𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘶 | 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗹

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 11

Encanto, Colombia
Ruins of casita
1949

Daybreak had just become visible, and still there was no sign of Mirabel. Everyone was frantic, searching anywhere and everywhere for the lost girl. There wasn't a quiet moment where her name wasn't being called throughout the whole village and onwards. It was a tragic moment for everyone. "Mirabel?" Elena called out in the distant fields alongside a tired Luisa and Isabela, both their eyes red and puffy from crying and not getting sleep. Elena sighed as she turned around to look at her tired nieces and realized she should take them back so they could rest, she would continue on her own. "Come on girls, I'll take you back. You deserve some rest."

They approached the ruins of their home and Elena helped both the girls onto the soft grass so they could rest. She sighed and looked around them, noticing the rest of the family still looking around. Félix was sitting on a chair with a sleeping Antonio in his arms as Elena approached him. "Any luck around here?" She asked as Félix only frowned. "Unfortunately not. Julieta and Agustin have been everywhere looking for her and everyone else is just...trying their hardest. Me and Pepa were looking around for a long while until Antonio got tried. Pepa wanted to keep looking so I took him and I've been here since."

Elena nodded and looked down to a sleeping Antonio. He looked so peaceful in a time of frantic and she was glad. Félix looked behind her and she turned around as Julieta and Agustin approached them, hand in hand, the expressions on their faces upset and tired. "Nothing...?" She managed to squeak out as both parents shook their heads no. She sighed and pulled Julieta close to her as the anxious mother let all her fear and worry out into her friends shoulder, crying softly as Agustin comforted her from behind. "We'll find her, mi amiga. I promise you that, we will." She closed her eyes as a single tear ran down her cheek.

A tired Pepa also approached and frowned as she also hadn't had luck in finding her niece. Pepa took a now awake Antonio from Félix and walked over to her and Julieta. "I'm sorry I couldn't find anything..." she apologized as Antonio rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Has Mirabel come back yet...?" He asked as everyone frowned. "Not yet, mi amor. But she will soon" Pepa comforted as Julieta rubbed her tired eyes.

Bells began to ring from the village, kids yelling from the distance. All their heads turned in the direction of the noises and Julieta ran, they all did, trying to catch up with the frantic mother but she was too fast. Julieta turned round a corner, and there was Mirabel, safe and sound. She ran into her arms and it was finally over. "Mi amor, i was so worried. We couldn't find you..." she calmed down as Elena approached behind them and smiled. "I told you she'd show up....glad you're safe and sound, amor" Elena hugged Mirabel as Agustin came running. "There you are, where did you- ah, I see..." she asked before stopping and chuckled softly as Julieta and Mirabel shook there heads and smiled at him, covered in bee stings and swelled up due to allergies.

"What do we do now though? The casita...." Pepa asked as she held onto Antonio's hand. Mirabel sighed. "We can rebuild. I know it won't be the same as before, but as long as we're all together, right?" she smiled as everyone nodded. She was right, they were strong together as a family. Everyone began to pile into the broken casita, helping one another lift the shattered pieces and reassure one another as a family. They were more then their gifts, after all. Pepa and Julieta helped Elena pick up some of the left over items of the home and smile at one another, almost like back when they were younger. This moment felt so different though, and not just because the casita had fallen. Maybe it was because Bruno wasn't there with them too but it also felt so comforting to finally be together when they didn't have to stress. Where Julieta and Pepa could just enjoy her company without stressing about chores. "Pepa? Julieta?" A soft voice called out to the sisters as they turned around and was faced with their mother as they approached her and hugged her. Elena couldn't hear all that much but she swore, for the first time ever, she heard Alma cry softly. The girls backed away and smiled at their mother as she apologized for everything. "Elena?" Alma called for her and she obliged, walking over to them and accepting her mother-in-laws hug, a hug she hadn't gotten since she married into the family long long ago. "I'm so sorry, querida. The way I treated you for so long was awful and I hope, one day, you can forgive me. I love you like my very own, Elena Madrigal" Alma smiled as Elena bit her lip, trying not to cry as Alma's hand caressed her cheek softly. It reminded her of her own mothers touch, so soft and warm.