"Can I get a pink dress like Isa's? Oh, or what about a blue one like Luisa? Maybe yellow!" Little Mirabel held the hand of her beloved Abuela while her feet tried to keep up with her. Today was a special day for her, and nobody could change her mood.

The elder woman chuckled. "We will see Mirabel, but your dress will be just as unique as you are." Alma smiled as her youngest granddaughter kept babbling. "Do you think so, Abuela? And can I have a small bow for my hair, too?"

"I am sure Tía Pepa can do it. But first, let me speak to Seniora García about the fabric. You wait here, Mirabel." The little girl nodded while her grandmother started to talk to the fabric store owner. In just two weeks, she would finally get her gift, just like the rest of the family. Carefully, she grabbed the flor de mayo that Isabela wrapped around her glasses that morning, her words still echoing in her head. "A special flower for a special day." If she could just have a dress in a color as beautiful as this one…

As she admired the little flower in her hands, she noticed something strange at one of the fabric piles: A young woman she never had seen before, her hands busy finding the right buttons for the fabric lying in front of her. Her dark hair fell in a loose ponytail down her left shoulder, and her lips built a soft smile while she concentrated on the material.

While observing the unfamiliar woman, Mirabel noticed that something just didn't seem right. How could someone smile while their eyes look so sad? She looked around for her grandmother, and because Abuela still seemed to be absorbed in the conversation with the shopkeeper, the five-year-old decided to stretch the rule just a little bit and went over to the young lady.

She didn't notice the little girl at first, but she finally bent over when Mirabel pulled on the tip of her skirt.

"Oh, hello there. Are you lost?" The lady bowed down to Mirabel, her voice sounding soft and friendly.

Her glasses almost fell off her ears when Mirabel shook her head. "No, but you look sad. So, I want to give you that!"

The woman's face, still puzzled, lightened up as Mirabel handed her the little flower in her tiny hand. "Thank you, my dear. It is lovely!"

"I know!" The little girl said, her voice filled with pride."My big sister made it this morning."

Mirabel could see the rising confusion in the lady's eyes, wondering if she really didn't know who she was. "My sister can make flowers appear everywhere! My gift ceremony will be in two weeks, so I don't know what it is yet, but I am sure it will be super awesome, and my Tía Pepa will sew me a new dress and…. "

"Alright, alright, I can see you are very excited!" The lady laughed while her fingers fondly patted the flower like a little bird. "Ok Mirabel Madrigal, my name is Elena; nice to meet you!"

Mirabel didn't hesitate to shake Elena's hand, which made her chuckle even more. The sadness in the woman's eyes almost completely disappeared, and the little girl could sense all the kindness coming from Elena.

"Why are you looking for boy fabric?" Mirabel innocently asked while pointing at the dark fabric Elena searched through only minutes ago. "Oh, are you sewing something for your husband?"

The young woman's face turned bean red as she tried to laugh it off. "Oh no, I'm not married and will not be for a very long time, but I have to take care of my father and grandfather."

"Why will you not…. "

"Oh, I forgot to tell you something, Mirabel." Elena's voice reached a higher pitch as she finally found a way to distract the girl from the awkward situation. "You are Julieta's daughter, aren't you? I had met you when you were still in your mamás-"

"Elena? What takes you so long?" A man, older than Abuela, suddenly stood in the door, his frists resting on his sides. He was taller than her papá, but with the size of her Tío Féliz. He must have been stronger than the donkey delivery man at one point in his life and probably was still very robust, considering his age.

"You should go back to your Abuela." Elena whispered to Mirabel, and a subtle concern lay in her gaze. But before she could say anything, the girl had already slipped away.

„Are you Elenas Abuelo?" Elena flinched as Mirabel innocently approached her grandfather, tilting her head while she looked up to him.

"I am, and who are you?" He stared down at the girl that didn't even reach his hips. He didn't sound angry or annoyed, just confused.

"I am… "

"She's just a girl I met at the shop, Abuelo." Elena tried to lead Mirabel away from her grandfather, secretly praying that no more questions would be asked.

"I am Mirabel Madrigal, and my Abuela buys fabric for my dress for my gift ceremony, and I…. "

Elena sighed. She could see how the anger in her grandfather rose, but thankfully the girl was still obvious of the growing tension.

"So," He said, trying to control himself, "You must be the youngest Madrigal. Do you know that your mother was responsible for… "

"Hello, Samuel." Nobody seemed to notice Alma Madrigal before when she finally grabbed her granddaughter by her tiny hand. "I hope you don't want to discuss this matter in front of my granddaughter."

"Well, you didn't tell her, did you?" Samuel snorted. The whole shop was silent while Elena tried to find a way to deescalate the situation. "I'm sure that you told her that the amazing Madrigals are the saviors of us all. You told her that the gift somehow only serves your family and that it is only your mercy to give something back to the community. That is was only your husband sacrificing himself. But I bet you never told her…. "

A loud noiseinterrupted his rant. Everyone now stared at Elena, who stood in the middle of threads, buttons, and fabric rolls. "I am sorry, I felt dizzy and must have lent too much on the table; I will clean the mess…." Samuel rolled his eyes as he went to help his granddaughter. Her lips formed a silent "Go!" and Alma didn't need another second to grab Mirabel and finally left the shop.

Their walk home was much quieter than when they went to the shop in the morning, almost feeling depressing. Mirabel's brabbling from before shifted to the urge to ask the one burning question in her mind.

"Why does the man hate us so much, Abuela?"

Alma sighed. She knew that at one day or the other, all her kids and grandkids had to face the downsides of being a part of the family Madrigal; she just wished that Mirabel didn't have to face it now. Not today. Still, she went down on her knees and started to explain what they had just witnessed in the store.

"You see, many lost their families when we came to the Encanto; some people lost more than others. And some people believe that the miracle in our family doesn't belong to us but to everyone."

"I don't understand that. Casita chose us; we can't give the powers to anyone else." The old woman smiled; her fingers gently ran through Mirabel's curls.

"People like the Moreno family think that we are not telling the whole truth regarding our gifts and our casita. That we are selfish and try to keep it for ourselves."

"But that's not true!" The young Madrigal protested as her grandmother fixed her glasses. "Mamá heals everyone in this town, Luisa works harder than everyone else. So how can anyone think we are selfish?"

Abuela laughed at the little outburst. "Well, that's the reason why I want to make sure that every one of you uses their gift to serve the community. So nobody should think that we misuse the miracle given to us."

Mirabel needed some time to reflect on her grandmother's speech, but she was sure she wasn't satisfied with her answer after some seconds. "But we do it since we came here; why does Elena's Abuelo still hate us?"

Alma sighed. "Fights and arguments happen if you don't understand the feelings of other people. So if you truly want peace for everyone, you have to be compassionate and try to see it from their point of view, too."

For the rest of the walk, Mirabel thought about the words of her Abuela. Even if she could understand his point of view, how could she ever show Senior Moreno that she meant it? That she was not lying? How could she ever end this fight so that her family could finally be friends with Elena?

"Great!" Mirabel mumbled to herself as her hands tried to find her glasses. "Everyone's power grows, and the only thing growing inside me are those headaches."

The shutters on her windows dropped as if Casita tried to sympathize with her.

"I am fine, Casita." The girl said, not wanting to worry her beloved house. "It's just that I constantly have those weird dreams…. Anyway, today is a special day. Could you help me with you know what?" She whispered the last part, but instantly the mattress of her bed rose, and a small package hiding below it came to light.

"Thank you, Casita." Mirabel grabbed the package, and some of her sewing supplies, stowed them in her self-embroidered shoulder bag, and ran out of her room. Antonio wouldn't be ready for at least 30 minutes, but at least it would give her enough time to grab some food. She wasn't the only one early, though: Her grandmother was already sitting at the table, drinking some coffee.

"Good morning, Abuela!" She said, giving her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning, Mirabel." Alma responded with a smile. "You are early today; is everything all right?"

"Yes, Antonio and I are just going down to ahm you know were to prepare ahm…" Mirabel stumbled, not sure how she could explain herself without someone also listening. She mimed some sewing movements and the form of a package, making Abuela finally understand what she was trying to say.

"Ahh, you are going to finish the… thing… I asked you to do, right?"

The teenager sighed in relief. She was doing the same thing for the tenth time in a row now, but with each passing year, it was getting harder. "Jap, that thing."

"Ok, just make sure you are back at noon. When everyone is skipping breakfast, I want to have lunch together before the party tonight." Mirabel nodded in agreement, fully aware of what would happen if she wouldn't be at a family gathering in time. According to Abuela, there are no excuses to skip precious family time. Unless you lived behind a wall for the last ten years to protect your niece.

"Don't worry, we will be back before… " Mirabel stopped midsentence when a sharp pain went right through her head.

"Mirabel, is everything ok?" Alma looked at her granddaughter in worry. "Maybe you shouldn't…."

"I'm ok. It's just those headaches again." She breathed the pain away, slowly losing the dizzyness that took over her body.

"Again?" Abuela frowned. "You have them since Casita is rebuilt, and that happened two weeks ago! Not even the arepas from your mother are helping. You should take it more seriously, mi Vida!"

Mirabel shrugged, still in pain. "I try, but I don't know what they mean. Staying in the house doesn't help anyway."

Her grandmother sighed. "I know, but your body clearly wants to tell you something. Whatever your headaches mean: You better find it out as soon as possible."

Mirabel nodded. "I will ask Bruno when we return; maybe he can see something."

"That might be the only way." Alma agreed, taking one sip of her coffee. "It seems like Antonio is ready; you should go as long as you know who isn't awake yet."