Where I Belong

The Red Pandas

I knew what was coming with the portal, but that didn’t make it any easier. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. And to top it all off, someone else was dragged into this nutty adventure! After a while, we were spat out the portal and landed on something hard, “Ow…”

“Is everyone ok?” I asked, helping Maria up.

“Yeah, we’re ok.” Mirabel said.

“Ugh! Why didn’t you let go?! First Manolo and Maria and now you! At least I got Paimon’s consent before she was thrusted into this!”

“Fabi, it’s really ok–” Mirabel tried to say.

“No, you don’t understand! I have no control over this stupid rock. I don’t know when we’re going home, let alone when we’ll see our families again. Not to mention you just fixed things with your family and suddenly you disappear?! Your family is gonna have a heart attack when they realize you’re gone!”

Mirabel’s eyes went wide, “Oh…”

“Yeah. You can see why I’m freaking out!”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Manolo said, “We’ve talked about this already. We just have to stick together.”

I sighed, “I know, I know, I just… I didn’t want anyone else dragged into this.” I looked at Mirabel, but I couldn’t read her expression, “I’m sorry, Mirabel. I should’ve told you the truth sooner.”

“No, don’t be sorry. If anything, it’s my fault.” She said, rubbing her arm shyly, “I didn’t want my awesome, weird, friends to leave yet.” She smiled, “But hey. I’ve never been outside the Encanto before. I’ll think of this as a vacation until we can go home. Time away from my family can do me some good.”

I smiled, unsure of everything. It felt a little weird to be having fun on this adventure when I was so scared. But I was glad everyone else saw this in a positive way.

“Speaking of the Mora Stone, what does it look like now?” Paimon asked, “Did it change again?”

“Oh, right.” I took the Stone out of my pocket and the purple gem spot got bigger, “Does this really change anything?”

“I guess not?” Maria said, “We still don’t even know what happens when it fully turns into a diamond.”

“We-We can’t worry about this right now. We need to figure out where we are.” I looked up and my eyes went wide. There were… modern day buildings around us, “Uh, oh.”

“What is…” Mirabel and the others looked up and froze, “Wh-Wh-Where are we?” Great, now it’s their turn to panic.

“Ok, listen. I don’t know where we are just yet, but I do know we’re, uh, in the future.”

“The future?” Manolo asked, “What do you mean the future?”

“So…” I pointed to Manolo, Maria, and Mirabel, “You guys live in the 1900s.” I pointed at Paimon, “I don’t know what time period you're from, but it’s sure as heck not this. The world I’m from is like… a hundred years in the future, the 2020s. B-But please don’t freak out! I will be your guide. Just stick with me and I’ll do my best to answer any questions. Ok?” 

The four of them nodded slowly, their faces clearly nervous, “Good. Let’s just walk slowly. I’ll figure out where we are soon, I promise.” I seriously had no clue what world this was. A modern setting isn't the best thing to go off of.

“So… Do all buildings look like this?” Maria asked.

“Depends on where you are, but most buildings look like this, yeah.” I said, “At least, a lot of cities look like this.” I stopped everyone at a crosswalk, “Car!” A few cars drove by us until the light turned green for us to cross.