You are a madrigal

Part 21

The next few days are hard for Dolores. The shock and adrenaline fully left her body later on that night. Antonio was sleeping in a spare room and she laid in Alex's arms. The man in question held her close to his chest as she wept and all he could do was whisper sweet nothing in her ear and run his hands through her hair to calm her down. 

Sometimes Antonio would wake up in a fit in the middle of the night. Dolores would hear him before he walked in. When he made it to the bed, she would hold onto him as Alex wraps his own arms around her.

Occasionally Alex and Antonio would be able to get Dolores to crack a smile or two. Alex knew there wasn't much they could do with what's been going on but anything was better than nothing. He knew that it was going to be a hard adjustment from what they knew.

About half a week passed when Antonio had made it known to his parents that he wanted to go back to Casita to visit his animal friends. Alex asked Dolores if she was comfortable going back there seeing as he had to go to the market that day. She gave him a reassuring smile, claiming that it was fine so she and Antonio left in the middle of the day.

When they got there Felix and Camilo greeted them at the door. Antonio quickly ran to his room as the others went to be with Pepa. She was in her room reading a book when she saw them and quickly rushed to give Dolores a tight hug.

Just when it seemed like everything was getting better, it turned for the worse. Mirabel and Isabela had seemed to have finally reconciled over the years they spent apart when their grandmother came back in a fit of raging emotions. One thing led to another and an argument broke out between Alma and Mirabel.

On the other side of town, Alex had been talking with a man who owned the music shop. Aside from the burst of wild plants that grew everywhere, Everything was fine on his end. That was until the ground started shaking under his feet. He had to hold onto the building just to not lose his balance as gigantic cracks in the ground broke out and everyone began panicking when the mountain split in half.

His own panic built even more when he turned his head to the direction of Casita. It was shaking and he knew that at any given moment it would collapse. With that thought in his head, he quickly took off in fear of losing the people he cared for them most.

By the time he got there, Casita caved in on itself. His eyes wide at the damage caused before he finally caught a glimpse of a red bow. He threw caution to the wind as he ran towards her.

"Dolores!"

When he finally got to her she was kneeling with Antonio in her arms. Alex wrapped his own around the both of them and held them tight. "I thought something happened to the two of you. Are you okay, muneca ? Is Tonito hurt?" When Alex let go of them he placed his hands on the woman's face and saw her looking off in shock.

"It's gone..."

The words did nothing to calm him as he looked her over for any bruises. He shook his head when he didn't find anything. "Mi vida, I don't understand. What's gone? What happened?" Dolores blinked her eyes a few times before finally registering his worried expression. " Mira was trying to get the candle, Casita pushed us out....the magic is gone. My gift, my hearing."

His eyes became more understanding and he caressed her cheek softly. "Amor.." Just then a sniffle came from the small boy in Dolores' arms. They both looked down and Alex moved to get Antonio's hair out his face. "Antonio, it's going to be okay." The small boy quickly shook his head before moving to grab onto his father as the tears rolled down his face. "Papa."

Alex picked him up and rubbed at his back before helping Dolores up to her feet. He held the 5 year old close to his chest and laid his head against his hair. "Don't cry, hombrecito. Everything is going to be okay. Everyone is going to be okay."

Dolores moved to kiss at her son's forehead before looking back at Alex with tears in her own eyes. Just as she turned to go check on everyone else they heard something that made their breathing stop.

"Mirabel?...Where did she go? She was right here."

Dolores and Alex shared another look, this time even more concerned as Antonio's cries worsened.

Everyone besides Pepa, Alex and Antonio had begun searching for the missing teenager. Antonio refused to let go of his father and soon fell asleep in his arms from how much he cried. Alex took him and Pepa back to his house for them to stay at. The older woman stayed with Antonio after Alex placed him in his bed before he went out to help everyone in their search.

When it became too dark to look for Mirabel, everyone found somewhere to stay before agreeing that they would search again when morning came around. Felix, Pepa and Camilo ended up staying with Dolores and Alex. Camilo took the couch and His Parents decided to keep Antonio company for the night.

Dolores couldn't sleep much. She silently cried through half the night and Alex held her as she rambled between wanting to find Mirabel and the loss of her gift. He kissed her forehead and wiped the tears out her eyes when she finally looked at him.

" You are safe, Antonio is safe. Your family is here with you. Don't over stress yourself, amor. It's going to be okay. We will find her, and she'll be safe and sound with her familia.." She grabbed at one of his hands as he whispered to her.

" But what if we don't? What if she ran away, or worse? Antonio wont be the same anymore. Tia y Tio, Luísa and Isabela. They aren't going to be okay if we don't find her. They will be broken." Alex sighed and nudged his head against hers. "Then I will try my best so that nothing like that happens. We need to have faith."

Dolores nodded her head before looking down at their joined hands. She gave them a squeeze before looking into his eyes. "...We're going to be okay right? After we find her and make sure she's okay. When they fix the house, and everyone is back..." Alex gave her a small smile and moved to have Dolores lay on his chest. "Yea, We are going to be okay."

Dolores sighed as she listened to his heartbeat with a smile of her own. "....Your heart beat was always one of my favorite sounds. It let me know you were close, it makes me feel safe." She tilted her head up as Alex rubbed at her arm soothingly. "Te quiero, Alejandro. Thank you for being here." 

She kissed his lips before laying her head back down. The curly haired man gave her a smile before he closed her eyes. "I love you too, Dolores. No hay ningún lugar en el que prefiera estar que contigo, mi muñeca."