Chapter Text
“Sorry, Mirabel. I have to go help move these bricks to build the new houses on the other side of town,” Luisa said.
“I would love to mija, but these arepas won’t make themselves…” Julieta told her sadly.
“Why would I want to play with you?” Isabela looked as if she smelt rubbish as she spoke.
And on and on it went with everyone she asked to play with her that day.
Ever since she had been denied a gift five years ago, ten-year-old Mirabel Madrigal found that no one seemed to have time for her anymore.
Her sisters had their jobs helping the community (although she didn’t see how Isabela growing flowers was helpful), her parents, and her cousins were busy too.
Not to mention Tia Pepa and Tio Félix were getting ready to welcome her new baby cousin fairly soon.
Who she would then have to share the nursery with, having not been granted a special room or a gift when she was five…
And then there was Abuela…
That was a whole other level.
She couldn’t help but wonder… would they have more time for her if she had gotten a gift?
That was the question that kept her awake the most at night.
Lying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling and savouring the silence, she got to thinking.
She thought of the last birthday she had.
She had turned ten then and unlike her older cousins and sisters, hers was a small affair, despite it being a major birthday in her opinion, second only to turning fifteen.
Could she blame them for that, though?
Her mamá had baked a cake for her and she and papa had made sure they let her know how much they loved her, but still.
She appreciated it, she really did, but she knew she would never quite measure up to her cousins and her sisters.
Especially Señorita Perfecta Isabela.
Sighing, she climbed out of her bed and went down to the kitchen, looking for any extra snacks that her mamá had made that day.
Managing to find a few arepas con queso, she took them with her, going outside to sit peacefully and enjoy her surroundings.
“Thanks, Casita,” she smiled weakly as she patted the doorframe on her way out.
Casita flapped its doors in response.
Sitting just outside, she looked up at the stars.
She loved looking up at the stars.
She often compared them to her family; everybody gets to shine.
A shooting star raced across the sky at the very moment she finished up her first arepa.
“I know what I would wish for,” Mirabel spoke softly as she followed its path.
Closing her eyes tight, she made her wish.
“I wish I could have a Gift, just like the rest of my family…” she thought, clasping her hands tightly together. “So I could make them proud…”
Once she finished her snack, she got up to get ready to return to bed.
As Mirabel made her way back up to her room, she had no idea that her wish was heard and would soon be granted.
The miracle candle’s flame grew even brighter and brighter and then shot off a ball of flames.
The ball of flames followed her up the stairs and into the nursery.
Noticing the room being brighter than it should have been, Mirabel turned around.
As soon as she did, the ball of flame bounced up and down in the air and then flew straight back out the door.
“Huh? What? Casita, what was that?” Mirabel asked.
Casita flapped the floor under her feet, as if encouraging her to follow the floating flame.
“Okay, okay, I’m going!”
She didn’t even bother to fully change into her outdoor clothes, just putting on her outdoor shoes again and running to chase the floating flame.
It led her down the stairs (which changed into a slide for her as she ran down them), then through the courtyard and out the doors which swung open widely for her.
“Hey, wait! You’re going too fast!” Mirabel called out, breathing heavily. Maybe she needed to exercise more if she got so out of breath after a little bit of running…
“Waiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttt!” she called out, reaching towards the floating flame as she ran after it.
She found herself going around the back of Casita, clambering over rocks and nearly falling several times as she did.
The flame led her to a part of the Encanto she had never seen.
She never knew that the Encanto had caves before…
But there it was.
A small cave loomed ahead, just behind more rocks.
There was a river flowing directly into it, which the flame seemed to want her to step into.
“Okay, fine…” Mirabel sounded irritated as she hiked up her nightgown and stepped carefully into the water.
Which promptly proceeded to sweep her off her feet and straight into the cave, with the ten-year-old screaming the whole way until she bumped into some rocks inside the cave.
“Ow…” she groaned, rubbing her head. “Follow the flame, I said. What could go wrong? I said.”
“Now I’m in a part of the Encanto I’ve never seen in the dark of night and I’m soaking wet from head to toe…” she grumbled.
Mirabel was about to try climbing out when the flame that led her there went straight into her chest.
“Wha-” Mirabel blinked.
At that moment, the water around her began to glow with a gold shimmer and bubbled up around her.
“Wow…” Despite her current situation, she couldn’t help but think it was pretty as she admired the water.
After a few minutes, the water subsided, as if nothing had happened.
“So… that’s it?” Mirabel asked. “I came all the way out here for a pretty water show?”
She started wading out of the cave.
“It was beautiful, but still…”
As she clamoured back onto the rocks, she wrung out as much water as she could from her hair and clothes, being thankful that the water didn’t damage her glasses or even sweep them away entirely.
Making her way carefully back to Casita, she prayed the entire time that she wouldn’t be seen.
Once inside, she dried herself off and changed into a new set of night clothes, before tucking herself into bed with an extra blanket, to ward off the chill from her unexpected night-time dip.
The next morning, Mirabel woke up early as usual and was the first to reach the bathroom to get ready for the morning, knocking on everyone’s doors on the way to wake them up.
Once inside the bathroom, she turned on the tap and let the tub fill up as she set out her new clothes for the day.
Once everything was ready, she stepped carefully into the tub and sunk in, ready to enjoy a quick morning bubble bath.
Alas, that wasn’t meant to be.
Seconds after she submerged herself into the water, the water bubbled up and covered her entirely, making her look as if she was water for a few seconds.
“What in the-?” Mirabel reacted to the sudden bubbling in shock.
Then she stopped short, staring at where her legs used to be.
For in their place was a long, mermaid tail, hanging over the edge of the bathtub.
Mirabel fought back a scream.