Chapter 32: Finished Waiting On A Miracle

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         Each step Mirabel took down the aisle hitched Alejandro's heart higher until she met him at the end of the path. Each of her parents at her side. Romantic percussion and soothing strings vibrated through the air and swayed the souls of the guests. Her dress was lovely. Pure white as her mothers, the skirt taken from Julieta's original gown while the top was crafted by the Salazars. The edges of the fabric were hemmed with colorful fabric. Much to the family's dismay.

The colors were beautiful and fitted Mirabel, but that was the very problem. They fitted Mirabel so well because she had sewn it herself. "Aye..." Josephina sighed as she whispered to her husband. "That girl can't leave anything alone. She couldn't even relax before her own wedding." Ramos leaned to the right, whispering to her mother.

"If Mirabel wanted to decorate her dress, let her." She said in a matter of fact like voice. "Even if she should have left it all to us."

"She can't help it." Ramos said. "Have you ever seen her just sit and do nothing?"

"Nope," A voice behind them said. Camilo sat between his own wife and his nephew, who was silently enraptured by the paper he colored on. "I've never seen her just stand back and let everyone do the work. You should've-" The young man hushed once the priest began announcing his sermon, telling the audience of the sacredness of marriage. "you should've seen her at my brother's birthday before she left." Camilo continued, even quieter but loud enough for Josephina to hear. "She spent the entire day running around town, decorating the house and even found Antonio when he was missing."

"Y'know, I've never seen he just sit and breath." Josephina. "My brother tries his best to get her to relax some days. He always fails, but he never stops trying." A silent beat passed between the two before either said anything.

"I'm glad they found each other..." Camilo commented.

"Me too..." Josephina said.

"Mirabel," Alejandro began, a ring suddenly in his hand as he spoke. Josephina and Camilo glanced at each other, worrying about how much the ceremony they missed with their chatter. "Cuando usted apareció en nuestra ciudad, estaba tan confundido con por qué usted estaba allí. Mi familia se enfrentó a una gran tragedia y usted apareció, como la primera estrella de la noche para guiar nuestro camino. Ustedes arreglaron nuestra casa y ustedes hicieron mi vida mejor con sólo estar en ella. Cada día te vi, caminando por la ciudad o visitando a nosotros para el desayuno o pidiendo mi ayuda con algo, simplemente hacía más y más claro que quería ayudarte cuando lo necesitabas. Quiero tomar el desayuno con usted cada mañana, y quiero caminar por la ciudad con usted.

"Mirabel," he held up the ring and spoke the following words with perfection and a hint of nervousness, as if he had practiced for years and yet still believed that was not enough. "Con este anillo, yo juro amar y cuidado por lo que eres. La mujer fuerte, inteligente, hermosa que conocí hace todos esos años. La mujer que puede reparar cualquier cosa rota o empujar montañas con facilidad." Mirabel sniffled and breathed in, determined to pronounce her vows loud and clear.

"Andro..." She began, slowly. "Cuando llegué a tu pueblo, lo último que esperaba fue enamorarme. Pero lo hice. Estaba en el punto más bajo de mi vida- estaba sola y asustada, pero entonces encontré consuelo en tu familia, y encontré amor en ti. Si alguien me hubiera dicho hace diez años que encontraría a un hombre amable, encantador y cariñoso que haría todo lo que pudiera para protegerme y mantenerme feliz, me habría reído porque nunca pensé que algo así fuera posible. Pero eras posible. Somos posibles." She wiped a tear from beneath her glasses and pulled out a ring, holding it up as Andro had done.

"Alejandro," She said. "With this ring, I swear to love and care for who you are. The man who will pick me up when I am a little sad. The man you look at as if he were hungry for years and I am a table of delights.

El hombre que conozco por un hecho siempre estará ahí para mí. Y yo seré la mujer que hará todo eso a cambio de ti.."

The rings were gently slipped onto the opposing hands and their fingers intertwined. Alejandro smiled as he held the beloved hand, his larger fore and middle fingers feeling the coolness of the ring beneath it. They each turned around to face their sisters. Mercedes handed her brother a thin and tall candle, one that was pure white. Luisa handed her younger sister a similar candle, while Isabela gave her baby sister a thick candle, one that shimmered yellow, almost golden. Mirabel and Andro held the thicker candle between them while the thin ones were lit.

These individual candles," the priest began as the sisters lit them. "Are a representation of your individual lives. Before love and meeting each other. The unity candle," he said, gesturing towards the thicker cylinder of wax. "Represents your lives now that you are one. Two lives now will be intertwined." Andro and Mirabel gazed at each other, smiling fondly as they repeated the words that they rehearsed the night before.

"This candle is my love for you," Andro said. "we will give you heat, food, joy, and a new beginning."

"This candle is my love for you," Mira said. "we will give you heat, food, joy, and another beginning." She said. They dipped the thin wicks onto the thick candle, igniting it before they blew out the thin candles and let it drop to the floor. Giving the individual candles back to their sisters slipped their minds, the only thing either one of the couple could think of was the kiss.

The kiss did not feel like a wave crashing against the rocky shore of a beach. It did not feel like lighting striking their hearts. It felt wonderfully ordinary. It felt comforting, like the smell of fresh coffee brewing in the morning. Like the chirps of animals in the early morning. Like the feeling of the sun rays on bare skin. The kiss felt natural, as if they had done it their whole lives. And they would be doing it for the rest of theirs.

•••

"Mirabel, when you showed up in our town, I was so confused to why you were there. My family faced a great tragedy and you showed up, like the first star in the night to guide our way. You fixed our home and you made my life better just by being in it. Every day I saw you, walking around town or visiting us for breakfast or asking for my help with something, it just made it more and more clear that I wanted to help you whenever you need. I want to have breakfast with you every morning, and I want to walk around town with you."

"With this ring, I vow to love and cherish you for who you are. The strong, intelligent, beautiful woman that I met all those years ago. The woman who can mend anything broken or push mountains with ease."

"Andro... When I tumbled into your village, the last thing I expected to was fall in love. But I did. I was at the lowest point in my life- I was alone and scared, but then I found comfort in your family, and I found love in you. If someone had told me ten years ago that I would find a kind, charming, and caring man who would do whatever he could to protect me and keep me happy, I would've laughed because I never thought something like that was possible. But you were possible. We are possible."

"With this ring, I vow to love and cherish you for who you are. The man who will pick me up whenever I'm a bit sad. The man who looks at me as if he were starved for years and I'm a table of delicacies. The man who I know for a fact will always be there for me. And I will be the woman who will do all that in return for you."

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