Dolores

Staring at the colors of the glowing door in front of her, Dolores frowned and let out a small, pained squeak. Why was this so hard? She should be happy, right? The party goers had all gone home, but whispered voices still floated up to her unbidden. While she had long since learned to ignore them, the relative silence of the past year was gone, and she missed it. For whatever reason, she felt like if she accepted this room, she'd be cursed.

"Dolores?" a small voice asked, and she felt little arms wrapping around her legs.

Startled, she looked down to see her youngest brother Antonio staring up at her. He was without his usual entourage of animals, and she wondered how he had gotten that close without her hearing.

"Yes, Tonito? What can I do for you?"

"Nothing, you just looked like you wanted a hug," he said and squeezed a little tighter.

She had the feeling that he was just as tense about the doors as she was. Antonio had let slip earlier that he thought he heard a wall crack. It had not, and she tried to reassure him then that everything was safe, she would hear it if it did. But that wasn’t what he needed at the moment, so Dolores smiled and asked, "Do I?" She felt his nod and reached down and lifted him up. "Ah, little brother, you were right about that. Thank you. Have you been in your room yet?"

"No, I'm still kinda worried about what will happen," he said quietly. A large yawn escaped as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Do you think it will be the same as before?"

Dolores paused and looked at her own door. There was nothing there yet, a blank slate. I wonder, she thought and nearly jumped out of her skin when a gentle hand came down on her other shoulder. She turned and found her mother looking at her with concern. This was the second time someone had come upon her unawares.

"Are you alright, Doli? You seem a bit on edge." Pepa touched her arm and moved to take the now sleeping Antonio from her. "You look troubled."

Dolores eased Antonio over to their mother and answered, "I'm…okay?"

Her mother adjusted her youngest and gave her daughter an appraising look as her father rounded the corner.

"Ah, you found him then, mi vida." He said with a grin.

Pepa smiled the way she always did around her father and nodded. Dolores hoped she would be that happy with Mariano. For the longest time, she did not think there was any hope of that happening, then it did. Of course, it did take Casita crumbling for that to happen, but it did. She was pulled back to the present when she heard her mother say, "Just in time, Félix. Camilo was asleep on the sofa, so can you take Antonio to our room; we can sort out their rooms tomorrow?"

Félix glanced at Dolores and then back to his wife, nodded and gently took his son.

"Good night, Dolores," he said.

"Good night, Papá."

Her father and brother disappeared around the corner, and Dolores realized her mother was watching her closely.

"What?"

"Tell me what is bothering you, Dolores."

"Bothering me?"

"Yes, you've been standing here, staring at this door, for a while."

Had she been? Dolores turned back to the door. Colors randomly popped in and out of existence as it glimmered in the darkness that had settled over Casita. "Mamí, what if," Dolores fumbled. "What if I don’t…" she trailed off.

"Want to?" her mother finished for her.

Dolores nodded, and at the same time she was ashamed for thinking it.

"You know, after 45 years of dealing with random weather, I too was secretly happy that the magic was gone." She smiled when Dolores squeaked. "I was finally able to do what other people could do without worrying my 'Gift' would spoil things. And now that it's back, I find I have more control than before. And I've realized I actually missed the chaos of it."

Dolores was shocked by this statement, and it must have shown on her face because her mother laughed and said, "I see you missed it too."

After a moment, Dolores smiled and nodded. Turning back to the glow, she asked, "Mamí, what do you think I will find inside?"

Pepa only shrugged and said, "When you first got your Gift, I was horrified. I was afraid it would be too much for you. You were so small, and I was angry with the miracle and Mamá for putting such a heavy weight on you. Tasking you with knowing everyone’s secret burdens, I could see how it pulled you down sometimes. Yet, despite that, you grew into such a graceful and kind young woman. This time, though, Casita feels different. Casita seems more in tune with the whole family, Mira especially. Hopefully, that means you'll have what you’ve dreamed of; a quiet place to rest."

Dolores realized that was precisely what she was worried about. "Yes, that sounds wonderful." Dolores replied and was surprised by her wistful tone. Casita previously created a room based solely on her Gift. Back then this had been fine since she, like her whole family, were expected to use their family Gifts to help the community and be available for Abuela. She frowned as the memories she held of tossing and turning while she fruitlessly attempted to shut out the creaks and cracks of Casita's failing walls. The constant worry of keeping Tío Bruno's actual whereabouts a secret. She hated secrets. There had been far too many. These thoughts threatened to overwhelm her, and she took a small step back. Her mother's hand on her arm was all that was holding her in place.

Could it be true? Even though it appeared everything about Casita had changed…had it? There was only one way to find out. She took a deep breath and let it out slow. Taking in a second, she grabbed her mother's hand and straightened her shoulders. "Right, let's do this."

Reaching out, Dolores grasped the doorknob. Just like when she was small, she immediately felt the surge of magic. Its warmth cascaded over her then rushed back into the door, making her eyes go wide, but unlike the first time, there was no crash of overwhelming sound. If anything, everything seemed quieter? Still, it felt right and calmed her nerves. Casita truly was whole again, and she paused to look at the door before she walked into her room. It looked the same, but something was different in a way she could not put into thought.

Her mother nudged her forward but was still holding her hand as Dolores abruptly stopped again. This was nothing like her room had been before. She took an unsteady step forward, and soft grass sprouted under her feet. There was gentle music playing softly, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. Delicate yellow and red petaled flowers surrounded the bed, and she could swear she could just make out the sounds of crickets. With each step, she saw something new and could not suppress her excitement as she realized, "Mamí, it's so…quiet."

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Pepa released her daughter's hand and watched as Dolores moved about, inspecting this and that. Her daughter was so happy; this was how it should have always been, she thought. Pepa smiled at the light drizzle her moment of anger had conjured. That was the past, she reminded herself, and the rain fizzled. Dolores moved just out of Pepa's line of vision, to the other side of her bed, and let out another squeak. "It's just so beautiful…" Pepa heard her say as her voice trailed off.

"Just like you." Pepa said.

Camilo

The day had been exhausting, but he had done it. He managed to get through the whole party without shape changing even once. He wondered if anyone even noticed. It was a lot harder to do than he expected, but it was worth it. A whole year of not shifting or being able to, made him realize he had relied heavily on it in social situations. He had even made actual friends with other kids his age in the town. Mirabel had helped with that the most. She seemed to know everyone’s name. Seriously, how did she keep them all straight?

He discovered quickly that he really wasn’t made for working on buildings. He and tools never got along and after a few ‘accidents’ his father suggested he help keep an eye on the kids who were too young for school. That was something he was good at, and it was fun to gather them together, putting on little shows for them. His Tío Bruno noticed this and gave him a few ideas for shows that he had written down. The parents of the Encanto would sometimes drop off a little one while they were working on rebuilding the Casita. It did not hurt that the children idolized him, of course. He had even managed to talk a few of the older kids into helping him with his shows when they weren’t busy with chores. It surprised him how enthusiastic they were. He had thought that he needed his Gift to do all those things. It was a revelation to discover he could still help people out and make friends, just being Camilo.

He yawned mightily and decided he would just go to bed. Moving quickly down the darkened hallway, Camilo felt suddenly uneasy. Someone or something was behind him. He was sure everyone had gone home. He rounded a corner and stopped to listen for whoever or whatever it was. But there was nothing, like they'd stopped moving at the same time he did. Camilo took one small step and heard its echo around the corner. Startled, he took a quick step back and lost his balance and realized too late he was much too close to the stairs. He screwed his eyes shut, he was falling, and nothing would stop that. Camilo braced himself for the pain he knew was coming.

THUD

Whatever had been following him grunted in a satisfied fashion, then hands were on him, and Camilo lashed out.

"Hey, hey, Cam it's okay… Camilo!"

Wait…he knew that voice…he knew that voice.

"Are you alright? Open your eyes. It's okay, it's just me, Mirabel.

Camilo opened one eye, focused on his cousin, and almost went limp with relief. Just a dream…just a dream. Still, it'd seemed so real. "Mira, you did not happen to see anyone hanging around…"

"No, but I was headed to the kitchen and saw you sleeping on the sofa…"

"Sofa?"

"Cam, you fell off it. That's why I came over here." She said, as she adjusted her glasses, which he saw were slightly askew.

Camilo hoped he wasn't responsible for that and sat up, letting out a nervous laugh, "Thought I fell down the stairs."

Looking back at Mirabel, he could see her look of concern and felt a moment of embarrassment that turned him crimson. That flared to anger and then back to embarrassment. Camilo sighed. Probably best to put it out of his head. He stood and thankfully Mira pretended not to notice any of it as he helped her up off the floor as well.

"Hungry?" she asked, smoothing her skirt. "I was headed for the kitchen after all."

"Snacks? Yes…race you," he said and took off at full speed.

"Hey!" Mirabel shouted, but he heard her laughing and running behind him. There was a rule about not running in the house…usually. Both rounded the last corner at a dead run and skidded to a jarring halt (only thanks to Casita) just in front of Abuela. Startled, Abuela set down the small tray of tea and polvorosas she had been carrying with a slight clatter. "What are you two doing?" she asked in an amused tone. Still, Camilo and Mirabel immediately straightened.

"Sorry, Abuela," both said simultaneously.

She seemed to be waiting for more, and Mirabel said with a nervous laugh, "We were going to get some cookies..."

Abuela nodded and said, "Please don’t run through Casita," she said and was smiling as she retrieved her tray. “It's dangerous,” Abuela then calmly walked past them, "Dios Mio, what a menace." She moved into the hallway they had just vacated, all the while chuckling to herself. Camilo glanced at Mirabel. She was looking just as weirded out. A year ago, they would have been in for some serious tongue lashings. First from Abuela, then from their parents. So different.

"That is still unnerving." Camilo said when he was sure she was out of earshot.

Mirabel nodded in agreement. "I know, but in a good way? I'm certainly not complaining." and shrugged. "Come on, let's see if there are any more cookies."

Walking into the kitchen, both immediately spied the platter with the left-over sweets piled upon it. The snack foray was interrupted by Mira's mother, who walked into the kitchen from the opposite side.

"Please wash your hands, hijos."

Both stopped dead and turned back to the sink. How could she know they had not? After washing, they turned back to find Mira's mother was already gone.

They looked at one another…unsupervised snack time? This was an unexpected dream come true. There was a clatter of tiles behind them, and Mirabel just sighed. She turned around and picked up the small plates Casita had provided. Really small.

She handed him one, along with a cup that Casita had conveniently filled for them with lemonade. They sat at the table and Camilo stacked his little plate seven high. Mirabel took three and made a show of eating them with tiny bites.

"So," Mirabel began, "You been in your room yet?"

Camilo paused for a moment in his eating and shook his head. "I saw Dolores standing in front of hers, not sure if she went in though." Camilo knew that Dolores wasn't all that thrilled about the magic coming back. But she was so happy about Mariano that she did not seem to care. Mariano, of all people? "She probably did." Camilo said as he replenished his cookie stack. "What about you?"

"No, I’m not really expecting a whole lot and to be honest, I'm a little afraid to touch it."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Me too…"

Mirabel finished her last cookie and took her plate and cup to the sink. "I wonder if Hernando is available..." Mirabel gave a snort at her private joke and said, "I'm going to see if I can find Tío Bruno. There is something I want to ask him." She watched him snitch four more onto his plate and remarked, "You're going to make yourself sick."

"Nah, I will be fine. I'm a growing boy."

"If you say so, primo. Casita, do you know where Tío Bruno is?" There was an answering clatter of tiles and she replied, "Oh." She turned and headed for the door nearest the plaza, and absently waved as she disappeared around the corner.

Alone and full of sweets, Camilo wondered absently who Hernando was. He downed the last of the lemonade, gathered his dishes, plopped them into the sink and headed for the back stairs to the upper level. His room had always been right next to Dolores’s and as he passed it, he saw the image of his sister etched into the wood and paused. Was she smiling? He walked up to 'his' door and just stared. Glancing over, he saw Antonio's was still blank too. Where was he? His brother had let slip that he was worried about the walls cracking. He had tried to reassure his little brother, but Antonio was one stubborn little kid. Getting and then losing his Gift within a few days was super hard on him. He was back to whisper talking again, like he lost his voice.

Camilo returned his attention to his own door and froze. Did he really want to do this? He had only just gotten used to not being able to shift. He could just walk away from it, not that it would change anything. There was a creak in the floor near him, and he looked over to see his father approaching.

"Hey Papá," Camilo said absently.

His father did not say anything, just came up and put a hand on his shoulder. They both stood and stared at the colorfully glowing wood for a while. His father broke the silence as he said, "You did well tonight, Camilo."

"Huh? I did not do anything." Camilo said, turning toward him.

"Exactly." His father said and grasped his other shoulder. "You did not shape-shift at all. It was nice to see you having fun. Your mother and I were very proud."

Camilo smiled at the praise, did a double take, and asked, "Wait, don’t you want me to use my Gift?"

"Of course, Son, but for needed things."

Camilo thought about this, but wasn't coming up with anything that his Gift would actually be needed for, so asked, "What kind of needed things?"

"You'll know." His father sounded very confident about this and turned him back toward the door. Camilo, however, was not so sure. As if sensing his distress, his father continued, "Camilo, you've always been so giving to those around you. Working to make people smile and help them with their burdens. All you need to remember is that we all love you, just as you are."

Camilo smiled and nodded. Maybe it really would be okay. With his father's hand on his back, he gathered his courage and grasped the doorknob. The sudden rush of magic felt weirdly okay, and Camilo smiled as the magic flooded back into the door. Almost like it was trying to get to know him. Really weird, but nice. He walked into his room and paused to take in what he saw before him. It was actually a good size. Nice furniture...carpets. He hated getting out of bed onto a cold floor. He let out a relieved sigh. The thing he most feared was not present in his room.

"This is nice," his father said. "You know, it reminds me of my old room. Good size bed, nice mattress. Very nice."

"Yeah, it is." Camilo said as he lay down on his bed. Why was he so tired? "It's perfect Papá."

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Félix waited for Camilo to be fully asleep and removed his sandals and ruana. His boy was getting big, but he managed to shift his son into a more comfortable position. Before he headed to the door, he noticed the lack of mirrors and wondered if it was Casita or Mira's influence on Casita that had brought about that tiny miracle. Camilo really did not need to practice; he could shift in his sleep if he chose to. Félix stopped at the door and looked it up and down. It was the same as before, but he noted the difference in Camilo's expression, etched so clearly. He chuckled to himself and wondered if Camilo would notice. He grunted with satisfaction and closed the door.

In the past, that face had worn a mischievous grin that exuded confidence. Confidence he knew Camilo did not feel when he was just himself. That smirk was gone, replaced by a smile of a shy young man, learning to be a confident one.