Pepa demanded, tugging on her braid, "I could add some moisture to it, but I need to be careful, Mama doesn't want it to rain today."

"No Tia, it's okay," Mirabel insisted, "Honest, I ate one of Mama's arepa's and it healed right up. There's no need to get in trouble because of me. I'm fine honestly."

Pepa frowned, leaning forward, "Is that a bruise on your arm?"

Mirabel slapped her hand softly on the bruise, "No, I'm fine really," she insisted, "You're probably busy, why don't I take Antonio and you can do whatever it is that you need to do," she insisted, "Honest, I'm fine, really."

Pepa frowned, and eyed the fourteen-year-old briefly before turning to Antonio, "Would it be okay if I leave you with Mirabel."

"Uhhuh," Antonio said, happily, "We can work on our present for you," he insisted.

Pepa nodded as she left the room, she needed to talk to Julieta and Dolores. There was no way she was going to allow her niece to become the second Bruno of this family. She didn't stand up for her brother, she wasn't going to make that same mistake twice.

…
After Pepa left, Antonio turned to Mirabel, "Why do you always come home with bruises?" he asked.

Mirabel sighed, "Look Tonito, I don't know how to tell you this, but I have this disease, this sickness, called leukemia, and it causes me to bruise."

"Oh, okay," Antonio said, wrapping chubby little arms around her, "Get better soon, okay?"

"Okay," Mirabel agreed, returning the hug, she didn't feel up to telling him that she wouldn't get better. Maybe, when things got worse, she'll tell him that it was a possibility, but right now, this would do, "But you can't tell anyone, not Mami, not Papi, Tia, or Tio, and absolutely not Abuela, I don't want them to worry about me."

"Okay."

…
Pepa entered the kitchen and grabbed Julieta's arm, pulling her away from the sink, and spinning her around so that she was facing her, "I think Mirabel might be getting bullied," she confessed.

"Bullied?"

"Yes, bullied, I just saw her upstairs in the nursery, she has new bruises, and there's evidence that she had a bloody nose, yet she told me that it was nothing," Pepa announced, flinging her hands up into the air. "Nothing just like Bruno use to say. We need to do something."

"Why didn't she tell me that someone hurt her yesterday?" Julieta asked, "That would explain the bruising. Don't worry about it Pepa, I'll get to the bottom of this."

"You better," Pepa muttered as she left the room, unaware of an eavesdropper in town shaking her head at the fact that they had noticed the symptoms and had brushed them off.