I opened the door and the smell of fresh flowers filled my nose. A gentle breeze from inside her room blew through my hair as I stepped inside. Her room was mostly made out of fabric, yarn and other things that you would use for arts and crafts but everything inside still acted like it was really part of a flower meadow.
There was a soft breeze swaying the grass, there were real clouds near the ceiling and there were even butterflies that were flying around, close to the ground. They were in many different colours, pink, purple, blue and white. They looked similar to the butterfly that Mirabel had stitched onto her shirt, perched on her collarbone.
Then I spotted Mirabel who was now sitting on her bed, her feet dangling off the edge. Her bed was intertwined with a huge cherry blossom tree that was growing in the middle of the room.
"Are you okay, Mirabel?" I asked, trying my best to climb the tree.
"What? Yeah, of course I'm okay" Mirabel answered quickly "Why? Do I look stressed? I'm not stressed."
Mirabel took in a big breath and let it out harshly. I lost my footing and fell down the tree, luckily, I wasn't very high. The ground was soft anyway so I wasn't hurt at all.
"Oh! Sorry!" Mirabel said "Casita, could you-"
Before Mirabel could finish her request, Casita made wooden stairs pop out from the tree. The stairs spiraled around the tree and as I went up I had nearly walked into a branch full of cherry blossoms. Once I made it to Mirabel's bed, I sat next to her, my legs dangling off the edge in the same way her's were.
"I thought that Casita couldn't enter any of the rooms," I said.
"Usually not, but as the head of the family and also the person closest to Casita" Mirabel explained "I get special privileges."
"Besides, I've gotten too used to Casita helping me get ready over the years," Mirabel added with a giggle.
I giggled along with her, she had a contagious laugh.
"So..." I began "What's troubling you?"
Mirabel gave me a sad smile.
"It's uh...I don't know" Mirabel said "It's just it's a lot being the head of a super powerful family at fifteen! A family that an entire town depends on!"
"I know it must've been tough on you the past week" I said "With everything that's happened..."
Mirabel took off her glasses and wiped the tears forming in the corner of her eyes, not even giving them the chance to fall.
"It's not just that!" Mirabel explained "It's...When mi abuela was the head of the family, she did everything differently. Nobody ever really had any freetime and we were more of some kind of service than people."
My eyes widened. I had never met her Abuela but...I have heard some things about how she used to run the family. Apparently, towards the end of her life, she had gotten better and everything became a bit more bearable but obviously, there were still some things that could use some work.
"And I'm just trying to fix the things that were wrong with the way that she ran things" Mirabel continued "But it's so...hard to be the family's head after her. She was the first and no matter what I do, I'm scared that I might become just like her and start treating my family like...Like objects!"
I put my hand on her right shoulder and she put her left hand over it. Then she turned to me and gave me a soft smile. I tried my best to give her a comforting smile back.
"So...You're scared that you'll fall back into your abuela's old habits?" I asked.
"I-I guess" Mirabel answered "But there's also a lingering fear that I won't be able to live up to her. I don't want to run the family the way that she did but she's still the standard that I have to live up to."
"You don't have to be like her, Mirabel" I told her "You should stop comparing yourself to her. I know that might be hard for you but you have to start running this family the way that you want to. Not in the way that you think everyone expects you to."
Mirabel sniffed, I watched as a tear rolled down her cheek. Two yellow butterflies, which stood out since they were the only ones that were yellow in the whole room, cuddled up to her face and wiped her tears with their wings. Mirabel laughed a little bit.
"That tickles," she said softly.
The butterflies fluttered away and Mirabel waved them goodbye.
"I've seen you do it" I said "Lead the Madrigals in your way and...It works! You're a great leader, Mirabel. You just need to be more sure of yourself."
Mirabel smiled at me and gave me a hug, which caught me off guard. I awkwardly put my arms around her. She sniffed and pulled away from the hug and put her glasses back on. Her glasses were tilted a bit in an odd way so I fixed them. Mirabel laughed and I laughed along with her.
"Camilo's right" Mirabel said "You're really easy to talk to. I'm glad that we have you, Y/n."
"Camilo talks about me?" I asked, tilting my head.
Mirabel nodded.
"Of course he does, he likes you, remember?" Mirabel said, nudging me with her elbow.
"He doesn't see me that way, Mirabel," I told her.
"Well...Do you see him that way?" Mirabel asked.
I thought for a moment.
"Honestly, I have no idea how I feel about Camilo" I confessed "But it's definitely nothing negative."
"You guys are each other's valentines!" Mirabel exclaimed "That's quite a difference from how you two used to interact when your family first came to Encanto!"
I laughed at the memory of Camilo scowling at me from across the dinner table and bumping into me on purpose in the hallways.
"Quite a difference, indeed" I said, echoing Mirabel's words.
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Two yellow butterflies that stand out from the rest? What could that be? Or really, WHO could that be?
-Kolour