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All Agustín ever wanted was one day when his youngest daughter wouldn’t be berated.
It had been only two weeks since Mirabel’s gift ceremony. People would call it a failed gift ceremony, but he refuses to put failure and Mirabel in one sentence together. All of his daughters were already a miracle on their own by existing alone, gift or no gift. He had always made sure he treasured each of his daughters.
With his eldest, Isabela, he would always shower her with compliments on all the types of flowers she grew. Ever since the first flower she made and gave to him, he’s been teaching her all sorts of plants and flowers from a book he used to own from his childhood home. It was their bonding activity, and whenever she made a mess with a certain flower on her dress, Agustín would laugh and let his suit be soiled by the many colors to match her.
He truly missed those days. For the past year, she’s been glued to Abuela and everything about her changed. She wasn’t that rowdy kid who wasn’t afraid to get her dress dirty anymore, she was acting like a proper lady. A little too young, maybe, Agustín thought. But perhaps Isabela was maturing quicker than her siblings and cousins, and it wasn’t a bad idea that she would spend quality time with her Abuela. Though it did sting that he was starting to be distant with his eldest child.
He could say the same thing with his second daughter.
Luisa was strong and reliable, and she was always there to save her father from bees or anything in general. But because she was so busy with everyone asking around for help, she didn’t have the time to do the piano lessons that they used to do. A little too much on a seven-year-old, but Luisa insisted it wasn’t that much and she was fine.
That leaves Mirabel.
Fortunately, she didn’t get the burden of being a gifted Madrigal, but that didn’t mean there were burdens for being a giftless Madrigal.
Agustín had his share of experiences of being “un-ceptional” ever since he married into the family, and so did Felix. It was easy for people to make rumors about why they didn’t get a gift.
“Maybe they weren’t worthy enough to get a gift…”
“You know, Señora Alma didn’t approve of Agustín the first time. Maybe her feelings are mingling with the magic…”
“What about Felix? She seems to like him very much. Why doesn’t he get a gift?”
“Maybe to lessen suspicion. If that accident-prone bastard feels envious, who knows what might happen to the La Casa Madrigal if he got upset…”
Those were the usual things he heard or at least the ones Dolores would tell him. But he could care less. It hurt, sure, but he was too old to get worked up over silly things the villagers would say. As long as his wife and kids were doing okay, he would take any hit.
He was a happy husband and a happy father, but whenever his daughters or his wife would be insulted or berated, he would be a different man.
The day started out as normal. He had the usual chores with Felix, cleaning the Casita and folding laundry. Mirabel was supposed to help as well, maybe try to show her that being a magicless Madrigal had its perks. But she wanted to help out Dolores today, and his niece promised she would watch over her.
Agustín wasn’t the kind of uncle to have a favorite godchild, but Dolores was a close candidate. She and Agustín also shared a similarity in their love of music, and she would always call Julieta whenever she heard him getting chased by bees. She was reliable in her own way, and he trusts her completely.
“So, hermano, do you want to try doing that trick again to clean the floor?” Felix asked, snickering a bit. “The one where I lift your-”
“Felix, the last time we did it, we got a scolding from Julieta. You are not lifting my legs and using me as a tool to wax the floor. We almost broke Abuela’s favorite vase, and I think I’ll break my leg if we try again.” Agustín winced when imagining what a broken leg would feel like. “I guess we have to do things the careful way.”
“You mean the boring way?”
“ Careful way,” Agustín insisted. “Just let me hang Pepa’s dress and I’ll get the floor wax.”
“Also, by the way, wasn’t Mirabel supposed to help us today?” Felix asked, neatly folding Camilo’s shirt. “I know she’s been locked in her room for almost a week now, but she doesn’t have to leave the house…”
“Your daughter will take care of it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, but listen.” Felix grabbed his friend’s shoulder which pulled him close to whisper, “You know how people can be mean. They won’t even hesitate to say something even if she was in hearing range. Maybe you should go pick her up before feelings get hurt.”
“Trust me, Felix. I feel the same, but she looked so happy, so determined earlier during breakfast,” Agustín replied. “It was either I’d let her help Dolores or she’d sulk in her room some more. I know the feeling that you need to do something, but… okay, after we fold all these clothes, we’ll go find her.” Agustín lifted a heavy basket of all his children’s clothes before making his way upstairs.
That was when he heard it. Frantic crying of a child, Agustín immediately recognized it was Mirabel’s. He dropped the basket, not caring about the clothes that were on the floor as he ran to pick up his daughter.
The lens of her glasses was scratched and she had a red graze on her chin as if she tripped and fallen. She was bawling her eyes out. Agustín immediately hugged his daughter and cradled her in his arms. Behind her, Dolores ran inside the Casita, looking just as worried.
“Hey, hey, Miraboo, are you okay?” Agustín gently asked, wiping her tears and holding her chin with care as he was checking the wound. ”Mira… what happened?”
“Is it true you didn’t love me enough?! That you and Mama don’t love me as much as you do with Isa and Luisa?!” Mirabel continued to sob on her father’s chest, and Agustin didn’t mind the snot and tears that were staining his clothes. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Did I do something wrong?! I’m sorry I wasn’t enough!”
Agustín was horrified by her words. How could a child say those things? “M-Mira, of course, I love you! I love you all equally! A gift isn’t needed to be loved, you’re already good enough! Who told you these things? They’re not true! Your Mama and I love you, so, so much!”
Dolores quietly made her way to father and daughter and then kneeled beside her uncle. “Tio Agustín, Señor Martinez, and some other old men were saying some things to Mirabel. They said you were going to-”
“-disown me.” Mirabel finished, clutching onto her father’s vest for dear life, afraid to let go. “That you wouldn’t want me as a daughter anymore. I’m so sorry, Papa!”
Agustín continued to be shocked, but something else rose on his chest. Pure, unfiltered rage. But before he could show any signs of that, he gave Mirabel a kiss on the forehead and carried her before handing her to Felix.
“P-Papa…?” Mirabel reached out her hand, thinking he didn’t want her anymore. “Papa, I’m so sorry-”
He smiled at her. “You know you’ll always be my Miraboo, right? Don’t worry, your Papi will take care of those bad men. You are the kindest, most talented, and loving daughter a father could ask for! Your mother feels the same way, I’m sure of it. Felix, can you bring her to Julieta?” Agustín asked and Felix nodded. Then he turned to Dolores. “Where’s Armando and his buddies?”
Dolores squeaked and that was always a sign she had heard something. “They’re going around the bar. They’re laughing.”
“Oh, are they now? ” Agustín’s voice turned low like he was an animal in hunting mode. To Felix and Mirabel, he sounded the same, but with Dolores’ super hearing, she knew he was being different now. “Take me to them.”
With an ax in hand, Agustín made his way to the bar. This wouldn’t be a strange thing to see as Agustín was in charge of chopping the wood, but his demeanor was different. He had that pure sadistic smile on his face and his eyes gave away his instinct to kill. Some people were murmuring, but he was too focused on finding these men. Dolores was just following behind, a little anxious by her uncle’s new mood.
Despite being the family member that hears everything, she was very unfamiliar with this version of her uncle and afraid of what he might do. Could he really murder someone in front of a child?
They stopped when they made it to the bar, and there were the men drinking in broad daylight, laughing and making jokes as if they didn’t just hurt an innocent child. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the bar was pretty small and almost far away from the village, so not many people would hear the commotion.
Agustín’s smile grew some more, and maybe it was starting to be a little creepy, but his smile fell when he noticed Dolores was still following him.
“It’s okay, sobrina. I’ll take it from here.”
“Y-You wouldn’t… hurt them, would you?”
“Of course not. That’d cause more problems, but I still have to teach them a lesson.”
It would be a lie if Dolores said she wasn’t a little intimidated, but her cousin got hurt, and she wasn’t going to let that slide either. “Tio…” Her uncle looked at her one last time. “...I’ll cover for you. Do your worst.”
“Thank you.”
He strategically hid the ax behind his back, and walked to them, keeping his smile. He may look happy, sure, but the anger could be felt even from miles away. The men’s faces were flushed from the alcohol, and they were probably too drunk to notice Agustín until he was an inch away from them.
“Heyyy, if it isn’t Agustín Madrigal!” Armando greeted, raising a glass to him. “The father himself came!”
“Gentlemen, I couldn’t help, but overhear what you said about my daughter!” Agustín said, still smiling.
“Ahah, Señor, with all due respect, having a giftless daughter must be quite shameful, isn’t it?” Armando said, his words slurring. “I mean, look at Felix’s two kids, they all have gifts! I wouldn’t be surprised if your genes ruined your daughter’s chances of getting a gift. Your daughter is just as clumsy as you, she tripped while running away, crying!” He laughed out loud, taking another sip of his drink. “You really are accident-prone that you made an accident-”
Before he could finish the last sentence, Agustín brought out his ax and swung it down on the wooden table they were in, breaking it in half. The beer bottles and shot glasses were broken into pieces. All of the men jumped back, shocked and terrified of what Agustin had just done.
“D-Demonio! Tu Demonio!” The man spat at Agustín. He grabbed a broken beer bottle and pointed at him. “S-Stay back! Vete, demonio!”
“Look who’s talking,” Agustín growled, not intimidated as he took a step closer. “You should’ve kept your mouth shut, you know. Only unfortunate things happen to those who insult my family.”
“Stay back! You monster! Stay back! I’m gonna- I’m going to-”
“You’ll what?” Agustín asked, towering over him and his mouth twisted to a sinister smile. “Go on. Tell me. What are you going to do to me? Daddy’s waiting.” The man was shaking, practically unable to give an answer, and Agustín crouched in front of him, keeping his focus on him. He forcefully grabbed his chin and stared daggers at him. “Don’t be shy~”
The man gulped and just shut his eyes tight. “I’m so sorry! Lo siento, lo siento! Please spare me!”
“ Pathetic, ” Agustín said. He grabbed the ax and pointed the blade on his chin. “Lucky for you, I am a merciful man, but if you or anyone for that matter ever says anything remotely negative about my family, my miracles , you will end up like that wooden table over there!” Agustín pointed at the broken table. “And don’t think your whispers aren’t heard. You do know what my niece does, right? The next time I have you under my grasp, you wouldn’t be a lucky man. You called me accident-prone, right? I could care less about what you think of me, but one slip up and I might accidentally do this-” Agustín swung his ax upward, just an inch away from Armando’s arm. The man shrieked while Agustín continued to smirk. “You wouldn’t want any accidents, hm? Oh no, what if my amazing wife can’t heal you, it’d be a shame if that were the case, don’t you think? You should be more careful with what you say, you know?” He pouted, pretending to look concerned for the man’s safety.
He then finally stood up and pointed his ax at the other two men who made fun of Mirabel. They all flinched and backed away. Good, he didn’t need to tell them twice.
“This applies to you guys as well, and everyone else in this bar. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!”
The surrounding people nodded and tried to go back to what they were previously doing, shaken by Agustín. Never in a million years would the clumsiest and the most soft-spoken man in the Encanto would be capable of doing something so terrifying.
The two men carried Armando before running away, like little children trying to outrun a monster. Agustín watched them intently, wanting to enjoy them running like cowards. The bar owner arrived at the scene, and he dropped a crate of beer bottles in shock.
“What did you do?!” The bar owner screamed. “Why did you scare off my customers?! AND WHY IS THE TABLE BROKEN?!”
The other customers and employees looked away, afraid to interfere with Agustín. It didn’t help that he was armed with an ax. Agustín turned to face the owner, and his sadistic expression quickly changed back to his usual polite one.
‘Lo siento, Señor. I promise to get you a new table as soon as I can,” Agustín said. “Armando and his friends were being a little… they were being little shits. They’ve made Mirabel cry.”
The owner just sighed. “So, this has something to do with your youngest. I’m sorry about her gift ceremony and trust me, I completely understand what you must’ve felt when people insult your kids. I have kids of my own. Mirabel is a really sweet girl and doesn’t deserve the harsh treatment from the townspeople. But, just this once, I’ll let you off the hook! Break another property inside my bar and I will-”
Agustín just laughed. “Don’t worry. This would be the last time I would do such a thing. Next time, I’ll be coming in as a customer.”
“You better! It’s always a treat to see you and your brothers-in-law here…” He then noticed Agustín starting to frown and he wished he could take back his words. “I-I’m sorry about Señor Bruno, by the way.”
Agustín just nodded. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to apologize for. I better be going now. I already caused enough trouble for one day.”
Then he left and went back to his usual place to chop wood before gently placing it down on the grass. He sighed and seemed to be staring into nothing.
Two weeks.
It’s only been two weeks and so much has happened. Everyone’s relationship with each other in the family changed ever since Mirabel’s door faded away, and one of his best friends just disappeared. Agustín really did blame himself for probably messing everything up. A small part of him really believed the rumors he would hear about himself, but whenever he did, he’d snap out of it.
Your daughter needs you now more than ever, he always says to himself.
His daughter, his mariposa, needed constant reassurance and love, and as her father, he would do anything to make sure she would feel loved in this family. Not just Mirabel, but also Luisa and Isabela when they need him.
Right now, he needed to make sure Mirabel’s been healed and she doesn’t feel bad anymore about what those men said to her. After leaving his workplace, he went to the center of the town where his wife would be healing the townspeople.
He spotted Mirabel, Felix, and Dolores standing by Julieta’s stand. Her chin looked good as new which meant she’s been healed already which made him sigh in relief. He dropped by and Mirabel immediately made grabby hands at her father.
“Papa! Papa, you’re back!” Mirabel smiled, and she was lifted by Agustín which caused her to laugh. “Dad, did you take care of those bad men!?”
Felix and Julieta snapped their attention at Agustín, a little worried about what Mirabel meant by that. However, Agustín just laughed it off. “Yup! We had a nice chat, and they promised to never hurt you again!” He booped her nose. “They were such fine gentlemen.”
Dolores nodded, having that mischievous smile that she definitely knew more than just having a nice chat. “I heard them. They promise they’d apologize to you if they see you again.”
“Really, prima?” Mirabel’s eyes lit up. “But are you sure they weren’t right about me?”
“No!” Agustín and Julieta said at the same time. He fixes Mirabel’s hair and glasses as he tells her, “Remember this, Miraboo: Gift or no gift, you are just as special as the rest of this family. Okay?”
“Yeah, your dad’s right! Hey, how about this… tomorrow, we’ll teach you the coolest way to wax the floors!” Felix suggested, giving his friend a smirk.
Agustín internally groaned, but he forced a smile for his daughter’s sake. “Yeah, but we have to be very careful because we don’t want another vase broken!” He glared at Felix but kept his smile.
“Yey! We can have fun tomorrow!” Mirabel exclaimed, then she yawned. “I’m so tired… Mirabel wants to go take a nap.”
“I’ll take her home.” Dolores volunteered as she took Mirabel from Agustín. “Come on, you can even sleep in my room. I still have the stuffed animals you made me, prima.”
“I can sleep in your room?! Can I ride on your back? Mirabel doesn’t feel like walking anymore.”
Dolores giggled. “Okay, but don’t tell Camilo. He’ll get jealous.” Then she lifted her and placed her younger cousin on her back before heading back to the Casita.
“Be careful, girls!” Agustín said to them before he felt intense stares from behind. He looked back to see Julieta and Felix giving him stern looks. “So….”
“Did you really just talk to them?” Julieta asked. “Come on, Agustín. Don’t even think of trying to lie to me.”
“Uh-huh, well, you see…”
Agustín was interrupted when a familiar trio of men came at the front of the line, asking to be healed. Julieta looked at them with distaste, already aware of what they had done, but for some reason, they weren’t terrified of her.
One look at Agustín and they started to panic, running away again, screaming. Armando tripped onto the crack of the ground, but he still kept pushing himself to run as if his life depended on it. The people behind them in line were confused.
Felix just watched, his jaw dropped in shock, and looked at his best friend differently. Julieta did the same. Agustín just scratched the back of his head, chuckling a bit.
“Does… that answer your question?”