(Author's Note: Hello my readers, and welcome to the newest installment of "Journeys into the Multiverse"!
I recently saw that it had been a WHILE since I updated this story. Trust me, I am TRYING my hardest to maintain a consistent writing schedule. Just…cut me a little slack, alright?
Anyway…hope you guys enjoy:)
Chapter Twenty-One: True Face of the Miracle
Concept: On the night of Antonio's ceremony, Mirabel sees Casita cracking and the Candle's flame waning. When she tries to warn everybody, no one believes her and Abuela brushes her worries aside…inadvertently angering something that will tolerate her actions no further.
"No. That's…the cracks were there." Mirabel exclaimed as her gaze darted across every inch of the courtyard (confusion evident on her face), "They were…everywhere. The house was in trouble, the candle was-," the young girl turned around to her grandmother, "Abuela, I promise-"
"That's enough," Alma gently, but firmly, replied, holding up a hand to silence the girl. She then turned around, plastering a big smile on her face as she addressed the townspeople, "There is NOTHING wrong with La Casa Madrigal. The magic is STRONG! And so are the drinks," she teased, causing most to chuckle, "Please, music!" Luisa quickly picked up the piano and raced towards her father. Just before the man could play, however-
"Mistake after mistake-," everyone there flinched at the sound of a sudden, and intense, new voice, "-regret after regret-," many of the people (especially the children) began clinging onto one another; the "force" of this voice making them feel like their very bones were shaking, "-loss after loss…and, yet still, your stubbornness persists. If it weren't so destructive, it would almost impress me."
"W-What is…who's there?! Show yourself!" Alma called out as she frantically searched around the house. While normally insistent on not allowing any of her fear or unease to be visible to…anyone (especially on such an important night), the sudden intense voice caused such a reaction in her. It was almost like some primal fear had been activated when she heard that voice.
"Do NOT raise your voice to ME, Alma," the voice seemed to snarl back, which actually caused Alma to take a step back in fear. Just then, everyone was made aware of a bright yellow light that seemed to materialize near the kitchen.
Then…they heard footsteps. Within moments, the light had seemed to…condense. Into one spot. One figure.
The figure was a man who seemed to stand a head above even Luisa, with a dark bronze skin tone. His shoulder-length hair was mostly black in coloration, though there were streaks of brown and red in there (as well as the tips of his hair being grey). He wore all white, from his shirt to his cloak (hood up) to his pants. His feet were completely bare and he had butterfly tattoos running down his exposed arms.
The most noticeable feature of this man? His eyes. His glowing, golden eyes (which looked more like two small fireballs than anything else).
EVERYONE present was left there, standing and staring in complete and utter astonishment; not one of them understood what was happening nor how to react.
A fact which only grew when the strange man began…examining his hands. He kept clenching and unclenching his hands, looking downright curious as he did so.
"W-What is-?"
"Hmph?" The man looked to Alma, who felt too scared to continue speaking when those "eyes" were on her, "Apologies. I've never taken a physical form before; there's never been a need to. It's an odd sensation. It feels…limiting. But I figured that you'd be more likely to listen to a physical being you could see, as opposed to a disembodied voice." The strange man began walking towards the middle of the area, seemingly ignoring how everyone else took a fearful step back. Just then, however…his gaze shot to Mirabel, who promptly froze in place when her gaze met those fiery eyes. The man reached her in an instant, grabbing her wrist before she could move, "Hold still." Seeing this sudden movement scared just about everyone present…but, it also caused a great deal of protectiveness to well up in the Madrigals.
The most intense, surprisingly enough…belonged to their beloved rose.
Let it be known that Isabela Madrigal didn't exactly "like" her youngest sister. It irritated her to no end how Mirabel was always inputting herself into situations where she had no right to be (interrupting tonight's ceremony was a perfect example). Not to mention how ungrateful she was for the freedom she had, throwing herself a pity party just about every week.
But she was still her hermanita…and she wasn't going to just stand back while someone put their hands on her.
"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" Over a dozen vines sprouted from the plants around Casita, quickly growing spikes before they shot toward the man like striking snakes.
And then…they stopped. In mid-air, mere inches away from the man's face.
Isabela was left absolutely flabbergasted by this turn of events. She threw her hands back out, focusing more of her power into her magic…but the vines didn't move. Not one inch. Ignoring everyone's shocked expressions, Isabela threw her hands back out, summoning over a dozen new vines to attack…but they stopped before reaching the man too. Sweat was beginning to drip down Isabela's forehead and her hands began to tremble as she pulled on the magic within her with all of her might but the vines wouldn't touch this man. Wouldn't even budge.
As if they were under the control of another.
"My own blessing, to her-," the man spoke, keeping his gaze on Mirabel's hand, "-used against me?" In a split second, all of Isabela's vines made a complete about-face and launched themselves at the young woman. They wrapped around her body before she could react (their thorns disappearing just before they did so) and pulled her to the first floor…leaving her levitating a few inches above the ground before the man. "I'm uncertain if I should feel offended by your arrogance, or impressed by your confidence."
"ISA!" Isabela was quicker to react to the situation than Luisa was, and she found herself sharing in everyone's shock when her eldest hermana's vines completely failed to do anything against this stranger (let alone having her Gift completely turned against her).
But that shock was gone…and Luisa was angry.
The man, however, never once looked in Luisa's direction, nor did he react to the furious six-foot-two woman charging at him like a bull. Instead, he placed a single finger on Mirabel's palm. When Luisa threw her hand out to grab him by the shoulder…her hand phased right through his body, the momentum sending her to trip over her feet and falling to the ground. She was only down for a moment, however; a wave of protective anger surged through her body as she slammed her palms on the floor (ignorant to the cracks that formed) and leaped back to her feet.
At that moment, Camilo had been shaken from his stupor and bolted down the stairs as well (a rare expression of pure fury on his face as he shifted into a copy of Luisa).
"Enough." As soon as that word left his mouth, Luisa stopped moving. Or, rather, she froze completely (one hand outstretched with her eyes widened in shock).
As for Camilo? Before everyone's eyes, Camilo had taken on over twenty different forms…in less than five seconds. The teen, after returning to his normal form, collapsed to his knees, eyes widened as he breathed heavily (as if he'd just run a lap around the entire village).
After having dragged his finger across Mirabel's palm, he released her wrist. The young teen all but LEAPED backward, keeping her eyes on this strange man while holding her hand in the other.
"W-Who are you?! What did you do to me?!" Instead of speaking, the man simply motioned to the limb in question. Still glaring at the man in suspicion for a few moments, Mirabel took a quick peek at her hand…and was absolutely flabbergasted by what she saw. The cut that she received on her palm from Casita's fallen tile earlier that night? Completely gone without any type of scar or mark. As if it had never existed at all. "H-How did-?" At that moment, nearly everyone flinched at the sudden roar of thunder.
Except for the man, who simply sighed, "Good grief." With shut eyes and a disappointed frown, the man raised his hand to the side of his head…a split second before it was hit by a bolt of lightning (courtesy of one Pepa Madrigal). And, as if the residents of the Encanto didn't receive enough surprises already, everyone bore witness to the lightning itself seeming to…merge with the man's hand. Within mere moments, the pitch-black cloud above Pepa's head moved toward his palm like a wave. It was condensed into a sphere before he crushed it in his palm (a brief flash of gold was visible upon doing so).
Despite her confusion, Pepa was quick to recover. With a glare and her hands tightened into fists, Pepa took a step forward…only to stop. Looking above her head, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when she didn't see her cloud. Despite the anger she felt welling up toward this stranger and her determination to protect her family, her weather wouldn't manifest. It was almost as if-
"ENOUGH," the man called out, forcing everyone into silence (also freeing Isabela and Luisa from their "imprisonments"). He held up a single finger…where a small golden orb materialized out of nowhere, a cloud placed within the middle. "I admire your determination to protect one another, Madrigals, but your ignorance ends here. I GAVE you these powers and I can TAKE them away JUST as easily." He flicked the orb with his middle finger, causing it to shoot toward Pepa like a bullet (the force colliding with her chest knocking her right off her feet). "So stop. Testing. Me." While everyone was starting to panic all over again (with a few following Felix in checking on Pepa after she'd been knocked to the ground, her cloud suddenly reappearing overhead), Mirabel kept her eyes on the man. She had been left in a state of horrified stupor these last few minutes. How could she not when a stranger appeared out of nowhere, with the strange and sudden ability to overcome her family's magic? But then he healed her cut. A small thing overall, but it was still…thought-provoking (for lack of a better term) as to why he would do so in the first place.
I GAVE you these powers and I can TAKE it away JUST as easily.
I GAVE you these powers…
I GAVE…
Mirabel's eyes widened as the words fell from her lips before she could even comprehend what she was saying. "Y-You're…i-it, aren't you?" Everyone's gaze turned towards her in the stunned silence of the courtyard but Mirabel paid them no mind. Her attention was solely focused on this man who had now turned his gaze to her, "You said that you gave mi familia their magic. That means that you're-," she gulped, "-t-the Miracle, aren't you?"
Despite everything that occurred that night, THAT was perhaps the greatest shock of the night.
"W-What?!" Alma looked as if she had seen a ghost, looking back and forth between him and Mirabel.
"Hmph," the man held his hands behind his back, his gaze towards the floor. ""Miracle". Yes, that IS what Alma has referred to me as for over half a century. I suppose that it makes sense. After all, such fantastical circumstances occurring without warning at an…almost perfect moment? There's very little a human could think of to describe the situation besides "Miracle"."
"You're where our magic comes from?" Antonio's voice cut through the frantic whispering that had begun ever since Mirabel had identified this man as the "Madrigal Miracle". Before anyone could react, the jaguar that the boy was riding on (the one who had joyfully run into the room after Antonio's Gift manifested) made his way down Casita's stairs. Stepping to his feet, the jaguar lowered its head to the floor.
Almost as if it were…bowing?
"Yes, I am," the man…the Miracle replied, kneeling to Antonio's eye level. He placed one hand on top of Antonio's hair while the other ran through the jaguar's fur. "Your powers, Casita, and even the barrier that protects the Encanto…it all comes from me."
"WOOOOOOW," Antonio had stars in his eyes, looking at the Miracle as if he were the greatest thing he'd ever seen (which…he kinda was), "Wait, so…you're Casita?"
"No. She was created through my initial spark, but she is not me," he held a hand to his chin, "I suppose that the easiest way for you to view our relationship is…one of siblinghood, as you share with Dolores and Camilo."
"Are you-?" Antonio looked to his feet, his natural shyness creeping back out.
"Speak, little one. You have nothing to fear from me," despite the...otherworldly nature of the Miracle's voice, his words only soothed Antonio's fears. It was like being hugged by his entire family all at once…but with words.
"Are you…my abuelo?" This time, audible gasps were heard throughout Casita (none louder than Alma).
"Hmph. No, little one. Pedro Madrigal was at the center of my creation, but I am not he. Not his mind nor his soul. He and I are completely separate entities." He didn't even have to look toward Alma to know her disappointment at being unable to speak to her late love. He may disagree with how she's conducted herself, but he understood her grief better than anyone in the Encanto.
It was part of why he exists, after all.
"Oh. Well…what's your name?" That…that caused the magical entity to pause.
"My…name?" He looked to the side, "I suppose that I don't really have one." Antonio's jaw dropped and his eyes widened to the point where they looked like they were about to pop right out of his skull.
"You don't have a NAME?"
The Miracle chuckled, "Not really, no. Casita was the only one I'd had any direct contact with until tonight, as well as the only one in the Encanto who was even aware of my existence. She was given her name by Alma, while she and I only ever referred to one another as "Brother" and "Sister". I've never been in a position to really need a name in the same manner as others." By this point, the two's attention was focused firmly on one another.
"But that's wrong!" Antonio stomped his foot, "Everyone needs a name! Even animals have names…even though I don't really understand their names," the small boy muttered the last of his sentence, holding a hand to his chin. After a moment of silence, Antonio's eyes lit up like the sun, "I got it! MILAGRO!"
The Miracle raised an eyebrow, "Milagro?"
Antonio nodded excitedly, "Yeah, "Milagro"! You're our family's Miracle! "Milagro" is Spanish for "Miracle". Everyone needs a name, so your name should be "Milagro"," Antonio finished his "speech" By crossing his arms and nodding his head with closed eyes and a pleased smile on his face.
The entity put a hand on his chin, looking to the ground, ""Milagro"? Short, simple to understand, and follows the same name procedure as Casita," he muttered to himself before giving a nod, "Very well then," he stood to his full height, taking a moment to scan his gaze over the crowd (some looking at him in wonder or confusion while others froze in place or refused to meet his eyes). He held out his arms to the side, palms to the sky and he held his head up, "I am Milagro, protector of the Madrigal Family and source of their power." He gave a small nod, "A proper introduction. To make up for my rather…sudden appearance."
The entire house was left in near complete silence after (the now-named) Milagro's speech, consumed by feelings of wonder and caution. All…except one-
Antonio giggled, poking Milagro in the leg, "You're funny."
Milagro's smile grew, "I'm glad that I can make you smile, little one." Just then, the entity's smile disappeared at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Milagro turned his side to see Alma having stepped up to him, now looking nervous once his eyes were on her.
"W-Well, Milagro…i-it's a pleasure to meet the one who has allowed the family to serve our community. I only regret that we haven't been able to give a proper thank you before tonight," though nervous, Alma gradually gained confidence as she spoke (once again becoming the Encanto's "leader who has all the answers").
Milagro didn't answer Alma. He simply…stared at her for a moment, completely motionless. As Alma's unease began to grow once again, however-
"Yes," Milagro held his hands behind his back and began walking forward, "A pleasure to finally, properly meet you as well, Alma…despite your misunderstanding," he leaned down to look her in the eyes.
"W-What misunderstanding? What are you talking about?"
"You believe that I gave this family their blessings to "help the community"-," Milagro stood up to his full height, "-when that couldn't be farther from the truth." With wide eyes and a dropped jaw, Alma looked like she'd be less surprised if Milagro had straight-up slapped her.
"W-WHAT?! What are you-?!" Alma immediately stopped talking when Milagro held a single finger underneath her chin, his…"otherworldly" eyes all but demanding her silence.
"Didn't I tell you NOT to raise your voice to me, Alma?" In a split second, the leader elder of the village looked the same as a small child being lectured by their parent, "Do not make me repeat myself a third time," he gently scratched her chin as he pulled his finger away, "You're entitled to your opinions and feelings, Alma…but I will NOT tolerate disrespect. Not even from you. Do we understand each other?"
Alma gulped, "O-Of course."
"Good." Milagro held his arms behind his back, "Now then, your confusion is understandable and deserves an explanation. So…allow me to fix that problem now-," Clearing his throat, Milagro took a few moments to drag his gaze across every last villager (ensuring that they were ALL paying attention), "-the blessings that I've granted the Madrigal family are not meant to "serve" this community. My choice to empower them NEVER included anyone else in the equation but them. To be quite blunt, I care very little for anyone in this village except for the Madrigals." Everyone present was now looking at Milagro in complete and utter shock (something that was becoming quite common tonight). For forty-five years, the Madrigals had used the magic that their family was blessed with in service to the rest of the community…all with smiles on their faces. Doña Alma had reiterated (for DECADES) that the purpose of her family's powers was for the service of everyone, and she would always say this with a smile on her face. The mere idea that the magic was intended for something else would have sounded ridiculous.
But….coming from the very source of the magic itself?
"What are you talking about?!" The voice of a male suddenly rang out through the quiet of the house, "That magic is supposed to serve the rest of us!"
Milagro slowly turned his gaze to the source of the voice, looking downright…unimpressed, "Manuel Rodriguez. The worst offender of those who choose to belittle and attack Mirabel because of their own insecurities." Manuel flinched at Milagro's words while the Madrigals looked on in either shock (Alma, Agustin, Julieta, Felix, Pepa, Isabela, and Luisa) or anger (Dolores, Camilo, and Antonio). "While I care little for anyone in this village, I care NOTHING for you. I SUGGEST that you remain silent." Even to one as cocky and ignorant as Manuel, it was obvious that Milagro's words were less of a "suggestion" and more of a threat (and even he was smart enough to not mouth off to the one responsible for giving the Madrigals their superhuman powers).
"Then…why did you give us our magic?" In the near silence of Casita, Dolores' voice sounded louder than anyone has ever remembered. Milagro turned his eyes to Pepa's eldest, who maintained his gaze.
Not being surprised by the fact that Dolores was the one to ask, Milagro gave a small nod, "To put it into a single word? War."
Most of the inhabitants of the Encanto (whether they said it out loud or not) considered their home to be an almost perfect example of where people could live. Plenty of food, fair weather, and good neighbors? It was a near-perfect showing of a "utopia".
(To say nothing of the family in possession of magic who would help them all the time with everything from injuries to babysitting)
And yet…it wasn't perfect (even though most don't say so out loud). Perhaps one of the best examples of this truth was the fact that there were words that were actually considered forbidden to be spoken out loud. The top example is one of their very benefactors: the Madrigal Seer, Bruno.
The other? War (or anything resembling the subject). The very thing that resulted in the Encanto's creation in the first place. Those old enough to remember when they were forced from their homes didn't want to relieve that dark period of their lives, while the rest didn't want to force the others to remember something so horrible (and, truthfully, didn't want to know anyway).
So this? "Shocking" didn't even come CLOSE to explaining everyone's true feelings at that moment.
"N-No," Alma muttered, looking toward the ground with an outright horrified expression on her face, "That…t-that CAN'T be right! A-Are you saying that the purpose of the magic was to wage WAR?! No…no! That CAN'T be-," in a sudden second, Alma stopped talking. The old woman's eyes widened as she opened her mouth…but nothing came out. She held a hand to her throat, her eyes widening in fear as she began breathing heavier and heavier.
"Mama? Mama?!" Julieta quickly ran down the stairs, being followed by her sister and both of their husbands, "What's wrong?"
"I took her voice," Milagro simply, and bluntly, spoke, not so much as flinching when everyone's eyes fell onto him, "I told her not to raise her voice to me TWICE…and, yet, she still did so. It was made clear that she wasn't going to learn without consequence." He looked on as everyone present now looked at him with visible fear and unease in their eyes, "What? I'll give it back…after I've said my piece. Now then…to make the needed correction," Milagro cleared his throat, "To be clear, I did not grant this family their powers to "wage war". While I only truly care for the Madrigals, I hold respect for all life. I granted them these powers to PREPARE for war." After a few moments of silence…
"W-Why would we need to prepare for a war?" Agustin eventually spoke up. "The Encanto is almost impossible to find and enter, anyway."
"War is the REASON for the Encanto's existence," Milagro responded, "War was why the initial refugees were forced to flee their home. War was why Pedro had to sacrifice his life. War is the reason that events transpired in the way that brought ME into existence…and I knew that war WOULD come to the Encanto. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. In fact, it's possible that not a single villager here now-," he motioned his hand across everyone present, "-will even live to see it. But war WOULD come. It was as inevitable as death. My sole purpose in life is the protection of the Madrigal Family, so I knew that they would need more than human weapons and soldiers to protect themselves from ANY threat. So…I decided that they would need something more."
"O-Our gifts?" Camilo spoke up, having moved to take a spot next to Luisa for some time.
"Yes. Rather than surviving others or simply to "have", I gave you these powers to protect yourselves. The family needed a strong defense…so I decided to create one through its members." Milagro turned his eyes to Julieta, who promptly flinched at his gaze, "A Healer, who could restore anyone injured in future conflicts back to their full health-," Next was Pepa, who had been tightly clenching her braid the whole time, "-a Sorceress, who would bend the weather itself to her command in defense of her loved ones-," Milagro then let out a sigh, closing his eyes and placing his hands behind his back, "-and a Seer, who would glimpse into all possible timelines and prepare for danger before it ever arrives." Milagro knew how everyone reacted in either surprise, frustration, or confusion at his (indirect) mention of Bruno, but he didn't bother speaking on it, "As the family grew throughout the years, so too did its defense." Just then, his gaze fell to Isabela, "Next came a Maiden, who would turn nature itself against all enemies-," then Dolores, "-a Sentinel, who would be able to detect the approach of any outside threat-," then Luisa, "-a Warrior, whose strength would eclipse that of entire armies-," then Camilo, "-an Agent, who could slip through enemy defenses to gather information and sow chaos-," and then, finally, Antonio, "-and a King, who would serve as a "Champion of the Wild", bolstering the family's defenses even further by forming alliances with the creatures of the Earth." Then, Milagro spread out his arms, "Put together, the Madrigals form the first, last, and best line of defense for the Encanto. A combined force that would rival almost any power on Earth. I knew that the family would be protected because I gave them all the tools they needed to defend themselves for whatever the world throws their way."
"But it wasn't all of us, was it?" Despite the shock felt by all (but especially the Madrigals) by Milagro's words and the truth of the Gifts, the words recently spoken (despite their low tone) may have been as loud as thunder.
"Do not whisper, Mirabel," Milagro responded without missing a beat, "If you wish to speak…speak." Despite his words, Mirabel couldn't help but feel…"small" at his words. Like a child being tolerated by an adult who was only barely paying attention. But…she knew that she couldn't waste the opportunity placed before her.
Especially since she didn't know if she'd ever have another chance.
"You didn't give this family every tool we'd need because you didn't give everyone a Gift." Her gaze was to the floor as her hands clenched tightly on her skirt, "Mama, Tia, Tio Bruno, Isabela, Dolores, Luisa, Camilo, Antonio…but not me."
"Mirabel," Alma (having noticed the return of her voice during Milagro's "speech") sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "This is not the time for-."
"No Abuela, I think this is EXACTLY the time!" Mirabel snapped back with a glare, shutting Alma up and leaving her in a state of shock. In fact, EVERYONE was left shocked by Mirabel not only screaming like that but screaming like that at her own grandmother, "I'm sick and tired of having to put up with ridicule and mistreatment because I don't have a Gift like the rest of the family. Of being pushed to the side or being placated by hearing that I'm "just as special as the rest of the family" when we all know that it's complete BULLSHIT!" Mirabel turned back to Milagro, not noticing how everyone's expression widened in shock even further due to her cursing, "So I want to know, Milagro! I want to know once and for all why I wasn't good enough to get one of your "blessings", like the rest of the family! I want to know-," Mirabel's frustration suddenly vanished from her face, her trembling hands falling to her sides as her expression turned into one of sadness, "-I just want to know…what's wrong with me?" By this point, Mirabel held her head down to keep anyone from seeing her eyes.
She didn't want anyone to see the tears that were starting to well up.
"Mija-," Unlike her daughter, Julieta didn't even try to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. Agustin had his hands on his wife's shoulder and arm, tears being visible in his own eyes as well. They had always known how difficult their youngest's life was due to being the only Madrigal without a Gift, whether it be due to the actions of others or her own thoughts. This is why they've always worked as hard as they could to make sure that Mirabel knew that she was special and, most importantly, knew that she was loved exactly as she was.
How could they have failed so badly?
Julieta and Agustin weren't the only ones who felt heartbroken and/or horrified by Mirabel's words. Pepa's grey cloud of anxiety turned pitch black, a downpour instantly soaking her as her heart broke at her sweet sobrina's words. Felix's subsequent consolation of his wife was done mostly out of reflex as his mind was practically turned inside out by what Mirabel just said.
Even Alma couldn't believe what she had just heard. Now, she SUPPOSES that she's spent more time with the other children and she'll admit that she's always preferred for Mirabel to stay out of the way for important matters. But…that was only because most things would just be better handled by those with Gifts. She never wanted Mirabel to think that she was "less" than the rest of the family. And she NEVER wanted Mirabel to think that she wasn't loved.
As for the rest of the grandchildren? Antonio and Luisa were crying outright, heartbroken at how little Mirabel thought of herself (the former being cuddled by Parce and the latter being pulled into a hug by her elder hermana). Dolores's face remained unmarked by tears, but it was taking every last OUNCE of her self-control to keep her "steady". While Camilo was sad…he was more angry. Angry at everyone who took part in shaping Mirabel's mindset into what it was, leading her to think so little of herself. The villagers, Abuela, Isabela…himself.
As for Isabela? The moment that those words fell from Mirabel's lips, every last negative interaction she had with her youngest hermanita (which, to her horror and sadness, GREATLY outweighed the positive ones) came shooting through her mind. Every snide remark, every cocky smirk, every act of cruelty that went beyond mere "sibling rivalry"…the full magnitude of just how she had treated Mirabel was so strong that the fact that she was hugging Luisa was the only reason her shock hadn't knocked her off her feet.
You're fault, were the two words running through the minds of EVERY other Madrigal.
"There is nothing "wrong" with you, Mirabel," Milagro spoke up, the same blank expression on his face despite the emotion in the room, "Anyone who claims otherwise simply speaks from ignorance." Even though Milagro did not look at anyone besides Mirabel nor did his words leave any implications, those who were guilty could just feel his words thrown at them like spears.
"Then why?" Mirabel asked, knowing (but no longer caring) that tears were now dripping down her cheeks. "I know that everyone's been worried about the magic ever since my ceremony. Worried about the magic failing and what would become of the Encanto if that was true. Hell, Abuela was visibly relieved that Antonio didn't turn out like me." The matriarch's expression became one of shock and even horror. She wasn't…she WAS relieved that nothing was wrong with the magic but it wasn't because she thought any less of Mirabel or didn't want Antonio to be like her (if anything, she felt the opposite), "If you CLAIM that there's nothing wrong with me, then why wasn't I given a Gift? Why was I the one singled out and left out to be ridiculed by everyone? Just…WHY?!" Mirabel had stepped closer to Milagro, looking up at him with clenched fists and glaring (teary) hazel eyes. For a moment, Milagro was silent as he maintained eye contact with the teen. And then-
"The reason that I did not give you a Gift, Mirabel-," Milagro began, "-is because I desired a greater destiny for you. Because I gave you something MUCH greater than a Gift." This got everyone's attention, but ESPECIALLY the Madrigals.
Mirabel's feelings of sadness and anger were quickly replaced by confusion and…something else (that she couldn't quite identify), "W-What?"
"A role."
"A…r-role? What do you-," Mirabel stopped speaking when Milagro gently placed a finger against her lips (though, it somehow felt less…intimidating compared to how Abuela normally demands her silence).
Milagro pulled his hand away, taking a moment to run his fingers through Mirabel's hair, "I haven't always agreed with how Alma has chosen to lead the family and the village," it was not ignorant to the spirit or the teenager how said woman flinched at his words, "Despite her numerous mistakes, however, I recognize that she HAS kept everything in order throughout the decades. The family was still alive and the village was still standing. Despite my specific critiques…overall? I was satisfied." Alma, admittedly, felt a little…"conflicted" by Milagro's words. How else was she supposed to feel when the Miracle praised her actions and berated them in the same breath? "But-," that got everyone's attention, "-regardless of how I believe about Alma's actions, one fact that I was always aware of: her humanity."
"W-What do you mean "my humanity"?" Alma spoke up.
Milagro looked toward the old woman, "Just that…you're human. And, like every human…mortal." Milagro walked toward Alma, "I've seen it with each passing day," he began walking around her, "You grow older. You grow slower. Eventually, Death will claim you as it inevitably does all life…whether you're still "in office" or not." All of the Madrigals were left stunned by Milagro's words; the rest of the family looked downright terrified of the idea of Alma passing on.
"B-But…I-I'm not dying. Alma called out, "I'm fine."
"You are," Milagro quickly responded, as if she hadn't interrupted, "If you were to maintain yourself as you are, you could likely live for multiple decades more. However…you're still mortal. You WILL pass eventually, and you will require someone to take your place." Milagro walked back toward the center of the room, his back to everyone, "I knew that you would need a successor and I knew that it had to come from WITHIN the family to ensure that you would all have the best chance of survival. Naturally, my gaze turned toward the triplets initially. Julieta, as the oldest, was first, and I have no doubt that Alma and MANY others would prefer for her to succeed as the family's new matriarch…but she lacked the strength of character that the position needed."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Agustin shouted, frustrated at the (as he perceived) slight against his wife. Milagro quickly turned his head back, his eyes locked onto the woman in question and her husband.
"She is what you'd refer to as a "people pleaser". Due to the nature by which Alma has pushed her Gift to be used, Julieta has developed the mindset of "helping" them and trying to placate them. A leader must realize that the RIGHT decisions are often not the "popular" ones. If Julieta were to lead the Encanto, her compassionate nature would be taken advantage of and she would likely be little more than a "Puppet Leader" to those who know how to manipulate her nature." Julieta herself had flinched at nearly every word from Milagro's words, keeping her gaze at the floor like a shamed child (knowing, despite not wanting to admit it, that he was right). "Pepa possesses a fire within her that burns brighter than even Alma. She WOULD be more likely to stand against the opinions of others than her sister…but, similar to Julieta, she has also suffered due to Alma's interference with her Gift. How could I expect her to command both the family AND the village when she can't control her own emotions or the power that she's had since childhood?" Now, Pepa was the one who couldn't look at anyone (muttering "Clear Skies" under her breath and clutching her braid so tightly that she was a little afraid that she was gonna tear it off). Felix, much like Agustin, glared at Milagro while he tried to comfort his wife. Just then…the spirit chuckled, "Believe it or not, for the longest time, Bruno was my chosen candidate to succeed Alma." Nearly everyone present could hardly believe the words that they just heard.
Bruno Madrigal was the Miracle's chosen successor? Bruno? The same man who had spent decades cursing the Encanto with his visions? The bringer of chaos who brought pain and misery wherever he went? The very idea was as laughable as it was absurd. Although, no one was brave enough (or foolish enough) to voice those thoughts to the very source of the magic itself.
"WHAT?! You were going to let that desastre andante lead the village? That's insane! That's…that's just plain STUPID! How could you POSSIBLY think that's a good idea?! A smart idea in ANY sense of the word?!"
No one, it would seem…except for one Ricardo Sanchez.
Everyone felt fear surging through their bodies, either huddling close for protection (primarily the children and those near them) or mentally cursing Ricardo for his stupidity. He, like the rest of them, had SEEN what Milagro was capable of AND had seen that he was not one to take anything he perceived as disrespect. Not even from Doña Alma herself.
What would he do now?
For what felt like an eternity (which, in reality, couldn't have been more than about five seconds), Milagro was silent. He simply stared at his hand, almost as if he were…examining his nails?
SNAP!
In an instant, Ricardo suddenly vanished from his spot upstairs (causing those near him to flinch) and appeared close to the spirit. Ricardo's body was cloaked in a bright golden light a split second before he was lifted into the air. "H-Hey! Put me down!" Ricardo wiggled his limbs around, fear and anger running through his body at this sudden loss of his free movement.
Just then…his arms and legs were suddenly "locked" in a position straight down, just before he was pulled up to Milagro's face. Despite the man's best efforts, he was physically unable to tear his eyes from that of the spirit's (which was almost like looking into the sun…but, somehow, worse).
"Ricardo. Sanchez." The slow, deliberate manner by which Milagro spoke sent perhaps the greatest bolt of fear shooting through the bodies of EVERYONE present. Even Ricardo himself seemed to realize the stupidity of his previous actions, "You've held a petty grudge against Bruno since you were children. You've been his worst tormentor for DECADES. But…you're different from the others. Many act on ignorance of Bruno's power, usually done because of false stories spread by others. But you?" Milagro's eyes narrowed (the flames almost looking like they grew brighter), "You are not that, Ricardo Sanchez. You KNOW how Bruno's power works. You KNOW that he simply witnesses the future, as opposed to creating it (no matter how it may be). DESPITE this fact, however…you intentionally spread the misconception. You consistently and deliberately turn anyone you can against Bruno…all while verbally and physically attacking him at your leisure. All due to what can only be described as spite and pure sadism." If Ricardo was ABLE to move, he likely would have flinched at each of Milagro's words.
"T-That's not…that's ridiculous!"
"Oh…PLEASE don't insult my intelligence like that, Ricardo Sanchez. I find it quite…irritable." The flames in Milagro's eyes briefly grew brighter (and Ricardo was BARELY able to keep from soiling himself). "Before you try to lie to me again, let me inform you of something: I'm not simply the magic that runs through the Encanto. I. AM the Encanto. The ground you walk on and even the very air you breathe…it's ALL me. I know everything that has occurred here in the last five decades. EVERYTHING." By those words, everyone felt…one way or another (be it curiosity or outright fear). Just then, though…Milagro closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head, "Why am I even talking to you? You're nothing but a stain on this village, Ricardo Sanchez. A parasite that mistreats and hurts whoever is in his path without a care in the world. You don't DESERVE to live here in my protection. Be gone." Before anyone could do or say anything, Milagro snapped his fingers…and Ricardo disappeared in a flash of light. The entity took a moment to clear his throat, "Now then…where were we?"
By this point, the villagers weren't sure if Milagro was ignorant of how terrified they were of him…or if he was choosing to simply ignore this fact.
"D-Did you-," Isabela spoke up, nearly losing her nerve once Milagro's eyes fell to her. Swallowing, she continued, "Did you kill him?"
"No," Milagro simply responded, "But he'll WISH that I had." No one wanted to know what he meant by that (1). "Ah…that's right. As I was saying, Bruno had been my original successor for Alma. More compassionate than Julieta, with a fire in his bones that burned brighter than that of Pepa, and his Gift made him the wisest of the triplets by FAR. Truth be told, he was the only logical choice back then. But-," everyone was a little caught off-guard by the distressed frown on his face and the despondent tone in his voice, "-it was not to be. Decades of being bullied, belittled, mistreated, and abused by the inhabitants of this village had ground away Bruno's capability to lead." Milagro was not ignorant of how many villagers (including some members of the family) looked down in guilt at his words, but he ignored them as he began walking across the room, "With the final triplet no longer a viable candidate, I had to turn my gaze to the next generation. Isabela, Dolores, Luisa, Camilo…one by one, however, my doubts continued to form as I discovered flaws within each of them. Flaws that would have made them…"subpar" leaders at best. Until, of course-," Milagro stopped directly in front of Mirabel, "-we got to you, Mirabel."
"M-Me?" Both the tone in Mirabel's voice and the look on her face made her seem much younger than she was.
"Yes. Everyone in this family possesses various attributes that would be useful in a leader. Compassion, intelligence, determination…you, however, were different. You weren't burdened by the same flaws as the others. Even at such a young age, your perception was something astonishing. You weren't simply AWARE of your family's feelings and problems, but were FULLY determined not to like these issues stand." That was something that the other Madrigals knew VERY well. Even before her ceremony, it was as if she had a sort of "sixth sense" about knowing when her family was having any issue (with many teasing that it was her "Gift come early")…and she always made SURE that the one upset would be smiling before she left.
Camilo was good at making people smile by telling jokes and being silly to make them forget about what was bothering them…but Mirabel made people smile by trying with all of her might to fix the problem bothering them so that they wouldn't have a REASON to frown (even if it wasn't a problem she could solve, her tenacity was normally heartwarming enough to help).
"W-What are you...saying, Milagro?" Truth be told, there was a part of Mirabel's brain that was positive of what the spirit was about to say…but the rest of her didn't want to say it or even THINK about it (finding it too ridiculous).
"There was ALWAYS something about you, Mirabel. I've seen it progress for years. In YOU, I see the perfect candidate…for Alma's successor." You might think that everything that has happened already that night would mean that there'd be little, if anything, that could surprise the village. But you would be wrong.
Despite a few cruel individuals (such as Ricardo Sanchez and Manuel Rodriguez), most of the village LOVED Mirabel. How could they not? Not only was she one of the most compassionate souls in the entire Encanto (always willing to lend a hand and cheer someone up), but some felt that her lack of a Gift made her more…"approachable" than many of her relatives (2).
But no one could have ever imagined that Mirabel would be the one to succeed Alma Madrigal, as chosen by the Miracle itself.
"T-That's…that's ridiculous! You can't possibly think of leaving everything to HER!"
Milagro shut his eyes with a sigh, not bothering to even LOOK at the voice who spoke (though knowing that it was one of those girls who followed Manuel Rodriguez around…for some reason). "I cannot deal with this anymore," the spirit muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose…before suddenly snapping his fingers, causing EVERYONE present to vanish in a flash of golden light. Everyone…except, of course, the Madrigals. "There we go. And BEFORE any of you begin to panic-," Milagro spoke with a hand held up, all of the Madrigals already looking terrified at the spirit action's (with Antonio's hiding behind Mirabel's leg, Luisa standing in front of Isabela, and Camilo grabbing ahold of Dolores' arm), "-no, I did not KILL any of them…nor did I send them to share Ricardo Sanchez's fate. I simply teleported them all to their own homes. They're currently all asleep in their beds and will wake up in a few hours. I simply grew tired of having to deal with their constant interruptions. They weren't needed for any of this in the first place; I simply tolerated their presence for as long as I could."
Every second spent around Milagro and listening to him speak really just felt like something out of a story. Something awe-inspiring…but kinda freaky too.
"D-Did-," Mirabel spoke up, struggling to keep her nerve as she felt everyone else's eyes fall on her, "-did you actually mean what you said before, Milagro? About me…taking over for Abuela?"
"Of course," Milagro simply replied, "I saw the beginning of your potential in the early years of your life. But on that day? I knew the truth. I knew that you would be the best candidate to succeed Alma. You still had much learning and growing (of the mental kind) to do, of course, and you're STILL not ready. But, one day, you will be. Would you like to know what I see when I look at you, Mirabel?" At Mirabel's nod, Milagro reached out and ran his fingers through her hair (the sensation feeling SO nice that Mirabel had to actually fight to keep her eyes open), "I see this family's future. I see the one who will lead the Madrigals into a great, and glorious, new era." He moved his hand to lift Mirabel's chin with his index and middle fingers, ensuring that she looked him in the eyes, "I recognize that it is a lot of responsibility to place on a young woman. Admittedly, it likely would have been worse if I HAD revealed the truth back then," he muttered to himself before shaking his head out, "But, you won't have to worry about this now. It'll likely be years before you're truly prepared for this, but Alma and I will make sure that you are ready." Despite his (MANY) issues with Alma, Milagro recognized that she did care about her youngest granddaughter (even IF she didn't, the old woman would, at the very least, be smart enough to know that the family and village's future leader would need to be well-trained). "When a leader is made to step down, by choice or otherwise, I believe that the next to take the role should be better than their predecessor. This is so that the very thing they lead will be able to grow BETTER than those who came before. THAT'S what I believe you to be. That's what I KNOW you can be." Then, Milagro (out of nowhere) gently flicked his finger against Mirabel's forehead, "So don't ever doubt yourself and what you're capable of. If you're unable to have faith in yourself, have faith that I made the correct choice." Tears began to well up in Mirabel's eyes as her bottom lip began to wobble. Not trusting herself to speak without bursting into tears, the young girl decided on the next best thing and threw her arms around Milagro's body. For perhaps the first time that night, Milagro was caught off-guard by the sudden hug. After only a moment, however, he wrapped his arms around the young girl (who, to everyone, suddenly seemed much younger than she was). The spirit was surprisingly gentle as he rubbed Mirabel's back with one hand and ran his fingers through her hair with the other.
Mirabel wouldn't say it out loud, but Milagro's words and actions helped more than anyone's had in…a long time.
"Milagro?" The spirit (keeping his arms around Mirabel) turned his gaze to Isabela, "C-Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"If…the reason that you didn't give Mirabel a Gift was because she was meant to take over after Abuela, is that also why you didn't give her a room for herself?"
"From a certain point of view, I suppose," Milagro responded, "Your powers and rooms are connected, like two sides of the same coin. The primary reason I gave you specialized rooms to go along with the blessings was to give you a place to hone your powers and feel comfortable to release them to their fullest extent. With not giving her a blessing, I saw no point in giving her a specialized room as the rest of you had. Though, I must confess: I would have made a different decision had I known that you were incapable of doing anything but keeping her in the nursery." Just about the entire family flinched at those words.
"T-There wasn't anything we could go," Alma spoke up, "We couldn't just…build a room into Casita."
"Did you try?" The quick comeback caused Alma to flinch.
"I…understand the importance of Mirabel having her own room, but we couldn't risk harming Casita to do it."
"Did you ask her if that you possible?" Milagro gently unwrapped Mirabel from around him, "Or, even ask Casita if she would be willing to undertake any pain or discomfort to give Mirabel a room personal to her? Or…did you come up with a potential solution, ASSUME that solution to be impossible, and make no further attempts at anything?" By this point, Milagro was walking toward Alma (his behind his back), "You had options, Alma. Possibilities. Do not stand there and try to convince me otherwise."
"The family…is always busy. It's not something that could have been in a single day."
"But of course," Milagro shrugged, "After all, you only had ten years to come up with a solution. Or five, if you want to wait until the point where Pepa was pregnant and Mirabel would no longer even have the nursery to herself."
"But-," All eyes turned toward Antonio, whose gaze was on the ground. When he picked his head up, a frown was on his face (and he looked about two seconds away from crying), "-b-but, I thought Mirabel liked sharing a room with me."
"I did! I DO!" Mirabel quickly ran over and scooped her little primo into her arms, hugging him as tightly as she could, "Don't EVER think otherwise, Tonito! I've LOVED having you as my roomie!"
"But it shouldn't have happened in the first place," Milagro spoke up, "A plan SHOULD have been made. Even giving an appropriate amount of time to deal with both the uncertainty of Mirabel not getting a Gift AND Bruno's disappearance, you should have known that SOMETHING needed to be done. If nothing else, then based on simple common sense. The nursery is a room for CHILDREN. What was supposed to happen when Mirabel was married to her own partner? Or when the fourth generation of Madrigals were brought into the world?" Each word delivered to the family was like another mirror being placed before them; a mirror that showed their mistakes in perfect clarity.
"W-Well…why didn't YOU fix it then?!" Pepa suddenly yelled out, "If we're so wrong and you know SO well, why didn't you do anything?!"
Milagro shut his eyes, "Hmph. A lifetime of having your emotions suppressed and manipulated by your mother and most of this village. It makes the true expression of yourself difficult. It has always been easier for you to be angry than to express other intense emotions like guilt. You're so afraid that once you start letting those types of feelings through, you won't be able to stop." Pepa's eyes widened at Milagro's words and the cloud above her head suddenly disappeared. Then, though, it reappeared and began raining heavily above her head. Pepa took a step back and Felix quickly placed his hands on her back, scared that she was gonna fall (which she might have, based on her shaky legs). "But it's a fair question. Why didn't I do anything? I could have given Mirabel her own room. I could have approached Alma directly to make the situation clear to her. I could have eased and even erased the burdens caused by each blessing, and could have ensured that NO ONE in this village could ever cause any harm to this family. So…why didn't I?" Milagro then walked close to Casita's front doors, his back to the Madrigals, "The short version? I believe that helping you would hold too much of a risk of harming you in the end." Of everything that Milagro could say, none of the Madrigals could have expected that. Most looked stumped while others (like Mirabel and Camilo) shared confused glances.
Isabela was the first to speak up, "That…doesn't even make any sense."
Milagro chuckled for a moment, "Then I suppose that I should give you the long version." Milagro then turned around, his face serious once again, "Life is…dangerous. Unfair. And, all too often, even cruel. It's a living, breathing creature in of itself; one that you face every single day. It cares little for you. It will knock you down and crush you under its foot without hesitation or remorse. But-," all of the family (admittedly a little sad by the spirit's words) focused in on that single word, "-it does not do this out of a sense of "evil" (for lack of a better term), or because it explicitly DESIRES to see you suffer and fade away. These are tests that it gives you. Challenges that are meant to push you to your limits and find out EXACTLY what you are capable of." Milagro held up his hand, "These challenges are never easy, and, sometimes-," the spirit sighed, setting his hand down, "-sometimes, they are too great for the individual to conquer." Milagro then turned around to face the family, "But their purpose isn't to destroy you…but strengthen you. When you conquer one of life's challenges, that becomes another level that you grow." He took a step forward, "Let me be clear about this: I was created through the love and protective nature that Pedro and Alma had for both one another and their children. The purpose of my very BEING is to care for, and protect, this family. There is nothing that I would want more than to take a direct approach and PERSONALLY ensure your joy and safety for the rest of eternity. But it's not as simple as that. And Life, all too often, tends to deny us what we truly desire. If I were to constantly get involved and fix every problem as soon as it appears, you wouldn't learn or grow. You would stagnate, which would make you all the more vulnerable to the chaos that is life. Life DEMANDS change. Growth. Evolution. Refusing to do so leaves you unprepared for Life's challenges, making it far more likely that YOUR life will be taken from you."
"So-," Mirabel spoke up, "-You were trying to help us…learn?"
"To grow, and evolve." Milagro walked directly in front of Mirabel, forcing her to look up to meet his eyes, "By directly involving myself in your challenges to fix them, I would be robbing all of you of the opportunity to become the best possible version of yourself." Milagro reached forward and moved a lock of Mirabel's hair behind her ear, "Something that I find to be the worst thing I could do. Look no further than the village itself."
"The village? What do you mean?"
"Many in the village take advantage of the family's powers because it makes their lives easier. They've become reckless and uncaring of their safety because your mother will heal any injury they come to her with-," Julieta could only look to the floor, ashamed at the accuracy of Milagro's words, "-they force Pepa to change her emotions at a whim so that they can bend the weather to do as THEY desire-," Pepa was pulling at her braid so hard that Felix had to coach it out of her hands (afraid that she was going to tear her hair out), "-Luisa is little more than a machine to them, one that they make solve problems in an instant instead of working together and using their brains to find a better solution-," Luisa's eye was twitching furiously as she refused to look at anyone in the room, "-Camilo is mostly used as a babysitter for those too lazy to watch after the children that THEY created-," Camilo's expression looked like someone had punched him in the stomach, "-not to mention-," just then, Milagro shut his eyes and let out a DEEP sigh, "-well…you get the point. It may not be every individual member, but the village as a whole has become too dependent on this family. So much so that not only are they refusing to solve problems that require effort but refuse to handle even SIMPLE matters themselves. They've become complacent. Static. To be quite blunt…WEAK." The entire family couldn't help but take a step back from the surprising anger in that last word. "A society is supposed to have each individual work together with each of their skills operating as a unit. When only a small portion of the group put forth all of the work for the entire community? The community as a whole will continue to grow weaker and weaker until, eventually…inevitably, it dies. THAT'S why I'm getting involved now…before the rot that has settled in truly becomes irreversible."
"W-What-," Camilo spoke up, "-w-what got you to show up tonight of all nights?"
"Because of the cracks, of course," Milagro simply replied. The eyes of everyone present (minus Mirabel, Antonio, and Dolores) widened so much so that it would have been funny in just about any other scenario.
"What?" Julieta breathed out, looking toward her youngest daughter.
"The cracks…were real?" Isabela's normally steady and "perfect" voice was now shaky and uncertain (not unlike a scared child).
"Of course they were. All of you should know Mirabel better than to think that she would lie about something so serious." Guilt all but overwhelmed the family by the spirit's words, knowing full well that they were true. Mirabel was one of the most honest people in the entire Encanto. Although she had certainly been quite…"mischievous" when joined with Camilo (many had called the two cousins the "Chaos Twins" in the past), she couldn't tell an outright lie to save her life. This became especially true when she was afraid or anxious in any manner.
If Mirabel burst in on the night of Antonio's Gift Ceremony, screaming about "cracks in Casita" and "the house is in danger", it would be because she TRULY believed in those words. And even if she COULD tell a convincing lie, it's clear that she would NEVER (intentionally) do anything to interfere with/ruin Antonio's ceremony.
(Everyone knew how much she loved him, EASILY more than anyone else in the family or even the Encanto itself)
Just then, the tiles underneath Mirabel's feet began moving rapidly before suddenly throwing her near the closest wall. Before Mirabel could do anything, the curtains suddenly (and tightly) wrapped around her body.
"C-Casita, what are you-?"
"She's apologizing," Milagro answered, "She, like me, lives on this family's love for one another. When you're united, we are at our strongest. When those bonds begin to waver, so too does our power…and our lives." He ignored the gasps that followed (finding them a little dramatic), "The cracks did not begin tonight. They've persisted for decades, predating all of the children. When this normally occurred in the past, Casita is usually able to heal herself."
"Heal?" Antonio asked, tilting his head.
"Yes, little one. Casita isn't a spirit in the same manner that I am. I don't have a "true physical form" in the same manner that most beings do. The closest that I have to one is your grandparents' wedding candle, though even THAT is a bit of an oversimplification." Milagro held his hands out to his body, "As I said, THIS is merely something that I created because I figured that you would all better respond to this rather than a disembodied voice. Or…a pair of glowing eyes. But Casita-," he extended his arms, looking up toward his "sister", -THIS is her true form, rather than one she takes or one that she inhabits. The walls, the floors, the roof…these are her flesh and bones. The cracks that appear are WOUNDS that form along her being when the family's bonds waver." The subsequent looks of shock, concern, and even fear made Milagro feel good…as it meant that they were listening. "That's why she heals herself when she has the power to do so. She often tries to hide them to prevent you all from panicking but letting them stand would be the same as any of you letting a gaping wound remain on your body. The cracks that formed earlier tonight were worse than they had ever been. Casita was in immense pain while BOTH of our life forces were waning. If you were inside of Casita if she were to perish, you all would as well. But while in Antonio's room? The rooms themselves aren't technically a part of Casita's body. They're separate pocket dimensions. If we both were to perish while any of you were INSIDE of one of the rooms…you would likely cease to exist, alongside the rooms themselves." A chill ran down everyone's spines at those words. Not just dying, but ceasing to EXIST.
"But-," Felix spoke up, "-when we got outside, there wasn't anything wrong with Casita. At all. If the situation was so severe, why did everything look normal?"
"Because of Alma." Everyone's gaze suddenly fell on the matriarch.
"Me? What are you-?"
"You BELIEVED Mirabel when she spoke about the cracks. You didn't brush her aside, critique her, or even question if she really saw what she claimed to see. She came to you with a problem, scared out of her mind, and you believed her. It may seem small, but that one moment of trust? That minor repair to your and Mirabel's bond (that had been decreasing since she was five)? That gave Casita JUST enough energy to heal herself from the cracks. She was in so much pain that she was quite relieved to have the power to make it stop (3)." He turned toward Mirabel, who was looking the most worried of all, "That's why she's apologizing. Beyond being in pain, she was afraid that she might die if she didn't heal herself in time. She understood how it would look for you to bring everyone out without any of the aforementioned cracks, but she always has, and always will, found your life to be more important than your reputation." The curtains tightened a bit around Mirabel's body as the tiles sadly rippled under her feet.
"It's okay, Casita." Mirabel patted the curtains, "I…understand."
"As I said before-," Milagro continued, "-the cracks first occurred decades ago. Even as they've worsened in these last ten years, Casita has been able to stay on top of them and I've since been able to trust you all to handle this family's problems yourselves. A trust that has run QUITE dry as of tonight…because of you, Alma."
"Me?!" Perhaps due to being constantly blamed for her family's problems by the VERY one that it was for, Alma was now visibly frustrated by the spirit's words. "That's preposterous! What do you mean-?!"
"You believed Mirabel about the cracks," Milagro interrupted, "Even as you saw nothing abnormal with the courtyard, your suspicion was still there…wasn't it?" He stepped in front of Alma, who now refused to meet his gaze, "Those words of "assurance" were simply to save face. You believed Mirabel that something WAS very wrong…didn't. You?" Alma swallowed, wiping her hands on her clothes (and hating how childish she felt at that moment).
Eventually…she spoke, "I-I…I didn't want to cause a panic." The gazes of the rest of the family shot toward the old woman in shock at her words (with Mirabel, in particular, looking quite betrayed), "I didn't want this to spread to the rest of the community until I knew what was happening and how to fix it."
"But that brings a few very important questions to mind, doesn't it?" Milagro leaned closer to Alma's face, "Were you going to TELL Mirabel that you believed her? Ask her to go into detail about what she saw? Or, at the very least, simply inform her that you KNEW that she wasn't lying and that she wasn't as alone as she felt?" Alma opened her mouth…but no words would come out, her gaze falling to the floor, "No. Of course, you wouldn't. You would have done the same thing that you ALWAYS do when this family is faced with a crisis: maintain your belief that everything would be fine so long as the family simply worked HARDER and sacrificed MORE of themselves to this community. Throughout the decades, this has ALWAYS been your response to trouble… even though it very. Rarely. Works." Placing his hands behind his back, Milagro walked past Alma, "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." He looked back to the family, "They say THAT is the simplest definition of insanity." Milagro then turned back around and walked toward Alma. She took a step back as the spirit grew closer, and let out a yell as she tripped over her own feet (the rest of the family yelling in concern)…only not to hit the floor. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was floating in mid-air (no doubt Milagro's power). The spirit above her then leaned down, "Have you gone MAD, Alma?" As she stared into Milagro's eyes, Alma felt a sudden and intense fear coursing through her body. Despite Milagro's early claims that his entire purpose in life was to care for and protect the family (AND the fact that Alma didn't doubt him), there was a small part of Alma that couldn't help but be afraid that he was about to…end her.
Just then…the entire family was blinded by a sudden flash of light, screams filling the walls of Casita. When everyone opened their eyes (some falling over either each other or themselves), they found themselves in…the kitchen?
"How did we-," Luisa started before she stopped herself, looking toward Milagro, "Oh…right."
"Everyone-," with a wave of Milagro's finger, Alma (with a yelp) was quickly floated to her seat at the head of the table, "-sit down." Fully aware that Milagro would move them if they stayed still, and wanting to PREVENT that, each Madrigal practically raced to the nearest seat as quickly and efficiently as they could (Isabela and Camilo fought over a chair for a few moments, but a single look from the spirit settled them down). Milagro took a moment to look around the family settled at the table and he gave a small (pleased) nod, "Good. Now then…," Milagro then turned around toward the family tree. Before anyone could say or do anything, Milagro waved a hand in front of the carving…a large white circle of light suddenly materialized (blinding everyone).
When the light died down? The family saw a small, rather cluttered, room. There were boxes, pans, and other items scattered across the floor, as well as a small table and chair directly where Milagro had opened the portal. There was a clothesline that held up pants to the side, a record player sitting in the corner, and multiple rats that ran along the floor (causing Pepa to yell in shock, a sudden bolt of lightning striking the floor). There was a large, dirty red chair that sat nearly in the middle of the room, and on that chair rested…
"BRUNO?!" Alma, Julieta, Pepa, Agustin, and Felix yelled out in shock, while the grandchildren looked on in complete shock.
Except for Antonio (who looked confused) and Dolores (who looked…surprisingly calm).
The seer in question had pulled his legs up to his chest, staring at his family with widened and uncertain eyes. Said eyes darted around quickly for a few moments (likely thinking of a way to escape the current situation) before he gulped and raised a trembling hand into the air. "H-Hi?"
"QUIET," Milagro spoke and held up a hand before any of the family could speak up (loudly), silencing them all. He then locked eyes with Bruno, "You-," Bruno couldn't help but flinch when Milagro pointed at him. Just then, the spirit pointed to the only free chair at the table (placed at the opposite end of the table by Casita, directly across from Alma), "-sit." Not wanting to be on the receiving end of the spirit's frustration (having seen it firsthand throughout the evening), Bruno picked himself up from his chair and quickly made his way to the table's last free chair (ignoring the looks of confusion and…sadness from his family).
"So…what's supposed to happen here, exactly?" Camilo asked, pulling his gaze away from his Tio Bruno (who had pulled his hood above his head and kept his gaze down the second that he sat in the chair).
"What is supposed to "happen here exactly", Camilo-," Milagro began, "-is what SHOULD have happened a long time ago." Milagro began walking around the table, "You're all going to sit here and TALK about the issues that have been bothering you for years. We're going to fix these problems and we're going to fix them NOW."
"Well…what if we don't have any problems to talk about?" Luisa asked, looking away as she thumped her finger against the table (seemingly ignorant to how her eye twitched at her words).
"You do," Milagro, bluntly, replied, "You ALL do. Even if I hadn't been watching how all of you throughout the years, I can practically SEE your emotions bleeding through the air. Fear, anger, sadness, anxiety…if your emotions were smoke, no one of you would be able to see through it. You ALL have things bothering you, and you're going to behave like human beings and DISCUSS these issues."
"I agree that we should talk about the things that bother us, Milagro-," Agustin spoke up, "-but you can't expect everyone to just…spill their guts on command like that. Humans are a bit more complicated than that."
"I've trusted this family to solve its inner problems in the past, and THIS is the result," Milagro stated, "Whether intentionally or not, everyone lies and manipulates one another to avoid sharing how they TRULY feel. The cracks that occurred tonight were no small thing. It was the most intense event that has occurred during our lives. If Alma hadn't trusted Mirabel in that moment and hadn't provided the necessary energy to heal, it would likely have started a chain reaction that would have destroyed us all." Milagro didn't even react to the horrified expressions on the family's faces, "To be quite blunt, I can no longer trust this family to solve these problems by yourselves. There's too much at stake to allow for error. So.. I'm telling you how we're going to solve this: all of you are going to talk about what bothers you, and NO ONE is leaving until this is all settled."
"That's ridiculous," Alma shook her head, "We can't just…stay us indefinitely. Our community-."
"And what about tonight makes you believe that I remotely care about the community, Alma? Truly?" At the old woman's silence, the spirit scoffed, "I thought so. Let me make myself perfectly clear: the situation is TOO dire to be allowed to stand and it has been made perfectly clear that I cannot trust you to fix these problems yourselves. That's why ALL of us are going to remain here until we fix the issues that could threaten the lives of all of us. Now then-," having taken a step away from the table, Milagro turned back to the family, "-who would like to start us off?" None of the Madrigals spoke up, simply glancing at one another, "It's not a complex task to accomplish. All you need to do is be honest and share with everyone what is bothering you." By this point, over half of the family was now intentionally refusing to look at him. "If no one volunteers to speak up, I WILL choose someone myself (4)." Still, not a soul spoke up, causing the spirit to sigh, "Very well. Then…I suppose that we will start with how Isabela does not want to marry Mariano Guzmán. Specifically, because she is homosexual (5)." Isabela's eyes widened to the point where it looked like they were about to pop clean out of her skull while (most of) the family's gazes turned to her.
"WHAT?!"
(Author's Note: Annnnnnnnnnd scene!
(1): I'm not going to tell you exactly WHAT Milagro did to Ricardo (I'll leave that up to your imagination). I'll only say two things: 1) He's still alive as of the end of this chapter and 2) Milagro is correct in saying that the man WISHES that the spirit had just killed him.
Don't piss off Milagro0_0
(2): That's my personal headcanon. With how kind Mirabel is? There's no way in HELL that she's not loved by MOST of the village.
There will ALWAYS be a few assholes in every town, of course, but my point still stands.
(3): Surprisingly, I haven't seen many Encanto stories include this facet. Casita's body IS the house itself. All of those cracks? That's basically giant, gaping wounds being torn open in her flesh. That would HURT…and a shockingly small amount of people ever really address this fact0_0
(4): Just about every teacher I had. ESPECIALLY in college. Anyone else in that same boat?:/
(5): A LOT of people in this Fandom are convinced that Isabela is gay because she didn't want to marry Mariano.
I…think that interpretation ignores a little common sense. Just because a woman doesn't want to marry one specific man does not mean that she's gay (and vice versa). Mariano DOES seem like a near "perfect man": he's attractive, compassionate, smart (I know that plenty take Mirabel's "big, dumb hunk" line literally, but NO ONE who writes poetry daily can be stupid0_0), and even sensitive. But, there's likely something about his personality that Isabela just doesn't desire in a partner. Or, ya know…it could be because she's being pressured/pushed to marry a man and bear his children, feeling like she can't speak up for herself?:/
I was always going to end the chapter with Milagro "outing" Isabela's lack of desire to marry Mariano, and I just thought that making this timeline's Isabela gay would make it funnier. Hey…it's a multiverse story. Of COURSE no one will have the same sexuality across EVERY timeline:/
-Soooooo…what did we think? I was pretty excited about this idea and I hope that it turned out well.
I mentioned this in my "TigerVolcano5000 presents Encanto Headcanons!" one-shot, but I believe that the Madrigals' "Miracle" is a living entity in of itself. Considering everything that it created, and the specific "rules" that it has, there HAD to have been an intelligent mind behind all of this. Some think it was Casita, some think that it was Pedro, and a few even think it was directly God Himself.
Let me be clear: I don't believe that Pedro is Casita OR the Miracle itself. He didn't come back as one of them nor was he reincarnated as one of them. He was part of their creation but he's dead and in the afterlife. I also don't buy that Casita is the Miracle either. Simply put, Casita is too limited (being a house) and the Miracle has very few clearly defined limits (being a more…formless concept that can accomplish the impossible).
As for "Milagro" himself? I wrote him as a reality-warping god. Which…he basically is. If you feel confused or doubtful, consider that EVERYTHING "supernatural" in the movie would have come from this one being. Permanently altering the environment, creating life (another magical spirit, no doubt), and turning children into veritable demigods. I feel like just about everyone in this Fandom agrees that the magical Madrigals have not reached the full potential of their powers. Consider how powerful you believe the Madrigals can grow. Consider how powerful you've seen the Madrigals grow in fanmade content that you've experienced. And recognize that ALLLLL of that…is merely a drop of water in the OCEAN of power that the Miracle (Milagro) possesses.
Combined with the fact that, as long as the family is united, he's immortal? Milagro is basically a god. He'd probably give one of those cryptic answers like "I am…and I am not" or "Depending on your point of view", but he is.
One thing that I'm not 100% satisfied in this chapter, though, is Milagro's mindset. I always envisioned him as having a different mindset/sense of morality compared to humans and even Casita. Almost alien in a way. Not sure how well that desire transferred to the page:/
Anyway…thoughts? Good? Bad? Amazing? Awful? Let me know.
Constructive Criticism ONLY…no flames allowed.
Review, Favorite, Follow, and I'll see you guys next time:)