The Lost Miracle

Chapther 24: Miraboo

If there was anything that Agustin could do, it was make the hot, comforting aguapanela that each of his daughters always loved. The smell blended perfectly with Isabela's constant scent of flora. It warmed the rough hands of Luisa after a tiring day of hard work. And usually, it would comfort Mirabel during the talks of her worth.

"Drink up," Agustin told his daughter before she took the porcelain cup in her hand, the blue designs dancing along the smooth white. "So," Agustin began. "When did you want to see your mother?" Mirabel stopped the hot drink before it could reach her lips.

"Does she want to see me?" She asked, her irises being sliced by the golden wire of her glasses as she looked up at her father.

"Corazon, of course she does!" He held her shoulders. "She's been missing you for so long- We both have! I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw you this morning. But you need to go see your mother. She misses you more than I can tell. She's... she's become different," Agustin tried to tell the truth all while hiding it from his daughter. She deserved to hear that her mother missed her, not how she began talking to herself ever since she left.

"So none of you are mad?"

"You're happy, you're healthy, and you're safe. You've even fallen in love..." Agustin nodded to Alejandro, who stood outside the window talking to Bruno. "Obviously, I'm furious." Mirabel giggled at her father. She inhaled and breathed out through the 'o' of her lips.

"Okay," She breathed in and out again. "I think I'm ready..."

"You think or you know?" Alejandro asked from the doorway. Mirabel walked up to him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I just want you to be sure that you're ready for this. It's an intense moment, if you need a few more hours or even another day..?"

"Amor, I know. I know I can do this." Breathe in... Breathe out... She felt as if her lungs would burst if she filled it with any more air. She walked out of the kitchen. Alejandro watched as she walked away, her curls bouncing with each determined step she took.

"Alejandro?" The young man turned around to Mirabel's father, a flash of nervousness in him. But, when Agustin offered him a cup of the aguapanela, he quietly breathed in relief. "Welcome to the Madrigals." He said with a smile. Andro accepted the warm drink with a smiling 'gracias.' "And," Agustin began before following his daughter. "Thank you, for taking care of her."

"Sir, please," Andro replied. "She's the one who saved me."

•••

Breathe in... Breathe out... Mirabel walked up the stairs to her parents room. This room she was not all too familiar with. If she ever needed water or a small snack in her youthful years, she would simply get it herself. If she had a nightmare her parents would hear and come to her. Breathe in... If she ever needed anything, her parents were sure to keep her happy. Breathe out... Breathe in...

But today- Breathe out...- right now, it was her time to go to her mother. To comfort her mother. To see her mother. Breath in... Should she knock or just walk in? Breath out... Knocking would, obviously, be the polite thing- Breath in...- but did she really want to waste time being polite when she missed her mother that much? Breath out... Should she say something? Breath in... 'Hey mami, it's your long lost daughter, what's new with you?' Breath out... No, that's just stupid. Breathe i-

The front door opened. Julieta walked in, her eyes drawn to the floor from the tiredness of the morning's work.

Breathe in...

Breathe in...

She wasn't breathing.

She hadn't noticed the two men at the foot of the stairs until her eyes met their shadows. Julieta looked up, recognizing her husband but not the young man.

Breathe.

Just breathe.

BREATHE!

Forget breathing.

"Mama..." Julieta looked up. Her eyes followed the girl. No, the woman. That was a young woman, a beautiful young woman with a gorgeous voice. But it wasn't her. Probably some hallucination. She was the crazed woman who spoke to her dead house. She knew how the town spoke of her, even her own familia sometimes. But that voice... the sound of her nena calling her mama... The delusional thought filled her with joy. "Mama..?" she looked at the girl descending down the stairs.

Not breathing.

I'm not breathing.

She's not saying anything and I'm not breathing.

It was like looking at a mirror that wasn't quite right. It was Julieta, but her hair was short. It was Julieta, but she was wearing her husband's glasses.

That's no mirror. Julieta thought. That's not me. That's her.

"M-Mir..." A sob. Then another. Reminiscent of a toddler's cry, gasping for air at almost every second, her face turning red, and screaming. So much screaming. Mirabel hugged her. One little hug can do something by doing nothing at all. The hug didn't stop Julieta from crying. It may have actually made it worse, dragging Mirabel down to the floor with her. "Mir-Mirab-bel..?" A gasp for air between each syllable.

"Yes, ma-" She finally breathed back in. But it wasn't a normal breath. It was shaky and wobbled her lungs, for Mirabel was crying too. "Mama-" They both sat on the floor, crying into each other's shoulders.

"Miraboo-" Julieta's laugh even sounded like a sob, but it was a laugh, it truly was, it had just been so long since she had done so, it was as if her body had forgotten how laughter was meant to sound like. "Oh, Miraboo-boo..."

Agustin ran to them, falling to the brick ground and knocking his knees on the cold floor, wrapping his arms around them. "Our Miraboo's back..." he whispered.

Alejandro watched. She was so happy. He had seen her this happy before, maybe even more so. So why did he feel a hand grabbing his guts, trying to rip it out. It couldn't be jealousy, could it? The fact that his amor could stay here? Be happy without him? What would he do without her? But this wasn't about him. She was happy, so he was happy. He was happy. He was happy that she was.

Mira looked up at Andro, their eyes meeting. Those lovely eyes... Everytime she looked in them, it was as if she had drunk a boiling drink, her heart warming at the sight. Looking at his eyes was the same as walking through a forest in the autumn at golden hour, the sun shining its perfect rays against the naked brown branches. The look in those eyes could make her day. Mira held out her hand and beckoned him to come. He followed, a mariposa to néctar dulce. The flower that was Mira pulled him down into the hug, truly joining the family.