A/N Please note that I'm in the process of editing this story ahead of FINALLY writing the new chapter ten. It's only cosmetic changes to tighten my pros and make it flow better, so the story will remain the same.

I'm currently working on chapter 3.

The Haunting of La Casa Madrigal

In many ways, a house is like a body. The walls are the bones; the pipes are like veins. A house needs to breathe. It has skin, eyes, a face. It can even have a personality. A home can feel happy, warm, and inviting, or else depressed, cold, and lonely. Yet however much it may appear so, a house is not truly a living being. It is nothing but a collection of bricks, and wood, and stucco. Not the Casita, though. La Casa Madrigal, as it stood proud against the magical Encanto, was very much alive.

The home of the Madrigals was not built, it was born. Born from a miracle gifted to the young family in their darkest moment. Born from love and despair. The Casita was a prayer, it was a hope, but most of all it was a wish—a wish for a safe place where the family could retreat and grieve in solitude, free from the threat they and their fellow townspeople had been fleeing. To that end, the Casita had come to life to shelter them and hold them safely in its arms. It could communicate with the wave of a door or the shrug of a drawer. It kept the family safe and watched them as they grew.

Yet for all its magic and wonder, there was one thing the Casita had in common with regular houses. In every house, there is a dark and forgotten space. Maybe in your home it is a mildewy cupboard that smothers your old books with a layer of velvety mould until they succumb to rot. Or is it a dusty old loft where memories go to die, entombed by years of abandoned spiderwebs? Or else a forgotten crawlspace in the walls, the entrances of which have long since been bricked up and papered over; only the rats remembering its secrets. In any case, it is a place where things go to be forgotten.

The Casita, too, had its secrets, hiding in the dark, forgotten spaces. A deep wound. A break in the family. The cracks of which had started many years before our story begins...

Episode One: If the Walls Could Speak

Present Day…

Antonio stared, motionless, at his cousin's side of the nursery, as he took refuge from the chaos outside. It had become such a familiar sight. Stencilled patterns in cheerful colours like bright pink and yellow sporadically obscured the alphabet letters that ran around the green walls. Doodles of the family or fantastical made-up creatures were pinned haphazardly around her bed. It was so perfectly 'Mirabel'. Her personality filled the space, even in her absence. Though he usually went to bed much earlier than she would, Antonio could glance over and see her right there in the room with him. He sure was going to miss her if the ceremony worked. He was going to miss the colour she added to the world.

Several boxes lay on and around Antonio's bed. Five years of memories packed up and ready to be moved to his magical new room. He considered them with a sigh then turned towards his own wall. In stark contrast to Mirabel's side of the room, the wall beside his bed was completely bare. No scribbles, no stencils, no attempt to personalise the space at all. Just a blank canvas, like Antonio. It had invited him to fill it with expressions of his personality, but he never attempted to. His personality didn't shine like Mirabel's, so how could he ever hope to fill the room the way she did?

Antonio's heart pounded violently as a sudden dread surged through him. Something was coming. A terrible creature with many eyes and legs was scurrying quickly towards the nursery. Claw-like feet rasping against the tiled floor, he could hear it drawing closer. Soon it would reach out, grab him, and wrap him in a vile, sticky substance. It would wind him around and around so tightly that he couldn't move and could barely breathe. Then it would drag him, helpless and defenceless, to whatever fate awaited him. He would watch as the telescopic light of the nursery, Mirabel's light, faded from view and disappeared from his life forever.

Closer and closer, the footsteps came until he could hear heavy breathing behind the door. He quickly scanned the room for an escape. Then, as though drawn by the warmth of Mirabel's light, he hurried towards her bed and hid beneath it, tucking himself behind the drape of her pink blanket, which obscured him from view like a curtain.

The door creaked open, and Antonio held his breath as a pair of feet appeared at the doorway. After a few steps into the room, they stopped. The sound of laboured breathing was then interrupted by a growl, like a rumble of thunder, before the feet turned and left the nursery. The door clicked shut, and Antonio let out his breath with a gasp.

Although his breathing was still heavy, he began to relax a little now that the threat had moved on, but before he could leave his hiding place, the nursery door opened once more. This time it was not a scurrying monster crawling straight out of his nightmares but a creature too fantastical to define.

Antonio was a timid child. His mom once said there are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who crave company and thrive in lively environments, and may become lethargic or even depressed if left on their own for too long. Then there are those that prefer quieter pursuits. They need time alone with their thoughts. Although they enjoy the company of others, if they don't get enough time alone to rest and recharge, they can become stressed and anxious. His mom said Antonio wasn't the first Madrigal to lean more towards the latter kind of temperament, but he wasn't convinced. He couldn't think of a single member of his family who seemed as shy as him. His mom had explained that even the quieter kind of people need to make time for socialising or else risk becoming withdrawn. It's all about balance, she said. Antonio had been having difficulty finding that balance though.

To cope with his shyness, Antonio would imagine that the people in his life as animals. Some were easy. His sister, Dolores, for example, was a sleek and silent ocelot, picking its way daintily through dense foliage. Freezing here and there, alerted by a sudden sound, then sniffing the air before slinking off, unseen amongst the leaves. He didn't see his brother as a chameleon, despite the chameleon motif on his ruana that swished as he leapt around. Chameleons are slow, placid and somewhat dopey creatures. Camilo was not like that at all. To Antonio, a squirrel monkey better captured his brother's essence. Playful, lively and sharp. Leaping from branch to branch with supernatural agility, then pausing for a moment to observe the world through deep, brown eyes, revealing a glimpse of its true intellect for just a second, before playfully zipping off again, almost flying through the trees without wings.

Others were not so easy. His mom could be a different animal depending on her mood. Sometimes she was a delicate deer, on edge and easily startled. At other times she was an eagle, carefully observing the world from afar, throwing an angry frown for a misdeed her children felt sure they'd snuck past her notice. But most often, she was a jaguar. Beautiful and soft, with a sleek coat of copper-gold, yet wild, sharp and unpredictable. The female jaguar is a fiercely devoted mother, and that was the feeling Antonio got from his mom above all else. She was emotional, unpredictable, but her love burned brighter than the sun itself.

Then there was Mirabel. She was impossible to define at all. She had the curiosity of an anteater, snuffling through the undergrowth and noticing details that most people would miss. She was colourful, making the world brighter just by existing, like a hummingbird or a butterfly. She was smart like a coati, loveable like a tapir, headstrong like a chigüiro. The best Antonio could come up with was that Mirabel was a curious, loveable, smart chigüiro with the head of a tapir, tail of an anteater, wings of a hummingbird and the vibrant colours of a butterfly.

Antonio watched the bottom of Mirabel's skirt glide across the room, then the mattress above him dipped as she sat down heavily with a sigh. A drawer slid open and the bed shook as his cousin reached to take something out.

Ordinarily, Antonio would have been delighted by the presence of his amazing cousin, but this time, his heart sank. He knew that if anyone could convince him to leave his place of hiding and face his inevitable fate, it would be her, and that made her the most terrifying threat of all.

.

A little later...

There was no delaying it and certainly no avoiding it. The moment everyone had been waiting five long years for had finally arrived. Antonio waited nervously behind a curtain of flowers that his cousin, Isabela, had created. He could hear Abuela addressing the crowd on the other side, but all he could focus on was the violent thumping in his chest and the ringing in his ears. The curtains suddenly lifted to the sound of applause, and the Casita created a path of red tiles to mark his ascent towards the unformed door that glistened with golden light on the balcony. The overhead lamps turned towards him like spotlights, engulfing him in blinding white light that obscured the rest of the courtyard from view. It was every bit as horrific as the nightmares he had been haunted by in the months leading up to his birthday. The applause died, and he felt a wall of expectant faces turn toward him, but he couldn't move. Antonio was completely frozen to the spot.

A tile lifted below his feet as the Casita urged him to begin his journey towards the temporary staircase. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do. Abuela ensured he had it memorised and rehearsed, but the muscles in his legs refused to budge. He turned to Mirabel, who had been waiting with him, tucked out of sight by the stairs. Then he reached a hand towards the brightest light in the entire Casita, inviting her to walk him to his door.

His mom had been right. Everybody needs company sometimes, and he couldn't face this alone.

The awkward silence continued, until Mirabel hesitantly stepped forward and took his hand. Low murmurs travelled around as people glanced at one another, or Abuela, to see if it was all part of the ceremony. Antonio didn't care what they thought. This was his moment, and if he couldn't escape it, he would at least do it his way.

They walked together along the path that the Casita had laid out and continued up the stairs to where Abuela waited; the magical candle grasped in front of her with both hands. Behind her, Antonio's dad had a tight hold of his mom as she did her best to keep it together. When they reached the balcony, Mirabel stepped aside, and Abuela leaned down, held out the candle, and asked him if he promised to use his gift to honour the miracle and serve the community.

Antonio touched the candle with both hands and nodded, unable to muster the words he'd been instructed to reply with. Then with a deep breath, he finally reached for that dreaded doorknob.

The moment his hand made contact, the doorknob burst with glittering golden light that travelled up the door, and he felt a warm sensation pass through his body. Before he could process what had happened, a toucan flew onto his arm and started chittering.

Hi there!

Antonio gazed at the bird. Was it talking?

Pretty cool, eh? You do understand me, right?

It was. The bird was talking. "¡Ajá!" he confirmed with an excited nod. "I understand you!"

Mind if a few more join us?

A chorus of bird cries erupted overhead, as several of the toucan's friends flew into the Casita. Many more animals jumped in through the open windows, running between people's feet as they made their way towards Antonio's door, and he got the feeling that 'a few' must mean something quite different to toucans. Tapirs, chigüiros, coatis, toucans and hummingbirds all encircled Antonio, patiently watching as the magic finally settled on the door, revealing an image carved in light. A young boy surrounded by animals.

Abuela cried out with elation, as cheers and fireworks shook the Casita, and people clambered up the stairs to witness the magic for themselves.

Antonio pushed open the door and tentatively entered his room with his new animal friends close behind him. He looked around excitedly as the room started to materialise, slowly revealing what began as a typical kid's bedroom. The materialisation then picked up speed as the magic burst ahead of him, sparkling and twinkling. It rippled outwards in all directions like an explosion of vibrant green and golden light, building the scene molecule by molecule. Antonio barely noticed the stone floor beneath him, or the many ferns and young saplings that filled the space with shades of green. Instead, his eyes had fixed in front of him, where a tall, wide-spreading ceiba tree dominated the area.

It appeared to be an elaborate tree-fort with many living areas dotted about its canopy. Strings of lamps were strewn throughout the upper branches, creating a warm and inviting light that shone through the leaves so that the area glowed with a mixture of gold and green.

Antonio felt giddy as he took in the scene. He had the best gift ever, and his very own rainforest!

Watch out. Coming through!

He turned when he heard a deep growl, accompanied by a gentle voice in his head. A jaguar came running towards him with its tongue out as his family and guests moved aside to let it through.

Hop on! the jaguar called out as it reached Antonio and scooped him up with its head, flinging him onto its back. Antonio, right? You can call me Parce.

Parce then took Antonio on a tour of his new room, leaping up the steps, winding around and through the canopy to the highest point, and then launching him onto the spring-like hammocks. All the onlookers could do was whoop and cheer as they watched Antonio fly around his fantastical new room.

.

A little later...

The atmosphere in the Casita was electric. Everyone had gathered in Antonio's new room, using the main platform as a dancefloor and spilling out into other parts of the tree fort. His entire family had become more outgoing, like that second kind of person. Even Abuela was letting her fun-side show as she laughed, danced and even cracked a few jokes. The relief was immeasurable, and everyone seemed to feel it. Now that he could speak to animals, Antonio was finding it much easier to talk to people too. Rather than the one-word answers and short sentences, he would usually communicate with, he answered questions completely, adding details and opinions and even asking questions of his own to keep the conversation going.

Antonio was dancing with his family, copying his dad's moves, and feeling fully immersed in the moment, when the music suddenly trailed off. Confused, he looked around to see why the party had been interrupted and spotted Mirabel yelling at Abuela.

Although he missed most of what she said, he caught something about cracks and the candle almost going out.

A horrified look flashed across Abuela's face, then with a momentary glance at the stunned crowd, she whispered stoically, "Show me," and followed Mirabel from the room.

Confused, and a little scared, Antonio turned to his parents for reassurance, but something was very wrong. His dad desperately comforted his mom as she struggled against a dark cloud, and Antonio knew that wasn't a good sign. Most of the family and guests followed Abuela from the room to see what was happening, but his parents stayed back. Antonio knew the drill: if his mom got a cloud, people would suspect something was wrong, and Abuela would never allow that. The family had a reputation to uphold, so they needed to play down the situation. Whatever the situation even was.

Whispers and murmurs began to channel back into the room like ripples on a pool.

"There's nothing there."

"Has the kid been drinking?"

"I think someone's cracked, but it's not the house."

"'House in danger' indeed..."

Antonio listened to his mom and dad as they speculated that Mirabel was probably acting out. The gift ceremony was undoubtedly hard for her after all. Antonio didn't buy that. He knew his cousin loved him and would never deliberately sabotage his night. He couldn't have known then that although they were doing an excellent job of hiding it, every member of his family had been deeply rattled by Mirabel's outburst.

The mention of the cracks and the candle almost going out had resurrected deeply buried memories. An old wound had been picked at. A wound that had been ignored, covered over and forgotten. It had continued to fester and putrefy over time, spreading and growing beneath the surface. What began long ago as a tiny fracture had cracked, and eventually, it had broken completely. Since then, no one had spoken about it. They pretended to themselves that everything was okay, but they always suspected it would resurface eventually. Wounds left untreated never heal, and emotions buried alive never die.

Triggered by Mirabel's outburst, each member of Antonio's family had started remembering. They began reliving the past in vivid detail, considering their part in the events that led to the break in the family. That was all except one. While the others dwelled on the past, one family member was planted firmly in the here and now. She was not looking backwards and asking 'why' or 'what if'. She was focused on that point in time where the future transitions instantly to the past. That elusive point where moments flash rapidly by, one after another, to create a stroboscopic moving impression of what truly is. The present, just an illusion, was the only point in time Mirabel had any influence over. So while others anguished over the part they played in creating the cracks, Mirabel had made it her mission to repair them.

.

The following day...

Move it! You're going too slow.

Go around me if you're in such a hurry.

What? You know we can't do that. 'Single file! Hug a wall! Straight there, straight back!' That's the rules.

Says who?

Says Capitán José XV.

Well he's not here, is he..?

Yes I am!

Oh sorry Capitán... Didn't see you there, on account of the red eyes...

And Skinny-José-With-the-Ripped-Ear is right; 'Single file! Hug a wall! Straight there, straight back!' That's the rules. Do you want to be spotted? Now come on while the family's distracted... Quick, quick everyone. You too, José the Blind. Stop holding up the line.

Well if you wouldn't put me behind Stinky-José, maybe I'd use my sense of smell to navigate...

It's a straight line! You can't manage a straight line? Hug a bloomin' wall!

Antonio sat at the little writing desk behind his door, writing Thank-You letters for the many birthday presents he'd received the previous day. One of the more curious things he had noticed about his new gift was that even when animals were relatively far away, he could hear their voices clearly in his mind. Abuela had been delighted about this, as the ability to communicate information back and forth over a distance opened up more applications of his gift. The downside was that he couldn't tell what direction the speaking was coming from unless he could see the animal or hear its cries. All he could say for sure was that whoever was speaking they were an animal of some kind.

Having satisfied himself that the talking was not from inside his room, he pushed open his door and looked up and down the balcony. He couldn't see any animals, so he waited in the doorway for a few minutes. Eventually, the voices returned.

Blasted! There's one of them up here. Now what are we going to do?

Which one?

I can't tell

What's it doing?

Just standing on its hind legs like they all do.

I say we run for it.

No... it'll spot us. What if they block the way? Eh? What then?

What do you mean?

Well, he'll die if he can't get food.

Well then we'll eat the soft bits first. I bet there's lots of jelly in those big juicy eyes!

Antonio realised that whoever was speaking would not come out of hiding until he was out of sight. So he went back inside his room, leaving the door open just the tiniest bit.

I think it's gone!

Come on, pick up your food and let's go... run, run, run...

Redondo! You there?

'Course I'm here... what took you so long?

No time... Just wedge it open, will you.

Antonio peered around the door but still couldn't tell where the voices were coming from. That was until he looked towards his brother and sister's doors. Scurrying up the stairs and then jumping one at a time towards the wall by Dolores's room was a long line of rats, each holding an item of leftover food from his party.

"Wait!" he called out, running along the balcony as the last few rats made the leap towards the wall.

By the time he got there, they were already gone. There was nothing but a painting on the wall so he reached up and tugged at it. It swung open to reveal an opening behind. That had to be where the rats had gone.

"I know you're in there!" he shouted into the hole. "What are you up to?"

He heard squeaking from inside.

You idiots! Did you forget? The kid can understand us now!

"Yes, I can! So tell me everything or else I'm telling the family! We'll brick this up... right now."

No!

A rat appeared at the gap in the wall. Please don't! I am Capitán José XV, direct descendent of José the Dead. Though that wasn't always his name. Big One has been my family's loyal friend for generations. Fifteen to be exact. You mustn't block the way. He needs to eat.

"Who's 'Big One'? Is he a human? Is there a man in the walls?" Antonio asked, his voice breaking as the realisation set in.

Well, erm... There's not, not a man in the walls...

Antonio couldn't believe what he was hearing. The family needed to know at once.

"Abuela! Abuela!" he yelled in a panic. "There's someone hiding in the—"

He heard a swoosh of cloth behind him, followed immediately by the sound of sandalled feet landing on the tiles. Before Antonio had time to react, a hand clasped his mouth, and he was dragged backwards.