sickening blame (on hold)

cracks.

a/n: hey readers, i'm sorry. this chapter was experiencing a glitch when i first uploaded it. so once i've published this, i hope you can read this chapter properly and see everything. again, sorry about the inconvenience! have fun reading. 

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The [h/c] haired male heads to the main hall. The opening space where everyone was gathering at. He squeezed through the crowd to find his family. There he saw them. Julieta's side of the family and Pepa's two kids. He waved them 'hello' and stood by them. Ignoring the fact that Camilo was hiding behind his sister.

The crowd began to calm down when the lights dimmed. The curtains slide open, revealing Antonio. Casita adjusts the lighting towards the male. That made him nervous. He fiddled with his fingers, feeling all eyes on him. Casita urges him to move by bouncing the floor tiles under him. He turned to his side, stretching his hand out towards Mirabel. She retracted back and shook her head. Saying that she can't. Afraid that she'll mess up the most important day for him. Actually, most likely for Abuela Alma.

However, Antonio urged her. His voice was laced with begging. His eyes narrowed in hope. The older cousin let out a sigh of defeat. She gave in to his pleads and walked towards him.

She gently took a grasp of his hand. Getting ready of herself to guide Antonio towards his door. Not only that, but the judging look of the audience. Especially Abuela Alma. Speaking of her, she had a surprised reaction upon seeing the younger's action.

A smile crept up on [Name]'s face. His hands clasped together and brought up under his chin. Deeply delighted to know his sweet little niece is still herself despite all the stories that he heard from Dolores about Mirabel. Stories of moments where Mirabel gets belittled and pushed aside by a certain old lady. Along with some villagers.

Even after all that, Mirabel still keeps up her positive attitude and continues to help others even without having a gift. [Name] sighed in relieved. What did this family do to earn her kindness? He thought. As he watched his dearest niece guide the boy, he remembered the time when he watched her walk down that same path.

With her white dress and little white bow in her curls. Mirabel was so excited and happy. Though, everyone knows what happens next. Poor young Mirabel didn't get her gift.

It was a very unfortunate day, of course. Other than some other events that happened.

[Name] got snapped out of his thoughts when a sudden scream and gasps of excitement rang into his ears. He turned his head upwards, seeing magical dusts lighting up Antonio's room. Creating a new door design. His eyes lit up watching something that hasn't been done for years. A smile crept up on his face unconsciously.

A new gifted Madrigal was born.

The party had moved into Antonio's jungle room. Meaning the house has been emptied out. Leaving [Name] alone. He wandered the house a little bit. His legs somehow wandered by Bruno's room. He took a short glance over to the door--even noticing  the evidently removed framed photos that was hung up on walls. He huffed. Turning over to graze his fingers the dull surface. He immediately covered the bottom part of his face with his hand as dust particles flew all around the atmosphere.  Now the male was annoyed. No one in this family bothered to clean this side of the house. He got the feeling that a certain elderly had given out orders to the Madrigal family to not to. He grunted.

Suddenly, [Name] felt a pair of eyes on him. Cautiously, he turned around to see the culprit. However, he didn't see anything. Well, more like he didn't see much. The area was too dark to capture anything yet it was visible. Other than that, he definitely caught something moving behind the wall in the corner of his eye. It looked like a sheet of fabric. A part of a clothing maybe, he assumed. Curiosity filled him and he began to take steps forward. Peeking by the wall. A creak was heard. His eyes snapped towards the sound. Seeing a painting on the all swinging close against the wall like a door. He knitted his brows as he walked over to it. Tilting his head in slight confusion, he began examining it.

As he reached his fingers close to the side of the painting's frame, cracks began to appear behind it. Spreading downwards. He watched it with horror in his eyes. The house began to shake as he followed the crack making it way to the first floor. He leaned over the wooden fence. Eyes meeting with his niece standing there alone in the middle of the room. He watched her ran up the stairs to follow the direction of the cracks. There she stood at the other side to his left. She seemed to be looking at something with a full fear expression. [Name] glances over to his right. Staring how the cracks lead up to the Madrigal's candle. It flickered weaker. That made the [h/c] haired worried about the future. He know what was going to happened.

After all, he saw it before.

[Name] bit his tongue and snapped his head towards Mirabel, rushing over to her. "Mirabel!" he called out. "Mirabel, are you alright!?" he exclaimed worriedly, putting his hands on her shoulders. He noticed how unbelievably fast her breathing was. Mirabel looked up at her uncle and gave him a hesitant nod. She flinches and hisses when she shifted her hand. The older figure averted his eyes to her injured hand and gently held it his. Carefully scanning the wound. He looked back up at the female with a serious expression. "We should find your mom and your Abuela,"