The Gift Swap (DISCONTINUED)

🦋Six🦋

 "Wait, wait, wait," Luisa said, holding her palms up. "How long do I wait for the pan to heat up before adding the dough?"

Julieta let out a small, long-suffering sigh. She'd been helping her daughter cook some Arepa de Huevos for a while now, and Luisa was so caught up in the fear of messing up that she could hardly focus on the instructions. "You can add them now, mi vida."

Luisa nodded, awkwardly taking the arepa dough and setting it on the large pan in her room. Julieta watched, wishing to help, but knowing the food would have no healing magic if she did. "Careful."

"I know," Luisa said, gently patting the dough and squinting in concentration. Julieta felt a twinge of guilt—she should have taught Luisa to cook years ago, but there was never an opportunity. In fact, Julieta could hardly remember the last time she spent one-on-one time with her.

"How long until they're ready?" asked Camilo, who was sitting on Luisa's bed next to Agustín. "Because the cuts are bugging me pretty bad."

Luisa grit her teeth and ignored him. He could stand to be a bit more patient—she'd never done this before!

As she struggled with the arepas, she had the reoccurring thought that plagued her ever since Mirabel explained their situation: If she didn't know how to cook, would people around the Encanto suffer because of her ignorance? How many people would stay injured as she learned to cook? Even if she did learn, would she have to cook and cook forever to create a long-lasting supply of food to prepare for the whole village? What would they think of her now that her strength was gone?

"Hey, you okay?" Julieta asked, putting a hand on Luisa's broad shoulder.

Luisa nodded with a tight-lipped smile. "I'm doing fine, Mami. Don't worry."

Julieta smiled, but then her eyes drifted to the pan. "The dough is burning, mi sol."

Luisa's eyes widened as she reached over and flipped the chunky-looking arepas, breathing a sigh of relief when the deed was done. "Oops." She grimaced, looking down at her mother. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you're still learning," Agustín said from behind them. "I personally believe that those arepas will taste great when they're done."

Camilo breathed a small huff of disbelief, but Luisa chose to ignore it, smiling at her father. "Thanks, Papi."

As she glanced at the slightly burnt dough, she sighed through her nose. She could only hope Pepa was doing all right with her gift.

~Meanwhile~

"Pepi, you can put me down now," Félix chuckled nervously, patting his wife's shoulder as she held him bridal style.

"I can, but I don't want to," Pepa answered, smiling smugly. "I've always wanted to do this, and now I can. Don't take this away from me."

Her husband kissed her temple. "Alright then."

"What is happening?"

Pepa turned in surprise. Abuela Alma was up and awake, and staring at Pepa in utter shock. She dropped Félix instinctively, and he landed painfully on the floor in a heap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Pepa gasped, leaning down to help him up, but he laughed it off as he stood up.

"I'm fine, amor."

"Pepa?" Alma asked. "How...how were you doing that?"

Pepa tucked her hands behind her back. "Well, don't freak out, but..."

"Everyone's gifts have been switched around!" Félix announced, but cringed at the affronted look on his wife's face. "Oh. Sorry."

Alma blinked, her mouth opening slightly. "Perdón? What do you mean, 'switched around'?"

"We woke up this morning, and we had different gifts," Pepa explained in a rush. "We don't know why or how this happened, and we're trying to get it under control."

Alma frowned, folding her hands in front of her. "This might make it difficult for us to help the village..."

Pepa hugged her elbows anxiously, and it was the strangest feeling in the world not to have a cloud over her head. Félix, sensing her emotions despite the lack of cloud, put his arm around her for comfort. "We're doing our best, Abuela," he said. "No one expected this."

"Of course," Alma replied. "I just need to take a minute..." She sat down in a nearby chair and creased her eyebrows thoughtfully. "We must figure out how we can best help the town."

Pepa nodded, but Félix said, "Perhaps everyone should at least take a day to get used to the gift swap."

Alma glanced up. "That seems like a good idea." She looked at Pepa and offered a small smile. "Take all the time you need. I will explain the situation to the village."

"Thank you, Mami," Pepa answered, and Alma nodded, standing up.

"I should go now." She began to walk towards the front door, but paused and turned back to Pepa. "And Pepa...be careful." With that, she turned around again and exited the casita.