Mirabel's days had become a never ending blur of white silk since the day in la cocina. She had embroidered so many flowers and mariposas in gold, silver, and ivory she lost count. Her fingers ached from how many times she'd accidentally stabbed herself with the needle since she'd lost her dedal in her mama's hasty packing job. But what was most frustrating was how bad her eyes itched from carefully scrutinizing her carefully crafted figures. She constantly rubbed her eyes as if she had sand in them.

"Mirabel!" sang Isabela bursting through the door with Mariano. Luisa and Pepa who had been in the corner, trying to mend their own clothes, but failing miserably, looked up sharply at the eldest Madrigal granddaughter.

"Luisa, Tia Pepa, leave that and when I finish this line on the altar cloth, I'll mend those skirts," said Mirabel hardly looking up from selecting her colors for the scene depicting la Madonna with baby Jesus and sucking on her finger from where Isabela had startled her and she'd pricked her finger.

"Oh, Mira, where is your dedal?" asked Isabela "you've had it since you were five!"

"It's in one of those boxes, Isa," replied Mirabel, wearily waving toward the boxes packed in the corner "Mama doesn't want me unpacking everything."

"Well we just wanted to come and tell you that Mama examined the lace handkerchiefs that you embroidered and she was impressed!" said Mariano warmly, moving to sit next to Mirabel while she continued to work "next you'll tell me you can do laundry and cook as well as you sew."

"Of course she can!" exclaimed Isabela much to Mirabel's shock "she also makes clothes. She doesn't just embroider and mend. The loom outside is hers. She is a genius with dye and wool. I've often said Mirabel's true gift was having fabric speak to her."

It was strange to her to hear Isabela praise her talents even though she'd been doing it a lot recently. Mirabel was always under the impression that Isabela thought that casita made her new clothes when hers became worn, washed them when they became dirty, and mended them when she ripped them.

"Truly?" said Mariano turning back to Mirabel, "Is there anything you can't do?"

"Well I can't seem to get a Gift," replied Mirabel bluntly, as she was getting frustrated with the two of them bothering her when she was trying very hard to focus on her stitches. In her ire she didn't notice that the entire room had gone silent. She looked up and saw everyone's horrified expressions and she realized that she'd said her thoughts out loud.

Mirabel sighed. She was used to everybody needing assurance about her but it was exhausting.

"It's ok, everyone," she put on her best fake smile. "A little dark humor never hurt anyone"

Everyone stayed in stunned silence until Mariano threw his head back and laughed.

"She truly is a gem, Isa," he gasped out between chortles. "Keep an eye on her or someone will steal her away."

Isabela gave an uneasy smile and went to sit on the other side of Mirabel but a grunt from Luisa had her sitting on the floor by Pepa's feet.

"So, Mirabel, I hear you're planning on moving out after the wedding," said Mariano leaning closer to her. "I must say I'm going to miss seeing you run all over town entertaining all the children. One day you will make a beautiful bride for a very lucky man and a wonderful mother to some exceptional children."

"Well maybe someday," said Mirabel, being very uncomfortable with Mariano in her space. He was her sister's fiance for Dios sake "but I'm only fifteen. That seems like a long way off, and as Isabela said, I'm really good at sewing and things like that so I'd like to try to apprentice as a laundress and maybe one day open my own embroidery shop."

"Ha ha, an independent woman!" laughed Mariano "I love it. You would never need to depend on anyone for anything, as if such a thing were possible for a woman. Truly, Mirabel, your charm knows no bounds."

"I know it seems impossible," said Mirabel contemplatively as she finished the row of golden stars she was working on and began to select a midnight blue thread for la Reina's garment. "However, Abuela led us here after her husband died and raised three children on her own, so an independent woman isn't a very foreign concept to me."

"Very true," he said and sat back as he seemed to be lost in thought. "my own abuela often tells me how similar you are to Alma before they were forced to flee their homes. She was carefree, hard working, and, forgive me Dona Pepa, a real firecracker my abuela said."

"Me?" whispered Mirabel, looking at Mariano for the first time since he'd sat down " Senora Guzman said Abuela was like me?"

"Absolutely." Mariano nodded, seeming truly sad. "Abuela said that the war and the loss of your Abuelo was too much for her. It changed her and maybe not in a good way but it was how she dealt with her grief."

"She had to be perfect," muttered Mirabel finally understanding what was going on in her abuela's head, "excuse me, there's something I need to do."

She got off her bed and walked to the door, Pepa following her like a nervous cloud.

"Mirabel, where are you going? Your mama wants you out of sight as much as possible ." said Pepa, wringing her hands looking around the casita at all the villagers that began muttering seeing Mirabel out of her room.

"Just a quick stop, Tia Pepa, I just need some space for a minute." said Mirabel as she stopped in front of Abuela's door. She could feel the rain fall on her shoulder from her tia's nervousness.

"Mira-" she began, but Mirabel turned and pinned her with a doe eyed stare she knew would get her her way and Pepa backed off. "Alright, but I will be right outside the door if you need me."

Mirabel nodded and knocked on the door to Abuela's room and after a moment she heard the door creak open and saw Abuela's extremely tired face looking back at her.

"Mirabel?" she whispered as if she feared she were seeing a ghost. She reached out to touch her but upon seeing Pepa standing there her hands fell to her sides. "What can I do for you mi nieta? "

"I need to talk to you," she said loud enough for Pepa to hear but then dropped her voice so only Abuela was able to hear her "I think we might be able to stop Mama from leaving."

Abuela's face brightened and she immediately allowed Mirabel inside her room. Mirabel marveled at it. She'd never been allowed inside Abuela's room, not even as a child. It was the elder woman's sanctuary. It was a simple comforting room and reminded Mirabel of her own nursery. She turned and faced alma.

"Share your sorrow with mama," said Mirabel bluntly. At Abuela's incredulous expression, she continued "tell her why you've held so tightly to this miracle. Explain to her that you never meant for it to go this far. Admit that you would rather lose your home than your child."

Mirabel thought this would be enough to shake her Abuela into seeing the error of her ways but the old woman just looked stunned. She then looked slowly to the floor in shame.

"Mirabel, I cannot do that," whispered Abuela, "I am not a good mother, but even I will not lie to my daughter. When Brunito left, it should have killed me, losing my only son, however as long as I had my home, I survived. Julietta knows this. She has always loved you girls more than her gift and her home. That always made her a better mother than me. Pepa too. That is one thing they learned from my mistakes. I love your mother, Mirabel, and I love you. I always have. I delivered you; how could I not love you? But for the greater good of the family I will cut you off if i must. I want you to stay, but only if the miracle can be preserved."

Mirabel was stunned at Abuela's confession. How could anyone choose a building, even a magical building over their children. She didn't even notice the tears coming down her face as she stared at her Abuela.

"Really? You would completely abandon yourself and who you are inside, Abuela?" she said angrily and she felt casita rumble with her. "What would Abuelo say?"

"He would be ashamed of me, Mirabel," she said with absolute certainty. "I am a different person than he married. I wish that I could be a different person than what I am, that I could be the woman I was when I met my Pedro, but that is impossible, Mirabel."

"But what if-" the door to Abuela's room banged open and an outraged Julietta stood there with an extremely nervous Pepa.

"Mirabel, go back to the nursery with Pepa AND STAY THERE," she growled. Mirabel opened her mouth to protest but Pepa's gentle grip on her shoulders stopped her. "Mama, forgive our intrusion."

"Julietta, mi vida, por favor-" began Abuela but was cut off by Julietta's shriek of anger.

"DO NOT call me 'your life', mama," she growled. "Your life is this house, and that damned miracle. You did not love us beyond what we could do for you. Poor Brunito did EVERYTHING he could to make you happy but you reviled him. YOU made him look into Mirabel's future and whatever he saw scared him enough that he left. He left to protect Mirabel from you. Pepa had Antonio because you made her have another baby to prove the miracle was still strong after Mira's failure.'' Julietta spit the word out as if it left a disgusting taste in her mouth "nevermind she was FORTY-FIVE at the time. You told her 'Julia can heal anything that goes wrong'. What if I couldn't? Magic cannot fix everything, mama. I even told you that, but you didn't care. You may love us. But don't you dare even try to insinuate that any of us are your life."

Julietta's chest was heaving when she was done and it seems that the whole family had been drawn to the room. Felix gently took Pepa's hands, which were a death grip on Mirabel's shoulders, and started whispering soothing words to her. Augustin pulled Mirabel's shirt from her shoulders and hissed at the bruises already forming there.

"Mirabel, come along, we'll have one of your mama's arepas and everything will be all better," he muttered to her, "you shouldn't be here for this."

"Why not?" snarled Isabela from the door "she caused this. She's the reason-" Isabela was cut off when Augustin's hand cracked across her cheek. The family stood in shocked silence. Augustin had never raised his voice, let alone his hand to his children. He was the calm middle ground in the family. Isabela's eyes were wide as saucers as she regarded her father who was seething with quiet anger.

"Isabela," he whispered "go to your room."

"Papi I am twenty-two years old, you cannot-"

"I am still your father," Augustin growled, anger seeming to emanate from his pores " and you will still do as I say. I have had enough, Isabela, and I cannot tolerate your disrespect for another moment. Perhaps you are not the one to blame for all this, but I do know I have let it go on for too long. Go, Isabela, before I truly lose my temper."

Isabela scurried from the room, wails ripping from her throat. Augustin turned back to Mirabel and went to hug her but she flinched away from him. He'd just hit her sister, because of her.

"Mirabel-" he whispered, genuinely upset. Mirabel was his baby. She always sought her father out when she was upset. She never pulled away from him.

Mirabel fled from the room, tears rolling down her face. She couldn't take this anymore. She was corrupting everyone in her family. La reina was wrong, she wasn't a blessing. She was a curse.

She ran until she tripped over a rock and painfully twisted her ankle. She looked around and found herself behind the donkey barn. Casita hadn't even stopped her. She must've truly screwed up. She sank to her knees and sobbed until she couldn't anymore and she just sat and closed her eyes and wished the world would just swallow her up.

"Mirabel! There you are!" exclaimed a familiar voice and Mirabel snapped her eyes open in confusion and looked into Mariano's concerned face.

"Mariano? What are you doing here?" she asked trying to stand but immediately cried out feeling how injured her ankle was.

"Nevermind that, sit down, Mirabel," he said, his usually suave voice uncharacteristically harsh. "You are hurt. I'll carry you back to your mama. She'll help you."

"NO!" she screamed causing Mariano to flinch "I don't want to go back there. I can't. Mariano, please." she began to cry again and felt herself scooped up in Mariano's strong arms.

"Hush, Mirabel," he soothed, hugging her as if she were a small child. She buried her face into his shoulder and sobbed. She didn't care that this was her sisters fiance. She didn't care that he wasn't who she wanted to comfort her. He was there. "Oh, mi querida, i can't leave you here. At least let me take you back to my home and let me tell your mama where you are."

"Ok," she hiccupped and felt Mariano heft her off the ground and begin walking her back through the village where she heard even more whispers from the townsfolk. She curled even further into Mariano's shoulder.

"At least make yourselves useful," Mariano hissed at them sensing Mirabel's distress "you, go tell my mother that I'm bringing Mirabel to our house and you, go tell Dona Julietta where I am taking Mirabel so she won't worry. Well, why are you still staring, vamos su burros!"

Mirabel was shocked. She had always thought Mariano was a big, dumb hunk but the way he was treating her, perhaps she was wrong.

'Well, he'll have a hard life with senorita perfecta, Isabela,' a nasty voice in her head sneered. She tried to push it to the back of her mind, but she also wanted to snort at the idea of her prima donna sister being paired with such a caring man.

"Mirabel, we are at my home. My mama wants to put you in an herb bath. It won't heal you like your mama's food but it will take away some of the pain in your ankle and your bruises."

She realized she had drifted off in Mariano's arms. She looked around and saw Senora Guzman's startled expression and her gentle outstretched hands. Mariano set Mirabel down gently, wincing at her pained hiss.

"¡Oh pobrecito!" she exclaimed, immediately putting her arm around Mirabel's waist to help her to the bathroom with mariano following awkwardly attempting to help. "Mariano, go wait for Dona Julietta. You cannot come into a young lady's bath. Have you no shame? I raised you better."

Mariano took one look at Mirabel's exposed shoulders and turned the color of a beet.

"¡Lo siento, Mirabel!" he exclaimed running toward the front of the house. Senora Guzman clucked her tongue and gently helped Mirabel out of her skirts.

"Dios mio that boy!" she grumbled "sometimes he is all brawn and no brains. Let's get you in the bath querida."

"Thank- you, senora but I shouldn't impose," Mirabel protested weakly as senora Guzman forced her gently into the water that reached the tops of her shoulders.

"Do not say that, Mirabel," she snapped, deftly taking Mirabel's injured foot and wrapping it up with a greenish, herb tinted bandage. " We are a community. Our job is to help each other. You aren't the first young lady to run away and you won't be the last."

Mirabel looked away in shame. She was causing so much trouble for everyone. Maybe if she went back to sleep, la reina would give her another vision. Under Senora Guzman's talented hands she fell into a fitful slumber. Hopefully la virgen wasn't as angry with her as she was with herself.