How Do You Save a Miracle?

~With Mirabel~

"If it was all in my head, how did I cut my hand?" Mirabel questioned. "I would never ruin Antonio's night. Is that really what you think?"

Tía Julieta walked over to her daughter. "What I think is that today was very hard for you."

"That's..." Mirabel grunted. "I was looking out for the family. And I might not be super strong like Luisa, or effortlessly perfect like señorita perfecta Isabela, who's never even had a bad hair day, but..." Mirabel sighed, leaning against the counter. "Whatever."

Tía Julieta carefully grabbed Mirabel's wounded hand and held it comfortingly. Casita then brought over a plate with an arepa con queso and a salt cellar.

Mirabel saw this and held out her other hand, waiting for her mother to give her the arepa.

"I wish you could see yourself the way I do." Tía Julieta said, sprinkling some salt onto the arepa. Picking it up, she placed it in Mirabel's hand. "You are perfect, just like this."

Mirabel took a bite as she listened to her mother's words. "You're just as special as anyone else in this family."

Holding up her injured hand, they watched as the wound healed and disappeared.

"Mm-hmm. You just healed my hand with an arepa con queso." Mirabel told her mother.

Holding her hand and entwining their fingers, her mother corrected her. "I healed your hand with my love for my daughter-"

Mirabel rolled her eyes and groaned.

"-with her wonderful brain..." Tía Julieta continued.

Mirabel groaned and rolled her eyes once again, wanting for this to be over already.

"...and big heart," her mother added.

"Stop!" Mirabel said.

"cool glasses..." She pushed up Mirabel's glasses with her finger.

"Mamá!"

She pulled Mirabel's face closer and kissed her cheek. "Muy te amo, cosa linda!"

Mirabel backed away. "I know what I saw." She crossed her arms.

Her mother sighed. "Mira, my brother Bruno lost his way in this family. I don't want the same for you." She told her. "Get some sleep. You'll feel better tomorrow."

~~~

After the ceremony, the guests said their goodbyes and left. Some stayed behind to help clean, but eventually, they also left.

You were in the bathroom, leaning over the sink as tears spilt from your eyes. The constant throbbing of your headache made it difficult for you to do anything at all.

You thought and wondered what the cause of your headaches could be, but you just couldn't put a finger on it.

Turning on the faucet, you took your hands and cupped them in the water. You then proceeded to splash your face with the freezing, cold water.

You did this several more times before turning off the faucet and wiping off any excess water on your face. Looking up at the mirror, you jumped as you once again saw the corrupted version of you in the mirror.

"I'm back~" She sang. "Did you miss me?"

Backing away in fear, your eyes widened, and you shook your head.

"Go away. I'm not dealing with this today." You told her.

She only chuckled sinisterly, the same sickening smirk you saw her wear in your dream that one night.

"You can't stop it from happening, (Y/N)." Its distorted voice spoke, almost sounding as if it had consumed the voices of many.

You laughed, trying to act tough. "Oh, yeah? Why don't you watch me?"

"As amusing as it would be and as much as I would like to see that happen, unfortunately, I'm afraid I cannot because... it was meant to happen, (Y/N). It is... your destiny." She leaned forward and reached out her arm.

You backed up as much as you could before hitting the wall behind you. Her hand went through the mirror, your eyes now even wider than before. Shutting your eyes tightly, you slid down the wall, your head pounding and your ears ringing.

"Stop, please!" You cried, holding your head as you sobbed.

Looking up through your hair, you saw as she was already an entire arm through the mirror. You tried to think of something to do, but nothing came to mind. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and your head shot up.

The amalgamation had retreated into the depths of the mirror and whispered, "I'll be back..."

As soon as she was gone, you stood up and opened the door. It was Mirabel.

"Oh, Mirabel, hi." You laughed nervously.

"(Y/N)- are you okay?" She noticed your messy hair, red, puffy eyes, and tear-stained face.

"Just peachy." You quickly fixed your hair and wiped your face with your sleeve.

She rose a brow as she inspected your being. "Alright, then... Um, I noticed you weren't in the room, so I went to go look for you."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I was... washing my face." You told her, which was partially true.

"Ah, explains the wet face." She nodded and pursed her lips together. "Anyway, now that I found you, we should go back to the room and head to sleep. It's late."

"Okay, I'll be right there. Let me just..." You turned off the bathroom light and closed the door. "Alright, let's go."

"Your bathroom's haunted, by the way." You told Mirabel as you both walked side by side to the nursery.

She laughed. "Haunted? You're crazy."

"Thank you." You smiled, placing a hand on your chest. "But, yes, haunted."

"Yeah, alright." She nudged you playfully with her elbow, still laughing.

The both of you reached the door and opened it, revealing the... sort of empty room.

"Right, I forgot. Antonio's not here anymore." You sighed sadly, examining the newly arranged room.

Mirabel's bed was where it was before, except her sewing table and wardrobe were in front of her bed against the wall.

Your bed was right across from Mirabel's and it faced the same direction Mirabel's was. Except it was on the other side of the room, along with Antonio's drawer and a few boxes filled with his belongings.

"Hey, at least we still have each other." Mirabel reminded.

"Yeah, good point. But it's just kind of not the same without Antonio." You sat on your bed, laying down shortly after.

Mirabel hummed in agreement and did the same, tucking herself into her blanket. "Well, good night, I guess."

"Goodnight, Mirabel." You said, rolling over to face the wall.

Pulling the blanket over yourself, you felt the tears welling up in your eyes. Burying your face into your pillow, you silently cried into it. You just wanted for your suffering to end already. You couldn't handle the pain any longer.

Freezing in place, you heard Mirabel grunt and throw the sheets off herself. You listened as she got up out of bed and walked over to the door, opening it. The door closed, and there was nothing but silence.

"Mirabel?" You called out, but there was no response. Sitting up, you saw you were the only one in the room.

"She left?" You whispered. "Where did she go?"

Getting out of bed, you walked over to the door and opened it.

Looking out, you watched as Mirabel climbed onto the shingles of the roof. Making her way on top, she stood right next to the window the candle was shining out of.

You gasped lightly when you saw Abuela approaching the window. And upon approaching the window, it surprised you how she did not notice Mirabel.

Closing the door, you sat down on the edge of your bed, waiting patiently for Mirabel to come back. There were about a million questions racing through your head, not one of them which you had the answer to.

"What is she up to?" You asked yourself, biting your fingernail.

~~~

Several minutes passed, and you were half asleep. Almost about to fall forward and off the bed, Mirabel suddenly came bursting through the door. You immediately shot up, nearly falling off the bed.

"Mirabel?" You yawned, rubbing your eyes.

"Oops. Sorry, (Y/N)." Mirabel apologized. "I thought you were sleeping?"

You shook your head. "Well, I tried to, but I kind of heard you... get up and leave the room."

"Oh, sorry about that." Mirabel repeated, gathering her clothes and bag from her wardrobe.

"No, it's fine... where are you going?" You asked her, confused about why she was holding her clothes and bag.

"Oh, I'm gonna save the miracle." She stared at you. "Want to help?"

"The miracle?... Is this about the whole candle almost going out and the house with cracks thing?" You questioned, tilting your head. You looked away as she changed out of her nightgown.

"Precisely that. Also, I overheard Abuela talking about how our family is really vulnerable. And she needs help to protect the family, and the miracle needs saving, yada yada. So, I'm going to save it and you're going to help me." Mirabel explained, putting on her shoes.

"So, what I'm gathering is that you're going to be saving a miracle, a literal miracle, at midnight?..." You asked, still a tad bit confused.

"Yep." She placed her hands on her hips.

"And exactly how are you going to save a miracle?" You watched as she stood there, completely dumbfounded.

"Good question. How do I save a miracle?" She asked herself.

Thinking about it for a second, she came up with an answer. "I figure out what's happening to the miracle."

"And how are you going to do that?" You quizzed, resting your head in your hand.

"Well, there is one person in this family who hears everything about everything." She held up a picture frame of the family. "So, if anyone would know what's wrong with the magic, it's her."

Mirabel expected a response from you, but when she didn't get one, she turned around to see why you weren't answering. That's when she saw you laid out across your bed, passed out.

"Okay, then..." She laughed. "We'll start first thing in the morning."

She then changed out of her clothes and into her nightgown and went to bed.