Encanto Fanfic: The Wonder & the Miracle

When Mila Met Chika

Mila was in her room, looking through her journal for ideas as to what kind of invention she had to create. She found all kinds of ideas in her journal, some which were still in the phase of calculating and hypothesizing, in other words, revising.
"What could it be?" Mila asked herself.
Mila had found answers to many of Bruno's visions, many of them having to do with pointing out the accountability of whoever the vision was for, which many did not take into account, and well as theorizing how to make the good ones come true and prevent the bad ones as best as they could.
"This is one of those few times I just have no idea what to do, Chika." Mila looked at her dog.
Chika walked closer to Mila and licked her hand. Mila smiled a little and pet her poodle. Somehow, her canine comrad just always knew what Mila needed, sometimes before she even knew she needed. Ever since Mila rescued her as a puppy, she never felt alone.
Every scientist needed an assistant, and Mila had no luck getting anyone in the family to take the job. Even Mirabel was too nervous to get close to her experiments. Mila thought back to that day; she remembered it as if it were yesterday.

Four years ago...
It was a Saturday afternoon, and Mila was out on a walk. She carried a little basket with her with some snacks, and of course she had her invention satchel to collect plant samples for some of her experiments. Sure, she could've tried getting some from Isabela, but even if they did get along, all she ever grew were roses, flor de mayo, and basically flowers of symmetrical perfection. Mila wanted some natural native plants to work on, and maybe find a nice natural flower native to the jungle that her mother, aunts, and even Abuela might like.
Mila often looked for new materials to study. She was curious, which was what contributed to her being so smart. When she wasn't with Mirabel, it got lonely. And since Mila skipped a couple of grades due to her superior IQ, it meant they weren't in the same class, or even in the same school. Mila had to attend school in a completely different building with classmates closer to her level, and even there, classes were too easy for her. It didn't exactly equal popularity for her, not just because the other kids were older than her. Even if anyone did bother to talk to her, it was to ask her what her gift was or why she never used it.
Many times, Mila longed for a friend. Someone who would love her with or without a gift, and wouldn't try to tell her what to do with her gift. Mirabel loved Mila either way, but even she tried to convince Mila to use her gift. But, Mila took a stand, and she was going to stick with it. From her perspective, it was a battle between her and Abuela's expectations, and she wasn't going to give in to Abuela or anyone else telling her who to be or what to do with her life. And today, Mila's wish for a friend finally came true.
Mila had just managed to find some beautiful flowers and wild cacti growing in the jungle, when she heard the sound of someone crying. Mila listened for it. It sounded like... howling and whimpering. She followed it until she came to a bush with thorny branches, and in it, she saw... a puppy!
It was a little brown poodle puppy with curly hair, and she was trapped in the bush, whimpering and crying for help.
"Oh, you poor perrita." Mila said, kneeling down. But the puppy seemed scared. "Shh. Don't be scared. I won't hurt you."
Mila took out some clippers and gloves she had in her bag. Being a girl of many smarts, Mila was prepared for just about anything. She put on the gloves so she could safely move the thorny branches, and she used the clippers to cut an opening in the bush to safely get the puppy out. But, the puppy wouldn't come out from the bush. She was shaking in fear.
Mila took off her gloves and reached out her hand for the puppy to sniff, but the puppy only scooched back farther. So, Mila reached into her snack basket and pulled out some papaya slices and held one out to the puppy.
"Tienes ambre, perrita?" Mila asked. "Are you hungry?"
The puppy sniffed for the papaya, and Mila slowly pulled it outside the bush.
"You can have it if you just come over here." Mila sang gently.
The puppy sniffed again, and slowly started to come out. And the puppy ate the papaya out from Mila's hand, and Mila gently pet the puppy's head.
Mila looked at the puppy's condition. She was pretty dirty, and it was possible she might've had scratches from the thorns that Mila couldn't see because of that. The puppy didn't have a collar either, and no on seemed to be around looking for her. So, Mila took out a clean towel and carefully picked up the puppy and took her to the Casita. The rest of the family was out helping the village with their gifts. Except for Bruno, Felix, Mirabel, and Augustine.
Mila gave the puppy a bath and then took her to the kitchen, where she got her a bowl of food and some water.
"I think I'll name you... Chika." Mila said, petting the dog's head. "Now I just gotta convince Mami and Papi to let me keep you."
Chika started sniffing around the casita, Mila followed to make sure she didn't have an accident anywhere. She knew Abuela would kill her if she found out a dog did its business in anyone's room. But, the puppy ran around and started barking when it saw Bruno coming out from his room.
Bruno jumped in surprise when he saw the little pooch running towards him, wagging her tail and wanting to play.
"Where did you come from?" Bruno asked the puppy. That was when Mila came in and picked up her puppy, only for the pup to lick her face.
"Hola, Papi." Mila said.
"Mila, where did that puppy come from?" Bruno asked.
"I rescued her from the jungle." Mila said. "Can I keep her? Por favor?"
Bruno wasn't sure what to say; Mila hardly to never asked for anything, so it was hard to say no to her, but he didn't know about letting her have a pet. So, he told her they should wait until Alicia returned and make sure Abuela would also be okay with a dog in the Casita. For the time being, Chika could stay.
Later, the family arrived home for dinner. Camilo saw that Mila was cooking something with meat and eggs.
"Mmm, that looks delicioso." Camilo said, taking a taste.
"Um... Camilo, that's dog food you just ate." Mila said, and Camilo spat it out immediately, to Mila's amusement.
That was when Camilo noticed Chika sitting nearby, staring at Mila as she prepared her bowl of food.
"When did we get a puppy?" Camilo asked.
"That's Chika." Mila said. "I found her earlier, and I'm taking care of her now so hopefully Mami and Papi will let me keep her.
Of course, Abuela was skeptical about having a dog in the house, but Alicia remembered having a dog herself as a child. She and Bruno knew Mila was responsible and very smart. So, they agreed to give a trial run. If Mila could handle taking care of Chika for one full month, then she could stay. If Mila couldn't, they had to find Chika a new home.
So, Mila worked really hard every day. She fed Chika, gave her water, got her a harness and leash to take her for walks everyday, housebroke her, made chew toys with a little help from Mirabel, and even taught her some tricks.
Before they knew it, that one month turned into two months, and Alicia and Bruno came to Mila with a surprise.
Alicia held in her hands... a green collar with a tag with Chika's name and address on it.
Mila put the collar onto her dog and said, "Welcome to the familia, Chika Madrigal."
Present Day...
"I can't imagine how I ever got along in this world without you, girl." Mila said, scratching the dog's ears.
Suddenly, Mila heard shouting down the hall.
"Have you lost your mind?!" Isabela's voice shouted.
Uh oh. Mila thought. She immediately got up and left her room to find out what was going on.