Rosa Madrigal (Encanto) -Completed

Accepting my Gift

It's been six years since I'd gotten my gift. I'd hidden all of the mirrors around my room except for my wall. I didn't want to lose my connection to the outside. I barely left my room because every time I did, I'd get made fun of or hear scared gasps. The side-eye that I would get from Abuela didn't help at all. My sisters were always supportive of me, always making Camilo stop tormenting me when he was. Camilo liked to turn into me and portray me as this scary person with ghostly eyes and raggedy clothes, making up scary stories that I was a witch. Anytime I was alone, I wore my hair to cover my eyes, having long bangs and leaving my long hair down in waves. I tried to distract from my face so having my hair down worked, for the most part. 

It was just after Mirabel's ninth birthday, my fifteen-year-old sister Isabela was helping me in my room. Or well, I was doing her hair as she talked about Abuela. "I just don't get it, Rosa! After my quince, Abuela has been all over me about making the family proud and not taking a step out of line. It's like she wants me to be perfect!" Isa angrily gestures with her hands and grumbles at me. I lightly tug her hair. "Isa, you're making this difficult. I don't want to hurt you." My worry shows as my face contorts; eyebrows furrowed. Isa's shoulders move as she lightly laughs at me. "Rosa, it won't hurt, I promise. Are you almost done? I want to see!" I giggle at her and slightly pat her head. "All done." 

She races to the mirror on my wall, running her hands over the double French braids I did on her. "Good job, Rosa! Just like I taught you, I'm so proud." She places her hand on her chest in a joking manner, batting her eyes with fake tears. A loud giggle escapes me, and I run up to her, hugging her around the waist. I pull back though and cringe, pulling my hair from my mouth. "Rosa," Isa tugs the hair from my face and puts it behind my ears. "I wish you wouldn't wear your hair like that. You don't need to hide yourself behind your hair." I furrow my brows again. "Isabela, you know what the townsfolk say. They think I'm....." She shushes me, bringing her finger to my mouth. 

"No, Rosa. I won't let you hide anymore. You are so beautiful. You are a flower, a bud that is still blooming. Why hide your petals?" This time I look up to her, confused. "What?" We part and she brings her hands to my face, thumbs slightly rubbing my cheeks. "Rosa, you are just starting in this world. Your eyes shouldn't be the reason you don't see it. Use them as your shields, your way of telling people, 'this is me, Rosa Evelina Madrigal'!" I giggle loudly as she theatrically jumps on my bed and announces my name. A warm feeling ignites in my chest and I rub it slightly. "Rosa, you okay?" Isa climbs down from the bed and puts her hands on my shoulders in concern. I watch in amazement as her beautiful pink shines brightly and engulfs the room. I see my own silver mix with hers and it turns into a mix of rose gold. 

"Rosa.... Is this what you see?" My eyes turn up to Isa and see that she's looking around in amazement as well. "Isa, you can see it too? You're shining so brightly right now, our colors are mixing!!" An excited scream escapes me as I tackle Isa in a hug, her arms going around my shoulders to return the embrace. "Wow, I never thought... When you said you could see our auras, our spirits... " I laugh again. "Well, of course, silly! Everyone gets their own shade. Some are only slightly different than others but usually, the aura is surrounding the person. Almost like a shadow, it lies just outside their skin. But other times, like this, when you feel so strongly, your aura flares up like a fire, consuming more space rather than just lingering on your skin." Slowly as Isa calmed down, her face dampens. 

"I can't see it anymore. What happened?" She frowns and looks to me. Behind me, Casita blows a soft breeze and I turn around to listen. "Casita says you can only see it when we're touching and feeling a big emotion, like just now. But it's only...temporary?" She nods, her brow furrowing. "Wow, that is so cool. I wonder what Abuela would say-" Furiously, I shake my head and use my arms to motion an x motion. "No, Isabela, please don't tell Abuela! She is already disappointed; I don't want her to hate me more!" I start to pace as my hand runs through my bangs in an attempt to calm myself, slightly panicking.  "Ro- Nothing will happen, she would want to know." She tries to calm me down by bringing me into a hug, but I slightly freak out, grabbing her hands. "I don't want to be like Tio Bruno. Please, Isa."