"Mirabel?" an ethereal voice called to her "mi vida, mi bebe, open your eyes," a melodious voice called to her and she slowly opened her eyes. La reina stood over her, a gentle smile on her face. Mirabel's lower lip trembled and she began to sob again.
"I'm so sorry, Mi Dona, I tried but I just messed everything up," she sobbed and curled in on herself. She felt the gentle arms of la Virgen scoop her gently onto her lap.
"I am not angry with you, Mirabel," she whispered, her lips dancing on Mirabel's brow. "I am upset with Alma, and poor Isabela. Augustin also has earned some of my ire for harming his nina.-"
"No, my lady, please, my papa did not mean it!" screamed Mirabel, throwing her arms around the neck of the queen of heaven. She hugged the distraught teenager back.
"I will not harm your father or your sister, Mirabel," she said gently "but your father should not have hit your sister. She is a victim of this as much as you are. My goal is to save all of you, not just some."
"But I messed everything up, my Lady," whispered Mirabel, breathing in the motherly scent of la Reina. Jasmine and vanilla.
"Is that what you think, mi vida,?" asked la reina pulling Mirabel to look into her almond shaped eyes, "You have done so much. You have sown the seeds of deeper thinking! Yes, it seems impossible now, but things get worse before they get better. That is why I sent Mariano to watch over you. You needed a break. That is why casita let you leave. You are not a prisoner. You are not a slave. You must choose your path, mi vida."
"You aren't angry with me?" Mirabel hiccupped
"No!" the queen of Heaven exclaimed. "Oh Mirabel! You will not have my anger no matter what you choose. El Dios is so proud of you. He wants you to guard your own heart first mi vida."
Mirabel locked eyes with the Mother of God and saw pride and a twinge of sadness in her eyes.
"You aren't going to come to me anymore, are you?" asked Mirabel. La Reina's mouth twitched upward in a half grin.
"I will always be with you, Mirabel, no matter what you choose or where you go," she said, clasping Mirabel's hands in her own. "However, you are right. The pieces are in place, and the rest is up to you. I will still protect you. I will still be there even when you cannot see me, but El Dios gave you free will and He has dictated that you must use it. Be brave, mi vida. Rely on your instincts and the people around you. You have given the encanto so much. Allow it to help you now on your quest."
Mirabel felt herself slowly waking and as she was in the in between stage of consciousness and sleep, she heard la Virgen whisper in her ear,
"Remember, Mirabel, remember His promise," she said "he said 'I am with you always.'"
Mirabel woke up and saw her mother's face hovering above her. Her lips were moving but she could not hear what was being said. It was as though water was in her ears.
"-abel! Mirabel!" she finally heard as she focused in on her mother's voice. "Mi amor, please answer me."
"I'm fine, mama," Mirabel groaned out "Senora Guzman's herbal bath did wonders."
Julietta's mouth smiled gently at her youngest hija's words.
"Yes, the Guzman's have always been miracle workers with their medicinal herbs." she said looking fondly at Mariano who was on Mirabel's other side "Sweet Mariano always seems to know where the best of them grow and brings them to me. Thats why Abuela thought he and Isabela would get along so well."
"Isabela!" gasped Mirabel, trying to jump out of bed but was stopped by her mama's hands on her waist and Mariano's hands on her shoulders. "No! I have to apologize to her! This is all my fault! I have to tell Papa to make up with her. The fate of the magic could depend on it.-"
"Enough, Mirabel!" snapped a voice from the doorway. It was abuela. "You have allowed the whole town to see your mental instability. You have made us look weak. You have to stop, Mirabel!I don't know why you weren't given a gift! But it is not an excuse for you to hurt this family!"
Those words cut Mirabel like a knife. Tears welled in her eyes as even Isabela who was trailing behind Abuela looked dumbfounded at her outburst.
"Abuela, she's not trying to hurt anyone-" protested Isabela weakly "Mirabel is just hurt. Yes this is embarrassing. Yes Mirabel needs to go home to the nursery and stay there. But everyone has weak links in their families-"
"SHE IS NOT A WEAK LINK!" bellowed Mariano, causing everyone in the room to jump. He locked eyes with his fiancee, " and stop talking about her like she's not here. She's not mentally deficient, Isabela!"
"Yes she is!" exclaimed Isabel, stomping her foot causing thorny vines to sprout from the floor. "How could she not be? She's the only one here without a gift, probably because she couldn't mentally handle one-"
"I don't have a gift either, Isabela," said Mariano coldly putting comforting hands back on Mirabel's shoulders, "You are not la Reina de Cielo. You don't get to interpret how She sees things. Maybe she didn't give Mirabel a gift because she was so wonderful already, she didn't need one. Unlike you, who's whole personality is based solely on her gift. You act like you are Dios gift to the world just by breathing! I thought maybe it was because you were nervous about being married but the more time I spend with you, I see that it is just how you are and I WILL NOT be married to a woman who thinks she's better than anyone else no matter how gifted she is."
"Good!" shrieked Isabela indignantly "I never wanted to marry you! I was doing it for my family!"
"Then let me spare you from a life you obviously don't want!" snapped Mariano. Abuela and Julietta's eyes were huge as they looked between the two young people "I withdraw my marriage proposal. My mother will return your dowry to your abuela. I want nothing more to do with you! And I will not let you within five feet of Mirabel until you get your head out of your head out of the thorn bush you've shoved it in."
"Wait, Mariano, " begged Abuela, rushing between the two. "Isabela is just upset. She has never liked it when I was harsh with Mirabel. You don't understand, we've tried to hide it for years, Mirabel is slow. She was a premature baby. Her miracle is that she lived at all. -"
"Don't you dare pin this on Mirabel!" seethed Julietta " Mariano and Isabela both have made it clear they are not compatible and she was only doing this to make you happy! You will not make all my children as miserable as you've made yourself"
"No! I will not accept the withdrawal of the proposal!" fumed Abuela as if she had not heard Julietta "You have entered a pre contract with the church over this. You have vowed before God that you will marry a daughter of the House of Madrigal and you are bound by the word of God to honor it!"
"The only child of your house that I will even consider is Mirabel!" seethed Mariano fists balled at his side. "She is the only one of you that hasn't been tainted by your nonsense!"
"Fine!" snapped Isabela "Marry Mirabel! Then none of us will have to be bothered with her anymore and Mama won't have to leave. Maybe if she marries you, she'll finally understand what her place is in this world!"
"Isabela-" started Julietta but she was silenced by the sound of a cane clanking down the hallway. The door creaked back open. And a woman even older than Abuela stood there, supported by Senora Guzman. Mariano immediatley abandoned Mirabel's side to help the elderly woman in a chair.
"Dona Guzman!" exclaimed Abuela, horrified " I apologize for the scandal my nieta has brought into your home!-"
Dona Guzman lifted a hand which silenced Abuela immediately. She looked at Abuela with tired eyes and Alma lowered her eyes to the floor with respect.
"I have not heard Mirabel utter a word, Alma Madrigal," said the elderly woman with a cracked voice "I have only heard you, yelling like a banshee. You may hold the miracle of the encanto but I am still the elder of this village. Now, if I understand, Mariano does not want to marry Isabela. You however will not let him withdraw from his pre contract. You are correct in saying he is bound by el Dios to marry a child from la familia Madrigal, and his choice has now landed on Mirabel. However, a very important stipulation of the contract is that the bride must consent to the marriage. We are not savages."
Her eyes took in the whole room and everyone seemed to be looking at the floor in shame.
"Honestly," she scoffed "to think that the only one here acting like they have any brains at all is a fifteen year old girl. Mirabel, please come here nina."
Mirabel slowly got out of bed and approached the elderly woman. Her dress was a deep indigo and her shawl a deep red. Her hair was slate gray and she had so many wrinkles she couldn't even see her eyes. As Mirabel approached her, the woman held out a gnarled hand which Mirabel took.
"Hola nina," she said gently "understand that Mariano's oafish proposal is his attempt at chivalry. Now, before everyone goes and starts planning your life for you, what is it that you want, hmm? If you marry Mariano, understand you will be technically old enough to be his wife in all ways."
Her insinuation made both Mariano and Mirabel turn beet red. Before today they had barely talked, now they were faced with the idea of that? The elderly woman chuckled.
"Do not worry, nina," she said with a smile "with the exception of the traditional first night, you will be given your own room here. I am not so desperate for great grandchildren that i would force a child to bear them. You would be treated as our daughter and be treated well. Then, If you want, when you are old enough to pursue your own life, Mariano would allow for an annulment if you wanted to leave the encanto."
Mirabel looked into the old woman's eyes and saw the eerily familiar honey eyes of her dreams.
"Why?" she whispered "why would you do this for me?"
"I owe Pedro a debt." she said simply "he did not die for us for his own nieta to be abandoned by her familia. If they cannot value you, then we will be your family."
Mariano stood beside Mirabel and put her arm around her shoulders.
"We see how brave you've been." he whispered "we see how bright you burn. You are the real gift, Mirabel. Allow us to protect you."
Julietta went to her other side and took her hand
"This is up to you, mi hija," she said "if you don't want this, we will leave. I will follow wherever you go." she looked from Mariano to Julietta and finally back at Dona Guzman.
"This decision is yours, Mirabel. You are the creator of your own destiny." the old woman said still holding Mirabel's hand. "El Dios truly broke the mold when he made you nina."
Mirabel closed her eyes and conjured the vision of la Reina behind her eyelids. This would be the easiest way to stay and save the miracle. She couldnt run away. La Reina had even said she had sent Mariano to watch over her. Perhaps this was the way el Dios' plan was meant to go. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She turned to Mariano who looked at her with sympathy.
"I would like to be your wife, Mariano," she said quietly "if you will have me."
"Of course I will," he said wrapping Mirabel in a warm hug. Dona Guzman clapped her hands.
"Good! Now that it is settled, I'll hear no more of this foolishness, Alma," said Dona Guzman, addressing Abuela who had stood off the the side during this exchange. "Mirabel will return to casita to await the wedding. Padre Julio will come by to take her confession in a few days. This is a joyous occasion indeed. I thought I was losing a nieto with this marriage, but I am actually gaining a nieta!"
Looking at Abuela and Isabela's thunderstruck expressions, Mirabel allowed a small triumphant smile to grace her face. La Reina had said she would be with her no matter what. Hopefully she was making the right choice.
