Encanto: The Next Generation

1: New Family

It's been 12 years since Mirabel left Casita and her family and moved to the US. It's fine, it's not like she fit in there anyway. But she couldn't help wondering if that night had been different.

"I will never be good enough for you." Mirabel said as she looked up from her trembling hands to Abuela. "No matter how hard I try. No matter how hard any of us tries." She said as the cracks came closer and closer. "Luisa will never be strong enough. Isabela will never be perfect enough- "

"I don't know why you didn't get a gift but that is no excuse for you to hurt this family. Get out." She said, pointing to the open door. Outside stood the rest of the family as well as the entire town. All watching.

"Fine." Mirabel said. "It's not like I'm wanted here anyway." and walked to the stairs to gather her things.

Now 12 years later it still hurts. Nobody tried to stop her, well except Julieta, Agustin, and Antonio. They tried to make her stay and Luisa and Isabela looked away, not meeting her eye, but they had tears in their eyes and fear etched into their faces.

"Mama, mama!" Laura screamed as she ran into the kitchen, nearly knocking Mirabel over and pulling her out of her thoughts.

"What is it, Laura?" Mirabel asked, trying to focus on chopping the vegetables and not her fingers.

"Papa's trying to get me!!" She screamed with a playful urgency.

"You'll never escape little firecracker!" Andrew said as he ran into the room. Bending down to pick up the little devil and spinning her around causing her to laugh. After they both became dizzy Laura was placed in her seat at the dinner table.

"Okay food is ready!" Mirabel yelled from the kitchen coming out with a bowl of salad, homemade bread, and drinks all somehow in her two small, but strong, arms.

At bedtime:

"Hey mama can you tell me a bedtime story?"

"Hmm... I don't really have any good stories that I haven't told you before."

"Thats okay just tell me an old one!"

"Like what?"

"Oooh tell me about Casita and the amaaazing madrigals!" She said doing jazz hands and drawing out the A.

Umm okay, if that's what you want little firecracker," Mirabel said pulling the blankets up to cover her daughters' shoulders. "Once I had a big family, full of aunts, uncles, cousins, and sisters. And it was a tradition in my family that on every child's 5th birthday they get a gift. And not just any gift. This was the kind of gift that was impossible for anyone else to get. My cousin Dolores could hear a pin drop from the other side of town. She knew everybody's secrets and was really bad at keeping them." Mirable whispered the last part making Laura giggle.

"She had two brothers Camilo and Antonio. Camilo could shape-shift and look like anyone he wanted. He used his gift to pull the craziest pranks on the rest of us. Antonio could speak to animals. When he got his gift, all the animals from the jungle followed him to his room.

Your aunt Luisa was given the gift of strength. She could move the mountains and pick up entire houses like they were nothing but apples.

Then there was my other sister, Isabela. She was perfect. She could grow flowers with the flick of a wrist. When she got her gift, the entire town was pink with all the flowers that she grew everywhere. But she had a secret. Isabela did not want to be perfect. So, one day she made something unexpected. And she grew thousands of new, sharp, and colorful plants. There were purples, greens, blues and yellows. Not a single rose in sight. And for the first time since she got her gift, she was truly happy.

My mother could heal any injury with a meal. Pepa could change the weather depending on her mood. And Bruno could see the future. One day he saw a terrible future and disappeared so that the person in the vision could stay safe."

"Mama, will I get a gift?" Laura asked as she started closing her eyes.

"Maybe, we'll see."

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