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~ ~ Julieta ~ ~
It had been a very long five years. It was hard to believe that the triplets’ birthday was coming up again already. Surviving their escape into the wild had only been the first step. It had taken time to build the rest of the village, and even as a fresh widow with three babies to care for, Alma had quickly established herself as a leader. After all, her magical Casita was the only shelter for all the refugees until more houses could be built. She had to establish boundaries, however, as there were those who thought she should share (ie. give away) more of Casita’s resources. But Casita was Pedro’s last gift for her and their children; she would never give it up.
So, Alma focused on what she could share – her time and attention caring for additional small children while their parents toiled with new construction and planting fields, and cooking meals in her magically well-stocked kitchen.
Luckily, her firm ownership of the house was also established in the fact that there were only two bedrooms on Casita’s upper floor, and one of them had been magically marked with her name and no one else could enter without her permission. She had been sleeping in there with the triplets while others had occupied the spare bedroom – and every other available space in the lower rooms. But one by one new houses had been built, until Alma was finally left alone with just her family. With the triplets turning five she was thinking of converting the spare room into a nursery, as she was no longer quite as afraid her children would be stolen away from her while she was sleeping.
Instead, the morning of the triplets’ fifth birthday, Alma awoke to find three new doors had magically appeared overnight. Although there was no image on these doors, like there was on her own, they glowed faintly and each doorknob had the letter of one of her children’s names. (It had been hard to keep the triplets – especially impulsive Pepa – from opening the doors immediately, but there had been an air of “not ready yet.)
When it reached evening, Julieta, as the eldest, was allowed to open her door first. The newly-formed image on the door seemed to depict a young Julieta feeding and nurturing others, which was quite appropriate for her mature eldest daughter. The idea that Pedro’s magic gifted more than just new rooms, was not clear until after Pepa had rather explosively entered her own room.
So, the next day, Alma decided to teach Julieta to cook. Five was a little young, but if she had a gift granted to her through Pedro’s magic, then they needed to find it. The little girl did burn herself when attempting to cook the simple arepas but insisted that she could wait until the food was finished to have the wound treated. Instead, as soon as Julieta tried one of the cooked arepas while Alma fetched a cool cloth, the burn miraculously healed on its own! This truly was a magical gift!
Like with Casita herself, Alma felt they should share their largesse, so twice a week she had Julieta help her make a large stack of arepas that they could give away to sick or injured neighbors. Maybe when Julieta was older, she could take on more cooking duties and heal more people, but that was unreasonable to expect for a five-year-old. Nevertheless, Alma did make sure to impress upon her daughter what an important staple of the community she was, and how important it was to help care for others in need.
~ ~ Pepa ~ ~
Even though she was the middle child, Pepa was the first to manifest the amazing magical powers which must have been part of Pedro’s gift to their family. Pepa had always been very emotive, even since she was a baby, with a smile as bright as the sun one moment and seemingly existing under a metaphorical storm cloud five minutes later. So, it seemed easy to guess why the new door depicting Pepa should also show this range of moods.
Alma had not expected it to be quite so literal, but Pepa had burst fearlessly into her new room with a wide grin on her face and an even wider rainbow arcing over her head. Alma had thought at first it was just a charming manifestation of her daughter’s mood, but of course these magical gifts were more complicated than that.
The next day was not half over when Bruno accidentally dropped Pepa’s doll into a puddle in the courtyard and Pepa’s tears were quickly washed away by the literal raincloud now dripping a steady stream of rain onto her head. (This sudden soaking did not do anything to ease the unexpected rain shower and instead heralded small rumblings and flashes of lightning above Pepa’s little head.)
Alma had to sit down her little girl and try to explain the importance of emotional regulation – especially inside the house. Rainbows and sunshine were charming and brightened the moods of others, but raining or snowing on the floors only led to extra mopping. So, it was vital that Pepa learn to keep her emotions in check, despite her young age, lest she flood the house.
These lessons were not made easier by the village children making a game out of upsetting Pepa in hopes of changing her localized weather. Julieta and Bruno did their best to stick up for her, of course, and Alma put her foot down with the neighboring parents, but by then word of the new magic had spread to an unexpected quarter.
Alma was not expecting to see a group of the local men who had begun farming their secret valley to appear on her doorstep. She was expecting even less that they were asking for the services of her five-year-old daughter. On reflection, however, it made sense. Even five years on, the crops were still vulnerable to unexpected dry spells or flooding. If Pepa were able to water dry fields or bring the sun out to dry wet fields after a heavy rain, then it would benefit the whole community. Perhaps this was even what Pedro had intended with Pepa’s gift!
Of course, Pepa’s weather patterns were still quite small so she couldn’t handle doing very much at a time, but it was still a help. And perhaps her powers would grow stronger as she grew up – although her control over her emotions would also have to grow. Nevertheless, Alma was pleased at how much the Family Madrigal could support the community in unique and powerful ways.
~ ~ Bruno ~ ~
Like Julieta, Bruno’s powers did not manifest instantly. Unlike his sister, however, his door image provided few clues – although the hourglass did fit the whole sand theme within Bruno’s room. It was a surprise, therefore, the first time her Brunito went into a trance and produced an image of the future.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to interpret many of Bruno’s visions. Some seemed straightforward at first – for example, an image of their family eating dinner together with the children looking a little older. That could be a prophecy of continued prosperity and happiness in the future. Then again, it could mean something important would happen at that specific dinner.
If Julieta had been immediately popular for her healing gift, and Pepa had been teased for her weather gift before its value had been shown to the community, Bruno experienced a rather mixed response. At first, everyone wanted to be shown a vision of their future. Who would they marry? How many children would they have? How much would the harvest yield? Except Bruno’s gift was not that easily directed, and not everyone wanted to see the future that he showed.
It did not help that Bruno’s gift seemed to affect him. (Just as Pepa’s gift seemed to make her more volatile, rather than less, despite all of Alma’s admonishments.) Bruno had always been a slightly awkward and even odd boy at times – not that his mother loved him any less – but since gaining his gift he’d grown downright superstitious. The increasingly wary reactions of their neighbors did not help in the slightest.
Alma tried to suggest that maybe he should stop performing quite so many visions – unless necessary, of course – to see if that would improve his reputation. While it did help some, his many eccentricities ensured his reputation was quite fixed in the eyes of the town. Plus, what was the point of their gifts from Pedro if not to use them to help others?
~ ~ Isabela ~ ~
Isabela was her oldest grandchild, and as the days crept closer to her fifth birthday, Alma could see that the same question that plagued her own mind was being whispered throughout the village as well – would the magical gifts be continued on to the next generation?
She knew that either it would or it wouldn’t. Maybe the gifts were just for Pedro’s dear children, or maybe it would be a legacy forever passed down through the Madrigal family. Alma far preferred the second option, as it would mean that Pedro would continue to watch over not just their children, but also their grandchildren and on into the future.
Finally, one week before young Isabella’s birthday, Alma could not stand the suspense anymore and Asked Bruno for a vision. Maybe this way she’d know whether to temper her expectations. It might even help to identify a future gift more easily than happened with Julieta and Bruno.
In the end, everything came together perfectly. With Bruno’s foretelling as reassurance, Alma had invited the entire town to the birthday party. She was reassured further when a new door began appearing that morning, so she could bustle about with confidence and plan a party that would show the town the continued value of the Family Madrigal and their special gifts.
When evening fell, Isabella played her part perfectly, calmly walking up the steps to her new door which changed to show her surrounded by flowers. In her new room, the whole town was graced with the sight of her first use of her gift to create beauty and joy through endless swaths of roses, violets, and flor de mayo.
Alma was so proud of her eldest granddaughter that she couldn’t help taking her aside the next morning to tell her so, and to praise her poise and gracefulness in front of so many nosy people. In fact, Alma told her Isabella reminded her so much of herself as a young girl, and that it was such a relief to see the next generation in such perfect hands.
~ ~ Dolores ~ ~
After Isabella successfully gained a magical gift during her birthday party, it was obvious that the same would probably happen for Dolores. Accordingly, the birthday was even bigger and the ceremony of opening the new door became a central fixture. After all, nearly the entire town would be there waiting to see what new gift would grace their Encanto.
(The hardest part was actually keeping Pepa’s nerves under control. Her excitement and pride in her daughter reaching this milestone was eclipsed only by her anxiety over what her future gift might be. This tumultuous mix of emotions threatened to waterlog the decorations and the party itself at any moment.)
Inheriting some of Pepa’s anxieties, Dolores would likely receive a somewhat temperamental gift. After all, so far only Julieta and Isabella had gifts that were not two-edged swords, but they were the two most calm and peaceful members of the family. And indeed, supernatural hearing had many drawbacks. (Not only the chance of overhearing something she might wish to forget – especially at such as young age – but Alma would not be surprised if the overstimulation would cause headaches and migraines.) During the party, however, Alma did her best to focus everyone’s attentions on the gift’s benefits rather than the fact a five-year-old might hear anything and everything they said and did.
Dolores unwittingly aided this endeavor when she heard one of the children upend a tray of food on himself and start crying – unheard by everyone else through the general ruckus of the party. The application of one of Julieta’s arepas and hugs from the little boy’s parents soon had smiles all around. While the adults looked on and whispered about how helpful Dolores would be should one of the children – or donkeys – become lost in the surrounding forest, or if one of the farmers or hunters should encounter difficulties and need to cry for help.
After the party, Alma talked with her granddaughter about how to respect boundaries, but also help to keep the town safe. For instance, this also included informing Alma or another adult family member should she ever overhear people speaking poorly about the Family Madrigal or their gifts and lovely Casita.
~ ~ Luisa ~ ~
By the time her third grandchild turned five years old, the birthday party and gift ceremony had become a regular fixture in the life of both the family and the town. Isabela, of course, was a wonderful help in decorating Casita’s courtyard to look like a beautiful indoor garden. Julieta cooked all the food, Pepa kept the weather pleasant (mostly), Dolores kept an ear out for trouble, and Bruno promised to show her a vision after the party.
In the end, Luisa’s door was perhaps the most straightforward the family had seen, so it was no surprise that an image of Luisa weightlifting manifested as super strength. It was also quite suitable for Alma’s third granddaughter. While Isabela was sweet and eager to please, and Dolores was anxious and easy to startle, Luisa was solid and dependable. She always did her chores without much fuss and she liked to be helpful.
Indeed, as soon as she manifested her gift, Luisa began thinking of small projects around town that had been put on hold due to lack of manpower. With her new strength however, perhaps Luisa could assist or finish those projects – if not now, then in a few years when her strength had grown. (For it was quite clear by now that the powers matured with their wielder.)
Alma felt no need this time to wait and have a private talk with her granddaughter. Instead, she was happy to praise Luisa in front of the whole town about how strong and useful Luisa would grow up to be, and how integral she would no doubt become in assisting the needs of the town.
~ ~ Camilo ~ ~
There had been several years gap between the eldest trio of grandchildren and the younger two, which meant everyone had quite adjusted to the magical powers of the older children, and were eager to see something new. This meant young Camilo’s birthday party and gifting ceremony were as extravagant as ever.
And Camilo’s gift was certainly something new! Shapeshifting was a rather surprising gift – although all the gifts had been surprising in their own ways, she supposed. It was astounding that Pedro’s sacrifice could generate such diverse and powerful magical gifts.
However, for a little boy who already enjoyed getting into trouble, she could only see this gift as a further way to cause mischief. She would have to keep an eye on that, and make sure his parents did as well. (She was quite fond of Felix, her son-in-law, and the way he helped regulate Pepa’s moods, but she did remember how much of a scamp he was as a boy.)
A five-year-old child would have little understanding of how much damage could be done impersonating villagers without their knowledge. Right now, he was simply entertaining the crowd by dramatically changing sizes and shapes, from the rotund baker to a tiny infant. Like Dolores’s gift, however, it was best that no one realized the more troubling implications and uses for his gift.
Just as Camilo began using the form of a handsome but shy young man in order to bat his eyes and make kissy faces at several young women (much to the women’s amusement, but the young man’s discomfort), Alma decided it was best to shoo him off to entertain the children instead. It even had an unexpected benefit when one of the young children began wailing for his mama and Camilo shapeshifted into her form to calm the child down until she arrived. Perhaps this could be how his gift could be useful to the town?
~ ~ Mirabel ~ ~
The lead-up to her fifth grandchild’s birthday and gifting ceremony was no different than the last several. By this time the family had worked out a routine and the town looked forward to the excitement of both a large celebration and witnessing some sort of new magic.
…Except there was no new magic that night. Mirabel approached the door in her fancy white dress, eyes wide behind her glasses, but when she touched the doorknob, the glow faded, and the outline of the door disappeared back into a blank expanse of wall.
It was all Alma could do to keep her own shock and horror off her face in order to silence the whispers of the crowd. She had Luisa use her strength to move the tables of food and drink to outside the courtyard. This not only encouraged their neighbors to clear out of the Casita but proved that the rest of the gifts had not disappeared. (As if that had not been clear enough from the sudden downpour provided by Pepa – though that did help to thin the crowd.)
Alma then shooed the rest of the family back to their rooms, including sending Mirabel back to the nursery, while she had Bruno show her a vision of Mirabel’s future… or the family’s future… or some indication of what happened today. He went up to his tower and said he’d bring it down soon, so Alma retreated to her own room.
She took the magical candle, her last gift from Pedro, and prayed with tears flowing down her cheeks. Unwittingly, her mind went back to that awful night, the grief of losing her beloved husband and the awe of witnessing the miracle he gave her with his sacrifice. Now she felt like she was in danger of losing that – of losing Pedro all over again. She remembered the feeling of being lost in the dense forest with their group as they saw their homes burn behind them, the constant work and heartache of carving their little Encanto valley out of the wilderness, even with Casita helping to provide for them. She couldn’t go back to that again. She wouldn’t. Bruno would come and show her how to fix this, and everything would be fine and nothing would change.
Except Bruno never came back that night, or the next morning, or the next. Alma feared that the curse did something to Bruno, but that would mean admitting that there was a curse, and she refused to discuss that possibility with anyone else. There was nothing to talk about after all since nothing was wrong. So, she simply didn’t talk about it.
“It” started out merely referring to Mirabel’s failed gifting ceremony, and Bruno’s sudden disappearance immediately after, but soon other things fell under the category of “things the family was not allowed to talk about.” Any possibility of a curse. Anything being wrong with the family magic. Any mention of Bruno’s past visions and if he’d had a recent one. Any mention of Bruno at all.
When Mirabel came to her and timidly asked if she could share Luisa’s room since her older sister had offered, and Mirabel was really too old for the nursery, Alma cut her off rather tersely. It might not be fair for Mirabel to be stuck in the communal nursery, but she had it all to herself now anyway. Alma would not take the chance that the magic of any other rooms would falter.
Mirabel persisted though, asking how she could fix the magic then and make everything better. Until finally Alma lost her temper. She firmly told her granddaughter that the conversation was over, and then turned away so that her hidden fear would not have her lash out at the child. She didn’t see Mirabel lower her gaze to stare at the ground with tears in her eyes.
~ ~ Antonio ~ ~
After what had happened last time, Alma was determined that nothing would go wrong today. They couldn’t let the village think that the magic had been cursed or was fading. That would mean Pedro’s protection of them was fading. What had happened with Mirabel was just a fluke and better off forgotten. Just because something went wrong once, didn’t mean it would happen again.
In fact, it would be best if Mirabel kept quiet and out of the way so that everyone wouldn’t be constantly reminded of what happened last time. Oh, the girl was trying her best, Alma knew that, but in this instance the best thing for her was to be … well not so loud and bright and in the middle of things. Her little arts and crafts project nearly burned down the house! Besides, it was not even necessary with Isabela’s lovely flower arrangements. Likewise for sewing things for the boy when his new room would provide all the plush toys or whatever else he needed.
In such a time as this, Alma really wished she could ask Bruno for his visions for reassurance, but of course her poor Brunito had disappeared as part of the curse. So, she would put on a face of confidence and optimism so that no one would see her fear.
Luckily, the ceremony was completed without problems. She would have preferred that Antonio not bring Mirabel with him up to his door, but the important thing was that the magic responded, and her grandson received a gift. Talking to animals would probably have a variety of uses – provided he didn’t demand the town stop eating any meat. The giant flocks of toucans, herds of capybaras, troops of monkeys, and a wild jaguar were a little much, but she was just so relieved to know that the magic continued to hold strong.
Consequently, the festivities were more raucous than ever, with food and drinks enough for the whole town and music and dancing in full swing amidst the lush jungle of Antonio’s new room. Then Mirabel burst in declaring that the house was in danger and the magic was failing. Alma knew tonight would be hard for Mirabel – but did the girl not understand how important it was to show a constant facade of strength and permanence to the town?
That was why Alma had arranged for Mariano to propose to Isabela. It would show the strong continuation of the Madrigal line. Plus, the two young people looked so much like Alma and Pedro had when they were young that it made her nostalgic every time she saw them together. They would be the perfect symbol for the next generation of Madrigals.
~ ~ Alphonso ~ ~
Her eldest great-grandchild was turning five today and Alma was pretty sure this was the last gifting ceremony she would ever witness. Maybe she would last long enough to see Alphonso’s younger sister in two years, but she had been feeling so frail of late. She had already retired from many of her duties as family matriarch and turned them over to Mirabel. It was freeing to finally let go of all the responsibility she had not realized was weighing her down. She was so very, very tired, and she thought she was ready to see her dear Pedro again. She hoped he would be proud of who their family had become, their happiness and love.
Speaking of love, she heard Dolores quietly shushing Mariano as he tried to steal a kiss in between hanging decorations. Alma laughed to herself. She had been right about what an excellent choice he was to marry into her family, not because of his family connections, but because he was such a kind and loving man who reminded her so much sometimes of her dear Pedro. She was ever thankful that things had worked out as they did every time she saw her granddaughter and grandson-in-law so happy.
(Alma never told anyone about the nightmares that still occasionally haunted her all these years later, of a world where no one had forced her to open her eyes and she instead watched as the life seeped out of not one, but two of her granddaughters’ eyes – one trapped in a loveless marriage, and the other in love with her cousin’s husband.)
In addition to being freed from the responsibilities of her younger days, Alma was not consumed with either anticipation or fear for this upcoming ceremony. She did not need Bruno telling her the fate of her great-grandson’s future or his gift. Because Alma wasn’t worried this year about whether Casita would be creating a new magical room or not, or whether Alphonso was granted a new gift.
This Casita had been built with several spare rooms, currently used for emergencies or guests. Furthermore, she knew her Brunito had carved a wooden plaque in secret with Alphonso’s name on it. And Mirabel had embroidered a new set of linens covered in the stars the little boy loved. One way or another Alphonso would be leaving the nursery and getting his own room today.
And, most importantly, he would know that he was loved and would always have a place in the Family Madrigal.