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Chapter Text

A little girl walks towards her door, her hand reaching the door knob in front of her.

She imagines what her special gift would be like. Would it be super cool? Will she have lots of fun with it? But most importantly, what will her gift be?

She wraps her hand on the door knob and a bright, golden light shines and illuminates the Casita.

Then the light stopped glowing.

Nothing happened.

The little girl turns to her grandmother and asks, "Abuela? Did it work? What kind of gift do I have?"

Her abuela looks at her, confused. "I... I don't know mija," she replies, her voice full of uncertainty.

Then the little girl's door glows again and has her name carved at the very top of it. In the centre was what looked like her teenage or grown-up self jumping in the air happily, her eyes closed and her arms were raised above her head.

The little girl still doesn't understand. What was her gift?

"Casita? What's my gift?" she asks as she looked at the floor.

Casita's tiles flapped up and down excitedly.

Abuela looked very surprised, in a good way. "Mirabel," she says as she bent down slightly to the little girl's level, "you have the gift of making people happy, be it by doing something special for them or even hugging them."

The little girl- Mirabel gasps for joy. "That's so cool!" she exclaims.

Mirabel's abuela turns towards the crowd and announces, "We have a new gift!"

The crowd erupts into cheers. Everyone clapped for Mirabel and exchanged remarks to each other.

"That's a sweet gift for a sweet little girl."

"Her gift suits her."

"I wonder how this would benefit us."

Someone in the crowd, who was covering her ears to muffle the loud cheers (which were, sadly, in vain), had heard the comment. She glared at nobody in particular.

Her gift does not need to benefit anyone, you fool, she thought harshly.

That day, Mirabel Madrigal had received one of the most special, (and useful), gifts of all time: the abilty to give anyone happiness whenever she wanted to.

Chapter Text

Another bright and sunny day greeted the people in the Encanto. Everyone was happy.

Except three people.

Renzo Rogríguez was an 11 year old boy suffering from depression. He had tried to commit suicide by jumping off the mountains that protected the little village. Fortunately, his parents caught him and had convinced him not to do it.

Oh yes, about his parents. They were going absolutely insane. They did not have enough money to let him see a therapist and they themselves were'nt professional therapists.

But they knew someone had some special superpower that can make anyone smile when they had a bad day.

"Mirabel's the key to making Renzo happy forvever," someone, by the name of Lorenza, said to her husband, "We'll just let him visit her whenever he feels down."

"Yes, but what if the Madrigals catch on? They'll think we're just using her!" the husband, Marco, pointed out.

Lorenza thought for a bit before replying, "Then we'll just take her."

"Take her?" Marco questioned. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. If that selfish family won't let our son be cured of his depression, then we'll take her," Lorenza says firmly.

"But what if they find out?" Marco asked.

"We just need to soundproof the whole house," Lorenza answered.

"But how?"

"Just put lots of foam and fabric inside of the house on the walls, of course! We'll let Mirabel sleep in the basement, which has to be soundproofed too."

"Are you sure it's going to work?"

"Positive. Are you in or not?"

Marco sighed. He doesn't know whether this was a good idea or not, but he trusted his wife with his whole heart. Hr knew that she knew what's best for their son.

So he nods.

Mirabel sang and danced happily with the children in the village with her cousin, Camilo.

"Again, again!" one of the kids cheered.

Camilo and Mirabel, who had just did three songs with the children, looked at each other, exhausted.

"Again?" Camilo asked, exasperated.

"Please?" the child begs as she pouted and gave them the puppy eyes.

No one, especially Mirabel, could resist. So they agreed.

After that, they went home to have lunch.

"Camilo, can you tell my mamá that I'll be a little late for lunch?" Mirabel requested.

"Huh? Why? Why are you going to be late anyway?" Camilo questioned his prima suspiciously.

"The Rodríguez family wanted me to help them with something and they needed me to go to their house. They never said why," Mirabel replied truthfully.

"Ah, they probably want you to cure their son's depression or something."

"Wait what?"

"You didn't know?"

The 15 year old shrugged.

"Well, they couldn't afford therapy for him and it kinda got worse. In a span of a few months, he decided to commit suicide."

Mirabel gasped. "That's terrible!"

"Technically, it was an attempt. He wasn't successful in his rash decision," Camilo assured her.

Mirabel sighed with relief.

"Well," she said, "I'll be off now, bye Cami!"

"Bye Mira!" Camilo replied with a wave as he made his way back to Casita.

"Welcome Mirabel!" Lorenza greeted Mirabel with a warm smile.

"Hello," Mirabel replied.

Lorenza ushered Mirabel to the basement. The basement had a table that had a plate of food and a glass of water on top of it. On the right side of the basment was a mattress. It had a pillow and a blanket on it.

"I invite you to stay here with us!" Lorenza said happily.

Mirabel looked at her, stunned by the unexpected answer.

Then she chuckled. "Lo siento, Señora Rodríguez. But I haven't told my parents yet-"

"Oh we'll tell them. Just settle down and eat your food," Lorenza said while walking towards the door.

There was a door? Did not expect that, Mirabel thought to herself.

"Señora, really. I have to get to my family for lunch, otherwise they'll get worried and- hey!"

The door shuts in her face and she could hear keys jingling. Then the door locking. Then silence.

Mirabel was confused and alarmed. Why did Lorenza do that to her?

She pounded on the door and yelled, "Señora! Señora Rodríguez! Let me out!"

No answer.

Mirabel started to process this while slowly panicking.

Basement.

Door.

Locked.

It all clicked.

She was kidnapped.

Now, instead of calling out to Lorenza, Mirabel screamed while pounding on the door again, "Dolores! Help!"

Chapter Text

Everyone thought that Mirabel was only going to be helping out the Rodríguez family for a while.

They did not expect her to not show up for the rest of the day.

After lunch, Luisa asked everyone, "Shouldn't Mirabel be back by now?"

Everyone paused, looking at her uneasily.

Mirabel was not back yet.

Camilo, however, shrugged it off and replied, "Maybe she's really busy right now."

Dinner time. Still no sign of Mirabel.

Luisa gave Camilo a look. "You were saying?"

Now everyone was worried, but they did not think about looking for the missing teen. Yet.

"If she's still not back by tomorrow, we'll start searching for her," Alma declared.

The next day. Mirabel still wasn't at home.

This sent everyone into a frenzy. Where could Mirabel have gone to and Did something happen to Mirabel were the two questions in the Madrigals' mind as they searched high and low for her.

"I can't hear her," Dolores said as her face paled.

Everyone's expressions mirrored Dolores'.

"Then what do we do now?" Julieta asked worriedly.

"We have to ask everyone if they had seen Mirabel anywhere in the Encanto, or if they had seen anyone take her," Alma instructed.

Everyone nodded and did as they were told.

They hope that Mirabel was safe.

Chapter Text

Félix was tasked with looking after Antonio as everyone else went to figure out if anyone had seen Mirabel in the Encanto.

"Papí? Where's Mira?" Antonio asked.

Félix sighed. "I don't know, mijo. That's why we're trying to look for her."

"Then why aren't you with everyone else?" Antonio asked again.

"I have to look after you. You're a little too young to be helping us find Mira."

"Why can't I help?"

Félix sighed again. "You won't know who's lying. Everyone is trying to find out where's Mirabel by asking the villagers. But someone could have taken her and everyone else — except for you — would know how to spot a liar based on their body language and the way they speak."

Antonio still wanted to insist on helping but decided not to continue with the subject.

"Papí?"

Félix looked at him. "Yes?"

"Is Mira safe?" Antonio asked.

Félix pursed his lips. "I hope," he replied.

"I want her to be at my gift ceremony. She's been saying that she was so excited for me and had made me a gift, so I really hope that she doesn't miss it," Antonio said.

Félix sighed yet again. "Let's hope she'll make it back home safely."

No one had seen Mirabel and now the Madrigals were desperate.

Especially Camilo.

The first house he went to was the Rodríguez's. He remembered Mirabel saying that she had to go help them for something unknown, so he was highly suspicious of the family.

"Have you seen Mirabel anywhere?" he asked Marco and Lorenza.

"She was at our house trying to cheer our son up and then she left to your house," Marco said.

The reply was pretty short and straight-forward, Camilo had noted.

"Did you see anyone take her?" Camilo asked again.

"No, we've been at our house for the whole day," Marco answered.

"We'll tell you about Mirabel's whereabouts when we see her," Lorenza added.

Camilo nodded. There's something wrong, I can feel it, he thought to himself.

"Thank you both for taking the time to answer these questions," he said.

"Of course," Lorenza said.

At night, he couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Marco's first reply to him.

"It's too short," Camilo said. "But maybe because that's all the info that he has?"

He groaned in frustration.

"If only I had stopped her from going to the Rodríguez's. She's missing and probably in their house or someone else's," he mumbled to himself.

He had this gnawing feeling of guilt that maybe him allowing Mirabel to going there was the reason for her disappearance.

The guilt never went away as the days passed by.

March 31.

Mirabel went missing on March 21.

10 days. 10 whole days had passed and there was still no sign of Mirabel.

And it was passed midnight as Camilo realised this.

He had just woken up from a nightmare. A terrrifying nightmare that could come true at any minute now.

Her dead body laid lifelessly in front of everyone. Blood covered her face. Blood stained her clothes. There was blood everywhere-

Camilo shut his eyes tightly, trying to stop himself from thinking of the image of his (possibly) dead cousin.

He got up from his bed and headed towards the kitchen. Maybe some water would help calm him down from that nightmare and allow him to go back to sleep

One glass.

Two glasses.

Three glasses.

He still didn't feel like sleeping.

He sighed, annoyed. "At this point I'll be making many trips to the bathroom," he muttered.

Then he heard someone ask him from behind, "Can't sleep?" and it nearly made him jump out of his skin.

He whipped his head around and was relieved to find that it was only Dolores.

He sighed. "Ever since we started searching for Mira, yeah. A nightmare and you giving me a jumpscare didn't help either."

Dolores looked concerned when she heard him say "nightmare".

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare?" she asked.

Camilo shifted his gaze away from her uneasily. "No thanks," he replied.

Dolores nodded.

"Why can't you sleep?" Camilo asked.

Dolores sighed.

She didn't start speaking until a few seconds passed. "Do you ever have a feeling that you could have done something to stop Mira's disappearance?"

Camilo nodded, understanding how his sister felt.

"That's how I felt from the moment I realised I couldn't hear Mirabel at all. Not her breathing, not even her heartbeat," Dolores said.

Camilo placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know how that feels. Everyday, I wished that I could go back in time to make sure that Mirabel didn't go to the Rodríguez's house. She could be in there right now."

"True. But hey, this isn't your fault. We're going to find her. I promise," Dolores said.

Camilo gave his sister a smile. "Maybe before Antonio's gift ceremony?"

"Sure," Dolores replied.

Chapter Text

For the first three days, Mirabel was unable to cure Renzo's depression. It had made Lorenza frustrated that her son's condition wasn't getting any better.

And the school Renzo had to attend was known for their notoriousgang of bullies. They started by teasing him occasionally about his looks or whenever he got an answer wrong when the teacher asked a question. Then it esacalated to stealing his things just to inconvenience him and they ultimately ended up in beating Renzo up whenever they had a bad day or when Renzo had accidentally offended them, or even when they were bored. Every time he told the teachers, they would either tell him to just ignore the bullies or they instructer him to inform them again if the bullies disturbed him. Some even accused him of doing something to make the bullies mad at him and that was why he was in that situation.

Due to this, Lorenza had became worried and stressed over her son. Marco was no different.

On the fourth day, Lorenza decided that it was a good idea to not give Mirabel any food for the whole day as a form of punishment. Occasionally, she would give the teen just a glass of water or a small meal.

On the eighth day, Lorenza had finally snapped when Mirabel demanded to know why she was doing this to her.

She slapped her across the face and said, "Because you couldn't get my son out of his depression!"

"I can't do that! I can only help people who are having a bad day or just being sad in general, I can't cure depression! You need a therapist for that!" Mirabel explained.

"Does it look like we can afford therapy?! What good is your gift if you can't help my son, you useless girl!" Lorenza screamed.

She proceeded to yank Mirabel's hair hard. When she released her grip, Mirabel had squat down and put both hands on her head due to the pain.

While she was down, Lorenza kicked Mirabel violently and slap her a few times as well.

"If you're gift is this useless then you're good as dead!" Lorenza yelled once more as she wrapped her hands around Mirabel's neck tightly.

Mirabel, with tears in her eyes as she hopelessly tried to pry Lorenza's hands away from her neck, managed to choke out, "Why are you doing this to me?"

Lorenza stopped strangling her.

She watched as Mirabel coughed while rubbing her neck gently.

She grabbed the 15-year-old's hair again and pulled it so that her head would hit the wall. "I brought you here so that you could help my son."

Mirabel was trying — and failing — to hold back sobs. "Maybe... maybe if I get to know him better, I'll understand what he's going through and I can help him a little. I may not be able to cure his depression, but I just might be able to make him feel slightly better about himself," she suggested.

"How can I trust you?" Lorenza seethed.

"It's up to you. I trust myself to be able to help him, even just a bit. You'd want that to, right?" Mirabel asked.

Lorenza's expression softened. Maybe this girl isn't so useless after all, she thought.

She let go of Mirabel's hair and said, "Fine. But don't you dare try anything funny. Understand?"

Mirabel nodded weakly. "Yes, Señora."

Lorenza sighed inwardly. She brought a hand to Mirabel'a face. 

Mirabel flinched.

She was expecting yet another slap. Instead, Lorenza wiped away her tears.

"Don't cry. I don't want to see you like that. Plus, I doubt that you would be able to make my son even a little bit happy if you yourself aren't," Lorenza said.

She got up and left, not forgetting to lock the door behind her.

Chapter Text

11 days.

It had been 11 days since a teenager was stuck in someone's basement.

She sometimes forgets her name or where she came from. But she knew how her parents looked like. In fact, she can remember how her whole family (11 people, not including herself!), how they looked like and their names too.

So it came off to her as strange when she could only remember her last name: Madrigal.

She took a look at her clothing. There were butterflies, animals and other stuff embriodered on her shirt and skirt, so she decided to call herself Embriodery Girl whenever she forgot about her name.

It did not matter if someone had called her name (barely anyone had called her by her real name), she just decided to call herself Embriodery Girl because it was simple. Mirabel sounded very foreign to her, almost as if there was another girl who was with her. Stuck in this boring-looking basement.

Embriodery Girl was called to the living room.

She finally found two other people other than that horrible Lorenza Rodríguez who rarely let her have any food to eat and gave her more bruises (and trauma) instead. As if she could eat those!

The man had some white strands of hair here and there and there were eye bags underneath his eyes. Other than that his face made him look like he was in his 30s. The man was wearing a red shirt and black shorts.

The boy, who looked to be 11 or 12 (maybe even 13), was wearing a full black outfit, head to toe. Black shirt, black jacket, black jeans.

Was there a funeral or something? Embriodery Girl thought to herself.

Lorenza that day was wearing a simple lavender dress that had some pink flowers embriodered from her shoulder all the way to a little over her hips. Her hair was similar to the man's hair, only difference was that it was longer, well-kept and it almost looked like seeing Embriodery Girl's eldest sister's hair.

"Mirabel, come take a seat with Renzo," Lorenza gestured Embriodery Girl to the boy in all black.

She sat down at the table in front of him.

"We'll leave you two alone. Marco," Lorenza looked at the man in the red shirt, "and I will be going to the market to buy some food for dinner."

Renzo and Embriodery Girl nodded.

After the couple left the house, Renzo and Embriodery Girl were left in awkward silence.

"So..." Renzo started, "what's your name?"

"Everyone calls me Mirabel, so I guess that's my name," Embriodery Girl says.

Renzo looked at her weirdly. "Do you not remember your own name?"

"Señora Rodríguez rarely calls me by my name and yes, I'm slowly starting to forget it," Embriodery Girl replied. "But I do remember my last name."

"What's your last name?"

"Madrigal."

Renzo slams his hand on the table as he stood up.

Embriodery Girl flinched.

Renzo looked at Embriodery Girl in disbelief. He pointed a shaky finger at her and says, "Y-you're Mirabel Madrigal? The Mirabel Madrigal?"

Embriodery Girl shrugs. "I guess so."

"Wha- Mamá said you were some special lady who brings everyone joy!" Renzo exclaimed. "I... I mean, sorry. So sorry for my outburst," he suddenly said as he bowed a full 90 degrees at Embrodery Girl.

"I think I remember that my family is special, but I don't know what's the reason," Embriodery Girl said.

Renzo looked at Embriodery Girl in the eyes as he sat down. "You are part of the amazing Madrigals. Every year on their fifth birthday, you guys get some special gift and a cool room that matches it. It's amazing!" he explained to Embriodery Girl.

Embriodery Girl sighed. "Look, I was sent here to cure your depression. I've been stuck in your mother's basement for probably 11 days already because I couldn't help you."

Renzo's face paled. "Wait, what?"

Embriodery Girl shakes her head. "Never mind, just tell me all about your depression and stuff. How did this happen?"

Renzo looked uncomfortable. Embriodery Girl notices that.

"You don't have to tell me everything," she adds.

Renzo sighed. "My mamá and papá are really different. Mamá's the strict type, but she means well of course. My papá is more on lax parenting. Ever since I'ce went to school, my mamá put a lot of emphasis on grades and being an all-rounder. At first, it was easy. But as I grew up, it became increasing difficult. Math was one of my weakest. I'm always getting 50% or 60% for my total grade for it."

"Those don't sound so bad," Embriodery Girl comments.

"I know, but my mamá wants me to get no lower than 85% for every subject. She stresses me out a lot. Sometimes, she would only give me a piece of bread with a bowl of soup when I don't meet the requirement."

Embriodery Girl held back a scoff. Your mamá doesn't even give me food at all.

"Things didn't get better when a gang of bullies targetted me during my 5th grade," Renzo continued. "The school doesn't really care much about its students well-being honestly. It surprises me how it has so many smart students who are all-rounded prodigies.

"So my mamá gets stressed over all of this. I made her even more worried for me went I had attempted suicide. I really want to tell her that she was also partly the reason why I'm depressed, but I know she means well. So I don't tell her."

Embriodery Girl placed a hand on Renzo's. "Renzo. You are such an idiot. You have to learn how to stand up for yourself, or at least try to pull a little revenge prank on those bullies!"

"Nah, they're too powerful-"

"And they wom't suspect a single thing. If they ask you for money, just say you don't have any. And don't even bring the money. Go prepare a snack or something for recess."

Renzo sighed. "I just don't have the courage to do any of that."

"Maybe I'll go to your school, as some sort of undercover agent and I'll gaslight those bullies. Or you can write a letter to my abuela and tell her to help you do something about it," Embriodery Girl suggested.

Renzo looked surprised. Then he nodded. "I guess I'll do that. Thanks Mirabel."

"Anytime," Embriodery Girl replied.

Her eyes changed into gold as it glowed, then it stopped.

"Woah, I feel a little better now," Renzo said. "Your powers are making people happy, right?"

Embriodery Girl nodded.

"Well, I think you just made me feel a little happier about life."

Embriodery Girl smiled. "Glad that it helped you."

Renzo smiled back.

He hasn't smile in a long while, he realises.

Chapter Text

Renzo's concern for Mirabel grew as he sees bruises littering her skin.

He remebered Mirabel saying something about his mamá forcing her to stay in the basement (he didn't even know a basement existed in his own home), wherever it was. He suspected that Lorenza must have done something to Mirabel.

He checks the calendar. April 5.

It had been 15 days since Mirabel was stuck here instead of being safe at home.

Mirabel being in the Rodríguez house was doing some damage to her physical and mental health.

Mirabel was starving and terrified of Lorenza. She had barely been fed anything and was beaten up almost daily. And strangely enough, Marco did nothing to stop his wife from harming Mirabel.

He needs to dig up some answers fast, Mirabel was slowly forgetting her name and he had a hunch her sanity will be next.

Renzo confronting his papá was complicated. Marco kept avoiding his son's questions until he had hit a point.

"If you don't tell me what mamá did to Mirabel, then you're just as guilty as her!" Renzo yelled.

Marco realised that Renzo was right. He would be considered an accomplice who did nothing.

He sighed. "You mother doesn't want me to tell you this-"

"I don't care," Renzo seethed.

"-but you have to promise that you make it obvious to her that you know what happened to Mirabel," Marco finished.

Renzo raised a brow. "Why?" he questioned.

"She threatened me that if I let anyone know about this she'd kill herself."

Renzo already thinks that his mother was a psychopath.

Marco took a deep breath in before he started speaking, "Your mother was the cause of Mirabel's suffering. She would beat the poor niña up regularly if she was not successful in curing your depression. Originally, she's started off with not giving Mirabel any food at all, sometimes she'd give her a small meal or a glass of water if she was feeling nice that day. But I guess at some point she snapped."

"How did you find out?" Renzo asked.

"I noticed some bruises on her neck and questioned Lorenza about it. She was very quick to confess it all to me. I tried threatening her that if she kept hurting Mirabel, I would inform the Madrigals that we have her at our house. But she threatened me back by telling me she would kill herseld if anyone found out," Marco answered.

Renzo scoffed in disbelief. "Mom's a psycho..." he muttered under his breath.

Marco sighed. "I don't know what I can do to help Mirabel, so all I did was to keep quiet and stay out of Lorenza's way."

"I have a plan," Renzo said suddenly. "I know how we can get Mirabel back home."

"Already?" Marco asked.

"Yes. To make sure the Madrigals won't have to put up a fight with mamá, you can bring her to someplace away from our house. Maybe her favourite place to go to?"

"She loves going to the bakery to buy bread and muffins," Marco commented.

Renzo smiled. "Perfect. After you guys leave, I'll tell the Madrigals about Mirabel and lead them to our house to get Mirabel."

Marco gave Renzo a grin. "That's a genius plan you got there, hijo. Let's hope it works."

Renzo nodded. It has to work, he thought to himself.

Chapter Text

It was pitch black at night. Most people were asleep by then.

Except Mirabel.

The door to the basement was unlocked and opened.

This was her chance.

Mirabel slinked through the gap between the door and the walls and made a (silent) run for the door.

Just as her hands touched the door knob, she felt someone pull her hair back.

It was Lorenza.

Mirabel gasped with fear. She had been caught.

"I knew you would try and escape!" Lorenza said in a hush tone.

She dragged Mirabel back to the basement and threw her forcefully to the ground. Then, she walked away to somewhere else.

Mirabel's heart was pounding. What was Lorenza going to do with her?

Lorenza came back with a chair, some rope and a knife.

Mirabel backed away from Lorenza and squeezed herself into a corner of the basement as she whimpered like a small child.

Lorenza seemed to be mad at this. She drags the chair and placed it a few centimetres away from when Mirabel was and put the rope down next to the chair.

By that point, Mirabel starting sobbing as she feared the worst.

Now angry and annoyed, Lorenza grabbed Mirabel wrist and placed her on the chair.

She pressed the knife against the terrified teen's throat and whispered, "Try anything and I'll kill you and deliever your body to your precious familia."

Mirabel closed her eyes tightly and felt a tear slide down her cheek. She nodded weakly.

Lorenza smirked. "Good niña," she praised while petting Mirabel's head. It made the 15-year-old flinch horribly.

Lorenza then proceeded to tie Mirabel to the chair with the rope she had brought. She roughly wrapped the rope around Mirabel's arms, legs and chest and bound her to the chair.

"Listen now," Lorenza said as she bent down to look at Mirabel. "This is your punishment."

"But you purposely left it-" Mirabel began.

She stopped talking when she felt the knife nudge her stomach area.

"It was to test whether I could trust you. You have proven to me that I should keep a watchful eye on you," Lorenza said.

Mirabel looked down.

Lorenza yanked her hair again, making her yelp in pain.

"If you try anything funny again, I'll make you beg for me to end your life, understand?" Lorenza threatened.

Mirabel nodded.

Lorenza released her grip from Mirabel and Mirabel's head hung low again.

She could hear Lorenza walking away from her and slamming the door.

Mirabel sobbed.

Why is this happening to me? Did I do something wrong? she pondered.

Mirabel begged quietly, "Someone please save me."

Chapter Text

"Dear, let's go to the bakery together. For, you know, some couple bonding time," Marco suggested.

"Oh, but what about Renzo?" Lorenza asked worriedly.

"Don't worry Mamá, I'll be fine," Renzo reassured her.

Lorenza was still hesitant. After a while, she decided to go with Marco to the bakery. She had been craving some apple pie, maybe she'll buy Renzo a chocolate muffin too.

They were both out of sight.

Renzo's plan can finally begin.

He goes to the Casita and knocks on the door.

Alma opens it.

"Your granddaughter, Mirabel, is missing. Right?" he asked.

Alma raises a brow. "Yes?"

"My family knows where she is right now. I got my father to bring my mother, Lorenza, to a bakery shop. Maybe you can bring one or two people from your family or the village to arrest my mother. She was the one who took Mirabel into our house."

Alma gasps.

"Dolores... get Luisa to find this Lorenza."

Julieta and Agustín could not believe their ears when Alma and Renzo informed them about Mirabel's whereabouts.

But none of them expected Mirabel to be tied up to a chair after they found the key to unlock the basement's door.

"Oh, Mirabel!" Julieta gasped as she ran towards her daughter.

"Mamá?" Mirabel asked uncertainly.

"Yes. Yes, it's your mamá. Your papá and abuela are here too," Julieta said as she struggled to untie the rope binding Mirabel.

Agustín joined Julieta while Alma gathered as much information as possible from Renzo.

"On I guess day 11 of her being here, she started to forget her name. But she somehow remembered her last name," Renzo said.

"That's odd. Did someone hit her head too hard," Alma asked.

"I don't know. You can asked either my father or mother. My mother was the one who did all of this and told my father about it," Renzo replied.

"Do you know whether your father had also hurt Mirabel?"

"He actually told me he had threatened my mamá that he would tell you about Mirabel and what she had done to her  but she counteracted it with another threat, saying that she'd kill herself if he did."

"Anything else?"

"No, Señora."

"Alright. Thank you for the information."

Renzo bowed. "No problem," he said.

He turned to see Mirabel sobbing as she was hugged by both her parents.

"We'll find out who did this to you, okay?" he heard Agustín say to Mirabel.

Mirabel hummed in between sobs to acknowledge her father.

Renzo turned back to Alma and sighed. "I'm sure Luisa must've captured my mother by now."

Alma nodded. "I'll go find her. Can you bring those three," she pointed to Mirabel and hee parents, "back to Casita?"

"Of course," Renzo replied.

Things were finally getting better.

Chapter Text

Lorenza was a little upset (more like wanting to kill someone) that there were no chocolate muffins on sale.

"Why, just why? Poor Renzo's going to be so upset!" she complained dramatically.

Marco sighed in embarrassment. "Renzo's not a little kid anymore. Anyways you didn't even tell him that you wanted to buy him one, so he wouldn't know that there weren't any muffins on sale if you don't tell him, right?"

Lorenza groaned melodramatically. "I guess so."

Once they made their purchase, they started to head home.

On the way, they had bumped into Luisa Madrigal.

"Oh, hello there Luisa! Is there anything that you need from us?" Lorenza asked cheerfully.

"Not from the both of you. Just one," Luisa said coldy.

"What do you mean- ¡oye! Let me go!" Lorenza exclaimed as Luisa grabbed her wrist 

Luisa glared at the woman and whispered in her ear, "I know what you did to my little sister."

Lorenza's face paled. She screamed and demanded Luisa to let her go, but Luisa only ignored her as she continued to — literally — drag the mother away from Marco and towards Casita.

Marco. Why wasn't he doing anything to stop Luisa?

Lorenza stopped screaming when she saw Alma looking at her dead in the eye.

"Doña Rodríguez. Let's have a talk about what you did to Mirabel, shall we?" the older woman said.

Lorenza spluttered, "Wha- huh? What are you talking about? I never even touched y-y-your daughter b...before-"

"Save it when we have our little chat later at Casita."

Lorenza suddenly saw red.

She now know why Marco didn't try to stop Luisa from dragging her away.

He had told Alma about Mirabel.

Chapter Text

Mirabel was at the kitchen when she was given an arepa for her bruises to heal.

She took a bite out of it and savoured the soft bread and the warm cheese that melted in her mouth.

She's grateful that she was still given food. She thinks of saving it in case Lorenza decides not to gibe her anything to eat again-

Oh.

Lorenza's not here.

But she still wanted to cherish every bite that she took and watched as the bruises went away.

"Feeling better?" Julieta, who was right next to her, asked with a smile.

Mirabel gave her a small nod.

Julieta's smile grew wider. She stroked Mirabel's head and said, "Everything's going to be okay."

Mirabel nodded again.

Then they heard footsteps coming down and approaching them.

Mirabel felt her whole body tense up as the footsteps grew louder.

Her body relaxes again when she sees that it was only Camilo.

"Tía, I know I shouldn't be asking for an arepa again but can I-" he stopped speaking when his eyes looked at someone whom he thought was missing.

He was stunned and bewildered, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Mira...? Is that you?" Camilo questioned, not believing that his prima was really there; standing right in front of him.

"Yes, Cami. Yes, it's me. I'm back home," Mirabel said with a soft smile.

Camilo only stayed rooted at his original position.

Mirabel decided to walk over to him and gave him a hug to help snap him out of his trance.

"I'm home, primo. I'm home," Mirabel whispered in his ear.

Camilo returned the hug.

"Where were you?" he asked, "We've been searching everywhere for you and we asked everyone if they had seen you or if they saw someone take you, but we didn't get any leads."

"The Rodriguez’s," Mirabel answered.

She didn't hear Camilo speak for a while. Instead, she could feel him shaking.

Is he crying? Mirabel wondered.

"Lo siento," she finally heard him say, "I had a feeling that you were in there but I didn't go and investigate. I shouldn't have even let you go there."

"Oh Cami," Mirabel said as she rubbed his back comfortingly, "you didn't know that she would do this to me."

"Lo siento," Camilo apologised again.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about," Mirabel tells him firmly. She broke up the hug before continuing, "This isn't your fault. It's Lorenza's."

"Doña Rodríguez hurt you?" Camilo asked.

Mirabel nodded. "Mamá gave me an arepa, so now all the bruises are gone.

Camilo's remorseful face had morphed into what can only described as livid.

"I'm going to kill that woman," he swore.

"No, no, no. I wanna see her tortured," Mirabel suggested.

"Niños," Julieta called from behind, sounding displeased.

Right, they forgot that the healer was in the same room as them.

"Lo siento," Mirabel apologised.

"But can we still hit her-" Camilo began.

"No," Julieta objected firmly.

Camilo groaned in annoyance.

"If you don't want to cause any trouble with Lorenza, I suggest you leave her alone," Julieta said.

"But-"

"Camilo."

"Fine," Camilo grumbled.

Out of the blue, they heard Lorenza denying loudly that she had done nothing to Mirabel at all.

"I didn't do anything to her!" she whined.

Mirabel gasped as she hid behind a wall.

"Mirabel, it's okay. Lorenza can't hurt you anymore," Julieta assured her gently.

"I just don't want to see her," Mirabel whispered.

Camilo started, "I'll beat her up if-"

Julieta shot a glare at her. Camilo grumbled again as he crossed his arms.

"Maybe you should go to your room. You like to sew right? Just distract yourself by doing that," Julieta suggested.

Mirabel hesitated before replying, "Okay."

They ushered her to her room and trier to hide her with their bodies as much as possible to avoid any drama from Lorenza.

Unfortunately, they didn't do too much as Lorenza could easily spot Mirabel.

Lorenza sneered under her breath, "She still had the audacity to be here with her family, that unbelivable b-"

To her dismay, Luisa was able to hear her grumbling. "You said you didn't do anything to her?"

Lorenza looked at the muscular woman before looking down at the ground, her face turning red very quickly.

She knew she wanted to kill her. She would've lashed out at Mirabel if it weren't for Luisa holding her back. 

She's going to scar Mirabel for life once the opportunity comes.

Maybe Marco too.

Chapter Text

Alma already knew she was not going to believe a single word came out of Lorenza's lying tongue. She believed her youngest nieta with all her heart and not some villager who had hurt her.

But she still wanted to conduct the interrogation to see if Lorenza would finally come clean or if she would still try to find a way to get out of the mess that she had created. That way, she would know a little bit more about the woman who had dared to lay a finger on Mirabel.

She considered a possibility of giving her a lower prison sentence.

She and Luisa brought Lorenza to a place in Casita to conduct the interrogation properly.

"Take a seat," Alma said to Lorenza.

Lorenza did as she was told.

She looked to her side and made a weird look. "Why is she just standing there?" she asked, pointing at Luisa.

"To make sure you don't try anything stupid and be a witness to whatever abuela or you are saying," Luisa replied bluntly.

Lorenza nodded slowly as she turned her attention back to Alma.

"Now," Alma began, "let's start. Where were you on March twenty-first at around noon?"

"My house," Lorenza replied.

Alma fought the urge to not roll her eyes.

"Did your family join you in assaulting Mirabel during those 16 days when she was in your house?" Alma questioned.

"We weren't even near Mirabel!" Lorenza raised her voice.

"Then why did Camilo say that you asked Mirabel to come to your house to help you with something?" Alma inquired.

"Camilo was lying," Lorenza accused.

Alma raised a brow. "Camilo would never lie unless he was pretending to be someone else in the Encanto."

"Or trying to steal Mamá's arepas," Luisa added.

"Thank you, Luisa," Alma said to her.

She continued speaking to Lorenza again, "Explain the bruises on Mirabel's skin and why you had tied her up."

"I-"

"Don't you even think about lying. I, as well as Julieta, Agustín and even your own son, had seen Mirabel bound to the chair in your basement," Alma interrupted.

Lorenza, seeing no way out of this, sighed as she rolled her eyes. "You won't believe me anyway," she muttered under her breath.

"Obviously, you lying snake," Alma remarked.

"Then why are you conducting this interrogation?" Lorenza questioned.

"I thought you would decide to come clean and admit your mistakes. But seeing this whole thing play out, I think you'll decide to do it now," said Alma.

Lorenza groaned. "Whatever. Arrest me or something."

"Are you finally confessing?"

"To you, yeah. I just wanted Mirabel to cure Renzo's depression."

Alma did a facepalm.

"Lorenza, Mirabel can't cure a mental illness. She's able to make you feel better after a hard day or a fight but not something as complicated as your son's case," Alma explained.

"We can barely pay off our monthly bills, let alome therapy," Lorenza mumbled.

Alma had heard that. "You could've came to me. I don't expect you to return anything due to the state your family is in."

Lorenza cocked her head to the side. "Really?"

Alma nodded. "Really."

Lorenza scoffed. "So I went through the trouble of keeping her in the basement for nothing?"

"You can say that," Alma said. "But you still haven't answered my question."

"Which one?"

"Why you had hurt Mirabel and why she was tied up to a chair."

Lorenza sighed. "I didn't mean to hit her that hard. It was a way of punishing her when Renzo's depression didn't just go away like a bad day."

"Tying her up?"

"I tested her to see if she would try to escape by opening the door to the basement and she did."

Alma chuckled lowly. "The irony. You wondered if my nieta would take a risk to escape while I wondered if you would lie to save yourself."

Lorenza couldn't help to giggle at that too.

"I guess I was pretty stupid to do all of that to her when I could have just asked you for some money," she said.

"Exactly."

Lorenza sighed again. "She probably doesn't want to see me now, but I do want to say sorry to her."

Alma smiled sadly at her. "When the time is right," she said, "I'll let you see her."

Lorenza smiled back. "Gracias, Doña Alma."

No. No no no no no. How is this possible? How is she back in that dreadful place?

How is she still tied up on that chair?

And how many days had passed already? She felt so tired, so hungry, so thirsty.

"Help," she croaked out. "Someone help me."

This had to be some sick joke. Why is she still stuck in that basement? Was her parents, abuela and Renzo finding her a dream? Was it?

Mirabel gasped as she woke up from her nightmare.

She put a hand over her chest. Her heart was pounding so hard.

Thump, thump.

Maybe she should just calm herself down-

Th-thump, thump .

Or drink some water-

Th-thump, thump. Th-thump, thump.

The heartbeat was getting annoying.

Mirabel sighed.

"Casita?" she called out to her friend (or house? Casita's both a friend and a house to her though) as she stares at the ceiling.

Casita's tiles clicked once. "Yes Mira?"

"What does my gift do?" Mirabel asked.

Casita clicked its tiles a few times. "To bring happiness to others, of course-"

"No. Like, what does it actually do not just for others but for me?" Mirabel clarified.

Casita did not respond for a moment. "What do you mean, Mira?" the house asked in concern.

Mirabel sighed. "I feel as though my gift isn't just for spreading joy to others. It's about doing that... at the expense of my own happiness."

Casita clicked its tiles again. "Is it about that Rodríguez woman?"

Mirabel nodded. "Yeah," she said.

"Don't fret. Alma had handled the situation already. The Rodríguez woman even wants to apologise to you."

Mirabel scoffed. "As if."

"Casita is being serious."

"Oh."

Mirabel sighed again. "I'm not ready to see her."

"Alma made sure of that. She and Rodríguez had come to an agreement that when the time is right, Rodríguez will meet you."

Mirabel smiled. "You're the best Casita."

Casita's tiles clicked twice. "You meant Alma is the best right?"

"You can say that," Mirabel giggled.

Chapter Text

The judge had sentenced Lorenza to life imprisonment, to the woman's dismay.

If only that stupid Marco had just kept his mouth shut.

Forget about hurting Mirabel, she needs to have a word with her esposo.

And by that, she's going to have the most heated argument ever in her life with him.

Provided if he even dared to visit her.

She was allowed to write letters to him and she does not expect a reply in return.

That meant she could still write to Mirabel too-

No. She will wait. Only when the time is right. She came to that agreement with Doña Alma about that.

But if that girl decided to get on her nerves, there will be no apology at all.

Mirabel was offered to have dinner with Renzo and his father after the final verdict was given to Lorenza.

She was dumbfounded that the woman who had abused her could still have a chance at tormenting her again, this time through letters.

But she suspects that Lorenza isn't so stupid to write a letter of hate to her when she could easily inform her family about it. She knew her family would do anything to protect her, sometimes through violence.

Mirabel vowed to return the favour to them whenever they did that.

The time was 5.50pm. She'd better get ready soon, she expected herself to be out of Casita by 6.

She brought her handmade bag that had some pan de quesos that she had made from scratch and gave a quick wave and goodbye at Casita before heading out.

The place that she, Renzo and Señor Rodríguez were supposed to meet was at a decent restaurant that had delicious food and drinks which tasted homemade (Mirabel thinks that the dishes and beverages were indeed homemade). The tables and chairs looked aesthetically pleasing and the decoration on the walls just made the restaurant feel like a very cosy place to be dining at.

She looked around to see if the two were already at a table. They weren't.

"Table for three," she tells the waiter, "the other two will be coming in a few minutes."

The waiter nods and ushers her to a table with three chairs. The menu, which was somewhat in a book form, was placed neatly on the table.

Just like she had said, Renzo and Señor Rodríguez had entered the restaurant in a few minutes.

She waved to them wildly when she saw them looking around for her.

Once they settled down, she presented them the pan de quesos to them.

"A thank-you gift for saving my life," she explained to the two of them.

"O-oh. We can't take these," Señor Rodríguez answered nervously.

"And we didn't really save your life," Renzo added.

"Just take them," Mirabel deadpanned, "If I gave these to Camilo he'd be whining because it'll be cold by the time I go home."

Renzo and Señor Rodríguez laughed.

They ordered some food from the menu and had a bit of small talk about life and cracked up some jokes.

"I don't really get the chicken joke," Mirabel said.

Renzo hummed in confusion.

Señor Rodríguez was not listening. Rather, he was focused on eating.

"The why did the chicken cross the road joke," Mirabel elaborated.

"Oh," Renzo said, dragging the oh.

"Like, what's so funny about chickens getting to the other side of a road? Has no one seen a chicken before?"

Renzo snickered.

"Apparently the joke was a riddle joke that was meant as an example of anti-humor, whatever that means," he said.

"I guess that makes sense," Mirabel said.

"Niños. Your food has been left untouched for 10 minutes," Señor Rodríguez said to the pair.

Renzo and Mirabel looked at the two plates of food in front of them.

One blushed in embarrassment and the other chuckled awkwardly.

"Lo siento, Pá," Renzo apologised to Señor Rodríguez.

Señor Rodríguez only sighed as he shook his head and resumed eating quietly for the next few minutes.

After they had finished their meals, they (Renzo and Mirabel) talked a little bit more.

"You have such an amazing gift, Mirabel. It reallt suits you. I heard that you loved cheering others up when you were younger and it seems like your gift is perfect for helping you do just that," Renzo praised Mirabel.

Mirabel pursed her lips. She gave him a smile and said, "Thanks."

She didn't really like her gift though. That feeling came pretty recently. She doesn't know what her gift's true purpose is for anymore. Maybe it was sucking up her happiness just to make other people happy.

She held back a sigh. She can't and will not let anyone realise that she thought of her gift like that. They might think she was ungrateful which, truth to be told, Mirabel suspected that maybe she was.

Señor Rodríguez suddenly cleared his throat.

"Um, Mirabel. I'm sorry about Lorenza," he apologised.

"Oh. It's okay," Mirabel replied.

"No, like, I should've told someone sooner," said Señor Rodríguez.

Mirabel raised a brow in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I... I had found out about what Lorenza had done to you a few days after you were taken. And I never told anyone because-"

"You what?!" Mirabel yelled.

"No, no, no. It's not like that. Let him explain," Renzo intervened.

"Oh I'd love to hear that," Mirabel sneered as she crossed her arms.

Señor Rodríguez sighed as he rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "Lorenza threatened me that if I told anyone about what she had done to you, she'd kill herself and I didn't want that-"

"So you're saying you didn't want that psycho to pay for what she had done?" Mirabel interrupted.

"N-no! That's not what I meant," Señor Rodríguez denied.

Mirabel scoffed. She got up from her seat and was approaching the receptionist to pay for the meal.

Renzo tried to stop Mirabel from leaving. "Mirabel, look I know my father was wrong-"

"Renzo, I've heard enough. Maybe another time," said Mirabel.

She knew in her heart that there was no another time. She now not only didn't want to see Lorenza, but Marco too. The only reason why she said that to Renzo was because she was trying to give the message that she doesn't want to talk to anyone at the moment.

She thinks Renzo got the message as he sighed in defeat and said softly, "Just don't take your anger out on anyone. Yes, my dad had messed up, but in the end he wanted to help you get out of that horrible basement. If you want, we can talk things out. Whenever you feel like it."

Mirabel forced a smile on her face. Renzo hasn't done anything to you. Just be polite to him right now. "Thanks" was the only word that came out of her mouth before she went to the receptionist's counter and left.

Renzo returned to his father, who was still sitting down at the table.

Marco sighed. "I messed up, didn't I?"

Renzo only winced in response.

Chapter Text

Lorenza requested the guard to let her write a letter.

"It's not to threaten anyone, right?" the guard asked suspiciously.

"I'm not that stupid to do that. Of course there won't be any threats," Lorenza said as she rolled her eyes.

Maybe, a thought popped up at the back of head, maybe I'll end up threatening someone.

She was given a pen and a piece of paper with lines for her to use.

She starts to write:

Dear Marco,

Hello. I hope you're enjoying life without me.

Listen carefully. You are going to take care of Renzo and make sure he doesn't try and kill himself, otherwise I will find you. And break you into pieces.

Because you were the reason that I ended up here in the first place.

I could've been at home doing whatever I needed to do, take care of Renzo and make sure Mirabel cured his depression.

But you decided to take all of that away from me by being a blabbermouth.

Do you know how mad I was when I realised that I will never be able to return to my family again?

Do you know how frustrated I was when I found Mirabel at Casita?

Do you know how betrayed and disappointed I felt when I put two and two together and realised that my own hubby had backstabbed me?

I don't find Renzo's depression a burden, I just find having to keep him happy the true burden. The fact that we can't even afford therapy says everything.

Our poor son is going through this because of you.

Because you could not provide enough for us.

It's your fault that his mental health is spiraling out of control.

You have a job. So be good at it. It's that simple.

I once had one, you know it. But I quit so that I could take care of our son.

Now I realised that it was a mistake. Because a pathetic lowlife like you could not do one job for his family.

I think I have said enough for one day. You better not let Renzo attempt suicide again.

Lorenza Gomez Rodríguez.

Lorenza felt so relieved after writing. It was like all that anger that she held back against Marco (and maybe Mirabel. Maybe) had just disappeared.

Maybe she'll write a letter to Mirabel. Or Renzo.

The letter was then sent to Marco's house.

Chapter Text

Antonio walked towards his door calmly.

He tried not to look at the crowd, if he did it would make him nervous.

But he did anyway.

He saw Mirabel smiling at him. He smiled back and looked back in front again.

He saw his door glowing brightly. It made his grin shine brightly too.

I should walk faster so that I'll get my gift sooner, Antonio thought to himself.

So he picked up the pace and started walking briskly. As he neared his door, he got so excited that he ran all the way up, making everyone in Casita laugh.

"Antonio," Alma began when the crowd died down, "do you promise to use your gift to strengthen the community?"

Antonio nodded his head vigorously.

He turned to his door and touched the doorknob.

A ray of light radiated from the door for a moment and returned to its original brightness.

Just then, a toucan flew onto Antonio's arm.

"Hey kid!" it squawked, "can you understand me?"

"Uh huh, I understand you!" Antonio replied happily.

"Great! Can my friends come over to this cool party? We’ve been shooed away from this colourful house for many years and we’ve been dying to go inside to have fun here. Let them in, pretty please?" the toucan asked.

"Of course they can come!" Antonio said. He could hear the toucan squawking and jumping –quite literally– for joy. It called out, "He said yes!" and almost immediately, many animals from many species ran into Casita towards Antonio. Once they got to Antonio, they obediently sat down around him.

"He's an animal whisperer," he heard Alma mumble.

He has no idea what animal whisperer means, but he suspects that it would relate to his cool gift.

Alma walked up to him and announced to everyone, "We have a new gift!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and clapped for the five-year-old.

Antonio could see his primo jumping for joy, Luisa clapping pretty slowly (but unfortunately her hands were literally right beside Dolores' ear), Isabela also clapped for him, but it was short so that she could put her hands pn her hips and smile at him and Mirabel covering Dolores' ears (Dolores was doing the same for her own ears) but she stopped for a while and waved at him and gave him a thumbs-up.

Antonio took a look inside of his room and his eyes widened in amazement.

"It's bigger on the inside?!" he heard a child exclaim in shock.

Just then, he heard a growl. Not just an ordinary growl, but a jaguar’s growl that seemed to be calling out to him. Antonio whipped around and saw it dashing towards him. It used its head and tossed the little boy onto its back and ran around the jungle room excitedly.

They had run through trees and obstacles (some of which Antonio got to jump and ride on) and behind a waterfall. Antonio reached out his hand to touch the waterfall in curiosity and felt that the water was cold. He also noticed how the water never got “sliced” when he put his hand right through it.

This is so cool he thought to himself.

They finally got back to the crowd and Antonio was showered with praise and comments about his gift.

“We need to take a picture!” his Abuela said after praising him as well. “Come! Come, everybody! It’s a perfect night!”

He couldn't agree more. This really was a perfect night.

The Madrigals gathered together and got ready to pose.

"La Familia Madrigal!"

Chapter Text

For four months, Lorenza had been writing letters to Marco. It's driving him mad, he thinks.

And in those four months, he had received four letters.

The second letter, which was written in May, was as read:

Dear Marco,

Tomorrow's May 31st, which means tomorrow's Antonio's gift ceremony, right?

How's Renzo doing? He's still alive, right? And what about Mirabel?

I hope you haven't failed our son. You can't fail him at all. Please make sure he's eating well and protect him from those horrible bullies.

Lorenza Gomez Rodríguez

Marco doesn't know if Lorenza was still mad at him or whether Lorenza was manipulating him into believing that she changed during her time in prison. So he doesn't write back.

The third letter, which was written in June, was as read:

Dear Marco,

It's the summer break. I hope you're spending time with Renzo.

I don't think the best way to bond with your family is by visiting them at prison, so please don't bring him here (as in my cell, or whatever) unless he absolutely wants to.

Please write back soon.

Lorenza Gomez Rodríguez

Marco scoffed. Ain't no way I'm writing back, he thought.

Again, he doesn't know if this was a trick or not, so he doesn't write back. He doesn't want to anyway.

The final letter so far, which was written in July, was as read:

Dear Marco,

Why aren't you writing back? Why don't you even come to me in person and tell me to stop writing? I can stop if you want. Just say the word.

Lorenza Gomez Rodríguez

Marco sighed. He wants Lorenza to stop writing to him, but he's scared. Scared that one wrong word will tick her off.

The first letter had already creeped him out.

He checked the calendar. August was rolling around. Lorenza will be writing to him any time now.

Chapter Text

Lorenza wants to know if Mirabel was ready to hear her apology, so she writes a letter.

Dear Mirabel,

Are you doing well? I hope you are. If you are ready to hear my apology, please write back to me or schedule a visit. I won't force you to do something you're uncomfortable with doing.

Lorenza Gomez Rodríguez

She doesn't know when Mirabel will write back or not, but she hoped she does.

Chapter Text

Lorenza decided that since Marco was not writing back, she'll write to Renzo instead.

Dear Renzo,

How are you? It's been a while since I've last seen you and I would like to catch up on the things I've missed.

Maybe you can talk to me about school? Or what you did during the summer break? Or maybe what happened last month during Independence day? I'm sure there's lots to talk about.

If you want me to talk about prison, there's barely anything interesting. The cycle is the same: wake up, eat, go back to cells, eat, go back to cells, maybe go out a bit to workout or something, go back to cells, eat, sleep.

Usually there's a lot of drama when it's meal time so I don't think anyone needs to go out.

I'm running out of space to write, so that's all for now.

Lorenza Gomez Rodríguez

Maybe, she hoped, maybe her son will write back and be better than her husband ghosting her.

She also hoped that Renzo still remembered her.

Chapter Text

Renzo's hand was shaking while he read the first letter he had received.

His mother- no, Lorenza (does she even deserve to be called mother at this point?) dared to act nice to him when she was being horrible to his father?

Oh yes, about that. He had stumbled upon the four letters Marco had (he didn't even know that his father had been receiving letters from Lorenza) and was enraged when he read them.

But he kept his cool and promised himself if he or Marco was delievered a letter to Lorenza again, he'd write back. And not in a please leave us alone lady kind of way, more like I know what you wrote to Dad and I'm mad kind of way.

"Papá. Why didn't you tell me Lorenza was writing to you?"

Marco choked on the water he had been drinking.

"Excuse me?" he hoped he had misheard his son.

"Lorenza's been writing to you and you didn't say anything or tell her to stop writing to you?"

How does this kid know about this? Marco thought to himself.

"Son, whatever she was saying in the first letter... I," Marco sighed as he paused, "I'm so sorry."

"No. No, Papá it's not your fault," said Renzo.

"Yes. Yes it is. Maybe... maybe if I had worked hard enough or find a job with a higher salary than my current one, you would've gotten the help that you deserved and I wouldn't have lost a wife," Marco lamented.

"Papá no," Renzo hugged Marco tightly, "this was never your fault. None of it is. You always try your best to, well, make the best out of our situation and I'm so happy that you didn't turn out like that psycho in prison. Lorenza is just gaslighting you, don't believe a word she's saying okay? You're the best dad I could ever ask for?"

"I'm your only dad," Marco joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Whatever," Renzo scoffed.

Marco returned the hug, silently thankful that Renzo had found out about the letters tat he had stashed away. His son's words made him feel a lot more better about himself and it got him a little emotional too.

Renzo, on the other hand, was secretly enraged. How dare she, Lorenza Gomez, tried to gaslight his father into thinking that he was the cause of his own mental health spiralling?

He took a pen and a piece of paper and started to write.

Dear Mom Lorenza,

I hope you're rotting in jail and feeling miserable right now.

How dare you gaslight Papá into thinking that he was the cause of my mental health deteriorating? I'm going to be real with you, the problem started with YOU.

Your expectations for my academics are too high for me to achieve and didn't bother to find out why and just handed me a piece of bread and a bowl of soup for meal times when I didn't meet the target. Why not you try it — oh that's right, you are a high school drop out who did very questionable things to people around you (I found out very quickly about who you really are after you got sent to prison), what a hypocrite.

Papá did the right thing in the end, no thanks to you. If this makes you feel better, Mirabel was mad at him when she found out that initially he didn't tell anyone about you basically imprisoning her because YOU threatened him that you would kill yourself if he did.

You felt the need to blame someone when things go south so you pinned it on Papá. YOU were the root of our problems. Now the bullies at my school kept saying I'm going to end up like you, miserable in jail.

I'm holding the urge to write two very offensive words and other things that will make you go insane because I still have morals unlike you. I hope you never have a single good day ever and I hope you'll get beaten up in jail or whatever. Call me ungrateful or bratty but I don't care. You already had noticed that I cancelled the word mom and replaced it with your name. One day Papá will divorce you, I know it (it's possible to divorce your spouse while they are in prison, FYI).

Also, stop writing to us. Why are you so desperate for a response? You know that if someone is ghosting you, it means that they don't want to talk to you at all.

Renzo Rodríguez

As for those two very offensive words, he said it in his head. He saved the other stuff he wanted to say for the next letter that may or may not come.

But he can't wait to let it all out.

Chapter Text

Mirabel had been staring at the letter for who knows how long.

She does not know if she should reply or not.

What if she threatens me to reply her A.S.A.P? What if I say the wrong things and it sets her off? This is so conflicting...

"Whatcha thinking about, hermanita?" 

Mirabel yelped in surprise as she whipped around to see that it was only Isabela.

"Isa! You scared me!" Mirabel exclaimed.

Isabela giggled. "Lo siento," she apologised.

Mirabel sighed as she looked at the letter.

Then it was gone-

"Hey! Give it back!" Mirabel demanded Isabela.

"Ooh, what's this? A letter?" Isabela gasped, "Did your boyfriend write to you? Ay, mi hermanita is growing up so fast!" Isabela squealed in excitement. "This is just great! What's his name?"

Mirabel blushed hard in embarrassment. Her face was as red as a tomato.

"Wha- huh? That's not it! I don't even have a boyfriend yet! It's from Lorenza!"

Isabela stopped and looked in her in the eye, any trace of excitement and giddiness erased. "What did you say?" she asked, her voice low and soft.

"Lorenza," Mirabel replied, slowly this time. "It's from Lorenza."

She watched as Isabela's hands grip the letter tightly, causing the paper to crumple.

Mirabel could see rage in her eyes as she continued to wordlessly stare at her.

Out of nowhere, they heard Bruno's voice say, "Ghost her."

The both jumped in surprised while yelping and (in Isabela's case) having flowers popping up on her head.

"Tío! I've already been jumpscared by my hermana mayor, there's no need for you to join in!" Mirabel cried out after getting over her shock.

"Hey!" Isabela exclaimed indignantly.

Bruno merely shrugged. "Just ghost her. Drive her insane while trying your best to recover quickly from that ordeal of yours."

Mirabel's road to recovery was a rocky one. She had frequent nightmares of being back at the lunatic's basement and sometimes being beaten up after getting caught trying to escape or the walls somehow closing in on her during the first month being back at home. It dwindled down to once or twice a week and stayed as such, which annoyed the teen.

Panic attacks were another problem. The mere word niña made her go into a spiral of flashback of Lorenza which easily triggered her. Calming Mirabel down was the hardest, it could take up to 20 whole minutes for her to feel comfortable and at ease to even move from her original position after being in a fetal position for so long. It would be worse if she ran off somewhere and was alone trying to deal with the attacks.

But to say she did not try to contain her anxiety over a word was a lie. Admittedly, there were really unhealthy ways of coping them such as cutting herself when she got frustrated, however, she had also found a better way by reminding herself that whoever was calling her niña was not Lorenza. And it did help, sometimes.

"Ghosting her sounds fun," said Isabela.

"But... what if she forces me to reply her?" Mirabel queried.

"You can burn it."

Isabela cackled.

"What? I'm just saying!"

"That-that's not actually a bad idea!" Isabela said in between laughs.

Mirabel stifled a giggle of her own.

"Thanks anyway Tío Bruno," she said gratefully.

And so Mirabel heeded Bruno's advice. By burning the letter to ashes.

Isabela begged her to let her join in the fun of watching the letter go up in smoke.

Chapter Text

Mirabel received five letters from Lorenza begging her to reply in a single week.

She smirked. This is pretty entertaining to watch her slowly go insane.

Well, now that Lorenza was out of the way, she could finay focus on healing from the trauma the madwoman had given her.

She had made some improvements during the three months of being free. She did not flinch as hard as she used to when people raise their hand or their voice, but she was still sensitive to the word niña. At least there weren't any panic attacks.

Her nightmares still occur a few times a week but they were not as intense as last time.

There were two people that she did not forgive about the little incident she had: Renzo's parents.

Sure, Lorenza was in the wrong that's for sure. But Marco?

Whenever she thought about that day when she snapped at him, she felt pretty bad for him. She knew the only reason he held back from reporting Lorenza's wrong doings was because he was gaslit into keepig quiet. Of course he would not want to lose the person he once loved dearly, but still.

Every time they pass by, either Mirabel would shoot him a glare or Marco would look away from her. Sometimes she felt bad when he did that.

She wants to let go, really. But it's hard to let go of a grudge when you have been holding it for four months.

Yes. Four months.

She sighed. "It sucks," she said to herself, "to hold a grudge."

Renzo sighed.

He had seen Mirabel glare at Marco before whenever she sees him. Sometimes, his father would look away in shame.

And to an extent, he would feel anger boil in his chest.

His father did not even touch a single hair strand of Mirabel's, so why did she get all worked up at the restaraunt four months ago?

But occasionally he would try to understand Mirabel from her point of view. It did make sense as to why she would be mad at his father. He was lucky he did not have to waste a few years of prison for hiding the fact that Lorenza had kidnapped and hurt Mirabel, the judge was very merciful towards him. He probably was having a good day or was very sympathetic towards Marco.

Still. She should just let go of this nonsense. It's been four months!

Maybe he should try and persuade her to forgive Marco.

Not like there was anything to forgive anyway.

Mirabel was told by Renzo to meet him behind Casita.

There was no other information but she trusted Renzo that he would not try anything on her.

So she did as she was told.

"Mirabel, por favor. My father is really sorry for what he did. Just forgive him, please?" Renzo begged.

Mirabel felt reluctant to do so but at the same time, somewhere deep inside her heart, she wanted to just forget everything from four months ago and move on.

Mirabel sighed as she rolled her eyes.

Renzo clasped his hands together. "Please?"

"Why?" Mirabel asked, "Why should I? Yes, I understand that he did not want to lose his wife but what took him so long just to realise that his wife is just a worthless piece of sh-"

"Keep your voice down! You want Antonio to find us or something?" Renzo interrupted her.

Mirabel grumbled in response.

"Mirabel, it's not healthy to hold a grudge you know. You won't be able to let go and have some peace in your mind," Renzo pointed out.

Mirabel sighed again.

Renzo spoke again, "My dad says he's really sorry and, well, he didn't exactly say it out loud, but he knows that if he was the one meeting up with you instead of me, you'd probably rip his throat out or something."

Mirabel held the urge to giggle.

"So, it'll mean a lot to him if you forgave him," said Renzo.

Mirabel went silent for a minute before answering, "Sure. Just guve me some time. I'll talk to your father later when I'm free."

The relief that washed over Renzo's face made Mirabel smile.

"Thank you. Thank you so much Señorita," Renzo thanked Mirabel gratefully.

"No need for formalities, amigo," Mirabel chuckled.

Renzo paused for a moment. "¿Amigo? You mean, we're friends?" he questioned.

"Well, I think of you as a friend. Not sure if you feel the same way. Do you want to-"

"Yes! Of course, we can be friends! Let's be friends!" Renzo said excitedly.

Mirabel laughed.

Mirabel was at Renzo's place where she met up with his papá to apologise for holding a grudge on him for so long.

Sure, he should have done or even say something. But this was his spouse she was talking about. The one woman whom he wanted to spend his entire life with and one of Renzo's role models.

I guess he picked the wrong girl. Poor guy, Mirabel thought to herself.

For what felt like the hundredth time, she was saying, "Again, I'm so sorry, Señor Rodríguez. It was never my intention to-"

"Ay, Mira you're overdoing it! I already said I forgive you," Marco chided lightly.

"Lo siento-"

"It's okay."

"But-"

"But nothing, Mirabel. I forgive you."

Mirabel smiled softly.

Marco sighed heavily. "Anyway, um, I'm considering a divorce."

Mirabel looked surprised. "Really? I didn't think you'd had the guts to finally do that. No offence."

Marco chuckled. "None taken."

"I'd support you."

"Of course you would."

"But what's the reason?" Mirabel asked curiously.

"Child abuse. Literal child abuse. Renzo told me that Lorenza limited his meals to just a piece of bread and a bowl of soup when he didn't meet the target for his studies," Marco replied.

"He told me about that too. Pretty sure he'll encourage you to find that... attorney, lawyer, whatever it's called for your divorce."

Marco chuckled dryly. "I just hope Lorenza doesn't make a fuss about signing the paper work."

"She's in prison for life. What can she do, really? Spam a bunch of letters to you, begging you to stay? Please."

Marco laughed.

"She'll be making a fool of herself. You literally have full custody over Renzo."

"Makes sense."

Now all Marco needed to do was to file for divorce.

There won't be any warnings for Lorenza, he wanted it to be... a surprise.

Chapter Text

Lorenza scoffed when she read Renzo's letter.

How dare he try to be smart towards her?

How dare he be rude towards his own mother?

How dare he be so ungrateful?

He must be showing his true colours now... Lorenza thought.

She growled.

"I did everything for you, you little brat! This is the thanks I get in return for raising you?! You wouldn't survive a day without me!" she screamed to the letter, imagining that it was Renzo.

She still loved him, really. But she hates his attitude towards him.

Whatever. She'll still write to Marco anyway. She's way more older than him and she knows what she's doing: keeping the family together (though she's unable to do much). She's the glue of her family, the one who's truly getting her act together just for her family.

The judge made the worst decision in his life and that was sending her to prison with no way of going back home.

And that Mirabel... she must have planted something in her poor Renzo's head that led him to being disrespectful towards his own mother.

She was not answering any of her letters too.

"Idiots. Ungrateful, bratty little idiots," Lorenza whispered to herself harshly. "They are such fools."

She always gets what she wanted. A husband? Check. A son? Check. A happy life? That was coming soon.

The problem was how she was going to get that back.

Marco had finally gotten a divorce attorney after three months and did his part of the paper work.

Now he just needs to get Lorenza to agree and sign it too.

He can't just force her to do the paper work, that just won't work. He'll just have to somehow convince her to agree on the divorce.

He had booked a visit to the prison centre where Lorenza was with a file and pen in his hand. The file contained the divorce papers.

There was a sheet of tempered glass with some holes acted as some sort of divider. The holes were probably meant for the prisoner and visitor to have an easier way of talking to each other, Marco guesed.

In the middle of the glass, way at the bottom, was a hole shaped in a rectangle.

Perfect, Marco thought, I just hope she won't tear the paper.

Marco took his seat and waited for the guards to bring Lorenza to him.

A few minutes later, Lorenza was seated in front of him, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"I didn't think you'd have the guts to pay me a visit," she said smugly.

The file in Marco's hand caught her attention. "What's that you're holding?" she questioned him, that annoying smirk still on her face.

Marco replied calmly with a stoney look on his face, "Oh, this little thing? Maybe you'd like to take a guess."

"All the letters I had sent to you? What, you want to go on a rant and lecture me about how I've hurt your feelings?" Lorenza taunted and let out a haughty laugh.

Marco scoffed as he gave Lorenza a sly smile of his own. "Divorce," he said.

Lorenza's laughter halted almost immediately and all colour drained from her face. She looked ashened.

"You... you can't be serious," she said softly.

"Oh, but I am," Marco replied coldly.

Lorenza must've gotten herself together and tried to look tough, because she scoffed while bringing back that stupid smirk (stop it stop it stop it you arrogant little-) and asked, "So now what, you're gonna make me sign the paper?"

"No," said Marco.

"Then what are you even trying to achieve? You wanna cut me off from your life? And what about Renzo-"

"Renzo hates you," Marco cut her off. "He sent you an angry letter a few months ago, right?"

Lorenza's expression faltered again slightly. "How did you-"

"I had a feeling he did that after you tried to act nice. Spoiler alert: he saw through you and was furious."

Lorenza was cracking. Marco could see it.

"That–... that's a lie! Renzo loves me!" she denied desperatedly.

"Does he though?" Marco asked rhetortically.

"Y-you must've said something to him!"

"Oh I would never!" Marco acted dramatically to mock his soon-to-be ex-wife.

Lorenza was practically seething. "I know for a fact that Renzo still cares about me and that you don't!"

Marco decided to be a dramatic idiot again but with less... drama.

"Hm. That's an interesting perspective. Now, how about we focus on reality for a moment?" he asked with the most exaggerated smile that would have looked sweet if not for the situation he was in while tapping on the file.

Lorenza scoffed again.

"Seriously, how many time do you gotta do that? It's getting really annoying," said Marco.

"That's good enough for me," Lorenza saud with a grin as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Great. Now, on to the divorce."

Divorce.

He had to be joking.

Lorenza hates divorces and strives to make her marriage the best one ever.

But clearly there was someone who wants to ruin it.

Divorce feels like a taboo subject for Lorenza. To her, divorce destroys relationships and are the worst threats to use on your partner. It terrified her to even think about a scenario of her and Marco splitting up, even though she was already in prison.

That was why she just trying so desperately not to fall apart when Marco told her that he wanted a divorce.

What she was goong to say next was a last-ditch effort into making Marco change his mind.

"You will never find a person like me. You will live to regret this. And think about Renzo, our son! Don't be so selfish. All of that," she looked at the file, "will destroy everything we've worked hard for. Our relationship, Renzo's future, and my sanity."

"Have you ever thought about my and Renzo's sanity though?" Marco retorted.

"Don't you dare turn this on me," Lorenza sneered. "You knew about Mirabel being in our house and was okay with me kidnapping her, but you act like you weren't in any part of this. I know hurting her was my fault, but what did you do about it?"

Marco snorted in disbelief. "Are you seriously trying to gaslight me? Lady, I wanted to keep you and not ruin our relationship. Keyword wanted. But I guess it was a mistake. That's the why I got a divorce. You... you being a manipulator is just– just too funny," he tried containing his laughter at the end and was failing miserably.

Lorenza spluttered. She could feel her face turn red with embarrassment.

She was losing control over this... this... whatever this had turned into. She could feel herself slowly start to freak out.

"You-you can't do this to me!" said Lorenza.

Marco suddenly burst into laughter. It was a mix of a manuac going insane and someone being so done with people's BS.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot this was all about you. My bad," he said sarcastically once he calmed down.

Lorenza glared at him, her face still flushed.

Finally, a smug smirk formed on his lips.

"Where did all your bravado go, Señora Gomez? Where's that signature overweening grin? Did it just— POOF! — disappear into thin air?" he gasped loudly, "I thought you still had the guts to slap me with another one of that comeback of yours. Guess not."

Lorenza did not say anything. If you were able read people well, you could easily telll that she was putting in so much effort not to let Marco know that she knew what he knew.

"You lose, Lorenza Gomez," (no I did not no I did not he's wrong but I however am never wrong)  "You have no one to back you up. Renzo will be just fine, I have been saving up a lot of money for his therapy and once I have enough, he's depression will finally go away. I will go talk to Doña Alma about his cowardly bullies from school who are almost just as bad as you after this. Mirabel will be much happier without you and will shine brighter once she's finally recovered from the trauma you gave her."

Lorenza still did not say anything.

"It's over," Marco finished.

Lorenza was as still as a statue.

"3490, you have two minutes left," the guard behind Lorenza announced to her (a guard was there the whole time? That's even more humiliating).

Marco slid the file and pen into the rectangular hole. "I've already done my part of signing it, now you just have to do yours."

Lorenza inhaled sharply as she picked up the pen and signed.

As she returned the file and pen back to Marco, she hissed, "Go to hell."

Marco chortled lowly. "See you there," he replied, his voice full of sarcasm.

Once Lorenza was back in her cell, she let out an agonising scream.

She was never going to see Renzo get better.

She could never get back at Marco.

She would never get the chance to get her happy life back ever again.

I hate you, Mirabel.

Renzo opened the door and his father stood in front of him.

"You did it," he said, flashing Marco a winning smile.

Marco gave him a grin of his own.

Chapter Text

Mirabel felt a strong emotion flow through her that she had not not felt in a long time: joy.

Finally, she did not feel that her gift was a burden to her.

Ever since she was stuck in the Rodríguez's basement, she started to hate her gift and she tried to use it as little as possible. She thought that the whole point of her gift was to make others happy while sacrificing herself.

One night, she had a talk with Casita about that thought.

"Mirabel. The whole point of your gift was not to sacrifice your happiness, it was to bring joy to others, to cheer them up whenever they have a bad day and be with them when they're at their lowest," said Casita.

"But why didn't you include curing depression ad part of my gift?" Mirabel asked.

"Firstly, Casita is not responsible for the Madrigals' gifts. It's either that candle or the spirit of your Abuelo Pedro. Anyways, depression is a complex illness. It takes a lot of patience, understanding and sympathy — or empathy if you know how someone with depression was feeling — to know how to help one get through it. So maybe it's the reason why your gift is only limited to cheering people up and etcetera."

After a moment of processing Casita's words, Mirabel nodded, unstanding what the house was trying to say.

"Mariposa, you need to learn how to find happiness inside you. That way, you will stop hating your gift or think that it's making you feel miserable," said Casita.

"But, how do I find happiness inside of me?" asked Mirabel.

Casita paused before answering, "Don't think of it. Just enjoy the things in life and your thoughts and emotions and show gratitude. I can't tell you step by step on how to do it because it's up to you to find out how."

So Mirabel tried to have a more positive outlook in life and about her gift. She tried thinking of more happy thoughts and smiled more, to the point that her cheeks started to hurt.

And then she tried to focus on embroidery and actually felt a little more relaxed and happy.

She wrote a song that introduces herself and her family and Camilo decided to memorise it and change a little bit of the lyrics so that when he sings the song solo it would make more sense.

She goes out more and hangs out with her friends and had genuine fun. 

She also started using her gift more too.

A child crying over a ruined birthday party? She comforts him and he instantaneously feels a lot more better.

Her hermana looking beautiful? She sends her a compliment and Isabela feels happy rather than awkward or weirded out.

And at one point, she managed to cheer herself up.

When she felt upset over losing a game of chess to Antonio (how is Antonio a pro at chess he's only five-) , she thought to herself, it's just a game, silly. Plus, he looks so happy about winning, and she felt a whole lot better after the game. She even treated him to some ice cream after that!

She finally felt joy and loved her gift (not as much as her friends and family, but she enjoys using her gift) and now understood the purpose of her gift: to bring others joy and cheer herself up when she was at her lowest.

She had heard from Renzo that Marco had finally filed a divorce against Lorenza and was successful. From then on, he has not heard a peep from her. It made Mirabel feel happy that Marco decided to put his foot down.

Occasionally, some people would ask her to cure their or a loved one's depression, to which she would remind them that she was unable to do that and suggested them to seek a professional.

She also told Renzo to tell his bullies to meet up near Casita, which resulted in the bullies getting an earful from Renzo's father and Luisa's death stare. If looks could kill, they would be six-feet under by now.

"You don't want to found out what would happen if you hurt my hermanita's amigo again. So a little advice to you guys: leave him alone," she warned them.

The bullies nodded fearfully and thankfully, they had truly left Renzo alone and never pestered him again.

Mirabel felt so happy for not just the people around her, but also herself.