Chapter Four – El Padre de mi Madre

4.1

Mirabel continued to watch her mother as she did her usual baking and household chores. She knew that they wanted to work at a slow pace in order to truly bring Pedro back home to his family and that it was a lot to take in but once she told her mother there was no way of having her not know that the house wasn't an independent being. "Mama," Mirabel said as she came closer to her mother and Julieta turned to her.

"Mirabel, is there something that you need help with, dear?" Julieta said with her loving smile. "Have you found out anything interesting about the new wing? Augustin was saying it was something that only you could see…please don't tell me that he's become the victim to those terrible bee stings again."

"No, Dad is, he's fine. I'm fine. It's just that…just that…I know what my gift is now but it's complicated. I don't know how to describe it," Mirabel shifted and Julieta smiled with a laugh. She walked over to Mirabel and put a hand to her shoulder.

"I like to see you smile more. If you can think of the way to say it for me then I'll be ready to listen," she said and Mirabel looked up at the ceiling and knew that there was more than her to think about here. There was Pedro and how he felt since she had never really had full awareness of him and had only heard of him through stories. Then there was the rest of the family. Her eyes widened.

"Dolores, she's…uh…she's with Mariano, correct?" Mirabel laughed weakly. If Dolores was on a romantic date then she wouldn't really have active listening so this would be the best opportunity to explain things and her mother wasn't like the others in her family, she could keep a secret and especially if it was one of her daughters who had asked her to keep it.

"Mom, you know how the house has been alive and it's our casita and it helps us and moves with us," Mirabel said and Julieta watched as two seats were pulled out for the two of them.

"Like this?" Julieta laughed, "Thank you, casita," she smiled before turning to Mirabel.

"The house is…is alive but it's more than that. I'd still like to get the details about it but the house, the entire casita, it was created because of the sacrifice that abuelito Pedro made. He is the casita," Mirabel smiled and saw the house seem to tense up. She could only imagine how painful this would be to him if Julieta didn't believe in him.

"Mirabel," Julieta said slowly as she tried to take this all in. She studied her daughter for a long time before placing a hand on the wall of the house. "Papa?" she asked only to see the window weakly waving. She felt tears in her eyes and she turned trying hard not to show the mixture of emotion which she was feeling. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Mama," Mirabel asked as she jumped up and went to hug her mother. She saw Julieta covering her face and sobbing. She hated to see her mother like this but it seemed to have a quality of happiness rather than sadness. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, papa," Julieta said and Mirabel tilted her head as she watched her mother. "I'm sorry. I got so angry at you for not being there but you were, even when I was a baby and playing you always took care of me and helped me and then when my babies were born, you protected them as well. And I was so angry at you and the situation and everyone for not being there. I am so sorry."

"Mama," Mirabel said gently. "I'm sure that abuelito knew all of this already. Abuelito has…he's never given up on us but…but he doesn't want the whole family to know all at once. Only you, myself, and abuelita know and abuelito, I can talk to abuelito about it. That's my gift."

"You can talk to him?" Julieta asked as she looked at Mirabel and yet again it was of deep understanding and trust. Out of everyone in the family, Julieta had always trusted her daughter…well her and Augustrin and they had put her and Louisa and Isabela as their priorities. Still, this was big news and not news to be shared. "Can you tell him what I said, it's okay if you can't."

"Mama," Mirabel smiled, "He can hear it from you. You can talk to him but the only way of him answering back to you is through my gift or through the gift he left abuelita." Mirabel sighed slowly, "It's a magic key that there is only one of them and…"

"It's in the right place," Julieta nodded and Mirabel looked around wondering whether Pedro would say anything about this. "If my mother has it then it's in the right place. I don't have any memory of my father as a person and I hate that. I was only a baby when he died. Do you know if he…is proud of me?" Julieta dared herself to ask. She didn't want to use her daughter as a middleman even if that was her gift.

Can you tell her, yes, every day she makes me proud and her heart and kindness are truly beyond what her gift can do.

Mirabel laughed, "Glad to hear yours thoughts," she said before seeing the window panes almost 'shrug'. She saw Julieta leaning in closer with a shyness in her eyes. "Mama, he says that you make him proud every day and he is most proud that your heart and kindness are, in his words, truly beyond what your gift can do." Mirabel laughed softly. "I agree."

She saw her mother put her hand over her mouth and start crying. "All I can do is provide food for this Encanto, for the people here, most importantly for my family. I love to bake and to try new recipes but the thing that is always in them is the magic. Just to give out this food is something I feel should be done to help others who might not be able to help themselves."

"Mama, he knows," Mirabel smiled as Julieta smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, my amazing little girl," she grinned and they were both interrupted by Augusten who had been ravaged by even more bees.

"Am I…uh…am I missing something in here?" he asked as he looked between them.

"Just sharing stories about my childhood," Julieta said before laughing and grabbing some bread for her husband to eat. "Or do you want me to tell her the story of how you were bullied as a little boy due to your clumsiness."

"At least I had an angel to cure me," he said happily and Julieta grinned but patted Mirabel's hand as a silent way of saying thank you before she returned to the stove.

4.2

Alma walked to the window and sat down and looked out into the world, she held onto the key and smiled. She had the feeling that using magic for their whole Encanto was tiring and when he had tried to show a human form, he had wound up hurt but she wanted to speak to Pedro. She put a hand to the key and held it to her heart. "My love, do you need to rest? Is it okay to speak?"

It is okay, my darling. I like to hear the sound of your voice. I like hearing all sounds from this house.

"You mean the sound of our family," she said before looking down as she thought of what had brought the house to ruins before and had hurt her beloved. Those were the sounds of the fighting between family members and her refusal to back down or apologize or look at things from another angle. "Or the sounds of nature."

The sound of anything that means that the present is good.

Pedro chuckled a little as he said that.

Alma could see the way the window pane was going back and forth as it mirrored his laughter. She had often thought that it might be only because of the wind but now she was coming to learn all of those things that she had neglected over the fifty years. She sighed in relief.

"As long as you are happy, my love, I am happy. So how are you feeling?" she asked hoping he would say how strong and confident he was. She knew him as a person and she had always known how strong this casita was and how the house had been able to protect and defend. Pedro always had that strength but he always had the desire to want to proceed further for himself, for his family, for his community.

I am nervous. I know that's not what you want me to feel but I'm nervous. Mirabel will tell Julieta about me and if she fails to believe then –

"Will something happen to you?" Alma asked despite having learned that she needn't say these things aloud since Pedro would be able to hear her thoughts as long as she had this key. Maybe it was wrong to convince others if the risks were too great and Pedro getting hurt was something that wouldn't be worth it.

Apart from my desire to be a proud and loving papa to our girls and to our little boy. I have always wanted their happiness and yours above all else. Now I am happy to see that there is an even greater family for me. Hopefully soon I'll get the energy to see you as human.

"Your voice is more than enough, mi amor," Alma said before smiling. "I believe Julieta will accept you. The rest of the family well, they do believe in magic, you have given all of them powers and they know that the house is enchanted but, they might need some more convincing and of course we must protect this secret.

Alma stood up and touched the wall, leaning her cheek against it and felt a buzzing. She closed her eyes knowing that it would be the most painful thing to die whilst not in this house. Hopefully one night she would be carried away in her sleep and come to stand beside her Pedro once more. Maybe someone who didn't know about Pedro's presence would think she was crazy but she had lived for fifty years only being adjacent to him.

I have to go for a moment, now.

"I love you," Alma whispered and sat back down on the bed. She took some deep breaths and then almost half an hour later she came out of her room to see Julieta standing there before her, she seemed nervous but happy.

"Mirabel told me about…about papa," she said sounding nervous like a small girl. She looked around the house. "I'm happy for you, for us, Mama. I'm really glad he's been here," she said and Alma walked over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her. Hopefully everyone would take this news like this.

End of Chapter Four

Thank you for reading

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