silent movies || encanto X female reader

02. the cursed gifts

"And then, the big red dragon charged at the evil knights' army, and everyone cheered for him !"

The small imaginary dragon before you started executing your words, in front of the amazed eyes of Mirabel, Camilo and Carlos.

It had been about three months since you got your gift, and you really liked it. Illusions were amazing to tell stories, as what you thought about would instantly appear in front of you. They were inoffensive, though, as you couldn't touch them.

The problem was control. You had a hard time stopping your illusions from happening, especially when you were zoned out. You usually daydreamed about the novels your dad and uncles read to the kids in the nursery (you kept going there even after getting your room just to hear Félix's impersonations), and the characters from those stories suddenly appeared, startling the people around you.

To your Abuela, this was a problem.

"We can't have her keep scaring people out of nowhere. She needs to control herself."

You were eavesdropping on the adults' conversation in the kitchen after you had accidentally scared your grandmother with a puppy you had imagined -you were wondering whether you'd prefer to have a cat or a dog-. You didn't ask for Dolores' help, she was in her soundproof room and you didn't really want her to listen to what they were saying : Alma was furious.

"She's five, mamí." Julieta argues. "How can we stop her from having children thoughts ?"

"She has too much imagination. That's the problem." Abuela answers.

"I... I can help her with this, mamá. I'll teach her to control her power."

A short silence after Bruno spoke. You couldn't see the kitchen from your hiding spot, but you guessed they were thinking about it.

"Alright." Your grandmother's voice sounded. "Two cursed gifts must stay together."

"Mamá !" The sound of a lightning bolt can be heard, as well as Félix comforting his wife. "Don't say that."

"Nothing good comes from illusions, hija. Those are just lies. And (Y/n) has too much imagination. I don't want her to listen to your reading before bed, nor watching movies with too much adventures. What if she thinks about dangerous things and scares the townspeople like at her ceremony ?"

"That's a bit unfair. She's a kid, let her have fun." Agustín argues, only to be found with an icy glare, and steps back.

"(Y/n) ?"

"Yes." You smile at Carlos, who was the only kid left. Mirabel and Camilo had simply shrugged and walked away when you suddenly stopped talking to remember this scene.

"What does it mean ? Why is your gift cursed ?"

"What- oh." You look at the small illusion that was previously a dragon, and see that your memory had transformed it to display the scene you thought about.

You kneel next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and getting his hair out of his eye. "I don't know. But it's a secret, Carlos. Don't tell anybody."

He nods gravely, and you pat his head. A scoff is heard, making the two of you turn around. Bruno was standing in the doorframe of the nursery with an awkward smile.

"Hey, niña. Do you want to have a walk with me ?"

___

And so, you were forbidden of stepping into the nursery when your uncles and Agustín would tell the kids stories. You stayed in your room. It changed a lot, into the sceneries you imagined, but at its original state it was very dreamy, with no walls visible. The door was just there in the middle of nowhere. Clouds surrounded your bed, and a light purple sky could be seen wherever you looked. However, when you thought of adventures and other things, your surroundings became what your imagination showed you. One day, you were on a ship sailing overseas, the other in a mysterious forest.

It was the only place you could daydream in peace, and so you stayed in there most of the time.

When the family's kids watched movies, you couldn't be there. You would get 'out of control' and the movie's events would influence your illusions, maybe make them worse. None of the kids really understood, and the adults looked sad everytime you would ask to stay with your sisters and cousins.

So Bruno watched the movies that you were allowed to watch with you. Things that didn't trigger your brain much. While the others watched Alice in Wonderland in the living room, you and your uncle would sit in your room before a silent movie. You had found out sound was very important to you, it would get you more interested and help you focus. Plus, you had to learn to read to understand the silent movies, and Bruno helped you at first, mimicking what he imagined the actors' voices were like, until you mastered it.

Eventually, your sisters and cousins would grow curious of what you were watching, and they would all end up coming to your room to see what it was all about. Most of the time, they got bored and went back to the one they were previously watching, but sometimes Luisa or Carlos would stay, and you would read to the small child what was written on the screen so that he would understand. You never knew if they were really interested or just pitied you.

Bruno also helped you control your gift, but none of you really knew how to do it. So he usually just gave you a little nudge when you started daydreaming during lunch. And you would have sessions were you'd try to see exactly what you could do with your power.

You discovered that, is you focused enough, you could make a targeted person the only one to see your illusions. But as soon as you zoned out, what you thought about was revealed to the world.

It got better with time. You sometimes were able to find the 'off' button of your power and realize when you were using it. You also started going to school, and fit in quite good with the other kids. They liked your gift, and, even though your Abuela wasn't too happy about it, you used it to amaze them and give your playing time a bit of spice. It was better to play pirates with a ship and appropriate clothes, after all.

It helped you fit in. You were scared the kids wouldn't want to talk to you, but they naturally came to you as soon as you first daydreamed in class and butterflies appeared.

Overall, you liked your gift. But maybe it was because as a child, you didn't realize it separated you from your family.

___
words : 1118