Chapter Text
It had been a couple of days since Antonio had been born. Mirabel had spent most of those days in the nursery trying to keep out of everybody’s way. She hadn’t been downstairs since the day before he was born for anything other than to go to the bathroom. She knew it was only a couple more days before he would be placed in the nursery with her and her life would become all about him.
Julieta didn’t really notice her daughter was missing, she was so busy with her chores around the Encanto and making sure Pepa was fully healed after giving birth. Pepa on the other hand noticed the first time she went to have dinner with everyone 4 days after giving birth that the little girl was absent from the table.
“Where’s Mira?” The redhead asked, the moment she sat down and noticed her youngest sobrina was missing. Felix turned to face his wife then to look at the seat and frowned. Dolores squeaked bringing her side of the family’s attention to her. “Mija? Do you know where she is?” Dolores nodded, she looked hesitant to say anything.
“She’s been up in the nursery since Antonio was born because she’s worried about getting in everyone’s way.” The girl squeaked again and stared down at her plate squirming under the stares she was receiving. Alma sighed and placed her cup on the table and turned to Agustin.
“Go get your daughter please? It’s our first full family dinner and she must be present.” Agustin sighed and nodded before kissing his wife’s cheek then turned to go get her. He made his way up the stairs and knocked gently on the green door in front of him.
“Miraboo… it’s time to come down for dinner. Abuela wants us all there.” Inside the room he could hear the sewing machine stop and a sigh. The door cracked open to show a very pale Mirabel who had almost black bags under her eyes. “You okay mi vida?”
Mirabel merely nodded and fully opened the door and smoothed out her dress. Without a word to her father she made her way down to the table, her father following behind with concern swimming in his eyes. The two entered the room and instantly Julieta was on Mirabel fussing about how tired and sick she looked.
“You okay mi vida? You looked exhausted! When was the last time you slept? When was the last time you ate?!” She asked in a panic while checking her silent daughter over in search of potential injuries or ailments.
“Julieta. She’s fine. Sit down. Mirabel, why couldn’t you at least freshen up before coming down?” Alma asked, snapping at the girl who just looked at her Abuela with empty eyes then sat down at her plate and stared at it. It wasn’t until she felt the large warm hand of her uncle on her shoulder that she finally looked up.
“You okay corazon? It’s not like you to skip meals and not sleep properly.” Felix had squatted down to be face to face with the ten year old who just bit her lip and nodded, tears showing in the corner of her eyes. “You’re not okay… please tell me what’s wrong?”
Mirabel sniffled then took a deep breath. “I don’t want to be forgotten about…” She whispered. “This new baby is replacing the broken one… and I don’t want to be forgotten…” Felix who had already started crying wrapped the girl up in his arms and sat down in his chair beside Pepa with her in his lap. Pepa turned the girls face to look at her.
“No one is going to forget about you mi nube. You are just as important as anyone in this family.” Pepa said. Her head whipped around when she heard a snort coming from her eldest niece. “What Isabela?”
“Of course she’s going to be forgotten about. She’s being replaced. I mean that was the whole idea.” Isabela replied with a snarky smile, Julieta gasping and turning to her oldest.
“Isabela! That is not true!” Pepa said glaring at the girl.
“I mean she’s not wrong Pepa. It would be easier if she wasn’t around, that way you could stop focusing on her and give your new son your whole attention.” Alma said causing Pepa, Felix and Dolores all to gasp. “We should have given her away when she lost her gift but it’s to late for it now.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Mirabel had bolted off from her uncles lap and locked herself in the nursery. She slid down the door and sobbed into her hands, the words of her Abuela and hermana from the past 9 months bouncing off the walls in her head making her sink further into the darkness.
“Useless.”
“Why can’t you just stay out of the way?”
“No one wants you.”
“You’re a mistake.”
“They don’t love you. Your parents tolerate you.”
“If they’re being nice they just feel bad about how worthless you are.”
“Get out of my face.”
“Stop being a nuisance.”
“Why are you always around when no one wants you here?”
“I hate you Mirabel.”
Mirabel stood up from where she sat against her door and ignoring the banging from her tio and primo she grabbed a bag and shoved it full of clothes. Without saying a word she grabbed what little money she had left and flung the window open. Casita kept pushing her back and closing the shutters but she woul-no. Couldn’t let it win. She needed out. She needed to go away. Away from where she was hated.
“Casita please… please I need to go…” She muttered and finally the house relented and let her climb out the window. “Gracias… te amo mucho casita. Take care of them… especially tia pepa, tio Felix, Camilo, Dolores and Antonio?” The ten year old slid her way down carefully to the edge of the roof and stared down at the ground below her. She wasn’t sure if she was going to survive the jump down but that wasn’t much worse than leaving.
Inside, Dolores heard her prima’s words and she screamed and grabbed her mami’s hand. “She’s leaving! Mami! She’s leaving! She’s going to jump from the roof outside of the nursery!” Pepa jumped up and ran out the door and skidded around the house in time to see her sobrina, her special little nube full of joy and laughter and love step off the roof.
“MIRABEL!” She screamed and ran towards the girl who lay on the ground gasping for breath. She pulled the girls head into her lap and screamed for her sister. Julieta ran outside holding an arepa and froze as she saw the broken, bloody body of her baby girl laying in her sisters lap. “Julieta! Quick!”
Mira took the strength she had left and placed her hand on Pepa’s cheek. Before she could say anything Abuela and the rest came out, Agustin immediately falling to his knees and sobbing beside his wife, Felix running to Pepa’s side and cupping the girls face, Luisa stood shaking as she sobbed. Dolores and Camilo came running out with Antonio, Pepa took her little boy in her arms. Isabela and Abuela stood away from the side.
“Don’t waste perfectly good food on her. She made this choice. It’s her own fault. Agustín, get a shovel and dig a hole. We won’t bother with a proper casket or burial. To much to do.” Thunder cracked and lightning hit the spot on the ground in front of Alma who gasped and glared at her middle child. “Pepa!”
“No mama. Mirabel is worth everything. How DARE you. She is a ball of sunshine and joy and she deserves to be healed, to live another day.” The redhead looked down at her sobrina in her lap and choked on a sob.
“I wish you were my mami…” Mirabel murmured as her eyes started fluttering closed. Dolores sobbed as she was held by her papi, Camilo screaming for his meliza to come back.
“I wish I was your mami to nube… you deserved the world…” As Mirabel’s eyes shut and she took her last stuttering breath, the candle burned bright and the light engulfed the whole warm family as they mourned the death of their miracle.
Before they could even think they all felt a warm glow surround them then it disappeared as the light faded. They all looked around confused then they heard a very familiar cry from a baby and Pepa looked down at her lap where she once held her broken and dead sobrina and her brand new baby boy to see two little bundles of blankets, crying as they reached aimlessly. Pepa instantly bounced the two, humming to them to soothe them. When the two pairs of eyes open she saw the new beautiful brown eyes of her little boy and then she blinked and gasped when she saw the green eyes open on the paler babies face, eyes that even though were a different colour, she could recognize from anywhere.
“Mirabel…” She breathed as the little girl released a gurgle and snuggled down into the redheads arms. Felix stumbled his way over and looked down at the two babies his wife held. “Twins… Felix… we have twins…” She muttered and looked up at her husband who’s face broke into a giant grin as he showered the three of them in kisses. Camilo and Dolores crawled over and peered at the babies.
“She’s not my meliza anymore is she mami?” Camilo pouted making Pepa laugh softly.
“No mi amor. But she’s your hermanita and I except you to be just as close as you were before.” Camilo grinned and nodded leaning against his older sister. “Camilo… Dolores… meet your hermanitos. Antonio Diego Madrigal and Mirabel Valentina Madrigal.”
The little family all turned to look at the source of a nearby sob to see Julieta in Agustin’s arms as the two of them sobbed into each other. They saw Luisa curled up, her knees pulled up to her chest as she cried silently and she saw Isabela and Abuela looking disgusted with everyone’s behaviour.
“Juli… I’m sorry…” Julieta looked up from her esposo’s arms and as if just noticing the new baby, she gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.
“She’s… you’re…” Julieta couldn’t seem to get the words out as she saw the little bundles in Pepa’s arms cuddle into her more. “How?”
“The miracle granted her last wish…” They heard a familiar voice say quietly. “I didn’t think it would be this soon… she’s now Pepa’s daughter just as she asked…” Pepa’s head whipped up to see her hermano standing against casita, his hands pressed into his stomach against his ruana. “I’m sorry Juli… this was always what was going to happen…”
Pepa choked on a sob as Felix pulled her brother down so Pepa could shift the babies in her arms to wrap an arm around him tightly. Bruno hugged her gently being careful of the two babies. “I can’t believe she’s a baby again…” He muttered then looked up as Julieta choked on a sob as she moved towards them. Her arms wrapped around Bruno and she looked down at the baby her sister was holding and she gasped when the baby moved slightly and she saw a red tuft of hair poke out.
“She really is yours now…” Her voice came out in a cracked whisper as she looked up at her sister.
“I’m sorry Juli… but you… mama was saying awful things and you didn’t…”
“I know…” Julieta sighed as she pushed the curl out of the little girls face. She reached down placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “You’re safe now little mariposa…”