The Gift Swap (DISCONTINUED)

🦋Two🦋

"Isa?" Mirabel called frantically, ignoring the headache her shouting brought, running up to her oldest sister's door. The casita had helped her put on her shoes on her way out, but other than that, she was completely dressed for bed. "Isabela?"

Isabela's door seemed normal enough at first. But as Mirabel got closer, the stranger it seemed.

The usual pose Isabela was in remained the same, but instead of flowers, there was a large sun behind her, with storm clouds on either side.

"It's like Tía Pepa's door..." Mirabel murmured, and carefully turned the knob. "Isa?"

Inside the room was the strangest sight. All flowers that made up her floor and walls had been replaced by a large, open plain with dark thundering skies. The rain pelted from every direction, causing Mirabel's glasses to get completely splattered. Isabela sat in the middle, her hair blowing all over her head, looking horrified and pissed at the same time.

"You okay?" Mirabel had to shout over the howling wind, despite the pain in her ears, and a sudden gale slammed her into the door. "Woah!"

"Sorry!" Isabela tugged at a stand of blue-streaked hair, her eyes wide and frantic like she'd drunk four cups of coffee in the last hour. She yelped as a bolt of lightning struck not far from where she sat. "I can't control it!"

Mirabel shielded her eyes from the rain, despite the fact that her vision was blocked by the raindrops. "You have to! You could get hurt!" As if to prove her point, another lightning bolt struck a few feet away from her panicked sister.

That made up her mind. Mirabel, still shielding her face, stepped forward, her other hand outstretched toward Isabela. "Take my hand, okay? Clear skies?"

Isabela bit her lip as she looked at her sister's hand before taking it. She closed her eyes in concentration and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Miraculously, the tempest disappeared, and was replaced by a calm, cloudy sky.

"I..." Isabela looked up at the endless plain that surrounded them both. "...did not like that."

"Are you okay?" Mirabel quietly asked again, her ears ringing. She let go of Isa's hand to massage her temples, and Isabela's eyebrows raised in concern.

"I'm fine—but what's wrong with you? Is it a headache? Do you need Mami?"

"Relax, I'm fine," Mirabel sighed, hating that she couldn't speak at a normal volume. No wonder Dolores was so quiet all the time. "But I woke up this morning and my room was huge."

Isabela glanced around at her open field, noticing the different colors that the grass seemed to be turning—blue to yellow to red. "Why does it seem like I have Tía Pepa's gift?"

"Oh, and I have super hearing," Mirabel added. "Does that strike you as weird?"

"WHAT?" Isabela shrieked, and winced when Mirabel clamped her hands over her ears. "Oh. Sorry."

Isabela fumbled with her hands for a minute, unsure what to do. "Let me see if I can grow a plant..." She extended her fingertips toward the multicolored ground, but nothing happened. She faltered. "But that's impossible!" It began to sprinkle very lightly in the field, and Isabela huffed. "That's going to get old real fast."

Mirabel massaged the sides of her head. "We should talk to Abuela. She might know what to do—and I need to get something from Mami for my headache."

Isabela nodded. "Yeah, I agree." She stood up, and Mirabel began to follow her out the door when she paused. "Wait—if we have other people's gifts, does that mean other people's gifts have been mixed up as well?"

Mirabel's eyes widened at the realization. "I didn't even think about that."

Suddenly, there was the sound of another scream, more high pitched than Isabela's, and the sisters locked eyes.

"Camilo," they said in unison before bolting out the door.