𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 || ⁱ. ᵐᵃᵈʳⁱᵍᵃˡ

seven // religion is but a suggestion

note ; idk if this should be classified as a warning but this does mention church and religion and all that. i havent been to church in a while too so i quite literally have 0 memories as to what happens in these masses. bare with me lmao i have trauma

          IT WAS MAYBE. . .two? Three days? Since the mess you and Isabela decided to create in Casita's kitchen.

          Those two, three days you've spent hanging out with the girl in God-knows how many hours straight. Sometimes you found yourself almost neglecting your chores altogether, but it really was a subject of focusing on the 'almost'. The absolute death stare that your mother gave you the day you did the dishes like two hours late? Eugh, just recalling it is enough to make your entire soul shudder.
         
          But whatever, it's in the past. In all honesty your mother should be thanking Isabela for her good influence. Ever since you hung out with her you found yourself wanting to finish your chores earlier—right after that incident, at least—just for the sake of seeing her without any distractions. It was embarrassing how easy she's able to just take over your life and your thoughts like that.
         
          Isabela would like this dress, Isabela would like this pie, she'd love this book, she'd love this song, she'd adore this painting. Your brain was consumed with nothing but Isabela this, and Isabela that. Isabela Isabela Isabela Isa—
         
          "Hey. Y/N." Reality crashes back into you like a horse-kick to the chest, blinking away your distraction as you turn to a curious Dolores to your right. "You okay?"
         
          "Huh?" You found yourself looking back down to see the large brown gloves you currently had on holding a small clump of dirt with a plant sticking out, a shadowy outline of yourself and your hat on the dirt you were on reminding you exactly where you were and— oh yeah you were out gardening with Dolores. How long had you been holding onto this plant? "O—oh yeah no, I'm fine, I'm fine. I think." You shake your head, sidestepping to get yourself at a better angle before you could continue the process of replanting, "Just distracted."
         
          "Now where have I heard that before." The girl teases, currently patting down on the dirt surrounding her own work. It was the growing signs of what will soon be a large and healthy tomato plant, and she looked awfully proud of it. She should be, in comparison to last week this was more than a step up.
         
          "Yeah." You found yourself smiling as she did so widely, shoveling small clumps of dirt back into place to fill the small empty spaces of the hole back up.
         
          The rest of the work went smoothly after that, the two of you making quick progress while laughing quietly at small talk and random tidbits of chit chat. After the lunch spent at Casita, not only did your friendship with Isabela grow, you found yourself getting closer with Dolores as well. Not to the same extent as with the former's, definitely not, but you two were hopefully, probably, definitely past that awkward 'acquaintances' phase now. It was nice. You provided her gardening tips and she provided you with gossip. A nice little transactional relationship that was built on the knowledge of things neither of you should know about. Fun.
         
          "You know, with less than literal days until your engagement party I'd expect you to be doing literally anything but gardening." The two of you were seated at a small two-person table outside the house of the farmer who pretty much owned this entire plot of land everybody volunteers to help farm at. It belongs to the entire Encanto, of course, but the kind, middle-aged, work-worn woman pretty much laid claim to official ownership seeing as she did most of the work and her house was literally built right next to it.
         
          The house itself was no different to pretty much everyone else's in the village. It was open, colorful and homey. Outside it was a small stone porch with an extended wooden roof above, where you and Dolores and a bunch of other resting volunteers chatted and hung about away from the harsh afternoon heat. Days like these were sweaty and tiring, but it was spent doing good work, so there was at least that.
         
          "Well, we did agree on 'everyone helps out', and I don't think I should be getting special treatment just because I'm about to get married." Dolores giggles as she fiddles with the brim of her sunhat she had set down on the table, tracing the edges with her pointer and thumb pinching it. "Plus, we're pretty ahead of schedule."
         
          "Touché, touché," You accepted her answer with an exasperated sigh, waving away dramatically as though that would help shoo away the subject. "It is your party, I suppose."
         
          "Exactly."
         
          The two of you fell into a comfortable silence pretty much right after that, despite the glaring heat and insufferable reaches of the sun you were still able to enjoy the cool breeze that perfectly balanced it. It was rare to get breezes that cool these days, and you didn't at all mind it.
         
          Alongside the breeze and the nice view of the seemingly never-ending fields surrounded by the forests and mountains, noise was of a needed essence to tie everything together neatly. Chirping birds, the faintest sounds of running stream, wind whistling through branches and emerald crowns of leaves, the chatter coming from everyone else that were anywhere near where you two currently sat—it really was the perfect conditions to take a break.
         
          You let your eyes close for a moment as you leaned back in your seat, the top of your head, maybe just right before it reached your eyebrows, peeked from underneath the extended roof. There you could feel the sun slowly heating up your forehead, and you decided it was not worth the risk getting a weird and downright embarrassing sunburn, so you sat back up properly. Opening your eyes, you had a suggestion ready to tell Dolores but stop as you see many of the others looking somewhere behind you and to your right. The Madrigal eldest looked just as curious.
         
          Deciding that you were in fact gonna be a victim of peer pressure you turned in your seat, swinging an arm behind the back of the wooden chair and looking.
         
          Somewhere in the distance where the large, paved path that split the crops in the middle ended in an archway and it joined with the rest of the Encanto, was a small gathering of people. Standing, laughing with her hands on her hips was the woman you were just—sort of—talking about. From this distance you couldn't see much but you did see her long black hair tied lowly into a ponytail that hung off her back like a small black curly waterfall shadowed by a large hat. Talking to her was Abuela Alma, in her own usual maroon attire with a similar headpiece. They looked to be having a lighthearted conversation.
         
          Right beside the matron, however, was one that you found to be your subject of interest. Bright yellow with orange highlights sticking out like a sore thumb from the scenery's green and brown was none other than Isabela Madrigal herself, dawning a large and quite intimidating sunhat that had various plants you couldn't name sticking out of it stylishly. You think. You couldn't see much of it really, being so far away and all, but you were sure that it looked at least decent. You could've sworn there was a cactus somewhere in there though.
         
          She didn't look to be part of the main conversation, but then again you couldn't be so sure as, like you've mentioned, distance was your biggest enemy right now. You fought off the urge to make a fool out of yourself just for the sake of catching her attention.
         
          "Y/N, you're staring again."
         
          "Again?" As soon as you said that in the panicked tone that you ended up using you caught the exact moment Dolores' eyes lit up in amusement as you turned just as quickly, the girl now holding onto her hat with both hands and grinning widely. Huh, now that you looked at her head-on and your head was sobering up quicker than it usually did when you were actually drunk you could see how different she looked with her large bun at the bottom of her to accommodate the hat. She looked great, just out of place in your mind.
         
          But that wasn't the point!
         
          "You know, we never actually got to finish that conversation of ours." You watch as she continues fiddling with the hat, running it along the surface of the table a couple of times before looking at you again with her grin only growing. "You should tell her. Your heart's racing like crazy just looking at her."
         
          The closest sound she could make to a snort that wouldn't burst her ear drums came from her, "Plus, don't you think that just staring at her from afar's kinda creepy?"
         
          "Oh and listening to people's heartbeats somehow isn't. . !" You started off with your volume raising until you realized who you were talking to, simmering down to a near hiss through gritted teeth as you crossed your arms like a pouting child. And of course, likewise, she treated you like one. The grin grew condescending and slightly mocking—which was something you never thought possible on Dolores' face, yet here you were—as she giggled, placing the hat back on her head before the façade slips and she's back to her innocent self. "But seriously. Can you at least promise me that you'll at least try to tell her?"
         
          Your own little front of your bottom lip poking out disappeared gradually as well, replaced with a longing sigh as you found yourself looking back at where Isabela and Abuela Alma were now leaving. Her bright orange and yellow self soon disappeared into a muddled shape in the distance as they walked further and further away back into the village, obscuring so much a part of you was almost convinced that she was never even there to begin with.
         
          "Fine." You sighed again, turning back to the table as you exhaled lightly, "I'll try."