the magic had left with Mirabel 6 years before and now they had to deal with the aftermath of losing the miracle and the giftless Madrigal. Dolores was in terrible condition from just a simple cold, Camilo was visibly drained from being accidentally forced into taking on Mirabels responsibilities in the village that none of them even knew she had and worst of all, Isabella was incredibly weak, not even able to walk on her own longer than 10 minutes.

"something on your mind?" Julieta snapped back to reality when she heard her husband's voice. she was sitting at the windowsill of the nursery, which had been rebuilt soon after her youngest daughter left with something they didn't realize their health depended on so much.

"yeah, I'm just wondering how Mirabel is doing on her own" the 56 year old woman confessed.

"oh...I don't think you'll like what's going on downstairs" Agustin told her. that was when she realized he was visibly holding back tears.

concerned, she shakily stood up. the healer of the village had felt the effects of losing her gift as well. she could tell her legs were slightly weaker than before, but that was the only side effect she ever noticed.

when the couple came outside the front doors of the casita they saw Luisa frozen in terror with tears streaming down her cheeks. she was standing next to Isabella's body on the grass.

"what happened!?" Julieta cried in a panic.

"I-I don't know! we were just walking to the forest to gather firewood when she suddenly passed out! shes not breathing either!" the 25 year old stuttered in freight, clearly worried for the 28 year old as well.

the words stopped Juileta in her tracks. first she lost her youngest and now her eldest. Mirabel could come back at anytime, but they all knew you can't come back from the dead.

the only thing the familia could do was mourn for the loss of the eldest Madrigal grandchild.

.

Julieta opened her eyes to see a door that read 'Isabella' in front of her. it had been 20 years since the raven haired girls passing now.

"tia, who's Isabella?" a little girl asked, seeing her grandmothers sister visibly upset at seeing the door.

Julieta sighed seeing the 3 year old tugging at the trim of her dress, her eyes wide with innocence and curiosity.

"she was my daughter, but she passed away due to...unfortunate circumstances" the 76 year old explained. she was in a similar state as the girl the door in front of her belonged to had been a few months before her death. Julieta knew she would join multiple family members. perhaps even her youngest daughter, but she could never know whether she was alive or dead.

.

Pedro heaved a sigh of relief when he saw a village on the other side of the pile of rocks he had just climbed.

the teenage boy stretched his arms before noticing the broken candle at his feet.

he picked up a large chunk, sensing familiarity with the object. it shimmered with the dimmest glow of yellow, the carved remains of a butterfly pattern scattered across the pieces, it looked as though someone had stomped on it hard.

he dropped the piece of wax, a jolt of anxiety and misery leaping up his spine.

"what in the world is that thing?" he asked himself under his breath before his attention switched to the view in front of him.

he skidded down the small hill made of rocks and boulders, beginning to head to the collection of houses.

he looked down at his mochila bag as he walked. the bag had no writing on it except for his mothers first name in orange, 'Mirabel'. the writing on it was worn out like all of the embroidery on the bag, but the writing in particular showed no sign of falling out at all.

"agh!" Pedro gasped, tripping over a rock embedded into the ground.

"are you okay?" a nearby boy asked, rushing over to him.

the boy, around Pedros age reached down with his hand to help him up.

"yeah, I'm alright" Pedro said, standing up with ease.

"if you don't mind me asking, why are you covering your forehead?" the boy asked, pointing at the black headband hiding the butterfly mark on Pedros forehead.

"personal reasons" Pedro told him, adjusting his headband slightly.

"understandable" the boy shrugged, gesturing to his armless shoulder with his head.

"I haven't seen you around, what's your name?" the boy asked.

"I'm Pedro" he simply replied before glancing behind the boy.

"I've gotta go, it was fun meeting you!" Pedro said, running towards the village once more.

"you too!" the boy said.

.

Pedro didn't know much about his mothers side, but one thing he did know was they probably all still live in one house, or at least most of them do.

"excuse me" Pedro said, tapping a random man on the shoulder.

"yes?" he asked, turning around to face the young Madrigal.

"do you know where the Madrigals live?" Pedro asked.

"uh yeah, they live in that casa" the man said, pointing to a two story house at the top of a hill.

"thank you! it was a pleasure to meet you!" Pedro told him before running off to the house.

he ran as fast as he could, passing Luisa on his way.

he came to a halt when he reached the wide open front doors.

"hello?" Pedro called out as he cautious entered.

an older woman in her mid-70s on the second floor turned to look down at him.

"what do you want?" the toddler next to the woman asked, walking forward and grabbing onto the railing.

"my name is Pedro madrigal the second. I was wondering where I could find, Isabela madrigal?" Pedro queried.

"she's dead!" the toddler almost instantly replied.

"oh. I'm sorry to hear that. what about Luisa madrigal?" Pedro asked.

"she's outside. you said your name was Pedro the second?" the woman queried.

"yes. I'm Mirabels son" Pedro confirmed.

the woman looked shocked at his mothers name.

"h-how long has she been a mother?" the woman asked, stuttering at the beginning as she regained her composure.

"since my twin sisters were born. they're twenty. also my mom died five years ago" Pedro explained.

"I've been a grandmother for twenty years and I never knew" the woman mumbled, catching his attention.

"are you my gramma?" Pedro asked excitedly.

"I guess so. I'm so glad to meet you. I'll just come downstairs and then we can talk" the woman replied as she turned to head to the nearby staircase.

suddenly, Savannah ran through the front doors of the house and tackled Pedro to the ground.

"you randomly decide to go find some people we've never met. you leave in the middle of the night and all you leave us is a piece of paper!? I'm siblings with an idiot!" she screamed in his face as she stood up.

"sorry" Pedro whimpered, still on the ground.


(I haven't edited this in weeks and have lost every ounce of motivation to continue this so sorry, this is where it ends)