Over the Mountains (an Encanto story)

Chapter 5. The screeching yells of cracks

- WHAT DO YOU MEAN „NO ONE GOES ANYWHERE"? – Pepa yelled in a rage, a hurricane forming in the kitchen.

Isa grew deep blue flowers through almost all her body; Luisa cracked the chair she was leaning on; and Camilo started turning to all kinds of people from town, as a reaction to what Abuela said and Pepa's screeching yell.

The family had just learned that the second youngest member had left them. Left Encanto, never coming back. God knows if she's safe, if she's alive even.

Abuela turned back to face her younger daughter.

- Calm down. Mirabel is a big girl. She can protect herself. – Abuela answered her younger hija, somewhat addressing it to her older one and all the others as well.

It was obvious that she was sad as well, but tried to hide it. She had to be strong. This can't break her. She can't allow anything to break her. She needs to be the one to keep Encanto together so no one else has to.

- She's fifteen woman! FIFTEEN! – Agustin lost his temper. He was now yelling at his suegra.

- HOW ON EARTH COULD SHE PROTECT HERSELF? – Félix was shocked after hearing Alma's statement.

- A-abuela... Maybe this is a bit too much. – Isabela tried to quietly reason as the favorite.

- SHE WROTE IT HERSELF, NOT EVEN SHE KNOWS WHERE SHE'S GOING! – Pepa was mad. Her madre made some questionable choices over the years, but now she has crossed many lines. – YOU ARE UNREASONABLE! YOU MAKE UNREASONABLE ORDERS!

- WHEN BRUNO LEFT US, YOU FOUND MY ORDERS REASONABEL! – Abuela yelled in a rage, hitting the kitchen table angrily once. She didn't want this to happen. She didn't want either her hijo or nieta to leave, but what's done is done. All that's left is to move on.

- Maybe... – the voice that's always so calm and suiting now was filled with a mixture of anger, sadness, disappointment, and worry – Maybe because Bruno was a forty-year-old grown-up man, – Julieta looked up at her mother, crying, close to yelling. For a second, Alma could have sworn that her daughter's eyes were red from her anger – AND NOT MY FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL, WHO IN FACT, CAN'T FUCKING PROTECT HERSELF, FOR GOD'S SAKE! SHE'S FIFTEEN! FIFTEEN, MAMA! FIFTEEN!

- Don't you dare talk to me, YOUR MOTHER, like that! – Abuela yelled at her daughter desperately. She didn't have any cards left to play by now, especially against her usually most managabel kid.

As the family saw Julieta's facial expression, the atmosphere froze. Literally. Pepa was terrified to see her hermana in the state she was in. It was a rare sight, something nobody thought was even possible until now. Julieta was mad. No. Furious, and it was more than obvious.

By that point, her usually well-made bun was almost missing, leaving her curly hair to go loose in all directions, only indicating the past of that bun she was then recognized for. Her eyes were red and acing from crying. She was breathing heavily, almost growling in the process.

- Me? – Julieta's quiet voice broke the freezing silence – Dolores! – she called out to her sobrina.

- S-sí... tía? – the girl was unsure what to do for a second.

- Go to the edge of Encanto, and try to figure out which direction Mirabel took. – Julieta asked her, looking at the floor, desperately trying not to yell and hurt her niece's ears.

- Tía, if...

- Take Antonio too. – Julieta cut her sobrena off. - He doesn't have to hear this. I already said things he shouldn't have heard. – she said, referring to her cursing a few lines before.

- Le... let me come too! – Camilo yelled after his older and younger siblings, curious about what might happen in the room but also afraid to be there.

And so, Dolores left the house, taking Antonio and Camilo with her, so the younger one wouldn't have to put up with the adults' fight.

They came up with the idea that Antonio could also ask the local animals. It helped him calm down, but he was worried. Mirabel was missing, tía Julieta was not herself, his mama was mad too, and who knows how long this will go on?

In the end, only Luisa and Isabela were left in the kitchen from the younger generation. Neither were that close to Mirabel, which at that moment they were both regretting, but both wanted to stay, if only for their mother's sake.

- How dare I talk to you like that? – Julieta asked Abuela with a barely audible, cold and weak voice. – You just told us that we can't go and search for my daughter. Your own nieta! – by this point she was crying so hard, it was barely possible to understand her.

- Julieta, I...

- I don't care!... If Dolores can figure out which direction Mirabel took, I'll leave and go after her myself. ALONE IF I HAVE TO. – to her words Agustin placed both his hands on her shoulders, while her daughters steped behind them, asuring her that they'll also leave with her.

While Agustin and Luisa stood behind Julieta proudly, Isabela's fear was visible. She was stearing at the floor and had an obviously unsure facial expression. She wants to make sure her sister is fine, no matter how annoying she is, but is it worth risking her place in the family?

- Julieta, listen... – Abuela started getting desperate.

- No. You listen! You were always too hard on Mirabel. – unnoticed by Julieta, cracks stated to appear across the whole house – You were always too hard on everyone. – the cracks started to get louder – Why can't you notice it? YOU ARE BREAKING THIS FAMILY APPART!

Before Abuela could have answered, a crack, almost as big as how tall Camilo was at the time, appeared between them, followed by some awful sounds.

The family followed the cracks to the courtyard.

Crakcs adorned the walls in all directions. Even Dolores, Camilo, and Antonio came back to the unholy sounds.

As the cracs reached the window where the candel was sitting, all the doors started to flicker, and for a moment, Dolores' hearing got worse, and Luisa felt weaker than ever, before everything came back to normal as the flickering stopped.

They looked at each other in fear as the cracks started to wanish.

Nobody had answears, or any idea what this was all about. They only had questions, but a lot of those.

As if Mirabel's disappearance wasn't enough.