[The flower and the butterfly]
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Isabela knew her grandmother would not be satisfied with Roberto Herrera's response. The legendary Alma Madrigal would not allow a nineteen-year-old boy to think himself smarter than her. All she really needed was to change tactics. Roberto Herrera had shown a lot of character and a good heart. His character kept him from being easily intimidated, but his good heart would be his breaking point.
Don Ignacio constantly sent him to do work at the Madrigal family home, where he could see the effects of Mirabel's departure. One morning, Isabela and Camilo were having coffee in the kitchen when the boy came in carrying a box of bananas requested by her grandmother.
"Good morning, Mrs Madrigal requested …" Roberto began as he entered the kitchen. The boy stared at Camilo.
"Camilo …" Roberto began.
"Nothing" Camilo interrupted him as he put aside his cup of coffee "I don't know you, you're not my friend and I don't want to hear from you".
"That is unfair," said Roberto.
"It is unfair that you want to consider yourself my friend after you eloped with my cousin," Camilo replied.
"Technically, they didn't elope, I mean, Mirabel did," Isabela corrected.
"It doesn't matter, you are a traitor and you don't want to help us". Camilo complained.
"I'm very sorry, Camilo, but there's nothing I can do," Roberto said before leaving.
However, the real breaking point happened one morning when her grandmother sended Julieta to speak personally with Roberto. Luisa and Isabela decided to go with her. She knew the boy was so sensitive he would surely break at the sight of a grieving mother crying for her little daughter, even more so, when Julieta was very similar to Mirabel.
"Please, Roberto, you have to help us, more than four months have passed and Mirabel has not communicated with us. I do not know what to do. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I keep thinking of her, please" Julieta asked in the middle of tears.
Roberto didn't answer right away. He seemed on the verge of tears, and he gave a quick glance to his own mother who also seemed to beg him with her eyes.
"Doña Julieta, I can't tell you where she is, but I can tell you that she's fine" Roberto said "the truth is Mirabel has written me a few letters".
"She Has written you letters and you haven't told me?" Julieta asked, annoyed. Isabela put a hand on her mother's shoulder to calm her down. They still needed Roberto.
"I'm sorry, I …"
"Please tell us how Mirabel is" Isabela intervened.
"She is very well. Mirabel has told me that she is happy. She lives in a boarding house for working ladies. She has a job as a waitress in a tearoom, and earns good extra money as a seamstress, since she bought a sewing machine. She has had a few health problems, but now she is fine. She also told me that at night she is validating secondary education to obtain a diploma" said Roberto. "she is still looking for a better job in a garment factory".
Isabela, Luisa and Julieta listened. This didn't seem like a Mirabel thing, but at the same time, it was. Her sister was quite resourceful. Suddenly Roberto stood up, left the room, and came back with something in hand. Isabela noticed that it was a photograph.
"She sent me this," Roberto said. "This photo was taken during a weekend excursion with her housemates to the Guatavita lagoon".
The three of them stared at the photograph. Isabela remembered her geography classes and saw the smiling face of her sister sitting on a rock in front of the lagoon. She wore dark clothes, gloves and a hat that were often worn in cities, especially those with cold weather.
"According to this photo she must be in Bogotá" Isabela said, so Roberto seemed alarmed.
"How can you be so sure?" The scared boy answered "she could be anywhere".
"You just told me that this excursion was done on a weekend" Isabela answered "these clothes are for a cold climate city, and the only cities nearby are Tunja and Bogotá." She said referring to the capital of the department next to Bogotá.
"N- no" stuttered Roberto.
"Don't you dare deny it. It is obvious that she must live in a city. I bet my powers that she is in Bogotá. At least you gave us an approximate location" she said.
"Mirabel …" Julieta sighed relieved as she looked at the photo "She's fine, I'm so happy. Can I keep her?"
"Y-yes" Roberto Stammered. Isabela received it from Julieta's hands and put it in her purse.
"Doña Julieta" Roberto's mother intervened " at least your daughter is well, and it seems as if she is doing fine on her own, if she were my daughter I would be proud".
Isabela looked at that little woman who was wearing her shawl and two braids like a good traditional country woman. She never would have imagined that she could think like that. Appearances are deceptive and Isabela had learned it the wrong way through her life.
As they walked back to the Casita, Isabela recalled one of the worst moments of her life: Mirabel's 11th birthday.
Isabela always felt like the third wheel in Mirabel and Luisa's relationship. Her younger sister always preferred Luisa's company. She used to go with her during the thunderstorms searching for protection, and Mirabel liked to make her little drawings and embroideries for Luisa when she was little. However, she always hid those feelings very well, until Mirabel's 11th birthday, when everything truly went to hell, and the worst aspects of her personality went out.
It all started during one of the two annual visits that her grandmother Julia made to the city of Manizales. Her grandmother thought it would be a good idea for her granddaughters to meet their cousins, so she introduced them to her favorite granddaughter: Liliana Cancino.
Liliana was her grandmother's favorite project. She represented all the ideals of modernity that her grandmother's political aspirations demanded. She was educated, intelligent, outgoing and had traveled abroad. Liliana was fully raised to be a modern woman in every sense of the word. She was everything Isabela was not, and for her, it was envy at first sight.
Isabela required years to understand these feelings. However, she couldn't help but feel resentful towards her cousin as Mirabel walked with her through the main town square of Manizales, displaying her trendy and controversial cream-colored pantsuit, and her fashionable hairstyle. There was something terribly frustrating about seeing Liliana had something more to offer the world than just her pretty looks. Isabela felt ridiculous in comparison, as it seemed that she was nothing more than the pretty girl from a small town, and her gift was just useless and foolish as herself.
Liliana had something more uplifting in her life than constantly working to transform herself into an object of desire to be married properly. Isabela felt that if she lost her appearance she would be completely empty. The worst thing is that Luisa and Mirabel immediately fell under her spell. Liliana praised Luisa's gift over and over again, telling her how useful and interesting she was, repeating that she was an excellent example of a hard working country woman, capable of doing the impossible for her family and the community. Meanwhile, she gave Isabela a look and an indulgent smile with the words:
"That thing you do is pretty".
Isabela already knew it was pretty. That was precisely the problem, that she was nothing but pretty.
Liliana's opinion about Mirabel was similar to Luisa's.
"She has great potential, Aunt Julieta" she said to her mother during lunch "if you sent her to study at a real school, it would be fantastic, I can take her with me to Bogotá".
That was the last straw for Isabela. Mirabel already felt that she did not belong to the Encanto, and that woman did nothing more than put dangerous ideas into her little 10-year-old head. Mirabel adored the ground Liliana walked on. That little betrayal broke her in two.
However, just at the end of the week of the visit to grandmother Julia in Manizales. Liliana dropped the bomb.
"The national government orders that all of us, who want to be teachers, spend a period working in a rural school in the country, as a requirement for a degree. I was wondering if I can do it in Encanto" she said.
Her grandmother Alma accepted immediately, apparently this would be a way to silently attack her grandmother Julia, and to show her how much power she had in the town. But Isabela had to swallow a bitter pill when she saw her ridiculous cousin move to Casita to live there for nine long months. Isabela endured it all like a silent martyr for the first month until the disaster.
Isabela would have liked to go back in time and erase what happened during Mirabel's birthday.
Her sister was eleven years old, and in the last month she had done nothing but hang on the arm of her stupid cousin. Mirabel flatly refused to spend time with her, and the few times she did, she got quite bored, so Isabela was already resentful. This was not a justification, for she knew that her poor little sister was nothing more than a child dazzled by the novelty. She was six years older, so she should have had better judgment. Unfortunately she didn't.
The Madrigal family held a lunch party for Maribel by the river, under the acacias. Isabela made a huge and elaborate flower ornament for Mirabel's birthday. She struggled all morning to achieve nothing less than perfection. Mirabel observed her work with a little sweet smile filled with disinterest and said:
"It's really cute, sister."
Liliana gave her gift right after her, while all the adults were busy serving the food, and her cousins were chatting by the river. Mirabel opened it and looked at her with eyes full of emotion. It was an encyclopedia of many of the country's typical costumes, with illustrations and special drawings for children. That gift made hers look foolish and lacking in personality.
"I know you love dresses, Mirabel," Liliana said, giving her sister a smile. "So you can learn a little, and admire what you like so much".
"Thanks a lot…"
Mirabel couldn't finish thanking her, as a prickly rose bud came out of the ground and catapulted Mirabel's new book straight into the river. Isabela didn't think, she just acted, and now she had to find a way to justify her actions.
"Why did you do that?" Liliana asked, furious as Luisa threw herself into the river with the intention of saving the book.
"Mirabel is already too useless for you to give her something else to waste time like that …" Isabela began without truly feeling any of the words she was saying. In that instant, she felt her mother take her arm roughly.
"What are you doing?" Julieta said while she handled her without any delicacy. Isabela did not know why but her only reaction was to throw at her mother the worst thoughts that crossed her head.
"Ah, please" Isabela began, letting go of Julieta's grip. "I'm just trying to help, because we all know who your favorite is. The poor little bird with the broken wing. No one dares to say it out loud, but it is of no use or value. The only thing she does is create more problems. You should hear Liliana and send her away, It would be the best for...
Isabela stopped abruptly when she felt Julieta's slap. Later, she would thank her mom for stopping her, as she planned to be more and more hurtful.
"What is happening here?" Asked her furious grandmother. Isabela knew immediately that she was in trouble. Her grandmother might very subtly have put these ideas into the heads of the whole family, but ruining Mirabel's birthday without provocation was out of line.
"Where's Mirabel?" Asked Luisa, who remained soaked with the book in her hands.
Mirabel had disappeared. All members of the family tried to search for her. Isabela couldn't sleep all night. She spent the entire evening wishing she could turn back time, while she watched the flowers in her room turn black from her sadness. However, the next day Luisa and Dolores found her hiding in a cave in the mountain completely wet and famelic.
Isabela saw them arrive at the house. Mirabel refused to enter as she cried, but in the end it was absurd to fight with Luisa's superhuman strength.
"I don't want your magic, I don't want to know anything about the magic of this house. If the house doesn't want me, I don't want it either,"Mirabel said furiously when her mother tried to feed her.
Mirabel spent several days in bed, burning with fever and not wanting to receive food from Julieta. Her grandmother was just as upset with Isabela as she was with Mirabel. With Isabela for her cruelty, and with Mirabel for that tantrum that disturbed the tranquility of her family. Finally, her grandmother sat next to Mirabel on her bed and decided to talk to her.
"Mirabel" she began "letting ourselves die from sadness is not the proper way to face problems, we must get up, be strong and face life head on." Her grandmother said as she removed her hair from her granddaughter's face.
"Isabela …"
"It doesn't matter what Isabela says. You have to get up and be strong. There are many who wish they were in your place. There are many people who go through worse situations, Mirabel" insisted her grandmother.
That speech must have worked, since Mirabel woke up the next day strong and animated as always. The single person who saw a change in her sister was Isabela. Mirabel had barely looked at the bouquet of flowers she brought her as an apology, and she didn't even try to reciprocate the hug her mother and her grandmother forced to give each other. Mirabel spent the following months in the company of Liliana, attending the village school in the morning and her lessons with the governess in the afternoon. Isabela knew she was avoiding her, and after that their relationship never recovered until the cracks in the house.
The truth was that Isabela always dreamed of the day when her sister would treat her better, so she could do the same. The only thing she wanted was to be loved by Mirabel, no matter how missguided her actions were.
Isabela walked to the kitchen where she poured herself a cup of coffee. Bruno was sitting on the wooden chair next to the oven, drinking from his cup.
"Any news?" asked Bruno "Do you got something?".
"He broke like a plate" Isabela said "he even gave us a picture of Mirabel" she continued as she handed him the photo.
"Well, well" said Bruno after hearing the other information "so the Guatavita lagoon. Did you know that it is tied to the legend of El Dorado?"
"I did not know it. How so?"
"It is one of the places where the indigenous caciques used to bathe every morning completely covered in pieces of gold and emeralds to thank the gods" Bruno commented "and considering the magic of this house, it is very convenient for Mirabel to go to the ancient sites to pay tribute for the Encanto".
"Grandma says that the Encanto is a miracle of God," Isabela said.
"It may be, the question is: Which god?" Bruno answered, as he finished drinking his coffee and gave her a smile before leaving.
Isabela was taken aback. In reality, she still didn't understand her uncle Bruno, nor did she understand how Mirabel managed to do it. She observed Mirabel's gaze at the photograph. Bruno must have made it dirty since two tiny green dots were visible next to her sister's face.
She put the coffee mug on the counter.
"Casita, please take the cup to the dishwasher," Isabela said, but the cup remained in its place.
"Casita," she repeated without any response.
"Casita," she said for the third time.
"Grandma!" Isabela yelled at the top of her lungs as she ran down the hall. The magic was beginning to fail.
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Mirabel held the folder with the contract firmly against her chest as she looked at the door of the school in one of the most exclusive places of the city, where her cousin Liliana worked as a history teacher. After four months of hiding, she finally had to come forward and face her problems.
Two events that caused this moment; First, the last letter from Roberto. He had mistakenly confessed her whereabouts to her mother and her two sisters. Her "boyfriend by correspondence" was furious with her.
"How can you be so insensitive?" he asked in the letter "your family is devastated, at least you should have the decency to tell them where you are. Your mom seems like she has spent whole nights crying and not sleeping. Please don't keep asking me to be silent any longer, I can't take it anymore". Mirabel wanted to tell him that it was all part of her grandmother's plan, since she knew her well enough to know.
However, the second event would soon cause the truth to be discovered.
Mirabel had finally landed a higher-paying job in a garment factory. However, they demanded the authorization of her parents or a guardian and the signing of the contract, since Mirabel was not legally an adult. The only person she could think of was her cousin Liliana, who was seven years older than her, was married, and taught at a prestigious girls school in the capital.
"Excuse me" Mirabel asked one of the teachers who supervised the students as they went home "I'm looking for the teacher Liliana Cancino".
"Who are you?" Asked the woman.
"My name is Mirabel Madrigal Cancino, I am her cousin" she answered.
The woman gave her a suspicious look. However, she appeared accompanied by her cousin who was very surprised to see her.
"Mirabel!" she exclaimed as she took her by the shoulders "we have been looking for you for months. Do you have any idea how worried we all were? Your dad has written a thousand letters to Grandma".
"I'll explain everything if you agree to go to lunch with me," Mirabel answered, giving her a nervous smile.
"You better be the one to invite me, miss. You have a lot to explain" Liliana said.
Mirabel and Liliana went to lunch at a nearby restaurant, where Mirabel began to talk. She told her about her journey, as well as the first months of her life in Bogotá. Liliana scolded her, but she finally agreed to sign her authorization and her contract.
"You wrote your own name wrong" said Liliana "You are not Madrigal/Cancino, you are Cancino/Madrigal"
"No I am not."
"How not? the law established that the complete name of a person is composed by the name, the last name from the father, and then the last name from the mother".
"My grandmother Alma convinced the priest from the church to make the registry like this," said Mirabel, as the act of baptism was the child's registration at the time.
"Oh no" murmured Liliana "this is one of those things grandma Julia will never know. Did you hear me? otherwise she will be going to Encanto to kill Doña Alma Madrigal with her two hands.
"Ok"
"Do your parents already know that you are here?" Liliana asked.
"No," Mirabel replied nervously, "I thought maybe Grandma Julia could ...
"Forget it" Liliana said "you have to face your own problems, you must write the letter with your own hand".
"But"
"Nothing." Liliana answered "I will give you a condition to accept all this"
"Which one?" Mirabel asked.
"You will show your face on Friday, at the wedding of our cousin Estela and you will apologize to Grandma Julia. She was sure you had eloped with some dirty country boy. She couldn't stop thinking about the scandal. But you are here studying and working, she will be proud to introduce you to society, even if your work is not so suitable for a lady." Liliana said.
Mirabel bit her lip and remembered her grandmother Alma's warnings. Each one decided how to react to their pain. While Alma Madrigal decided to seek in Encanto a refuge from the outside world, in which politics did not exist. Julia Cancino was the opposite. She had lost her parents very young. Unlike Alma, this catapulted her into a political fanaticism that her grandmother Alma considered inconvenient and very dangerous.
"Okay," Mirabel said reluctantly.
"Perfect, I'll send you the invitation by mail" Liliana said as she stood up.
Mirabel went shopping and used the sewing machine. She made a dark red dress with a square neckline and an A-line skirt. She was truly proud of her work. Then Mirabel took out the paper for the letter to her parents, as well as another envelope for the letter that she owed Roberto, but the words did not flow. She didn't know that she should write.
Finally, Mirabel decided to put all that aside to be handled after the wedding, after all, a couple of days more would not affect them. She wanted to fulfill what her grandmother Julia wanted from her so she took special care of her appearance that night. Mirabel might not be perfect like Isabela, but she had to admit that she looked great.
She took her black coat, and her new high heels, and headed to the elegant club in the center of Bogotá. The Cancino family had risen quite a bit in social status if they could afford a place like that. The hallways were lined with fine rugs and ornaments, while chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Suddenly, her grandmother made her appearance, led by the arm of Liliana, her favorite granddaughter.
All the guests applauded when they saw her. She may not have been the bride, but she certainly was the real star of the show. Mirabel looked around her. She was sure that among those present were some famous politicians that she used to see in the newspapers.
"Mirabel" said her grandmother with adoration "you look wonderful, that is a beautiful color, very appropriate. I wanted to know you have my complete support. I know living on Encanto under "that woman's" orders might not be easy for a young girl like you " said her grandmother, smiling politely and speaking with her very "proper" accent from the Capital.
"Thanks grandma, I am happy to see you. I knew that you would like the colour."
"Do your parents know that you are here?" Asked her grandmother.
"I still have to write that letter" said Mirabel "but I promise you that I will do it tonight".
"Perfect, it is your task to write to your parents" her grandmother agreed "but, if you wish, I can write to Alma Madrigal myself, and give her the good news that you are among us." She said, smiling politely. She and Liliana shared a quick look. It was obvious that her grandmother Julia wanted was to enjoy her victory and add salt to her wound.
"Thank you grandmother" was the only thing that Mirabel dared to say.
"Liliana, please take Mirabel to meet other people, I don't want her to be alone during the reception" her grandmother said.
Mirabel walked in the company of her cousin, meeting the guests.
"Mirabel, they are …"
"Mirabel Madrigal?" Juan Pablo asked as he looked at her with his face flushed with happiness "Is it you?"
"Juan Pablo Escalante!" Mirabel replied as they greeted each other.
"How are you here?" he questioned "forget it. First things first. Mirabel, let me introduce you to my parents" he said while Juan Pablo's parents greeted her very happily.
"Do the Madrigal know the Cancinos?" Juan Pablo asked while his parents listened with great interest.
"Agustín Cancino, Maribel's father, is the son of Julia Cancino" Liliana answered "which makes Mirabel one of us." She said, The eyes of Juan Pablo's parents were filled with interest upon hearing the news.
"But such good news" replied the elegant mother of Juan Pablo "you are very well connected, my dear" she said. There was something in that sentence, or in the significant smile that Liliana and the Escalantes shared, that made Mirabel shiver, but she decided to ignore it.
"Liliana" said one of the bridesmaids who approached her cousin "we have a serious problem" said the girl as she murmured something in her cousin's ear.
"Mirabel" Liliana answered "you have to go with us right now".
Liliana and the maid of honor dragged her to the back of the room, where the bride and bridesmaids were frantically preparing for the ceremony.
"It's broken" was the only thing the bride could say as she held the torn fabric from the train of her wedding dress. Her cousin Estela looked pale and about to burst into tears.
"Tell me you can do something," Liliana said worriedly. Mirabel bent down and noticed that her dress was not torn. The lace was detached from her tail. Luckily, the bride's mom was cautious enough to bring a needle and thread, so Mirabel was able to fix it in no time.
"Thank you Mirabel" said her cousin Estela, while she held her hands before going to the main salon "you are my hero".
Mirabel took her place in the audience during the ceremony. She wanted to laugh, since the last time she had been in church was with Juan Pablo in the back of the monastery doing things not exactly very religious.
"What are you laughing about?" Liliana asked
"Nothing, I just remembered something." Mirabel said, who noticed that Juan Pablo was looking over his shoulder, which only made her want to laugh worse.
"How terrible, Mirabel I already suppose what you are thinking" Liliana answered before laughing like Mirabel. "At least you have very good taste".
"Girls, please, we had such a hard time finding a priest because they belong to the other party, no one wanted to officiate the service, and you are laughing" her aunt, Liliana's mother scolded them.
"I'm sorry, Mom".
The two of them struggled to stop laughing for a long time, and the ceremony ended. Mirabel followed her family as they all settled in the club's garden for the family photo.
"Mirabel" Estela called her waving her bouquet "Hurry up, don't you want to appear in the family photo?" Asked her cousin.
"Yes, Mirabel."
"Come here Mirabel".
"We are waiting for you Mirabel".
"Hurry up, dear".
Shouted several of her relatives. Mirabel went down the stairs to the garden, and stood next to her uncle Marcos, who made sure that she appeared in the family photo.
After that, dinner started. Mirabel sat at the circular table where some of her cousins were with their wives and husbands. Liliana took out a cigarette, lit it, and raised it to her deep red lips. Suddenly, Liliana's husband took out a newspaper, opened it and said:
"Liliana".
"Yes?" She asked.
Did you see this? He said pointing to an article "they are taking people out of these lands, something has to be done, it was difficult enough for us to regain this territory."
"They are upset because for the first time in many years the president is one of us," said another of her cousins.
"Our grandmother is already informed. We'll see what we can do," Liliana said sternly.
"Mirabel" said Juan Pablo who had approached her table. "Do you want to dance?" He asked.
"Yes, of course," Mirabel agreed.
"Ladies and gentlemen this song's name is: Salsipuedes by Lucho Bermudez".
The band began to play. It was an orchestra very similar to the one he had seen in the ballroom, but much more refined. Mirabel and Juan Pablo danced several pieces together. She also danced with her cousins, the food was wonderful, and the drinks too. This occasion was close to becoming one of the best parties of her life.
"You keep dancing as good as I remembered," Juan Pablo said as he took his waist. "Why are you here?"
"I needed a change," Mirabel said.
"I heard rumors that Mrs. Madrigal is very hard on you" Juan Pablo commented with his bright and friendly smile "but it doesn't matter. After all, she will leave the house to you, you can throw them all out to the street if they bother you, the house is yours in any case".
Mirabel knew it was just a bad joke but she had to force herself to smile. For some reason, she no longer felt the same when dancing with him. They barely talked when they used to date on Encanto, and she felt they had nothing in common. She couldn't stop thinking about Roberto, despite the fact that she was angry with him.
Suddenly, Mirabel felt Juan Pablo tighten her even more as they danced, as his breath against her ear.
"Hey" he said "Do you want to go and find a place so that we can finish what we started?"
Mirabel felt alarmed when she heard that. She still remembered how bad she had felt when he humiliated her in front of her entire family. He didn't want her, she was just fun to him. While Mirabel had someone to whom she still owed a promise, someone she wanted to see.
"I don't think it's convenient, my grandmother is watching us," Mirabel said.
"They won't mind," he answered, "the Madrigals did not care either, and they were very well informed about us." That last thing was a low blow.
"You knew it?"
Didn't you? He asked. Mirabel could see that there was a hidden mockery on his handsome face "I always had the impression that your uncle hated me."
"Did he tell you something?"
"Nothing, but he's a threatening guy. He sounds like falling sand." answered Juan Pablo.
"He is an eccentric person," said Mirabel.
"Not enough to leave your family's properties in destiny's hands. After all, you are your grandmother's heir" said Juan Pablo. Mirabel did not answer anything, she did not want to, that was bothering her a lot.
"Come with me, Mirabel," he insisted as he hit her even closer to his chest as they danced.
"I'm going to be honest with you, Juan Pablo," Mirabel said as she moved slightly away from him. "Things have changed a lot since the last time we saw each other. Do you remember Roberto Herrera?"
"The pervert who was spying on us behind the monastery?" He asked in disgust.
"No!" Mirabel said "I mean, yes, but no, he is not a pervert, he is a very good person and he is saving money to come to work here, I plan to help him"
"He's just a boyfriend from a small town" Juan Pablo said, shrugging it off "now that you're with the Cancinos, you should be a little more refined".
"What are you talking about?" Mirabel asked, annoyed.
"You don't think it's a bit …"
"No, I don't," Mirabel said as she tried to separate herself from him.
"Hey, wait" Juan Pablo replied without letting her walk away "we still have half the song to go, everyone will know we had a fight".
Mirabel reluctantly agreed, as she still felt somewhat guilty for having rejected him. She returned to the table after finishing the song.
"I can't believe you know Escalante's son" Liliana said as she sat next to her "the grandmother would be very pleased if you got to have a relationship with him.
"I don't think so, Liliana".
"Why not?" Asked Liliana "I understand that he has a very high position in the rural institute, and it would be wonderful for the family".
"I thought he was just a secretary" Mirabel said "in any case, there is a boy in Encanto who ...
"Mirabel" Liliana interrupted "Don't rush to say no, that's my only advice".
Mirabel stayed at the party for a couple hours more. At that moment, she understood Isabela a little better. It was easy to smile and keep everyone happy, to pretend to be perfect, instead of being the "difficult" child. Perhaps that was why her sister had agreed to carry the charade with Mariano so far. The night had passed quickly, to the point that the guests were already leaving.
She walked to the closet at the entrance to the living room and requested her coat. Suddenly, Mirabel saw a series of strange men ask the doorman about her grandmother. Many of them wore ruanas and country garb and stern looks, which was a rarity at such an important event. At that moment, Juan Pablo approached her and requested her coat.
"How strange there is no one left in the room" Mirabel said "Do you have any idea what's going on? What are all these strange people looking for here?" She asked. He gave him one of his charming smiles and put her arm around her shoulders.
"Don't worry your pretty little head with such matters, Mirabel." he said. Mirabel was not a child for anyone to treat her in such a condescending way, so she immediately pulled away from him.
She coldly said goodbye and took a taxi. Mirabel remembered Alma Madrigal's words. Her grandmother was right. Julia Cancino was too involved in matters in which she did not want to interfere.
When she arrived at her boarding house, Mirabel decided she had enough of being a Cancino. The truth is that she preferred to be a Madrigal, despite everything. She sat at her desk and wrote two letters, which she began with a sentence:
"I am so sorry"
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Hello everyone, today it's the last day of vacation for me, so updates are going to be a little slower.
I was going to write a little longer about Mirabel's life in the city, but I don't know. Do you really want to read it? I mean, I do not want to write it, that's for sure. Writing about a girl, living in Bogotá city, finding a landlord who allows her two cats, thinking about paying bills, while having a decent but overall boring job, this is literally my life, and it's boring.
I am much rather into escapist fantasy, period drama Mirabel, having adventures in the wild, using pretty dresses, going to parties with the corrupt elites and flirting with bad boys.
Two historic commentaries today:
1. About is special to me, because Luisa is me, literally it's me, and my mom and my grandmother. Luisa is based on Afro-Colombian weightlifter, Olympic gold medalist, and Congresswoman Maria Isabel Urrutia who started her career lifting heavy food bags on the market. But she is also the archetype of the hard working country woman.
I imagine that many of you assume that I am from the coffee region, but no, I just happen to love history and I like to travel a lot . My family and I are from a very rural region, in the department of Boyacá. I consider Bogotá my home, but that doesn't take away the fact that I am a fatuta, which is a very derogatory term to refer to the country people who come from where I come from.
The women of my family for the most part, we have a very strong constitution. If we were living in the country we would be able to work all day and lift heavy stuff on the market too. I carry my mom around just to mess with her and to demonstrate to her I am stronger than her now.I look a lot like her too, My hair is the same, I even used to had a blouse like hers, that my grandma made for me for a halloween costume of "generic country woman from Boyacá".
2. Then an ugly noteI did not want to talk about this because it makes me uncomfortable, but what the hell. Just for context about the politics on the fic. From its formation as a Nation to the 60's and 70's Colombia always was divided into two political parties. Conservatives and liberals. The war between these two parties was bloody, and never stopped even when they weren't in an official war. It created the perfect climate for the formation of the guerrillas in the country. This conflict in theory ended with the implementation of the Frente Nacional from 1958 to 1974 when the violence in the country changed its face. This fic is located during the presidency of Alfonso Lopez Pumarejo, the least bad of all of our presidents, he was from the liberal party.