Runaway(an Encanto AU)

Chapter 13

     I stared at the ceiling, thinking to myself. A gift huh? But why did my door disappear then? Where did it go? Nobody had been up and around by the time abuela and I had gotten back, so the both of us had gone straight to bed. Now, after having woken from a dreamless sleep, my brain was playing with those newly discovered ideas.

     I sat up and squinted at the window, the clouds outside painted with a creamy orange by the light of dawn. It was so confusing. How could I have no door? Or why would it be hidden away? My eyes were drawn to the trees, whose branches were slowly but surely being lit up as well, gold spilling gracefully onto each leaf. Maybe, the forest? But wouldn't it make more sense to be in the casita? Did the magic work beyond it?

     I swung my legs off of the bed, walked over and leaned against the window sill. The mountains were magic weren't they? Bru- I paused as I caught myself, then continued. He had told the story of the magic a few times, and the mountains didn't exist before the magic itself. I studied the forest, trying to remember if I'd ever seen anything unusual while I was growing up there. It was frustratingly difficult to do though, like trying to remember your very first memory. Anyone can remember some old things but it's very difficult to tell in which order, and many slip one's mind.

     I just sighed and went to change. Maybe Dolores could help me look. She knew the forest almost as well as I did. Once I was out of bedtime clothes and in my skirt again I walked out the door. I met Luisa downstairs and she handed me a special cup of coffee that I gladly took. Abuela walked through the doorway almost right after and smiled at the two of us before being handed her own coffee. "So I thought about what you said," I started, abuela looking up from her sip, "and if I do have a gift, I would guess that my door is somewhere in the forest."

     Luisa and abuela shared a confused expression, but abuela was the one to reply, "all the doors are inside the casita."

     "But the mountains are magic, why couldn't a door exist outside the casita?"

     "It hasn't before, and it wouldn't start now," abuelas words, though simple on their own, held this authority that made me shut up. She probably knew what she was doing, I convinced myself. There were seven madrigal gift ceremonies before mine, that seemed like a lot to work with. Familiar faces once again flooded the kitchen, Dolores dead last. I had only taken a couple steps towards her to ask if she could help me search the forest today, but she looked me dead in the eye and walked away to her seat with such retaliation and anger that it threw me off for a moment.

     I tried again, walking up next to her seat at the table, "Dolores? Is something wrong?" she just turned to glare at me for a second and went back to ignoring me. "Did something happen?"

     At this point Camilo was shaking his head with wide eyes, giving me the "cut it out gesture" while glancing anxiously at his sister. I then noticed that Dolores was angrily trembling and decided to take his advice. I couldn't help but worry all through breakfast, drowning out the conversation and playing with the food on my plate.

     "Mirabel," abuelas eyes were narrow and her lips thinned in a judgmental way, "are you listening? I told you, thinking about Bruno will weigh you down."

     "Wha-? No, I'm not thinking about him! I was just...distracted."

     Abuela looked like she wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained from doing so, "well, since you didn't hear me the first time, you are going to figure out what your gift is today."

     I scrunched up my face a little, "I have an idea of where to look, but you can't just say "find out today". We don't even know for sure if I have a gift."