Her head was swimming. Sounds and light floated in and out of her consciousness. She couldn't tell what was real and what was a dream.
Mirabel thought she'd been hit by something. And that it hurt. The details were non-existent in her memory, but the feeling of dread remained. Multiple times, she came close to waking up, but it was a difficult task, as if her body was heavy and refused to exit her lucid state just yet.
When her eyes finally fluttered open, she was in her bed. It took her a minute to get a bearing on her surroundings. She was lying on her side, covered with her blanket. Her glasses were placed on their usual spot on top of her nightstand. It was like she'd just woken up on an average morning, and everything that happened yesterday was just a dream. But, based on the throbbing of her head and sting in her back…this was not the case.
Oh, and it sounded like she wasn't alone in her room, either. She noticed the sound of someone breathing first, and slowly turned her head to see who it was. She squinted, making out the form of a big man sitting in a small chair, folding his arms and apparently taking a nap. He didn't seem to notice that she had woken up.
Mirabel blinked slowly. Her throat was dry, but she managed to speak, hoarsely. "T…Tío Félix?"
His eyes flew open and he immediately sat up. "Mirabel? Mira!"
Tío Félix turned in his seat to face her. He leaned over to touch her head, already breathing heavily. "Ay, gracias à Dios, you're awake! I gotta get the others—oh wait, Lola! Mirabel's awake, call the family! But tell them not to burst in here, or they might overwhelm her."
Mirabel groaned a little, and Félix shifted his attention back to her. "How are you feeling, mija? Does anything hurt?"
"I don't know, I feel kinda weird…my head hurts…what's going on? Why are you in here?"
"We've all been taking turns watching you," Félix replied. "We wanted someone to be here at all times, just in case anything happened. Ay, you were badly hurt, Mirabel. We were terrified."
Mirabel took a shaky breath. She could hear Tío Félix getting choked up and immediately felt even worse. "S…sorry…"
"No, no, don't apologize. I'm just happy you're okay."
At that moment, the door to her room flew open for the rest of the family to arrive. Mirabel heard the rain from Tía Pepa first, followed by the flurry of voices from everyone else.
Mamà was the first one in the room, and Tío Félix moved out of the way for her. Julieta all but threw herself at Mirabel, wrapping her arms around her neck and sobbing uncontrollably. Papà came next, kissing the top of Mirabel's head and taking both of them into his arms.
"You're awake! You're awake, thank God. We were starting to worry that you'd…you'd…"
Mirabel gulped, staying perfectly still because it felt uncomfortable to move. "Ma, Pa, I'm…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. What…what happened? I barely remember anything."
Her parents exchanged a glance, several emotions flashing across their faces in seconds. But Agustín smiled gently and patted her hand. "You don't need to worry about that, Mira. It was just, um…"
"An accident," Julieta finished, drawing another indecipherable glance from her husband. "There was an accident. We'll tell you all about it soon, but for now, just focus on recovering. Here, I brought you something to eat."
Mirabel barely had a chance to respond before her mother hand-fed her several pieces of food, one after the other. A little embarrassing, but to tell the truth, she didn't have the energy to feed herself. And she was pretty hungry.
As she ate, Mirabel glanced around the room to see her sisters standing behind her parents, frowning in concern. The rest of the family hovered somewhere by the doorway. Antonio was the only other person who made his way over to the bed, and he waited there a moment until Agustin noticed and let him climb up next to Mirabel.
Antonio snuggled into Mirabel's arms, hugging her tight, and Mirabel hugged him back without hesitating. This made it more uncomfortable to sit up for her mom to feed her, but she could feel the poor boy shaking and sniffling, so she wasn't about to let go.
Once Julieta was satisfied, she leaned back and heaved a long sigh. "How are you feeling now, mija?"
"Better," Mirabel replied. "My head still kinda hurts, though. I kinda want to rest a bit…"
"Oh…of course. We'll leave to let you sleep."
"Can I stay with her?" Antonio asked. He stuck out his lower lip and gave the family the most pleading look he could muster. "Please?"
Tía Pepa wrung her fingers together. "I…suppose it's okay now that she's awake. If Mirabel is okay with it."
"Of course," Mirabel giggled. "I'm always okay to cuddle with my favorite cousin."
Julieta nodded. "Alright, then we'll leave you to rest. If anything happens, either of you, just call out so Dolores can hear you, okay?"
They both nodded. Reluctantly, the others all mumbled their best wishes and thankful prayers before heading out of the room. Mirabel's parents kissed her cheeks again before they left.
Once they were gone, Mirabel layed back down on her bed, wrapping her arms tightly around Antonio. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Mirabel thought that Antonio had fallen asleep, until he suddenly spoke up and broke the silence.
"You were sleeping for a long time."
Mirabel hesitated. Her memory still felt fuzzy, and she was dying to know why she was here. But making Antonio talk about it seemed like a bad idea. The last thing she could remember was telling Abuela off while they stood in Bruno's room. Whatever had happened after that was certainly bad, and she didn't want to make this poor boy relive it.
So she tread carefully. "Oh…was I? Well, I'm awake now, so it's okay."
Antonio didn't seem affected. He just kept talking. "You slept for four days. Tía Julieta didn't know if you would wake up." He looked up at her. "I…I thought you were going to die."
Mirabel's heart broke. "Oh, Toñito, I'm so sorry…"
"Tío Bruno didn't mean to do it, you know," he continued. "To scratch you like that. He…he was mad at Abuela, but then you jumped in the way. It was an accident."
Mirabel felt her stomach sink. Oh. That's right. She remembered it now, faintly. She felt it, still, running down her back, stinging, even though it was no longer there. She shuddered.
Bruno had done this. He'd hurt her. He'd made all of their worst fears come to life.
Antonio was still talking, but his voice was breaking up. "T-Tía Julieta fed you some food to make the blood stop, but you still don't wake up. We thought that…that…"
"Oh, no, no, Antonio, it's okay," Mirabel held him even tighter and stroked his back as comfortingly as she could. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry you had to see that. You poor thing." She kissed his head, trying to stop from crying herself, or getting sick. "I'm here, okay? I'm alive, I'm alright. It's okay now."
Antonio buried his face in her neck and nodded. Thankfully, he stopped talking, so Mirabel was able to focus on calming him…and herself.
Was this her fault? That she had traumatized herself, Antonio, and the rest of her family to boot? Should she have been paying more attention? Should she have gotten involved at all? Had…had Abuela been right?
With no way to answer her questions, she just had to hold it in until she could talk to someone else. She didn't want Antonio to think about this anymore. And, truth be told, she didn't want to think about it right now either.
For the next few days, the family continued taking turns watching over her. During the day, it was mostly her dad and Tío Félix, since they were less busy than the rest of the family (though nowadays Luisa also had time to come visit). They all tried to keep up the happy act for her, with varying success. The others, especially Julieta, came around in the evening. Nobody said anything in her presence about what had happened. They simply kept expressing gratitude that she was alright and passing along well-wishes from the townsfolk (who knew nothing other than "Mirabel got hurt from an accident"). Mirabel did her best to keep up a smile for all of them.
The only person who didn't come by to watch over her was Abuela. She did peek her head into the room, every now and then, to check in. But she never tried to talk directly to Mirabel about what had happened. It stung for a number of reasons, the biggest of which being that their last interaction had been a huge fight. Was Abuela still…mad at her?
The other thing Mirabel noticed was that the house was oddly silent. Casita still spoke every now and then, but it was infrequent and sluggish. Before, the house would have been very vocal about its worry over Mirabel when she so much as got a prick from a sewing needle. Now, it seemed, it couldn't manage much.
Right. The magic was still dying. And she felt like she was further than ever from being able to save it.
Finally, with much fuss, Mirabel was finally allowed to get out of bed and walk around on her own again. Outside in the hallways, the eerie quiet of the house was even more pronounced. Casita was usually so full of life. Mirabel couldn't remember the last time she'd had to manually open a window, but here she was. Oh, and there were more cracks. In less noticeable or precarious places, but they were there. Mirabel wondered if anyone outside the family had noticed.
The walls were also silent. It was both a worry and a relief for her, because thinking about Bruno now made her feel…conflicted. He hadn't meant to hurt her, of course, but the fact still stood that he did. His mistake had nearly cost her life, and she this was what her family had been worrying about all along. For just that briefest of moments, he'd become lost in the monster just like they'd said he could. It had been a moment of weakness that everyone else was allowed to experience in life. But for Bruno, it seemed he couldn't afford that.
There was no doubt in Mirabel's mind that Bruno was a good man. But…maybe that simply wasn't enough.
During one of her walks through the halls, she found herself stopping at Bruno's door. She merely stared at it, unmoving, resisting the familiar urge to rush in there and check on him. When had she become so…accustomed to seeing him? Why did she find herself wondering if he was okay? After what had happened? She didn't know what to think.
Mirabel sighed and finally turned around…and almost crashed right into Dolores.
"Ah!" Mirabel yelped, making her cousin flinch a little. "Oh—sorry, Dolores! I didn't…hear you coming. You're so quiet."
Dolores gave her a tired sort of grin. "Sorry. Being quiet is kind of what I do." She glanced at the door, pursing her lips together. "Are you…worried about him?"
Mirabel looked down and shrugged. "A little bit. But I…I don't know…"
They were both quiet for a moment.
Dolores spoke up quietly. "No one has gone in there since it happened," she mumbled. "Everyone's too scared. And—well, he hasn't left his room at all. He never goes into the walls. I…I don't think he's doing very well." She looked at the ground, eyes wide and slightly unfocused as she spoke. Whatever she was hearing right now, it probably wasn't very comforting.
Mirabel gulped. "He must feel awful about what happened."
"…yes."
"Should…should we…"
She trailed off. Dolores watched her for only a moment before she reached out and out an arm around Mirabel. "It's okay, Mira. You don't have to see him until you feel ready to. He—he'll survive. He's survived this long."
Dolores was clearly forcing a smile for her, and Mirabel bit her lip. A part of her was relieved that she said that, and another part of her felt guilty for being relieved. She had trusted Tío Bruno so much, and now…
Mirabel brought her attention back to Dolores. "You know, if you need to go to your room for a bit, I understand. Uh—whatever's going on in there…you don't have to be listening to it all the time."
Dolores looked surprised. "Oh. Well, I…I feel like I'm still needed, but…"
Mirabel grinned and took her cousin's arm. "I think you deserve a couple hours off. Besides, we haven't hung out in a while. Catch me up on what I missed. What's going on with the wedding? That was supposed to be happening, wasn't it?"
Dolores looked relieved (and grateful) with the change of subject and perked up a little. The two of them went walking arm and arm toward Dolores' room.
"Oh, it was postponed, of course," Dolores said. "The Guzmans were very understanding. They wish you a speedy recovery, by the way."
"That's sweet of them. Maybe I'll get them a gift basket. But—I was talking about what happened with the wedding. Like, who is Mariano even going to marry?"
Dolores snorted. "Ah—Abuela hasn't actually brought that up with them yet. But since—well, we have more time, now, I think we can talk about it later. I mean, he and I haven't even courted."
"Pfft. What are you waiting for?" Mirabel nudged her. "You could have gone to see him while I was in bed. Then you won't have to put the wedding on hold for so long."
"Mira, please. You're more important."
Mirabel smiled, and they both were considerably more relaxed than previously. Dolores' words made her feel warm inside, but before she could consider it further, they walked by the kitchen and a voice caught both their attention.
"…don't know what in the world he was thinking, letting her—all of them—walk into his room whenever they wanted. Almost feels like he was purposely trying to entice them into danger somehow."
Mirabel and Dolores stopped. That was…Agustin's voice. But, Mirabel had never heard him sound so…venomous before.
Julieta's voice, apparently just as unaware of her daughter and niece's presence, responded. "No, amor, that's not true. I know my brother. He loves his family. He didn't mean any harm, but…but…"
"Mi vida," Agustín responded, softer and sadder this time. "I say this with all the love in the world—you haven't properly spoken to him in decades. How do you know that's still true?"
Julieta was silent.
Dolores gently tugged on Mirabel's arm, nudging her to continue their path. Mirabel took a breath and resumed their walk. She wasn't sure if her parents realized that she'd heard them, but she didn't want to know. She'd heard snippets of this renewed anti-Bruno sentiment in their house in the past few days. Anger and fear. Worse than before. She understood why, but it still stung every time.
Not now, though. Like Dolores said, she would confront this later. If they tried to pick at this too quickly, Mirabel had a feeling that their miracle would die even faster.
So, for now, saving the miracle, talking about Bruno…would also have to be postponed. She just hoped they didn't end up waiting too long.
The crack in the wall had grown. Mirabel noticed it on her own when she was walking past it, several days later. No one had mentioned it to her, and if they were talking about it at all (or anything happening in their family), it wasn't even within her earshot. She wasn't sure if they were doing it to keep her from the stress, or if they just didn't want to acknowledge it. Either way, it was becoming harder to ignore.
Free Bruno. That's what Casita had said. The only way to save the magic and fix the cracks in their family, was to bring them back together and close the gaps they had created amongst themselves. Deep down, Mirabel knew this was still true. But every time she thought about it, a shudder went down her back.
Dolores had told her to take her time. But how much time did they really have? And more importantly, how was she supposed to reconcile Bruno with the rest of the family now, when their fear of him had been renewed and no one even wanted to talk about him?
Even she, so gung-ho about freeing him before, was having reservations. She was becoming just like them, she realized. Afraid.
The only sound coming from the walls today was the groans and cracks in the house itself. No more protective growling. No sign of his presence at all. Was Bruno still in his room? Had he moved at all?
…or was he still sitting in the same spot as before, rotting in his guilt?
Mirabel felt her heart skip a beat at the image. She had seen it before, when he had scared Camilo. How Bruno had sat alone at the bottom of the stairs for a whole day, not even noticing time go by. It had been many days since she'd last seen him. Was he sitting all alone, mourning over what had happened?
Did he…even realize she was okay?
Mirabel stopped staring at the cracks and turned toward the locked door, horrified by the sudden realization. Somehow, this brief look into Bruno's potential thoughts was enough to overwhelm the worry for her own safety. She'd always been there to reassure him, to bring him out of his most depressive state. Now, he had lost everything, and she had almost turned against him like the rest of their family had. How could she do that to him?
As Mirabel stood there, indecisive, she spotted Tía Pepa walking past his door. A raining cloud suddenly appeared over her head and her steps got faster until she had cleared it by several meters. From the corner of her eye, Mirabel thought she could see the cracks grow even more.
There was no more time. No more time to sit around waiting while Bruno's health got worse and the family's livelihood crumbled at her feet. Yes, Mirabel was still uneasy. But she couldn't let that hold her back anymore. Not when someone was still counting on her.
It was time to take action before they lost everything. And she knew just who she needed to talk to first.
Mirabel found Abuela sitting outside, on the porch outside their front door. She was just staring forward aimlessly, apparently lost in thought, but just this was enough to make Mirabel hesitate.
It had been a while since they had spoken. Not since…it happened. Mirabel had noticed Abuela hovering around her, but neither had ever made an effort to speak to the other. Now, though, as Abuela sat on the porch, she didn't see any of the usual stubborn pride her grandmother usually had on her face. There was only shame.
It looked like she had to take the first step.
Slowly, Mirabel joined her grandmother sitting on the porch, looking out over the rest of their town. Abuela didn't say anything at first, and Mirabel fidgeted as she tried to figure out how to start. But then, finally, Abuela spoke.
"I'd never seen him like that before."
It was so quiet that Mirabel almost didn't hear. She looked at Abuela, tilting her ear toward her so she could listen. "What?"
"Bruno," Abuela clarified, speaking up more. "He…he had been putting on a front for me all these years, hasn't he? Pretending he was alright. But the moment I said he wouldn't see his sobrinos again, he…he crumbled. Even with everything, I'd never seen him like that. So desperate and…and broken."
Mirabel bit her lip, not sure how to respond.
Abuela laughed bitterly. "How did I ever let myself believe he was okay? How could anyone be alone for so long and be okay? I—I was so afraid of losing him that I deluded myself and let him suffer. How could I have done that? How could I do that to my baby…?"
Mirabel's breath hitched as she watched Abuela bow forward, looking like she was trying to stave off a breakdown in front of her granddaughter. This change in character was jarring—she was so used to Abuela being the well put together leader of the family, who could face any problem with her head held high. But the weight of this epiphany was apparently too much even for her, and Mirabel had no idea how to alleviate it.
Yet, something else stuck out to her. "You were…afraid to lose him?"
Abuela hesitated. Shoot, had Mirabel made it worse? She was about to hastily retract her question, but Abuela slowly sat up straight again.
"Mm," she hummed. "Mirabel, did anyone tell you why we decided to keep Bruno inside? The incident that forced us to do it?"
…ah. Mirabel nodded. She could feel the phantom sensation of those claws on her back once more. "Y-yeah," she replied, gulping. "Mamà told me about it. The one with Tía Pepa's ex-boyfriend. Um, and so did Tío Bruno. He said it was the final straw."
"Did either of them tell you how the townsfolk reacted to that incident?"
"Mamà said…that they were almost like a mob."
At this, Abuela stiffened a little and took a deep breath through her nose. She stared straight ahead at the horizon. "Neighbors turning on each other…" she mumbled. "I had only seen that once before in my life…the night I lost my husband."
Mirabel blanched, her jaw dropping. "A-Abuelo Pedro was…killed by your neighbors?"
Abuela didn't look at her, apparently reminiscing as she spoke. "There was much civil and political unrest at the time," she continued. "So much unease, even within our communities. Most people, for the sake of safety, tried their best to avoid conflict. However, there were some…who could not hold back. Who took things too far."
She shuddered. "It was people we knew. The ones who went out, hired bandits, got their weapons and horses and came back to attack the ones they hated. But violence is indiscriminate, and it spreads. So they attacked all of us, chased us to the river, and Pedro…he went back to reason with them. Because they were our neighbors. Members of the community. But, in their hatred…that didn't matter to them anymore."
Mirabel's stomach churned, but she kept listening.
"And then, years later, when Bruno…the people were different. The circumstances were different. But all I could see was that it was happening again. There were fearful glances and grumblings and distrust. They were going to take my boy from me like they took his father…"
"D-did…did they ever try?"
Abuela paused, but shrugged. "If there was any intention of doing so, they never got the chance, because Bruno decided to shut himself away." She frowned. "And I took that decision and clung to it as a lifeline. I went out and told the people that Bruno would be staying inside the house and they didn't need to worry about him anymore. I told them that so they would leave him alone. So they wouldn't hurt him. I wasn't thinking." She blinked back tears. "Now that I think about it, I believe that was the final nail in the coffin. The moment our family decided that he was better off staying in his room…that's when the barrier appeared."
She looked down at the ground and started running her can through the grass. "It is possible that I was overthinking their reaction, due to my past experience. But I was living in fear. We were all living in fear."
Abuela fell quiet. Mirabel said nothing for a moment, letting herself digest everything that her grandmother had said. Finally, she had Abuela's side of the story, and it was not at all what she expected. All this time she thought that her grandmother loved their community. That was why she always wanted to help them. But now…
"Abuela, do you…not trust our neighbors?"
Abuela was quiet for a moment, a conflicted frown on her face. "It's not a simple yes or no, mija. I know they're good people. I know many of them suffered just as I did, I know they want to protect their families. That is why I want to help them. But…sometimes even the most well-intentioned of people can turn on each other if they are afraid enough. I have seen first hand how quickly people can turn. I didn't want that to happen. Not again…"
Mirabel gulped. "You were afraid they would reject the whole family because of Tío Bruno."
"I thought I was protecting him," Abuela lamented. "Protecting everyone. I was hoping…hoping it would be temporary. But every time I tried to approach the topic of setting him free, the pushback was immense. So I kept holding my tongue." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "But I was a coward. I should have stood up for my son. I should have made a bigger effort to help him. And now, because of me, he has lost himself. And because of me, he hurt you."
She gulped. "I am sorry, Mirabel. I'm sorry this happened. And I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you much since it happened, I just—I have been so ashamed, and I couldn't face you."
Mirabel gasped softly. Abuela wasn't angry with her. She'd been so worried, but…it seemed that her grandmother had felt just as much of a burden as her. Had they ever been on the same level like this? Somehow, despite it all, it felt like a major weight off her shoulders.
"I'm the one who disobeyed you, Abuela," Mirabel replied shakily. "I'm sorry. I just…I wanted to help him. I thought that I could help him, and by helping him, I'd help our family. That's—that's all I wanted to do." She wiped away a stray tear, trying to keep her voice level as she spoke.
"I know, mija," Abuela replied softly. "I know."
The conversation lulled. But this silence wasn't uncomfortable. Rather, it was fresh, new. The feeling of two people who loved each other finally seeing eye to eye for the first time in years.
Perhaps, it was this feeling that emboldened Mirabel to speak. There was still much work to do, after all. And what better way to start than to build off of where they were now?
"You know, Abuela…today is a new day. Time has passed. There are new people, new minds, and we've grown past those days when everyone was afraid their world would disappear again. I think we—I think we can make things better, if we try."
She wasn't exactly being subtle, and as predicted, the other woman picked up on her meaning right away.
"You want to free him, don't you?" Abuela asked, worried but weary.
Mirabel nodded. No point in lying anymore. "It's the right thing to do, Abuela. I know it's scary. But if we're patient with him, with each other…I know we can find a way to help him, without making people upset." She smiled softly. "Things aren't the same as they were thirty years ago, fifty years ago. We've all changed. And there's a lot of things we still need to change. But no matter what happens, our family will all look out for each other. And that includes Tío Bruno. It's the only way to fix this mess. To survive."
Abuela studied Mirabel for a moment, surprised. "Hah…it seems that I truly underestimated you, my dear. You have quite the talent for inspiring people."
Mirabel's heart skipped a beat. Honest praise. Without any secrecy or conditions. This was…strange and indescribable. But before she could think about it further, Abuela frowned into the middle distance again.
"But aren't you afraid?" Abuela murmured. "Aren't you worried something will happen again?"
Mirabe pursed her lips a moment, but she sat up straighter. "I am a little scared," she confessed. "But more than that, I love him. I love this whole family, and I believe we can heal each other if we just work at it little by little."
Abuela didn't really for a moment, but Mirabel saw the subtle exhale of her breath as her grandmother nodded in understanding.
"It won't be easy," she murmured.
"I know that," Mirabel replied softly. "But we have to try. How exactly do we take down the barrier? Is there a—a magic key, or something you have to do, or…?"
"Oh no, it's very simple, Mirabel," said Abuela. "Not easy, but…simple. Casita's magic responds to our family. Their feelings, their wishes. Therefore, the only way to break that barrier is to convince everyone in the family that Bruno must be freed. When they truly believe it with their hearts, then the barrier will disappear. That is how our magic works."
Mirabel thought about this for a moment, and a feeling of dread settled over her. "Like…the whole family? Everyone? Or just, you know, the simple majority of—."
"Every. Single. Member," Abuela confirmed. "Every individual, Mirabel. If even one of them disagrees, the barrier stays up."
And the miracle will die, Mirabel thought. Which, in turn, would still free Bruno, but only at the cost of everything they held dear. And of course, she couldn't tell them this, because, magic. Ugh, she was so sick of keeping secrets.
Mirabel sucked in a breath, frustrated. She could already think of a couple of yellow-clad members of their family who would present a significant challenge. And even the rest of the family would be understandably hesitant now, after what had happened to her.
Nevertheless, she knew what she had to do, and she was done being afraid. "Okay, Abuela. Thank you for your guidance." She stood, smiling down at her bewildered grandmother, a new sense of determination filling her heart. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a family to save."