Chapter 1
La Familia Madrigal
Camilo was awake early. It was unusual, but he couldn't help himself. He was too excited for today. He had to look at it again. A new door had randomly appeared. Dolores and Mariano weren't married yet, and Julieta and Pepa were done having kids. With all that considered, all eyes turned to Mirabel. It was as though the Miracle was asking for a second chance, to give her a gift. The family decided to give her a ceremony and would happily accept whatever would happen.
After seeing the new door, Camilo made sure to keep quiet so Mirabel would still sleep. She was a light sleeper and an early bird. But he made sure to wake earlier and set the table for her. He wanted to make her day no matter what, even if that meant stealing her chores.
Three of Antonio's friends had run up to the house. The rumors about the new door had spread and the village was anxious about the ceremony.
"Hey! When's the ceremony?!" Juancho shouted from outside.
"Mirabel's ceremony is tonight." Camilo answered through the window.
"What's her gift?" Alejandra asked.
"We're gonna find out."
"You can shapeshift, right?" Cecilia asked.
"Who's asking?" Camilo smirked.
"Us!"
"Well, 'us,' I can't just talk about myself. I'm only a part of the amazing Madrigals."
"Who are all the amazing Madrigals?"
"You're not gonna leave me alone, are you? Casita, help me out! Drawers! Floors! Doors! Let's go! This is our home; we've got every generation. So full of music, a rhythm of its own design. This is my family, a perfect constellation. So many stars and everybody gets to shine. Whoa! But let's be clear, Abuela runs this show. Whoa! She led us here so many years ago. Whoa! And every year, our family blessings grow. There's just a lot you simply got to know, so, Welcome to the family Madrigal. The home of the family Madrigal. We're on our way! Where all the people are fantastical and magical. I'm part of the family Madrigal!"
The family got ready and left the Casita, meeting Antonio's friends in the village. Mirabel was out shopping for thread. She was helping with Dolores's wedding dress.
"Oh my gosh, it's them!" The kids cheered as they began to crowd Mirabel.
"What are the gifts again?"
"I can't remember all the gifts!"
"But I forgot who's who!"
"All right, all right, relax." Mirabel giggled after purchasing her thread.
"Tranquilos, por favor." Camilo added, continuing to entertain the kids so Mirabel could have some space.
"It is physically impossible to relax!" Alejandra said.
"Tell us everything! Show us your shape-shifting!" Cecilia asked.
"Just tell us what everyone can do!" Juancho shouted.
"And that's why coffee's for grown-ups." Camilo replied, taking the coffee cup away from Juancho. He continued his song. "My Mama, Pepa, her mood affects the weather. When she's unhappy, well, the temperature gets weird. My tío Bruno-"
"Welcome home, Senor Bruno!" The townspeople cheered at the name.
"He can see the future, but only in emergencies. Oh! And that's my Tia, Julieta, here's her deal. Whoa! The truth is she can heal you with a meal. Whoa! Her recipes are remedies for real. If you're impressed, imagine how I feel- Tia!" Camilo shrugged as Julieta gave him a kiss on the cheek, as she would with her daughters, but also did it to Dolores, Camilo, and Antonio.
"Welcome to the family Madrigal. The home of the family Madrigal. Hey, coming through! I know it sounds a bit fantastical and magical. But I'm part of the family Madrigal. Two guys fell in love with family Madrigal. And now they're part of the family Madrigal. So, yeah, my dad married Pepa. And Tio married Julieta. That's how Abuela became an abuela Madrigal, let's go, let's go!
"We swear to always help those around us. And earn the miracle that somehow found us. The town keeps growing, the world keeps turning. But work and dedication will keep the miracle burning. And each new generation must keep the miracle burning!" Camilo paused, watching as his family went around town, using their gifts to help others in the town. Julieta was happy to stand in town with a line of people with injuries and ailments. The town doctor would often work alongside her, helping people who may not be able to get to Julieta. Pepa would often check on the crops to make sure they were watered, usually Isabela would tag along and grow crops and herbs for the village. Bruno would help Mirabel with chores or deliver arepas with the town doctor- sometimes Abuela would join them. Luisa would help with heavy lifting, as she enjoyed helping. But the family didn't want her to overwork herself again, so they made sure she was taking breaks. Dolores would help find missing children and pets. Antonio wasn't expected to help as much, as he was only five and deserved more fun with his gift. But he found creative ways to help; making coatis warm up Abuela's seat, asking the donkeys to go back to their pen so Luisa wouldn't have to carry them every day, and translating Bruno's rat telenovelas, as the rats liked acting, and wanted to do more for Bruno's shows. He even asked the bees to stop stinging his Tio Agustin.
"Wait, who's your siblings and who's your cousins?" Alejandra asked, interrupting Bruno's thoughts.
"There are so many people!" Cecilia said.
"How do you keep them all straight?" Juancho asked.
"Okay, okay, okay, okay! So many kids in our house. So, let's turn the sound up. You know why? I think it's time for a grandkid round-up!"
"Grandkid round-up!" The local musicians joined in.
"My sister Dolores can hear a pin drop. Antonio talks to animals. Prima Mirabel gets her gift today! My older cousins, Isabela, and Luisa. One strong, one graceful. Perfect in every way!"
"Isabela!"
"Grows a plant and the town goes wild!"
"Isabela!"
"She's a perfect golden child."
"Luisa!"
"And Luisa's super strong. The beauty, brain, and the brawn do no wrong." Camilo continued as he and the kids watched Luisa move a bridge.
"Luisa, come eat lunch!"
"Coming Abuela!" Luisa yelled, running across the bridge.
"That's life in the family Madrigal! Now you know the family, Madrigal! Where all the people are fantastical and magical! That's who we are in the family Madrigal, adiós!" Camilo ended his song and turned to leave, only to find Cecilia standing right in front of him.
"But you can shapeshift, right?" Cecilia asked again.
"Yeah, he can!" Alejandra said.
"Show us!" Juancho insisted.
"Yeah, show us!" The other children chimed in.
Someone from the musician group tossed an accordion to Camilo.
"Ha!" Camilo hesitantly continued his song. "Well, I gotta go, the life of a Madrigal. But now you all know the family, Madrigal. I never meant this to get autobiographical. So just to review the family Madrigal…Let's go!"
"But what about Camilo?" The kids asked.
"It starts with Abuela, and then Mama Pepa, she handles the weather-" Camilo continued.
"But what about Camilo?"
"My Tia, Julieta, can make you feel better with just one arepa-"
"But what about Camilo?"
My Tio Agustin, well, he's accident-prone but he means well-"
"But what about Camilo?"
"Hey, you said you want to know what everyone does, I got siblings and cousins and-"
"Camilo!"
"My prima Mira won't stop until she makes you smile today!"
"Camilo!"
"My sister Dolores can hear this whole chorus a mile away!"
"Camilo!"
"Look, it's Mr. Mariano, hey, you can marry my sister if you wanna-"
"Camilo!"
"But between you and me, she's kind of a prima donna- Yo, I've said too much and thank you but I really gotta go!"
"Camilo!"
"My family's amazing!" Camilo tried to walk away from the kids, back towards the Casita.
"Camilo!"
"And I'm in my family, so-"
"Camilo!"
"Well..."
"Camilo!" Abuela bellowed from the open front door. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, they were just…asking about the family and…" Camilo stammered before he was interrupted by the kids.
"Camilo was going to show us his shape shifting!" Cecilia yelled.
"He was about to show us his super awesome gift!" Alejandra added.
"Oh," Dolores appeared next to Abuela. "Camilo's gift didn't come back. Hm!" When both had retreated into the house, the kids looked up at Camilo.
"Does that mean…you lost your gift?" Cecilia asked, concern in her voice. Cecilia always seemed sweet and sensitive. Camilo could see why she and Antonio got along so well.
"Uh, yes. After the house was rebuilt, and Mirabel restored the magic…my gift…it didn't come back." Camilo explained.
"Hey, Camilo!" Osvaldo Ortiz, the salesman approached, lifting a large basket from his cart. "Special delivery for the Madrigals!" He handed him the large basket full of decorations, filled with Mirabel's favorite colors. "I got you a couple of discounts. One for Mirabel: the "You're special after all" special! One for your Tio Bruno: the "Welcome back to society!" special. And one for you: the "Sorry you lost your gift" discount. Because, you know…you lost your gift."
"Thanks." Camilo said curtly, forcing a smile.
"Wish Mirabel luck tonight! Her last ceremony was a bummer. Hope it's good this time." Ortiz turned to back to his cart. Camilo stuck his tongue out at him as his back was turned.
"If I were you, I'd be very sad." One of the children said.
"I was at first." Camilo admitted. "But now I'm not. I realized I'm lucky. You know why? It's because I have an amazing family who were all there for me. They were all in my corner. We look out for each other. Right Isa!" Camilo turned to see Isabela and Luisa, sitting on a nearby bench, eating lunch together.
"Luisa, the donkeys got out again!" The man in charge of the donkeys yelled, rushing up to the sister.
Before Luisa could reply, Isabela stood and formed a large cactus in her hands. "Can't you see she's busy eating?!" Isabela yelled, throwing the cactus at the guy. Luisa nearly choked on her lunch but stood and rushed after her sister.
The children and Camilo all winced. "Okay, Isa's not the best example, but you see what I mean." The children seemed satisfied with his answer and dispersed. Juancho, Cecilia, and Alejandra went to play with Antonio.
As Camilo turned to carry the basket into the house, he could still hear Isabela yelling.
"Why do you even have donkeys if you can't take care of them on your own?! Antonio and Luisa can't do everything for you!"
"Sorry Senor, I'll get to it later." Luisa replied, carrying Isabela back to the bench.
"No, she won't!" Isabela argued. "How about you fix your stupid fence instead?!"
The man was practically pleading for forgiveness as Camilo entered the house. He walked through the crowd, praying Mirabel wouldn't see him carrying the basket, as she would want to help put up the decorations- for her own party.
The courtyard was a little windy, as his mother seemed to be nervous. Everyone in the house was apprehensive. No one had a clue what was going to happen tonight, and though Bruno had volunteered to look into the future, the family decided against it. Instead, they decided to celebrate and whatever happened, they would gladly accept.
"Dolores!" Isabela had marched in. "Is Mirabel home?"
"She's in her room with her friends. Valentina wanted to help her get ready. They're embroidering her ceremony dress. The perfect distraction from working on my wedding dress. Hm!" Dolores giggled. "I had to kick her out of my room and tell her the embroidery wasn't going anywhere. Thankfully, Valentina and Diego showed up. I also told her not to worry, and that today was about her."
"Good." Isabela sighed in relief. "Does she ever think about herself once in a while?"
"Hey, change takes time." Dolores said.
Camilo made his way into the kitchen. Julieta was preparing food for the night.
"Mirabel, you should be upstairs getting ready-" Julieta turned to scold Camilo but stopped when she realized she was scolding the wrong Madrigal. "Oh, sorry sobrino, I… I thought you were Mirabel." Camilo couldn't blame Julieta. He and Mirabel were the same height and had similar hair. He just chuckled.
"It's okay, Tia." Camilo said, placing the basket on the counter. "Where are the candle holders? The ones Mirabel made. I know she and Tina were working on them a few days ago."
"Oh, in that cabinet." Julieta pointed. Camilo grabbed the box from the cabinet.
"She worked so hard on these for Antonio's ceremony. I think she'd like seeing them displayed tonight." Camilo said.
"That's a wonderful idea." Julieta said.
Camilo walked to the doors, placing the homemade candleholders in front of each door. He thought of leaving his out, but then he thought of Mirabel's disapproval…she wouldn't want him to leave his out. He paused again when he got to Abuela's. Hers seemed to have been burnt.
"Camilo?" A gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Oh, Abuela!" Camilo quickly stood. "Am I in your way?"
"Not at all, nieto." Abuela replied. "Just curious to see what you're doing."
"I'm putting out the candle holders that Mirabel made." Camilo said. "Uh…Mirabel was fixing them up a few days ago, but I guess she didn't have time to get to yours…"
"Actually, I told her to keep it like that." Abuela said. "I told her it's perfect the way it is…but I guess she still wanted to touch it up." Abuela pointed at the burned fabric. Mirabel had sewn around the burns. "To prevent fraying." Abuela informed.
There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment.
"Camilito…" Abuela said.
"Abuela?"
The elder hesitated, as though she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. "Um…remember to take breaks. It's our new house rule. I don't want to put pressure on anyone." She paused and looked past Camilo. "Bruno? Are you all right?"
"Oh yeah," Bruno was pacing around the halls. "Just apprehensive." It had been a long time since people had asked Bruno for a vision. Not knowing what tonight had in store must be driving him insane.
"Why don't you get a cup of tea, Brunito?" Abuela said. "You need to relax."
"Right…right…" Bruno sighed before knocking on the railings. "Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock…knock on wood."
"Now," Abuela turned back to Camilo. "I believe you and your father had something imported for Mirabel?"
"Oh, yeah, do you want me to give it to her now?" Camilo asked.
"Yes," Abuela said. "We're almost ready. Have her come down after you give it to her."
Camilo went into his room, and grabbed the large gift, wrapped in teal wrapping paper, tied with pink and violet ribbons. He had been hiding it under his bed after Felix had it delivered, and Dolores helped him wrap it. The large box was heavy, but Camilo managed to carry it to Mirabel's room. He paused when he heard voices.
"I'm telling you, this time it's going to work!" Camilo heard the insistent voice of Diego.
"And I'm telling you, even if it does, Mirabel has a gift!" Valentina argued. "She's always had a gift!"
Camilo softly tapped on the wood. After they had rebuilt the house, they made sure to build a room just for Mirabel. They painted her door teal, but the grandkids went overboard in decorating her new door. There were all kinds of designs and colors on her door, along with her name being painted in gold.
"Come in!" Mirabel called.
Camilo walked in to see Mirabel standing in the middle of her room, Diego was sitting on her bed, and Valentina was adding last-minute embroidery. She was adding a little, white butterfly to the shoulder of Mirabel's white dress, like the pink one she usually wore.
"Is everyone waiting?" Mirabel asked.
"They're almost ready. Abuela doesn't want you to rush." Camilo reassured. "What were you guys talking about?"
"A few things." Tina shrugged, still concentrating on her work.
"Diego and Tina are trying to guess what will happen." Mirabel answered.
"I think she'll get a gift." Diego informed.
"I'm telling you; she already has a gift!" Tina argued.
"Then why did a door appear?" Diego challenged.
"Maybe the house is trying to prove that Mirabel has a gift." Tina replied.
"So, what do you think her gift is?" Camilo asked, placing the box on the dresser.
"Hm…well, it could be something you can't make a physical room for." Tina said thoughtfully. "Her gift could be compassion, or hope…for all we know, she could be the next candle holder."
"What?" The three friends asked at once.
"I mean…think about it. Senora Madrigal doesn't have a gift either." Tina pointed out. "Maybe Mirabel is like…her heir or something."
"Hm…well, I guess we won't know until tonight." Mirabel said.
"Okay, last one is done!" Tina announced. "Mirabel! You look like a princess! Doesn't she Diego?"
"Uh…yeah…" Diego stammered.
Tina sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, anyways, I guess we better get down there."
"I wanted to talk to Mirabel before heading down." Camilo said.
"Oh, okay." Diego said.
Camilo cleared his throat. "Alone."
"Ah, we'll be on our way." Tina said, dragging Diego out of the room.
"What's up?" Mirabel asked. "I noticed you brought a big box…"
"It's a present." Camilo said, leading his cousin to the dresser. "I figured…you got Antonio a gift for his ceremony…you deserve one as well."
"Oh, you didn't have to!" Mirabel said.
"I know, but…you've always been there for Tonito. So…" Camilo paused, unable to find his words. "Eh…why don't you open it? Abuela wanted me to give it to you before your ceremony."
Mirabel walked over to the dresser and carefully pulled off the ribbons and wrapping paper. It revealed a plain box. Mirabel lifted the lid and gasped.
"No…no way!" Mirabel gasped and pulled out the new sewing machine from the box. "Is this…the latest model? And it's a Singer?!"
"I don't know what either of those mean." Camilo admitted. "But I wanted to get you something I know you'll use, so I talked to Papi about it. He pulled some strings and found this bad boy for you."
Mirabel placed the machine back into the box and embraced her cousin. "Thank you so much! I love it!"
"Really?"
"Yes! It's so thoughtful…and I guess I've been needing a new one."
Their conversation was interrupted when Casita was shaking the floorboards. They noticed she was bouncing a clock on the floor.
"Thanks Casita, we're going." Mirabel said.