[chap4 : Green]
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"Mom sends you this," Luisa said as she left three heavy baskets full of clothes ready to be washed.
"It can't be true," said Mirabel desperately, as she was on her knees washing clothes by the river that bordered the garden of the house.
"Mom says that if the three of you had the energy to stay in a bar playing until midnight, surely you have the energy to wash clothes," Luisa said.
Mirabel, Camilo and Antonio were paying the consequences of their night out, as Julieta decided this morning was ideal to wash every single piece of clothing in that house, from tablecloths to curtains. For this reason, the three cousins were by the river scrubbing.
"This is your fault," Antonio told Camilo.
"Excuse me?" Camilo asked "Did I force you to stay eating all night?"
"It's everyone's fault, now, keep working, I want to finish this today" Mirabel replied in a sullen mood. Luisa whistled when she heard her.
"Someone got up with the wrong foot," said Luisa. " Don't worry, the exercise and the hard work will take away your desire to complain," she joked. Mirabel looked up at her, implying that today was not the day.
"I've never seen you in such a bad mood," Luisa commented.
"Our grandmother never did something like this to me, I feel like an idiot," Mirabel said.
"I do not justify grandma's actions, but I understand her concern. Nobody trusted the foreigners. Much has been said about them in the city council. But no one has dared to show the documents they left after their visit. I suppose it must be the certificates of ownership of the land." Camilo commented.
"Why do you know so much about the municipal council?" Luisa asked "Let me guess, you're pretending to be one of the counselors, aren't you?"
"Maybe… " Camilo accepted "but the meetings are very interesting, they talk about the town's problems, I have learned a lot, perhaps this is what I should do with my life".
Luisa and Mirabel shared a look full of surprise, as they had never seen Camilo show any serious interest. The two of them made a silent agreement to keep quiet, as they didn't want to spoil his enthusiasm.
"You're right, it sounds very interesting," Mirabel said.
"Yeah sure" answered Luisa " I will read the municipal council bulletin from time to time".
Luisa stayed with the three grounded cousins, lounging by the river while they scrubbed the linens. Suddenly, Pepa and Julieta came out to the river bank, along with a wooden table, and a few chairs. Mirabel saw her mother who also had a jug of juice and a basket full of food.
"It is a beautiful day to take a break while others work. Don't you think so, Juli?" Pepa asked happily to her sister, while the two of them were resting at the table.
"Magnificent" her mother answered as she raised her face to get a better tan.
"Luisa, dear" Pepa called her "Do you want buñuelos and cold juice?" While she pointed to the food in the baskets on the table.
"Yes ma'am," Luisa said happily as she walked to the table.
"Mom" called Camilo "that's cruel".
"Do you hear something, Luisa?" Pepa asked.
"I think I heard something, it must be an insect," Luisa replied.
"Very well" Julieta said "come here".
Mirabel, Camilo and Antonio didn't think twice. After all, they had been doing laundry all morning and they were starving. Mirabel was not surprised to feel her fingers return to normal as they were red and irritated from the water.
"Thanks mom," Mirabel said as she inspected her hand.
"Another night out like last night and you will clean all the clothes in Encanto" Julieta answered.
Suddenly, the noise of horse hooves alerted them. Mirabel looked towards the entrance of the house, she recognized Don Ingancio who was with four of his children. The boys stayed in the doorway so Pepa waved her hand for them to come closer.
"Hello" said Pepa happily "come in, sit down, there is food and juice for everyone".
"What brings you here?" Julieta asked while she served the drinks.
"Not very good news, Doña Julieta," said the oldest of the brothers, "Dad won't be able to make the trip with Miss Mirabel."
Mirabel immediately turned around, and noticed the one speaking was nothing more and nothing less than the eldest son of Don Ignacio. The famous Rodolfo Herrera. He was the Isabela of the Herrera family. The golden boy, perfect in every way.
Rodolfo was very handsome, although Mirabel thought it was wrong to say so, for her he was the more attractive version of her brother Roberto. He was the perfect arriero in every sense. He was so perfect, he was chosen as poster boy for an article in a newspaper from the Capital about the culture of the coffee region. She still remembered that photograph: Rodolfo looking handsome like a movie actor in front of the cameras, with his typical costume complete and impeccable, while he looked in the distance at an imposing landscape from the mountain.
As expected, her grandmother had tried to encourage a relationship between Isabela and Rodolfo after the debacle with Mariano. She considered it a very beneficial union for the family, but her sister was not interested. He wasn't interested either, in fact, he surprised the whole town with his marriage to Adelaida Rosas, a fairly ordinary girl who seemed nice to Mirabel, but who did not fit the aura of perfection that Rodolfo had.
Mirabel remembered the night after the wedding reception. She had never seen her grandmother so upset with Isabela. But her sister did not let this affect her because neither Rodolfo was interested in her, nor did she like him.
"Does this mean that Mirabel's trip will not be able to take place?" Julieta asked.
"No, ma'am, what this means is I'll have to go with her, not my dad," said Rodolfo.
"No problem for me," Mirabel answered.
"But we cannot say the same about your grandmother, Miss Mirabel" Rodolfo commented "she has always wanted dad himself to transport the members of her family" .
"I don't think there is a problem" Julieta said "all of us in Encanto know that you are as trustworthy as your dad".
"Thank you ma'am" Rodolfo said before taking a drink of juice "by the way, I want to ask you a favor, Doña Pepa. The christening of my first child will be in a few weeks, and my wife and I would like to have a garden party, so I was wondering if...
"No problem, dear, that day it won't rain, I guarantee that," said Pepa happily.
"I'm sorry to interrupt the laundry day," Rodolfo said as he gave Mirabel a look as she was standing by the river scrubbing clothes.
"They are grounded" Julieta said "yesterday they arrived at midnight, they spent the whole afternoon playing in a bar".
"Kids, that's wrong" Rodolfo scolded them kindly "my brother Roberto rarely behaves badly, what's more, sometimes I think he is too serious with the work at the farm. Yesterday he stayed up very late looking after some feral cats. One of the cats will soon have a litter and we want to keep them as pets." Rodolfo explained while his little brother remained hidden behind his glass of juice.
"Well, who would have thought that Roberto was such a good boy," Camilo said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. The three cousins gave him an annoyed look, but no one thought to give him away. Suddenly, Roberto got up and approached them inspecting Camilo's work.
"You missed that place," he mocked, pointing to the shirt that his cousin was washing. Mirabel couldn't help but laugh, while Camilo turned angrily and wet him with his shirt.
"Camilo!" Pepa scolded him.
"We'd better go, my dad is about to leave the house," Rodolfo said. Just as the boys left, Pepa and Julieta's expressions changed.
"Rodolfo Herrera has a son" Julieta said alarmed "Do you know what that means?"
"Mom will give Dolores and Isabela a little piece of hell" Pepa answered "Dolores may be left alone, but Isabela ... poor little thing".
Mirabel felt sorry for Isabela. Despite her grandmother changing a lot over the last four years, This was too much for her. Rodolfo Herrera already had a child while none of the Madrigals had one. Pepa was right, Isabela was in serious trouble. At that moment, Dolores came out of the house running towards them, while she held Isabela's hand.
"Mom" Dolores said while she caught her breath "I overheard a conversation. Don Ignacio told grandma he already had a grandson. We have to help Isabela to leave this house at least for a couple of hours until she calms down.
"Yes, hide in the coffee plantations" agreed Pepa "we will talk to mother.
Mirabel was not surprised to see her sister and her cousin running together, even though they had frequent fights, they always ended up reconciling and helping each other. After watching them leave, Mirabel stood up and took the basket of clean clothes. However, she did not calculate that the rock under her feet was not stable enough to support her, so she wobbled and lost her balance.
She felt a strong pain in her head before falling into the river. Suddenly, Mirabel woke up deep in the water, where she barely saw the foam of the water stream in front of her. Then, she saw what appeared to be a pair of green spheres. Mirabel could have sworn it was Bruno's eyes when he had prophecies, but it was impossible for her uncle to be in such a place.
Mirabel knew she would lose consciousness again, but someone pulled her out of the water.
"Are you okay, Miss Mirabel?" Rodolfo asked.
She didn't answer, she couldn't do it, the only thing she could do was become unconscious again.
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"She's waking up, she's waking up. Mom, come here!'' Isabela yelled too loud for Mirabel's aching skull.
"Are you okay, Mirabel?" Asked Camilo " you have to get better, because dying is not a clever way to avoid doing laundry".
Luisa laughed as Mirabel opened her eyes very slowly.
"Well, if something happens to me, I'll inherit you the work I have to finish," Mirabel replied with a raspy voice.
"Mirabel," said her grandmother who entered the room. Mirabel looked at her closely, and realized she had never seemed so old.
"The miracle of the house has saved you. The wound on your head was really serious, it is a miracle you are alive" said her grandmother while she gave her a kiss on the forehead.
Then, She realized she had a bandage on her head. Mirabel saw her entire family around her and felt ridiculous, as her clumsiness had come so close to killing her. Mirabel gave a glance to Bruno and Dolores who were at the back of the room. She didn't feel comfortable around them since she found out about her grandmother's plan.
Mirabel recovered quickly thanks to the care of her mother. On the other hand, she had decided to maintain cordial relations with Dolores, and Bruno, as she did not want to leave with an unfinished conflict. Still, she could feel their relationship was going to change a lot.
The Herrera brothers returned on the eve of her trip, in order to give her some indications. They introduced her to the four brothers who had to travel with her, including Roberto and Rodolfo. Mirabel was relieved by the news, since her accident she trusted the elder much more. As for Roberto, he would be good company, as she could have a conversation with him.
Mirabel got up at four in the morning on the day of her trip, since she was expected to leave at five o'clock. The casita was completely silent when she left her room, so she took advantage of the solitude to inspect the central courtyard of the house. Mirabel tried to think about those happy moments she spent there, but her anger was stronger, since all she could see were the rudeness of her grandmother and Isabela, the gentle condescending ways of her parents, and the false confidence that Bruno and Dolores inspired in her. She could not believe that her grandmother was so foolish to put the fate of that house in her hands, if that was her gift, she did not want it. She did not want to be a part of that miracle that her family had received so many years ago.
With the feeling of resolution in her heart, Mirabel returned to her room and went through her possessions. She reviewed the railway map she had found in the home library a few days ago. Her plan was simple: she would accompany the arrieros through the mountains to the town of Honda, where she would escape and take a direct train to the capital. Mirabel knew well once she got there she would not be able to ask for the help of her grandmother Julia, because no matter how much she despised Alma Madrigal, she would not hesitate to give her location to her dad.
Mirabel had already understood that from now on she was on her own, and it would be solely her responsibility to build a new life in Bogotá. Her savings would be enough to live comfortably for about three months, although she would have to buy clothes, since she only had a cloth coat and two pairs of leather shoes, nothing with which she could go unnoticed or find a decent job .
"Mirabel" her mother called on the other side of the door "I know it's early, but I think you should eat something before you leave".
"Yes, of course," he agreed.
Mirabel sat on the rickety wooden kitchen chair while she was served by Julieta. She felt like a traitor, because her poor mother was thinking she would be returning soon enough, when Mirabel really wanted to disappear.
"Take care of yourself, my love" her mother told her once she finished eating.
Mirabel was surprised to see all the Madrigals at the entrance of the house, wearing only their pajamas, ruanas and shawls. The morning cold was strong, but still, all of them were there.
"Good luck Mirabel, I hope you do a good job, or else I'll have to wear rags," said Dolores as she gave her a big hug. Suddenly, she murmured something in her ear "Please, Mirabel, please I beg you, don't do anything stupid, I beg you".
Mirabel broke away from her hug and gave her a simple kiss on her cheek.
After sharing a couple more farewells with the rest of the family, the Herrera brothers appeared, riding on horseback while leading a group of mules loaded with coffee and mail.
"Rodolfo" called his grandmother at the head of the caravan "Don Ignacio told me that you have to make a couple of detours due to the landslides, how many more days will it take to make the trip?" She asked.
"Two more days, madam, since we will have to make a detour through the moors".
Mirabel sighed, this was a problem that she had not anticipated. Her two-and-a-half-day journey had turned into a full five-day thing.
"Goodbye Mirabel" her grandmother said "we will be waiting for you my girl".
"Goodbye, granma" she shouted from the horse, Mirabel did not have the cold blood to tell her that they would see each other soon.
The morning was just starting when Mirabel decided she would have preferred to go on foot, since the horse's saddle was beginning to hurt her.
"Is this your first time at Honda, Miss Mirabel?" Rodolfo asked from the head of the caravan.
"No sir, I went there when I was just a child. My parents took the train to Bogotá with me. But I can barely remember it." Mirabel answered.
"Don't worry, this may seem difficult, but according to my father, your grandmother made the entire trip through the forest, at night and carrying three newborn children, without any other luggage than the clothes they were wearing. This will be easy in comparison" said Rodolfo.
Mirabel knew Rodolfo was trying to cheer her up, but that was pointless. The comparison with her imposing grandmother was quite overwhelming, especially since she was not strong as this woman. Alma Madrigal alone had made that home, built a town in the middle of nowhere, at the same time she was raising her three children by herself. She was little less than the only authority on Encanto. Her grandmother decided everything from the weather, to who received medical treatment and who did not. Mirabel had seen her do morally gray things over the years, like the whole deal she did to her just a few days before. But that seemed a simple price to pay, since that town was one of the few in which the inhabitants could paint the ornaments of their houses red or blue, because in Encanto there were no political parties, in that corner of the world there was only the authority of a single person, and that was her grandmother.
Mirabel couldn't help but wonder if that would really be the right thing to do, and how she could change it once she inherited the power of the miracle, but she quickly remembered she was just giving up this privilege during that trip. Suddenly, she realized that Roberto was looking at her from his horse.
"Rodolfo" Roberto said "I think we should stop, it's ten in the morning and we haven't had breakfast yet".
"He's right, we're all hungry, we have to stop," said another of the Brothers.
Mirabel thought about sharing her mom's food, but she knew there was a good chance that there would be some kind of magic to heal the travel wounds in them, so it would be best to save them for later.
"Here begins the land of snakes. I will go to the head of the caravan. Roberto and Carlos, I need you to go on foot, and with very attentive eyes." Rodolfo said.
"Can I go on foot too?" asked Mirabel, who didn't feel strong enough to go on the horse again.
"Of course, as you prefer," Rodolfo agreed.
The caravan started on its way again while Rodolfo lit a cigar in order to use it as a mechanism to measure distances on the journey. He was the head, which meant that he was the one to open the mountain, and make sure there were no dangerous animals. Mirabel walked alongside Roberto, who stayed outside the caravan, machete in hand, ready in case a snake appeared.
"Thank you for telling your brother to stop" Mirabel said "I don't think I could have continued riding, I felt very tired.
"I know, I saw it in your eyes," Roberto replied. "You should have told us you weren't feeling well".
"I didn't want to sound whiny".
"No one would have been surprised, after all, a couple of weeks ago you were close to drowning in the river," Roberto replied. "What happened to you that day?"
"I stepped on a uneven stone, that's all," said Mirabel
Roberto was satisfied with her answer, so they both remained silent. This boy might not be the most talented talker, but his silence was pleasant. He was also helping her keep up as they climbed the rocky path to the moors at the top of the mountain. Mirabel regretted her fate, as she knew the detour was caused by the landslides.
"At this point it always starts to rain," said Roberto, "it is clear that there is someone taking care of the weather for you," he said.
"Do you really believe it?" Mirabel asked surprised.
"Of course" answered the boy, who looked towards the sky "look up, that eagle has chased us since we left Encanto. I don't think it's a coincidence, "he said.
"It may be one of Antonio's animals," Mirabel replied.
The caravan continued on its way until late in the afternoon. However, they have already left Pepa's protection, as the rain began to fall. Mirabel took her shawl and put it on her head as they all quietly continued on their way.
"There is an inn about two kilometers away, we will walk to that point and there we will spend the night," said Rodolfo.
Mirabel knew this place was nothing special, just a farm adapted for the travelers to rest and eat something.
"Luck has not been on your side, Mirabel," Rodolfo began as everyone sat in silence to eat their hot soup.
"The worst thing is we took the long way," complained another brother, "we have to expect another four days of this".
In the end, both Mirabel and the Herrera brothers went to sleep without saying much more, since they were all very tired.
"Are you okay, Mirabel?" Ricardo asked while the two lay in sleeping bags on the floor.
"Yes, I'm a bit tired, my legs hurt but I'll survive" Mirabel answered.
"You don't have to pretend, I'll understand if you feel tired. My brother doesn't lie, this trip has been more difficult than usual".
"Are you feeling well, Roberto?" Mirabel asked as she rolled over in her sleeping bag and confronted him.
"I'm a bit tired, but we've had worse trips," he said, "but it wasn't always like that, when I started traveling I felt terrible, I got sick and could barely walk because of the pain.
"At what age did you start traveling?" Mirabel asked.
"Eight years old," Roberto answered. Mirabel could not believe it, when she was that age, she spent her days on the nursery in the company of the governess specially hired from the capital by her grandmother for her grandchildren.
" You started doing this so young. You must like traveling a lot," Mirabel said, trying to sound optimistic.
"Not much, actually," Roberto confessed. "Rodolfo and my other brothers really like this lifestyle, but I think it is too much for me. I feel tired all the time".
Mirabel understood. Roberto didn't seem to have the strong build of Rodolfo or other of his brothers. Truth be told, he was smaller and almost seemed hungry the whole time.
"Dad is very angry with me. I recently told him I don't want to be an arriero like him. I think I am the shame of this family, said Roberto". Mirabel listened to him with great interest. After all, she never imagined this boy also had this burden.
"Excellent!" Mirabel said "finally something we have in common".
"Don't say that, '' he replied Roberto, who couldn't help laughing at Mirabel's sarcasm.
"Although to be honest, Isabela replaced me in that place," Mirabel commented.
"Your sister? but she is perfect".
" You see, that's the problem with the golden child, once they do a single thing wrong there isn't a way back, they fall from grace. On the other hand, when you are the "problematic kid", like myself, nothing surprises them. Isabela refuses to do what grandma wants anymore and it has been quite dramatic. We could say that this is a bit of your brother's fault, although that would be unfair," Mirabel said. "Grandma wants great-grandchildren as magical as the rest of the family, and she wants them fast. Isabela rejected Mariano, and she didn't want to flirt with your brother".
"I don't want to sound rude, but my brother didn't like Isabela at all. What's more, that was the reason for the single fight Dad ever had with him. Dad wanted him to marry her instead of Adelaida, but he had already made up his mind and nothing would change his opinion, he really loves his wife" Roberto said.
"Your brother seems to be a good person".
"Yes, he is a bit pedantic and conceited, but deep down he is," Roberto replied. Mirabel wanted to laugh, since this is exactly the description that she would have used for Isabela.
"Do you think tomorrow will be as hard as today?" Mirabel asked genuinely concerned, since five days of that would be too long.
"I'll be honest, tomorrow will be worse, we have not reached the top yet, and we are already entering the moors, so the cold will be intense" Roberto replied.
Mirabel fell asleep right away, as she was completely exhausted. However, she had a few dreams about her terrifying experience in the river. The water stream carried her with all it's force, as each of her bones slammed against the rocks. However, those green eyes, just like Bruno's, keep following her.
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Mirabel looked around. This had to be the most beautiful place she had ever seen, the trees covered everything as a green blanket, while countless species of birds surrounded her. She wished to stop and breathe the air and the tranquility of the forest. However, the temperature was dropping rapidly and they still hadn't left the rainforest to enter the moors, they must continue their journey.
"We should have asked your uncle for a prediction, perhaps, so we would have known that this trip would turn out to be so terrible" said one of the Herrera brothers as they walked through the forest to the moors.
"My uncle doesn't make predictions anymore," Mirabel replied, who could barely move due to exhaustion.
"Why not?" Asked Rodolfo, who was more focused on the road, and barely had time to participate in the conversation "I remember your uncle was very precise on his predictions".
"My uncle's predictions usually show a final result, the problem is that you never know how it will happen. People often feel confused and scared, they try to avoid destiny, only to end up fulfilling it" Mirabel replied.
Mirabel was silently thinking of Bruno. She did not reconcile with him before leaving, unlike Dolores, she didn't give him even a small sign of sympathy before leaving. Mirabel felt guilty for a moment. After all, he had preferred to disappear and sacrifice his life for ten years just to save her from the wrath of her grandmother. However, if she thought better of it, perhaps that would have been the perfect excuse to leave permanently with Grandma Julia. She might find her lessons on how to be a lady boring, but at least she didn't despise Mirabel.
"I have to be paying something, I surely did something wrong and I am paying it" Rodolfo complained when he saw a log that blocked the road horizontally.
"Do we wait for someone to remove it?" Asked one of his brothers.
"If we do that, we will never get there" Roberto complained.
"Roberto is right" Rodolfo said.
"Wow, this has to be serious, you never agree with me".
Rodolfo pretended not to hear him and observed the terrain along the way, it was quite steep, and although the horses and mules would probably make it through, Mirabel had her doubts about herself. The caravan started up a path that seemed to have been abandoned, as the grass grew on it and the humidity of the rainforest made it more and more slippery.
Mirabel felt her heart wanting to escape from her chest, and the blood pumping into her head, and not even the protectors she wore on her legs could guard her from the cold and the mud. Suddenly, she felt like she was short of breath and she had the impression that she was suffering from some kind of altitude sickness.
"Rodolfo, we must stop!" Roberto yelled as he stopped her by taking her under her arms before she could fall to the floor.
Mirabel tried to open her eyes, but the only thing she managed to distinguish from the deepest darkness were her uncle Bruno's magical green eyes.
Hi everyone Happy Holidays!, and three random facts:
1. I took the Idea of Rodolfo from an advertisement of the National Federation of Coffee Producers of Colombia on Instagram.
2. As I watched the movie on Disney+ I realized the guy from the special basket for the not so special child looks just like my dad, with brown hair (my dad has black hair), my mom and I have been making fun of him all day.
3. I keep relating the abuela from Encanto to an old 90's colombian novela I saw when I was a child. It's called "the house of the two palm trees". I heard it is an adaptation from a classic Colombian book, but I never read it.
As I remember it was the story of a family who founded a town in the coffee region, as they were escaping from the violence. It was a period drama of the 1800's. But the most important character was the grandfather, he ruled the town and his family with an iron fist, so much, he ended up destroying his own family, and the House of the two palm trees ended up being abandoned. The characters are completely different since the abuela is just a difficult person, but she is loving and caring deep down. This grandpa from the novela was vile. One of the girls of the family was called Maribel.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I have to hurry up I am going to hel to prepare the party for tonight. Bye