[the forgotten truth]
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"Good morning Miss María" said Mirabel as she walked with her bicycle in hand, back to her house along the gravel road. She returned from the town after giving her morning embroidery classes to the children in the community room at the Church of the municipality of Tocama. She breathed in the pure country air. The morning was exceptionally cold, but glorious. Dew fell on the potato fields along the road lined with acacia trees, while birds sang as the country workers gathered their crop to be taken to the city.
Mirabel greeted a few other neighbors as she continued on her way. She lived in a village near the main town, located a few minutes by bicycle. Her house was a small white cottage with a tiled roof and green ornaments, it had a small kitchen, a living room, and two bedrooms. The facade was beautiful, since her father had taken care of planting all kinds of foliage and flowers that hung on the walls.
"Hi papi," Mirabel said as she opened the green fence that separated her house from the gravel driveway.
"Hello," her father replied kindly, "Do you want a tintico?" she asked.
"Yes, of course," she answered.
Mirabel took from her hands the white pewter cup with flowers drawn on it and she savored the hot coffee while the two of them sat on the improvised stool made of a board and a couple of heavy stones in front of the house. She talked for a long time with her dad. She told him about the children's progress in her embroidery class. He asked her about the date to return to classes, since she was on school break. Both talked about the garden and the products they had to take to the municipal market.
Life was good at Mirabel and Bruno Guzmán's house. They were just a couple of country folks in a distant village, but there was no doubt that they were both happy. The only thing Mirabel would have wanted was a mom. She never had the luck to meet her mother, Julieta Mendez de Guzmán had the bad luck to die during the birth of her single daughter. Her father had raised her by himself ever since. Bruno was the center of Mirabel's life. Both shared good times and bad times. Her father loved her very much, a feeling that she reciprocated.
"Look, the begonias we planted a couple of months ago are in bloom, they look really beautiful," Bruno said as he picked up a couple of flowers and showed them to her.
Mirabel could not help but love him very much. She knew that many of her classmates had dictatorial parents, and sometimes cruel, but not her father. He was an extremely thin man with fair skin and abundant black hair, who looked at her with his large eyes full of tenderness.
"They are very pretty," Mirabel replied. "papi".
"Yes?" Bruno asked.
"This afternoon there will be a film in the town square. I was wondering if I could go see it with Alberto," Mirabel said. Bruno didn't seem sure."I don't want you riding the bike on the roads at dusk," he answered."I could stay at Miriam Quintero's house for the night," Mirabel answered, referring to her friend's house."Okay," Bruno accepted, sighing when he found himself unable to fight with his daughter.
While the two shared coffee and planted in the garden. Alberto Ramirez, a pale boy with brown hair and brown eyes, arrived at Mirabel's house. He was the son of the Municipal judge. They had been dating for the past nine months. Alberto had asked her to be his girlfriend during her fifteenth birthday party. "Good morning, Don Bruno," Alberto said as he passed the fence, approached Mirabel and kissed her on the cheek.
That afternoon Mirabel and Alberto left the cottage by bicycle, while Bruno said goodbye to them, as he recited a bunch of recommendations and warnings. The three of them had spent the day working in the garden and chatting while Mirabel prepared something to eat. It seemed that she lived in some kind of paradise and nothing could ruin her day.
As she took her bike, Mirabel remembered the single thing that hindered her life. She used to have trouble sleeping from time to time, and lately it was getting worse. Mirabel used to dream of a distant place, a town very different from the high-plains lands from where she lived. She used to think that that place in her dreams was in the mountains of the coffee region, since coffee plantations covered the hills. However, the truth was that she had never visited that place.
Bruno used to save money with great effort to take her on short vacations during Christmas or Easter, but he had never wanted to take her to that part of the country. "Over there is only a mountain, nothing interesting to see" said her father while he ended the conversation in which she suggested going. Unfortunately, those dreams were beginning to take on a slightly wicked tone. The house in them seemed to crack, and the lights that illuminated it were completely turned off, giving up to the darkness.
"It's just a nightmare, you shouldn't worry. That house does not exist, and if it did, this is not your problem" said her father that night in which he found her in the kitchen of the house, wrapped up in a heavy white ruana, drinking hot panela water with lemon at midnight.
"Papi, do you think that horrible dream could mean something?" Mirabel asked. Bruno gently ran a hand through her hair as he gave her a loving look.
"Of course not"
Mirabel had told Alberto about her dreams on a couple of occasions. He advised her not to worry about it. However, Alberto gave her a heavy book that said "the meaning of dreams" on the cover. "Maybe it could help you," he said.
The book said that this dream meant that she had unresolved family problems. Mirabel didn't think the book would be very useful. After all, she didn't have any family problems. Her dad adored her, her friends liked her, everyone in town was nice to her, and she had a really good boyfriend. Maybe her unresolved family problem was her mother. "Julieta" Mirabel repeated as she looked out the window over her bed. That was a nice name. She didn't know why, but something told her that Julieta must have really loved her very much.
"I would like to have a picture of mom," Mirabel told Bruno one morning. "I'm sorry dear, but photographers were rare and quite expensive back then," her dad replied as he read his newspaper.
"We made it on time" Alberto said as they got off their bikes. That night's show would take place in the town's municipal park, where a bunch of folding chairs were located in front of a movie screen. Mirabel and Alberto met their friends from school next to a restaurant while everyone chatted animatedly.
"Ma'am," Alberto said to one of the cooks, "please, two plates of cocido and two lemonades." They all sat at the table and ate, while they waited for the show to start. "We have new visitors in the town," said Esperanza, the daughter of the owner of the single inn in town. "They are a married couple. The Doña is a Paisa, from the coffee region, and the Don is from the capital, very elegant. They have a very handsome nephew. Oh look, there's the nephew." Mirabel listened to the news with the greatest interest since in a town as small as hers, made up of nine blocks on both sides, this was the most interesting thing that she could experience.
"Camilo" called Esperanza as she waved her hand for him to join them. Mirabel turned around. Her friend wasn't lying. The newcomer was handsome, he was dark, with greenish eyes, curly hair, and he was wearing a ruana too thin for the cold weather. His expression was happy and friendly, and he got excited to see them. Mirabel didn't know why, but it seemed to her that he was looking only at her.
"Your new friend will die of coldness and lose his handsomeness if he doesn't get new clothes" Alberto said, as if he had read Mirabel's thoughts.
"Do you want to eat with us?" Esperanza asked the boy. The conversation continued until the organizers announced the start of the movie. Mirabel stood up and walked to the chairs "Mirabel, isn't it?" Camilo asked as he approached her. "Yes, Mirabel Gonzales" she said as she offered him her hand. He took it and gave her a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Mirabel" he said "Esperanza told me that you live with your dad"
"She doesn't lie, we live in a house near here" replied Mirabel who felt more and more nervous every moment. "Have you always lived here?," Camilo asked, keeping his insistent gaze. "No, we have been living here for ten years. We used to live in Antioquia before" she replied.
In fact. She had always been surprised that other people would remember their young age so well. To tell the truth, her earliest memories were of her difficult journey from their town. She was a child when they had come from there, and she had always assumed that she had come there escaping violence. Tocama was a very rural and peaceful town, where almost everyone who lived there knew each other and worked in agriculture. They hadn't had any problems there, and she considered herself very happy. Bruno never spoke of their birthplace, Mirabel supposed that it did not bring him good memories.
Alberto joined them and put his arm around Mirabel's shoulders, while the black and white movie began. Luckily, Mirabel didn't speak to Camilo again. Suddenly, the boy apologized and decided to leave because he was unable to resist the weather anymore. For some reason, he seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on why. The next morning, Mirabel returned to her house, after spending the evening with her friend Miriam.
"Good morning, Miss Maria," Mirabel said, smiling at her elderly neighbor. "Good morning mija, we haven't seen each other for a while" said the smiling woman as she approached her. " We met yesterday, I greeted you when I returned from teaching embroidery classes at the town church," Mirabel replied. "You must have seen my doppelganger, because that wasn't me," the old lady joked as she gave her a paper bag, "here dear, these papayuelas are for your dad, to thank him for taking care of my chickens." Mirabel received them with a smile and promised to see her soon.
Mirabel assumed that Miss Maria's memory was playing tricks on her. Since she was completely sure that she had seen her the day before. She went into her house and found her dad in the kitchen while he was having breakfast. "Hello my mariposita" said Bruno happily. "Hello daddy" she greeted without being able to respond to his emotion.
"Something happened?" Bruno asked. "I think Miss Maria is not feeling well," Mirabel answered. "I'm afraid she might lose her memory." Bruno looked at her with curiosity "Why do you say that?" he asked. "I greeted her yesterday and today she told me that she hadn't seen me for a long time," Mirabel answered.
"Yeah, it's weird," said Bruno.
Mirabel prepared a dessert with the papayuelas that Miss Maria gave her. Afterwards, Bruno and Mirabel left the house with the intention of visiting her and sharing some dessert. She held her father's arm tightly as they walked, until they both saw something that surprised them. "Rogelio, my friend, I think you have forgotten how to hold the hoe, '' Bruno mocked as he saw one of his friends in the field trying to work in his potato crops while he held his tool upside down.
"H-hello Mr. Bruno" answered Rogelio very nervously as he dropped the tool.
"What's wrong, my friend?" Bruno asked, almost about to laugh. "Nothing, excuse me," the man said before leaving. Mirabel and Bruno shared a surprised look. Rogelio had been his neighbor since they arrived at the village, and he had never behaved like that.
"Very strange" Bruno commented as they got back on the road. Mirabel and Bruno arrived at Miss Maria's house, where they spent the afternoon while Mirabel finished some sewing work, and Bruno fed the chickens. Miss María invited them to dinner, then, they were joined by a couple of other neighbors, including Rogelio.
"Bro, what happened to you this afternoon?" Bruno asked as he gave him a firm handshake. "Did you have too many drinks?
"The one who took too many drinks was you," Rogelio said, "I haven't worked on the farm today, you saw someone else,". Mirabel and Bruno shared a look, as if they were both trying to prove that neither of them was wrong.
"Mirabel" Bruno started as the two of them walked home on the gravel road in the middle of the night, while holding a kerosene lamp "tomorrow we must go to the capital. Maybe it would be best if we spend a good time there, so I can take care of some business," he said. Mirabel was petrified. As far as she knew, they didn't have enough money to make that kind of trip.
"Dad, I have to teach a class at the community center, and my boyfriend…" Mirabel began.
"Not an option, Mirabel," Bruno said seriously. Mirabel was petrified. Her dad always asked for her opinion. She loved how reasonable and sweet he was. And it was then that she sensed that something strange was happening, because Bruno was not like that.
"It's okay, papi" Mirabel accepted resignedly, while she silently hoped that he had a very good reason for making that decision. Suddenly, Mirabel noticed something she hadn't seen. It was a black truck. Vehicles like this one were rarely seen in that remote region, they were reserved for cities.
"Mirabel, we have to run," said Bruno.
"Don't even think about it, uncle," said Rogelio, his neighbor, who jumped from some bushes. Mirabel got scared and forcefully grabbed her dad's arm. Suddenly, a true scene of horror took place: Rogelio seemed to be deformed until Camilo appeared in front of them. She couldn't help but scream, while Bruno remained alert but unsurprised. It was as if he had already witnessed that scene.
"You've grown quite a bit, Camilo," said Bruno. Mirabel remembered that the boy had called him uncle. At that moment, two figures emerged from the truck and approached them. It was a woman and a man in a suit carrying a shotgun in his hands. Mirabel got even more scared and tried to pull her dad so they would run in the opposite direction.
"Wretched man" yelled the woman "I should call the police for you to rot in jail, you miserable criminal" she said as she clenched her jaw and glared at him with glowing hatred.
"Enough running Bruno, give me a reason to shoot," said the man pointing the shotgun. "I have waited ten years for this moment." Mirabel was very scared when she saw the weapon. She hadn't seen one. Although she knew Miss Maria had one, she had never used it.
"Mirabu" said the man with the shotgun as he gave her a look full of tenderness, "linda, dad will take you home" he continued as if he were talking to some kind of imaginary girl. Mirabel looked at Bruno trying to find an explanation. That man must have lost his mind, she already had a father and he was by her side.
"What's going on here?" asked the real Rogelio who was approaching with an angry mob of neighbors walking towards them with hoes, shovels in their hands. "Are you bothering Don Bruno and his daughter?"
"Rogelio, friends" Bruno began as he moved away from Mirabel and spoke to the group of neighbors. "This is nothing more than a family argument, she is my sister, this is her husband and this other is my nephew. A simple discussion. Agustín will put the gun down immediately," he said. Agustín must have thought that it was not a good idea to contradict him, since he left the weapon in the truck very slowly.
"Let's go into the house," Bruno said as the crowd dispersed. Those moments passed in a dream, Mirabel looked at the multiple candles they had in the living room burning while she listened to words that she could barely understand.
"It was stupid to have brought a gun, Agustín" Bruno said as they all sat down in the living room.
"It was the only thing I could think of. I didn't know if you would react violently," Agustín replied.
"Why have you come here, Julieta?" Bruno asked. Mirabel was surprised to hear that name. However, the woman's gaze was filled with hate. "You have to have a lot of nerve to ask me something like that. I came to rescue my girl, and take her home with me "
"After ten years," Bruno answered while Agustín and Julieta looked as if they were about to kill him with their bare hands.
"It is not exactly easy to find a person in this country. There are endless towns like Encanto and like this one, very distant from everything." Agustín responded.
"You would have found her, if you really wanted to," Bruno said.
"Don't you dare" replied Julieta "don't you dare try to make us look like the bad ones. You disappeared that night, and you stole our daughter from her bed," said the woman who was on the verge of tears. Mirabel could barely mutter a faint "What?" Julieta ran to her, took her by the hands and spoke: "Mirabel. I don't understand why you can't remember us, but we are your parents. Your name is Mirabel Madrigal, and this man kidnapped you and took you away from our side." She looked up from her to Bruno, but he avoided her.
"I-I don't understand," she stammered. Bruno stopped avoiding her and looked into her eyes.
"Mirabel, I'm so sorry. I've lied to you for all these years. You are not my daughter, you are my niece. They are Julieta and Agustín Madrigal. Your real name is Mirabel Madrigal, and mine is Bruno Madrigal" he said as he stared at her. Mirabel looked around, trying to find an explanation in their eyes, but all she saw was Camilo's concern, Julieta and Agustín's anxiety, and Bruno's shame.
"Why?" asked Mirabel who felt a strong headache throbbing in her temples.
"Mirabel" said Julieta without letting go of her hands. "You are part of a very special family, the Madrigals. Everyone in this family has a special and magical gift. You already saw Camilo's, he can transform into anyone. I can heal with my food. Your sisters, one is very strong and the other can make flowers sprout from nothing." She barely managed to digest the fact that she had sisters when she dared to ask.
"And you, dad?" asked Mirabel.
"I am not a Madrigal, Mirabu" said Agustín. Mirabel felt embarrassed by the confusion since she wasn't referring to him. "I'm sorry, I mean Bruno," she apologized. Agustín tried to give her a smile to assure her that it was ok, but it was clear that she had hurt him.
"I can see the future"
"And what about me?" Mirabel asked. Suddenly, everyone fell silent. She felt that nobody wanted to give her an answer, until Camilo was the only one who had the courage to speak. "You don't have a gift," he said. Mirabel did not want to know more and she preferred to remain silent.
"I just want to know why you took my daughter away? Why did you take her from me? my own brother "Julieta asked with contained rage in her tone of voice, and emphasizing the last word as if it hurt her to pronounce it. Bruno explained to Mirabel an intricate story about a candle, a miracle and magic doors "I will never understand the reason why the house decided not to give you a door" said Bruno. "Mom was very worried about magic, so she asked me to have a vision. I did what she asked. I discovered that Mirabel would be the one to blame for the destruction of the house. However, nothing was clear, destiny changed as I looked at it, but I am Bruno and everyone always expects the worst from me. Only one thing remained the same: the life that Mirabel would have in that house would be very sad. My first idea was to run away from the family, to avoid confessing the truth to mom and protect the girl, but I couldn't leave her alone, "Bruno explained.
"Mom wouldn't be nice to Mirabel. I knew her life wouldn't be easy. Agustín and you are mom's pawns, just like the rest of the family. You wouldn't have the courage to protect her from her. Mirabel would be completely alone in a town of people who would make her feel inadequate and worthless. I know that it wasn't good, I know that it was cruel, that I shouldn't have separated you from your daughter, but at that moment, it seemed to me that it was the only solution to give Mirabel a good life and save the house "said Bruno. Mirabel stared at him. That man had done nothing for the past ten years other than treat her with the love of a father. She remembered those times when he would take her to picnics with her favorite doll and her teddy bear and they would play with her toy dinnerware set, or when he had asked Miss Maria to teach him how to braid hair to make her the hairstyles that the other girls wore at school. He was her dad, the only one she had ever known. Maybe this was just a nightmare, maybe all she needed was a good night's sleep.
"I'm going to spend the night at Miriam's house, or maybe at Alberto's house" said Mirabel who stood up and went to the door. She ran to the entrance, grabbed her bike and started to mount on it. Suddenly, someone stopped her, as he put his arms around her so she couldn't make a move. It was Camilo, who was using all his strength into it, so she couldn't move.
"Stop," Camilo yelled. "Let me go," she replied as she struggled. "It would be crazy to ride that bike on the highway, in the middle of the night, in such a state of mind. I won't let you go" insisted the boy.
"Mirabel, calm down, please" Bruno asked from the door. Mirabel stared at him and stopped struggling. She walked back into the house slowly and sat down at the wooden table they had in the kitchen. Mirabel did not remember telling that woman where the kitchen implements were, nor the ingredients, but even so, she managed to make a meat broth for Mirabel.
"Eat it, my love, it'll help you sleep" Julieta said as she gave her a look full of tenderness. Mirabel looked at Agustín and Julieta. She did not associate the words mom and dad with those strangers, who only a couple of hours before had threatened them to death with a shotgun. Mirabel looked to Bruno who gave her a smile and nodded. She took the spoon and took the first sip of that broth that could solve all her problems. Mirabel allowed herself to be led slowly to the bed and lay there without even thinking about changing her clothes.
Mirabel woke up the next morning with sunlight on her face. She woke up feeling full of hope, despite having had the strangest dream last night, in it there were two strangers who claimed to be her parents, a boy with the talent to turn into anyone, and strange tales about magic doors. and miracle candles. However, she was very happy that it finished.
"Good morning" Mirabel said as she walked out wearing her nightgown and heavy white sweater to the kitchen. She expected to see her dad cooking breakfast, but instead she found the three protagonists of her nightmares sitting there, waiting for Mrs. Julieta to finish preparing breakfast.
"Good morning" they all replied. She looked at the plate of food on the table. The lady had had enough time to prepare arepas with cheese and fruit. Mirabel was silent and thought it twice before eating them, those were not her favorites. She preferred the arepas campesinas that were eaten in her region. Mirabel barely got past the first bite, the food was good, but she just didn't want it.
"Don't you like arepas?" asked Julieta, " I can do something else, I can make eggs with tomato and onion, or a broth like last night, whatever you want" she insisted. Mirabel shook her head and gave him a slight smile. It was clear to her that the poor woman was trying very hard to please her. She really thought she was her mom, and Mirabel didn't have enough heart to tell her that she wasn't, she couldn't be.
"Mirabu" began Agustín. Mirabel could barely react to that strange nickname. No one had ever called her that in her life. "You have to pack your bags, today we will leave. You must take your place in the Madrigal family…"
"What?" Mirabel asked scaredly, "I'm not going anywhere. Dad and I have to prepare everything for the harvest. I have sewing jobs to deliver, and I'm raising some chicks, my school, I have friends and my boyfriend. I'm not going anywhere" insisted Mirabel.
"You can't stay here," Camilo murmured, "he kidnapped you, he took you away from your real parents," he said. Mirabel understood Camilo's point of view. After all, for him it must have been an absurd situation. Bruno was nothing more than a child abductor, who had managed to brainwash his victim. But for Mirabel things were very different. These people appeared out of nowhere, asking her to believe a bunch of magic tales, saying that her dear papá was a criminal, and that she would have to leave the life she loved so much. Probably, if Mirabel had been unhappy things would have been very different. But she loved her life in Tocama, she didn't want to leave it. She had plans and dreams that she wanted to fulfill, and they included her father.
"Mirabel, Camilo is right" Agustín intervened "you can't stay here. If you wish, we can give you a couple of days to put all your affairs in order. But I'm afraid you'd have to come with us. We've been looking for you for years." he said. Mirabel looked at Bruno who was silent looking at the scene in front of him.
"You will not say anything?" Mirabel asked Bruno "you got us into this trouble, and you don't even have the decency to say anything" she said. Bruno looked up and stared at her. "I'm sorry, Mirabel, but they are right, they are your real parents, you have to go with them."
"No, I'm not going anywhere. I don't know them" Mirabel said without hesitation. "Mirabel, be a little more reasonable, we just want to help you" Agustín answered.
"Mirabel" Bruno intervened. "Would you go to Encanto if I go with you? '' he asked. Mirabel looked at him trying to figure out what he was up to. "Okay," she replied, nodding. "I could try," she said. Julieta and Agustín shared a look. It was clear that neither of them had wanted such an arrangement, but it was the best they could do under the circumstances.
"Perfect," Agustín said, trying to sound animated and friendly. "then, we will leave the day after tomorrow, in the morning, if that's time enough to put your affairs in order". Mirabel didn't reply, but neither did she complain. She preferred to go get dressed, take her bike and go to the community center where she had to teach the children. The village priest lamented the news of her departure, and told her that they would be waiting for her to return as soon as she had finished solving her problems.
"It won't take more than a couple of months," Mirabel said with a smile. Later, she walked to Alberto's house and rang the bell. He lived in a large colonial house with white walls and green ornaments, on one of the streets near the main square. He received her with a big smile, since it was unusual for her to visit him at that hour. "We need to talk. Something very serious happened last night, but I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone, not even your parents" she explained to Alberto as his smile faded.
The two of them walked to the main square of the town, while the screeching of her bicycle was the only thing that interrupted the silence. The two of them sat down at the town's fountain. Mirabel looked at it. It was made out of three sculptures. The first, and the largest, represented an indigenous warrior, tall and imposing, and the remaining two were country men working the land. She didn't know exactly why, but seeing that landscape, the church, the park, the houses and the forest in the distance, filled her with melancholy. What she wanted the most was to be able to fulfill her dream and quickly return there, to be able to continue with her life, as if nothing had ever happened.
"What's going on, Mirabel?" Alberto asked. She told him everything, but she tried to cover up the whole magic thing that she still didn't fully understand.
"If things are like this, then Don Bruno is a criminal, and he should go to jail" said Alberto very seriously. Mirabel looked at him blankly. "My dad just wanted to protect me from my grandmother and the rest of the family"
"That's not an excuse," Alberto replied, "you just can't steal someone else's child just because you think you should. You told me yourself that your mom and dad seem to love you, and your cousin too. I think it's unfair that Don Bruno didn't give your parents the opportunity to see you growing up, to give you their love, to solve their family problems. He made a decision that did not correspond to him, "said Alberto, annoyed.
"He was just trying to protect me," Mirabel replied. "So, if he wanted to disappear that was fine, but he must have left you with your parents. Everything he has done is a crime. Surely even your registration documents are false" said Alberto.
"Alberto," said Mirabel, who was beginning to feel confused. "Please, I don't want you to judge me, I just want you to understand me" asked Mirabel. The expression on Alberto's face changed immediately "Do you think you'll come back one day, Mirabel?" he asked. She smiled. "Of course" she said "I plan to return in a couple of months, when all this has calmed down" replied Mirabel who was certain that it would be so.
"Wait a minute" said Alberto who stood up and went to his house. The boy came back after a few minutes and gave her a package "I asked dad to buy this for you during his last trip to Chiquinquirá, a family friend works and sells emeralds. I thought it would be my anniversary present. It's just gold plating, but the jewel is a real emerald." Mirabel looked at a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant and a tiny green emerald in the center. "If you think about not coming back, look at it, because I'll be waiting for you" she said. She approached and kissed him. She moved away from her, and felt her stomach growl "let's eat something, I didn't have breakfast this morning" Mirabel commented
Mirabel returned to her house that afternoon feeling even worse than in the morning, since she went to see all her friends with Alberto. It also didn't help that Miss Maria as well as other neighbors had come to her house to say goodbye, along with baked goods and fruit for them to eat during the long journey ahead.
"Mija" began Miss Maria "I made this shawl myself on the loom at my house, take it for the cold" said the woman as she put a piece of light blue cloth on her shoulders. "Good luck Don Bruno" said the woman who was the last one to leave that night.
"Great," Camilo commented as he let himself drop into one of the chairs in the living room. "This guy steals a girl, but in some mysterious way, we end up being the bad guys in the story," his cousin complained. Julieta gave him a smile, "don't get mad, Camilo, these people don't know" she said understandingly as she gave him a kiss on the forehead. Mirabel gave Julieta a look. She seemed like a loving person, it was easy to believe that she was Bruno's sister. Maybe Alberto was right, his dad had been incredibly unfair to Julieta.
Mirabel went out to the garden to take care of her plants one last time, when she felt someone following her. "You can stop pretending you're a martyr now. Frankly, when I agreed to do this, I thought you would be a little more grateful" said Camilo, who chased after her with a clear intention of starting a fight. He sat on the wooden bench in front of the house and watched her work. "Please, try to understand me" asked Mirabel "I have a good life in this town, I have a boyfriend, friends and many plans for the future. Everyone says that Bruno is a criminal, that he did something terrible, but for me, he is my father, the only one I have ever known, "she said.
"You really don't remember us?" Camilo asked. Mirabel bit her lip and shook her head. "I do remember you. The two of us shared a room for years, until I received my powers. We had a lot of fun together." he said as he seemed to enjoy that memory. "I also remember him, Bruno" continued his cousin as his smile disappeared.
"Dad?" Mirabel asked. Camilo responded with a gesture of disgust. "Don't call him like that, he's disgusting. He is not your dad. I don't understand how you can prefer such a horrible guy, than Agustín. Your real dad is one of the best dads I know" he said. "Bruno was horrible, imagine it: rats along his back, when he called your name everything faded black. He could see your dreams, and…"
"That's a lie. Dad, I mean, Bruno has never been a bad person. You saw that the entire village ran to defend him. I don't know who you met, but he's not the same man I grew up with," Mirabel said. Camilo frowned "What did he do to you, Mirabel? How did he manage to brainwash you like that?"
"Do you think I have a bad life?" Mirabel asked. Her cousin was silent, it was clear that he was unable to respond.
"How did you find me?" asked Mirabel, who wanted to change the subject. Camilo smiled broadly, "that's an interesting question" he said. "Agustin's family has a lot of money. They hired a private detective, so we got your location. The three of us arrived a few weeks ago, but we had to make sure it was you, and that's where my amazing gift comes in. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I've always had a talent with girls." Camilo humble bragged. "Your friend Esperanza gave me the location of this village and I followed you for days while pretending to be your neighbors, since we wanted to make sure it was you, until we decided to act."
"Yesterday they told me I had two sisters. Why didn't they come instead of you?" asked Mirabel "don't take it the wrong way, but you are just a cousin. They are my sisters". Camilo bit his lip. She knew that she had come to a complicated subject. "Look, our grandmother is a somewhat difficult person. She's not bad, but she's not easy to deal with…" Camilo began, not sure how he should finish the sentence.
"Our family must help the community. This is how we maintain the influence and magic of the Madrigals in the town. At this very moment we are in the harvest. You better than anyone know how important that is, as this town is also agricultural. The gifts of the whole family are necessary, but mine are not so useful for the work of the farm." Camilo said. Mirabel understood immediately: his grandmother had only allowed him to come get her because she didn't consider him useful. The problem was that Mirabel did not have any kind of gift, not even a useless one, so what would that woman think about her?
"Kids, dinner is served" said Julieta happily who went out to the garden. Mirabel looked at her. She did not quite understand that woman who insisted on feeding them at the house of her brother whom she considered her enemy. If her beloved father was not her father, but a criminal who had kidnapped her. If her grandmother was not that sweet figure that she had always imagined but a very bad woman. If her mom wasn't dead. So anything could be possible, and it would be best not to trust Julieta's magic. Mirabel stared at the plate of magical food in front of her. She had potatoes, meat and salad, completely harmless, and yet she didn't want to taste them.
"Would you like something else, dear?" Julieta asked gently. Mirabel just moved her head to say no. In the end, she managed to get rid of the food and ended up having dinner with a couple of arepas campesinas from Miss Maria.
The next day, Julieta helped Mirabel pack her bags. She insisted that it would not be as cold in Encanto as in Tocama, so it would not be necessary to bring her cardigans and shawls. And she even went so far as to suggest that she should not pack her clothes, since it was well known by all that in the region where Mirabel lived, people preferred to wear dark colors and heavy fabrics to protect themselves from the cold, and in Encanto, she would look like an outsider. Mirabel ignored her. She carried her things. Julieta could be her mother, but she did not know her. She was not the person her mother wanted. She was completely different.
Agustin honked the horn of the black truck. They all slowly left the house while Mirabel felt like a condemned man walking towards her scaffold. But nevertheless. A friendly face filled her with hope. "Alberto" Mirabel said happily as she ran to the other side of the road in front of the house and hugged him tightly. Mirabel said goodbye to him, as well as to all of her other friends. The last thing she saw was her happy faces, as they waved goodbye through the rearview mirror. The sidewalk covered with acacias, and the white house with a tile roof, were behind, but a whole new life was about to begin.
Hello everyone, if you have already read my stuff, welcome back, if not, welcome. I have been very sick lately, I have been in bed for two days so I wrote this (it's not the famous virulais, everyone thinks it's that when I say I am sick). I'm Colombian, and since I have no shame, I decided to set this first chapter of the fic in my family's town. I'm not going to say the name, I'll just say that all I did was add a "ma" to the name and that's it. Thank you for reading.