Encanto (My Version)

Freak

Guilt struck Juano. He nodded unable to address her properly with his eyes of self-despair. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I just got so angry, so hurt that I lost control. I never meant to hurt anyone,"

"Why were you so angry?" Mirabel asked.

"It's my father. He called me a burden,"

Mirabel was appalled. "That can't be true,"

"It is. Ever since I was six and I got these powers one night...he's seen me as nothing but a burden. Even my own brother and sister like to call me a freak. I heard him talking with your grandmother this morning and he said that I was nothing but a walking disaster. He wanted to train me to be more normal. He would rather have me hide who I am rather than be a disappointment to the family. This isn't the first village we've come to. We've been travelling from village to village but everywhere we went everyone would judge me for my powers. People look at me and they see a monster. Sometimes I think maybe they're right,"

Mirabel shuffled closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not a monster Juano. Don't be so hard on yourself. You're just a gifted boy who is in need of love and care,"

"This isn't a gift Mirabel," Juano complained. "This is a curse! A curse that has made me unloved by my own family. My own father will never accept me for who I am. In his book, I'll be nothing but a freak who will burden him,"

He stood up. Mirabel stood up too, right in front of him. She saw him close his eyes, drifting off into thought. Then his larynx stretched and he sang. 

(Please turn on the song) 

As he sang with passion about his powers, images appeared around Mirabel. She saw a young boy with a beautiful woman. She had long brown hair in a bun and eyes that shone just like his. She watched the mother hug her son and kiss his cheek. It was at that moment that she realised that this was a six-year-old Juano and his mother. 

Soon the image changed and she saw an image of a young Juano discovering his powers. Light beams were shooting out of his hands and blinding numbers of people around him. Everyone pointed fingers at him calling him a freak.

He then saw an image of a slightly younger Carlos looking down on him. Juano looked upset, neglected, burdened. 

More images appeared and Mirabel could see how Juano was insulted, mocked, mentally abused by his father and his siblings. She saw no more images of his mother. Young Juano cried in those illusions; he was all alone in the world. He had no mother to lift his spirits. 

Mirabel then images of a young Juano accidentally harming a tree at the river, then him gasping and hugging his horse. Then the image of the evening when Carlos had dragged Juano out and had called him a burden caused Juano's entire body to be consumed by anger which raged on everyone around him. A final illusion appeared in front of Mirabel. It showed Juano looking at his hands, calling himself a burden and a freak.  As it disappeared, Mirabel felt herself crying. Those images made from light rays had reflected how uncaring, unkind, unloving Juano's life had been. Every single year as he grew, his powers became more powerful and more harmful. The stronger they became, the harder his father became on him. They moved around constantly, looking from village to village to find somewhere to call home...but in every town they went to, they were thrown out because everyone saw Juano as the one thing which he himself considered to be. 

A freak. 

(Please feel free to finish the rest of this song)

Juano sank onto the soil again, burying his head in his knees. He couldn't bear to see Mirable watching him cry. She knelt down and unexpectantly wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'm so...so sorry...for what you've been through. You didn't deserve to be treated that way. Not for having powers,"

"They never even bothered to know me in any other way," Juano raised his head and wiped his tears. "I've tried for many years to be good enough for them, to make them see I don't have to be like them to be considered a member of this family. Every day, I always think that I can do something to make them proud but I just feel so...so..."

"Trapped," Mirabel finished. 

Juano turned to her, recognition burning in her wet eyes. 

"Like you...cacan't do anything right for the people you love no matter how hard you try,"

Juano nodded. "What happened after I left?"

"My mother talked to me and Isandra. She tried to make me feel better by saying I was as special as everyone else but...it didn't help a lot. I know she tries very hard to tell Abeula to stop putting me on the sidelines but...she just doesn't listen," 

"Did she believe you?" 

"Kind of. She's more worried for me. She's afraid that I might my way....the same way my Tio Bruno lost hers,"

"You have an uncle? I've never heard anyone talk about him before,"

"His name is considered a taboo amongst the community. No one except my mama and Isandra talks about him,"

"Why?"

"Because he has the power to see into the future. A lot of people say that he's creepy and makes bad things happen," 

"And so because of that, he deserves to get ostracised like that?" Juano couldn't believe it. Bruno was just like him. Always being judged for his powers and not for the person he is inside. "He's just like me,"

Mirabel patted his shoulder. "How long ago was this?"

"About ten years,"

Mirabel went into thought. "That's how long he went missing for, how long ago it was since the day I didn't get a gift,"

Juano became quite intrigued. "So the day you didn't get a gift, was the same day I got a gift. Maybe these powers were meant to be for you but for some reason I got given what was rightfully yours,"

"I don't these powers were bestowed upon you by accident," Mirabel shook her head. "Don't ever doubt yourself. You were blessed by a miracle for a reason,"

"How can you theorise that?"

"I don't know. I just...believe that what happened to my family can be given to others. Hang on a minute!  Why don't you join me in rescuing the miracle of Encanto?" she asked.

"What?"

"My sister Luisa told me that I can find a vision that Bruno had in his tower. Maybe in his vision cave, we could find answers about you,"

"About me?" Juano asked.

"Yes. Maybe inside the casita, we can find answers about you. You may not be from here but it doesn't mean that it won't hold any answers about your powers,"

Juano remained uncertain. But then again...in a house that was magical...because it could the key to answering the questions that he had been asking himself for a long time. "Okay," he said. "I'll join you on your mission," 

Mirabel offered a hand. He gladly took it and she pulled him up. "Let's go save a miracle and find your answers!"

"Yeah!"

"But first...why don't I show you around the Encanto a bit?"

"Are you sure? I've already seen a lot of it,"

"But I bet you haven't seen the best parts. Please. Let me show you around before we take this quest. It'll make you feel better," she offered another hand.

"Okay," Juano said. "But we're not walking. We're riding. Sinfonia?"

His horse stood up and he bawled 'hello' to Mirabel.

"Mind giving our new friend a lift as she shows us around?" he asks. 

Sinfonia looked to Mirabel who reached into her bag and offered him an apple. He munched on it, then nuzzled his snout into her hands. He liked her already. 

Another chapter is done. What did you all think? Please send reviews and let me know what you all thought. I really hope you all enjoyed this song. I do not own it. Credit goes to Molly Sanden. See you all soon.