"Isabella?" Mirabel desperately called, wading through the flower petals in her sister's room.
The morning after Felix's celebration, an unpleasant surprise had awaited the Madrigals at breakfast: Isabella was missing.
"She must have gone after Luisa," Julieta sighed, heartbrokenly flipping an arepa. It sizzled on her griddle. Dolores anxiously confirmed that she couldn't hear Isabella in the Encanto.
"Can anyone else follow them?" Alma worried. She wearily lowered herself into the head chair of the table, lacking her usual detached poise. "I should have known that Isabella could cross the mountains with her vines." Antonio hopefully raised his hand. Alma softened. "Yes, Tonito?"
"I can ask my friends to look for them!" He earnestly beckoned to a pair of toucans. They awkwardly squawked and flapped to his shoulders. "Will you fly over the mountains and look for my cousins, please?" Antonio giggled as they affectionately nudged his face with their beaks and flew away.
"What else can we do?" Augustin agitatedly asked, stabbing his breakfast with a fork. "Isabella doesn't have super-strength like Luisa. What if she gets attacked?" A mellow silence settled over the table. There was nothing to do but wait.
After breakfast, you and Mirabel dismally trudged to the kitchen to wash the dishes. First Luisa, now Isabella. Would they ever return? You distractedly plunged your hands into the warm water, and soapy dish suds slid down them like liquid pearls.
"Mirabel, (Y/n)," Camilo urgently said, suddenly bursting into the kitchen and crossing the room with hasty strides. "What if Luisa didn't run away?"
"What?" Mirabel frowned, rubbing a white plate with a towel. "Nobody could have kidnapped her. She's just been feeling exhausted and underappreciated. She probably wanted to escape for a little while."
"No," Camilo insisted, slapping a paper onto the kitchen table. You stiffened, instantly recognizing the red, jagged handwriting. You must have left the list in his room. Camilo cleared his throat and read the letters. "A, B, C, D, I, J, L, P. Antonio, Bruno, Camilo, Dolores, Isabella, Julieta, Luisa, Pepa."
"Every Madrigal with a gift," you gasped. The mystery of the letters gently clicked like puzzle pieces. "And the L is circled! Luisa disappeared first. This has to be connected."
"Exactly!"
"Woah, slow down," Mirabel exhaled, drying her hands on her dress. "Disappeared first? If Isabella and Luisa were taken... then who's next?"
Camilo thoughtfully snapped his fingers, his dark eyebrows furrowed. "I wish there was a way to know. Tio Bruno chose the wrong decade to disappear."
"That's it!" Mirabel exclaimed, rushing out of the kitchen. Camilo gave you an amused shrug and followed her. Mirabel called, "Come on, (y/n)!" She pried a painting hanging on the hallway wall to the side, revealing a dusty, dark hole. She abruptly ducked her head and disappeared inside. You clambered in after her.
"Yeah, that's smart. Crawl into the creepy black hole." Camilo sarcastically muttered, but you heard his feet lightly drop in behind you. The painting squeaked on its hinges as Camilo closed it behind him, sealing you in the shadows like a tomb. Blinking, you eyes adjusted to the murky darkness.
Splintered plank walkways creaked beneath your feet, and rugged cracks marred the walls, sloppily patched with cement. Mirabel wordlessly treaded down the tunnel. How is this place part of Casita? It looks so... broken.
A cold, furry body convulsed over your foot. You screamed, jerking your foot back and tensely stumbling back.
Camilo steadily caught you underneath your arms before you slammed into the ground. He bent over to scoop up the squealing rat. "Really, (y/n)?" Amusement danced in his eyes.
"It surprised me," you crossly justified. "I'm not scared of rats, Camilo."
"Right, of course." Camilo jokingly narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "Are you scared now?" Camilo dangled the rat in front of your face and you reflexively flinched away with a embarrassingly terrified squeak. He smirked. "Yeah, you are."
"You're so mean."
"Okay, okay," Camilo shook with a breathy laugh as you tried to elbow him in the chest. He hugged you from behind and easily rested his chin on your head. "No more rats. I promise."
"Hey," Mirabel interrupted, poking Camilo. "We're here." She knocked on a wooden, cobwebbed door decisively. "Can we come in? It's Mirabel."
With a start, you recognized the anxious, grisly face that peeked out of the door. Bruno? He's alive?
"Oh," he awkwardly coughed, his nervous eyes fastened onto yours. "I recognize you. From the prophecy with the cracks! Not from spying on the dinner table or anything, I mean, because who does that? Hah." He guiltily finished with a lopsided smile. You decided that you liked Bruno.
"Right, yes," Mirabel hurriedly nodded. "We need you to look into the future. Luisa and Isabella are missing, and we think they've been kidnapped. Camilo, show him the list." When Bruno accepted the paper from Camilo, his smile froze on his face.
"Oh. Oh, no," He whispered with terrified, wide eyes, pressing his fingertips into his temples. "I thought we had more time. It's so soon. Then he's here. He's in the Encanto."
"Tio Bruno," Mirabel soothed, stepping forward. "What are you talking about?" Bruno stumbled into his room, outstretching his hands to prevent Mirabel from touching him.
"He was in my first vision," Bruno cryptically breathed, nervously wringing his hands together. "And he's he reason..." He unsteadily finished,
"The reason one of us will die."