Feelings and Tensions

Juano wouldn't let go of Mirabel as they walked back to their house. He struggled to contain his own anxiety too. Bruno was so nervous that his wife held his hand tenderly. Their children stayed close to them.

Isandra was crying. Her body quivered as sad memories from six years ago filled up her head.

"It's gonna be okay," Balthasar comforted "It's gonna be okay,"

"I can't believe they're here," she breathed hoarsely. "Out to ruin Mirabel's life again,"

"Are you sure that's the right thing to say? They looked delighted to see her,"

"We can't talk to them yet. It's just too much right now," she sniffled.

Balthasar said no more but gave her a warm hug to comfort her.

Mirabel was breathless. Juano was her guide as her eyes were glued to the grass moving beneath her. Her breathing was slow but her heartbeat was fast. Too fast to contain as she felt it hammering behind her chest. They entered through the golden door and went to the living room where they sat down.

The kitchen made tea for them. Bruno took a long sip hoping to drown out his sorrow. Gabriella told their children to go play in their rooms and Isandra just sat eating a small cake at a slow pace, Balthasar beside her.

Juano rubbed Mirabel's hand warmly. "You okay?"

"No," her voice was broken. "I'm not. What are they doing here? Why are they even here?"

"Because of the drought," Balthasar answered. "They had nowhere else to go. And all those other people needed help too,"

"No. Why were they in the town centre trying to find us? How could they just expect us to come back with them and act like everything's all right? Like nothing, they did all our lives hurt us at all? If I saw…her…I don't know what I would have done," her mind shuddered at the thought of Abeula. She touched her face, trembling at thought of a hand slapping her cheek again. "What if she's here to ruin our lives?"

"She cannot be allowed to enter this house," Bruno spoke up. "I don't want my children having her as a grandmother,"

Isandra managed to speak. "I'm so scared. My family will come for me and you Tia…what if they do something to everyone? What if they…"

"If they try to take you from me…" Bruno cupped his wife's cheek. "I will do whatever it takes to protect you. The same goes for you sobrina," he and Isandra had grown so close over the years through their love for Gabi.

"I'll make the house invisible," Juano stood up, letting go of Mirabel's hand for a moment and waving his hands. An invisible barrier covered the Casita. "Don't know how long that'll trick them though,"

"I'll gather some guys and ask them to keep an eye on the Madrigals," Balthasar said.

"That's not gonna stop them," sniffled Mirabel.

Juano moved over and hugged her. "Nothing is going to happen," behind his determination to keep Mirabel safe, he held back horror.

"Juano, we won't let Carlos enter this house," Bruno promised. "Make sure to keep an eye on him," he instructed Balthasar.

"Absolutely," he saluted. "I need to go now Isandra. I'll see you soon,"

"Be careful around them," she warned. "There's no telling what they'll do,"

He nodded and hugged her one last time before walking out of the house through the barrier.

The rejected Madrigals sat at the large campsite where from a gentle slope they saw more of the city. Some families had managed to be relocated to some spare rooms but there were too many people to give proper shelter to. Isabela stared around and saw some of the city people eying them from their windows. Elonzo and two men stood guard at the pathway that led to the centre of the city eying them suspiciously. Alma sat away from them unable to express how dejected she felt.

The guard's cold gaze made Antonio tingle; Pepa held him close. "Why wasn't she happy to see us?"

"She was just shocked," his mother said. "We gave her quite a shock,"

"I ruined our chance. I shouldn't have run into town like that. I only made things worse,"

Felix clicked his tongue and rubbed a hand on her back.

Agustin held Julietta close as she cried. "I thought she'd be happy to see us," she muffled her wet voice in her hands. "But she hates us,"

"Darling, we can't give up on her," Agustin refused to. "We didn't come all this way just to be turned down by a total stranger," he sent a frown over at Elonzo who remained emotionless, unmoved by his words.

As the conversation continued, Mr and Mrs Lopez barged into their camp spot.

"Hey! What gives?!" complained Dolores.

"Did you find our daughter? Is she hurt?" demanded Mrs Lopez. "Was Gabriella there too?"

Julieta couldn't answer. But her sister did. "She is. And she's safe and sound with Mirabel and Juano,"

Mr Lopez clenched his fist. "What has that girl and that freak done to her?"

Agustin turned red and exploded like fire. "You have no right to call Juano a freak! They haven't done anything to her! If anything, she's terrified that we're here because she's afraid you'll take her away from the people she loves. And so is Gabriella,"

"I take it she and your brother are still together," Mrs Lopez asked Julieta not carrying that she was crying.

Pepa fumed. "Don't you dare talk to my…"

"They are," Julieta answered standing up and speaking her mind. "And they're married and they've had twins together," she remembered seeing the glimmer of their gold rings on their fingers and the twins who stood next to them with little Pedro who resembled his father very much. Mr and Mrs Lopez were furious. "They've built a happy life together here. And so has Isandra,"

As she mentioned Isandra, Camillo remembered the young kind man who held her close, Balthasar. He felt a hinge of jealousy twisting in his heart; did she like him?

"I'll tell you what their miracle candle that gave you your casita back with no magic and built this town has cursed them," Mrs Lopez accused.

Before the Madrigals could retort back, Elonzo marched up onto the scene, glaring at Mr and Mrs Lopez. "Careful how you speak. Say another word about our leaders and you will be exiled from the city. They gave us this place to serve as our home when we had lost everything. They welcome anyone in need of love and care. And it sickens me to hear how you badmouth their miracle. Mirabel and Juano are the kindest people I have ever met. I will not have you disrespect him in such a selfish way. And if you both so much as try to destroy the life Gabriella has built with a man she loves, you will answer to me," he crackled a knuckle. Antonio quivered a little. "Now I suggest you both leave,"

Mr and Mrs Lopez stomped off.

"Thank you," said Agustin.

"Don't push it," Elonzo growled. "I was sticking up for Mirabel and Juano. Not you two," he turned his back on them.

"Wait!" Julieta exclaimed. "Please will you tell Mirabel that we want to talk to her?"

Elonzo rolled his eyes. "You really think she wants to talk to all of you? After everything you've done to her?"

"Sir, we know we've made so many mistakes with her. But not all of us did anything wrong to her," Isabela said. "Mama and papa loved her exactly for who she was. And Antonio treated her more sisterly than I ever did. They were there for her and the rest of us weren't. Can't they at least talk to her?"

Elonzo closed his eyes and fumed. "As much as she's still upset with everything you all did to her, there are times when she has been wondering…about all of you," The Madrigals' lips parted. Alma turned her head a little. "She told me how she wished she could have been able to save the miracle before back at your old home. In a way, she felt guilty for what happened. Even though it wasn't her fault," The Madrigals felt so remorseful hearing his words. "I will pass on your message to her. But do not assume for a single moment you can win back her trust so easily," He walked off.

"Thank you!" exclaimed Julieta joyfully.

Elonzo stopped for a bit, absorbing her grateful words. Then he walked off again.

Observing him from a distance, Carlos narrowed his eyes.

"What are you thinking dad?" asked Alejandro.

"We need to find out about their miracle and why these clouds are above the village. For all, we know they could be doing something bad and I won't have them endanger these people,"

"But father…this city is meant…"

"Silence," snapped the cold-voiced father silencing his son at once.

"How exactly are we going to proceed with this?" questioned Mariana with an arrogant smirk.

"I want you to sneak into the Casita and find that candle. Alejandro, I want you to go into the forest and find out what those men are looking for,"

"Yes sir," Alejandro saluted, afraid to question orders or statements again. "And…what are you going to do?"

"That's none of your business," he said. "Just do what I say. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can rid this place of this miracle which is preparing us for our doom," he glanced up at the dark clouds. The sky was turning greener every hour and it was becoming so haunting for everyone. Some wanted to leave but others wanted to stay. They held onto hope in Mirabel and Juano knowing that if Milagro del Amor's people believed in them, then they had to too.

Mirabel was in her room staring out on the balcony into the distance. Although the barrier made their home invisible, they could see through clear as crystal at their home. Her heart sank watching the cloud's green colour. She felt the world pressing hard on her shoulders. Juano entered quietly but she didn't turn. He walked up behind her. "You know if you wanna talk I'm ready to,"

"I don't wanna talk," she lamented.

Juano wouldn't let her give in. He stood beside her leaning his hands on the rail. "I'm here for you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you,"

"How can they march into our city like this?" Mirabel questioned. "How can they just see me and expect me to come over and hug it out with them like it didn't matter that I wasn't treated as equally as them? And I'm worried about Bruno. And Isandra. What if the Lopezs take her and Gabriella away from us?"

Juano clasped her shoulder. "Mirabel, nothing is keeping them from taking our loved ones away. And it's not them we should be worried about. It's him,"

Mirabel turned to him seeing the fear in his eyes. "There's no way your dad would have come here if he hates magic,'

"If the drought has spread over too many civilisations in Columbia, there's no drought he wouldn't have come here to everyone else. And Mariana and Alejandro too. We need to make sure the miracle is completely safe. I only hope our friends have had some look finding some clues in the forest,"

"They've searched for a long time," Mirabel realised it was mid-afternoon. "Maybe some eyes in the sky would help," she activated her butterfly wings. She was about to fly off but Juano grabbed her hand.

"You shouldn't go off on your own. Let me come with you,"

"Juano, we need to find out what's happening to our home before something really bad happens. And I am not going to have it get taken away from us or used for granted if they try to steal it. I just want to go somewhere else to clear my head,"

"Okay. Please be careful," he implored.

Mirabel smiled a little and gave him a quick kiss before she took off into the sky with her golden wings, getting as far away as she could from the Casita towards the forest. HE stared out with concern and worry.

In the forests, the men had searched under every branch and pebble and tree but nothing had turned up. It seemed like they had wasted their time searching in an ordinary forest.

One man looked behind a tree which he realised was one he had looked behind before. But just when he was about to turn around, he saw a large slab of stone covering a hole that was carved into the tall mound of rock. "Over here!" he called.

The others rushed over and gawked at what he had found. On the slab of rock, there was a large insignia of green: a snake slithering up to an eye in a triangle. They approached it cautiously, feeling tingles under their skin like crawling reptiles.

"Alert the Casita!" one ordered. Some men dashed off. Seconds later, the sound of fluttering made them flash their faces up and they saw Mirabel descending towards them. "Hey guys," her voice was broken but she was doing her best to be strong.

"Mirabel, we've found something," the man showed her what they found.

She approached it and her eyes enlarged seeing the symbol on the rock. "Was there nothing else?"

"Nothing else I'm afraid," another said regrettably. "This is our only clue so far," They watched intensely as she stroked the slab of rock, ignoring the hole in her heart that was causing her agony. "Have any of you ever seen this symbol before?"

"No. But we can look," another offered.

"Yes. Please do. I have a feeling this is definitely connected to what's happening. If it can hold the answers to those clouds and what's happening to the candle, we can save our miracle and our home. Some of you need to guard this spot so no one comes near it. Especially the outsiders,"

"Absolutely," they saluted. She turned away and rubbed her forearms. They noticed how tense she was, how she failed to contain her tears.

"What is wrong Mirabel?" the tallest one asked, a kind man named Alcazar, Balthazar's committed father asked, comforting her. He wore a white shirt with brown trousers and gardening gloves and boots.

She sighed. "My family are here. And so are Isandra's and Carlos Sanchez,". The men gasped. "They're staying here with everyone who came to escape the droughts that affected their home….and I'm worried about what will happen. I'm not ready to face them," she sniffled.

Alcazar gave her a warm hug to comfort her. "There. There. It's all right. I'm sure Balthasar is already taking care of everything else,"

"I don't know how to handle so much here,"

"Mirabel…you don't have to keep worrying about us. You've given us so much and now we should give back to you. Why don't you and Juano focus on this issue whilst my friends and I watch over the refugees?"

She didn't answer for a moment. "Thank you, Alcazar. But if something happens, please let me know,". He nodded again. "And make sure Carlos Sanchez doesn't come here. He despises magic and if he tries to mess with what lies in that cave, it could be terrible consequences for our people,"

"You have my word, Mirabel,"

Hidden from sight, Alejandro watched the men at the cave but stayed glued to the sight of Mirabel. How much she had changed since he last saw her. She had butterfly wings and the gift of a mariposa. He eyed the green symbol on the stone with intensity; he had seen that before. He ducked back into the bushes and scurried away like a rat.

Pedro played with Harmony and Angelo in the game room. They played with their mind powers levitating things and reading each other thoughts as they played truth or dare. They even levitated themselves as they sat down and spun around in the air.

"All right. All right. Come down you two," he created a bed indoors for them to land on and they laughed for joy. He made a snowman and made it talk. "Hello. I'm Lula. And I like warm hugs,"

"I love you, Lula," Harmony hugged it and she and her brother played around with him. Pedro laughed in delight, happy that how they loved to play with his ice magic. But something inside him made him quiver. And not from the cold crawling under his skin. Back in the party ring, it was the first time in years he had ever met the rest of his family. His aunts. His uncles. His older prima and primos. He felt so nervous being around them regarding how they had treated his father before. He wondered what his Abeula looked like. Probably old. He thought to himself.

It wasn't too long ago that his parents told him why they hid him away ever since he was born; he didn't want to hate his grandmother whom his grandfather, his namesake, was married to but over time grew to resent her for trying to ruin his parents' happiness with each other.

Bruno and Gabriella entered the room and saw his slumped state.

"Hey. You okay?" Bruno sat beside him, Gabriella on his other.

"Not really. I've never told you both this before, but a part of me has always wanted to know about the rest of our family. As much as I hate Abeula for trying to get between you two, I didn't want to believe everyone else expressed only the worst of themselves,"

"It's okay miho," Gabriella side-hugged.

"What's gonna happen now that they're here?" he asked his father.

Bruno sighed. "I don't know. But it's more the other side of your family that I'm worried about. The Lopezs will accuse me of stealing your mama and prima,"

"Wait. You'll mean they'll try to take you from us?" Pedro was beginning to panic that he didn't realise he was making the ice spread over the room. His siblings freaked out and they ran into Bruno's arms.

Quickly, Gabriella hugged him. "It's okay, miho. It's okay. Just calm down. No one is going to take me away. No one is I promise,"

Pedro's breathing calmed and the room was warm again. From his mother's arms, he saw the scared faces of his siblings. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,"

"Don't be sorry Pedro," his papa solaced. "There are worse things than ice spreading. I will not let anyone take your mama away from us,"

"But what about the Sanchez family? What if they do harm to Juano?"

"Balthasar is going to keep a firm eye on them. I don't trust them one bit. And with everything that's happening here, we can't afford for anyone to tamper with the candle or whatever's causing those clouds. I only hope our friends have found a clue in the forest,"

Knocking echoed from the hallway. Juano made his way down the stairs. Isandra walked out of the room. He opened it and Elonzo walked inside.

"Elonzo…how are the refugees?"

"They're all settled in Master Juano,"

"Please just Juano," Juano didn't want to sound superior.

"They've all made camp and we're keeping a firm eye on them…especially you know who,"

Juano swallowed a lump in his throat. Pedro came over and held his hand to comfort; he was touched.

"I have a message from the Madrigals," Elonzo's announcement made everyone stiffen.

"If it's anything from my mama, it's 'no'," Bruno instantly answered.

"Not from them. Is Mirabel here?"

"She went to help the others in the forest. She just wanted to get somewhere to clear her head," said Juano.

"Well, it's a message from her parents and Antonio. Isabela told me that they never really did anything bad to her. They just really want to talk to her,"

The family shared glances. Could they still trust them? Before an answer could be spoken, loud fluttering echoed from outside and they saw Mirabel flying through a large open window and descending to the floor, her wings disappearing in a shower of butterflies.

Juano clasped her forearms. "Is everything all right?"

Mirabel wiped her wet face again. "Alcazar and his men found a strange symbol on a cave entrance in the forest. It was green like the clouds and…it looked…evil," The news horrified the family. Bruno covered his son's ears so he wouldn't hear any more bad news. "He's making sure no one goes near that place. But if we find out what that symbol is we can figure out what to do,"

"What did the symbol look like?" asked Elonzo.

"It was a snake slithering up to an eye in a triangle," Mirabel waved her hands and some golden butterflies formed the shape of the etch in the air. She saw the pale look on their close friend's face. "Have you seen it?"

"Yes. It is a symbol that hasn't been seen in many centuries. I know I've seen it somewhere in my books before. I start searching for it right away,"

"Thank you Elonzo,"

"That'll be all for now then. I'm sorry about how shocking today has been for all of you. But I want you to know you can count on us to keep you all safe if needed. We owe you all so much for forgiving us a home and a family; that is a debt we will repay," the loyal, devoted man left the family and Juano gently held Mirabel's hands, wishing to carry on his message.

"Mirabel…" he licked his lower lip and tilted his gaze away from her for a second. "…your parents and Antonio really want to see you,"

Mirabel shook her head. "No. No. I'm not ready,"

"It's the least you can do," Isandra spoke up. "Your parents love you much," she wept to speak her own words. "And so does Antonio. Maybe talking to them…might help,"

Mirabel hung her head to hide her face. "How would I even know what to say to them?"

Bruno approached her to offer condolence. "I know how much it hurts to want to talk to someone but you can't find the right words,"

"But I've caused them so much pain," Mirabel's heart was broken as she remembered how painful it was to leave that day. "How can I face them again?"

"They don't care about that. All they care about is that you're safe and sound. Perhaps Isandra is right. Talking to them will help,"

Mirabel reflected on her uncle and best friend's words for a moment. For a moment she was about to say 'No' again but then she remembered everything she missed about those three people. How Antonio was a wonderful room buddy. How her father used to sing lullabies to her as a kid and hold her tight. How much her mother told her how special she was with or without a gift. How could she spend another moment away from her? She wiped her tear away and nodded. "I'll do it,"

Bruno sniffled thinking of his beloved sister and hugged her tightly allowing her to cry into her shoulders.

That's another chapter done. I hope you all enjoyed it. How do you all feel about the reunion coming up? I thought Julieta, Agustin and Antonio should at least see her because they loved her a lot and tried to make her feel special. See you all soon