Chapter Text
September, 6:00 AM
Mirabel Madrigal woke up to a sharp pain in her abdomen for the third month straight. It was the first day of 10th grade for her, and she was dreading getting out of bed. For the past three months, she'd been having really painful stomach pains, dizziness, and loose stools. At first, she'd thought it was a mild stomach bug, but the symptoms hadn't gone away.
She'd also been having unusually low energy levels. The kind of tiredness that settles deep in your bones and doesn't go away. She was always tired now. On Isa's last family dinner before she went away for college again, she'd almost fallen asleep at the dinner table. With concerned looks in their eyes, they sent her up to bed early, leaving Isabela and Luisa to help with the clean up. Great. Another thing for her to grumble about.
Maybe she'd tell her parents about her odd, reoccurring symptoms at dinner tonight. But for now, she had to get ready for school.
Oh, right. School. Mirabel both loved and dreaded school. She was very smart, not to toot her own horn, but a lot of people seemed to take offense to this. They bullied her, knocked her books out of her hands, pushed her into lockers, called her names, both behind her back and to her face.
She tried not to let it hurt her, but it did. Especially since her primo, Camilo was more often than not, the ringleader of the bullying. They used to be best friends, but one day he just…changed. And she didn't know why. She still doesn't know why. He's just so… mean now.
"Mirabel?" Her mamá called. "Are you awake?"
Groaning and rolling out of bed, her breath hitched as she stood up fully. These pains were getting worse everyday.
"Yeah má! I'm up!"
Padding to her closet, Mirabel pulled out her outfit for the day, a white cotton top with black embroidery, and a faded overall jumper that she made her own with a rainbow of colored embroidery. White platform converse covered her feet.
After brushing her teeth, Mirabel felt the sudden, painful urge to go to the bathroom. For months now, she'd been feeling excruciating pain whenever she went to the bathroom. Her stools had also become unusually loose.
Doubled over in pain on the toilet, Mirabel took a few deep, shuddering breaths to compose herself, finished the rest of her business, and stood up, pulling up her underwear. When she looked down at the toilet, her whole world seemed to stop. Her ears rang, her already poor vision blurred. She felt very unsteady, very uneasy, like something terrible was coming for her, just around the corner. Something that would change her life forever.
Blood. A lot of blood.
She knew a decent amount about anatomy and its functions, having a nurse as a mother.
So she knew that having bloody stools were never a good thing.
Not ever.
6:30 AM
Mirabel walked to the kitchen in a daze, her mind still fixed on the blood. Why was there blood? What did it mean ? What-
"Mija?"
Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Mirabel looked up at her mamá, who was looking at her with an air of concern. She stroked a thumb over her cheek.
"Are you okay, Mira? You look a little pale."
"I'm fine, mamá. Just a little tired, is all."
Her papá put down his newspaper and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Miraboo, why don't you come sit down and eat some desayuno with us? Your mamá made your favorite!"
Mirabel plastered a fake smile on her face. "Gracias, really, but I'm not really all that hungry. Lo siento, mamá y papá. I think I'll just have some tea and maybe a banana or something."
Julieta sighed and placed several of the arepas in her lunch bag. "At least eat these if you feel hungry, ok?"
"Sí, mamá."
Julieta placed the back of her hand on Mirabel's forehead, her eyebrows furrowed, her face contorted in an expression Mirabel couldn't quite place.
"Mira, are you sure you're feeling ok? You've barely had an appetite, you're always tired, you're losing weight. Is there something you aren't telling us? You know you can come to us for anything. Anything at all. Ok, mi vida?"
Mirabel wanted to tell them about the stomach pains. She wanted to tell them about the fatigue. She wanted to tell them about her loss of appetite. She especially wanted to tell them about the blood in her stools this morning. But she never got to.
As soon as she opened her mouth to speak-
HONK! HONK!! HONKHONKHONK!!!
"That's tía. I'd better go, before she gets demasiado impaciente. Lo prometo, estoy bien. "
With that, she kissed her madre and padre on each of their cheeks, and ran out the door, leaving Julieta and Agustín to look at each other in concern.
They didn't know just how much they'd have to be concerned about in the very near future.
6:50 AM, The Driveway
Running up to the passengers side of her tía Pepa's sedan, Mirabel leaned down to peek her head in the window. Pepa gave her her signature, megawatt smile. Camilo, in the front passenger seat, didn't look up from his phone.
"Hola, tía."
"Hola, Mira." Her eyebrows crinkled in concern. "Are you feeling alright? You're looking a little pale."
Ah, of course. This had to be some sort of triplets intuition. What was next? Tío Bruno texting her about her mental health?
Instead, she smiled pleasantly, and said, "I'm fine, tía. Just a little tired."
"Your mamá says you've been very tired lately. She's worried about you. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"Sí, tía. I'm sure."
Camilo groaned. "Can we please just hurry up and get to school?!"
Tía smiled, sickeningly sweet and said, "Of course, Milo. Get in the backseat."
"What?!"
"You heard me. Get. In. The. Back. Seat!"
" B-but, why?"
"You know why. And besides, all you're going to do is look at that damn phone of yours. I want to talk to your prima."
Camilo grumbled and climbed out of the passenger side of the car. "Fine."
Sliding smoothly into the passenger seat, Mirabel sat her backpack at her feet. Pepa looked at her expectantly, as if she were waiting for Mirabel to initiate a conversation. She hummed and drummed her fingers on her steering wheel.
"Soo… How was the rest of your summer? Did you do anything fun?"
Camilo scoffed. "Come on, má, it's Mirabel. Does she ever do anything fun?"
Mirabel slumped in her seat, trying to make herself small, visibly hurt. She could feel the burning behind her eyes, tears pricking in the corners of them. Camilo really knew how to hit where it hurts.
Pepa stopped the car abruptly, whirled around in her seat, red hot anger in her eyes. She held out her hand.
"Give me your phone."
"Wha- why?"
"Just give it to me!"
"But, má !"
"No buts. Give. Me. The. Damn. Phone!" She snatched the device from her hijo's hands. "You'll get this back when you learn how to be a decent human being. Until then, the phone is mine !"
"Fine."
Mirabel watched her tía swipe angry tears from her eyes. The familiar feeling of guilt settling in her abdomen added to her now constant stomach pains. Why did this always happen when she was around? Mirabel sighed. Maybe she should take the bus from now on…
But after taking a few moments to compose herself, Pepa surprised her and shifted her attention to Camilo. Looking at him from the rear view mirror, she fixed him with a steely glare.
"I didn't raise you to be like this. Your padre and I didn't raise you to be cruel. Where did we go so wrong?"
Camilo huffed and rolled his eyes again, which only proved to hurt her further.
The rest of the car ride was rife with silent, awkward tension, save for the very odd sounding grumbles of Mirabel's stomach. She wished she could disappear into the cushions of her seat, as her tia was currently giving her very worried glances, making Mirabel feel terribly ill at ease. Not only because she kept shifting her eyes from her sobrina, to the road, but because Mirabel didn't want her figuring out that there was actually something wrong with her sobrina.
Mirabel knew exactly how this would go. Tía Pepa would tell mamá, then mamá would fret. Then she'd force her to go to the hospital, get tests done, all for the doctors to tell them that nothing was wrong with her. And then Isabela would accuse her of being a buscador de atención and Camilo would simply have one more reason to bully her. Mirabel just knew she wasn't worth all the trouble.
But the lapse of time between her stomach pains, and being pain free, were starting to become few and far between. She didn't know how much longer she could hide them. Especially since this morning. Was that normal? Where was the blood coming from? Where-
A soft hand on her forearm startled Mirabel out of her thoughts.
"Mira?" She said softly. "We're here."
Turning to Camilo, she gave her hijo what felt like her thousandth glare this morning.
" You'll take the bus home this afternoon."
Camilo threw his head back in exasperation. "Come on mamí! Are you serious?!"
" Dead serious. Now, go , before you're late."
Mirabel gripped the handle of her bag and gingerly got out of the car. The urge to grip her stomach was so strong, her eyes began to burn with unshed tears.
After she slung her bag onto one shoulder and slammed the door shut, Pepa rolled down the passenger side window and waved her over one last time.
"Mira? Are you sure you're alright? You know you can always talk to me."
Mirabel gave her a wan smile. "Sí, tía. I know. I'm ok, lo prometo. "
Pepa gave her one last smile. "Ok, sobrina. Have a fun first day!"
She drove off.
Gripping the straps on her bag, Mirabel made her way to the school entrance, catching up to Camilo on her way. Was he waiting for her? Maybe this year would be different. Maybe-
Camilo whirled around to face her, a look of pure resentment on his face.
"Don't talk to me. Don't look at me, and we won't have any problems. Comprendo?"
Oh.
Mirabel could feel her entire body tremble with hurt. Heat prickled just below her skin. Why was he so cruel ? What did she ever do to deserve his mean spirited nastiness?
"S-sí. Understood."
She watched her primo stalk to their shared homeroom before sighing dejectedly and following his lead.
Mirabel did what her primo asked of her for the rest of the day. Or, she tried to.
She walked into her homeroom class with her head down, and only raised her hand when Señora Rodriguez called her name for attendance. When the bell rang, she was the last person out of her seat; she kept her head down once more and ignored the jeering and taunts from Camilo and his amigos. Why were they still taunting her if Camilo asked her to stay out of the way? She didn't understand it.
Still, she managed to avoid any other confrontations for a while. That was, until her luck ran out.
Mirabel spent most of the day thus far, in a pain-filled haze. She'd gone to the bathroom more in the few hours she'd been in school than she had the entire previous day. But she'd still felt as if she had to go again. She'd even thrown up a few times.
As the day wore on, and yes, it certainly felt as if the day was wearing on her, Mirabel was in so much pain, she could barely stand up straight. Her books felt like one hundred pound bricks, she could barely keep her eyes open, her limbs felt like lead. She felt like she could collapse at any moment. The blood in her stool was still concerning her. And she was so tired.
She was sure she looked as ill as she felt, because her classmates and teachers alike, actually stopped her in the hallways and in class to voice their concern about her current state. Her history teacher not-so nicely stated that she 'Looked as if she was about to keel over .'
Wonderful.
What I would do to simply lie down and sleep for a thousand years…
Mirabel was glad to have avoided Camilo and his amigos thus far. That was, until everything came to a head just before lunch.
By the time the lunch period had come around, Mirabel was struggling to simply keep her eyes open. Her eyelids felt as if they had a hundred pound saddlebags attached to each lid, her stomach pains were so excruciating, she could barely stand upright. None of her friends were in her classes this year, so there wasn't anyone to help her carry her textbooks, not that she would ask anyway. She wasn't one to burden others with such trivial things.
To lessen the pain in her abdomen, she took to walking hunched over. She was sure she looked absolutely ridiculous , but it was the only way she could get to and from her classes without collapsing in pain.
On the way to her locker, Mirabel came to a conclusion after she doubled over in pain. Maybe there was something wrong with her.
Forcing herself to stand up was quite the feat, but she knew she couldn't stay on the floor. 'Come on, Mirabel, get up! Don't be weak, don't be a burden ! Get up!'
Gripping one of the locks, Mirabel pulled herself upright. ' Maybe going to the nurse was a good idea. Yeah. She just needed to put her things in her locker, and she'd be on her way.'
She took one, two, three steps on trembling legs. She was so close , she could see her locker.
'Come on, Mira, you're almost there. Just a few more steps and you'll be-'
Of course, as with everything else in her life, her luck ran out. Why was she expecting anything different? She'd never been a particularly lucky person to begin with.
After taking Camilo's advice and staying out of his way for most of the day so far , they had found her.
Of course they had.
Ignacio Aguilar, the school bully and Camilo's partner in crime of making her life a living hell , stepped in front of her, blocking the path to her locker. The other boys flanked him on all sides.
"And what do we have here?" He sneered. Mirabel tried to step around him, but she was trapped. " You know, it's very rude to ignore people who are talking to you."
"Please leave me alone." Was all Mirabel could muster up.
Alejandro Cortez, who was probably the nicest boy in school looked at her, concerned. Nobody knew why he was friends with these boys. Looking at him right now, Mirabel could see he was beginning to question his entire existence.
"Guys, stop. I thought you said this year would be different? That you were done picking on people? This isn't right!"
Ignacio turned to his amigo, the scowl on his face ever-present and sneered. "Look, amigo, I know I said that, but this is just too good to pass off! I mean, look at her!"
Camilo snickered and strode up to her. "I thought I told you to stay out of my way."
Mirabel backed herself up against the lockers. She glanced around frantically, looking for an escape, but she was surrounded.
"I-I did."
He smiled mirthlessly. "Speak up, Mirabel! I can't hear you."
"Guys, stop ! She doesn't look well!"
She wasn't well, at all. She really, really wasn't.
Ignoring Alejandro, Camilo pressed on. "And what are these? Advanced placement textbooks? No one likes a teacher's pet, Miss Encyclopedia!"
He swung up his hand, palm up, and smacked the books out of her hands, sending them flying and tumbling across the hallway.
Mirabel could feel her heart beating in her ears. She wasn't sure if it was from the embarrassment, the pain, or from the fact that she was literally minutes away from collapsing. Her breathing was shallow and unsteady. Her whole body began to tremble. White hot pain, like a thousand scorching knives pierced her stomach.
But it didn't end there.
Of course it didn't.
Alejandro gripped Camilo's shoulders and shoved him away from his prima.
"Really Camilo!? Haven't you had enough?! Because I have! I've had enough of the bullying! What if your tía found out you treat her hija, your prima like trash?! What's she gonna think of you then?"
Camilo pushed back. "Shut up !"
" No! I-"
SLAM!
The two boys turned and watched in both shock and horror as Ignacio wrapped his large hands around Mirabel's frail shoulders, and threw her against the lockers. The sound reverberated through the silent, empty hallway and rang in their ears for what felt like minutes.
They watched in terror as the girl slid down the wall and onto the floor in a crumpled heap, her eyes rolled back into her head. Her skin had turned an unnatural shade of gray.
Alejandro pushed Ignacio away from Mirabel and knelt by her side, checking her pulse, and rolling her onto her back. He looked up at the other boy, his eyes blazing with rage.
"What have you done?!"
The white hot pain Mirabel felt in her stomach spread out to the top of her head and the tips of her toes, as soon as her back hit the hard, unforgiving metal of the lockers.
The pain was so blinding, all Mirabel could do was crumple. Her limbs felt like lead. She could barely see. Did her glasses fall off? All she could hear were muffled, panicked voices. Were they fighting over her? Why were they suddenly fighting over her?
'I'll just lie down and rest for a bit. Yeah, I'll feel better with a little bit of rest.'
Resting her cheek on the cool, tiled floor, the last thing Mirabel heard before slipping into a dreamless void, was Alejandro's panicked voice. Him making a panicked emergency phone call. She'd never realized how soothing his voice was…
"Don't worry, Mirabel! I'm going to call for help right now! You'll be just fine, don't worry! Just hold on!"
The last thing she saw before her eyes slipped shut, was Alejandro crouching next to her, turning her on her back. The ceiling tiles. Bright, white lights.
Then…
Complete, utter darkness.