The Lost Miracle

Chapter 11: Luisa Madrigal

With her hair now properly tied back in her signature red ribbon, Luisa started on her morning walk. She didn't usually go at this time, considering it was so early that the sun hadn't even risen yet, but she desperately needed an outing, one that left her in a familiar but comfortable loneliness. Luisa stepped out of the inn room and, after double-checking the note she left on her messily made bed, she went on her way.

    Luisa walked down the dirt pathway, down a similar-looking path that she walked down last night. Though, a lot of these paths looked the same. It was so unlike her hometown. In the Encanto's town, all the homes were built close together, the outer walls were painted with a myriad of bright colors. But in this town, everything was... ordinary. The buildings were made of shades of red or orange or some were even pink. The roofs were dark colors, usually a blue that made it blend in instead of popping out. The houses were also far from each other, leaving a walking distance from each one. It wasn't until the young woman had gotten to the town's center that the buildings huddled together, leaving space only for a pathway for the villagers.

    Luisa stepped into the square, walking into the sight of a young girl struggling to pull a bucket out of a well. She walked up to the girl, who huffed angrily into the well.

    "Do you- uh, need some help?" Luisa cautiously asked. While the girl seemed harmless and in need of help, Luisa was taught at a young age to beware of strangers. A common piece of knowledge that she carried with her into her adult life.

    The girl turned around. "Oh- Yes!" she said as she struggled to face Luisa while holding onto the bucket. "Yes please- if you don't mind," Luisa held onto the other side of the bucket and helped her heave it up to the stone wall that surrounded the well. It's heavy... Luisa thought to herself. At least I can help her... Now that it safely sat with no worry of falling, the girl could finally turn around. "Thank you so much!" The girl tilted her head to the side, confused by the mysterious girl. "Oh! You're one of the Madrigals, right?" It hit Luisa. It was the girl from last night. The memory of a young girl with braids tied back entered her memory, letting Luisa remember Mercedes.

    "Oh, yeah," Luisa said. "I am. My name is Luisa." the girl smiled, scratching her temple with her the nail of her smallest finger.

    "I'm Mercedes Salazar," the girl's smile contorted into a look of embarrassment, a hint of shame in her eyes. "Umm... last night... my brother Alejandro," she began to say. "The man who uh... spoke to your sister..." Luisa thought of more memories from that night. Her eyebrows furrowed at the thought of that boy speaking so harshly to her sister.

    "You're his sister?" Luisa asked. She couldn't say that she wasn't a little surprised. This frail girl was related to that crude man from last night?

    "Yyyyeah..." She looked down and played with a piece of hangnail on her left thumb. "I-I'm sorry about him. When he gets mad, he can get mean, plus he was worried about Mira, he can get protective of her sometimes." Mira...bel? Luisa said in her mind. Maybe I can figure out anything going on with her from this girl...

    "Eh, it's totally fine," Luisa said with a casual smile. "I understand." Luisa picked up the bucket and held one end, offering the opposite end to Mercedes. "Need help bringing it back to your place?" Mercedes took the offering end of the bucket and led Louisa to her house. "So, how do you know Mirabel?"

    "Oh, Mira and I have known each other since she- uh- arrived here," Mercedes answered, hesitating to speak of Mira running away from her original home. "Now we're best friends! We do everything for each other" Luisa smiled.

    "Really?"

    "Yeah," Mercedes opened her mouth to say something else, but Luisa, needing more information on her little Hermana continued to ask on.