Chapter Text
Mirabel could only hear her rapid heartbeat along with the sound of her feet running across the ground as she ran further away from what was formerly the Casita. She knew that she could never go back, not after what she said to her abuela.
I will NEVER be enough for you... will I?
"I'm so sorry abuela!" Mirabel cried out as she continued running, tears streaming down her cheeks as she did.
Luisa will NEVER be strong enough. Isabela won't be PERFECT enough!
"I didn't mean to hurt you!"
YOU'RE the one who doesn't care! YOU'RE the one who's breaking our home!
"I never wanted any of this to happen!"
The miracle is dying BECAUSE OF YOU!
"I DIDN'T MEAN IT!"
She stopped at the river that was called "Cano Cristales" due to having the water shimmer and shine like crystals whenever the sun shone directly upon the watery surface. According to her abuela, it was the same river that her husband Pedro died in the night when the miracle blessed their family with their gifts and created their new home. It wasn't too deep as you could still walk through it without any trouble but your feet and legs would get very drenched (even more so if one happened to fall into the water). Mirabel didn't care about the water as all she wanted was to take a break from running and sit down on the edge of the river so she could cry. She curled up into a ball and wept in her arms over the mess that happened. All she wanted was to be seen as worthy of the Madrigal name without her gift hence why she went through so much to save the magic and fix the cracks in their home. Now, all of her hard work was for nothing and her family would surely hate her for making them lose not only their house but their gifts as well. They would definitely find some way to keep her out of the village once they found where she was and disown her for good.
Don't worry everyone, Mirabel thought to herself with a broken smile as she got up and turned around so she could look at the path leading to the encanto one last time. You'll never have to see me again. I am the reason why the magic and the Casita is gone after all. Adios, everyone. She struggled not to cry again but her tears said otherwise as she tried to wipe them away before continuing her journey. Though Mirabel had never crossed the river before, she saw that it wasn't too deep and she could easily walk across it without further issue. As she stepped in the water, she trudged across the river despite her skirt being partially drenched because of it. But she couldn't care less as she was too heartbroken and saddened to even feel the coldness of the water sweeping around her legs and feet. Even though her tia Pepa's weather powers were gone, it felt as if her sadness was reflecting in the weather as it was so dark and gloomy with clouds covering the whole sky. The sun was blocked from the young Madrigal's view but she felt that it fit the mood that she herself was in. Once she finally arrived on the other side of the river, she tried her best to squeeze as much water as she could out of her skirt so she could continue forward before she heard a distance voice in the background.
"Mirabel!"
Recognizing that it was her abuela's voice, she panicked and ran as fast as she could away from the sound as she did not want to see the old woman. Her grandmother was the last person she wanted to see and she was not ready to face whatever lecture and criticism she had for her. Unfortunately, because Mirabel was running so fast, she didn't see the tree root that would cause her to trip and fall over. She found herself rolling down a hill with her clothes to getting slightly torn along with a few scrapes and cuts on her skin. At one point, she had lost a shoe and felt her glasses slightly crack from the fall. Mirabel could only yelp and groan in pain as she continued to roll down the hill as it grew rougher the lower she went only to find herself falling off a sudden cliff at the bottom. Before she could do anything to lessen the impact of falling in the ocean that was waiting for her, she could only scream in fright while begging for someone to help her. A loud splash was heard as she was dropped into the ocean and knocked unconscious because of it. Her vision became blurry as she found herself slowly sinking into the ocean before everything faded to black....
A few minutes later, Mirabel woke up and groaned as she held onto her head in pain. Where am I? What happened to me? Did I land on the ground? No, that can't be. I distinctly remember falling into the water. As she slowly got up and shook her head in order to stay focused, she saw that there was seemingly darkness around her which unnerved her a bit. It wasn't until she turned around did her jaw drop in shock and amazement at what she had witnessed.
Is this a dream? Mirabel thought to herself as she saw a large bridge made up of glowing marigold petals. They were all orange but seemed as though they were stuck together, which bewildered her. This seems like something Isabela would come up with if she could. Mirabel thought to herself wryly as she noticed that the bridge was leading to what appeared to be a nearby civilization. Maybe the people over there will help me. Mirabel thought as she decided to walk across the bridge in order to find out where she was. As she cautiously stepped on the bridge, she saw that she wasn't falling through like she feared and realized that it was safe to walk across (other than the lack of rails that would have prevented her from falling off the edge). She did not want to know what would happen should she fall off so she decided to stay on the track and keep going without looking back. The moment she got closer to the mysterious civilization, she saw what appeared to be a woman in a uniform of some sort who had straight black hair tied up in a long ponytail. Judging from her outfit, she looked like a guard of some kind but because she was facing the opposite direction, Mirabel couldn't see what she looked like so she decided to get her attention.
"Excuse me, senorita?" Mirabel called out to the woman. "I have a few questions as to where I am and what am I doing here so could you please help me?"
"Oh sure," the woman replied as she turned around. "I'd be glad to help you with...."
The moment the woman turned around to face Mirabel, Mirabel stopped in her tracks in shock as her blood ran cold. Mirabel had seen many unnatural and supernatural things (given how she was surrounded by magic her whole life) but nothing prepared her for an encounter with an actual skeleton, especially one that still wore human clothes. The woman herself was equally surprised over the fact that a living human was standing right in front of her, with her flesh and skin intact.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!"