Not Waiting On a Miracle
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Mirabel was walking through the town aimlessly, having stormed out of Casita with an unsteady but determined gait. She didn’t wait for anyone, assuming the Ortega’s would know her well enough to give her space to think. Since the incident, her sleep has been restless causing her to be more than a little irritable at all times. Her abuela’s need to hold on to the miracle over the well-being of her family had tipped the scales enough that she had ruthlessly torn into her. Past her would be disappointed but she couldn’t bring herself to care, it had to be said.
The townspeople were all the same as they always had been, if a little wary of her now. She could recognize a few faces in the crowd such as the children she used to play with in the streets, now much older and on their way to becoming teenagers. She wondered if any, like Antonio, had remembered her or whether she was simply a distant memory of a giftless Madrigal.
Walking further and further through the town, Mirabel didn’t stop even when the stone pathways gave way to lush greenery and jungle terrain. She was not worried about getting lost, she had played in these jungles since she was a child and her feet took her to a place that her mind had forgotten and shelved in the deepest recesses of her mind. An alcove, next to a calm river where she had made flower crowns with her hermanas when they were all children, before their grandmother’s expectations cracked and blistered their relationship.
Speaking of which, Mirabel carefully took a seat on the ground, lying down to gaze at the bright blue sky, “being the star of the town doesn’t make you the sneakiest person when trailing someone.”
A rustling sound accompanied with the crunching of leaves were the only indications she had before a shadow blocked the sunlight shining on her, “how did you know it was me.”
“Again, you’re status doesn’t exactly afford you with anonymity. I would have known you were trailing me even without the oohs and ahhs when you used your vines to get on the rooftops” the younger Madrigal said as she opened one eye to gaze up at Isabela who looked pensively back at her.
“Y-you have a point there,” gesturing to the grounds next to her, “may I sit.”
Mirabel shrugged, “I don’t own the jungle; do what you want.”
Isabela tucked her dress close to her as she lowered herself on the ground, her head resting on her knees as she looked at her little sister who was not so little anymore. In fact, Mirabel had a surprise growth spurt when she was 17 causing to grow tall enough to tower over he sister at 5 foot 7 inches, still much shorter than her sister Luisa but about as tall as her aunt Pepa. This thought greatly amused Isabela as it meant that despite being the oldest she was now the smallest of the Madrigal sisters.
“What’s got you smiling like that” Mirabel asked causing Isabela to reflexively put her hand on her face, surprised to find that she was indeed smiling.
“It’s nothing; it’s just weird to see you so grown now. Everything about you seems so different.”
“Well when you don’t see someone for 6 years, you’ll tend to find they do change” Mirabel noted, laughing lightly but Isabela merely frowned.
“Hey” Mirabel said as she got up into a seated position, “it wasn’t your fault you know.”
The older girl shook her head, “I should have said something. We should have never let Abuela send you away. I should have been a better sister to you.”
Mirabel looked at her sister thoughtfully, sighing deeply “you know for all the misgivings and treatment I had, it wasn’t all bad. Not when I was here or when I was out there” she said gesturing to the large mountains that covered the Encanto.
“I learnt a lot of things while I was gone and yes I did miss home but I’m learning to live a life without regrets.”
“I wish I could do that too” Isabela replied, hiding her face as she looked down at her knees covered by her now stained dress.
“What happened……you know with Mariano. I noticed he wasn’t in Casita.”
Isabela brought her hand up, clutching tightly to her hair as she replied shakily, “y-yeah it didn’t work out. Abuela wasn’t happy when I ran from the altar.”
Mirabel’s eyes bugged out, “you ran from the altar!!!”
Isabela smiled hesitantly and shrugged, her hand seemingly gripping harder as the stress came off her in waves. Mirabel grimaced, gently taking her sisters fist in her own and nudging the fingers to release their tension on the hair, lest she ends up bald on one side of her head.
Interlacing their fingers, Mirabel held on firmly yet softly onto her older sister’s hand, rubbing soothing circles on with her thumb, “you want to talk about it?”
Isabela shook her head muttering a “later.”
Mirabel nodded her head in understanding, clearly it was a sore topic for the older Madrigal and she would not be the one to force something out of someone who didn’t want to speak. “Well, how about I tell you about what happened whilst I was out there, after all we have 6 years to catch up on” Mirabel said changing the topic, much to Isabela’s relief.
And that is what they did, until the sun began saying its goodbye’s, the sky darkening as the moon made itself known. The two slowly ventured back to the Casita, giggling and laughing as Mirabel told her the story of the guy in her class who fainted from a surgical class she had. And far away at the top of Casita, where the candle burned, its flame alighted just a bit brighter.
Things were going to be okay. Slowly but surely.