[Snakes]
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"Mirabel, I need you to take these cuts to the warehouse," said Antonio Ruiz, Mirabel's boss.
Mirabel had been working for a couple of weeks in a small garment factory in the capital. The place belonged to Mrs. Inés Caro, a country matron, who reminded her of Luisa. Antonio Ruiz was her husband, and the tailor in charge of men's clothing. Unfortunately, Mirabel did not get a position in the women's department, and now she faced a type of tailoring completely unknown to her.
"Yes sir," Mirabel said as she went down to the warehouse on the first floor.
"How do you want the boy?" Asked Doña Ines to the manager of the warehouse.
"I Would prefer a person from the country, they are used to physical work," replied the subject, while Mirabel could not help but get excited when she heard that.
"Doña Inés" Mirabel said excitedly "I know someone. He is from my town, but he is the youngest of eight children. He really wants to get out of the town and get a job in the city."
"Do you think he will be able to do this, and help to manage inventories?" Asked the woman.
"Of course he's very smart," Mirabel said.
"How much time do I have to wait?" Inés asked.
"Two weeks tops, I guess".
"It is a long time, but I will wait only because he comes under recommendation, if he is not here I will find someone else, do you understand me?" Inés asked.
Mirabel spent the rest of the day in an excellent mood. This was her opportunity to bring Roberto to the city. After Mirabel's shift, she left the building in the Santafe neighborhood and went to the telegraph office. She posted the oh so expected message, as she was very excited. Suddenly she felt anxious, since they had not seen each other in almost five months. What would she do if he didn't love her anymore?
She gave her address to the telegrapher. Later, she went to the streets nearby the Plaza de San Victorino, where she had arranged an appointment with her friends to go see jewelry at a good price. Mirabel walked through the overcrowded streets, to the point that it was difficult for her to walk. Mirabel looked from side to side, looking for a place to avoid the crowd. Suddenly, she saw an alley that led to one of the sidewalks to the square.
At the moment Mirabel stepped her foot in the alley, she knew there was something strange. The climate seemed to change, and it was as if everything in front of her took a greenish and sickly tint. Mirabel took all of her courage to move forward, as it was very uncommon to find a lonely street downtown, much less in the middle of office hours. The silence was killing her. Suddenly, the gnashing of a mouse caught her eye.
A rat crossed the alley, and it was followed by another, and then by another. Mirabel knew she must be crazy to follow them, but her curiosity was stronger, and just like that day she found Bruno. She advanced slowly, in the direction of where the animals were heading. She found a group of rats reunited in a sealed portal of an old abandoned colonial house. The rats seemed to eat meat, but Mirabel couldn't see what it was about.
She poked her face out, and almost fainted when she saw a huge dead snake, with its intestines exposed and its skin shed as it was eaten by rats. Mirabel instinctively covered her nose at the foul smell of rotting meat and excrement. But her horror was even greater when she saw the green eyes of the snake looking at her in a gesture eternally suspended in time.
Mirabel ran as fast as she could, then, she put her hand on the wall for a breath. She felt figures on the wall under her fingertips, and looked up to see an animal carved out of stone. They were decorations with indigenous symbols, which people used to put as ornaments in the houses. Mirabel recognized it, it was the same Muisca snake on her pension card.
She ran as fast as she could, until she reached the other side of the alley. Outside, people were walking and it seemed as if that scene had never taken place. Mirabel found the jewelry passage quickly.
"Miss, We have emeralds just brought from Muzo, San Pablo de Borbur, Coscuez" said a man promoting his business inside the passage.
"Hello, Mirabel" said one of her friends who had approached her.
"Are we going to see emeralds?" Mirabel asked surprised "none of us has the budget for emeralds" she commented.
"Well, nobody charges you for looking, and they are quite beautiful jewels,'' replied another of her friends.
Mirabel watched without seeing, as she couldn't get the horror scene she had just witnessed out of her head. She couldn't say if she was still scared, but it seemed to her that a creature was watching her from the shelves that contained the jewels with its intense green eyes.
"Excuse me" Mirabel called the manager "what is this?" she asked.
"It is a pendant with the representation of a chibcha snake, with eyes carved in Morralla, in 24 k. gold" said the woman referring to one of the many ancient tribes. She took out a tiny scale and calculated the price of the piece. Mirabel hadn't counted on that expense, but something told her that this object was hers, and no one else's.
"Mirabel, it's just morralla, it's not a real emerald," her friend said.
"It could be" agreed Mirabel "my brain says emeralds, but my budget prefers the morralla".
"Good point".
Mirabel put the pendant on her neck. Afterward, she went to dinner with her friends and returned to her boarding house. She took the piece out and looked at it. If Mirabel hadn't belonged to the Madrigal family, she would have thought they were mere coincidences, but the truth was that she knew that magic had signs and symbols, such as magic doors, miraculous candles, and sinister cracks, and she had too many coincidences.
At that moment, Mirabel remembered a scene that had taken place shortly after her arrival in the city. Just when she thought she might get a job, Mirabel fell ill with a series of high fevers that attacked her at night. She did not hesitate twice and went to the hospital.
"The examinations revealed something very curious," said the surprised young doctor. "Apparently you have snake venom in your blood".
" I was bitten by a snake during the trip to the city," Mirabel explained.
"It is quite strange, that poison have an immediate effect, it could not have been cured, and came back after weeks" replied the doctor "we will request antivenom serum from the Sumapaz moor, as you can imagine, it is not available in the hospitals of the capital no one expects to be bitten by a snake in the middle of the city.
"Yes, of course," Mirabel agreed, and let them inject the antidote. She decided to keep quiet, because, frankly, she did not see herself explaining to a doctor in the city that she had been cured by a magical arepa, surely he would have thought that she was delirious from the poison.
Mirabel returned that night to her boarding house, and took another of her mother's arepas, which remained intact, as if they had just taken off the grill after a month of being prepared. Mirabel was reluctant to use magic, but the situation warranted it, otherwise she would never work.
Her health went through different periods. She finally made a full recovery after a trip to Guatavita lagoon she made with her friends after a month in the city. Mirabel tossed a coin into the pond, and made a wish to regain her health. She was never quite sure why she hadn't gotten sick again, but now she felt that she needed to find a connection.
Mirabel received an unexpected visitor the next day. It was Liliana who appeared in the hall of her boarding house. She was in dissonance with everything around her. Her inn was a working-class place, and Liliana was dressed in her elegant light gray tailor suit, which was completely unsuitable for the place. The two greeted each other and went to a nearby chocolate salon.
"I thought I would not find you at home, today is Saturday and I thought you would go out with your friends or something like that" Liliana said.
"I have some additional sewing work, I was getting ahead of it," Mirabel replied, to which Liliana barely responded with a condescending smile.
"I have come to invite you to another event. Grandma is very pleased with your behavior during Estela's wedding, we think you would like to go to our grandma's garden party this Sunday, that is, tomorrow" said Liliana.
Mirabel did not want to go. The things she had seen during the wedding made her feel anxious. Also, the prospect of her seeing Juan Pablo again, after how rude he was to her did not thrill her at all.
"I don't know, Liliana. I have nothing to wear, and this time I won't be able to make something in such a hurry, I think I would be badly dressed in that important event,"Mirabel said as she slowly lowered her chocolate cup.
"Oh, that. Our grandmother thought of everything" Liliana replied as she put a paper bag on the table "The dress you made is spectacular. But, we thought you could use something bought from the boutiques. We know that you will not have it ready for tomorrow".
Mirabel smiled as she opened the package, to find a pale pink dress. She tried to keep Liliana from noticing, but that comment had offended her quite a bit. Mirabel wanted to laugh when she saw the label, as it was one of the many stores for which her factory worked. Some of her co-workers, or Mirabel herself, had made that suit that was supposedly superior to what she made herself. The only difference was that Julia had paid three times what it would cost her to do so.
"Thank you," Mirabel replied.
She attended her grandmother's house the next day wearing the dress she bought for her. Mirabel worked very hard on her appearance again, to the point that she was beginning to get fed up with doing it. If that was what Isabela did every day, it was not funny at all. The party would take place in the Cancino family's country house, in the town of Fontibón, so Mirabel had to be taken there in the company of her grandmother. She had rarely ridden in a car, let alone one as new as this one.
The day was sunny, although it was the pale, cold and spicy light of the Bogotá savanna. Mirabel crossed the garden to some white tents located there, decorated with tables and silver fountains with all kinds of fruits and different foods, while a trio of musicians in expensive ruanas made of black sheep wool and white hats and impecables suits sang guabinas with their tiples and guitars, as well as other rhythms from the center of the country.
"Mirabel, dear" called her grandmother who was already sitting at her table, waiting for her guests, like the great lady of high society she was.
"Hello Grandma".
"Sit down, dear" she told her "I already wrote to Mrs. Alma Madrigal. I sent her a copy of that cute family photo we took at the wedding. She always sends me pretty photos of you, it was time for me to answer her the favor".
"I did not know that you two have communication" Mirabel said, surprised by the level of toxicity reached by that relationship to share correspondence.
"We have sent each other a letter or two," replied Julia. "switching to nicer topics. I heard you're a friend of Escalante's son". Mirabel felt an incredible urge to run in the opposite direction.
"He visited El Encanto in the company of his boss and his two co-workers," Mirabel replied.
"I didn't know" her grandmother said with interest "Did you manage to become friends?"
"Yes, I suppose" Mirabel answered nervously "but, grandma, there is a boy in Encanto who…"
"My dear, you are very young, every lady always has one or another mistake in her story," answered her grandmother. Mirabel fell silent, while mentally wondering what would be the "mistake" that her own grandmother had in the story.
"Grandma" Mirabel began "During Estela's wedding something very strange happened, at the end of the reception. A group of very weird, bad looking people asked for you. It's strange, and they looked very suspicious…
"Mirabel," Julia answered as she took her hand very gently. "I understand that you are not used to events like this, but I want to teach you a lesson: the most important contribution that a true lady can give to society is her discretion".
Mirabel didn't need another word to understand she had to keep quiet. She remained immobile and smiling for a few minutes in that chair, wondering if that's how Isabela feels, as if the only thing that was expected of her was to be part of the decoration.
"With your permission, grandma, I'm going to eat something," Mirabel said as she stood up. She headed for the buffet, when she saw Juan Pablo coming towards her. Mirabel decided to put a whole piece of mantecada in her mouth, in order to have her mouth full of cake and avoid talking to him.
"Hello Mirabel" said Juan Pablo. She smiled and pointed to her lips, while she gave him an awkward smile.
"Oh, I get it, you're eating, if you want, we can talk later" He said while she kept smiling and nodding.
"Sir, miss, please, a photo for the social pages of the newspaper" asked a journalist who had approached them.
"Of course" Juan Pablo said, with one of his charming smiles, as he passed his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him. Mirabel barely had time to swallow the cake before the camera flash dazzled her.
"Please, in the description it should be emphasized that I am Mr. Juan Pablo Escalante, regional director of the rural institute for the coffee region" said Juan Pablo who suddenly gave a glance to Mirabel remembering she was there "Oh, and Mirabel Cancino Madrigal" he added. Mirabel was going to correct the journalist about her name, but she swallowed a loose crumb and started coughing.
"So, the famous Mr. Escalante from the rural institute" said the journalist "Mr. Escalante, I have tried to speak with you for weeks, my name is Francisco Vega, I am part of the judicial section of the newspaper. I wrote to ask you about the whereabouts of that subordinate yours who was involved in the theft of land in …"
"Wow, your business must be pretty dry since you are covering this event and not doing your job. Look. I have already discussed this issue over and over again. My colleague is a fugitive and I can only apologize for not being able to give more information about his whereabouts. And if you don't stop that strange obsession of yours, I'll request a restraining order" said Juan Pablo, who left without even giving Mirabel a second glance.
"Excuse me," Mirabel said as she tightly squeezed the snake charm that she had bought a couple of days ago. For some reason it gave her a sense of security and protection.
"May I help you?" Asked the journalist.
"Yes sir" Mirabel replied "I would like to know what scandal do you mean".
"A very famous scandal, it happened more than a year ago, back when he was regional director for the Orinoco region. One of Mr. Escalante's secretaries traveled to a very remote area, in the colonies of the eastern plains. From what is known, he hired a couple of actors to pose as his workers. He went to distant rural areas, traced the borders of the land, and then tricked the owners into signing sales contracts, since many were country people who could not read. When the whole affair was discovered, the guy fled across the Venezuelan border to the Guyanas, and was never heard from again, "said the journalist.
Mirabel felt herself going pale, for it was too similar to what she had witnessed at the Encanto. Mirabel frantically grasped her snake necklace as if her life depended on it.
"Sir," Mirabel continued with a dry throat. "What happened to the people who lived there?" she asked. The reporter scratched his forehead, messing with his hat, but he didn't seem to care.
"That's the saddest thing of all" he said "At first nothing happened, but a few months ago the rural institute for which your friend works, began to remove these people from their lands because they are considered illegal occupants.
"How can it be possible?" Mirabel asked impressed "it is already known that it was a criminal who stole them".
"Yes, but they don't have scriptures, or certificates, or anything. The only thing they have is a sales contract with the name of the criminal. Mr. Estrada says that he will put these lands into production and give them to the country people as tenants, which is bad enough, but my opinion is different".
"What is your opinion?"
"I'm sure you won't like it. After all, you are his friend" the journalist said, giving her a suggestive look that Mirabel preferred to ignore.
"No, I'm interested, I want to know," Mirabel answered. The journalist lit a cigarette, as if he was still wondering if he should trust her.
"In my opinion, I believe that Mr. Escalante is keeping these assets so when the time comes, for the press and the authorities to stop following the case, the illegal owner can return to the country," said the journalist.
Mirabel was petrified. Those were too many coincidences.
"Miss," the journalist began again, as he must have already realized she was concerned. "Take my card, if you want to talk to someone about this, don't hesitate to call me," he said.
"Thank you," Mirabel answered as she put the piece of cardboard in her handbag.
"Excuse me, one last question" said Mirabel "Is there a place in the city where I can read old newspapers? The journalist must have liked that, since he gave her a smile.
"If you want to do a bit of research, you can go to the National Library, they have a lot of old newspapers," she replied.
Mirabel thanked him one last time and she returned to her table where her grandmother was waiting for her with Liliana while they were chatting animatedly.
"Where is Mr. Escalante, Mirabel?" Liliana asked. "Last time I saw him, he was with you at the buffet."
"I do not know. He simply disappeared" replied Mirabel, who got close to them to avoid being heard "Grandma, Liliana, that journalist who took a picture of us told me something very disturbing, apparently Juan Pablo is involved in a scandal…
"I suppose that he told you about the whole issue of the lands in the colonies of the eastern plains," replied Liliana, rolling her eyes at her, "forget it, those are just malicious Escalantes are a very important family, and that's just a cheap scandal".
"It could be, but what if…"
"Mirabel" her grandmother Julia interrupted her "what did we talk about? discretion…"
"Is the best contribution a true lady can give to society," Mirabel replied reluctantly.
"I'm sorry, I had to make some calls, just business," Juan Pablo said as he sat down next to her. He put his hand on her knee and asked, "Do you want to dance with me?"
"Yes, of course," Mirabel answered animatedly upon the intense look of her grandmother and her cousin. She knew she had to keep up the facade, as she still needed to know more.
The string group played festive bambucos, very different from the modern Caribbean music played on the wedding day, and much less scandalous, controversial and according to her grandmother, terribly inmoral. Mirabel allowed him to handle her to his will despite everything.
"Did you talk to the journalist?" Juan Pablo asked as they danced.
"Yes," answered Mirabel, "it's terrible that your secretary has deceived you in that way, I already understand why you decided to go to the Encanto yourself. There are some very bad people out there. Liliana and my grandmother also think so". Mirabel lied with her best innocent expression. Juan Pablo didn't know it, but when someone has a grandmother as strict as Alma Madrigal, it was easy to become a good liar. He gave her a smile.
"You're a good girl, Mirabel, a very sweet girl," Juan Pablo said in a hateful condescending tone.
Well… at least he was a good dancer.
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As much as it bothered her, Mirabel knew that neither her grandmother, nor her cousin were interested in listening to her. Fortunately, she knew someone who could, and he would be in town the next day.
Mirabel decided that before pushing poor Roberto once again to join the roller coaster that was her life. She would first do a little research on her behalf. Then she would make a decision, whether she liked it or not, Liliana and her grandmother had a point. Until now, the only culprit seemed to be Juan Pablo's colleague. Mirabel couldn't jump to conclusions just because of some similarities. Nevertheless, she would do anything to protect her family and her Encanto.
That night, Mirabel had a dream. The same green eyes haunted her. However, this time they didn't look like Bruno's. To tell the truth, they seemed half-closed, like those of an animal half asleep that calmly observed her as her companion on the road.
Mirabel changed her shift, to have the morning free and receive Roberto at the Sabana train station. She asked a couple of train controllers where the platform with the trains that arrived from the town of Honda was located.
The sound of the steam train in combination with the machinery of the rails filled her with excitement, to the point that she was almost frantic by the time Roberto got off the train. It was evident that he was wearing new clothes and his nice white hat, which he had probably bought in Manizales or at Honda, and new leather shoes that still looked very uncomfortable.
"Mirabel," Roberto said when he saw her once he got off the train on the platform. Despite the crowd and the steam from the trains, Mirabel couldn't contain her emotion and she threw herself at his neck giving him a big hug. He reciprocated, to the point that he was close to lifting her off the ground.
"I got a perfect place for you to stay, it is a small studio, although it has a shared kitchen, the room has a little boiler. Luckily they allow women, which is good because men are not allowed in my boarding house, and…
Roberto couldn't help but laugh. Mirabel blushed, as her intentions had been too obvious.
"If it doesn't bother you," she said almost fearfully.
"It doesn't bother me in the least," replied Roberto, offering her arm so that she could take it. Mirabel let out a small squeal of delight as she took his arm. It was the first time she had had anything resembling a boyfriend. Both took the one-way bus to the Las Nieves neighborhood, where Mirabel lived. Roberto did not seem as surprised as her with everything that surrounded her. Probably because he traveled a lot. The room wasn't much, but just as Mirabel had said, she was welcome there.
"Doña Julieta was happy to see the letter you sent them, but I think your mom is still upset with you" Roberto commented "you made her suffer a lot, and I feel guilty because I participated in all this madness".
"I know, I know" said Mirabel "I have written several letters to dad and mom. They keep answering them, but they're really upset," Mirabel replied as she finished making coffee.
"Here," she said as she served coffee for both of them, "you must be exhausted from the trip."
"I am," agreed Roberto as he took the cup from her. Mirabel sat down next to him and walked over without any shame.
"Are you very, very tired?" Mirabel asked as she played with the first button of his shirt.
"N- not so- so much" stammered Roberto who looked nervous but not enough to reject her. "not at all, to be honest"
"Perfect," Mirabel replied as she sat on his lap without thinking twice.
Mirabel started that kiss and everything else with the greatest emotion, but she was also the first to separate from him a few hours later when the clock struck five in the afternoon despite she had the desire to spend time with him. Mirabel said goodbye to him with her chest on fire and her dress untidy, since the library would close at seven at night, and she still had a couple of hours to investigate.
The library was conveniently close to where they lived. The manager showed her diary files from a year ago. Mirabel found nothing that night, nor the next, but the third, just when she arrived in June 1933. She found what she was looking for. The coverage of that scandal was monumental, they presented Juan Pablo's colleague as a kind of criminal mastermind who had managed to outwit his young and inexperienced boss, to the point that Mirabel began to believe it. However, what caught her attention was the fact that he had used actors to do that fraud.
Mirabel headed back to the counter.
"Sir," Mirabel said, "do you have theater magazines? Where can I find pictures of famous actors?" she asked. Mirabel looked at the photos of the monthly magazines of 1932, where she found images of those involved in the fraud posing in the middle of the stage. She kept looking at the pictures in each of the magazines, not really knowing what she wanted to find, but knowing that eventually she would.
"Oh my God," Mirabel said, shocked as she covered her mouth in a gesture of horror, when she found a grainy image due to the quality of the printing. It was nothing less and nothing more than Efraín Guzman, the old "Boss" of Juan Pablo, who in reality was an actor named Rubén Gonzales. Mirabel felt her pulse quicken, but she kept searching, and she found just what she was looking for: Efráin's supposed wife, who was also a theater actress.
Mirabel took the serpent amulet tightly between her fingers. She didn't know why but it made her feel safe. She was now sure: her grandmother and her uncle Bruno had been right, Juan Pablo Escalante was a criminal, and the poor people of Encanto had been deceived by a scammer.
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Luisa was not the kind of person who over-thinks things. She do the stuff. If something required work, she did it without hesitation, because in her opinion, over-thinking was for the weak of character. That was why she didn't hesitate before hiding all the editions of the weekly newspaper that she used to get at the Encanto. If her grandmother saw that photo, all hell would break loose in the Madrigal family.
Alma Madrigal had lost many skills over the years, and it was becoming more and more difficult for her to take her pen, so she used to ask Luisa to write her correspondence. It might be surprising for some people, but the best calligraphy belonged to her. However, Luisa hated to write and read the correspondence that Alma sent to her grandmother, Julia Cancino. Both send each other true full length novels of the "passive-aggressive" genre, where they praised each other, but directed insults camouflaged in cordial phrases.
Luisa saw her grandmother's face redden with anger when she looked at the family photo of Mirabel smiling at the camera as she posed with the rest of the wedding party.
"Dear Alma, in this family it is very important for us to make sure that each one of the members has a place in the family memories. You can spot Mirabel in the second row to the right, safe and sound, just like I promised".
"As she actually does want to be part of our family."
"Damn it" her grandmother said as she covered her face with her hands "it was all my fault for sending her that unfortunate photo we took the day Antonio received his gift. That "vieja desgraciada" realized that Mirabel was not in the picture and she is still obsessed with it . Almost five years have passed! I'm a fool, all because I didn't even bother to look at those photos when they came from the photographer, I thought Mirabel was somewhere in the corner.
"I think we should have also made sure that she was in the photos," Luisa commented.
"Please, I've had enough with that woman, don't start you too," her grandmother replied.
Luisa knew, if she saw that photo without proper preparation, her grandmother might cross the mountains just to go kill the "vieja desgraciada" with her own hands, especially after the issue with the intermittent magic of the house. Luisa herself almost spit out her morning coffee when she saw on the social events page of the Bogota elite, her sister posing in the company of the same guy she had dated several months before. However, the most disturbing thing was the description of the image.
"Mr. Juan Pablo Escalante Reyes, Regional Director of the coffee region of the Rural Institute in the company of his future wife, Miss Mirabel Cancino Madrigal, at the country party hosted by her grandmother, the respectable Mrs. Julia Cancino de Cancino ."
"Isabella," said Luisa, who intercepted her sister in the hallway as she left her room. She took her by the arm and with her free hand she put a finger on her lips, for Isabela kept silent, since she did not want that information to reach Dolores' ears.
"What's going on?" Isabela asked as she received the newspaper from Luisa's hands. Isabela covered her mouth to avoid saying a word when reading that.
"And what about that poor boy who..." Isabela began.
"Silence," Luisa said.
Luisa remembered Roberto Herrera. He had come to say goodbye a little less than a week before, he announced that Mirabel was waiting for him in the capital. Her family's reaction was mixed. On the one hand, Luisa was happy to see that her sister kept her promises, although there was a bad taste in her mouth, since it meant that Mirabel did not want to return. However, she was reluctant to believe that the same sweet girl who gave her small embroideries and drawings, and who hid in her bed during storms, had convinced that boy to abandon his life in the mountains to abandon him a couple of days later.
"This is so Mirabel. I've always said it, her real gift is getting into the most absurd situations" Isabela said, frustrated and annoyed with her sister.
"Do you think so?" Luisa asked, surprised at the little knowledge she had about her younger sister "I believe this has the name of our grandmother Julia written all over it". Isabela took the newspaper and looked at it better.
"You're right" said Isabela "we have to talk to mom and dad. Mirabel might be in a sticky situation, we could help her"
"What do we have to talk about with Aunt Julieta and Uncle Agustín?" asked Dolores who had approached them silently.
"What are you doing here?" Luisa asked, annoyed.
"I heard whispers, murmurs and gasps, so I figured you didn't want me to know, so I decided to come". Dolores answered cheekily, who took advantage of the opportunity to look at the newspaper that Isabela had in her hands.
"Oh my god," Dolores said, "you have to talk to your parents right now."
The three of them went down to the kitchen where Pepa and Julieta were having coffee and chatting, without any shadow of a rainy cloud. That was about to change.
"That vieja desgraciada," Julieta said as she tightly held the newspaper in her hands. That surprised Luisa, because although she knew that her mother did not feel the slightest affection for her mother-in-law, she had never spoken of her like that in front of her daughters.
"I'm going to look for mom" Pepa said in the middle of a rainy cloud "Julieta, prepare a Tilo herbal tea, to calm her nerves, we'll need it".
Her mother turned her back on them as she began to prepare the herbal tea, while she murmured insults that Luisa could not understand.
"Mom, we have to show you something, but don't get mad," Pepa said as she led her grandmother to the kitchen. She took a seat on the wooden chair, while her granddaughters stayed by the side.
"It must be something really bad if you have such a cloud, Pepa," her grandmother commented.
Luisa handed her the newspaper slowly, while everyone waited for her reaction.
"That…"murmured the grandmother "Julieta, do you have Tilo herbal tea to calm my nerves?" she asked.
"Yes, mom," Julieta answered.
At that moment, Uncle Bruno and the owner of the tavern he used to frequent entered the kitchen.
"Grandma," said the owner of the tavern.
"Mom," Bruno repeated, "something very serious has happened, something you need to know about."
"We already know" answered her grandmother without interest while she put the newspaper on the counter "surely Julia Cancino is putting pressure on Mirabel." She said, However, the tavern owner and Bruno looked at each other.
"This has nothing to do with Mirabel," said the old man who suddenly turned into Camilo.
"Mom, I'm going to tell you something very important, but I need you to promise me that you're not going to kill me," Camilo said very slowly.
"What are you talking about?" Pepa asked irritated.
"Mom" started Bruno agitated "Camilo made an important discovery. I want you to listen to him without getting angry, because he has done an excellent job for this community.
"Well," Grandma agreed.
Luisa listened to Camilo tell a complex story of how he had started pretending to be one of the municipal councilors in exchange for free food and privileges at his bar. Pepa's cloud was beginning to snow, but no one interrupted him. Camilo told them that after her grandmother revealed she distrusted the visitors, he had become obsessed with seeing the supposed certificates of ownership of the land. However, no one wanted to show them, until today, when Roberto Herrera's uncle had brought some documents to the Municipal Council.
"I'm not a lawyer," Camilo said, "but this it's a land sales contract. Those people were scammers who deceived the country people from the most distant places, so that they would sell the land, they sold it to an unknown person, Alfredo Montes."
"My God, Mirabel!" Exclaimed her horrified mother ."Mirabel is with that guy."
"What does Mirabel have to do with all this?" Bruno asked, so Grandma handed him the newspaper. Bruno paled even more than usual.
"I have to confess something to you," said Bruno who seemed on the verge of tears as he hugged himself tightly. "When those strangers appeared, I was immediately suspicious. The bordering process was very difficult, and it didn't seem sensible to me that they would make such a trip just to help us with it. That night, after the party, I had a vision in my room. I saw Mirabel, and that guy, Juan Pablo or whatever his name is, and it took place in a land far from Encanto.
"Is that why you asked me to follow them?"
"Yes," Bruno said, "I had to protect her without her knowing the reason, otherwise, it could precipitate her fate, as it happened when the house collapsed." I knew that Mirabel would hate me, but I couldn't fight fate, so I decided to play by it's rules.
"That guy left, and Mirabel stayed here, so I thought it was time for another vision. That night I had another vision in the tobacco smoke, but this time things were not so clear. I saw snakes everywhere and a lot of anger, this anger could cause death. I thought that my first vision had been forgotten, and that it would not take place since Mirabel's journey was going to be very short. But then Mirabel left for Bogotá and that was when everything became clear: the destiny had not been altered." Her uncle continued while Pepa served him a cup of herbal tea.
"However, I still had hope, because after so many months, Mirabel had not seen this guy again. But I was wrong, I was so wrong, and now all is lost". Bruno said as he clutched his head again in desperation. Luisa felt pale. She had never seen her uncle in such misery. It was a sad and pathetic sight simultaneously.
"What happens in that vision?" Luisa asked, since none of them dared to open their mouths in the midst of her uncle's tears.
"Mirabel will be killed by that man."
Luisa was not the type of person to overthink things, and she decided it was time to take action, she would bring her sister back no matter what.
Hello everyone, we have two or three chapters left. I'm going to try to get them out quickly as I'm inspired and to take this story from my head. Since some of you have told me that you enjoy my notes, here they are:
1 The scene where Mirabel buys jewelry. To be honest, this is not what the city was like in the 1930s, it's more what it is now. In the vicinity of the Plaza de San Victorino there is a trade of cheap things, clothes, toys, makeup, and there are full passageways full of jewelry for sale at a good price. This one usually goes shopping there. This area is not for tourists, only locals without their bags, as it is also very heavy and usually completely overcrowded with people, that is why the Mirabel scene feels so strange.
According to my grandmother, in the thirties this area was completely different, it was full of ugly cafes and fur shops. She said it was horrible, but she also said that the best thing that could have happened to this area was to be burned in the riots of 1948, in an event called the Bogotazo of April 9th, a series of protests as a result of the assassination of liberal candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitan. It is still ugly though.
2 The town where Mirabel's grandmother's country house is located is called Fontibón, it no longer exists. Today it is one of the largest localities of Bogotá and was completely consumed by the city since the sixties.
3 I emphasized the difference in music during Mirabel's grandmother's party, since indeed, tropical music (like cumbias and porros, salsa wasn't a thing here until the 70's) was very controversial when it reached the center of the country. For many it was really immoral, because, you know, old plain racism. So it didn't seem logical to me that an old rich lady like Julia Cancino would use this music in her own party. Unfortunately, for her the younger generations like it, so it was used at the wedding. I had a scene on my head when she spent a good solid hour complaining about it.