Portal to Encanto

Meeting the Madrigals

This day has just gotten strange. I was in my room, ready to run away, and a portal opened up. There was a man, whom I could see was speaking, but I couldn't hear him. I heard Him return home, His footsteps full of rage. I wasn't going to question this opportunity, just grabbed my stuff and jumped through. Anything was better than staying there. The man, who told me his name was Bruno, was surprisingly kind to me. As if girls jumping through portals was an every day occurrence, and he was more concerned with me. He was even taking to his family's home for food! Who does that for strangers? He was holding my hand, leading me through the woods. He started telling me about his family, and the fact that they have magical gifts. Huh. Explains why he's unfazed by my way of arrival, if people can lift whole bridges, change into other people and make it rain. The trees thinned out, and I could see a fairly large house. It was covered with flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors, As we get closer, I can see the siding is a tan stucco, and there's a beautiful blue front door that has twelve golden figures on it.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Bruno asks me, softly smiling. I nod, keeping the movement short so my hair doesn't move. I really don't want to answer any questions about my face. As we get closer, the house's tiles on the roof move in a wave, catching me off guard. Is the house magical too? The bricks in the archway tap at us as the door opens by itself. I awkwardly wave back, not wanting to accidentally offend it. We come a large courtyard, and there's a young girl with green glasses sitting on a bench with a book. Bruno calls out a Hey and when the girl looks up, she smiles widely.

"Tío Bruno! There you are! We were worried when you left right after breakfast!" She grins as she walks up to us. She sees me and is curious, her head tilting. "Who's this? I don't think I've seen her in the village." She adds.

"Her name is Rose. Rose, this is my niece Mirabel." Bruno smiles at me. I give her a small wave, and she waves back. Bruno asks her if Julieta is home today, and we learn she's in the kitchen right now. As if on cue, my stomach growls loudly, making Mirabel laugh. She leads us both to the kitchen, where a woman in a blue dress and a very pretty apron is making food. I learn she is Julieta, Bruno's sister and Mirabel's mother. Mirabel has me sit at the small table, and helps her mother put together a plate for me.

"So, Rose, correct?" Julieta asks, wiping her hands on her apron. I nod and she sits with me. She touches my chin and starts to lift my face, making me flinch back and hide further into my hair. "Cariño, I need to see your injuries so I can heal them." She tells me gently.

"I... I don't have injures." I mumble, sinking a little in the chair. Julieta looks to Bruno, who looks at me.

"You don't have to hide from us. We want to help you. You're safe here." He tells me softly. I take a few breaths, then allow Julieta to lift my face up and push back my hair. I close my eyes, not wanting to see the disgust in her eyes. She hums and makes a few painful noises as she looks at my face.

"Not too terrible, two arepas and a cup of orange juice should do the trick. Here you are sweetie." Julieta's voice says, not one drop of disgust or malice to be heard. I open my eyes and see the plate she and Mirabel put together for me. There's a lot more than two things on there. She tells me to eat up, pointing to two pancake like bits she says to eat first. I do so, and feel the dull pain in my face vanish completely. I can't remember the last time my face didn't have some sort of pain. As I continue to eat, Mirabel seems to be talking to the air, asking someone named Dolores to have other people prepare the guest room for me. I choke on the juice and look at her in surprise.

"Me? Stay here? I don't wish to impose, it's ok!" I gulp, twirling a strand of hair around my finger to calm myself.

"Where else will you stay? In the woods?" Mirabel laughs. I mumble that I'm perfectly fine with sleeping in the woods, and Mirabel looks sad. "We aren't gonna have you sleep in the woods. You are now our guest! It's no problem having you stay with us." She says, sitting down and patting my hand. I flinch slightly at the touch, and feel bad for making Mirabel sadder.

Julieta takes the strand of hair from my fingers and asks me when I last bathed. I confess it's been a while. Julieta tells Mirabel to go start the bath for me while she leads me to a linen closet. She grabs a towel, soaps and a washcloth for me, and tells me to leave my clothes outside the door. She'll leave a clean set of clothes I can use after I'm clean. Bruno stays in the kitchen, his eyebrows furrowed like he's mad, deeply thinking, or both. As Julieta leads me to the bath, we bump into an older woman. I learn she is Señora Alma, Julieta and Bruno's mother. She seems stern, her stare making me hide behind Julieta.

"Mama, she's been through a lot. Please don't scare her." Julieta asks. Señora Alma seems to realize she was staring at me, and apologizes, not realizing she was doing so.

"I see where Bruno gets his concentration stare from. He too looked angry while staring into space as we left the kitchen." I tell her. Señora Alma seems slightly surprised, like she didn't expect Bruno to be mad. Julieta takes my arm and leads me to the bathroom. It's a nice bathroom, fairly roomy but not too big. The bath is ready and Julieta reminds me of what to do with my dirty clothes, then leaves. The bath water is pleasantly hot, and I do as Julieta told me to. Sinking into the water feels amazing. My muscles relax from the heat, and I can already see the dirt coming off my skin.

As I wash myself, I realize Bruno and I didn't tell the others how I arrived. Would Mirabel and Julieta still be ok with an outsider? I push it from my mind, figuring I'll cross that bridge later. By the time I feel properly clean, the water has gotten cold. I empty the tub and clean it out for the next person. With the towel wrapped around me, I peek out the door to find the clothes Julieta promised. I find them, along with a jaguar! I yelp in surprise and slam the door closed. A jaguar! In the house! I hear the beast meow outside the door, my heart pounding. It's gonna get in and eat me!

"Parce! Come here! You're scaring the new lady!" A little boy's voice calls. Fear for this little boy's safety makes me spring into action, ripping the door open. I watch a small child climb onto the jaguar's back, and a young woman in a pale yellow top and red skirt. The little boy sees me and has a big grin on his face. "Hi! You must be Rose. Tía Julieta told us about you! My name is Antonio, and this is my big sister Dolores!" He says. I tell them it's very nice to meet them.

"Antonio had Parce guard the door for you, so you'd feel safe. I heart your heartbeat jump in fight." Dolores tells me, her voice as soft as mine. I look at her in confusion. "Oh, you must not have been told. I have super hearing as my gift. If I focus hard enough, or if someone is frightened, I can even hear heartbeats." She explains. I nod, then grab the clothing and go back in the bathroom to change. I was given a white blouse and a green skirt to wear. It actually looks nice on me, and I'm surprised by my face. The bruises from earlier are completely gone, along with the few cuts and scars I had. I exit the bathroom with the towel in hand and find two men waiting for me. A taller man in a blue suit and a shorter man in yellow. I stare at them wide-eyed.

"Hello Rose, my name is Agustín, this is my brother in law Felix. Julieta is my wife. She asked us to bring you to the backyard when you were done." He tells me with a smile. I back against the wall, heart pounding.

"Are you ok? You look ready to pass out." Felix asks, taking a step forward. I involuntarily squeak, back pressed hard against the wall. Suddenly, Dolores and Bruno are at the top of the stairs, out of breath like they ran here. Before anyone can speak, I rush to Bruno, clinging to his arm and hiding as best I can in his poncho looking thing.

"Papa, what did you guys do to make her heartbeat sound like a hummingbird's!?" Dolores demands. They explain they didn't do anything, and have no idea why I'm so scared. Bruno pats my shoulder, whispering to me. He confirms what Agustín said is true, and I start to relax a little. Another woman appears, in a yellow dress and asking what's going on. I learn she is Pepa, Julieta and Bruno's triplet, wife to Felix and mother of Dolores and Antonio. She looks to me and I peek out at her. Her face scrunches up and I prepare for the yelling.

"Aw, dear you are too adorable for words! Look at you!" She exclaims, pulling me out from Bruno's grasp. She pushes my hair behind my ears and looks over my face. "So cute!" She smiles, pinching my cheeks slightly. I just blink at her, not sure on how to react.

"Mamí, you're making her nervous." Dolores says, gently taking my hand and giving me space to breath.

"Heh, sorry. This family is... Overwhelming sometimes." Bruno sheepishly tells me. I just nod and look down.

"Come, come, everyone is waiting in the backyard! We want to know everything! How you came to the Encanto, how you met Bruno, everything!" Felix exclaims. I take a few breaths and follow them, wondering how my life is gonna go now.