Chapter Text
"So Abuela I was thinking about maybe a princess theme. What do you think?" The energetic 14-year-old bounced around her busy Abuela holding a scrapbook that she'd been working on since her sister's quinceañera.
"For what?" Alma's face fixed into a frown as she checked over a list she was holding frustratedly.
"For my quince! it's coming up in a month, remember? We were going to go over it last month but you forgot…" she trailed off hoping she hadn't insinuated the her Abuela was imperfect.
"Yes, fine. That's fine, Mirabel." She looked up from her list as Mirabel's Tia walked past. "Pepa you have a cloud!"
"Jesucristo... I KNOW MAMA!" and just like that Mirabel was left alone in the hall.
"Greaaaaat. I'll uh.. I'll get back to you on that one, Abuela." She turned on her heels.
_______
"HEY ISA!" Mirabel ran after her sister as quickly as her much shorter legs could take her. "Isa! Wait up! I have a question about flowers!"
Isabela wiped her head around so fast Mirabel was concerned about her getting whiplash. "What is it? Quickly. I have work to do." She rolled her eyes watching Mirabel pathetically catch her breath
Mirabel reached into her bag and pulled out a small piece of paper with a list of flowers on it and held it for Isabela to take. "Do you…" She paused to catch a breath some more. "Do you think you could make a bouquet of these? a pretty one."
Isabela looked like she was about to start talking about how she didn't have time for this but when she looked at her little sister's wide eyes behind her big frame glasses she sighed and focused on the tug of magic inside of her shrouding a bundle of different flowers as she looked over the list.
Ivory Roses
Blue Delphinium
Blue Hydrangea
White Button Poms
Simple enough.
She held a small bouquet of flowers to her sister. "Like this?" She asked uncertainly but her words were cut short as her sister jumped at her throwing her arms around her neck.
"Yes PERFECT! I can't wait for next month." She was basically bursting with energy as she ran away leaving Isabela to think. 'What's going on next month??'
____
"Mama! Can I talk to you?"
"Of course mija." Julieta smiled, handing out food to townsmen as they approached. "Tch Corazón did you bump into something? you have a bruise. here. eat." She shoved a snack into Mirabel's hands.
"No! Well yes! But that's what I'm here to talk about. Food! My Quince! I was hoping we could talk about the food."
"Aye My baby…" Julieta cooed, wiping daughter's chubby cheeks. "you're going to be a woman soon! isn't that wonderful?" She kissed her cheek quickly. "Yes, of course we can talk about your party. It seems so late to get started, just 2 weeks. We've got to look at dresses and the flowers, and the invites!"
"Mama. I made my own dress, and I already know exactly what flowers I want, and Abuela said she'd do the invitations." Mirabel smiled hoping it would bring her mom comfort but instead her smile broke at the thought of missing everything.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you."
"It's alright. I know the family is...busy sometimes." She insists.
_____
Mirabel sat alone in her nightgown record player going softly; it was nearing midnight but she had much work to do. She's spent the night so far hunched over her sewing machine adding small finishing details and ruffles to her skirt.
She yawned tiredly pulling back to admire The mural of butterflies covering part of her pale blue dress. She had tried to work as quietly as possible knowing Antonio needed his sleep but she could tell that he was growing restless with the noise so she decided to call it a night with the sewing.
She helped the gorgeous gown to her chest and spun on her toes. She felt like a princess…
for the first time she felt perfect just twirling in her dimly lit room to the music of her record player in her old nightgown.
_______
Antonio and Mirabel's birthdays were 9 days apart. Her Tia Pepa often joked that Antonio was like a birthday gift for her.
So it wasn't a surprise when Antonio started buzzing about his birthday being next week. His 5th birthday.
However what did surprise her was that nobody had mentioned setting up for her party at all. Since waking up that morning it had all been "Antonio's birthday" "Antonio's gifting ceremony" but no "Mirabel-"
She had tried to bring up the topic at breakfast when Abuela mentioned birthday but the entire table talked over her.
She brought it up again when she had asked Luisa for her help setting up tomorrow. But their conversation had been cut short by the stupid donkeys getting loose.
The more she tried to bring it up throughout the day she got an increasingly unsettling feeling in her gut.
That she wishes she would have listened to.
______
Midnight.
"Happy birthday to me." She whispered into the air. Casita's tiles rumbled softly and she giggled, reaching her hand down to run her knuckles across the magic floors. "Thank you, Casita."
At breakfast it went the same as usual family conversation talks of Antonio ceremony Abuela was in a heated conversation with Peppa at the end of the table quite loudly. Her mom didn't wish her happy birthday but did affectionately kiss her forehead and briefly speak with her.
"You're in a good mood this morning. You're practically glowing." Julieta smiled, piling food onto Mirabel's plate.
"Thank you Mama, maybe it's because I'm-" But she was cut short by the head of the family clapping her hands together.
"Ah yes I remember what I had to ask-" Alma started and Mirabel held her breath. "I need someone to take Toñito to be fitted for his suit today."
"Mirabel can take me!" Antonio insisted almost immediately and Mirabel's head snapped in his direction. She opened her mouth ready to decline. She wanted to say no she was busy. But before the words could even leave her mouth she saw the look of distaste and fear on some of her family members' faces at the suggestion.
"No Toñito I'm sure she has... Other things to do today. It should be handled by someone else in the family." Antonio frowned but he didn't fight with his Abuela instead turning to pick at his food.
It wasn't until lunch that it had hit her they had forgotten. There were no flowers going up like at Isabela's party, no towering cake like at Dolores's, and no pretty lights like with Luisa. It was a barren hall. Una casa vacía.
She wandered the empty halls running her fingers along all the warm golden doors. 'Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. They're just busy. They love me. I'm just as special as the rest of them.' still when she found herself in front of Isabela's door she felt a surge of multiple emotions when she thought about how pretty Isa had looked decked in her perfect poofy white and red dress covered in gorgeous red roses. When her dad got down on her knees and put on her pretty new heels. Tears began to fall and she felt a dry sob shake her body when she remembered how in awe she was at 8 when she saw her papa twirl Isabela in their dance. 'don't be upset. don't cry.' she made a mad dash to her room, no, the nursery. A pathetic gut wrenching sob came pushing up her throat and she felt overwhelmingly like vomiting.
Why couldn’t she have something nice? WHY couldn’t anyone remember her for one day? HER DAY? She didn’t think she asked for much really, she stayed out of the way, she kept her head down, she let herself be useless but no matter how hard she tried to please the more she seemed to disappoint. Another sob came flying out of her throat as she sat in her chair in front of the mirror. Why was she so pathetic? She wiped violently at her tears, staring at herself like this made her want to crawl out of her own skin and never go back. Her shaky hand reached out and grasped a makeup brush and compact. She gently probed at her own flesh noticing how red a puffy her eyes had become, even as she covered her skin in makeup, painting her eyelids a stunning blue, and her lips a brilliant red, she cried trying her hardest not to smudge her work. She heard her family arrive chatting amongst each other without a care in the world which only made her cry harder as she glared at her reflection.
She had made herself beautiful. Still as she stared at her own features she felt something was missing. Her face, while covered like a work of art, still looked plain. She lifted her smallest brush, dipped it into her darkest black and dotted a small mark on her left cheek. There.
She let out a wet giggle clapping her hands together giddily.
‘Now I'm pretty! Just like her’ she stared at herself mesmerized, once again she reached up to dry her tears some more. “The dress!” she fumbled out of her seat almost knocking it and herself to the ground if not for the help of casita. She rushed to her dress, taking it tenderly in her fingers, careful not to smear any pigment on to the pale pearl blue fabric. Slowly she began sliding out of her day clothes and into her party dress, pulling it over her frame and watching the large skirt hide her legs and bare feet. She found herself staring once again at her reflection.
"Wow…" a small gasp was heard from the door frame. "You look beautiful."
Mirabel wiped her head around so fast it made her a little dizzy to see her primo holding his little white suit in his arms.
“You're crying.” it wasn’t a question, just a statement however Mirabel felt compelled to answer the accusation.
“No i'm…fine…” she huffed.
Antonio snorted, laying his little suit on his bed neatly.
“No you’re not.” he approached her slowly observing all the small details eyes wide in amazement. “But you still look like a princess…happy birthday.” he collided into her large skirt in a (failed) attempt to reach his arm around her. “I've been trying to say that all day, but they kept dragging me around to get fitted for clothes.” he huffed annoyed. Mirabel’s eyes felt like they were going to water again after hearing those two words for the first time all day.
“Thank you.” She finally found herself wrapping her arms around her primo’s small frame.
“I got you something. But I have to let go to get it from under the bed.” He mumbled feeling his prima's grip tighten just a bit.
A soft ‘Thump’ echoed between them as a small blue box hit his foot. “Thank you Casita.” he bent down to pick up the gift and place it in her hands. “It's not as cool as what you got me last year but I made it myself with a little help from Papa with the middle part.” he confessed watching her open the box. She dropped the lip of the box as her hand slapped over her mouth. In the little box was a small wire crown (a craft Mirabel had taught him to make earlier in the year when they had plenty of free time) and a note written in a messy blue wax crayon. Sure enough in the middle was a design of wires much too complicated for Antonio to have made on his own.
“It's perfectly cool, I swear.” She smiled, putting it on her head before pulling him in for another brief hug. “Best gift I got all night.” She joked lightly making Antonio swat at her for the ill timed humor.
“If you want, I'll fight them for you. They won’t forget again.” he offered while sitting on his bed. Though she knew he meant she giggled at his adorable face scrunched in anger take a seat across from him on her own bed.
“Not necessary little guy.”
“Then we can share my ceremony,” he offered. “You deserve your first dance, and your shoes. You've got to have your shoe put on.” her nose crinkled at the thought of ruining his night and making it about herself. That definitely wouldn’t do at all.
“And YOU deserve your own big night. I’ll have Papa put on my shoes some other time.” she shrugged. “I’ve got them over there.” she waved absentmindedly. The two of them fell into silence for a minute listening to the sounds of the house for a little before something clicked into Antonio’s brain.
“...I could do it.” he said looking up at her.
“What?”
“Your shoes. I can put them on…it doesn’t have to be tio it just has to be a boy right? I'm a boy!”
“Yes, I know you're a boy. I changed your diapers.” she rolled her eyes.
“So let me do it. Casita! Can you bring me her shoes?”
“Wha- Casita don’t give him my shoes-” she interjected but the house, for the first time since she could speak, didn’t listen to her.
“Gimme your foot.”
“I will be doing no such thing-”
“Mirabel just give your foot-”
“No you foot heathen!”
The two started playfully fighting each other, Antonio trying to put on the shoe with Mirabel’s big dress in the way. “Ok ok! I give up!” Mirabel threw her head back in laughter once again crying from happiness. She lifted her skirt enough for him to see her feet. “Put on the shoe.”
A bright smile grew on his face, happy for his victory. The tiles around him danced in a way that came off as equally as celebratory. The record player began playing a happy tune on Mirabel’s desk which only made Mirabel laugh harder calling out ‘REALLY Casita?!’
Antonio's grin spread at the sight of his favorite person laughing on her big day, finally, he slid the pair of heels onto his prima’s feet.
“How do they feel?”
“Perfect.” she confirmed.
“What now?”
“Well I can’t just sit here while I'm this pretty can i?” She stood up now a few inches taller. “What do you say, Señor? May I have this dance?”
“Of course Mira.” Antonio smiled, taking her hand.
Antonio danced with him prima, his feet having a much more freedom then her own, still he let her spin him around happily. For Mirabel being able to dance with Antonio, if you could call what she was doing dancing she never felt more graceful. She did never had much rhythm when she was on the spot. She completely lost track of time as the two spun completely off beat giggling and laughing the entire time. “I'm so glad you're here Tonito.” She lifts the small boy into her arms, knocking her crown sideways. He clung to her like a koala still laughing.
“I'm glad I'm here too. Just the two of us.” he rested his forehead on hers and Mirabel moved her nose to bump against his much smaller one for a short eskimo kiss that made Antonio's nose tickle and scrunch up (like it always did) “yeah...the two of us.” she smiled, spinning the two of them around one more time, making Antonio throw his head back and laugh now.
“Eek-”
The two turned to stare at the sound. Dolores stood in the doorframe eyes wide and Mirabel knew she realized what today was now. “A-abuela says you’re too loud. Hm.” she whispered and ran off barely avoiding closing her skirt in the door.
“Oh boy…”