In spite of Alma Madrigal pretending to approve of Isabela's new appearance and Luisa's absence from work, Mirabel could tell that her grandmother was becoming increasingly agitated but was making an effort not to lose her temper in front of the guests as dinner with the Guzmans continued.
After Mariano had proposed and Agustin and Mirabel had played music to accompany the song Mariano had composed for the occasion, both families indulged in the celebratory cake and ice cream before Dolores's soon-to-be husband and his mother left for home.
"Camilo, please take Antonio upstairs," Alma instructed, looking at the rest of the family. "I need to speak with my daughters and granddaughters."
"Yeah, we, uh... Uh, Felix, Agustin, and I will clean up," Bruno stammered, recognizing the look in his mother's eyes.
Once the trio had gathered up most of the dishes and headed towards the kitchen, Alma slowly got to her feet, looking thoroughly furious. "I cannot believe that you would have acted so improperly and embarrassed the family like this!"
"Mama, what are you talking about?" Pepa snapped, irritably. "Mariano was practically fawning all over Dolores and Senora Guzman even complimented Isabela on her new look and donating her hair for a worthy cause!"
"The meal was hasty and thrown together!" Alma replied, gesturing to the table. "No company plates, no carefully planned dishes!" Looking at Julieta, her gaze narrowed as she demanded to know, "Did you feel that you didn't need to put forth the effort since it wasn't your daughter's engagement?"
"Abuela, enough!" Luisa cut in, trying to keep her cool. "Mama was upset about how you were handling Tio Bruno's return, and so Tia Pepa and everyone else decided to take care of dinner so she could calm down."
"I'm accustomed to emotional outbursts from your sister, Julieta, but I expected better from you," Alma admonished.
"Maybe Mama just needs a break from everything," Isabela said firmly, getting up and trying to control her plants. But her magic was reacting to her emotions, causing a dense group of Japanese honeysuckle and blackberry vines to grow behind her. "Mama is exhausted from working at the hospital, taking care of the family, and healing everyone in town, even for minor injuries. Can you believe that today was the first time in years that I heard Luisa genuinely laugh? But you don't care how overwhelmed we all are! As long as we continue to help the community, you don't give a damn about any of us!"
"Go to your room right now, young lady!" Alma ordered, her tone harsh.
Before anyone could defend Isabela, she crossed her arms, and replied, "No. I'm not a child anymore, Abuela. You can't order me, or Dolores, or Luisa around like when we were little girls."
Letting out a cry of pain as her Gift seemed to intensify, Dolores covered her ears as the sounds of cracking walls flooded her. "Stop it! Stop it! Make it go away!"
"Do you see what you're doing, Mama?!" Pepa cried as she went to embrace her daughter while a furious snowstorm started up, making everyone shiver. "What will it take for you to see how you've been hurting everyone?"
"Do you have any idea how it felt when you called my daughter a cripple?" Julieta asked, standing as well, looking angry and hurt. "All the times you put Mirabel down, you were putting me down with her. I'm sorry my Gift has limits, Mama. But guess what? I don't control what I can and can't heal! If you are looking for someone to hold responsible for me not being able to cure cancer or birth defects, do not point fingers at me! Blame whoever gave us our magical abilities in the first place!" The cracks in the house continued to spread faster the more Julieta and Abuela fought with Pepa's weather becoming more erratic while Bruno came out of the kitchen, pleading with his mother and sister to stop yelling at each other.
Worried for Camilo and Antonio, Mirabel wheeled quickly towards the elevator, but as she started crossing the courtyard, the house shook violently as it began to break apart.
"Abuela, we have to get out of the house!" Isa shouted in alarm, dashing after her sister. She let out a scream as part of Bruno's tower came crumbling down on top of her, knocking her to the ground.
"ISA!" Julieta shrieked in horror as Casita began pushing the rest of the family out of the house.
Wheeling towards her sister, Mirabel cried out as she was thrown from her wheelchair and onto the ground. Part of the mezzanine and the roof collapsed on top of her before she could move out of the way and she was knocked unconscious as she was hit in the head by falling stone.
Slowly raising herself up and turning towards Mirabel, Isabela tried to get to her feet to help her sister, but her back was screaming with pain and she couldn't move her legs. Gritting her teeth and ignoring the agony she was in, Isa crawled her way over to Mira, throwing herself over her just as Casita used the last traces of magic to shield the pair from the falling debris.
x
After everything had calmed down, Felix, Pepa, and Agustin looked after Dolores, Camilo, and Abuela while Luisa and Julieta searched through the debris, feeling a sense of relief as they discovered Isabela and Mirabel. Both girls had strong heartbeats, and with Julieta's assistance, Luisa moved the doors and furniture that had shielded her sisters from against the larger chunks of stone and building materials.
Looking over to her family, Julieta called out, "If anyone has their phone, we need at least two ambulances!"
Camilo gingerly held up his own cellphone, signaling that he was doing just that, while Agustin made a makeshift sling to immobilize his sobrino's broken collarbone.
Turning her attention back to Isa and Mira, Julieta gently rolled Isabela onto her back, stiffening as her daughter gave her a scared look as she murmured, "I can't feel my legs. Mami, my back hurts and I can't move or feel my legs."
Swearing as she looked up at Luisa and Bruno, Julieta nodded towards the broken shutters before pulling off her apron and carefully wrapping it around Isa's neck. "Bring those boards over here! Isa has a spinal cord injury. We need to keep her from moving until the paramedics get here."
"Mira's got open fractures to her legs," Bruno reported, pulling off his ruana and quickly tearing it into strips before tying them about the injuries to prevent any blood loss.
"And she's unconscious, so I don't know if she's got any spinal injuries as well," Julieta replied, feeling Isabela's arms, legs, and chest for any other fractures or breaks. Using more strips of her brother's ruana, she secured Isa to the broken shutters to keep her daughter as immobile as possible.
Looking over at her sister as best she could without moving her neck, Isabela reached out her hand until she could touch Mirabel's shoulder. "Mami, is she going to be alright?"
Shaking her head as she inspected her youngest daughter's injuries, Julieta's expression was grim as she turned to Isa. "Mira wasn't wearing her braces and her legs were crushed. She'll be lucky if the surgeons can fix her up."
"What do you mean?" Bruno wanted to know, his heart sinking as he thought about sitting with the family at Mirabel's funeral. 'If she dies, it will be because of me. Because of my vision...'
Realizing that her brother had assumed the worst, Juli's voice was heavy with emotion as she said, simply, "Mirabel could end up losing both her legs."
"22-year-old female, trauma to the spine resulting in loss of sensation and motor function below the waist!" Paramedic Victor Sanchez reported as he steered Isabela's gurney into a trauma room where the doctors and nurses were standing by.
Julieta was filled with fear as she watched her eldest daughter put on monitors and IVs and x-rayed. The trauma team quickly cut her new dress off in order to conduct a thorough examination for any internal injuries or additional fractures and the sight seemed to make the whole situation painfully real.
As everyone used the familiar, yet cold medical jargon - ordering tests and calling out stats - Julieta longed to remind her colleagues, 'My daughter's name is Isabela Rosalyn Madrigal. She makes cacti grow when she's angry. Vanilla orchids bloom around her when she gets scared... Or she used to grow them...' Gripping Isa's hand tightly before she was sent up to the surgical floor to repair her spinal injury, Julieta silently tried to reassure her little girl, "You'll be fine, my little wildflower."
Going next door where the trauma team was working on Mirabel, Julieta caught Paula Nicholae's eye as she asked, "How's Mira?"
"It's not good," Paula replied, shortly, as she called for a chest tube kit. "Mirabel's right lung is collapsed, and she's got blunt force injuries to the abdomen with internal bleeding. We won't know about head trauma until we get her up to radiology."
As much as it hurt Julieta to leave, she reminded herself that the other doctors needed room to work, and she'd only be in the way.
She wasn't a doctor right now... she was a scared mother wondering if she was going to lose her children.
Finding the rest of her family - minus Bruno and Dolores - gathered in one of the larger exam rooms, Julieta slowly sank down onto a stool, rubbing her face with both hands before addressing the others. "Mira and Isa are going into surgery. We won't know anything for a while. Mirabel has a collapsed lung and internal bleeding in addition to the leg injuries. Isabela..." Taking a deep breath, she pressed on. "She has a complete spinal fracture between the 9th and 8th thoracic vertebrae."
"What does that mean?" Antonio asked as he sat on his mother's lap.
"It means," Julieta explained, simply. " - that Isa can't move her legs or feel anything below her waist. She's what's known as paraplegic. And even if I did still have my Gift, it doesn't work on complete spinal injuries."
Wincing as he tried to adjust the immobilizer sling his right arm was in, Camilo asked, "What about Mirabel?"
"They inserted a tube into her lung to reinflate it," Julieta replied, gesturing on her own body for Antonio's benefit. "And when the surgeons open her up, they'll see what sort of internal injuries she has and they'll fix it, if they can."
From her seat on the examination bed, Alma tentatively asked about Mira's legs, her eyes full of worry as she recalled the open fractures and Julieta reporting that there was no muscle response.
"Best guess?" Julieta shrugged, thinking of the trauma surgeon asking her for consent to operate as needed. "If there's no chance of meaningful recovery... transfemoral amputation of both limbs." Catching her mother's look, Julie quickly held up a hand to forestall any further comments. "Don't, Mama. I don't want to hear it right now."
"Hear about what?" Antonio pressed, looking from his tia to his abuela and back again.
Before Julieta could respond, the door opened up and Bruno and Dolores came in, Pepa giving her daughter her chair as she asked, "What did the audiologist say?"
Dolores turned to Bruno, looking nervous. When her tio raised his hands to use sign language to repeat the question, she turned to her mother, shaking her head.
"Her hearing is gone, Pepa," Bruno reported, sadly. "Hearing aids might help restore some sounds, but right now... Dolores is almost completely deaf. I-I don't know how much sign language you all remember, but it's something we're all going to have to get back in the habit of, I think." Catching Dolores's signing, he turned to Julieta and asked about Mirabel and Isabela.
While Julieta caught the two up, Alma slipped out of the room and headed upstairs to the hospital chapel, sitting down in the pews, tears streaming down her face as she opened up the locket with Pedro's picture. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, quietly. "I've hurt our family... I destroyed our home... Our nietas will never be the same again... All because I was afraid of losing some magic Gifts. I wanted to protect our family, not tear them apart. I thought that if everyone worked hard enough to strengthen our miracle, we would never have to worry about being driven from our home again."
"What do you mean, 'you didn't want us to be driven from our home again'?" Luisa asked as she sat down next to her abuela with Camilo sitting on the other side.
Alma leaned back, letting the flood of memories wash over her. "Our village was invaded, and your Abuelo Pedro and I had to gather up what meager belongings we could before taking our babies far away. But the men who followed us, they murdered Pedro, and as they cast his body aside... I don't know if it was my grief or my cries to spare my children... But suddenly, the men were expelled from the land and the mountains grew tall, protecting us all from harm."
"But people began traveling in and out of Encanto," Luisa reminded her abuela. "That's how we grew into such a large town. And when we got our Gifts, you said we needed to help make the community stronger."
Shaking her head, Alma took her grandchildren's hands, giving them a remorseful smile as she went on. "Our miracle was never the magic, or our home. It was the second chance to be safe and happy. But as my anger and grief over Pedro's sacrifice worsened, you all were given magic to help me see the truth." Touching Luisa's cheek, she explained, "I was so scared that you and Isabela would be lost to us. And so, your Gifts gave you strength to survive and help our family grow stronger."
Turning to Camilo, Alma's smile faded as she took in the teenager's injured arm. "By the time you and Mirabel were born, I'm sure the miracle didn't know how to help me. So, while you were given the ability to become anyone you wanted - or I needed - Mirabel was denied her Gift so that I would have to see her for who she really was - not for her magic, or... or for what disabilities she was born with." Turning towards the front of the chapel, Alma recalled when Mirabel was born and the doctors spoke to her, Julieta, and Agustin about how to handle Mira's birth defects.
"We were told that it would be best if Mirabel's legs were amputated shortly after birth," Alma explained. "With time, she would regard walking with prosthetics as normal as putting on a pair of shoes. But I worried about what the community would think about my own granddaughter missing her legs. I made it out to be Julieta's fault and so she believed that she had to repair Mira's legs. Operation after operation, but to no avail... And then Mirabel's door vanished, and I thought that it meant that she was cursed to remain disabled forever."
"You told Mama that Mira needed to work harder on physical therapy," Luisa remembered, frowning slightly. "Mirabel has always tried her hardest to be like everyone else... To prove to you that she's not broken."
Alma considered the assessment and she merely nodded, silently.
Mirabel was never weak.
She was the strongest member of the family: never giving up when she was tired or put down by the people in town.
And she worked harder than anyone to make the family proud and help anyone who needed her.
"First thing in the morning," Alma stated, sitting up straighter with a look of resolve and promise in her eyes. " - I am going to talk to the town elders and I will ask for help to rebuild our Casita. We have spent many years helping the town. It is time for them to help us."
Isabela's upper body was wracked with pain as she gradually regained consciousness. Unable to move, she looked around, blinking in surprise as she saw Bruno curled up in a chair nearby. "Tio Bruno? Where're Mama and Papa?"
Bruno woke as one of his rats tickled under his chin. Tucking the rodent under the blanket he'd been wrapped up in and warning it to stay hidden, he went over to a corner, rousing his sister and brother-in-law.
"Gracias a Dios," Agustin murmured, brushing Isabela's hair from her face. "You scared us, Flor Silvestre."
"Where's Mirabel?" Isa wanted to know as she tried looking about the room. Feeling the brace keeping her back and neck immobile, tears stung her eyes as she tried moving her foot, but to no avail. "I'm paralyzed... aren't I?" Catching her mother's nod, she took a deep breath before asking her next question. "Am I going to get better?"
Slowly raising Isa's bed so her daughter was sitting up more, Julieta sat down before shaking her head, taking Isabela's hand as she explained. "The magic is gone, Isa. And even if I had my Gift... your spinal injury is complete."
Repeating her first query about Mirabel, Isabela frowned at her parents' silence. "Mami, Mira's not...? Please, tell me Mirabel is okay."
"Mirabel is in the Intensive Care Unit," Bruno replied, simply. "She's got a serious head injury, internal bleeding... Sh-She's in a coma right now. We, uh... W-We don't know if she'll wake up. And - And even if she does..."
"Mira sustained severe injuries to her legs," Julieta continued, her eyes wet with tears. "Fortunately, she has enough viable limbs left that she can be fitted for prosthetics. That's assuming that there's no brain damage resulting from her head injury..."
"I need to see her," Isabela implored as she tried to sit up, whimpering in pain as the movement jarred her back. "Mami, I need to see Mira."
Julieta shook her head and tried hard not to start crying as she replied, "Isa, you're in a really fragile condition right now. Moving too much could make your spinal injury worse. But don't worry, I'll make sure you get to see Mirabel as soon as I can, okay?"
Unable to nod her head, Isa just muttered, "Okay," before trying to think of anything other than her little sister never waking up again.
(A/N: This scene is basically what was going on in Mirabel's mind while she was unconscious. I wasn't going to explain, but after a while, I figured just a brief heads-up was probably a good idea.)
X
Opening her eyes, Mirabel was surprised to find herself - not amidst the ruins of her crumbled Casita - but on the bank of a gently flowing river bathed in sunlight.
Sitting up, she was further astonished to discover that her legs didn't hurt and as she got to her feet, she marveled at how easy walking was as she looked about. "Hello? Is anyone here?"
"Mirabel..."
Turning towards the opposite bank of the river, Mira watched a tall man come towards her, the water barely making a ripple as he approached. With a slight gasp, her eyes widened as she recognized him instantly.
"Look at you, mi mariposa preciousa," Pedro Madrigal said with a smile as he joined his granddaughter. "It's so wonderful to see you properly after all these years."
Her eyes filling with tears as she threw her arms around her abuelo, she sobbed, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt our family! I didn't mean to destroy our home and our miracle!"
Wrapping Mirabel in a warm embrace, Pedro kissed the top of her head before soothing, "My poor butterfly... I'm the one who should be apologizing. All the pain you've suffered... the pressures you all have been under... It all began with me."
Pulling away, the two sat on the edge of the river, their feet touching the cool water. "What do you mean? How're you responsible for all this?" Mirabel wanted to know.
"Long ago - centuries before you were even born," Pedro began, looking out at the river. " - this river was the sight of another miracle."
Sitting up straighter, Mirabel was captivated as her grandfather shared the legend he'd been told.
"The daughter of a poor farmer met the son of a handsome and wealthy trader one night and the pair began a hidden love affair," Pedro explained. "But their families forbade their union and sent men out to find them. But the couple made their way through the forests and came across this river."
"Their pursuers found them anyway," Mirabel guessed, thinking of how she would have told the story.
Pedro confirmed the ending with a nod, but a smile crept across his face as he continued. "God spoke to the couple, making them an offer - a single miracle in exchange for their devotion to His church in their new land. They agreed, and so God caused the river to overflow, washing away the men."
As Mirabel contemplated the tale, her brow furrowing as she queried, "So, is that how we received our miracle?"
"In my attempt to protect my family and the other villagers from the soldiers, I prayed to God for help," Pedro explained. "And after I died, God revealed to me that He not only created a haven for everyone, but also wanted to give me an opportunity to be reunited with my family," he concluded, giving Mirabel a knowing grin.
"You're Casita," Mirabel realized, suddenly feeling even worse for contributing to the destruction of the Madrigal home.
Pedro leaned back, his tone wistful yet somber as he recalled the first few years of his new role. "I tried to help Alma care for our children, but as they grew, I knew that I needed to do more. I gave Bruno, Pepa, and Julieta Gifts to help their mother look to the future with optimism... to heal the hurts she still carried with her."
Mirabel sat in silence for a while, but after a few moments, she realized that this was her only chance to get an answer to the question she'd been holding her entire life. "Why were Camilo and Antonio born without any problems? Isabela had all those allergies when she was little... Luisa was premature... Dolores's ear problems..."
Getting to his feet before pulling his nieta up as well, Pedro's eyes were filled with regret as he replied, "My family was prone to birth defects. My sister was born blind... My brother was born with what's now known as Down's Syndrome. So, when you, your sisters, and your prima came of age and received your Gifts, I tried to fix what ailments you'd been born with."
"But you didn't fix me!" Mirabel snapped, angrily. "I didn't get a Gift! And my legs... Abuelo, why was I left broken?"
Taking Mirabel's hands, Pedro brought her back to the house and the night when her door disappeared. "You didn't know at the time, but behind the walls, my magic and strength were starting to weaken. Maintaining the miracle was getting harder and healing Dolores, Isabela, and Luisa took more effort than I'd anticipated. I had a choice that night," Pedro went on, watching as 5-year-old Mirabel looked at her abuela, a heartbroken expression on her face. Turning to present-Mirabel, he said, "I could give you your Gift... or I could heal your legs." With a shrug, he added, "Your Gift was more important, Mira."
"What Gift?" Mirabel repeated, still confused. "I never got any magic!"
"I provided you with all the love I had," Pedro calmly explained. "My intention was for you to be a guiding light for our family and to have the freedom to pursue any path in life. Consider this... You were able to excel in any hobby you took up, with seemingly little effort. Your affection for our family has never wavered, even in your darkest moments. I apologize for not being able to gift you with your own unique talent, but I did my very best."
As the riverbank returned, Mirabel took a step back, a sudden feeling of foreboding coming over her as she thought about the house falling. "Abuelo Pedro... Are you here telling me all this because... Because you want me to go with you?"
"No!" Pedro exclaimed at once, stepping forward and embracing his granddaughter once again. "No, Mira... I was never here to take you to the other side... I only wanted to help you understand."
"Understand what?" Mira asked, still a trifle perplexed.
Stepping back and raising Mira's chin gently, Pedro planted a kiss on her forehead and then beamed at her proudly. "The love you have for your family is your true Gift. And that Gift is still intact, despite the fading magic. Your family needs to rediscover that love, and you, Mirabel, are the only one who can guide them towards it. Right now, you are precisely what the family needs – you are their new miracle."
Filled with uncertainty, Mirabel's voice shook as she asked, "How do I become a miracle?"
Pedro smiled as he began to fade and he said, simply, "When you're ready, you'll know."
Dashing forward, Mirabel forgot that she was on the bank of the river, and she promptly fell in, surprised at how deep the water really was. "Wait! Help! Abuelo Pedro! Help me!" But despite fighting to keep her head above water, Mira found herself sinking deeper and deeper, the light from the surface growing more and more faint.
