A birthday special for my favorite Madrigal!
Somewhat connected to my fic "The Seer and His Butterfly", but it's… you'll see.
Today was the day.
One week ago, a shimmering golden doorway had appeared in Casita. One week before Mirabel's fifth birthday. And he had rarely seen his little girl this excited before. She was constantly glancing at her doorway, constantly wondering out loud what kind of gift she'd receive, and constantly asking him to peek for her.
"Just one little peek, Papa! I won't tell Abuela!"
"No, mariposita, it's supposed to be a surprise for you, too."
"Please?"
She'd fixed him with those big brown eyes, those eyes that were damn near impossible to say no to, and he'd almost given in. But he'd stayed steadfast with his resolve, a resolve to ensure Mirabel had the same experience as the rest of her cousins. Even if it mean telling her no.
Right now, though, it was nearing time for his mother to do her tradition of explaining the story of the miracle. He knew Alma had been more excited for Mirabel's ceremony than she'd been for almost anyone else's, and it made him glad to know that his daughter was so favored when he was decidedly not. At any rate, this would be his last chance to see Mirabel before the ceremony, before she got her gift and became a full-fledged member of the family like her cousins before her.
"Don't cry."
"I'm not gonna cry."
"You're gonna cry, hombre rata."
He made a face at Sara, who made the exact same one right back at him as they approached the nursery. They opened the door to find their daughter sitting on her bed, swinging her legs as she waited for her abuela to come see her. As soon as she saw them, however, her eyes lit up and she ran up to them for a hug.
"Are you ready, mija?" Sara asked. Mirabel nodded.
"All right, any last-minute guesses on what your gift will be?" Bruno joked.
"Making things, like Isa! Only I don't wanna make just flowers! Or maybe I'll be able to see things really far away like Lolo hears things!"
"Well, whatever it is, we can't wait to see it." Sara gave Mirabel a kiss on the head and Mirabel giggled. Bruno gave her one last squeeze and then there was a slight knock on the door behind them.
"It's almost time," Alma said, smiling as she held the candle.
"We'll see you at your door," Bruno whispered, leaving the nursery.
This would be the last time that they went in there for Mirabel. He'd slept in here for five years, and so had every other Madrigal child. It seemed so strange for it to be emptying now after twelve years of being occupied by at least one of them. Oh well, he was sure that Mirabel would love her new room.
"How many bets do you have on me crying, incidentally?" he asked Sara as they went to join the rest of the party.
"Within the family or the town?"
"Oh my God."
"I'm joking. I only have bets with Pepa, Felix, and Agustin. Julie opted out."
Bruno internally groaned.
Mirabel felt an incredible sense of… something… as she walked up the tiles.
All eyes were on her, all eyes were watching to see what kind of gift she'd get, how she'd help the community like Abuela always said. But her eyes were on Mama and Papa. They both looked so happy for her. She hoped she'd get a gift that would make them as proud of her as the family was of her cousins. And maybe one that didn't hurt her like Papa's or Dolores's.
As she reached the top of the staircase, she made the same promise as each of the other Madrigal children had when they had their ceremonies, touching the candle and feeling the magic flow through her slightly as Abuela smiled at her. This was the best night ever. And it was only about to get better.
Her palms felt sweaty. Gross. She wiped them off on her dress, not wanting to smudge up her brand-new doorknob right away. Casita rattled its tiles quietly behind her and she internally told them to shush. She wanted to focus on her door.
She reached out and her fingers gripped the knob…
…only for her door to not glow like Camilo's.
No, her door didn't glow. It faded. Her door faded and there were whispers behind her. She looked to Abuela in shock, and then she realized that the candle… it flickered. She'd never seen it do that, never ever, and it scared her. Her heart was really loud, as if she suddenly had Dolores's gift, and she wanted to cry as she stood there in front of everyone with a door that had faded into nothing. Then she felt a pair of arms around her, hiding her from everyone else's view.
Mama. It's Mama.
"What are you looking at?" she called out to the crowd, sounding meaner than Mirabel had ever heard her mama sound before. "Go!"
Mama's arms were tight around her and Mirabel felt safe as she snuggled into her. Then Mama picked her up and carried her to the nursery, Papa right behind her. Once they were inside, Mirabel started crying, clinging to Mama and Papa as she asked why.
"Why didn't I get a gift?"
"I don't know, mariposita," Papa replied, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's going to be okay, I promise."
Mirabel sniffled, still sobbing as Mama and Papa rocked her back and forth like she was still a baby. It felt good, even if things had gone so wrong. Then the door to the nursery opened. There was Isa, and Lolo and Luisa and Milo were with her. She let go of her mama to accept hugs from them instead.
"We're gonna sleep in here with you tonight," Isabela told her. "So you're not by yourself."
"Abuela says she wants to talk to you," Dolores added, looking at Papa. He had a look on his face that Mirabel knew meant he wasn't happy about it. A lot of Papa's talks with Abuela didn't make him happy.
"I'll be back to tuck you in," Papa promised.
"Okay, Papa."
She watched him go, then Mama knelt down beside her.
"Your abuela probably wants a vision," Mama whispered. Mirabel nodded; Mama always sat with Papa while he did his visions in case something bad happened.
Mama walked out of the room and Mirabel settled into the middle of the cousins. At least they weren't upset at her, like Abuela seemed to be.
"Bruno. Bruno. Breathe."
He was hyperventilating. If he didn't stop, he was going to pass out. She didn't blame him, but him passing out wouldn't fix this or change the vision. Gently she pried it from his fingers and made him sit down once she'd set it to the side.
"It can't be real," he whispered hoarsely, looking at her with green-tinted eyes. "Please, tell me this isn't real."
"It's real. It's very real."
He scrambled to grab the vision and she held the other side of it as they tilted it back and forth. The house was broken, cracking and crumbling, with Mirabel at the center. Then it was fixed. Back and forth, broken and repaired, over and over until Bruno tried to throw it. She set it to the side again and pulled him into a hug.
They sat in silence for a moment. Then…
"You know what she's going to say."
"She isn't going to say anything."
"Yes, she will. This is all my fault."
"No. Shut up, it's not your fault our daughter didn't get magical powers from a candle."
"I'm Bad Luck Bruno—"
"—stop, you're not—"
"—and I passed on my curse to our daughter."
"I'm gonna need you to shut up before I get mad."
"Sara, according to the vision, the magic is going to die. I don't know how long we have, but Mirabel's at the center of it and Mama's going to do something about whatever's going on. Whatever she can to preserve the magic."
Sara's stomach twisted. She loved Alma, she really did. She owed her a lot. But if her suegra said one thing, tried to do anything to Mirabel, then Sara refused to be held responsible for whatever came after. Her eyes went to the vision, and she kept looking at it from both angles, both perspectives.
She'd had a lot of time to think about perspective in her life. And being with Bruno, first as his best friend and then as his wife, she found herself often being the one to take the perspective it seemed like Bruno almost wasn't allowed to look at. This vision, this thing that could very well disrupt their lives as they knew them, it was a little harder to wrap her head around. An older Mirabel at the center of the Madrigal home, cracking around her.
Or repairing it.
Whatever was wrong with the magic…
"It's all going to come down to her."
"What?" Bruno stared at her.
"Look, this vision's going to happen. But whatever it is, it's all going to come down to Mirabel. All up to her. If the magic cracks and shatters, if it's fixed, it's up to her."
"She's five." His voice was choked with emotion. "She's five. She shouldn't be dealing with this."
"We're forty and we shouldn't be dealing with this. None of us should."
He nodded.
"So… do we show Mama?"
"If we don't, she'll just come up here to try and find it." Sara let out a sigh and Bruno echoed her.
"Well, better bite the bullet."
"Whatever happens, happens. But we can't run. Mirabel needs us, and this family needs her."
Bruno nodded and Sara pulled him into another hug.
She had a feeling they'd need plenty in the days to come.
Surprise! A oneshot where Sara's alive!
And angst!
I was going to write fluff but my brain said angst!
Might post a belated fluffy alternate version, actually, because I know what gift I would give Mirabel and I want family fluff dammit.
So long and thanks for all the fish!