The Gift Swap (DISCONTINUED)

🦋Seven🦋

"Here," Luisa said, handing the blemished Camilo a chunky-looking arepa. "I know it's not the best, sorry..."

"It's cool," Camilo said easily, taking a bite. He swallowed it without even chewing, coughing slightly. "Man, I was hungry!" he exclaimed. "I didn't even have time to get breakfast." As he spoke, the cuts along his body slowly disappeared. Both Luisa and Julieta looked relieved that Luisa's newfound gift actually worked.

Julieta wanted to keep everyone safe, but she couldn't do that anymore. She felt helpless. Not that she didn't trust Luisa, but she knew her middle daughter got too anxious in the kitchen.

And Luisa was used to heavy lifting, cardio, and endurance—not cooking. Suddenly, her fourteen years of training to make sure she wouldn't let down the village was worthless.

Agustín noticed the matching looks of worry of his girls' faces and said, "It'll be okay, both of you." He smiled at Luisa, standing up and patting her arm. "I know you can get a hold of this gift."

Luisa offered a faint smile in return. "Thanks, Papi."

Julieta put her hand on top of Agustín's, simultaneously touching Luisa as well. "I will continue to help you until you think you're ready."

That was enough for Luisa to put both arms around her parents and hug them tightly. They both grinned, and the small part of that family shared a group hug.

Camilo awkwardly chewed his arepa.

-

"I'm not sure what I should do," Pepa muttered anxiously. "Should I help Isabela handle her gift or go out to the village and work?"

Félix put an arm on her shoulder reassuringly. "I'll help you with whatever you decide to do, mi vida."

"That doesn't help me pick," Pepa pointed out, patting his hand. "Can Isa handle herself in her room?"

Félix nodded. "I think she can. Isabela's a tough one."

Pepa took a deep breath through her nose to calm herself down before remembering she didn't have a cloud over her head anymore. "Okay." She gave a small grimace. "Time to do some heavy lifting."

-

Meanwhile, Alma had made her way outside, trying to conceal the worry she felt inside. What would the village think when they found out? Would they begin to fear for the safety of the Encanto? Would they doubt that the Madrigals could protect them?

The best Alma could do was deliver the news as confidently as she could. If she acted calm, then the village was sure to believe everything would be okay.

As soon as she told everyone, she would have to go back and check on her family—she didn't know who had what gift besides Pepa's super strength, after all.

She grimaced slightly. She hoped for everyone's sake that Camilo didn't have Julieta's healing—the boy tried to help his tía cook once and nearly set fire to the Casita's kitchen.

As she considered the horrid prospect, she arrived in the center of town. The villagers must have noticed her anxiety, because someone approached her and said, "Señora? Is everything okay?"

Alma nodded. "Yes, yes, everything is fine. But...something has come up."

The villager raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"

More townsfolk turned in their direction, and Alma cringed on the inside, but didn't show it. "Well, we don't know why, but there has been a...complication with our family's gifts."

"What do you mean?" the villager beside her asked. "What complication?"

Alma opened her mouth to attempt an explanation, but got cut off when a toucan fluttered over and landed on her shoulder. She stared at the bird with wide eyes, and everyone around her watched in fascination.

The toucan had a piece of paper tied to its leg, and the bird held out said leg to Alma, who cautiously reached up to untie it. Once the paper was free, the toucan flapped its wings and flew away with a self-satisfied squawk.

"What is that?" asked yet another curious villager. "Is it a message?"

"I believe so..." Alma said carefully, unrolling the paper. She immediately recognized the (surprisingly neat) handwriting:

𝒞𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝒸𝓀𝓁𝓎, 𝒜𝓃𝓉𝑜𝓃𝒾𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒶 𝓋𝒾𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃
-𝐵𝓇𝓊𝓃𝑜