The next morning...
Okay, the good news is, I found Dolores, stacking his plate with food. 😉 I was perched on his shoulder.
The bad news is, I accidentally left Mirabel behind.
But she caught up. "Dolores, hey. You know, out of all my older cousins, you're like my favorite cousins, so I feel like I can talk to you about anything, even though you can talk to me about anything. Like the problem with the magic last night, that no one seems to worry about, but maybe you heard about, that maybe I should know about." Mirabel rambled, like it wasn't weird.
This young woman never ceases to amaze me...
She said all that without taking a breather!
By the way... She said that Dolores was her favorite older cousin. Her favorite is obviously Antonio. And she only has two older cousins; Dolores and Camilo. So if Dolores is Mirabel's favorite older cousin, then that means Camilo is her least favorite. What a power move, but on the other hand, WHAT HAS HE DONE TO YOU, MIRABEL, TO BE YOUR LEAST FAVORITE?!
The funniest part of the morning started when Félix showed up behind Mirabel... Along with the REAL Dolores.
"Camilo! Stop pretending you're Dolores so you can have seconds!" Félix told his son. That sounds oddly specific, like it's happened before.
*whispering* It has.
Camilo shapeshifted back into himself. "Worth a shot." He said with a shrug. I was laughing, until one of Casita's blinds smacked him from behind. I hissed. Camilo almost lost his food! I hopped off of Camilo's shoulders and back onto Mirabel's.
"The only one worried about the magic is you. And Oscar. And the rats talking in the walls..." Dolores whispered. Of course she heard all that.
But... We have rats? I didn't know we had rats! Why didn't anybody tell me we had rats? I would've chased, caught, and eaten them ages ago if I knew we had rats! I NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS!
"Oh, and Luisa. I heard her eye twitching all night."
IS THAT SO?
Speaking of Luisa, she just set the table down. "There we go." As everyone sat down to eat, I hopped up on Luisa's shoulders, and Mirabel sat in Pepa's seat so she could be next to Luisa.
Of which she got ticked about at first, but Félix, the magnífico husband he is, got her to settle down.
"Family, we are all thankful for Antonio's wonderful new..." Abuela went to sit down in her chair, only to find coatis in it. "Gift..."
"I told 'em to warm up your seat!" Antonio said with a smile, accompanied by his toucan, tapir, and capybaras. I. Love. Antonio. So much. Félix gave him a thumbs up. Abuela managed a smile back. "Thank you, Toñito." The coatis got off her chair so Abuela could sit. "I'm sure today we'll find a way to put your blessings to good use... as must we all, we are the caretakers of this Encanto..."
Yeah. That's exactly what she told me the day after my gift ceremony. Almost as if I couldn't get a rest after a nerve-wracking event. I had to go straight to work that morning. Apparently she forgot about my singing last night. That wasn't easy for me to do. Does she even care?
While Abuela was talking, Mirabel whispered to Luisa, "Luisa, Dolores says you're totally freaking out, any chance you might know something about last night, with the magic—"
Mid-sentence, Luisa's eye twitched. And her eye only twitches when she's nervous about something. With that said... Mirabel pounded her hand on the table, excited. "You do!"
"Mirabel."
Oop. Busted.
"If you can't pay attention, I will help you." Abuela said.
"Actually, I—"
"Casita?"
The house moved Mirabel's chair so she was next to Abuela. I stayed where I was. Around Luisa's neck.
"As I was saying, we must never take our miracle for granted, so today, we will work twice as hard." Abuela continued. That sentence alone set me off a bit. If I was Pepa, a cloud would be forming over my head. "¿Por qué (Why)?" I asked, irritably. Abuela noticed the aggression in my voice and didn't take too kindly to it.
"If you were paying attention, you would've heard me say that we must not take our miracle for granted." Abuela answered. I agree! We shouldn't take Mirabel for granted!
"For your information, I was paying attention. To be perfectly honest, taking your gift for granted is kinda hard to do that when you have a gift that doesn't benefit you much." I muttered bitterly. No offense to Pepa, Camilo, or Antonio. "Then there's being expected to be out the door ten minutes after I wake up to chase rodents all day."
Sometimes I just wanna blow that stupid candle out and end this "shunning Mirabel" thing once and for all. If the magic's seriously in trouble, I might be able to do that while I still can...
Nah, I'm not that cruel.
I cared not for the whole family staring at me like there was something wrong. But I didn't notice Luisa's concerned face at all. Pretty much everyone seemed worried about me except Mirabel, who already knew what my problem was, and Abuela, which wasn't much of a surprise.
"Oscar, mi vida, is everything okay?" Pepa asked, stroking the small mane on my head. "Me? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Dandy, in fact." I answered, my bitter attitude still evident in my voice. Of course, because of that, nobody believed me. "Are you sure you're okay, buddy?" Camilo asked, more visibly concerned than everyone else. "You're grumpier than usual." Isabela added. Dolores just nodded.
I sighed. "Well, if you really wanna know..." Abuela won't like hearing this, but, tough. "Don't you think there's more to life than preserving the Encanto, and the miracle? Like, when was the last time we've done something for ourselves, the family—"
"Oscar Silvio Madrigal!"
Any child knows that when someone, typically your parents, calls you by your full name, you know for a FACT that you're in trouble. I did wince.
"If you would like to be excused from your chores for today, you may." Abuela told me. But then she added harshly "But I will not allow that kind of talk in this house! Do I make myself clear?"
I knew better than to argue with Abuela, especially during mealtime, but I refused to live with the fact that we do everything for the Encanto this, and for the miracle that!
I wasn't in the mood, so I answered with a halfhearted "Crystal clear, Abuela."
"Good... Now then, a announcement." Abuela stood up from her chair and walked to Isabela. "I have spoken to the Guzmáns about Mariano's proposal to Isabela. Dolores, do we have a date?"
"Tonight... He wants five babies."
¡¿Perdona?! If he actually said that... *hisses internally*
Isabela, nervously, sprouted flowers in her hair.
"Wonderful." Abuela said. WONDERFUL?! Señora, her fiancee just said he wants five babies!
"Such a fine young man with our perfect Isabela will bring a new generation of Madrigal blessings and make both of our families stronger."
Literally only cares about having more gifted children. The nerve of this woman.
"Okay, our community is counting on us! La Familia Madrigal!"
"La Familia Madrigal!" Everyone said in unison. Surprising how quickly Luisa left. Man, this is the SECOND time I've left Mirabel behind—wait, nevermind, here she comes.
And I just got a shoulders point-of-view of Luisa moving a church! This day is slowly getting better!
"Luisa, can you reroute the river?"
Nevermind, my bad mood's back.
"What makes you think she can—" Luisa cut me off by covering my mouth. "Will do." She answered.
"Luisa, the donkeys got out again." Señor Rendon said. Are these people asking for a scratch wound? I moved Luisa's hand from my mouth. "You can't round them up yourse—?" And she put it back. "On it."
"Okay, down you go, good boy." She gently set me down on the ground before picking a couple of donkeys up on her shoulders. "You're not mad at me for going off like that?" I asked her.
"No, I'm not mad at you. I just... don't wanna... step on you." I took a couple steps aside. She cares about me so much... She was the one who found me and took me into the house, after all. I only owe her MY LIFE.
So where's Eduardo? He's not very talkative, but he can keep a secret, so I pretty much tell him everything, even though I can tell anyone in my family, especially Mirabel, anything.
Mirabel climbed over the stone wall behind Luisa. Seeing her, she moved faster. "Luisa, wait a second... You gotta tell us about the magic. What's going on? What are you hiding?" Mirabel asked as I hopped back on her shoulders.
"Nothing, just got a lot of chores, so maybe you guys should just go home." Luisa answered as she kept walking. "Luisa, my house is leaning to the—"
She uses her foot to set Señor Flores' house upright. She's not even stopping!
"Dolores said your eye was twitching, and it only twitches when you're nervous, so there's obviously something up!" I tried to get her to break.
"Hey, move, you guys are gonna make me drop a donkey."
Aaand there goes Eduardo.
"Luisa?! Will you just... Just tell us what it is!" Mirabel said.
"Or at least tell me?"
"Or at least tell Oscar?"
"There's nothing to tell." Luisa answered. I groaned a little. Why can't she just fess up? She knows she can tell us anything... Right?
"You're obviously worried about something!" I hissed. It wasn't a nasty hiss, but a gentle one. "Luisa, if you know what's hurting the magic and it gets worse because you won't tell us what's wrong—!"
Luisa whirled around, "NOTHING'S WRONG!" She yelled. It echoed. I flinched and recoiled a bit. In all my time of living in the same house as her, she has never yelled, let alone got angry with me.
Doesn't mean I'm going anywhere. Luisa realised that she snapped and tried to play it off. "Wow, uh, sorry, that, uh, snuck out there. What I meant was... Why would anything be wrong? I'm totally fine. The magic's fine, Luisa's fine. I'm totally not nervous."
As she tried to be casual, her eye twitched. Again.
"Uh-huh. That's why you're eye's twitching—"
I'm the strong one, I'm not nervous
I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is
Luisa smashed a boulder to justify her point, We stared at her. "Okay... Continue." I said.
I move mountains, I move churches
And I glow 'cause I know what my worth is
I nodded. "Course, I mean-" Mirabel said as Eduardo and the other donkeys took a step backwards. "Hey, where are you going?"
I don't ask how hard the work is
Got a rough indestructible surface
Diamonds and platinum, I find 'em, I flatten 'em
I take what I'm handed, I break what's demanding
But...
Ripping up the ground, Luisa sent us into a fantasy song space, where her insecurities are on full display.
Under the surface
I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus
Under the surface
Was Hercules ever like "Yo, I don't wanna fight Cerberus"?
Under the surface
I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service
A flaw or a crack
The straw in the stack
That breaks the camel's back
What breaks the camel's back it's
Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'till you just go pop, whoa
Give it to your sister, your sister's older
Give her all the heavy things we can't shoulder
Who am I if I can't run with the ball?
If I fall to
Pressure like a grip, grip, grip and it won't let go, whoa
Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa
Give it to your sister, your sister's stronger
See if she can hang on a little longer
Who am I if I can't carry it all?
If I falter
Under the surface
I hide my nerves, and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us
Under the surface
The ship doesn't swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is
Under the surface
I think about my purpose, can I somehow preserve this?
Line up the dominoes
A light wind blows
You try to stop it tumbling
But on and on it goes
But wait
If I could shake the crushing weight of expectations
Would that free some room up for joy
Or relaxation, or simple pleasure?
Instead we measure this growing pressure
Keeps growing, keep going
'Cause all we know is
Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'til you just go pop, whoa-oh-oh
Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt
And see if she can handle every family burden
Watch as she buckles and bends but never breaks
No mistakes just
Pressure like a grip, grip, grip and it won't let go, whoa
Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa
Give it to your sister and never wonder
If the same pressure would've pulled you under
Who am I if I don't have what it takes?
No cracks, no breaks
No mistakes, no pressure
Wow. Just... Wow.
So what I'm hearing is... Luisa is very burdened with the demands and pressure around her peers, and how she felt insignificant if she cannot contribute they way Abuela, the family, and the community expects her to. Although heavily stressed, Luisa kept all of her struggles to herself. Even though she didn't have to. But the lyric that hit me the hardest was "Give it to your sister (or cousin) and never wonder if the same pressure would've pulled you under."
Luisa isn't just protecting her family from everything external, I think she is 100% aware of the guilt we would feel if we realized the pressure we're putting her under, and she's trying to protect us from that as well. She loves us so much and wants to protect us so badly she legitimately doesn't want us to even feel bad about what we are doing to her. Luisa is so incredibly selfless.
Another line that got me was "I hide my nerves and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us." It's hitting me like a ladrillo (brick). Luisa is supposed to be the strong one, and she has grown up with the story of how her grandparents were forced to flee for their lives with three newborn babies her whole life, as did I. Our Abuelo Pedro was murdered during the escape.
There's a very real possibility that if we're ever attacked again, Luisa feels and believes she is the best chance of survival for the family if it comes down to a fight.
She's 19, guys.
I also loved that in keeping with the nine or so times I thought we were gonna die, Luisa stepped in front to save us.
I've had my fair share of pressure, too. I'm the one with super speed. If I'm not fast enough to serve and protect the Encanto, then who will be? With that said, I did the same thing Mirabel did; I got up on Luisa's shoulders and rubbed my head against hers, hugging her. Well, that's not exactly what Mira did, but... You get it.
"I think you're carrying way too—" Luisa hugs her back even tighter and close to her, albeit restraining her breathing a bit. "Much!" Aww, Luisa... You have such a huge heart. I curled up against her tighter, this time purring.
"Maybe I overdo it." She admitted. "Yup!" Mirabel said, getting crushed. "Um, there is something you should know: last night, when you and Oscar saw the cracks, I felt... Weak."
"Say what now?" I asked, dumbfounded. She... Believes us. She said "when" and not "if," not once questioning if we actually saw the cracks (which we most certainly did). And another thing, I—
"Luisa, the donkeys!"
Dangit, Señor Rendon, we're having a family moment here! Why do I keep getting cut off?!
"On it!" Luisa said, putting Mirabel down and letting her breathe. "Alright, Oscar, down boy."
"Can I have one more hug before you go?"
Luisa looked down for a second. "Oh... Okay, real quick."
Our hug only lasted for a few seconds, unfortunately, then Luisa handed me to Mirabel. "Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean? What do you think's hurting the magic?" Mirabel asked as Luisa picked up a donkey.
"Don't know." She answered. "But I heard the grown ups once: before tío Bruno left, he had like, some terrible vision about it."
"Bruno?" I muttered. "What was in his vision?"
"No one knows, they never found it. But if something's wrong with the magic, start with Bruno's tower. Find that vision."
"Wait, how do you find a vision?!" Mirabel asked. "What are we even looking for?"
"If you find it, you'll know. But be careful... That place is off limits for a reason."
So... Bruno's tower. Something's telling me that this is a really bad idea. Like, life-threatening levels of bad idea. But we shall do what we must.
We had to sneak past Abuela and Isabela, but we made it to Bruno's door. I took a deep breath. In we go...
Mirabel opened the door to reveal a dark room, with a curtain of sand in front of us, of which we couldn't see what lied beyond it.
I don't have any good experiences with sand.
I gulped. "So... We're done?" I asked. "Curtain of falling sand. They never lead to anything good." Mirabel turned to me with a 'seriously?' kind of blank look. "What? They don't! Look, I'm worried about the house being in danger, but is it worth risking our lives over? We don't know what lies beyond that."
"We won't... Unless we look." She took a couple steps inside. I forgot to mention my fear of dark places, didn't I? I whimpered. "Maybe I should wait outside. Go on without me!" I meowed, scampering to the door. "You know, have someone guard the door so no one suspects anything! That's helping, right?"
I was half-hoping she'd just go in there without me. But she didn't, instead walking over to me and kneeling down to my level. "Face it, Mirabel. I can't help you if I'm gonna be the coward everyone knows I am."
"Yes, you can." Mirabel told me, holding my face in her hands. "Look, you are so much braver than you think you are. And even brave people, or cats, get scared sometimes. But I need you to not run away. I need your help."
"But... I can't..."
"You won't be alone. You'll have me. You've always had me. That is, if you're willing to—"
Hearing enough, I hopped on her shoulder, purring and rubbing my face against hers. "Aww! I love you too!"
"I'm ready, Mirabel."
She smirked and stroked my mane. "That's my Oscar."
Yes, that's usually all it takes.
We went back into the room, confronting the curtain of sand in front of us. "What do you think is on the other side?" I asked her. "Hopefully... Answers."
"Fair enough." I said. Is there a way to get through it without getting sand in my eyes? "Hey, Casita, can you... Turn off the sand? Por favor?" Casita's floor tiles moved... I can roughly translate this to "I can't help you beyond this point." Well, that's just fantástico. "You can't help in here?" Mirabel asked. Again, my closest translation is "No. And I'm worried about the two of you."
"I appreciate your concern, Casita, but there's no need for it! I'm not al—OONE!" I took one to many steps backwards and fell through the curtain of sand. Tumbling down the dune, I landed on my stomach. "Oscar, are you okay?" Mirabel asked from the other side, worried about me. "Peachy! You can come..."
"Ack!"
She fell face first into the sand dune. I stared. "Out... Whoa..."
We saw a sign that said "your future awaits," pointing up. Sooo many stairs. Too many for me to count. My ears picked up a "flit-flit-flit" noise. I turned and saw Antonio's toucan, Pico. "Hola, Pico." I purred. "Lotta stairs. By at least I'll have friends—" Pico flew away, to the top. "Nope, you flew away immediately." Pico's squawks echoed off the walls. I growled, my tail kicking up sand. "Remind me to eat that bird later."
"Oscar!"
"I'm kidding! Lets go find Bruno's vision."
"Welcome to the Family Madrigal... So many stairs in la Casa Madrigal... You would think there'd be a faster way to, get so high cause we're magic, but no - magical, how many stairs fit in here! Bruno!"
"Tío Bruno!"
"Your room is the WORST!"
"The absolute worst! ¡Lo peor, digo (The worst, I say)!"
We FINALLY made it to the top of the stairs. Dios mio, am I ever tired... But wait, there's more! There's a gap between us and Bruno's vision cave! We both groaned, "Come on/Ay, vamos." We both said. "¡¿Cuánto tiempo más hasta que termine esta agotadora pesadilla (How much longer until this exhausting nightmare ends)?!" I cursed to the ceiling. "I know, Oscar. We're almost there." Mirabel soothed, patting my head.
Mirabel removed a rope from he railing and threw it over a boulder above her. Well, that's how she's gonna get across... "Okay, I can do this..."
She swings... She makes it! She pumped her fists. "Woo! Okay, Oscar, your turn!"
"Oh..." I looked down the gap. Loooooooong way down. I trembled. "Do I have to?"
"If you're gonna help me, then yes!"
"That's not motivating enough, Mira..."
"Hey, look at me." I did what I was told. "Don't look down there. Look up here. If you jump, I promise, I will catch you."
"Are you sure you're gonna catch me? What if I don't make it?"
"What if you do?"
... Okay, she got me. "I need a running start."
I walked partway down the stairs... Which isn't easy terrain to get a running start on... Did a couple stretches... And a couple deep breaths... "Okay, get ready, I'm coming!"
"I'm ready!"
If I die, I'll die knowing that Mirabel loved me unconditionally.
I ran as fast as I could, pushed myself off the ledge, into the air, not once looking down at the abyss underneath me. I'm not gonna make it, I'm not gonna—wait, I think...
I made it! But I'm hanging from the ledge. "Hah! ¡Lo logré (I made it)!" I said, ecstatic for myself. "Okay, lemme just pull you—"
When the ledge cracked, it nearly took Mirabel with her. I screamed.
But did the ledge take me with it, you wonder?
The answer is no. It didn't. Know why? Because Mirabel just saved my damn life from dying young, that's why. She had a death grip on my arm, panting. She was obviously terrified that I was gonna die as well. I looked up with one of the most grateful looks I've ever given. She pulled me up, now sitting with me in her lap, and I threw my arms around her, overjoyed and just plain relieved. She returned the hug tightly. "You saved my hide, prima..."
I ignored the loud BOOM! that was the ledge landing on the ground below.
"I'll always be here to save your life. You're my best friend." She whispered, hugging me tighter. I sighed happily, before opening my eyes and seeing what appears to be Bruno's vision cave. "I hate to ruin the touching family moment, but I think we're here." Mirabel stood up and turned to see the same thing I was looking at.
The corridors felt like a forgotten tomb. Pico was on Mirabel's other shoulder, trembling like I was. It's like I'm in one of those películas de terror (horror movies), where that one person goes into an unknown location, then we get scary imagery this, antagonist being possessed that. At least I'm not a cat that rose from my own grave.
A creak draws our attention to Bruno's vision cave. Pico, Mirabel, and I shared glances. Pico turned around and flew away. "Quitter/Cobarde." We called out. I turned back to the dark room. A gulp. "It's okay, I gotcha." Mirabel took me from her shoulders and carried me so I could curl myself into her. I meowed silently, my eyes shut. And by some unknown force, so did the door! I jumped, screaming, causing Mirabel to almost drop me. "Shh, it's okay. I'm right here. We're in this together."
"We sure are."
A couple more seconds of darkness, then something glowing green underneath the sand. "Ooh, something shiny, like my green eyes!" I meowed, digging up whatever was under the sand. I picked it up with my mouth, along with a tiny bit of sand I had to spit out, was what looked like a shard of an esmeralda (emerald). "Huh..." I muttered. "What's hurting the magic?" Mirabel asked me. I shrugged. "Only one way to find out. Dig up the rest of the shards."
And that' what we did. From what I can see, they from some kind of picture... It's like a jigsaw puzzle! A jigsaw puzzle of a Bruno vision smashed into pieces. I watched with nervous anticipation as Mirabel connected two pieces to reveal... US?!
The cavern suddenly began to shake, falling apart. But that wasn't what terrified me. It was the sand filling the room!
Panicking, Mirabel and I rushed to dig up the remaining shards and shove them into her mochila, the cave continuing to quake as cracks formed around it. As we got to the door- wait, it's LOCKED?! It can't be locked! "I don't wanna die like this!" I cried out, fearing for our lives, again. "We won't!" She told me, jiggling the handle. The door opened, a tidal wave of sand gushing us out to safety, albeit almost sending us over the edge. I spent the next couple minutes breathing heavily. "We almost died... we almost died..." Then the sun came up in my head. I laughed "We almost DIED! But we DIDN'T! And I faced my crippling FEAR OF THE DARK and HEIGHTS and DROWNING!"
Adrenaline rush can't describe how happy for myself I was right now. "I was terrified, but I lived! I survived! And..." I calmed down (finally) to look at Mirabel. "I have you to thank for that. I wouldn't have done all that if you hadn't... Inspired me."
Mirabel gave me a sweet look, then opened her arms for a hug, "C'mere." I trotted into her arms for a hug. "You did face your fears. And I am so proud of you." She whispered in my ear. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Te amo (I love you), prima." I muttered. She embraced me tigher, "Yo también te amo (I love you too)." We hugged for another few prolonged seconds before pulling away.
"Soooo..." I started, staring at the stairs. "How do you propose we're gonna get back over there?"
Get ready for the next chapter, with Oscar's analysis of the most iconic song from the movie "We Don't Talk About Bruno!"
