3. Waiting on a Miracle
As the movie continued, the setting changed from outside Casita to the chaotic working of inside Casita. Multiple townspeople filled the house, all lending a hand with the night's preparations.
WOMAN- "Get the chairs out of the way."
MIRABEL- "Sorry, excuse me."
PEPA- "Dolores, can you hear if anyone is going to be late?
MIRABEL- "Huh? Whoop."
ABUELA- "Lift it higher, higher."
CAMILO- "Hey, nice job over there."
JOSÉ- "Yeah, yeah."
ABUELA- "Camilo, we need another José."
CAMILO- "José!"
ABUELA- "Luisa, the piano goes upstairs."
LUISA- "I'm on it. Oops, careful sis."
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!"
"What happened to clear skies, Pepa?" Bruno called out to his Hermana, a large smirk on his face.
"What happened to no more prophecies, Bruno?" She whipped back.
FÉLIX- "You're tornado-ing the flowers! The flowers!"
ISABELA- "Did someone say flowers?"
Both Mirabel and Isabela groaned at hearing Isabela's on-screen voice.
MAN- "Isabela!"
FÉLIX- "Our angel, our angel."
ISABELA- "Please don't clap."
PEPA- "Thank you."
ISABELA- "Oh it's nothing."
Isabela flicked her hair off of her shoulder and into the face of her youngest sister causing multiple flowers to land where she had been hit.
"No wonder you were never happy to see me." Isabela mumbled as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I didn't even apologise."
ISABELA- "A little sisterly advice, if you weren't always trying so hard you would be in the way."
MIRABEL- "Actually Isa, this is called helping and I'm not in the way you-"
Mirabel walked into a large support beam covered in her eldest sister's flowers. At the sight of this, both of her Tíos and Camilo burst into laughter earning them a death glare from Mirabel herself.
Her Papá giggled slightly before saying something along the lines "Just like me, or just like your Papá." She only just caught it.
"Really you two? Bickering? I thought that you had both grown out of that at your age." Julieta said as she glanced at her two daughters.
"Sorry, Mamá." They said in unison.
oOoOoOoOo
JULIETA- "Woah…"
MIRABEL- "Excuse me."
JULIETA- "Mi vida, you okay? You don't have to overdo it."
MIRABEL- "I know mamá, I just wanna do my part like the rest of the family."
AGUSTÍN- "She right amour,"
MIRABEL- "Egh."
AGUSTÍN- "First gift ceremony since yours. Lot of emotions."
"Bee stings!" Everyone called out as they saw Agustín on the screen swollen.
MIRABEL- "Bee stings!"
"That's what we just said!" Antonio called out and giggled. Everyone watched Antonio as he laughed causing a smile of their own to appear.
AGUSTÍN- "And I've been there."
JULIETA- "Ay Agustín…"
AGUSTÍN- "When me and your Tío Félix married into the family, outsiders who had no gift, never ever would… surrounded by the exceptional it was easy to feel… un-ceptional."
"Unceptional isn't a word Papi." Luisa said to her dad.
"Then what is the word señorita?"
"It's unexceptional."
"Oh… That would make sense."
MIRABEL- "Okay Papi."
AGUSTÍN- "I'm just saying I get it."
JULIETA- "Eat. Mi amour, if you ever want to talk…"
MIRABEL- "I gotta put up the stuff. The house isn't gonna decorate itself. Sorry, you could. You look great.
JULIETA- "Corazón remember,"
AGUSTÍN- "Yeah, remember."
JULIETA- "You have nothing to prove!"
AGUSTÍN- "You have nothing to prove."
MIRABEL- "Mhm."
Félix then called out to Agustín
"I know that you're trying bro, but man…"
oOoOoOoOo
FÉLIX- "Ah, los músicos, you guys can set up over here."
ABUELA- "Clean your rooms! I don't care how big they are."
"Who was Abuela talking to?" Antonio asked.
"Camilo and Luisa." Dolores answered before anyone else. "What? Super hearing remember."
As the family continued to watch it began to zoom in on all the framed photographs on the wall of each Madrigal next to their door after they had gotten their gift.
TIPLE MAESTRO- "Has anyone seen my tiple?"
ABUELA- "One hour!"
Abuela's voice startled Dolores with the sudden switch of volume. While on-screen Mirabel stumbled backwards and knocked the candle she had just placed in front of Abuela's door setting fire to the small mat she had also created.
MIRABEL- "Wha- oh. No, no, no, no."
ABUELA- "Maybe, you should leave the decorations to someone else?"
MIRABEL- "No I actually made these as a surprise. For you- uh…oof"
ABUELA- "Mirabel, I know you want to help, but tonight must go perfectly. The whole town relies on our family. On our gifts. So the best way for some of us to help is to step aside. Let the rest of the family do what they do best. Okay?"
The movie paused and Abuela turned to face Mirabel only for it to almost immediately resume. Abuela stopped, picked up her remote and paused it again. Mirabel then hit play. This went on a few times before Abuela spoke up.
"Mirabel."
"Nope. Don't want to talk about it."
"Well I do."
"Nope. Later. Yep. Uh-huh. Later."
Mirabel sat stiffly upright in her chair as she hit play. In her peripherals, she could see that Abuela wasn't happy but didn't want to push it. After a moment Abuela turned around to face the screen.
MIRABEL- "Mhm."
"Maybe you should talk to her." Bruno whispered in her ear. "She's trying."
"Like how you listened when the family wanted to talk about the 'We don't talk about Bruno' thing?"
"Touche."
ABUELA- "Pepa, you have a cloud."
PEPA- "I know mamá, but now I can't find Antonio! What do you want from me?"
The movie then paused again but this time Pepa turned around. "Where were you during this time Tonito?" She asked her son.
"Hiding." He answered.
"What? Why?" His papá asked.
"He was nervous, obviously." Surprisingly, it wasn't Dolores who had answered. It was Camilo.
"Nervous?" Abuela joined in on the conversation.
"Why do you think when he was around I was being goofier than normal?" Camilo said to the adults.
"Spoiler alert. It was to try and calm him down." Dolores spoke up.
"And if we continue you will all find out why." Mirabel interrupted. With that, the film continued.
JULIETA- "Mamá, be nice to Mirabel okay. You know tonight will be hard for her."
ABUELA- "If the gift ceremony doesn't go well this time, tonight will be hard for us all."
oOoOoOoOo
FÉLIX- "Antonio!"
MIRABEL- "Everyone's looking for you."
"Um… Mirabel. You are talking to yourself." Camilo pointed out.
"Or was she?" Dolores said ominously.
"This present will self-destruct if you don't take it in three… two… one… oh."
Everyone watched as Mirabel crawled under her bed finding Antonio hiding there.
"Nervous?"
A grey cloud formed above Pepa's head causing Bruno to pause the movie.
"Pepa, you have a cloud." He spoke up, his voice was soft and gentle.
"Clear skies, clear skies, clear skies." She repeated until the clouds faded away.
"Maybe it's not the best for you to sit in front, Pepa." Julieta added in.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll try to control my clouds." Pepa blushed as she hit play.
"You have nothing to worry about. You're gonna get your gift and open that door and it's gonna be the coolest ever. I know it."
"And you were right!" Antonio called out smiling widely at Mirabel
ANTONIO- "What if it doesn't work?"
MIRABEL- "Well, in that impossible scenario, you'd stay here in the nursery, with me. Forever. And I'd get you all to myself."
ANTONIO- "I wish you could have a door."
MIRABEL- "You know what? You don't have to worry about me because I have an amazing family and an amazing house and an amazing you. And seeing you getting your special gift and your door, that's gonna make me way happier than anything. But alas, I am gonna miss having the world's best roomie."
"What's in the present?" Camilo asked.
"Curiosity killed the cat Camilo." Isabela turned to face her cousin.
"But satisfaction brought it back." He stuck his tongue out at her.
"Real mature." Isabela rolled her eyes facing the screen.
As the film continued Antonio opened the present to reveal a homemade stuffed leopard plushie.
"I know you're an animal guy, and I made this, so when you move into your cool new room you always have something to snuggle with."
Similar to what had happened at the beginning of the movie, Casita bounced over the alarm clock showing the time. It was time for the ceremony.
"Alright hombrecito, you ready? Sorry, I gotta get one more squeeze. Okay, okay we're going! Ow! Ow!"
Everyone smiled at the sight of the two youngest bonding.
"Antonio, why didn't you tell me or your Papi that you were worried? We could have helped." Pepa stood up walking towards her youngest, Félix following behind.
"I don't know…" He muttered looking down at his hands.
"Antonio, your Mami and I are always there for you."
"I know." He said quietly. "But…"
"But what Tonito?" Pepa pushed.
"But what if I didn't get a gift?" He asked.
Abuela stood up. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"What if you stopped loving me?" He said not daring to look at anyone.
"Tonito, we would still love you." Abuela said as both Pepa and Félix nodded behind her.
"But that's what you all did with Mirabel." His small innocent voice said, causing everyone to go silent. Everyone stood up and walked towards Antonio.
"Antonio, we never stopped loving Mirabel." Julieta said gently. It wasn't condescending, it wasn't angry but uncertain.
"But you guys never treated her the same as everyone else." Bruno spoke up. "Maybe not Julieta and Agustín or even Félix but almost everyone else did."
"No, we…" Luisa said as she looked at her younger sister, guilt flooded behind her eyes.
"You stopped playing with her as much, you stopped letting her join us and go out to the town to help out. I mean, even look back at what happened earlier. Mamá, you told Mirabel to stop helping and leave it to those who had gifts." Bruno pointed out everything he remembered from all those years ago.
"No, it wasn't. We didn't…" Pepa turned to face Mirabel, a rain cloud grew over the top of her head.
"No, it's okay Tío Bruno." Mirabel tried to push.
"But it's not okay Mira. You were sad a lot and nobody ever knew because you didn't tell them." Antonio added.
"No, Abuela just wanted your night to be perfect and it was the best way to help. She just wanted what was best for the family." Mirabel continued to deflect.
"Mira.." Her mamá started. She was lost for words.
"Why didn't you tell us amour? Why didn't you tell me? You know I would have understood."
"Guys it's fine it wasn't that bad…"
"Mirabel." Isabela tried to pry her sister open.
"I'm fine you guys! It wasn't that bad! Can we just keep watching please?"
"Mirabel…"
"Please?"
Just like that the movie flashed on again continuing where it had been paused. Everyone slowly returned to their seats occasionally looking back at Mirabel who refused to shift her gaze from the screen.
oOoOoOoOo
Background music:
Noche de fiesta, todos vienen a celebrar
Noche de fiesta, todos llegan para gozar
Sigue bailando, contento en mi paraíso
Luisa:
(Speaking)
Here you go.
Background music:
Y revelando milagros en cada piso
Encanto, encanto (ah-eh, ah-eh, ah-eh, ah-eh, ah-eh, ah-eh)
Colombia, te quiero tanto
Camilo:
(Speaking)
Cecilia, up top!
Background music:
Que siempre me enamora tu encanto
Colombia, te quiero tanto
Que sigas bendiciendo tu encanto
Abriendo puertas va llegando la madrugada
Siguen abiertas y el café se cuela en la casa
Canción alegre para que gane el bien sobre el mal
No me despierten, que esto parece un sueño real
Colombia, te quiero tanto
Que siempre me enamora tu encanto
Colombia, te quiero tanto
Te sigue bendiciendo tu encanto
oOoOoOoOo
Mirabel and Antonio rounded the corner to find Pepa, Félix, Camilo and Dolores waiting for him.
FÉLIX- "Ha ha, there you are!"
PEPA- "Look at you, all grown up."
FÉLIX- "Pepi, amour, you are going to get him all wet."
CAMILO- "You're making your papá proud."
FÉLIX- "I don't sound like that."
CAMILO- "I don't sound like that."
DOLORES- "Abuela says, it's time."
PEPA- "We'll be waiting at your door."
FÉLIX- "Okay, vamo, vamo, vamo."
CAMILO- "Okay, vamo, vamo, vamo. Alright! I'm done!"
oOoOoOoOo
The screen flashed again as the setting changed. The family now stood at the stairs looking up at Abuela as she began her speech. Antonio's parents and siblings stood at his door.
ABUELA- "Fifty years ago, in our darkest moment, this candle blessed us with a miracle. And the greatest honour of our family has been to use our blessing to serve this beloved community. Tonight we come together once more as another steps into the light. To make us proud.
Drums began to play and Casita's tiles switched to resemble a red carpet. The lights that were placed on the walls turned to create a spotlight for Antonio. Everyone in the crowd watched waiting for Antonio to begin his walk up towards the door.
Nothing.
Casita tried to nudge him forward to help him begin the walk. Antonio turned his head to face Mirabel and held his hand out towards her. His eyes begged her to help him. Mirabel looked at him and then to the crowd then back at him.
MIRABEL- "I can't."
ANTONIO- "I need you."
Mirabel slowly walked out and stood next to Antonio talking his hand.
"Oh… so that's why you came out and walked with Antonio." Isabela said, turning and smiling at her baby sister.
MIRABEL- "C'mon, let's get you to your door."
A flashback appeared with the small five-year-old Mirabel, still in the same outfit from the beginning of the movie. As she continued she walked up to the door and placed her hand on the doorknob. Instead of the reaction that everyone hoped for, the door faded away and the candle flame flickered and dimmed for a moment.
Mirabel turned to face her Abuela confusion and fear all over her face while Abuela's eyes kept flicking from the candle to the door. Then the flashback ended.
ABUELA- "Will you use your gift to honour our miracle? To serve this community and strengthen our home?"
Antonio nodded as he approached his door.
"Here we go!" Félix bounced slightly in his seat, excited to see his son get his gift once again. His reaction caused the family to laugh and Félix calmed down. Pepa, similar to how he did for her earlier, placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Um… is no one going to talk about Abuela's face here?" Camilo said as he shapeshifted to copy his Abuela's face giggling to himself.
"Camilo…" His father gave a warning tone.
"Fine" He huffed as he changed back into his normal self.
Then a toucan landed on Antonio's arm before tweeting.
ANTONIO- "Uh-huh, Uh-huh, I understand you. Of course, they can come!"
A large number of different animals suddenly flooded Casita running up to Antonio. His door flashed displaying his name and the boy surrounded by animals.
ABUELA- "We have a new gift!"
"And it is so cool!" Antonio called out.
He ran into his new room as his family and townspeople all flooded in as well curious to see the room in question.
KID 2- "It's bigger on the inside!"
The entire family laughed at the girl's comment before Antonio's new leopard friend ran up to him and picked him up, taking him on a joyride around the new room.
FÉLIX- "Go, Antonio! Yeah!"
It cut back to Antonio as he looked down at his new friend.
ANTONIO- "You wanna go where? Woah!"
AGUSTÍN- "Okay, alright."
FÉLIX- "That was amazing."
"That was fun." Antonio mused, looking back at the memory.
ABUELA- "I knew you could do it. A gift just as special as you. Oh, we need a picture! Everyone, come! Come, come, come, come! It's a great night. It's a perfect night. Everyone, together."
MADRIGALS- "La familia Madrigal!"
"Wait… Mirabel wasn't in the picture? You guys took the picture without her?" Bruno asked.
A small amount of chatter filled the room as everyone tried to think of a reasonable excuse.
The film began to slow as a tune began to play on the screen.
"Oh no." Mirabel muttered, causing her uncle to look at her.
Mirabel:
Don't be upset or mad at all
Don't feel regret, or sad at all
Hey, I'm still a part of the family Madrigal
And I'm fine, I am totally fine
"Are you sure about that?" Luisa asked as she looked back at her sister.
I will stand on the side as you shine
I'm not fine, I'm not fine
"Does that answer your question?" Mirabel said in a sad and embarrassed tone.
I can't move the mountains
I can't make the flowers bloom
I can't take another night
Up in my room
Waiting on a miracle
I can't heal what's broken
Can't control the morning rain or a hurricane
Can't keep down the unspoken invisible pain
Always waiting on a miracle, a miracle
Each respective family member that had been mentioned turned to face Mirabel, a pitiful look on their faces. No one said anything though.
Always walking alone
Always wanting for more
Like I'm still at that door
Longing to shine like all of you shine
All I need is a change
All I need is a chance
All I know is I can't
Stay on the side
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
This time it was Abuela who turned to look at Mirabel. But similar to everyone else she said nothing.
I would move the mountains
Make new trees and flowers grow
Someone please just let me know
Where do I go
I am waiting on a miracle
A miracle
I would heal what's broken
Show this family something new
Who I am inside
So what can I do?
I'm sick of waiting on a miracle
So here I go
I am ready!
Come on, I'm ready!
I've been patient and steadfast and steady!
Bless me now as you blessed us all those years ago
When you gave us a miracle
Am I too late for a miracle?
"Mirabel." Her Mamá started. "We need to talk about this."