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Isabela was a very proud girl.
She was big and strong, and had a wonderful gift that made her able to make such beautiful flowers that made her feel so happy and confident in herself. Like her abuela said, she was beautiful and perfect, and Isabela knew that she was secretly her mamá and papá’s favorite even if they didn’t tell her that outright, not wanting to make Luisa sad, or new little baby Mirabel who had only been born last week.
Mirabel was a strange baby. She was so tiny and always screaming all the time, and she couldn’t play with her yet, not like she could play with Luisa who was only two years younger than her. While Luisa was practically still a baby, being only four years old, while Isabela was six, almost seven (which meant she was practically a grownup), Mirabel really was a baby.
And as she quickly found out, babies could be so boring and so annoying. All they did all day was sleeping, eating, needing their diapers changed as they screamed and fussed, and then they screamed and screamed without stopping, making her ears hurt so much. Mirabel did nothing but scream, eat and sleep, and it really confused Isabela as she grew bored of not being able to play with her sister, annoyed over her loud screaming, but still, it also woke a curiosity inside of her.
Because babies were weird, and as strange as Mirabel was, Isabela wanted to get to know her better to figure out what the deal with babies was anyway. Because right now Isabela didn’t get why her mamá and papá wanted a new baby when babies were so boring, especially when they already had her and Luisa, who were plenty fun and big already. She didn’t understand why babies were apparently so exciting to the adults, when you couldn't even play with them anyway. They just needed so much attention instead, meaning that mamá and papá spent more time with little Mirabel than they did with Isabela or Luisa. And to speak the truth, Isabela had gotten a bit jealous about Mirabel getting all of mamá and papá’s attention, even if she was too proud to say it out loud.
So, with her newfound curiosity, she wanted to find out what the big deal with babies was actually about. Because babies had to do something to make all the adults love them so much, right?
She wanted to get to the bottom of this and learn just how Mirabel made all the adults love her so much when she didn’t even have to do anything to impress others. So, she decided to put her plan into motion when mamá had put Mirabel to sleep in the crib that was inside of her room.
The moment Isabela sees mamá exit her bedroom, Isabela leaves her hiding spot behind the large potted plant and sneaks inside, walking on her tippy toes as she looks into the crib, and how Mirabel is soundly asleep.
There’s nothing remarkable about it. She’s just lying on her back with her eyes closed as she breathes. She still doesn’t get why all the adults found her so adorable, she had to have a secret weapon somehow.
With curiosity, Isabela puts a hand into the crib and towards baby Mirabel’s tiny little hands. She carefully pokes at her open palm with her finger to see the difference in their hands, only to be met by a surprise.
Mirabel quickly grasps at her finger with a tight grip that Isabela hadn’t expected, trapping her as she is unable to pull away, her little grip too strong as she curls her fingers around Isabela’s.
It makes her tense up in confusion, as fear suddenly runs through her at the unexpected development.
And so, she screams for help.
“Mamá! Papá!”
Her screams are quickly followed by the cries of a startled baby, as she wakes Mirabel. And so, chaos ensues as mamá and papá run into the bedroom to see what’s going on.