I've seen lots of theories on if Julieta's food can heal sicknesses or not. This is just my take on it!
Mirabel spent the next few weeks just simply surviving and getting by. He said all's well that ends well, but she was in hell every time she thought about him and she thought about him constantly. She cried herself to sleep every night, but she put a smile on her face when she was around her family or anyone in town. She wasn't shocked when every morning, Dolores would look at her with sad eyes and give her a hug.
"Times like these I wish you didn't have super hearing." said Mirabel one morning, about a week after the break-up.
Dolores sighed and said, "Honestly, me too. I hate hearing how heartbroken you are."
Mirabel was walking around town one morning when something caught her eye off to the side. She turned to see what looked like a boyfriend and girlfriend hugging. Something was familiar about the guy, but she couldn't quite figure out. They pulled apart and suddenly, her heart sped up and she froze. It was Javi. "What?" she whispered to herself. They leaned in to each other, kissed, and then grabbed hands and walked off.
Mirabel was shocked and still frozen in one place. It had only been 2 weeks since they broke up, but clearly, they knew each other very well, so they probably had been dating for a while now. She still wasn't okay, but she was getting by and each day seemed to be a little better than the last. She only cried herself to sleep every other night now. But in this moment, she was back to the way she felt when he first broke up with her.
She turned and ran and found a little alley. She slid down against the wall, pulled her knees up to her chest, and cried. She felt replaced and like she wasn't good enough. What did that girl have that she didn't?
"What happened to you?"
She looked up to see one of the kids in the Encanto standing over here. "Oh, um…nothing," She quickly dried her tears and stood up. "I'm fine, thanks." She smiled a quick smile and walked away, heading towards Casita. She passed by the spot where she saw Javi and that other girl. She looked in the general direction of where they walked off to and said to herself, "You. You happened to me."
She wanted to be okay. She wanted to get past this. Her mom told her it would just take time, but she wanted time to move faster. She wanted to be okay now. She was tired of being so sad all the time. She only thing that brought her the tiniest amount of joy was spending time with her family, especially Mateo, Gabriela, and Maria. They all adored Mirabel and vice versa. Any chance she could get, she would spend time with them.
At dinner one evening, Mateo was acting up. He was throwing food and refusing to eat. Isabela was visibly frustrated, causing random spiky vines to pop up around her. She was getting up, about to take him to the other room, when Mirabel spoke up. "I can take him."
"Oh no, Mira, I can't ask you to do that." said Isabela. "You should stay and finish eating."
"It's really okay. I'm done anyway." Mirabel still wasn't eating much. She never got much food at each meal and would only pick at what she did get. She just didn't have much of an appetite. She got up, dumped her plate, put it in the sink, and walked over to Mateo. She smiled big at him as she got him out of his high chair. "Let's go, mijo." She walked off with him, tickling him and making him giggle.
Everyone watched her go and when they knew she was out of earshot, Julieta sighed and said sadly, "Any excuse not to eat." The whole family had taken notice to how little she was eating, especially Julieta. She was very worried for her daughter, but Mirabel never wanted to talk about it.
"I'm sure her appetite will come back soon." said Pepa. "It's just going to take time, Julieta. I think these littles ones are helping her a lot, too." She smiled at her granddaughters. "We just have to be patient."
"I know," said Julieta. "I just hate that I can't do anything to make her feel better."
Everyone nodded, silently agreeing. They all felt the exact same way.
It had been 3 weeks since the break up and Mirabel was simply surviving. She was still sad, but she felt like she was doing better. Her smile wasn't fake all the time anymore. She was only crying at night every 2-3 days. She was starting to eat a little bit more at each meal and she engaged in the conversations around the table more. Everyone could see she was improving.
Mirabel woke up one morning feeling very worn down. She groaned and sat up in bed. Her stomach grumbled and she suddenly felt very nauseous. She jumped up, threw her glasses on, ran out of her room, and down the stairs. She grabbed some food her mom had cooked the night before and took a bite, quickly chewing and swallowing. It was immediate relief. Mirabel took a big sigh of relief and headed back up the stairs. She hoped it was a one-time thing.
Julieta's food immediately healed injuries, but sicknesses were different. She couldn't heal the actual sicknesses, but could completely alleviate the symptoms. If someone had a stomach bug, the feeling of being nauseous would keep coming back. As soon as they ate something Julieta made, they'd feel better. It was the same way for all of the sicknesses. The symptoms would slowly come back, but after one bite of Julieta's food, they were fine.
She went back up to her room and laid back down. There was still a few hours before breakfast. She didn't think she'd be able to go back to sleep, but she was exhausted and fell asleep immediately.
When she woke up some time later, she felt nauseous again. She groaned as she set up. "Oh, great," She hated being sick, especially with stomach bugs. She got up, put her glasses on, and decided to change clothes before going downstairs.
As she was walking out of her room, the nauseous feeling became too overwhelming and she ran to the bathroom. She made it just in time before throwing up in the toilet.
She closed the lid when she was done, flushed the toilet, and sat down, trying to catch her breath. She heard a knock on the door, followed by her dad's voice. "Mirabel, are you okay?" Agustin was about to head down to breakfast when he saw Mirabel run down the hallway to the bathroom and he heard her throw up.
"Yeah, just give me a minute." She took a deep breath before standing up. She walked to the door and opened it. "I think I've got a stomach bug."
"I'm sorry, mjia." he said sympathetically. "At least it'll be over soon and just keep eating your mama's food."
"Yeah," said Mirabel, nodding, and they headed downstairs to breakfast together.
Everyone was seated at the table and starting to eat. Dolores looked around, confused. She heard an all too familiar sound, a sound she had heard many times by now. She didn't know where it was coming from, but it was unmistakable. She hadn't heard it the day before, but it was clear as day at that moment. She continued to try and decipher where it was coming from, looking at all of her family members. She finally just shrugged and continued to eat. She knew she'd find out soon enough.
Mirabel was looking at her food, not feeling hungry in the least. She knew she needed to eat to keep herself from getting sick, but the smell was enough to make her nauseous. She got a piece of food on her fork, about to eat it, and she scrunched up her nose and gagged a little bit, putting her hand over her mouth.
"You okay, kid?" asked Bruno, who was sitting next to her.
"Yeah, I just…I need to…" She tried to force herself to take a bite, but the nauseated feeling was getting worse. "Excuse me," She jumped up and started to run to the bathroom. She barely made it in time.
Dolores' heart started beating extra hard in her chest. She looked up with wide eyes. "Whoa," she whispered. She knew exactly where that familiar sound had been coming from. The sound disappeared when Mirabel left the kitchen. Well, not completely, but it was definitely not as loud now.
"You okay, mija?" asked Pepa, who was sitting across from her.
She looked around at her family, who was looking at her with confused eyes. "Oh, yeah, um…just…worried about Mirabel."
"Well, she got sick this morning, too," said Agustin. "It's looking like a stomach bug."
Dolores laughed nervously as she got up. "I'm, uh…going to go check on her." She grabbed a piece of food, thinking Mirabel might need it to feel better.
"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Julieta. She was clearly worried for Mirabel.
"No," said Dolores quickly. She didn't think Mirabel's mom needed to be there for the conversation she was about to have with her. "I'll be back."
The whole family looked at each other, confused, and then shrugged and continued to eat and chat about what their plans were for the day.
Dolores could hear Mirabel still throwing up in the bathroom. She wanted to give her privacy, so she waited until she was done. When she knew she was, she knocked on the door. "Mirabel? Can I come in?
"Mhmm,"
Dolores opened the door to find Mirabel sitting on the closed toilet seat and taking deep breathes. "Hey. How are you feeling?" There was that same, familiar sound again. There was no doubt about it now.
"Better, now that I threw up." She rubbed her face and her eyes under her glasses. "I hate throwing up."
"Yeah, about that…um…we need to talk."
"Okay,"
Dolores took a deep breath. "Mirabel…" She walked up to her younger cousin and kneeled down in front of her. "I don't know how to say this other than just coming right out and saying it." She took another deep breath. She had no idea how this was about to go down. "I think you're pregnant."
