The Lost Miracle

Chapter 1: Antonio Madrigal

"That was very bad Fernando!" Antonio scolded the escaped donkey. "I think I'll take your carrots away for this..." the donkey when wide eyed and whined at the young boy. He chuckled. "Aww, it won't be forever! Just for the rest of the week." The boy led the donkey back to the stable, his cousin walking next to him.

"Are you sure you lost your gift?" Luisa teased. "You can tell me. I can keep a secret." The pair laughed.

"No, I just like to pretend."

"It's strange..." the young girl began. "That donkey gets loose almost every day."

"I know!" Antonio led Fernando into a pen with other donkeys and locked the gate. "I'm starting to think that someone may be doing this on purpose."

"Why would anyone do that?"

"Who knows, some people in this town can be strange..." the two knelt down to the floor and inspected the gate's lock. "Let's hope-"

"Antonio!"

"And speaking of strange people..." Antonio smirked and turned to the person who had yelled his name. A blur of brown curls dashed towards them, giving each a hug.

"Hey Luisa, hey 'Tonio." Both Madrigal children looked surprised.

"You're back early!" Said Luisa.

"Yeah Camilo," Antonio agreed. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back for a few days?"

"Well, yes..." the man nervously shrugged and looked at his younger brother. It was unbelievable how tall he was getting. They were supposed to be 10 years apart and yet they were almost the same height now. "I thought I'd make the trip back early."

"But why?" Luisa asked. "Not that we're not glad that you're back or anything, I'm just curious."

"Y-you'll have to learn with the rest of the family tonight at dinner!" And with that, the young man began walking back to his home, followed by his brother and cousin. The people of the town waved and smiled at each of them as they walked through the town. Everyone was glad to see that one of the beloved Madrigal's made it home safe. All except Antonio.

Despite being 10 years apart, the two brothers were very close to each other. They knew what made the other tick, what the other needed and when, but in this circumstance, Antonio could tell that there was something off about his brother, he just couldn't figure out what it was. The boy jogged up and began walking next to his brother.

"Camilo," he asked. "are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I just asked if you are okay and you're not exactly answering the question so I'll assume you're not..." the trio were arriving at the house. A pair of children chased each other on the front lawn, running in circles.

"I'm fine, Tonio," Camillo fiddled with his sunrise colored ruana, pulling the strings of his orange tassel. The younger brother noted the nervous act. "I just thought I would come home early, I have a surprise for the family."

"What's-"

"TIO CAMILO!" The two children ran towards the three adults, tackling their oldest uncle. Camilo fell flat on the ground and took a good look at his niece and nephew.

"Tomas? Paula?" He jokingly asked the two children. "Is that you? You're both so big! It must have been 30 years since I've last seen you two!"

"It's been 3 days!" Paula exclaimed, sitting on her uncle's lap. "We're only 3 days older since you last saw us!"