Over the Mountains (an Encanto story)

Chapter 7. After all these years (pt1)

Isabela was walking back and forth. She couldn't stop thinking. As if she could think straight. If only she had been a better sister. If only she had been the perfect sister, everyone thaught she was.

She was silently crying until she started mumbling, then she started talking, and then, without realizing it, she was screaming. She had a tantrum, one like she had never had before. She was throwing stuff, destroying her room, and yelling stuff. About Abuela, about her arranged marriage, about everything that was hiding under the surface.

Until she collapsed on her knees, crying silently once more.

As she opened her eyes, she saw something green. Something that is everything but perfect. Asimetrical and sharp. A cactus with two little, pink flowers on top of it.

She weakly stared at the plant, then sat up suddenly.

She had an idea, and no one could have changed her mind.

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Dolores couldn't figure out where did Mirabel go. Julieta and Augustin couldn't help but think about the worst. What if Dolores could still hear her if she was alive?

In the end, they found it pointless to leave and search if they had no clues. If Dolores couldn't, they had no chance of finding any.

Isabela and Luisa had a hard time as well. Not only did they miss their hermana, but Julieta became really overprotective. It didn't reach a radically unhealthy level, but she was constantly on the lookout, making sure her babies were alright.

This caused some changes, such as Luisa's everyday attire. Now, Julieta has forced her to wear boots instead of her sandals and to wear gloves to protect her hands.

Just because she would never admit it, Mirabel's disappearance affected Abuela as well. She was the "everything has to be perfect" type of person. She did moarn her nieta, just as much as she moarned her hijo, but she had to focus on leading Encanto. Everyone has a purpose. This was hers, and she couldn't have expected anyone to take care of her responsibilities.

Soon the rule "We don't talk about Mirabel" became relevant. Not even the town's people were allowed to talk about her. They haven't even gotten the chance to know the full story. They only knew she had abandoned her family, just like her tío, Bruno.

But unlike in his case, the people liked Mirabel. They knew a cheerful girl who was more than happy to help anyone. Yes, they found her irritating, and some only saw her as the giftless Madrigal, but still.

Some kids just couldn't understand the rule and would still talk about her, making Abuela mad or the rest of the family sad.

Isabela finally had the courage to cut off the marriage with Mariano. Abuela was pissed. After Isa realized that, unlike her, Dolores liked Mariano, she talked with him and Senora Guzman. They presented the situation to Abuela, who at that point had no other options but to let them be.

It made Isabela way livelier. But the truth is, she still had nightmares. She hated that she had to lose her sister to find a stronger Isabela inside herself. But no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't break out of the role of the golden child and be Abuela's favorite.

Antonio had a hard time understanding what happened to Mirabel. He always knew she didn't have the place in the family she deserved, but where did she go?

It was time for Camilo to shine. Before he got his gift, they were close with Mirabel, but after she didn't get one, they grew apart. Antonio needed someone, and Camilo was the best candidate. They had long conversations about her. How she acted, how she helped, and, of course, how they missed her.

The adults never told Antonio where Mirabel went, but Camilo and Dolores had a good enough idea, which that wasn't a whole lie. "She went on a new adventure" they always said. They actually had fun making up stories about what adventures Mirabel might have gotten into.

Antonio had his own little adventure too. He made friends with some rats. At first he didn't even realized that the nice rat man, living in the walls of Casita is his tío Bruno. Not untill he led his hermano true the walls.

- You, you, you – Camilo was speechless. Then he realized what was going on. – So. You have been living in the walls? Like, the entire time? – he asked calmly, trying to be quiet, not knowing Dolores knew all along, and even visited him sometimes.

Soon, Bruno became the secret of the Madrigal grandkids. After Abuela denied the search for Mirabel, they had a kind of alliance. This was a trust no other adult had except the older grandkids and Bruno.

Bruno told them everything. Why he left but didn't leave, what he saw. The vision of Mirabel and Casita falling apart.

Hernando and Jorge were "interesting" personalities the cousins got to know. Bruno's gift for acting helped him cope.

Hernando was Bruno's brave persona, who helped him to deal with situations needing a brave person. Jeorge was the person who the cousins did't understand. He was a fun tío though.

Antonio's friendship with Araya deepened quickly. The little girl became a part of the family in some ways. Now she spends more time at Casa de la Madrigal than at her own house.

After Antonio's animals scared everything living out of Araya's bullies, the rumors started to spread. Soon he was considered an outcast as well. A danger to the other kids. A threat to the town.

At first, he missed his old friends, but knowing he has one he can really trust and have fun with made him believe he could never regret cutting ties with them.

It needed a long time, but eventually they realized the cracks appear when the family dynamics don't work. It meant arguments, misunderstandings, and so on.

They revealed to the adults that the cracks have always been a part of the house, only showing up inside the walls, where only the rats lived. Unnoticed, under the surface.

Luckily, when someone did something stupid and it ended in an argument, it didn't cause any cracks.

There were times when the cracks would just appear out of nowhere. At first, these were frequent events, but over the years they became rare, as if the source of these random breaks was faiding, but from time to time they came back to haunt the family.