The following morning, Mirabel wasted no time in gathering answers.
At breakfast, Mirabel ran up to Dolores, who was currently filling up a plate of food.
"Dolores, hey!" Mirabel called out to her, "you know, out of all my older cousins, you're, like, my favorite cousin, so I feel like I can talk to you about anything, ergo you can talk to me about anything..."
Dolores stared back blankly. Mirabel kept speaking.
"Like the problem with the magic last night that no one seemed to worry about, but maybe you heard about that maybe I should know about."
Félix then appeared behind Mirabel with Rosa and the real Dolores, who looked unsettled seeing a double of herself.
"Camilo! Stop pretending you're Dolores so you can have seconds" Félix told his son.
Camilo changed back into his actual form.
"Worth a shot" he told them.
"Ah!"
"Hey!"
Casita moved the windows back and forth behind Camilo, hitting him on the back.
Félix rolled his eyes at Camilo's antics, and went to sit down.
"The only one worried about the magic is you, the rats talking in the walls...maybe Tía Emilia and Rosa..." Dolores said, looking over at the young girl, "but they won't tell me anything."
Rosa pouted.
"I want to" Rosa whispered to Dolores "but I told you; I promised Má that I wouldn't."
Emilia then appeared outside and was now approaching the three of them. Mirabel noticed the bags under her aunt's eyes; she obviously hadn't slept well.
What was she hiding?
Mirabel knew she was never going to get any information from her aunt, but maybe if she could get through to Rosa...
Noticing Emilia moving their way, Rosa and Dolores decided to quickly leave.
Before doing so, Dolores turned back, remembering something.
"Oh, and Luisa, I heard her eye twitching; all night. *SQUEAK*"
Mirabel looked over to Luisa. She effortlessly moved a table with one hand, plate of food in the other.
"There we go" Luisa muttered to herself.
Emilia was now beside Mirabel.
"Hey Mira" Emelia greeted her niece with a yawn, taking a small amount of food, "so, what were you all just talking about?"
She stared at Mirabel. The teen never really considered her aunt to be an intimidating person but in this moment her gaze was...intense.
"Oh! Um...you know, just the weather?" Mirabel told her aunt before running off.
Something wasn't right.
"Everyone, to the table! Let's go, let's go" Alma demanded. Casita sent chairs up to the table, and the family crowded around, taking their seats.
Mirabel rushed to sit beside her sister, in the process stealing a seat from Pepa.
"Luisa" Mirabel tried to get her sister's attention.
Pepa glared at Mirabel, thundercloud forming, as she sat beside Félix who helped her calm down.
Alma then gained everyone's attention.
"Family, we are all thankful for Antonio's wonderful new-"
Alma grunted in surprise as she noticed the coatimundis on her chair.
"-gift"
"I told them to warm up your seat" Antonio cheerily told his abuela. He was surrounded by all types of animals.
Felix gave Antonio a thumbs up.
"Thank you, Toñito" Alma shooed the animals off of her chair before sitting down, "I'm sure today we'll find a way to put your blessings to good use."
Mirabel turned to Luisa, attempting to speak softly.
"Luisa, Dolores says you're totally freaking out" she said, "any chance you maybe know something about last night with the magic...?"
Luisa's eye noticeably twitched.
"You do!" Mirabel loudly shouted, smacking the table before pointing at her sister.
The entire family stared at Mirabel.
"Mirabel!" Alma firmly addressed her granddaughter "If you can't pay attention, I will help you."
"Oh, actually..."
"Casita!" Alma called out.
In response, Casita moved Mirabel next to her Abuela.
Félix moved his plate over to his new spot.
"As I was saying" Alma said, giving Mirabel a warning look, "we must never take our miracle for granted, so today we will work twice as hard."
Mirabel leaned back in her chair, looking over at Luisa. Noticing Mirabel's attention on her, Luisa's eyes went wide and she moved her gaze downward.
Mirabel saw an opportunity.
"Mm-hmm, I will help Luisa!" Mirabel offered, trying to leave her chair.
"Stop" Alma ordered.
Casita moved Mirabel back closer to the table.
Alma stood up, demonstrating a commanding presence.
"First, an announcement" Alma said.
She moved towards Isabela.
"I've spoken to the Guzmáns about Mariano's proposal to Isabela" she informed the family, gently cupping Isabela's chin in her hand.
"Dolores, do we have a date?"
Everyone waited a small moment as Dolores listened for an answer. Finally, she spoke.
"Tonight. He wants five babies" Dolores said.
Hearing this, Isabela gulped, multiple flowers suddenly appearing in her hair.
Rosa shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Wonderful!" Alma said, pleased at the news.
She picked the single white flower from Isabela's hair.
"Such a fine young man with our perfect Isabela will bring a new generation of magical blessings and make both of our families stronger."
Camilo then decided to tease Isabela by morphing into Mariano and making a kissy face at her.
Pedro and Matheo decided to join in with the joking around.
"Oooh Mariano!" The two of them said simultaneously.
Wearing a smirk, Isabela sent flowers flying into the boy's faces; Camilo changed back to himself. All three of them spat out some flowers.
"Okay. Our community is counting on us" Alma turned to face the entire family, "La Familia Madrigal!"
"La Familia Madrigal!" Everyone chanted.
"La Familia Madrigal!" Mirabel mumbled, swiftly rising from her seat.
"Luisa, hey-" Mirabel said, hoping to talk to her sister about the magic.
Mirabel noticed that Luisa was already out of her seat.
"What?" Mirabel asked to herself in surprise.
Looking around, Mirabel could see Luisa in the distance, heading towards the village.
With a groan, Mirabel marched forward, colliding with Isabela.
"Sorry" Mirabel said, blowing away some flowers and adjusting her glasses before running off to catch up with Luisa.
"What is your problem?!" Isabela shouted after Mirabel.
...
"Hey! Luisa, hold up!" Mirabel yelled.
Luisa was busy, given quite the long list of things she had to do. Currently, she was in the process of moving a church.
After bringing the building to its new spot, Luisa set it down and dusted off her hands.
It wasn't long before she was pestered with more requests from the townspeople.
"Luisa, can you re-route the river?" one person asked.
"Will do!" Luisa answered.
"Luisa, the donkeys got out again" another said.
"On it" Luisa told him.
Luisa began to collect the donkeys; carrying them with a little more trouble than usual.
Mirabel then caught up with Luisa, climbing over a wall.
"Luisa!" Mirabel shouted.
Mirabel yelped as she lost her balance, falling to the ground. She promptly got back on her feet, following after Luisa.
"Wait a second! You gotta tell me about the magic!" Mirabel told her sister, who glanced over, still not saying anything.
"What's going on? What are you hiding?" Mirabel asked, jogging beside Luisa.
"Nothing" Luisa replied, a slight strain to her voice.
She adjusted her grip on a donkey.
"Just got a lot of chores, so maybe you should just go home." she told Mirabel.
Luisa moved towards a building.
"Luisa, my house is leaning to the..."
A man said as Luisa and Mirabel walked past, his words trailing off when she kicked it back into place.
Mirabel moved in front of Luisa.
"Dolores said your eye was twitching, and it never twitches; something's making you nervous!" Mirabel said.
"Hey, move! You're gonna make me drop a donkey" Luisa said to Mirabel, kicking a donkey into the air before catching it.
"Luisa, will you just..."
Luisa walked away from Mirabel, seemingly ignoring her.
Rolling her eyes, Mirabel let out a small growl of frustration.
"Just tell me what it is!" she demanded.
"There's nothing to tell" Luisa told her.
"You're obviously worried about something." Mirabel said.
Mirabel made an effort to speak more sternly.
"Luisa, if you know what's hurting the magic and it gets worse, 'cause you won't tell me what's wrong..."
Luisa, eyes wide and teeth bared, turned around to face Mirabel.
"Nothing's wrong!" she screamed at Mirabel.
In shock, Mirabel wordlessly stared back at Luisa.
"Wow, uh, sorry" Luisa said more softly; apologetic, "That... That snuck out there. What I meant was, um..."
Luisa set the donkeys down.
"Why would anything be wrong?" Luisa asked Mirabel as she picked her up by the shoulders and set her by the donkeys.
"I'm totally fine. The magic's fine.
Luisa's fine. I'm totally not nervous" Luisa rambled, quite unconvincingly.
Luisa's eye then twitched and Mirabel noticed.
"Your eye is doing the thing..." Mirabel mentioned, pointing towards her own eye.
Luisa got into Mirabel's personal space.
"I'm the strong one, i'm not nervous; i'm as tough as the crust of the earth is" Luisa claimed.
Using only one hand, she tossed a boulder upward and allowed it to fall onto herself; it shattered into pieces.
"Okay..." said Mirabel, expression similar to that of the donkeys on each side of her.
"I move mountains, I move churches,
and I glow 'cause I know what my worth is"
Luisa flexed, looking back towards Mirabel.
"Of course, I mean..." Mirabel said, trying to think of something suitable to say.
The donkeys took a step back.
"Hey, where are you going?" she asked them.
"I don't ask how hard the work is" Luisa used her hips to move a boulder.
"Got a rough, indestructible surface" she did the same thing to move another boulder.
Diamonds and platinum
I find 'em I flatten 'em
I take what I'm handed, I break what's demanded
But
Under the surface, I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus
Under the surface,
Was Hercules ever like
"Yo, I don't wanna fight Cerberus"
Under the surface,
I'm pretty sure i'm worthless If I can't be of service
A flaw or a crack
The straw in the stack that breaks the camel's back
What breaks the camel's back?
It's pressure like a drip, drip, drip
That'll never stop
Whoa
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip till you just go pop
Whoa
Give it to your sister, your sister's older
Give her all the heavy things we can't shoulder
Who am I If I can't run with the ball?
If I fall to pressure like a grip, grip, grip and it won't let go
Whoa
Pressure like A tick, tick, tick
Till it's ready to blow
Whoa
Give it to your sister, your sister's stronger
See if she can hang on a little longer
Who am I If I can't carry it all?
If I falter
Under the surface
I hide my nerves and it worsens
I worry something is gonna hurt us
Under the surface
The ship doesn't swerve
As it heard how big the iceberg is
Under the surface I think about my purpose
Can I somehow preserve this? Line up the dominos
A light wind blows, you try to stop it topplin'
But on and on it goes
But wait
If I could shake
The crushing weight
Of expectations
Would that free some room up for joy?
Or relaxation?
Or a simple pleasure
Instead we measure
This growing pressure
Keeps growing
Keep going
'Cause all we know is
Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop
Whoa
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip till you just go pop
Whoa
Give it to your sister; it doesn't hurt
And see if she can handle every family burden
Watch as she buckles and bends but never breaks
No mistakes
Just pressure like a grip, grip, grip
And it won't let go
Whoa
Pressure like A tick, tick, tick
Till it's ready to blow
Whoa
Give it to your sister and never wonder
If the same pressure would have pulled you under
Who am I If I don't have what it takes?
No cracks
No breaks
No mistakes
No pressure!
Luisa, clearly stressed, panted heavily while staring blankly forward.
Mirabel, wanting to comfort her sister, wordlessly stumbled up to Luisa and tightly wrapped her arms around her.
"I think you're carrying way too..." Mirabel said.
Luisa then hugged Mirabel back, lifting her off the ground in the process.
"Much..."
Luisa tightened her hold, and a cracking sound could be heard.
"Maybe I overdo it" she told Mirabel.
"Yep" Mirabel agreed, voice weak from lack of proper air.
"Um... there is something you should know"
Luisa told Mirabel, "last night, when you saw the cracks, I felt...weak."
She held Mirabel closer.
"W-w-What?" asked a very shocked Mirabel.
"Luisa! The donkeys!" Someone called out.
Luisa put Mirabel down and returned to her tasks.
"On it!" she responded.
"Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean? What do you think's hurting the magic?" Mirabel asked Luisa.
"Don't know" Luisa picked up a donkey, doing a gentle lift to make sure she would be able to carry the weight, "but I heard the grown-ups once."
Luisa picked up another donkey.
"Before Tío Bruno left, he had, like, some terrible vision about it" she added.
"Tío Bruno?" Mirabel asked, "what was in his vision?"
"No one knows. They never found it" Luisa answered, trekking back towards the town.
"But if something's wrong with the magic, start with Bruno's tower" suggested Luisa, turning around to face Mirabel, "find that vision."
"Wait! How do you find a vision?" Asked Mirabel, arms raised upwards, "what am I even looking for?"
Luisa stomped on a plank that the donkeys were now standing on, sending them flying in the air and onto Luisa's shoulders.
"If you find it, you'll know" she told Mirabel,
"but be careful; that place is off limits for a reason."
Mirabel looked back towards Casita.
She still had one more person to talk to.
...
"Rosa, hi!" Mirabel greeted, walking into Rosa's room.
Mirabel knew that Rosa liked to stay in her room as much as possible for some unknown reason; her cousin was most likely to be found there.
Mirabel's assumption was correct. Rosa was there spending time with her rats, having just completed her tasks for that day.
Rosa looked towards her cousin, groaning in exasperation.
"I already told you; I can't say anything" Rosa reminded Mirabel.
Mirabel wrung her hands anxiously.
"Please, if you know anything that might help..." she begged.
Mirabel sat down beside Rosa, while managing to keep her distance from the rats; she may have cringed a bit.
"I need you to tell me".
Rosa didn't say anything right away, instead choosing to pick up a rat and pet it silently.
After a brief silence, she finally spoke.
"You might not like what you find" Rosa warned Mirabel.
Mirabel was completely puzzled; what did that mean?
"Why would you say that?" she asked Rosa, hands outstreched in a questioning gesture.
Rosa dusted off her skirt and stood up.
"If you must know; if you think it will save the magic..." Rosa said, walking towards the door, "you will want to start with Pá's room."
Mirabel scrambled to her feet and sprinted towards Rosa.
"Thats what Luisa said!" Mirabel realized, exiting Rosa's room.
"Just don't tell Má" Rosa requested, trailing after Mirabel.
Mirabel, noticing that her cousin was following her, stopped and turned to face her.
"Where are you going?" Asked Mirabel, curious.
Rosa chuckled, hands on her hips.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going with you."