Chapter Text
“Another miracle is in the family!” “The Madrigal family’s magic is as strong as ever!” “There's finally another special one born!” People of the small town said, as they all gathered in the Madrigal family’s casita. Mirabel watched from the outside as her family and the townspeople continued their celebration inside her little cousin Antonio's new room. Miracle stood there, her eyes burning as tears threatened to spill listening to the clicking sound of the camera, her family laughing and the music, so vibrant yet so harsh against her ears. I’m fine, she told herself, forcing a smile. I’m fine, I’m just fine, I’m not fine! She turned towards the stairs and fled down as fast as possible, giving herself some distance as tears ran down her face, her heart was breaking, almost as painful as it did when she herself didn’t get her gift.
She looked up at the Madrigal’s candle, burning brightly on the window tile, as if it was mocking her, telling her she wasn’t special enough. “Am I too late for a miracle?” She asked the candle in a low whisper, desperate for an answer. Suddenly, a tile fell on the ground near her, something that’s impossible, since the casita was made of magic. As she walked towards it, bendt down to pick it up only to get a cut on her hand, which stung almost as painfully as what she was feeling. “Casita?” She whispered, hands reaching towards the floor. Suddenly, there were cracks on the floor of the casita. They spread from the floor to the walls and made their way to the walls where the source of their family’s miracle came from, making the light on her family’s doors flicker. Her body reacted before her mind as she sprinted towards Antonios room, pushing herself through the crowd of people as she yelled in a panicked voice. “The house is in danger!” She yelled towards her abuela, the matriarch of their house, which grabbed her attention, along with all the people in the room. “The house is in danger! The tiles were falling and there were cracks everywhere. And the candle almost went out.” There was a flash of fear in abuela's eyes, but she quickly hid it. “Show me.” She said, sternly as she walked towards Mirabel.
When they walked out, there were no cracks in sight, as if they had been magically patched up. “What?” Mirabel gasped softly, walking down the stairs, looking around for the cracks. “No, that’s…” She turned towards all the walls around her, people were staring at her, some of concern, some of pity and most of annoyance. “The cracks were there, they were everywhere. The house was in trouble, the candle was…” She could see her oldest sisters glare towards her, her arms wrapped around her chest. She turned to her abuela, giving her a pleading look. “Abuela, I promise-” “That’s enough.” Abuela told her sternly, with anger in her eyes burning. Mirabel looked around at the people, suddenly her abuelas voice was replaced by an awful high pitched sound, and it was hard to breathe. When her vision finally cleared up again, all the people that surrounded her had gone back to Antonio’s room, leaving her at the mercy of the family’s matriarch. “Abuela, I know what I saw. I-” “That’s enough, Mirabel!” Alma shouted strictly, which made Mirabel flinch. “Didn’t I tell you to stay out of the way? That this night had to be perfect?”
Mirabel lowered her head. “But casita was cracking and I-” “And what? You thought you could make a fool out of our family by lying because you're jealous of Antonio?” Mirabel's eyes widened. “No! I’d never!” Alma put her hand up, a signal to keep her quiet. “You’ve done enough, Mirabel. I don’t know why you didn’t receive a gift, but it’s clear that you don’t have a place in this family, not with the constant damage you're causing to our family’s perfect image.” Alma then gave Mirabel one last look, before turning away, walking back to Antonio’s room.
Mirabel felt the burn in her eyes stronger than ever before and ran towards her room, she had to go, she doesn’t belong here anymore. She locked her door and fell on her bed, she couldn’t stop the tears or the sobbing. I need to stop wasting time on tears, said a voice deep inside her, I need to start planning and packing quietly. She pushed herself off the bed, wiping her tear-stained face and pulled out a map of the Encanto and the villages nearby, and searched. She finally found the perfect place for her to stay, a newly built village that was mostly unknown to the people, since it was so new, and it wasn’t too far away either, so she could get there within three to four days. All she needed to do now was to pack her bags, find a horse and write her family letters and hide them somewhere they’ll have to really look for, maybe for a day or two, to make sure they won’t try to find her immediately. She pulled out her pen and papers and wrote like she was running out of time, pages after pages. “I’m sorry, mama.” “You’re going to be great, Antonio.” “I’m sorry for being in your way, Isabel.” “Please take a break once in a while and enjoy yourself Luisa”
As she finished her final letter, she walked into the kitchen and prepared bottles of water, along with water filters and took some of her mothers empanada de con queso deciding it would be better to pack more food the next day. But as she walked out, her eyes landed on the candle, which flickered softly. She took a deep breath, as memories of her gift ceremony flashed before her eyes, reminding her of a time when she was valued, when she was cared for, when she was loved. “I’m sorry, casita, but you don’t feel like home anymore.”