𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒

🌹~Chapter 3

-An Otherworldly Secret-

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Silence had taken over the household. I didn't dare to speak, petrified that I might interfere with whatever spell was keeping me in place. A chill permeated the room, and no one dared open the windows. Even though it was bright sunny weather out there. A few stray leaves fluttered around the tree outside my bay window, and I wondered if they knew that what was coming next would be a storm.

I didn't need to hear them talk. They were probably talking about me now, too.

Its been seven years have passed since the funeral of my Abuelo. Yes, tragic, I know. He passed away four years ago from a heart attack while he was out at his shop doing some repairs. I was home alone then but I never knew my mother or my father--I was raised without knowing them. The people I loved in my whole life are gone, they didn't even get a chance to watch their children grow up. And now, they passed on.

My heart twinged with grief as the memories flooded back to me. I closed my eyes tightly against tears as I felt a pair of hands touch mine. It wasn't a physical sensation, just an overwhelming wave of emotion that took hold of every cell in my body. My vision swam, and I fought hard for control of myself.

"Y/N... Y/N! Are you okay? What happened?" There was a frantic voice trying to shake me out of my daze. I felt arms wrap around me and pull me into a firm embrace. I couldn't help crying in earnest as I burrowed myself further into her chest. I cried until I ran out of tears.

"M-Mirabel..." I squeaked, clutching the fabric of her blouse. "M-my... Abuelo, He's..." My voice faltered, and a sob bubbled up my throat before I could stop it. Mirabel stroked my back soothingly. "He.. he pa-"

"It'll be alright, Y/N," Mirabel assured softly, hugging me tighter. "It's going to be okay. Your Abuelo is in a safe place now." She whispered.

"And your Abuelo passed away a long time ago, you have to stop reliving the same memory again. You're just hurting yourself even more." A familiar voice said, placing his warm hand on my shoulder. I pulled back to look up at him, his yellow poncho reflecting the warm gazing sun. He had a kind smile on his face, although I was still crying. I sniffled and wiped my eyes, trying to compose myself.

"Camilo..." I murmured, smiling softly. He chuckled and hugged me. "I'm here. No need to cry any longer." He soothed me, giving me a small squeeze.

"He's the only family I've had... what choice do I have left none other than living alone while there's no singing, laughing, or even playing around the house..." I muttered, burying my head in his chest. I shivered, feeling my skin prickle with goosebumps under my clothes. "Don't worry, we're not leaving you anytime soon." He laughed lightly.

"And besides, you have us!" Mirabel barged in with a huge grin on her face. A smile crept on my face as I slowly lay aside the worries and troubles in my head. 

"Aww Y/N has such a caring boyfriend~" A male voice teased from behind,  I jumped and whirled around, my breathing quickening. "Hey, easy, I was kidding." The male voice assured. He has the same height as Camilo, he had curly dark auburn hair with hazel green mischievous eyes. His poncho was matched with Camilo's but it was painted in garnet red and lighter red zigzag motifs. 

They're the Madrigal twins.

Born to be mischievous and cunning, taken in different forms of people and animals. Surprisingly, I was left dumbfounded about why the townspeople would cautiously spread that kind of rumor. But after seeing how much these two cared for each other, and also how they always made sure to stick by each other, I decided to believe it.

"Carlos," I started, "What are you doing here?" I asked curiously, departing away from Camilo's embrace. His eyes widened as he looked towards the open window and then towards my bedroom door before meeting my gaze again. "Oh, I uh well, just passing by the streets until I saw my twin came in here," Carlos explained sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he turned his attention to the floor. "So I followed you guys in here."

"You know the rules, Hermano." Camilo reminded sternly. Carlos rolled his eyes and scoffed playfully. "Don't be such a spoilsport, Camilo. Can't I go out once in a while?"

Look how the tables turned. As the twins began to wrangle once again, I noticed a figure standing beside the doorway. Their appearance surprised me a little, they had white hair that cascaded down past their neck. Their pale face seemed to blend in perfectly with their green checkered polo and khaki pants--which was held by a suspender. I squinted a little, trying to make out their features but they had disappeared into thin air when they saw I was looking. When I looked back up, Camilo and Carlos had stopped bickering and were staring expectantly at me.

"Uh, sorry..." I mumbled embarrassedly, averting my gaze "What happened?"

"Carlos got himself lost trying to find his way back home," Mirabel replied casually. Her tone was nonchalant but I heard a slight hint of amusement in her voice. "You know how stubborn he can be."

"Yeah yeah, get over with it already. Jeez." Carlos grumbled.

I giggled. Carlos is a very aggressive child of the Madrigals, and he is the opposite of them. While he loves playing pranks and messing around, he is extremely serious most of the time and he is rarely ever seen smiling unless he did something to pull his pranks. So, to see him scowling so much is kind of funny. Carlos and his brother are inseparable, and the two of them have a lot in common, they enjoy teasing and pranking one another and their parents. To be honest, It's nice, to be able to spend time together with someone so fun and outgoing like him.

A sudden palm rested on my shoulder, "Are you feeling better?" Mirabel asked.

Her hand slipped from my shoulder and placed itself on my upper arm instead. I nodded. "Okay, good because it looks like this one doesn't want us to leave yet," Carlos complained, rolling his eyes. The other two Madrigals glanced at him, "No! I'm fine! Really!" I insisted as I brushed off my skirt.

"Sure, sure..." Mirabel snorted sarcastically. "Anyways, changing subject, are those flowers you brought with you still up? Can I take a look at them?" She asked excitedly. I smiled and nodded, "Let me get them in my room, you guys make yourself comfortable." I said, heading towards the door.

The door to my room opened and shut silently. I leaned on the doorframe and gazed around my room. It was quite messy considering how long I lived here, but I don't mind. After all, I have nothing else to do nowadays. I walked toward the desk in front of my bed which was pushed into the corner near the window. On top of the desk sat a large book and the flower vase, but to my hesitation, my mind was suddenly caught by the large book. I picked it up and flipped through it carefully as I inspected the cover. I was curious about who owned it.

After examining every page carefully, my eyes widened at the picture drawn at the bottom of the first page. It was a group of three people--two males and two females--they stood in the center and they appeared to be dancing and smiling happily. And there is something written on top of the page in elegant handwriting:

"Live under your outside world, and you'll soon find misery,
Live under your inside world, and you'll soon find happiness. To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes, we remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside a touch of time."

-Quoted by Clara Ortega

My mouth gaped as I gazed at the handwriting. It's my Abuelo's journal. I knew the handwriting looked so familiar and certainly, my Abuelo is talking about the world outside of Encanto, where he told me to never go out in that marauding place and to stay here where it was safe. 

Exploring the outside world is my dream... and I vow to the name of God, I'm going to make it come true.

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11/23/22