All of You: Chapter 9

Wow, final chapter! There’s the epilogue and acknowledgments still, but this is the final chapter with a certain amount of substance.

I hope you enjoy Chapter 9: The Explanation.

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Mirabel breathed heavily, marveling at the magic she could feel inside her. Had her family lived like this all their lives? What exactly was her magic? Did it have to do with the light?

She tried to bend the light coming from the little lamp in the corner. No luck. So, that wasn’t her magic. Then what was it?

Slowly, she turned and left the room, hoping to find Julieta, help her pass out the arepas, and see what her mama had to say about all this. She couldn’t ask Abuela, after all.

That was when she saw the quiet scene in front of her. There were villagers, quite beat up—but Julieta was still working her magic and healing them as quickly as her arepas came off the stove. But the rest of her family was just standing there, staring in shock.

“What’s going on?” Mirabel said, staring as she hurried down the stairs. “What happened? Did you scare them away with your magic?”

“No.” Luisa, usually so strong, looked so confused, so scared. “There was this strange burst of light, and it blasted them away.”

Mirabel’s eyes widened. “I, uh…” Her voice trailed off when Bruno came running out of his tower door.

“It was her!” Bruno said, stumbling along awkwardly. “Mirabel! It was all her!”

“What?” Julieta looked stunned. “It wasn’t Mirabel’s fault they got in.”

“No!” Bruno facepalmed himself and shook his head in exasperation. “The light! It was her!”

“I’m lost.” Augustin scratched his head. “Where’s Abuela? She’ll understand him.”

Bruno shook his head. “No! She’s… she’s dead.” His voice choked up, but he pushed through it. “Mirabel is the new candleholder. She is the wielder of its magic, of the light.”

“What!” all of the Madrigals gasped at the same time.

“Abuela is dead?” Isa said, her voice thick with tears.

“Mirabel has magic?” Luisa said, her shoulders shaking.

“How?” This time, it was Miguela who was speaking. She had come out of her room, and Anita stood with her. “I wove a memory of Mirabel’s gift day, and she didn’t get a gift.”

“That was because she was destined to be the candleholder!” Bruno looked exasperated as he wrung his hands, trying to explain.

Anita stepped over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I think what he’s trying to say is that Mirabel didn’t get a gift when she was five because she was going to eventually be the candleholder, allowing the magic to continue into the next generation.”

“Then how did Miguela get a gift?” Pepa asked. “She’s not one of our family.”

Mirabel raised her hand a little. “I might have an explanation for that.” She grinned sheepishly. “I got to know Miguela, and she felt sort of like family. Then, when she got her gift and wove the first image, it started to make sense. Her mother and tio Bruno are in love.”

“What? Me? No, no, no.” Bruno started to back up from Anita, who stepped awkwardly away from him.

“Yes, we once liked each other, but that was ten years ago,” Anita said, staring at Mirabel.

Miguela looked from Bruno to Anita. “Mama, Señor Bruno… maybe you should give each other a chance.” She grinned coquettishly, a look that wasn’t a normal five-year-old look. “Besides, you’ll see a lot of each other since I have magic now.”

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Awww how sweet! Did you see that coming? What do you think of Bruno and Anita? Comment below with your answers!

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