Chapter 5
Luisa
3:21am
Luisa flung open her door after giving an energetic good night to everyone and shut it behind her, turning and locking it. Ugh, I don't even care what my room looks like as long as it has a bed. As she turned, her hand slipped off the doorknob, and her jaw dropped.
Everything was pastel shades of pink, yellow, and blue, and sparkles and glitter were everywhere. Luisa's bed had a sparkling pink canopy, pillows like clouds, and a fluffy blanket with a pattern of pink unicorn donkeys all over it. It was like Casita had read her mind and simply gone, Okay! There was a section of the room with a rug and a sofa and a book shelf, piled up with more pillows and pink and glitter. In front of her window was a padded bench with still more pillows. There was a wardrobe and a full length mirror, which was like before, but there was also a large desk with another mirror and extra lights covered with all manner of cosmetics in neat rows, complete with a fuzzy pink upholstered stool to sit on.
Luisa padded through the room with awe and discovered a door that led to her own bathroom. An enormous tub was set into the floor, the perfect size for her and so easy to get into after a hard day's work. The bathroom was fully stocked with soaps, shampoos, and perfumes, towels, and a fluffy pink bathrobe. Possibly best of all, the toilet was Luisa-sized. Luisa had been embarrassed ever since she had gotten a little big for the toilet in the communal bathroom. This new toilet was tall enough to comfortably accommodate her.
She was too shy to try out perfume and makeup right away, and too exhausted to do something like makeup anyway, but she resolved over the next few weeks to do secret experiments. She was glad Camilo couldn't change shape anymore. He couldn't go sneaking around and spying on people.
Luisa took a quick bath and went to bed, nestled in a sea of beautiful, pink, sparkly femininity.
xxx
9:58am
Luisa's eyes snapped open. The angle of the light coming through her window was all wrong. She scrambled out of her fluffy bed. Oh, no! Most of the morning is already gone. She looked around wildly. Wait, where's my gym now? Not seeing an obvious door made her panic. She traced the room, her hands on the wall. No, no, no. I can't believe this. I need my gym!
The call of nature made Luisa temporarily give up and run to the bathroom. She sulked on the toilet. What do I do? What good is all this if I can't work out? Then, to her disbelief, she noticed the bathroom had two doors: the way she'd come in, and a door on the same side of the room as the toilet.
Luisa finished using the bathroom and washing her hands as quickly as she could without feeling gross and flung open the other bathroom door. An enormous gym space with all the equipment she could ever need was revealed. She slumped with relief. "Casita, don't scare me like that."
Even though it was late in the day, Luisa refused to give up her morning workout. She cut it short to the essentials, took a quick bath that was really more like splashing herself with water and then getting out, and ran to her wardrobe, not knowing if she was already horribly late for breakfast. Her wardrobe was full of beautiful pink skirts and white blouses with pink embroidery. "No way." There's no time to admire myself, though. She got dressed and bounded downstairs. Almost everyone was already awake, breakfast was ready, and she was relieved to find she wasn't the only person with new clothes.
xxx
11:59 am
After Luisa had a moment to cool off in her room, she groaned to herself. "What am I doing? I promised that I could handle having super strength again. I told Pá I would only use it for important things. The very first day we're back to work, and I'm trying to break my promise?" While I'm inspecting buildings, I'll keep an eye out for people who need my help. Like really need my help. Not people who just want to use me for free labor. She went to her bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face, then looked at herself in the mirror resolutely. "You can do this. Don't lose sight of everything you've gained." I can move mountains. My Gift needs to be used to make a difference. No more stupid chores. I'll just say no.
Once she left her room and asked Casita for something to write stuff down on and with, Casita brought her a clipboard with some paper and a pencil. Luisa didn't bother to ask where the supplies came from; as long as it was minor, Casita seemed to be able to produce anything on demand.
She walked into town with her head held high and started inspecting. It wasn't hard; if she suspected a wall of being wobbly, she could just give it a push and see. And if people were home, she just asked them.
The trouble started once she reached the market plaza.
Osvaldo waved at her with one hand, his other hand clutching his back. "Luisa, thank goodness you're here. I need to unload these barrels, but I just threw out my back. My wife is helping her niece Concepción with the new baby and my son is at the winery already at work for the day." His back had been worsening for years now. Mamá nagged him to lose weight, but he never had.
Luisa jogged over, set down her clipboard and pencil on the table of the market stand, and expertly wrapped her arms around Osvaldo from behind. "No problem." She lifted him with a sudden jerk, using just enough of her strength, and popped his back for him. She set him down gently.
"Phew, that's much better," Osvaldo said. "Thank you. It sure is lucky for me you came along. I could barely move."
"Now, rest for the rest of the day." Luisa unloaded his barrels of wine and helped him set up his stall. "I'll tell Mamá and Dolores that you need them to stop by and give you some herbs."
"Herbs?" Osvaldo looked confused.
"Dolores is training in Mamá's Gift," Luisa explained.
"Oh, okay," Osvaldo said amiably. "That's good. We were all wondering what we were going to do when your Mamá became too old to help us. Not that that's going to happen anytime soon. It's just that we were worried."
"You don't have to worry anymore," Luisa said. "We can all trust in Dolores to handle it." She picked up her clipboard and pencil. "Well, I've got to go. I'm on an errand for Abuela. She wants me to write down all the buildings that need repairs."
She passed a group of children playing futbol in the street, laughing and shouting. One of the little boys kicked the ball over everyone's head. It bounced off of the top of a market stall and landed directly on the gutter of the roof of the bootmaker's shop, rolling along the gutter and coming to a stop stuck there. There was a chorus of disappointed noises from the children. "Look what you did," one of the little girls said, frowning at the boy.
Luisa felt sorry for them. "It's okay, I'll get it."
The girl beamed, showing a missing tooth. "Really?"
Luisa nodded. "Hold this. I'll be right back." She handed her clipboard and pencil to the girl and crossed the market. Reaching over her head as far as she could, Luisa touched the ball with her fingertips. She jumped for extra height and easily grabbed the ball. The children cheered. She ran back to them and handed them the ball gently. "Don't kick so hard, okay? And don't play near the plaza. That's dangerous."
"Yes, Luisa," the children chorused.
The little girl gave her the clipboard and pencil back. "Thank you for getting our ball."
Luisa smiled. "No problem."
They ran off, searching for a better spot to play.
Luisa took a deep breath. "Right. The buildings."
As she inspected the buildings around the market, she hung a new sign outside for the candy shop, steadied the ladder of someone repainting the molding around their shop window, and retrieved a hat for the hat seller that had blown away. Every time someone asked her to do something, she automatically said yes and then after she was done helping them, she felt bad about breaking her promise. But it's not like I really need super strength. I'm not abusing my Gift…I'm just being a regular person. The townspeople help each other all the time.
Then Luisa headed toward the church remembering that one of the buildings on the street leading up to the church tended to have a wobbly house that needed fixing all the time. Wandering the street was a forlorn-looking Señor Rendon. The little, middle-aged man owned the largest, and least well-secured, donkey pasture in the Encanto. Luisa tried not to make eye contact, even as a donkey lazily crossed the street up ahead.
"Luisa, the donkeys got out again," Señor Rendon said, pointing at the wayward donkey.
"Uh, they did? That's too bad." Luisa's gaze darted nervously. "I hope you catch them soon."
"Aren't you going to help me?"
Luisa puffed out her chest and stood tall. "Señor Rendon, I'm not carrying your donkeys anymore. If you want help from me to herd them, that's fine, but it won't be any faster than asking anyone else to help."
"Why can't you carry the donkeys? Is your Gift not working? It worked last night at the party."
"I didn't receive my Gift so that I could carry donkeys. Super strength is for emergencies."
"This is an emergency. My donkeys are getting everywhere. I'll never find them all in time. They'll wander off into the rainforest and be eaten by wild animals."
"How do you know that's what they'll do? Maybe they're just trying to have some fun. Or maybe they don't like being fenced in. Besides, you managed your donkeys for a whole month without my help. Why do you need my help now?"
"Where is Antonio? He can talk to animals again, can't he? If you won't help me, then I need him."
"Uh, Antonio's with his má," Luisa said, surprised at the change in Señor Rendon's tactic. "They just left to water the fields."
"Antonio can't water anything."
"But Tía Pepa can, and he wants to spend the day with her."
"Why?"
Luisa frowned. "Because he's 5, and he wants his má."
"He should be working. He could be helping right now, but because he isn't here, there is no one to help me get my donkeys back."
"Maybe you need to train them to come when you call." Luisa started walking down the street again.
"Have you ever owned donkeys? Donkeys don't know their names. And they won't come when you call, either. Luisa, please, help me. I don't know what you want from me. I've given you all the reasons I can think of for why we need to put my donkeys back in the pasture."
"Abuela says the donkeys probably just want the fresher pasture on the south side of town." Luisa shrugged. "Maybe you should follow your donkeys and see where they want to go. That might answer why your donkeys are so anxious to get out of your pasture."
"That doesn't sound like something she would say. Doña Madrigal always said the Gifts are for helping us. You expect me to believe that she told you not to help me anymore?"
"Abuela said that if we got our Gifts back, they needed to be used sparingly," Luisa retorted. She had never expected to be called a liar by anyone, least of all someone she had helped so much throughout the years.
"Surely she didn't mean that you should let my donkeys wander all over the Encanto."
The growing pressure inside Luisa burst. "You're the one letting your donkeys wander all over the Encanto, because you can't bother to fix your fence!" Her bellow echoed off the buildings, and seemingly the mountains of the Encanto themselves. Her heart pounded, and her neck muscles bulged.
Señor Rendon and the other townspeople on the street looked at her silently with expressions of shock and terror.
Taken aback, Luisa slumped, their fearful looks snapping her back to reality. "I-I'm sorry. It just slipped out there." Just as she felt the shame of losing her temper, the shame of picking up and carrying his donkeys for him stopped her cold. For years, he's done nothing but watch me carry his animals. If I'm just here to carry his donkeys, what does that make me? "You know what? I'm not sorry. Fix your damn fence, Señor. Abuela is warning you. And if you don't believe me, you can go bother her at her elders meeting and look like a fool in front of all the elders of the town as she tells you that you need to stop abusing me." Luisa lifted her chin, pulled her shoulders back, and marched off, clipboard in hand, determined to do what Abuela asked of her and do it right.
"I never abused you," Señor Rendon protested as Luisa's back.
She didn't acknowledge him, and she hoped that the other townspeople saw how foolish he was being.
For a while, everyone in town left her alone. They had either witnessed, overheard, or heard about her outburst. Señor Rendon didn't ask her again to collect his donkeys. Padre Agudelo didn't pester her to move the church. Señora Osma didn't ask her to reroute the river. She inspected buildings and made notes either without any help, or with quiet assistance such as pointing at a problem area. This town needs a building inspector, Luisa thought as she jotted down notes about leaking roofs, leaning walls, and sagging floors. I know we did the best we could without skilled and educated laborers. But maybe it's time to do some rebuilding. Especially since the buildings falling apart now are all the original buildings. The newer buildings constructed under Señor Castillo are holding up great.
Luisa was talking to Señora Urrego about weather damage to her roof from the hurricane that blew through when Tia Pepa hadn't had her Gift, when a little girl ran up to her. Luisa recognized her as Manuela, the youngest child of the cabbage, onion, and pepper farmers, Señor and Señora Pimentel "Luisa! Luisa! Come quick!" She grabbed Luisa's arm.
"What is it?" Luisa asked.
"Papa needs to cross the river, but there's no bridge."
"I thought Isabela was going to make a temporary bridge."
"Well, she didn't! And now Papá needs to cross."
"What were you doing during the month I couldn't move the bridge?"
"Going all the way around to the other side of town and crossing the bridge there."
"Then why did your padre drive the cart to the wrong side of town?"
"It's closer to our farm." Manuela looked puzzled. "Aren't you going to come help us?"
Luisa felt trapped between an adorable, innocent child's lack of understanding and a conflict between herself and Señor Pimentel. "So, your padre just assumed that I would move the bridge?"
Manuela stared at her. "Yes?"
Luisa imagined moving the bridge, which would cause all the other people she hadn't helped to come crashing down on her head in a rage at her for helping Señor Pimentel and not them. Then she imagined Señor Pimentel's rage at not being helped and having to go all the way around the town to cross the bridge where it currently was. I wish Mirabel was here. She would know what to do. She took a deep breath. "No. Until the new bridge is finished, everyone will have to take the long way around."
Manuela squirmed. "But he sent me to get you."
Luisa said to Señora Urrego, "I'll make sure that your house is included on the list of repairs needed. Buenas tardes."
Señora Urrego waved. "Buenas tardes."
Manuela pulled on Luisa's arm again, to the same non-effect. "Come on, let's go! Vamos!"
"Slow down," Luisa said. "We're not running. We're walking." She walked alongside the little girl.
Manuela looked disappointed and confused. "But Papá's waiting."
"I'm not coming to move the bridge, I'm coming to tell him myself that I won't move it so that you don't get in trouble for not being able to bring me."
"But why won't you move the bridge? Can't you?" Manuela squinted up at her.
"Sometimes you've got to learn that you shouldn't do things just because you can," Luisa said. "Even if someone else wants you to do something…it might not be right. And…" She heaved a sigh. "I have a literal Miracle. My strength is a Miracle. It's not supposed to be used for things other people can do."
"But no one can move the bridge."
"Yes, but another bridge can be built. And people are working on it. I know that things used to be like, these Gifts are for everyone's convenience, but that's how we lost our magic."
"What's convenience?"
"A convenience is when it would be nice, because it would save you trouble, but it doesn't actually hurt anyone not to have it. Hurting would be like injuring people or, or making it so they can't have food, or shelter, or water, or making it so they can never be happy. Stuff like that."
"So…asking you to move the bridge is a convenience…because Papá can just go around?"
"Yeah," Luisa said with way more confidence than she felt. Putting herself out there and saying no was scary. She dreaded doing this, especially because Señor Rendon had pushed back so hard. She didn't think Señor Pimentel would be any different.
They reached the river crossing. Señor Pimentel sat at the front of his produce cart, holding his donkey's reins. His cart was full of onions and peppers. He was not a tall man, and he had a large mustache and a cleft chin. As usual, he wore a broad-brimmed farmer's hat and humble clothes, including mud-caked boots. "Luisa, there you are. But where is the bridge?"
"On the other side of town, where it belongs," Luisa said. "Abuela told me not to move the bridge anymore."
Señor Pimentel was temporarily speechless. After a solid thirty seconds of silence, he asked, "What about my cart?"
"Just go around."
"Yes, yes, I will do that next time. But I am already here." Señor Pimentel gestured impatiently. "So just get the bridge like you always do, or if you're not willing to do that, lift my donkey and my cart over the river and set them down on the other side. In fact, just do that. That would be quicker. I've been waiting long enough."
"I'm not going to use my super strength to do things like this anymore. You don't need me to lift your cart and your donkey, and you don't need me to bring you a bridge. You just want me to. That's not the same."
"Your abuela will hear about this."
"My abuela already knows about my decision not to use my strength to make things more convenient for everybody, and she supports me!"
Señor Pimentel reddened. "I don't believe you. I believe that you're a lazy girl who got used to not needing to help us because you didn't have to for a month, and now that you've got to help us again, you don't want to, because you don't feel like it."
Luisa's eyes filled with tears. Now she knew how Mirabel felt when Mirabel got accused of getting in the way. The accusations were so off base that Luisa didn't know what to say. "You feel like you have a right to it, don't you? You never respected me. You took me for granted, just like Mirabel says. You probably don't even see me as a person. Who do you see in front of you right now? A big dumb animal who can talk and wear skirts? I have no feelings? Is that it? Or maybe it's that I'm everyone's slave."
Señor Pimentel looked taken aback. "What are you going on about? Just move the bridge or move my cart and donkey. It's not a big deal. You have the strength to move mountains. Why is it worth arguing over to take a moment to move a cart and donkey?"
"Because it's not a moment." Luisa gestured. "It's a moment here, and there, and there, and there, until I'm spending all day doing things with my Gift that don't matter. You're not in danger from anything. You don't need me to do it. You just want it. What if I want things, too? Why is what you want more important than what I want?"
"I spend all day growing and selling produce," Señor Pimentel said. "My life is being a farmer. If you didn't have things to lift, what would you do for a living? Lifting things is your job. Who cares what we ask you to lift? We give you work."
"I quit." Luisa turned around and walked away.
"Hey!" he shouted at her back. "What am I supposed to do with all of these onions and peppers if I can't take them to market?"
"Go around the long way like everyone else," Luisa called back.
Manuela ran after her. "You don't really quit, do you?"
"Yes, I do. I don't know what I'm going to do with my strength, but it's not going to be a lifter-of-things-all-day. Especially since no one respects me."
Manuela stopped trying to follow her.
