Chapter Text
The day starts very strangely for Mirabel.
She was walking around and talking to the people around her until it was time to go home, and when she returned, she was greeted by her abuela, who was looking at her furiously.
-Mirabel Madrigal! I can't believe you did that!
-But what have I done? - The granddaughter asks, confused.
-You know what you did, don't act like you don't understand! You let the donkeys out of the barn after your sister put them in after a long day of work! Do you know how long it takes for her to do this? Hours! And you still do this?! - Abuela states, scolding Mirabel.
Mirabel is shocked.
-What? I would never do such a thing to my own sister! - Mirabel retorts, trying to defend herself.
But of course Alma, her grandmother, didn't believe it.
-The barn owner confirmed that you did it, Dolores also along with some people around, and they would never lie to us!
After the long scolding she received after what she allegedly did, she went upstairs and went to the nursery. Alma went up too, going to her own room.
She starts pacing back and forth and talking to herself:
-I don't understand, I would never do that to Luisa, it's very mean. Camilo certainly didn't change shape for me, because he was acting like a babysitter... And it's not like Dolores and the other residents were all going to lie to get me in trouble - she pauses. - Or were they?
What no one noticed was that, in the shadows, there were two people.
The first was identical to Mirabel, but had some differences:
Her eyes were completely green, instead of the traditional hazel, it wasn't a green that you would notice from afar, especially because it was a dark green. But if you were to pay attention, it was something you would notice. Furthermore, she is a little taller than the original Mirabel, being almost 1.60m tall.
The second figure was identical to Camilo, Pepa's son and Mirabel's cousin, however, there were also differences.
His ruana was red, and he was two centimeters taller than the original Camilo. Furthermore, his hair is still the same color, but a little darker. Despite that, he could very well change form, so it wasn't a problem.
"When do we start?" The impostor Camilo asks, whispering.
"Tomorrow, because it will be Antônio's ceremony." Imposter Mirabel responds, whispering.
"Ah! How I will love ruining the lives of these Madrigals from this dimension!" He whispers, with a mischievous smile.
Mirabel smiles wickedly.
-Me too, cousin. Me too.
Fortunately for this duo, and unfortunately for the Madrigals, no one sees or hears them, they are like spies.
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But she swore she saw the cracks!
Something is wrong: she saw the cracks clearly, and now they are gone. First the donkeys in the barn, now this!? What is happening?!
So she decides to go out into the forest, to clear her head, she didn't believe anything else could go wrong. It's not like her going out alone in a forest at night could go wrong, right?
So... she kind of gave it away.
A figure appeared in front of her, and what was worse, it was completely the same as her.
Before Mirabel can scream and run, a hand comes from behind and is placed over her mouth, to stop her from screaming. When she went to see who she was, she was in disbelief. The person was extremely identical to her cousin, Camilo.
Before she can ask about what was going on, or anything else, everything goes black. And, unfortunately for her, no one sees any of this happening, as everyone was at the party.
And now?
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-You all woke up, how good! Good morning to all of you! -The girl, who was supposedly Mirabel, she said, with an energy that seemed to be higher than normal. Okay, it was common for her to wake up happy, but it looked like she had drunk twenty cups of coffee.
-Of course, you woke us all up at seven in the morning, girl. - Isabela says, rolling her eyes, in a bad mood.
-Isabela! Don't talk to your sister like that! - Juliet says, scolding her eldest daughter.
-Guys, what is that good food smell? - Camilo asks, completely changing the focus. He was starving.
-Huh? But I didn't make the food.- Julieta says, confused.
-I did it - Mirabel pauses. - I did this in the form of an apology for the barn and Antônio's party which, you know, I ruined.
Julieta feels proud of her daughter at this moment. Agustín, Mirabel's father, too.
-But you know that Juliet makes the food! - Alma states, scolding Mirabel.
The supposed Mirabel tilts her head innocently, with her eyebrow raised and says:
-Why does it always have to be her? She deserves a rest and to work only when necessary - she leaves her head in the normal position. - unless you want your daughter to live forever cooking until she dies of exhaustion.
Everyone was silent.
She shrugged her shoulders and sat down in the chair, still with a bright smile on her face.
-Just saying, Abuela!
Everyone slowly sat down on the chairs, and acted as if nothing had happened, except for Dolores, who stared at Mirabel for a long period of time, until her and Mirabel's eyes met, which made Dolores look down.
After breakfast, everyone went to their respective tasks, until Mirabel and Isabela bumped into each other.
-What is your problem? - Isabela screams.
Normally, Mirabel would ignore it, because she was already used to it, but today was different.
She pushes Isabela very hard to the ground, who ends up letting out a small scream of pain in return.
-I think my problem is that you always want to be in my way.- That's what she says, with her hands on her hips, before running away.
When she gets up and dusts off her dress, Mirabel has already left.
Dolores watched it all. Her cousin had really changed a lot, but it wouldn't be Antônio's ceremony that would make her change that much, would it?
After everyone ate lunch, she began to "keep an ear open" on Mirabel. She was never very close to her, but the change in behavior was noticeable. After all, even without much contact, Dolores could hear everything, so she kind of knew everyone. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice her older cousin, Isabela, calling her. She only touched when Isabela pulled her arm into the kitchen.
-You were staring at Mirabel all day today, what's wrong? - Isabela asks, with her eyebrow raised.
Dolores squeaks, showing that she was nervous.
-It's nothing you need to worry about, cousin. Ah... I should go before Abuela calls me for something and...
Dolores is interrupted by a small hand tugging at her skirt.
-Dolores, I'm scared of Mirabel.- Antônio, Dolores' younger brother and Isabela's younger cousin, says.
-Why? - She asks.
Isabela was confused by both of them, but she decided to ignore it and left.
- That's clearly not Mirabel. I noticed that she is acting differently, and worse, her eyes have changed...- Antônio responds, with tears threatening to come out.
-What do you mean with "your eyes"? - Dolores asks.
Antonio lets go of her skirt.
-Her eye color changed to dark green, didn't you notice?
Dolores was shocked, now she was more suspicious that it wasn't Mirabel. She squeals before saying:
-There's no need to worry, Antonio, she'll be back to normal soon.
Antônio then leaves Dolores’ side.
Dolores sighs, before leaving the kitchen.
She was going to investigate that.
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And then, it was time for the proposal, and Alma wanted everything to be perfect.
And of course she wouldn't let Mirabel ruin this, so she would keep an eye on her granddaughter.
But there was a problem, how are you going to look at someone who isn't there?
-Guys, where's Mirabel? - Luisa asks.
Everyone at the table looked at the empty chair between Isabela and Agustín.
-She's late, apparently.- Alma, Mirabel's grandmother, says, although with a disguised smile, she had a slight tone of anger. She sighs, a little furiously, and asks:
-Dolores, can you hear where your cousin is?
She leans in and focuses on the sound of Mirabel.
-Apparently, she's humming and walking down the stairs.
"I'm here, guys!"
Everyone turns and sees Mirabel at the entrance.
-Mirabel, why was she late?-Abuela asks, with a slight tone of rigidity.
-I totally lost track of time while I was solving some problems.- Mirabel replies, with a wide smile (almost malicious) that Dolores suspected, slightly raising her eyebrow.
After a while, while everyone was eating, Dolores watched Mirabel closely, while everyone was talking.
Mirabel ends up realizing, and takes advantage of this to say:
-Hey! Mariano! Can I ask you a question?
"Clear!" Mariano responds, while Isabela looks at her, confused.
-Why do you want to get married?
-Because I love her?- He states, a little confused by her question.
-So what's her favorite color?- She asks.
Silence.
-Okay, this might be a little difficult - She says, with a tone of irony and sarcasm - so, what's her favorite food?
Mariano's mind went blank: he never asked her that.
-What types of books does she like? Horror? Action? - Mirabel asks.
No reply.
-She's right, my son, you're in a hurry, you have to get to know each other better.- Señora Gúzman says to her son, who nods positively, while he feels embarrassed, looking down.
-Then I want to cancel dinner.- Señora Gúzman states.
-Ah, okay, then, we'll see another day.- Alma says, surprised by what happened.
On the other hand, Isabela had a lot of emotions, she was relieved that she didn't have to marry him. But she was also a little upset about what Mirabel had done, as it certainly made Abuela sad.
She just didn't know that Mirabel could make the situation worse.
-Because, you know, Dolores is in love with you, Isabela isn't.- Mirabel says, as if it were a very obvious thing.
Silence.
-Isabela, is this true? - Mariano asks, shocked and clearly sad.
Before she can defend herself, Alma interrupts, with a fake smile on her face:
-Look, if you don't want to marry him, it's okay, mi flor.
-Well, the truth is, yes, I really wasn't in love with you.- Isabela says, looking away.
-And why did you pretend? - Mariano asks.
-It's just... I wanted to make my Abuela proud and...- Isabela interrupts herself, as she was embarrassed by it all.
Meanwhile, Senora Gúzman looks at Dolores and asks:
-Dolores, are you really in love with him?
Dolores' cheeks take on a reddish hue.
-Yes....
-Actually, Dolores, I think I like you too.- Mariano says, with a smile on his lips, which makes Dolores smile embarrassed and blush even more.
After all the dinner, Mirabel was gone.
Isabela was relieved, but she saw her grandmother's disappointment, which made her angry with Mira.
Furthermore, she had spilled the secret she had kept for months without her permission.
She went to the nursery to yell at her, but she wasn't there, which left her confused.
"Meh, I'll look for her later, I'll talk to Dolores first." She thinks.