Chapter 4

4:22pm

Mirabel left the kitchen in turmoil, her heart clenching and a wave of helplessness threatening to close up over her head and steal her breath. Instead of heading in, she headed out, into the courtyard. Turning slowly in a circle, she couldn't help but look up at Abuela's window where the candle used to be displayed. Of course it wasn't there now, and the shutters were closed. "Casita, can we talk?"

Casita's tiles tapped out, Of course we can. You know we can talk anytime you like. What's the matter?

"When the magic came back, I was so surprised that I forgot all the questions I had. I just assumed I'd never get to talk to you again."

Casita's tiles rippled, and her shutters waved. This house may be my body, but my spirit is forever.

"Then…you really are the same Casita? You remember all of our old conversations, going back to when I was little?"

Every one. I am the same…but with fewer restrictions now.

"What do you mean, restrictions? Was…was Abuela keeping you from doing things?"

Casita whisked Mirabel up a spontaneously created wooden staircase and set Mirabel gently in her tower in her new room via a window. The staircase then unmade itself plank by plank. Casita's shutters waved. We can speak freely here.

An upholstered chair appeared and nudged Mirabel into it. She had a view from the windows in all directions and a comfortable place to sit. Amazed, she fell silent.

What do you see here? Casita's floorboards asked her.

"Um…the Encanto?"

Which is made out of what?

Mirabel thought hard. "Magic…but…"

And what have you learned about magic, mi vida?

"That it's not as important as my family. If the magic hurts the family, then I'm going to choose my family every time."

Yes. The source of the magic matters.

"The source?" Mirabel was puzzled. "You mean, like who made the magic?" She had the perfect opportunity to ask, but she was afraid. Her voice dropped. "Is…it is Abuela? Or is it God? Is it somehow coming from me?"

God is in all things. It is in you, and Abuela, and me. God is in the Encanto and outside of the Encanto. It is a force that comprises everything.

"Don't you mean 'He'?"

God is many more pronouns than you could ever know. God is All.

Mirabel frowned. "Padre Agudelo says God is a father."

And a mother, and aunts and uncles, children, too. God is All.

Mirabel sighed. "Okay. I don't want to talk about that anymore. I don't think I understand. Why are you asking me what the source of the magic is?"

Magic is not specifically divine. Free will makes magic appear in many forms. Magic is a gift from God to the entire universe. We all have sparks – or flames – inside ourselves. What burns there is magic.

"I don't know what you're trying to tell me."

Magic answers to our deepest impulses.

Mirabel thought back to the moment she put the doorknob in the new front door and brought Casita back. She recreated it in as much detail as possible. What was I thinking when I put the doorknob in the door? Brow furrowed, hands clenching on the armrests of the chair, she brought herself back to that moment and her most intense desire. The magic kicked inside her chest, causing a shockwave of heat and tingles through her body. "Everyone." She struggled to keep hold of the emotion and put it into words, but it was like the feeling was too big for words. "I want everyone. Everyone. I want to be connected to everyone." She thought back to how recently she had felt shut out of everything, always on the outside, never able to reach in. "No more isolation," she whispered.

Your magic brought about a world of inclusiveness you are only now beginning to discover.

Mirabel stood and looked out the windows in all directions. "Someday this will be mine, Abuela says. Do you mean that it's already mine?"

Your magic will rule the Encanto soon, and it will become a very different place. Casita let out a little laugh with her shutters. I am looking forward to it. It will be incredible.

"I don't want to rule anybody," Mirabel protested, only to remember Tío Bruno's words. "Take control with kindness. Is that what I'm doing?"

Yes. Instead of worrying about protecting everyone, you worry about including people. It is a beautiful change. Embrace it. Great changes are on the way.

"How will I know the magic is spreading?" Mirabel asked. "At least tell me what I'm looking for."

Your magic will grow a little each day. A circle of magic exists around me even now that is yours. Your abuela's magical link to the Encanto is fading. Soon, you will have the power to decide whether to keep the mountain pass open.

Mirabel plopped down on the chair and pressed a hand to her forehead. "This is too much!"

I'm sorry. I know change is scary. Even good changes cause turmoil. I hope it will not go too fast for you. But remember: I am always here for you.

Mirabel took what comfort she could from that. "Do I tell Abuela and the rest of the family that this is happening?"

I think you want to, don't you?

"Yes, I do."

Then have no secrets. Trust in our familia to ultimately understand.

Mirabel took a deep breath. "I'll tell them over dinner. Before then…can I stay in my tower?"

Of course. I will always love and shelter you.

Mirabel wiped away sudden tears. "Te amo mucho, Casita."

Te amo mucho, Mirabel.

Mirabel relaxed in her armchair and enjoyed the view of town. Everything is so peaceful from here. "It was so hard to lose you," she whispered. "It was so hard to see you…dying."

Casita flexed her shutters and tapped her floorboards frantically. I never meant to scare you. Lo siento. I was trying so hard to keep it from you. I waited until the last minute to ask for your help. I waited too long. I am so sorry, Mirabel. I wish I had explained that while my body was crumbling, my spirit would still be with you.

"You were really with me the whole time? You never left?"

Your ability to hear me changed, but I have been by your side. I saw everything, mi vida. I wish I could have held you at the riverside. And when you placed the doorknob in my front door, you invited me back into this beautiful new body. Thank you so much for that.

Mirabel finally asked a question she had been afraid to ask all this time. "Casita…who are you really? Are you an angel? Are you a spirit made out of the Miracle? Are you someone from this family who died before I was born?"

I'm afraid it's difficult to explain. I am a kind of spirit, but not an angel. I am not a saint or an ancestor. I was not born when the Miracle was bestowed. Before the creation of the Encanto, I had never been a house before. In a way…I am you. And Alma. And we are all God. Remember that, even when nothing else makes sense.

Mirabel sighed. "So you're not someone Abuela lost, and you're not an angel sent to watch over us. At least that answers those questions. I don't understand how you could be me, or Abuela, and still be someone who existed before the Encanto did. You're right." She cupped her chin in her hand. "I don't think I understand."

The world isn't a simple place. I wish I could help you more, explain it more. But there is so much to learn. And I want you to focus on how you will grow. Your powers will grow, and you will be able to use your power in ways you've never imagined. I am so excited for you. You will like who you will become.

Mirabel smiled, even though the idea of growing up into the leader of the Encanto was intimidating. "I would like to see myself as powerful," she admitted. "But I don't."

It will come, Casita tapped out comfortingly.

"Casita…I know I asked you this before, and you said you didn't know. But…I was a little kid. Were you sheltering me? Do you really know why I didn't get a door on my 5th birthday?"

Casita waved her shutters slowly. I am so sorry. I could not make a room large enough to contain your Gift. I tried. Please believe me. But I over-strained myself, and had to pull back, or else my body would have fallen apart.

Mirabel was stunned. "But Abuela said she didn't succeed in giving me a Gift, because she asked for something too big, or something. Actually, now that you mention it, Abuela's story was confusing. Because toward the end, right before you fell apart, I was doing what Abuela wanted me to do. I was trying to help everybody, and for once, it was actually working. Luisa set down the whole world so she could rest, and Isabela's powers grew. And I was so sure I was doing something good. And Abuela said the Gift she tried to give me was to heal hearts."

The Gift you were given was so immense that there was no way for a child to possibly control a Gift as large as that. You needed an adult's wisdom, and you only started growing into your Gift so recently. It would have taken a lifetime to master your Gift. And no room could ever have contained it.

Mirabel thought hard. "So…the rooms were meant to help contain our Gifts so we could learn to use them. But you couldn't contain my Gift, and that's why I didn't get a room. And my Gift was actually too much?"

Too much responsibility, and too complicated. When you asked for a new Gift, I scaled your Gift back to something you will be able to manage, Casita replied, tapping her floorboards. Think of how much pain it caused you to try to use your Gift. You were trying to lift so much more than Luisa. Trauma is heavier than lead, stickier than tar, and more poisonous than arsenic. You had to let go in the end. Your new Gift is to be observant and insightful, so that you can help people help themselves.

"I don't feel like I've done anything to help anyone today." Mirabel sighed.

You need to walk before you can run, mi vida.

Mirabel gave Casita a crooked smile. "You realize it's weird for a house to tell me about walking and running, right?"

The room around her vibrated as Casita laughed.