Portal to Encanto

New Day

I'm awoken by a clacking sound, and bird calls outside the window. I'm a little disoriented, wondering where I am for a few moments. After a moment or two, I remember the events of yesterday. I feel warm and tingly, excited for what today has in store for me. I notice the clacking sound is the window shutters swinging in a strong breeze. I get up and close the shutters, locking them when they fly open again. Man, the wind must be strong if it's clanking this hard against the lock!

I remember Pepa controls the weather. I hope she's ok. First things first, dress for the day. I find my bags are in the room with me, so I take the time to unpack them. Mostly clothes, my identification papers, my phone and my one teddy bear that I've had since childhood. The shudders fight even harder against the lock, making me wonder just how bad is the storm outside. Suddenly, I remember: Casita is sentient! I unlock the shudders and they swing in a way that seems offended.

"I'm sorry, Casita! I forgot! Please forgive me, my world doesn't have magical houses." I speak to the air. The shudders swing slower, and I hope it means Casita forgives me. I hear muffled laughter, making me wonder if Dolores heard me and told the family about my little mishap. I change into a pair of jeans and a tank top, the breeze coming in feeling warm. I find a hair brush and put my hair in a ponytail, assuming I'll be doing chores today. Once ready, I'm about to open the door when I hear a knock. I smile to myself for a moment, then open the door to find Bruno and a cackling Dolores. He looks like he was about to say something, but is caught off guard, speechless about something.

"Morning Rose! Seems you had quite the start to your day!" Dolores manages to say between giggles. I half smile in embarrassment and nod. I tell her what I told Casita, exiting the room and closing the door behind me. Bruno still hasn't spoken, and I tilt my head in question.

"Dios mío, eres tan hermosa." He whispers so softly I barely hear it. I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, and tell Bruno I don't know much Spanish. He shakes his head and wishes me a good morning. They bring me downstairs for breakfast, and both Mirabel and Camilo seem to be trying so hard to not laugh when they see me.

"How many people did you tell?" I ask Dolores. Evidently, the answer is everyone. I'm seated between Bruno and Pepa for breakfast, the conversation about things that need to be done today. Luisa and Dolores will be helping at the church, Camilo, Julieta and Isabela are in town, Felix and Agustín will be helping villagers gather firewood, and the rest of us will be cleaning up Casita. The ones leaving for town do so as soon as they finish breakfast, and once everyone is done, I help Mirabel and Pepa gather the dirty dishes.

"Rose, you don't have to clean up. You're our guest!" Señora Alma tells me.

"I want to help. Everyone has helped me, it's only fair I help too." I tell her, taking the stack of plates. I carry them to the kitchen and Mirabel and Pepa tell me they have washing dishes cover. I find Antonio and Bruno are scrubbing the floor of the courtyard, so I get a bucket and join them.

"So, Señorita Rose, what's your world like? Is it really different from here?" Antonio asks. I think for a few moments, then tell him about the few differences I've seen. I haven't seen any cars, nor heard any planes fly overhead, and I'm pretty sure I haven't even seen electricity used. All the lights I can see are candles. That makes me pause, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I had turned it off, so it's currently fully charged, but if I use it, how will I charge it again? "What's that?" Antonio asks. I explain what a phone is, and out of curiosity, I turn it on. Nope, no service or Wifi here. Antonio looks at the picture I have as my background, a wolf howling at the moon. Bruno has joined us by this point, so I go through my picture gallery, showing them both anything of interest. By the time I turn off the phone to conserve battery, it's dropped to eighty percent. We get back to the floors, getting them clean enough to eat off of. Mirabel and Pepa are done with the kitchen by then, so we all head into town to see if the others need help.

Just like yesterday, people seem weary of Bruno. Not downright rude like that group of women, but still odd. I lean in to Mirabel and ask her about it, but she just waves it off and tells me to not worry. I sigh, and Bruno sighs with me. "The town used to see me as a bad luck. An omen of ill-will. Some still do, but it's much better than it used to be. Things like that take time, don't worry about it, ok?" Bruno explains. I nod at him and we meet up with Julieta at her table. She has all kinds of food available, from empanadas to arepas, and a few things I don't know the names of. It's amazing to see people come up with so many types of injuries and colds, just to be healed with a dough ball or a sip of soup.

"Wow, your Gift is amazing, Julieta!" I gasp in amazement as a man with a VERY broken leg is healed instantly. She smiles at me, and suddenly there's a small rain cloud above us. I look over and see Pepa with a book, dabbing her eyes. "Are you ok? What's wrong?" I ask her. She takes a few breaths and the cloud dissipates.

"I'm ok. Just got to a sad scene in my book." She smiles at me. I ask her about her gift, and if she can make it rain or snow without her emotions. She tells me she can, but not very often. Her emotions overrule any attempts to make something else happen. It's amazing learning about everyone's Gifts. I turn to Bruno and ask him about his Gift. He doesn't seem thrilled to share.

"If you don't want to talk about your Gift, it's ok. You don't have to." I tell him. He seems mildly surprised. "You guys didn't make me talk about Preston, so I'm not gonna make any of you talk about something you don't want to." I clarify for him. Mirabel asks if Preston is Him, and I nod. Some village kids come up and ask us to play with them, so Antonio, Mirabel and I join them for a game of hide and seek. I really like it, it helps me learn to town better.

One girl, Cecilia, insists on hiding with me, making sure I don't get lost. At least that's what she tells me. I think she's realized I know how to find the best hiding spots. We play for a few hours, having fun and I find myself full body laughing at times. Every now and then I look over to Bruno and Pepa, and Bruno seems happy and relaxed. It makes me happier, making it so that by the time we return to Casita, I'm smiling widely. As dinner is being made, Isabela and Camilo tell me about their Gifts while we sit in the courtyard with Bruno and Mirabel.

"So, you can only change into another human?" I ask Camilo.

"Yep. I tried to change into an animal, but it never happened. I thought Antonio was gonna be the one to shapeshift into animals." He laughs, giving his brother a noogie. Isabela shows me all the different plants she can grow, and it's amazing to see. A few have pollen that dyes my jeans a yellow-green, and it looks pretty. Luisa comes in and I ask her about her Gift. Apparently, she hasn't found anything she can't pick up and carry yet. I'm so amazed by everyone's Gifts that I just keep saying Cool like a broken record.

"What are Agustín and Felix's Gifts?" I ask.

"They didn't get gifts. They married into the family, and to get a gift you have to be born into it." Bruno explains. Aw, that makes me sad. Felix barges through a door, making me both yelp and jump into Bruno's arms in reflex. Not realizing he scared me, Felix goes on about not needing a Gift because he has an amazing family, a beautiful home, and couldn't be happier with his life. I cling to Bruno, Felix's loud yelling scaring me.

"Papa, you're scaring Rose again!" Camilo exclaims. Felix lowers his volume and apologizes for scaring me again. I mumble that it's ok, and wait for Bruno to put me down. Which he doesn't do until Pepa comes and tells us dinner is ready. At the table, most of the conversation is about what we did that day. Mirabel is telling everyone how Cecilia and I won the last round of hide and seek by hiding in a barrel, and I just look around at everyone. So many smiles, laughter, and a few pranks here and there, it makes me think of my family. I had this camaraderie before, but Preston took it all from me. I hadn't spoken to my family since I moved in with him. Now I'll never see them again. A hand on my shoulder bring me out of my mind, and I see it's Bruno.

"You ok cariño? You look sad." He asks. I smile and nod, telling him I was just thinking. He smiles back and I feel a calming warmth in my chest. I push away the darker thoughts I was having, and enjoy dinner with the family, while noting that Mirabel and Dolores are whispering to each other. I have a funny feeling about those two.