Two months before Luna's 5th birthday, a new door appeared next to Bruno's tower and the Madrigals were swept up in a whirlwind of excitement at the prospect of Luna getting her own Gift.

Bruno was enthusiastically talking about his daughter's birthday party, planning the menu and decorations with his sisters, while Felix and Agustin talked about what sort of Gift Luna might receive.

To everyone's surprise, Alma was rather reserved on the subject of Luna's Gift, rejecting the idea of the party including Luna opening her door.

"What if Luna gets her own room but doesn't get a Gift?" she proposed one night at dinner. "I spent many years obsessed with the magic and sharing it with the town. Doing so cost Bruno his sight. I do not want mi nieta hurt the same way her father was."

"Mama is correct," Pepa concurred, nodding her head. After taking a sip of wine, she glanced at her brother and sobrina. "It would be great if Luna received her own Gift, but even if she doesn't, it doesn't change the fact that she's still a part of La Familia Madrigal."

After swallowing a bite of arepa, Luna turned to Alma and said, "But Abuela, I'm not a real Madrigal."

Alma stiffened, giving Luna a sharp look as she said, "Who told you that, mi vida?"

Luna shrugged, nibbling on her arepa as she mumbled, "Some kids in town. Because Papi took me in since my real mami ran away and left me behind because she didn't love me."

"Corazon, your mother left you at the hospital because she believed she wouldn't be a good parent to you," Bruno said, turning in his daughter's direction. "She didn't abandon you out of a lack of love. In fact, she loved you so deeply that she chose to leave, hoping that someone else would provide you with the nurturing home you truly deserved."

x

Later that night, after putting Luna to bed in the nursery, Bruno made his way down to the kitchen and found Pepa making herself a cup of tea. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, perching on one of the barstools near the counter.

"Of course, hermano," Pepa replied, making a second cup of tea. Once she was seated next to Bruno, she sipped her tea before she confessed, "I've never known how to tell Luna how grateful I am for her saving your life."

Stiffening for a moment, Bruno took a deep breath before realizing, "You read my journal, didn't you?" Hearing his sister's whispered admission, he hesitated before he said, "Once I realized I was blind, I thought about how easy it would be for me to 'accidentally' end my life. I was in a dark place and... and I just... I-I-I couldn't think of any reason to... to not just..."

Bruno's words when Alma declared him to be Luna's new father echoed in Pepa's mind.

"She should have someone who's not... Someone who can watch her grow up."

He felt Luna should have a parent that wasn't suicidal. Someone who would be alive to see her become a teenager and then an adult.

"I haven't had those thoughts in a long time," Bruno assured Pepa, feeling the atmosphere changes that indicated that a cloud was forming over her head. "Between taking care of Luna and Mama easing up and being more supportive, I'm getting better. I-I still feel weird going out into public... a-and I feel like a lot of people still think I'm bad luck, but... But I'm trying to tell myself that they don't matter."

Sipping her own tea, Pepa was quiet for a moment before reaching for her brother's hand. "But...?"

Bruno squeezed Pepa's hand back and took a deep breath before continuing. "But I'll never witness Luna's quinceanera. I won't be able to see her graduate from high school. I won't see her in her wedding dress. I'll always be part of the significant events in her life, but I won't be able to actually see them. A-And I know you've all seen that my door has lost its glow. My Gift is gone and... I'd be lying if I said there isn't a tiny part of me that wishes it were still there. Because that's the only way I'd be able to see my daughter."

"Bruno, are you afraid that Luna's Gift will start to hurt her like yours hurt you?" Pepa mused, curiously.

"Aren't you worried about the same thing?" Bruno countered. "For years, all we heard from Mama was how we had to use our Gifts to help serve the community. What if she looks at her grandchildren's Gifts and that starts up all over again?"

It was true that it was one of Pepa's main concerns with her daughter, Dolores, but there was one thing that made her realize that Alma wouldn't pressure her grandchildren. "I wish you had seen the look on Mama's face when she learned about you trying to tear your eyes out. The expression of horror and devastation... She swore that she would never hurt the family again. I think she's genuinely ashamed of what she's done to us and she's afraid her actions will end up hurting the miracle more than any inactivity on our part."

Two Months Later...

By the time Luna's birthday party had wound down, she was exhausted and barely able to keep her eyes open as her father carried her upstairs to the nursery, getting her dressed and tucked into bed before quietly closing the door behind him.

As the grandfather clock tolled 4 in the morning, however, Luna woke up and crawled out of bed, Casita shuffling her slippers over before she went to the nursery door and headed out into the hall, going to where the blank door stood waiting for her.

Reaching a hand up and touching the doorknob, Luna closed her eyes as she felt the rush of magic surging through her and filling her with words and sounds she'd never heard before. Looking at the door, she saw that it now bore an image of herself surrounded by words in almost a dozen different languages, most of which she instantly understood.

Going into her new room, she watched the house create a space just for her, filled with books in a myriad of languages, a big bed with a pile of stuffed animals, and a wardrobe for her clothes.

"Is there anything else you want in your room?" Luna heard Casita ask in a cheerful clattering of floorboards and shutters.

But even as Luna thought about a writing desk and notebooks, it appeared in one corner along with a large jar for pens and pencils and a set of puff paints so that Luna could 'write' notes for her Papi in Braille.

Grinning as she went to investigate everything, Luna couldn't help thinking that she had the coolest room ever!