The Journey

Vamos a bailar

The entire thing was only a dream. Mirabel was lying on the floor in her house, saying Puedo hacer que quiero hacer in her sleep.

"Wake up, mija," Joaquín's voice rang out.

Mirabel continued to chant in her sleep, although she moved her head a little.

"Come on, Mirabel—open your eyes," Imelda's voice rang out.

Mirabel opened her eyes to find herself back in her house, and Joaquín, Imelda, and Ramiro were looking down at her. Ramiro had arrived some time ago to take Mirabel to the cumbia festival before knowing about her coma. There were also two paramedics whom Imelda had called after finding her daughter unconscious.

"Mirabel, are you okay?" Imelda asked.

"Sí, Mami, I'm okay," Mirabel replied.

"Good because I have to remember to get that bookshelf fixed," Joaquín said.

The two paramedics helped Mirabel sit up.

"Well, mija, the bump on your head isn't very bad," the first paramedic said. "It looks like you didn't get hit very hard. People tend to fall into a coma after a big blow on the head."

"What got you to pass out?" the other paramedic asked.

"Well, after that book conked me on the head, the ceiling fan made me very dizzy," Mirabel recalled. "The next thing I knew, I was strolling down the Yellow Brick Road in the land of Oz."

"Sounds like you've been dreaming the entire time you were in that coma," Ramiro said. "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine," Mirabel said as the paramedics helped her on her feet.

"Well, mija, it's safe to say that you're good to go," the second paramedic smiled.

"Take care of yourself," the first paramedic said.

"Gracias," Mirabel smiled.

"Muchas gracias, señores," Joaquín smiled at the paramedics.

The paramedics left the house and drove off in their ambulance.

Imelda looked down and said, "Well, Mira, I can see you've really been wanting to look good for your first official date."

Mirabel smiled and looked down at her ensemble only to find that she was actually wearing the ruby chanclas, the ones worn by la Bruja Malvada del Este. "Algo así," she smiled.

"Well, since you're fit as a fiddle, you should get going," Joaquín said. "You're already 20 minutes late."

Mirabel checked her watch to find that it was already 6:50pm. Ramiro was supposed to take her to the festival at 6:30, and her coma had held them up. "Okay," she said. She hugged and kissed her parents.

"¿Lista, Mirabel?" Ramiro asked.

"Lista, Ramiro," Mirabel smiled. She told her parents, "Hasta luego."

"Have fun, mija," Imelda smiled.

"Take care of my daughter," Joaquín told Ramiro.

"Lo prometo," Ramiro said. He led Mirabel to his car and opened a door, letting her in, and once he closed it, he got into the driver's seat before driving off.

At la Festival de Cumbia, everyone was having a great time, dancing to different songs. The coma holdup made it hard for Ramiro to find a parking space, but he and Mirabel didn't care. They were just excited to get dancing.