El Regalo De Música - An Encanto Story

Un Gusto De Miel

- A Taste Of Honey -

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊ ♫ ❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

As the morning sun rose over the sprawling mountains of Encanto, Sebastián groaned and stirred awake in his bed that was cluttered with sheets of unfinished music from the night before. The sun's rays shone through the crack of his bedside window's curtains, striking him in the face and causing him to scrunch his eyes in annoyance. As he slowly sat up, he reached over for his glasses on the nightstand beside him and placed them on, his eyes adjusting to their once blurry surroundings before getting up and dragging his feet across his instrument cluttered floor, careful not to trip over anything.

As he freshened up in the bathroom, he opted for his usual attire: his black guayabera, brown leather vest, beige dress pants, and brown heel boots. As we walked downstairs and outside into the backyard, he saw that his family was already having breakfast at the dining table Luisa carried out.

Sebastián grabs an empty plate and loads it up with two arepas, an empanada, and 3 pans de queso before taking a seat at the nearest available spot. He slouched forward in his chair and picked at his food before taking a bite of his arepa, downing it with a sip of orange juice. At the head of the table, Alma stands up to make her morning announcement. Sebastián wasn't entirely paying attention the whole time, nor did he have a reason to.

As the family dispersed and set off to do their daily routines, Sebastián was stopped by his mamá, Julieta, the moment he walked into the kitchen.

Julieta: "Mijo, are you okay? You were hardly paying any attention to your Abuela's speech."

Julieta tenderly took her son's face into her hands and affectionately stroked his cheek with her thumb.

Sebastián: "Yeah, I'm okay, Mamá. I'm just... I'm trying to get my latest piece done. I'm not even halfway done with it, and I started it months ago."

A somber sigh escaped Julieta's lips, and she gave her son a weak smile, leaning in to give him a loving kiss on the cheek.

Julieta: "Please, don't overwork yourself, cariño. I know your music means everything to you, the family, and the Encanto, but your well-being is very important, especially to me."

Sebastián leaned into his mother's loving touch.

Sebastián: "I'll try, Mamá. Ya me voy, I love you."

He gave Julieta a quick kiss on the cheek before shifting out of the kitchen and into the courtyard where some of the locals were helping with the decorations for Antonio's ceremony tonight. He saw his youngest sister, Mirabel, carrying in an overly sized decoration basket, most likely a delivery from Osvaldo, in through the foyer. She accidentally bumps into a local carrying a wooden bench and nearly stumbled when Luisa ran past her.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind envelops the entire courtyard, the light of day disappearing and replaced by clouded darkness as a tornado swirled violently around Tía Pepa - a clear indication of stress. The flowers that were once neatly bloomed and accessorized around the courtyard were blown away by the force of the wind as Pepa paced around in circles.

Pepa: "My baby's night has to be perfect
and it's not perfect, and people are
going to be coming and nothing's
ready, the whole town will be here -"

Félix: Pepi, Pepi, Pepita! You're tornado-ing the flowers! The flowers!"

As if on cue.

Isabela: "Did somebody say "flowers?"

Isabela gracefully made her appearance as she elegantly swung down into the courtyard in a throng of flowery vines, earning a round of applause & cheers from onlookers and admirers alike. Sebastián stood by Mirabel's side and saw the annoyed, irritated look on her face.

Sebastián: "She sure knows how to make an entrance."

Mirabel scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Mirabel: "Ugh, more like demand attention everywhere she goes."

As Isabela handed Pepa a bouquet of flowers, she flicked her hair across Mirabel's face, causing flowers to sprout and mask her face before falling off. Isabela scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Isabela: "A little sisterly advice: if you weren't always trying too hard, maybe you wouldn't be in the way."

Sebastián cringed at her seemingly sugar-coated insult, trailing right behind them and trying to intervene.

Mirabel: "Actually, Isa, this is called helping. And I'm not in the way, you are!"

Mirabel wasn't paying attention to where she was going and nearly collided onto a wall, but Sebastián quickly pulled her back, causing her to yelp and giggle bashfully before scurrying to the kitchen. Sebastián turned his attention to Isabela, and he saw that she was already halfway toward the door.

Sebastián: "Isa, what was that all about?"

Sebastián managed to catch up to her the moment she stepped outside of Casita's front door.

Isabela: "I was just telling her the truth, Sebas. She needed to hear it at some point."

Sebastián stepped right in front of Isabela, halting her right in her tracks and causing a few flowers to sprout in her hair - a clear indication of surprise.

Sebastián: "But that doesn't mean you have to treat her like garbage. She just wants to do her part like the rest of the family."

Isabela rolled her eyes and pushed right past her hermano mayor, but he wasn't done with her.

Isabela: "I don't have time for this, Sebas, go make music or whatever it is that you do!"

Sebastián: "Don't act like you can just walk away from this conversation, Isabela Madrigal!"

But Isabela simply ignored him, and Sebastián watched as she stormed off, her flower vines trailing behind her in frustration. He sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the family dynamics pressing down on him.

With a heavy heart, he turned around on his heel and walked back inside Casita, offering as much assistance with the preparations as he could, which mostly included playing background music as motivation.

Hopefully, tonight, everything will go smoothly...

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊ ♫ ❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

- To Be Continued -