The Lost Miracle

Chapter 5: Isabella Madrigal

"¡Atención, atención!" Camilo stood up from his chair and tapped his spoon to his glass. The family quieted down and turned to the man, all except for Isabella, his cousin and the oldest of the grandchildren, who seemed distracted. She hadn't touched her glass nor even looked at her plate. While everyone else was finishing off their second helpings Isa hadn't taken a single bite. She only stared into the space across from her, looking at the wall between her tio Felix and tia Pepa. "I uh, I have a small request for all of you..." A nervous look crept on Camilo's face. "Well, it's not really a request, it's more of an offer- er-" He took a sip from his glass and set it down on the table. "I- uh, we, would like to invite some of you- if- if you want- to umm..."

"We would like," Carmen stood up and took over for her nervous love. "To invite you all to come see our new home!" The family sat in confusion. The girl's sister in law turned to her brother.

"You want us all to travel for an entire day just to see your new house?" Dolores asked in her soft voice. "And then travel back? Why?"

"It was Camilo's idea!" Carmen answered, her gentle hands placed on her husband's shoulder, the other holding one of his. "He thought it would be a way to see us off before we leave the Encanto."

"Well," Mariano began, wiping some food off of his son's face. "It would be nice to say goodbye, right amor? He looked up at his wife.

"I suppose..."

"It does sound nice mijo," Felix began. "But some of us-" he quickly shifted his eyes to Bisabuela Alma, who was taking a long drink from her water. "Can't travel as well as others."

"Well..." Carmen placed her index finger under the dip of her bottom lip, a common thing she did when she was thinking. "How about just the cousins come? The abuelas, abuelos and ninos can stay in the casita, and we'll all be back in a week." The cousins all looked at eachother. Antonio finished chewing the last of his food and spoke up.

"Why not?" the boy asked.

"Yeah," Luisa agreed. "It could be fun. Right, Isa?" She looked at her older sister, who was still staring at the wall. "Isa?" she cautiously asked, gently nudging her with her elbow. Isabella gasped, as if she saw one of her tio's rats. She looked around in confusion, almost not knowing where she was, only to remember it was the dining table, her plate in front of her with cold, untouched food.

"What! Oh uh-" she looked up at her sister. "Oh yeah, that would be fun..."

•••

Isa sat on her bed, her knees tucked under her thighs. Her back curled down to better focus on the-

"Can I come in?" A knock at her room's door interrupted Isa's train of thought. Luisa. Isa scrambled around her room, her younger sister hearing the shuffling behind the door, and let her in.

"Luisa, hey," she opened the door up to her sister and stepped back. "What's up?"

"Well," the younger of the two began. "You were acting kinda weird during dinner, I just wanted to check in."

"Oh, I'm fine- I'm fine," Isa answered, waving her hand at her sister. "I'm just really tired today, I'm not sure why..."

"Are you sure? If there's something up, you can talk to me."

"I know, I know I just..." she looked back into her room, her eyes drifting to her desk. A little cactus sat next to her father's botany book. A single orange petal from one of the flowers had fallen into the soil of the pot, quietly resting above the dirt. "I've been thinking... about things..." Luisa knew well of the night Isa created that cactus...

The night Mirabel was able to draw the true Isabella out, the imperfect, messy, and wild Isabella. The one who wasn't afraid to show how she felt about anything, nor speak what was on her mind. The one with a bit of a short temper, but was still unafraid to show her femininity and compassion. The one who grew to miss her baby sister.

"Hey, come here," Luisa embraced Isa in a warm hug, allowing her eldest sister to bury her face in her chest. "I miss her too..." The 2 stood in the doorway for a moment, both resisting the urge to cry, fearing the other would start in return. Isabela was the first to let go.

"Thank you," she looked up at her little sister. So tall and strong, even without her gift. "I-I'm gonna turn in for the night..."

"Okay, good night." Luisa tried to say, only for Isa to close the door before she could finish.

Isabella walked back to her bed and searched under her pillow for the item she hid from her sister. A royal blue crocheted flower, little yellow beads threaded in the middle. Mirabel always knew she liked blue more than lilac. Even when neither of their parents did.

Isabella stored this flower under her pillow ever since the fall of Casita, holding it as if it was her baby sister's hand. She cried to it at night, regretting every time she breathed the words-

"I hate you!"

"You're useless."

"Just get out of the way."

"I hate you!"

"You just mess everything up!"

"I hate you!"

"I hate you."

"I hate you-"

A tear slipped out of her eye. She never got to apologize. Never got a chance to truly thank Mirabel for allowing her to be her true self. She never got to say goodbye. This little flower was the only thing she had of her sister, and she couldn't stand it.

Hey everyone! Cedar again! Sorry for all the mini messages, but I just wanted to explain a little that I'm gonna be busy for a while so I had to upload tonight instead of tomorrow. I'll get next week's chapter done in time, it's already done, but I can't guarantee chapter 7, so early apologies just in case... Thank you so much and have an awesome day!