A sharp knock on her door caused Isabela to stir, she was exhausted, but there was no sleeping past her morning wake-up call. She groaned softly to herself and was about to pull herself up when she heard the sharp sound of a dog barking. Dog barking, why was there a dog in… Isa blinked her eyes wildly as her brain finally finished waking up. Not a dog, Hector, barking at the door to her room in the boarding house where she was living. There was no wake-up call, no endless list of chores to be done, and no Abuela breathing down her back.

She had just about decided to go back to sleep when the knocking increased, no doubt to be heard over Hector's none stop barking. She probably should stop him before the other tenants complained. Technically Senora Diaz's boarding house had a no-pet policy but since Hector was technically a plant, and she was a Madrigal, Senora Diaz let him slide.

"Mrrow," Rosita called out pressing her head against Isabela's side, purring loudly.

"Good morning to you too, Rosita," she said brightly, scratching her between the ears.

"Isabela!" Senora Diaz's voice called out, "I know you're in there, I can hear that dreadful plant creature of yours."

Isabela jumped out of bed, pulling her robe on as a vine snaked out and opened the door.

Hector immediately jumped up growling and nipping at the elderly woman's ankles.

"Hola, Senora, can I help you with something?" Isabela asked, wrapping a vine around Hector and yanking him back towards her.

"Several of the other girls complained to me last night that you attacked them. Is that true?"

"I wouldn't say I attacked them," Isabela insisted as Rosita plodded forward sniffing at the landlord, "I just gave them incentive to stop spreading nasty rumors about my hermanita."

"By dangling them upside down in the living room?"

Isabela shrugged, "Whatever gets them to stop," she said.

Senora Diaz gave her a look, a look that Isabela used to see on her abuela's face whenever she looked at Mirabel, one that she now knew was thinly veiled disgust, "I want you out of my house by the end of the day," She announced, "I can't have you attacking my other tenants and bringing plant creatures to life every which way," she took her foot and kicked Rosita, causing Isabela to send vines out to snatch the cat away from harm.

"I do not bring plant creatures to life on a mere whim," Isabela snapped, cradling Rosita in her arms, "It takes a very deep emotional connection to summon that type of magic."

"I don't care how the magic works, I want it out of my house."

…
Julieta sighed as she stepped out of the nursery, her mother was still in a deep coma, if she didn't come too soon, she'll starve to death. And while that would solve the issue they had with her, she also didn't want to lose the only parent she had left.

The sound of a young infant crying pulled her out of her thoughts as Bruno approached her nervously, rats clinging to his shoulders and hair and Panzy screaming in his arms.

Alma winced as she heard the screaming, it was obvious that the baby was uncomfortable. "Just like Bruno," she said softly.

Pedro gave her a look, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"The baby, she's colicky, just like Bruno was at that age. He was constantly screaming and crying and I could never find the right thing to do to help him."

"Juli, help," Bruno exclaimed, running up to his older sister, and thrusting the baby into her arms, "I've fed her, I've burped her, her diaper is clean, but she won't stop screaming!" he looked up at Julieta with tears in his green eyes, "I'm the worst padre in the world," he cried out, "I can't help her."

Julieta chuckled, "We'll figure this out, I promise," she said, "She's probably just colicky, try rubbing her belly, or swaddling her with a warm water bottle, that should help."

Alma snorted, "He doesn't know how to handle a child that young, he should give her to a family that knows what they're doing."

Pedro gave her a look, "If I remember correctly, you didn't know how to take care of three children that young by yourself, yet you never even considered giving our children away."

"That's different, we're family, we have the same blood, and we had to make things work."

Pedro sighed loudly, "Blood means nothing," he insisted, "The only thing that matters is love, which just happens to be the one thing you don't have."

"I do love!"

"Maybe the miracle, and the candle, but not the family, not what's important."

"If I didn't protect the miracle, the candle would have gone out, and our family would have been in danger."

"If that was the case, why is the candle burning so much brighter now than it did when you were in charge?" Pedro demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Alma demanded.

"Haven't you noticed how much brighter the candle is now that Mirabel is Candle Holder?"

Alma just stared at him for a full minute before scuffing, "Don't be ridiculous, Mirabel's just a teenager, she doesn't know a thing about what she is doing. The Miracle will burn out now that nobody is using their gifts the way they are supposed to."

Pedro groaned, running a hand down his face, "Nothing I say is going to get through to you, is it?" he asked, "We're running out of time together, you know. You'll have to wake up soon, or you'll never wake up."
"I don't understand what you're saying."

"I'm saying that you have two days to humble yourself and open your eyes to the harm you caused this family or you will never wake up, ever!"

"You make that sound like a bad thing," Alma scoffed, "At least we'll be together."

"That's the thing Alma, we can't be together, two days and we will never see each other ever again, your sins and crimes against the family will prevent it."

"But I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Okay fine, you haven't done anything wrong," Pedro snapped, "Die for all I care, I'm trying to save you."

Alma opened her mouth to say something, but Pedro was already gone. She hated it when he disappeared like that.

Bruno's rats had abandoned him, tired of the ceaseless crying coming from the small bundle that he held in his arms as he paced endlessly in the living room, "Shh, shh, it's okay, Papi's got you, papi's got you." he muttered as the door leading to Luisa's house opened, and Isabela stepped through, Hector at her feet and a green cat in her arms.

She pulled her feet, "At least my children are quiet," she said, as Hector let out a howl, "Most of the time," she concluded, setting the cat down to scoop up Hector, 'Let's not get into a screaming contest with the baby, si." she pleaded, before looking up at Bruno, "Where's Mama?"

Bruno pointed toward the ceiling with his lips, "She was checking on Mirabel."

"She's still sleeping?" Isabela asked, "It's almost lunchtime!"

"Papa did say that summoning him would drain her," Bruno suggested.

"WAHHH!" Panzy screamed, forcing Bruno to turn his attention back to her.

"It's okay, you're okay, Papi's here, Papi's got you, shh, you're okay," Bruno insisted, patting her back gently.

Isabela wrinkled her nose, "I'm glad I don't have children. I don't know how Mama and Tia did it three times," she announced before patting her tio on his shoulder, "Good luck," she offered, "Come on Hector, Rosita, let's go find your Abuela, she needs to meet Rosita."

…
Julieta sighed as she stepped out of Mirabel's room. Her youngest was still fast asleep, unconscious just like Alma was. At least Mirabel didn't seem as lifeless as Alma did. She tossed and turned like she always did while she slept.

Something pressed against her leg, causing her to smile, "I know, Amorcita, you must be hungry, aren't you?"

"That's not Amorcita," Isabela's voice called out, "I think Rosita likes you."

Julieta glanced at Isabela, surprised to see her, before glancing down at her feet, where a green cat was brushing up against her, "What the.,.?"

"Apparently my magic works on dried rose petals as well," Isabela announced, "That's the stuffed cat that Mirabel made me for my quinceanera. Camilo believes that Abuela probably went into my room without permission and went through my stuff. Camilo found Rosita on the compost pile."

Julieta sighed, "Sometimes I hope that Alma doesn't wake. Every day I learn more and more about her crimes, and it makes me sick because I allowed them to happen right beneath my own nose."

Isabela shook her head, "You are a wonderful Mama, and you know it," she insisted, giving her a hug, "Once you learned that something wasn't right, you put an end to it. You took us out of an abusive situation. You ended my arranged marriage, assured that Luisa got to marry the man of her dreams, and are making sure that Mirabel has the love and support she needs to fulfill her prophecy. If that isn't the world's greatest Mama I don't know what is."

Julieta smiled, giving Isabela a squeeze, "Thanks, Mija, I think I needed to hear that."

"Anytime Mama."

"Well I better go check on your father, he was doing the chores around the farm and I'm sure he broke something by now," Julieta shook her head, a slight smile on her lips. She made her way to the stairs before glancing at her daughter, "You staying for lunch?"

Isabela nodded with a snort, "It's either stay for lunch or eat my own cooking," she insisted, before wrinkling her nose, "And I'm quickly learning that I can't cook."

"Well then, wash up and meet me in the kitchen. You're twenty-one years old, you need to know how to cook. I'm not going to be around to feed you all the time."

"But you'll always be there in case I'm in trouble or need something, right?" Isabela asked, following her down the stairs, "Like if, for example, I get evicted for attacking the other tenants and having a magical stuff animal come to life?"

Julieta groaned, "You attacked the other tenants in your boarding house?" she demanded.

"They deserved it, they were talking bad about Mirabel and called you a liar, I had no choice!"

"Oh, Isa," Julieta said, trying her best to disguise the amusement in her voice. A couple of months ago, she wouldn't have even dreamed of Isabela attacking anyone.

"I'm sorry Mama, I lost my temper," Isabela said, "So can I stay?"

"I'll be happy to let you stay, however, at the moment we just don't have the room for you, your abuela is in the nursery already," Julieta pointed out.

"Oh, I didn't think of that."

"I'll talk to your tia and see if perhaps you can move back into your old room in the Original Casita," Julieta offered, "I'm sure that she won't mind. Now if you don't mind I really do need to find your father before he kills himself."