1. The Ceremony

It was the evening of July 7th and the whole of the town was making its way towards the colossal, magical house that was Casita. Everyone was buzzing with excitement, wondering what kind of new Gift was going to be granted this time (if any). But of course, even if there was no magical gift, the birthday celebration would continue no matter what. Isabela had beautifully decorated the walls with exotic flowers and was entertaining the guests with more floating petals. Pepa and Félix, who were both starting to show more gray hair, were dancing the night away. Mariano was chasing after his kids, Mateo and Gabriela who were playing hide and seek with him. Their older sister Rosita was sworn not to give out their location with her Gift. Their mother, Dolores, was greeting all the guests in the courtyard. She walked carefully because she was heavily pregnant once more. She had known right away that she was carrying twins for she could hear both of their tiny heartbeats. Amalia was at the piano playing a soft melody for all to hear. Luisa was watching her, looking very smitten, and she let out a deep sigh. Amalia saw her and blushed as usual.

Meanwhile, sitting alone in the nursery was the guest of honor, five-year-old Ingrid Madrigal.

Ingrid was in front of the little mirror, staring into her reflection. A little girl with long, wavy, brown hair and hazel-green eyes stared back at her. She had bangs that covered most of her forehead, her skin the same tone as her father's, and she had freckles appearing on her nose and cheeks. She was combing her fingers through one of her two, long, low pigtails. Her dress, the ribbons in her hair, and her slippers were all pearly white. She sighed to herself and then a moment later there was a soft knock on the door.

The door opened and Hanna walked in. She now wore her golden-brown hair tied back into a long ponytail, and she had a dress of light blue at the top and yellow at the bottom with little chameleons embroidered on the frills.

"Inga?" Hanna asked.

"Oh…hi Mama," Ingrid said softly.

Hanna walked over to the mirror and sat next to her daughter.

"My goodness! Look how beautiful you are," she said, gently squeezing Ingrid's shoulders.

Ingrid gave a sweet smile and hugged her mom.

"Are you nervous, Liebchen?" asked Hanna.

Ingrid thought about it for a moment. "Maybe a little," she says.

Hanna took a hairbrush from the nearby nightstand and gently ran it through one of Ingrid's pigtails.

"Don't you worry, sweetheart," says Hanna. "No matter what happens, remember that you are our daughter, and we love you no matter what."

"Yes, Mama," said Ingrid. "I know."

Hanna smiled at Ingrid at first, but she then noticed how quickly her daughter's expression turned a little sad.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Hanna asked, placing a hand on Ingrid's cheek. "Do you…not want to do this after all? Because there is no shame in saying 'no' to it."

"It's not that," said Ingrid, looking down at the floor.

There was a short pause. Hanna was confused at first, but then she saw the look in Ingrid's eyes that she had seen before. A look of loneliness and longing.

Hanna sighed. "Ingrid…please," she said. "We can talk about that some other time."

"But Mama!" Ingrid whined. "I want-, "

"I know what you want, Inga," Hanna interrupted. "And as I've told you…I cannot say for sure when it'll happen."

Ingrid pouted and Hanna let out another sigh. "I know you want it more than anything," she said." I'm guessing even more than a Gift like your father and cousins. Is that right?"

Ingrid said nothing.

Hanna looked at her right in the eye and said, "I understand your impatience. And we can talk about it some more at a different time if you want. But tonight…is about you. Your whole family is out there waiting for you. And they want to see your beautiful, happy face. When you're sad, it makes your family sad too because we love you so much. We want you to be happy."

Hanna gently brushes a strand of hair behind Ingrid's ear and adds, "When Ingrid is happy, she brings so much joy to everyone around her."

Ingrid's eyes widen a little. "Really?" she asked softly.

"Yes, of course, dear," said Hanna. "You can ask anyone, and they'll tell you the same thing."

Ingrid smiles and throws her arms around her mother. "Ok," she says.

Hanna lovingly hugs her back for a minute and asks, "Are you ready?"

Ingrid nodded.

The two of them walked out of the nursery and down the stairs to see Camilo waiting for them at the bottom step. Camilo whose curly hair had now grown out into a short ponytail. He had a little stubble on his chin, but it suited him well. His kind, hazel-green eyes found his wife and daughter coming towards him. He then smiled.

"There she is," he said.

"Papa!" said Ingrid with a smile. She runs up and gives Camilo a big hug.

"Look at you," says Camilo. "You're so elegant in that dress."

He takes Ingrid's hand and lets her twirl around in a circle, letting the skirt of her dress flare out. Ingrid giggled.

When she stopped, Camilo got down to his knees, so he was now face-to-face with her. "Now, remember," he said. "No matter what happens, we love you sooo much and we are proud of you every day."

"Yes, Papa," says Ingrid. "I love you too."

Camilo kissed Ingrid's forehead and both of her cheeks. Then he took Hanna by the hand and said, "We'll wait for you by the door. Okay?"

Ingrid nodded once more and watched her parents turn around to head out into the courtyard. She waited behind the delicate curtain of roses excitedly.

Once their daughter was out of their sight, Camilo gently took Hanna's face in his hands and kissed her deeply on the lips. Hanna couldn't help herself and closed her eyes, kissing him back. They broke apart to stare adoringly at one another.

"This is going to be a fantastic night. You know that?" he said, looking into her blue eyes.

"Yes, of course," said Hanna.

As they walked up the steps, Hanna stared at the new, sparkling door.

"Is something wrong, my love?" asked Camilo.

Hanna looked over at her husband and said, "Inga…she is still upset about not having siblings of her own. She wants to be a sister so badly."

"Oh, I see," said Camilo. "Well…it's not because of a lack of trying. We've just been having rotten luck. That's all."

"I did not need to know about that," said a voice from behind him. Camilo turned around to see Mirabel had followed them up the stairs.

"Do you mind?" he asked, a little annoyed. "We're having a serious conversation."

"I don't mind if you have that conversation, just don't do it here where everyone can hear you," said Mirabel.

Camilo rolled his eyes. He and Hanna then took their positions by the gleaming door. Eventually, the music became silent as did the crowd.

Mirabel cleared her throat.

"Sixty-six years ago, we were blessed with the gift of magic to protect our family and our community," she said. "But let us not forget, it isn't the magic that is our miracle. It is us. Our family…everyone here tonight. To have the magic continue to the next generation is wonderful." Mirabel glances at Rosita once before continuing. "And tonight, we come together once more to celebrate the birthday of another miracle. She is the sweetest, most understanding little girl. And she is so mature for her very young age. Everyone, I am of course speaking of our one and only, Ingrid Lena Madrigal."

The curtain rose and all the people within the house applauded as Ingrid stepped into the light. She looked around and saw her mama and papa waiting for her as promised. She saw her Tía Ami, with Isabela and Luisa. She saw Tío Antonio with his girl Alejandra grasping his arm. She saw her Tía Dolores, Tío Mariano, and her cousins. Her Abuela Pepa and Abuelo Félix smiled excitedly at her. Tía Julieta, Tío Agustín, and her great-grandmother Alma were there too. Bruno and his new wife Elena also smiled, gently applauding the little girl. Ingrid then took a deep breath in and slowly started to walk towards the steps herself.

She looked up at the sparkling door, climbing up the stairs a step at a time. She then got to the top to face Mirabel. Camilo had his arms lovingly around Hanna as they watched her.

Mirabel then took Ingrid's hands in her own very gently and looked into her eyes. "If you receive a magical Gift, do you promise to only use it for good?" she asked a little playfully.

Ingrid nodded. "I promise," she said softly.

Mirabel smiled and nodded at her. She gently let go of Ingrid's hands and guided her to the door. Ingrid looked up, watching the dancing lights all along the wood panels. Then she looked at the doorknob, with an embellished little 'I' on it.

With great curiosity, Ingrid slowly reached out with her right hand and touched the gleaming doorknob.

For a split second, nothing happened. But then the door shined even brighter. Brighter than any star. Brighter than any firework in the sky. The crowd gasped. A strange, intense sensation overcame Ingrid's little body, but then it settled once the door's light became softer.

Ingrid smiled and held her hands close to her heart and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth from within her. When she opened her eyes again, she looked up to see the door was now shining with an image of her on it. The Ingrid on the door was smiling softly with her eyes closed and she held a golden gleaming heart in her hands. Her name was spelled out in gold on the top. Ingrid turned around to face the crowd who were now cheering with excitement.

Hanna went over to hug her as did Camilo. The moment they touched Ingrid, both were now feeling excited. Even more excited than before. Camilo looked at his daughter again for a wild moment. Was this her new Gift? Was this wild and crazy excitement coming from her?

"Let's go see your new room!" Hanna exclaimed. Ingrid opened the door to her room and let out a gasp.

Before her were massive green hills, that almost looked like mountains. A waterfall gently flowed down from the tallest hill into the pool below. Halfway up another hill was a little house for Ingrid to sleep in. Though everyone was inside a room, they felt a gentle breeze blow past them, making the trees and grass sway and dance.

Ingrid's new room had become a hot spring.

Pepa put a hand to her heart and let out a gasp. "This place!" she said. "It's so…"

"Calming," Felix finished for her.

"Yes," said Pepa. "I would love to be in here every day!"

Rosita, Mateo, and Gabriela all ran up to congratulate their cousin on her new room. But then Rosita stopped in thought. "Wait," she said. "I don't get it. What's your Gift?"

Hanna approached them with an answer. "Well, I think…" she began. "My little Ingrid has an influence on everyone's mood."

All the children looked at her confused. "It means that if someone is feeling sad or upset, Ingrid can help them feel better no matter what. Her power is a soothing power. And this room," Hanna says looking around, "…is a place of healing."

"Well, then I am definitely going to be here a lot!" Pepa exclaimed. She goes up to hug Ingrid and sighs. "Oh! I can feel it! She is another healer for sure!"

"Peppy," Félix said, a little amused. "Don't squish the poor girl."

"It's ok, Abuelo," Ingrid said while hugging Pepa. She then gently let go and ran up to one of the hills, so she was now above the excited crowd that was still looking around in wonder. Once she had all their attention, Ingrid took a deep breath.

"LET'S HAVE A PARTY!" she shouted. At that moment, the whole room had turned a happy shade of pink.

Everyone cheered in response and danced the night away in the Casa Madrigal.