[Chapter 7]
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Bruno got ready to travel very early in the morning, to the point that the sun hadn't even risen. Mirabel knew that he would do this only to avoid facing her family, but she would not allow him to leave without saying goodbye to her. However, when she got to the kitchen she was unpleasantly surprised by her mother preparing breakfast and Bruno and Agustín sharing a cup of coffee while they gave each other hate glances over the cups.
The caravan that would accompany Bruno up the mountain arrived at Casita's door at five in the morning, and it was there that Mirabel had to face the harsh reality: she would be left completely alone. "Please don't go" Mirabel requested as she practically threw herself at Bruno's arm. "Please take me with you," Mirabel insisted. Bruno took her gently by the shoulders and gave her a soft look. "I'm sorry my mariposita, it can't be like that, I assure you I'll be back in three weeks" Bruno said . Mirabel was sad, since the trip to Tocama would take between four and five days, so his absence would be at least eight days.
"Of course, run," Julieta said with her arms crossed and resentment in her voice. "If we're lucky, you'll run like a rat this time too, and finally leave us alone." Bruno gave her a sideways smile, giving her a silent challenge. "You would like that, don't you? Dear sister, don't worry, I will take great care of my safety during the trip, it would be a pity if someone could sabotage it," Bruno said. "Yes, you better watch out" Juliet replied haughtily.
Mirabel couldn't help but cry as she watched him go. She had never considered herself a person who cried easily, but everything that had happened to her made her feel more sensitive. She returned to the house without wanting to look at her parents, she was still upset about the night of the party at the Ruiz Díaz house, since it was evident that they were involved.
Luisa knocked on her door around eleven o'clock in the morning and offered to accompany her to regroup some naughty donkeys that keep escaping from their barn. Mirabel walked with her through the town. Luisa's services must have been the most requested of all the Madrigals, since everyone seemed to ask for favors from her, to the point that Mirabel could barely keep up with her. Despite being so busy, Luisa seemed to force herself to make conversation with Mirabel. Surely she felt responsible for entertaining her, since she had invited her. However, Mirabel did not feel comfortable since her sister seemed exhausted.
It was not the first time that Mirabel had met someone like Luisa, there were countless women like her in the region where she grew up. Physically strong women, who worked in the fields all day, with cheeks reddened by the sun, matriarchs surrounded by children and domestic chores, who in their "free" time worked in the market places, always afraid of defrauding someone or of not fulfilling what is expected of them. Mirabel opened the fence to the donkey barn and let her through, since she was carrying six donkeys in one trip.
"Will you join me for lunch?" Mirabel asked as she gave him a smile. Luisa was worried. "I don't know, I still have a lot of work, and mom is waiting for us for lunch, she will be very upset with us if we don't eat her food" Luisa murmured worriedly. Mirabel shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "I never eat what she prepares, so you can use me as an excuse, and about work, you've done a lot, you must be exhausted, you also have the right to eat and have a good time from time to time" Mirabel said.
Luisa bit her lip. "Do you mind if we buy something and eat it by the river? I've always wanted to eat with someone there, but I haven't had much time to do it" Luisa asked. Mirabel smiled, in the couple of months that she had been there she had not heard her sister express her own desires. She always seemed afraid of doing something that would let someone down.
"Of course" Mirabel said, " only under one condition: I will invite you". Luisa smiled, and Mirabel couldn't help but wonder if she had ever been invited to dinner by anyone. Her sister didn't seem to have the time to make friends, nor Camilo's magnetic personality. Isabela didn't seem like the kind of sister who would willingly spend time with her just for the sheer joy of it. They sat in front of the river while they shared a picada that Mirabel bought.
"There is no nutritious food here, you only bought junk food," Luisa scolded her. "Not everything has to be useful, you know? It wouldn't kill you to have fun once in a while, you're obviously exhausted," Mirabel replied. Luisa smiled "To tell you the truth, I am" she confessed, "I haven't time to spend with you, and you've been here for more than two months. The night mom and dad told me you were still alive I made a lot of plans: I wanted to show you around town, share my books, show you my favorites, go for a walk and have some fun, but I haven't had time, I feel like I'm always working, and everyone expects a lot from me, I can't let them down, but in doing so, I let you down." Louisa said.
"You didn't let me down, if I'm honest you're one of the few people in this town who like me" Mirabel confessed. "Don't be sad, maybe you carry too much weight on you. Your gift is the most useful for work on the farms, and it is clear that everyone drowns you in work, and that you feel that you must please them, but it does not always have to be that way," she said. Luisa seemed to gasp at hearing this. Mirabel must have struck a chord with her. "You're right, I'm very tired, and very nervous," Luisa replied.
Suddenly, her sister leaned forward, looked around making sure no one was listening and whispered. "There is something I wanted to confess to you. I heard what you said the night of the party. You told everyone that you had dreams of the house, in which it collapsed and the magic was extinguished." Luisa said. "You also said that your dreams started the night of the candles, something very strange happened to me that day."
"What happened to you?" Mirabel asked, surprised by her sister's sudden confession. "I felt very weak," Luisa said. "Perhaps you were feeling tired," Mirabel replied. "No, you don't understand, I felt weak, like a normal woman without powers, it was as if the magic had completely disappeared. Strange things happened that day," she said. Mirabel was more intrigued.
"Mom spent the day traveling, taking care of the sick son of a woman who lived in a distant cabin in the woods. She arrived exhausted and very upset, to the point that she couldn't even cook that night, which was a problem, since she had promised to prepare the food for Antonio's party. I wonder if anything else happened that night, since she seemed very mad. Mom and Dad only attended the party for a while, but they didn't want to participate. Aunt Pepa was furious, and after that, I felt very weak."
Mirabel understood. That day Julieta had found out the possibility that she was alive. What she still didn't understand was how this was connected to her dreams and Luisa's magic.
"How strange" was the only thing that Mirabel could answer. Luisa and Mirabel prepared to go home. However, at the last moment the owner of the donkeys requested one last favor. The sisters agreed to separate, Mirabel would go to the restaurant to return the crockery they lent them for their improvised picnic, while Luisa finished the job. Afterward, the two would meet at home.
Mirabel left the restaurant and returned home through the town's central square. "Mirabel Madrigal" yelled an unpleasant voice. "Tomás Carranza" Mirabel thought. She had done everything in her power to forget the name of the mayor's grandson, but after the night of the Ruiz Diaz party she hadn't succeeded. "What do you want?" she asked angrily. "I don't even have the pleasure of a greeting?" he asked. "No," Mirabel answered. "It's a shame, because I already fulfilled my part of the deal, I have the documents that you want, so I want you to fulfill your part. Tomorrow is market day, everyone in the town will be present"
Mirabel remembered her part of her deal and felt disgusted, that would be like kissing a toad, but without the possibility of him becoming a prince. "Where should I be?" Mirabel asked. "In the San Andrés park at the end of town, at twelve o'clock," he said. Mirabel rolled her eyes and agreed. "Are we going to have problems, idiot?" Camilo asked who was approaching in the company of two of his friends. "No, no, I was just leaving," Tomás replied as he left.
"Did I hear well? Were you setting up a date?" Camilo asked, annoyed. Mirabel had to tell them about the deal. "Can you imagine being so pathetic that you have to blackmail a girl into agreeing to kiss you?" one of Camilo's friends commented. "You're not doing it," Camilo said as he crossed his arms. "Of course I will, I need to see that file, I want to know everything that happened during the night of my kidnapping," Mirabel said. Camilo bit his lip, as his friends shared a look. "Okay, okay, if that's what you want, I can't stop you," Camilo said. However, Mirabel had a bad feeling about all this.
The next day, the town was completely packed with people. Farmers came from the most distant places to offer their produce. Mirabel walked close to the market place while she appreciated all kinds of products, fruit, vegetables, meat and even live animals. Mirabel approached the San Andrés park where she found a group of teenagers sitting on park benches, looking at the opposite corner.
Mirabel saw herself leaning in for a kiss from the mayor's grandson. Suddenly, a group of boys came around the corner and threw a bucket of dirty water in the direction of the fake Mirabel. She ran over there. Suddenly, her false self transformed into Camilo who lunged at Tomás, while he hit him.
"Usted vino fue a morirse" Camilo yelled furiously who wouldn't let him go, while all the boys gathered around him. "Go hard Camilo", Camilo's friends shouted. One of them approached Mirabel "Hello Mirabel" he greeted her "We didn't like the idea of you fulfilling the deal with that yerk, so we decided to teach him a lesson, but don't worry, I have what you wanted" Camilo's friend said, handing her a brown folder.
"So you were going to play a prank on my cousin, were you?" Camilo asked as he walked away from the mayor's grandson. Mirabel was alarmed to see her cousin's nose bleed profusely, although it was nothing compared to what he did to Tomás. "I had a feeling that you and your cousin would betray me, so I decided to go ahead. Also, why do you defend her so much? It's clear that she is an ungrateful brat. She doesn't appreciate Encanto, despite everything her family has done to bring her back, she doesn't deserve your sympathy" Tomas said. "Because this is all my fault" answered Camilo.
Everyone was silent, since Camilo was never so serious, it was clear that everyone wanted to know the reason for his fury. "I brought her here, I followed her for weeks. She had a very good life, she had friends, a nice house, a boyfriend who loved her, good neighbors, and I took everything from her. I promised her that she would be happy here, but the only thing she received is a family in which she feels like an intruder, a town that does not understand how difficult this change has been for her. Mirabel doesn't even want to eat Aunt Julieta's food, and she is starving. I promised her that this town would be a paradise, but the only thing I could offer her is a perverted jerk who is stalking her, after he had the audacity to tell her that she was the waste of the Madrigal family" he yelled.
"Did you tell her that, Tomás?" one of the mayor's grandson's friends asked, clearly upset.
"Ahh you made her look like the bad one, but you don't have the courage to admit what you did to her" Camilo said. "Come on, Camilo, it doesn't matter anymore. Mom will cure you" Mirabel said. He gave one last look full of anger to the mayor's grandson. However, no one was able to stop them.
Julieta ran to heal Camilo, and to reward him like a hero, for helping Mirabel. "It was nothing, Aunt Julieta, I do what I can" Camilo said with false modesty while the whole family praised him. Mirabel wanted to laugh, her cousin was such a drama queen and he loved the attention so much, but she had to admit that she was very grateful to him. Meanwhile, Agustín and her grandmother went to talk to the mayor's family, each of them having different purposes: his grandmother wanted to control the damage, while Agustín was furious and wanted a fight, and above all, to prohibit that boy from coming closer to her again.
Mirabel opened the file when she was finally alone in her room and looked at the pages. The first documents were nothing extraordinary, they were some police forms, with the testimonies of her grandmother and her parents about what happened that night, and they did not contribute anything different. However, soon the documents began to become more and more sinister. Gruesome black and white photos filled her senses. The image of the dead girl was too much, and she even had to close the folder to take a breath. Suddenly, Mirabel found the documents of an autopsy in which the doctor concluded, "without a doubt" that the girl was Mirabel. However, she was surprised to see that the person signing the document was Dr. Octavio Calle himself.
She was surprised to see that document, and even more so when she saw the title next to the doctor's signature. "former professor at the forensic and detectivism academy of Medellín". He had worked for the police. Along with the autopsy was a series of notes addressed to investigators and the judge. "Mrs. Julieta Madrigal is very upset, to the point of denying reality, my recommendation is to seclude her into a psychiatric institution, permanently." Mirabel read. She found three similar notes, along with the negative response of a psychiatrist from Manizales. Mirabel understood why her mother hated Doctor Calle so much. Could it be that he wanted to get rid of her? why?.
The following Monday, Mirabel got ready very early to travel in the company of Agustín. Camilo asked to join them at the last minute. He was one of those people who seized the first opportunity to join a trip, and since he was still the hero of the moment, no one dared to deny him permission to go with them. The caravan made the journey on horseback through the mountains passing through the forests and the moors. Mirabel decided to separate from her father, since he had to solve some harvest issues. Camilo reluctantly agreed to accompany her downtown to buy the fabrics for her new wardrobe.
She bought the fabrics and looked for the two things that really interested her: a telephone and the courthouse. Mirabel dialed the phone and silently prayed to find Alberto at his house. "hello?" Alberto Said. "It's me, Mirabel," she said. "Mirabel!" exclaimed Alberto "I feel like we haven't talked in ages, your dad went back to Encanto yesterday '' he said.
Alberto told her that his father had helped Bruno with his business, so he had been able to start the trip back much earlier than planned. Mirabel didn't know anything about that plan, but she guessed that it must be intentional to avoid being ambushed or suffer any attack during the dangerous trip through the mountains. Mirabel told Alberto everything that had happened to her in recent months, while he listened carefully. Her boyfriend had been the first to judge Bruno's behavior, but now he seemed to understand why he did it, since it was clear that life in Encanto was not easy.
"Camilo has been a great support in the months that I have lived in this town" Mirabel said while she gave him a smile. Her cousin simply watched her with a bored expression from the cafeteria table where he was sitting. "Your cousin?" Alberto asked, annoyed. "Don't be offended, Mirabel, I know he's your cousin and everything, but I have the impression that he's just a pretty boy who thinks he's a big deal because he's a little town hearthop. He probably spends his days walking around the town like he is the great thing, I am sure has a fan club, or something like that," he said. Mirabel wanted to laugh, since she had heard a similar description from Camilo's lips.
"You're very hard on him," said Mirabel who gave her boyfriend one last kiss before hanging up. "What's the next item on the agenda?" Camilo asked boredly. "The office of the Second Criminal Investigation judge," Mirabel answered. "To what?" Camilo asked who now looked very worried. "The detectives who are investigating the case of the girl's death work there," Mirabel answered very resolutely. She knew that it would be impossible to get an answer to the question about the death of that girl, but at least she would be able to know if her grandmother was among the suspects.
Mirabel and Camilo went up the stairs of the courthouse, until they reached an office packed with papers and files, while the typewriters made their characteristic sound. A long wooden bar separated the work area from the public area. Mirabel took out the note with the names of the detectives in charge of the case and asked the secretary. Camilo and Mirabel entered the office and were led to the desk of a very young detective with a dark complexion and black hair, and an elderly, bald detective who looked as if he had a rough night at some ugly bar.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Sergio Rodriguez and Mario Alonso," she said. The detectives introduced themselves, and made her follow them. Mirabel accepted a cup of coffee out of sheer courtesy, since she was too nervous for her stomach to handle it. Mirabel introduced herself, told them who she was, and explained her interest in the case. She practically saw the detectives' faces light up, it was clear they wanted to talk to her. "Miss Madrigal, we were completely impatient to talk to you, but neither your grandmother nor your mother had agreed to an interview, and unfortunately, you are still a minor," the younger detective said. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit, Miss Madrigal? asked the old man.
"I have new information for the case of the missing girl, the same girl who was mistaken for me for so many years, but in return, I want a few questions answered," Mirabel said. "Miss Madrigal, that sounds like vile blackmail," said the young man. "I promise you that the information I bring is valuable," she murmured. "That will be determined by us, we will answer your questions as soon as you give us the information," the old man replied. Mirabel smiled and stood her ground. "Don't get confused, I'm young, not stupid."
"We are a couple of adults, we can't let ourselves be blackmailed by a fifteen year old girl" the young detective answered. "So I think this fifteen year old girl won't give you the information" Mirabel answered while Camilo looked at her, impressed by her audacity. "Okay, okay, throw in your questions," the old detective said. Mirabel took a long breath, "First, I want to know about Dr. Octavio Calle, and his relationship with the girl's death. Second, I want to know who your main suspect is."
The old Detective took a long time to reply. He lit a cigarette, took off his hat and asked: "Why do you think Doctor Octavio Calle is involved?" Mirabel watched him carefully. "I'm not sure, but I heard that mom was friends with the doctor before my disappearance, and now she hates him. Also, I found the autopsy, he signed it, and he wrote four letters requesting that Mom be placed in a nursing home. To be honest, my mom is the first competidor of his private practice, he may have wanted to get rid of her. I don't know if it's nonsense, but all this seems strange to me". Mirabel said. The detectives shared a look.
"That's exactly what we thought," the old detective said. "You have answered your question yourself, miss, he is our suspect." Mirabel was surprised, "I don't think so, I thought it would be my grandmother", she said as she felt Camilo's gaze on her. "To be honest, she was our second suspect," the young detective admitted. The old man took a puff of smoke and spoke:
"Octavio Calle seemed very interested in you being declared dead. And in the end, he was the big winner in this whole thing. Your mom couldn't work for over a year, and his business grew and prospered in Encanto. Did you see the autopsy? Did you see the signature on it?" he asked. Mirabel tried to remember and she quickly nodded. "He was a professor at the Detectivism School, and he worked at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, he was a big name when he was younger. Don't you think it's strange that a guy like him has given up a very comfortable life, to work as a simple small town doctor in Encanto? We thought so, and after some inquiries we found that he had a couple of investigations for negligence in several cases in which he participated. No one could prove anything, but his superiors asked him to resign. He is a person with a dirty past who wanted your mom out of the way, he is a difficult, prejudiced character, the perfect profile of someone who would commit a crime like this".
"I still don't understand…" Mirabel muttered. "Miss Madrigal, you still haven't asked us what happened to the two muleteers who found the girl, since the first suspects would be them, don't you think so?" the old man asked. Mirabel was surprised because she hadn't given a single thought to the explorers who found the girl, but of course, they would be the perfect to clear everything up. "What happened to them?" she asked her.
"They died," the old man replied, "and the curious thing is that they died in Doctor Calle's clinic, supposedly from cholera, or that's what the autopsy says, we will never be able to verify it, since they were cremated for health reasons. The most curious thing is that they died a couple of days apart, one would think that an epidemic would break out, but it didn't happen," he said. "Our thesis is that your grandmother gave them your clothes as a red herring, but Calle hired them to murder the girl. He sure thought he could send your mom to a nursing home, but things haven't been going quite the way he planned lately."
"How dare you blame our grandmother…" Camilo began. He looked offended, red-faced and ready to hit someone. Mirabel raised her hand as a signal for him to stop.
"I think my grandmother had a lot to do with this crime," Mirabel said. "The time has come for me to fulfill my end of the bargain," she continued. She gave Camilo a quick look. What she was about to do was dangerous, a little bit cruel, and she was sure that she was violating her dad's trust. However, everything had gone too far, an innocent person had died and her family was still mourning her death. "Dad confessed it. The whole plan of my supposed disappearance was my grandmother's idea. I don't have magic, and Dad had a vision that I would destroy the Madrigal house. Our grandmother paid for the guides that took us out of Encanto, our trip, and she even sent money to dad, so that he could make a new life away from here."
"We suspected it from the beginning. I don't want to speak ill of a couple of colleagues who can't defend themselves, but the truth is that when we took on this case we saw your grandmother's footprints everywhere. We assumed that she paid good money so that the investigation of your disappearance never progressed and it was filed. That is the difference with the other case. She did not seem interested in preventing the culprit of the girl's murder from being caught"
"She must be involved in some way, but I don't know how," Mirabel said. The detective put out his cigarette pack and immediately lit another, while a heavy cloud of smoke began to cloud the room. Mirabel glanced at Camilo from the corner of her eye from time to time. He remained silent, as if he wanted to continue listening to that speech with a kind of masochistic pleasure.
"Until now the most convincing thing against her is the fact that the girl had your dress, but it is not enough to sustain the case upon a judge of knowledge," replied the detective, taking a deep breath. "Miss Madrigal, this conversation has been very irregular, it is not something that my colleague and I usually do, so I must ask you to be careful."
"This conversation will remain secret, you have my word" Mirabel replied.
Camilo and Mirabel left the Palace of Justice in silence. Camilo took her tightly by the forearm as they went out into the street. They walked into a restaurant, found the most private table and sat there. "What was all that, Mirabel?" Camilo asked. "How dare you spread such a lie? sure is illegal to lie to detectives," Camilo said.
"It's not a lie. Our grandmother helped dad. He confessed it to me, he told me that they both asked the candle for a new miracle, something that, according to them, would help me be happy away from Encanto, that's how they got rid of my memories". Mirabel said, barely pausing for breath as Camilo seemed itching to ask her to be quiet. "It's absurd," Camilo said. "It's not absurd, it's completely reasonable, the night my gift didn't manifest, Dad had a vision. He saw that I would destroy the gift. Our grandmother did not want that to happen and she decided to get rid of me. It was obvious that she was involved. Have you ever thought about it? it is completely impossible that dad disappeared with me in the middle of the night, and without any help. Getting out of Encanto is very difficult, much less without our grandmother's knowledge."
"I know that grandma is not an easy person, but what you are describing is mean and cruel. She would never do something so horrible to Aunt Julieta and her granddaughters" Camilo replied. "Are you're sure?" Mirabel asked. "Look at Isabela, she is going to marry a person she doesn't love, just to please her. I spoke with Luisa and she seems exhausted, not to mention that she confessed to me that her powers are failing. Your mom doesn't seem any better. I'm sure she would think that getting rid of me and Bruno was a small sacrifice for Encanto's sake, and that…
"Stop it!" Camilo yelled as he slammed the table hard. "I understand that you are upset. Things haven't gone well since you came to Encanto, but you and your dad don't have to spread lies about Grandma" Camilo replied. "They are not lies, please try to understand…"
I'm leaving, I can't listen to this anymore. You already know the way back to the hotel, I'll wait for you there," Camilo said as he frantically got to his feet. He left a couple of bills on the table and left.