On Fire (Under editing!)

Ceremony

<3

[ this took a lot of editing say thank you ]

Mirabel stared at the portraits that hung above her abuela's door. They were all of Abuela Alma and the whole generation of kids that got gifts, which didn't include her. She frowned deeply and slowly turned away. "One hour!" she heard her Abuela shout, startling her into stumbling back, knocking her foot against one of the candles, and causing the cloth under it to catch fire.

"Oh, no!" Mirabel stuttered, hurriedly bending down to hopefully put out the small fire. She waved the cloth around desperately, stepping on it a few times. "Maybe," her Abuela began from in front of her. "-You should leave the decorations to..." she trailed off. "Someone else?" she watched as her niece scrambled to pick up the burning cloth.

"No, I made these, um, as a surprise-" she replied, waving the cloth around more before showing it to her. "for you!" she smiled nervously, swiping the fabric back out of her view. "Mirabel, I know you want to help." Alma began. "But tonight must go perfectly." she continued with a frown.

Mirabel's nervous grin faded as she slowly dropped the cloth that had finally stopped burning. "The whole town relies on our family. On our gifts." Abuela Alma informed. "So the best way for some of us..." she trailed off slightly, looking away. "To help is to step aside."
Mirabel smiled, her eyes misty as she nodded to Abuela's words. "Let the rest of the family do what they do best," Abuela spoke again. "Ok?" she asked, making sure Mirabel understood. Mirabel forced herself to smile wider, squinting her eyes so she wouldn't cry. "Uh huh." they were both interrupted by a loud crack of thunder. Abuela alma turned toward her hija Pepa, who stood on the other side of the balcony.

"Pepa, you have a cloud!" she shouted at her daughter. the mentioned woman furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "I know, mamá, but I can't find Antonio now!" Pepa yelled, beginning to walk to her room. "What do you want from me?!"
Abuela sighed and walked away, Mirabel walking in the opposite direction.
"mamá, please be nice to Mirabel. This will be a hard night for her, " said the girl, hearing her mother speak and turning around to listen. "If this ceremony goes wrong, this will be a hard night for all of us, " her Abuela said. Mirabel walked into her room and closed the door quickly.

She let out a loud sigh, sitting down with a tired hunch. She could faintly hear the voices yelling out Antonio's name, searching for the 'runaway' kid. She turned and opened the drawer to her nightstand, pulling out a small present before closing it back. She slowly caressed the fabric bow atop the gift. "Everyone's looking for you..." she said in a sing-song voice, gritting her teeth a bit when there was no answer.

She dangled the small present in front of the opening space under her bed. "This gift will self-destruct if you don't take it." Mirabel teased. "In three...two..." she glanced down a bit. "One- oh!" she yelped quietly as the present was suddenly snatched from her hand. she smiled and crawled under her bed, her smile widening when she saw who she was expecting. It was her younger primo, Antonio, who everyone was searching for.

Antonio leaned his face on his palm, his dark curls bouncing as he used a finger to poke at the present given to him slowly. "Nervous?" Mirabel asked. Antonio stayed silent. "You have nothing to worry about," Mirabel reassured him. "You're going to get your gift. Open that door, and it's going to be the coolest ever." she continued, smiling down at Antonio. "I know it."
Antonio smiled, but it quickly disappeared as he asked. "What if it doesn't work?" in a calm voice, looking up at Mirabel expectantly. Mirabel smiled. "Well," she grinned. "In that impossible scenario, you can stay here in the nursery," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "With me, forever!" she whispered, reaching over and poking at Antonio's chest. He began a fit of giggles.
"I wish you could have a door," Antonio said suddenly, causing Mirabel to look away and frown. "You know what?" Antonio looked up at her in confusion. "You don't have to worry about me," she said with a sheepish smile.

"Cause I have an amazing family," she said. "And an amazing house and an amazing you." she continued, placing a gentle hand on Antonio's arm. A smile slowly rose to Antonio's face at her words. "And seeing you get your special gift and your door," she trailed off. "That's gonna make me happier than anything." she smiled at the kid.

"But alas," she sighed, tiptoeing her fingers across the floor until she grabbed the present, pulling it directly in front of him. "I am gonna miss having the best roomie," she said, glancing at Antonio expectantly. He smiled and quickly began unwrapping the present, gasping at what he saw inside. He slowly pulled out a small stuffed animal, his favorite animal—a jaguar.
"I know you're an animal guy, so I made this so you could have company when you're feeling blue," she said, smiling wider when Antonio gave her a tight side hug. They were interrupted when casita made the floorboards under them hop, earning a giggle fit out of them. Then, the nightstand jumped, causing the alarm clock on top of it to fall in front of Antonio and Mirabel.
Mirabel smiled and crawled out from under the bed, followed by Antonio. "It's time, casita says." she joked, patting the wooden floor. "You ready?" Mirabel asks. Antonio quickly nods, and Mirabel smiles.

[Time skip to after Antonio gets his gift!]

"We have a new gift!" Abuela shouted over the crowd, raising the brightly flaming candle higher. Everyone whooped and cheered for Antonio, who animals surrounded, followed by a large toucan on his shoulder. You were in the front of the crowd, watching as Antonio walked through his door with a grin. "Yeah!" you hollered. You felt you were louder than everyone else, but you didn't care. Camilo, who was cheering beside you, gave you a look but chuckled as you grabbed his arm and pulled him up the stairs and into Antonio's room. With the whole crowd following behind. You stopped once you walked into Antonio's room, letting go of Camilo as you stared at the gigantic space in amazement. Camilo did the same, muttering a small "Dios Mio..." to match his expression.

You waved goodbye to Camilo, smiling as we waved back while you pushed through the crowd to find Mirabel or isabella. Of course, you saw isabella first, but you only tapped her arm and waved before walking away to Mirabel, who was staring with a longing frown. You held her arm, making her flinch before she turned to you in surprise. she relaxed after realizing it was her Hermana and smiled at you.

"Why do you look so sad? Antonio just got his gift!" you said obnoxiously, pulling her into a side hug which she returned. "It's just..." she trailed off. Your smile faded at her reaction, but you perked up when you heard your Abuela shout for a picture. Unfortunately, Mirabel didn't seem to hear. You wanted to pull her to the rest of the family. Still, Camilo appeared behind you, dragging you to where the picture was taken.

"Hey- Milo, wait!" you exclaimed. He turned towards you in confusion. "What? we're taking a family picture. You wanna be in it, don't you?" he asked. "Yes, but we can't forget Mirabel," you stated. He seemed to deflate a little before looking back at the crowd in search of the glasses-wearing girl. He squinted, unable to find her due to all the people. "I can't see her, but I think she'll be fine. Come on!" he shouted, beginning to pull you again.

You eventually ended up with everyone else, posing in front of a camera. You put on a fake grin, thrusting your hand out and using your gift to emit a decently sized-flame from your open palm. Unfortunately, you heard a loud snap and were blinded for a split second after Alma took the picture. You blinked your dizziness away, immediately beginning to look around for Mirabel.

But you couldn't find her anywhere. Where had she gone?