1 week earlier
- This is it. From now on, we have to walk, but we can reach the town before dawn, I think. – Jo explained to Isabela, leaving her car behind.
- Great! I can't wait to finally see Mirabel once again! – she was excited. She has been waiting for this moment for the past ten years. – What will I tell her? – Isabela's smile dropped. – She must hate me after how I treated her.
- Well, at least now you will be able to say sorry, and you will know how she's doing. – Jo said, taking Isa's hand. This calmed Isabela down, making her feel way better.
Even as Isa calmed down, they did not prepare themselves for the storm that was catching up to them. As they were going through the jungle, it coughed up at them. They hid in a cave for a few hours, already soaking wet.
- This is just great. We won't make it before dawn. – Isabela huffed angrily. She was so ready to meet Mirabel again, and now this?
- That's fine. There's still a small chance we might. And if we don't, then what? We continue tomorrow.
When the rain finally stopped, they immediately started walking again.
They didn't expect such a fast result from the rain. Isabela started coughing a few minutes after they left the cave. It got so bad that by the time they reached the closest village, she could barely breathe. It was already dark by then, and only a few people were out on the streets.
Jo asked one of the passengers for a doctor, but to their dismay, they got the direction of the jungle. Nothing could be done. If the doctor's residence is in the forest, they have to go to the forest.
By the time they reached the doctor, Isabela had lost consciousness, and Jo had to carry her. It was a rather hard task since Isa was rather tall and Jo was considered rather short.
A woman in her late twenties opened the door, which was decorated with a painting of herself and three other female figures.
Jo had no idea that one of the figures was the one woman his beloved Isabela had been waiting to see for so long.
- Buenos noches. Soy Muerte, how may I help you? – she asked in suspicion, seeing the stranger, before noticing an uncouncous Isabela in Jo's arms. – Holly Mother Earth! Come in real fast! – She led them to a room filled with empty beds.
Another woman watched them from the staircase, seeming both anoyed and yet worried by their presence, keeping her distance, but Jo had bigger problems than to acknowledge her.
Muerte did things Jo did not expect. She gave Isa medicine and gave her a cold compress to ease her fever, but she even held a ritual on her.
She lit candels, burned flowers, and said things he could not understand, but right at that split second, when all the candels went out by themselves, Isabela woke up, coughing.
- What the... Where am I? – she asked, freaking out.
- It's okay, mi amour! I'm here. – Jo tried to calm her down.
- It's alright. Mi nombre es Muerte; I'm the local doctor. You've got a bad cold, but you will be just fine. – she said with a warm smile.
- Did we reach it? Did we reach Anhelaba Esperanza? – Isa asked, yelling, looking at Jo, holding onto her shirt.
- You guys definitely did. – Isabela was shocked to hear the voice she had been searching for so long - In fact, I would love to know why "Senorita Perfecta Isabela" left her little paradise. – the annoyed voice belonged to a young woman leaning onto the door jamb.
- Mirabel...? Is that really you? – Isa asked with tears in her eyes, covering her mouth.
- You know her, Mariposa? – Emmanuela asked her companion, confused.
- Sí Em, I do. What are you doing here, Isa? – she walked closer to the bed, which her hermana was laying on - Aren't you supoused to be home, having five kids with that big, dumb hunk, making Abuela a hundred percent more proud than I ever did? – Mirabel asked, confused, worried, and, of course, annoyed.
- I'm here to take you home!
- I AM HOME! – Mirabel's tone started to get louder and change from annoyed to angry.
- Okay, you two! I have no idea what is between you, but if either of you wakes up, Leilah or Dulce, I will bring the chanclas! – Emmanuela said, in a terrifyingly calm way. The look on Mirabel's face revealed that this was not a threat. It's a promise. – Now that you've calmed down, Mariposa, who is this?
- Mariposa...? – Isabela questioned the nickname, almoost wispering.
- She is Isabela. I told you about her; she's... – she clearly didn't want to finish her sentence - mi hermana. – as Mirabel said that, Emmanuela's face lit up.
- Holly Mother Earth! Your hermana? – she ran back to Isa and started shaking her hand with both of hers in exitement – Call me Emmanuela! It's so great to finally meet you! Can I call you Isa? – this surprised Isabela and Jo, but not Mirabel.
- Em, are you serious? – Mirabel covered her face with her hand in a mixture of annoyance and shame.
- Why? You told barely anything about your fami...
-Hachooo – Emmanuela was interrupted by a sneeze from Isabela.
The sneeze was usual in the clinic. The part when the whole room was covered by flowers was not.
Emmanuela steered at the flowers, her mouth slightly open from shock. She looked at her companion, hoping for an explanation.
- Yeah. I did not tell you a lot of the interesting stuff. – Mirabel chuckeled.
- Interesting stuff, yeah. – Emmanuela laughed. – Now that I think about it, I didn't even question the healing arepa back then.
The rest of the night went by with Mirabel explaining a lot of stuff to Emmanuela, and Isa, in the meantime, embroidered one of the dresses she had ordered from. She was not interested in anything about her family except the big changes. Dolores' wedding with Mariano, her kids, Bruno, and Camilo's hija, just what's important.
They could all see in her that it was a defense mechanism. She just didn't want to know what things she missed out on because of her choice to leave her family.
YOU ARE READING
Over the Mountains (an Encanto story)
FanfictionIt was expected. Mirabel also had enough, just like Bruno. She left on Antonio's birthday, fearing he would slowly drift away from her too. Ten years have passed since she left, and now the Madrigals are faced with a new challenge, one they never ex...
