☀Light and Darkness - Luz y Sombra ☀ Encanto

Chapter 4

It was time for Antonio's gift ceremony.

I patted my dress a bit before leaving my house and walking towards the casita. I could see the entire town walking to the ceremony as well, bringing their entire family. I smiled at the sight of the children with their parents, how happy and delighted they all seemed.

I hugged myself a bit until I saw some of the kids run towards me. The girl with light skin and ginger hair hugged my leg as the other girl with dark skin and black hair lifted her arms towards me. I picked up the black hair girl and chuckled as the boy held out one hand, asking to hold hands. I placed the girl on my shoulders and took the boy's hand. The ginger child held onto the skirt of my dress as we all made our way to the casita.

"Tia Vivi! Are you excited for the ceremony?" the little boy asked me.

I nodded. "Of course I am! I can't wait to see Tonito's gift. I just know it'll be awesome!"

The girl on my shoulders giggled excitedly. "I hope it's a pretty gift like Isa!"

I chuckled myself as we reached the entrance to the casita. I set the girl down from my shoulders.

"Go on! Have fun!" I told the children as I patted their heads.

They all gave me a hug before going into the house. Camilo greeted them into the house, shapeshifting into each of them. Thankfully, I was the last person to come in. Camilo smiled as he saw me and hugged me. He knew that I didn't like it when he shape-shifted into me, mostly because I want him to be comfortable in his own body. I could tell he appreciated it when I told him how I felt about it, mostly because he felt comfortable around me to just be himself.

"Hey! Looking as fine as usual, mi amor." He smirked as he led me inside the house.

"Not so bad yourself, mi vida." I locked arms with him.

We walked around the house, just enjoying each other's company until his mother, Pepa, called for him. He led me to where him and his family were going to stand after saying hi to Antonio.

"I'll be back. Wait for me?"

I nodded as he left. I looked around the crowd, standing on my tip toes to see if I could spot Mirabel but I couldn't. I wondered where she could be and thought about whether to look for her until I felt someone hold my hand. I looked to my left and saw Camilo. He nodded towards me and mouthed 'She's with Antonio.' I smiled at him and leaned my head on his shoulder. Unbeknownst to us, Abuela saw us.

Abuela glanced to Dolores who looked at her and quickly looked back to the curtains.

The curtains opened and there stood Antonio. He fiddled around a bit before looking to the side and asking for someone to walk him. I knew who he was talking to and my suspicion was correct when Mirabel walked into view and took his hand. The people gasped silently when they saw this. I only smiled.

I raised my head from Camilo's shoulder as the two walked towards the door. Maybe it was just me, but Mirabel seemed nervous.

Was she having flashbacks to her gift ceremony? I hope she isn't beating herself up.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, Antonio's family moved towards the stairs. Camilo dragged me with him even though I felt like I didn't belong there. We watched the tradition of the ceremony and it came to the part where Antonio had to grab the door. I took a deep breath as I leaned a bit closer, hoping he would get a nice gift.

Once he touched the door knob, the door began to glow brighter. Then, a toucan landed on his arm and squawked. Antonio seemed to understand what it was saying and suddenly, animals began to flood into the casita and running towards Antonio. His door bursted into light and left behind an image of Antonio with animals. His door opened and the animals, along with the people entered his room.

I was impressed honestly, the giant tree in the middle and the seeming jungle around it. It was thrilling to see Antonio enjoy his room before coming back. Everyone was cheering for him, even I joined in on the cheering. I remembered Mirabel and looked for her when I saw that she was behind me a couple of rows back. She seemed...conflicted.

This was hard for her and what made it even harder is when Abuela went to Antonio, "I knew you could do it! A gift... just as special as you."

If I didn't know Mirabel that would be a wonderful thing to say, but I do know her. I can only imagine how much that hurt her.

As the family came together to get a picture, I stepped outside the room and back into the living room. I felt overwhelmed by the amount of people there. Suddenly, I heard Mirabel singing; she was singing about her insecurities. I only listened and followed as she went through the song. Finally, she finished the song once she got back to the living room of the casita.

I felt for her, I really did. I approached her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at me, her face full of sadness. I just smiled a bit at her and pulled her in for a hug.

"You are a gift Mirabel. You don't need powers to be special. You already are special just for being my friend and a loving daughter."

I guess that's what she needed to hear because she hugged me back and buried her face into my shoulder.

We stayed that way for a bit until we both heard a crash from behind us.
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I apologize for not uploading on Tuesday. I will not make any excuses. It was my fault and I'll make sure to upload on time from now on. Please forgive me. Look forward to the next chapter😊 Thank you for reading~