Fixing the Past

Chapter 14

Isabela and Luisa giddily walked up the hill to Casita, smiling widely when Bruno and Antonio came into view. The sun was setting and the lights from the town were lighting up. The project should be done soon, they had started painting hours ago-and the paint usually dried relatively fast. And the sand in Bruno's room shouldn't take too long to shovel...

"¡Hola familia!" Bruno said, walking up the 3 sisters. Luisa set Mirabel and Isabela down, greeting Bruno.

"¡Mama!" Antonio reached for Mirabel, who grabbed him and hugged him tightly, giving him a kiss.

"Hola Antonio, how are you?" Mirabel said, hugging him close. The boy simply giggled and clung to Mirabel.

"Did you guys have fun?" Bruno asked, adjusting his ruana. The 13 year old looked towards his sobrinas and sobrino. Isabela nodded happily, brushing a stray hair back.

"Yup! We went out to the outskirts of town and hung out there for a while." She moved towards Mirabel and Antonio and pinched the toddler's cheek. "What about you two?"

Bruno shrugged, sighing a bit. "We just walked around for a little while, nothing much."

"Hey, let's head in, dinner's probably ready," Luisa said, guiding the others in. All 5 of them walked into Casita, greeting the house happily. As they made their way to the dining room, Luisa made sure to keep the younger 3 distracted, sighing in relief as they successfully passed through the courtyard without them looking at the second floor. Isabela gestured that she'd be in the dining room in a moment, slipping off to the stairs.

Making her way up, she slipped off to the room that was next to the nursery. It was a plain door-the only thing differentiating it from the others was that it was painted a goldish color, Mirabel's name painted neatly on the top, and didn't have a door knob. Jiggling the door, she opened the door and stepped into the room.

Isabela smiled at the family's work. After they had learned how Mirabel felt about not having a room, they got to work on her new room. Casita had helped a lot, opening up an entirely new space for the girl. (The house obviously had a favorite, and the family knew it was Mirabel.)

The room was bigger than the nursery-something that they thanked Casita for, because Mirabel was far too big for that small room. The walls were painted pale yellow and a light blue, which complimented each other greatly. The family had hung paper butterflies from the ceiling, where a candle sat on the butterflies to provide light. In the corner was a large bed, king sized. It had her old bedding from the nursery; the family noticed how much she embroidered on the seat and decided to expand on it and dress her new bed in it.

Around the room was uniquely carved furniture. Opening the closet, Isabela saw that all of Mirabel's (new and old) clothes were placed in the wardrobe. She had a nice vanity that had her hair brushes and combs and lotions lined along the top, a small stool sitting in front of it. On the other side, she saw her sewing area. Her sewing machine was placed neatly on the table, and Mirabel's sewing supplies had been placed in draws and her fabrics on shelfs. Other miscellaneous decorations had been placed around, giving the room that 'Mirabel' feel.

Isabela looked around, nodding. This was good, Mirabel would love it! It just needed one more thing. With a wave of her hand, a tall cactus appeared next to the door, sitting neatly in the corner. A small blue flower sat on the top, topping it off. Happy with her work, she left the room, jogging down the stairs to the dining room. The family was seated, and Isabela slid into her seat.

"There you are! Where were you mija?" Julieta said, placing a roll onto Isabela's plate.

Isabela shrugged and picked up her fork. "Just...decorating. Adding one last touch," She smiled. Her mother quickly caught on and nodded in understanding.