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In the courtyard, preparation for Antonio's gift ceremony was in full swing. No one even noticed Mirabel entering with her arms overflowing with groceries.
“Oh, sorry...excuse me...” Mirabel said, struggling with the heavy load. The family chattered and talked over each other.
“Luisa, how are those pianos coming? Do you need help with that?” a voice called out.
“Lift it higher,” another voice directed.
“Camilo,” Abuela Alma yelled. “We need another José.”
Mirabel's cousin Camilo yelled “Jooooooosé!”and changed into a tall guy. He helped hang a banner that said “ANTONIO!” over a door with a glowing border around it.
“Luisa, the piano goes upstairs,” shouted Abuela.
“You got it,” answered Luisa, hauling the piano over her shoulder.
As a swirling wind, caused by Tía Pepa, hovered over the courtyard, Mirabel tried to keep the load of supplies she was carrying from blowing away.
“My baby's night has to be perfect, and it's not perfect and—” Tía Pepa mumbled, pacing back and forth. Tío Felix rushed to calm her down.
“Amor, amor,” he pleaded. “You're tornadoing the flowers,” he said.
“Did someone say flowers?” said the sugarysweet voice of Isabela, who was suddenly descending from the top floor on a flowery vine. A vibrant array of flowers bloomed, and petals fluttered everywhere.
“Our angel, our angel,” Tío Felix praised.
“Please don't clap,” Isabela implored them humbly.
“Ah, thank you,” Tía Pepa said.
“Oh, it's nothing,” Isabela answered. She landed gracefully in the courtyard next to Mirabel, who was now covered in petals. Mirabel quickly brushed petals off herself, hoping to look as elegant and graceful as her older sister.
“Relax. No one's looking at you,” Isabela said.
“Well, they're only looking at you 'cause... you're so pretty,” Mirabel responded. “Agh, Mirabel,” she said to herself, wincing at the sloppy comeback.
Isabela glared at her as if saying “loser,” then headed off in a different direction.
Determined to keep helping as much as she could, Mirabel hauled a heavy load of supplies onto the kitchen counter. Her mom noticed and sidled over.
“Whoa,” her mom said with concern. “Mi vida, you okay? You don't have to overdo it.”
“I know, Mamá. I just want to do my part like the rest of the family,” Mirabel said, then let out a big grunt as she dumped another load onto the counter. The counter tiles quickly shuffled it away.
“She's right, amor,” her father said, suddenly in front of her with a swollen face covered in red welts.
“Eegh!” Mirabel winced. She glanced over to her mom. Her mom sighed and began pounding dough between her palms to make an arepa.
Her father continued. “First gift ceremony since yours, lot of emotions—”
“Bee stings,” Mirabel announced to her mom.
“And...I've been there—”
“Ay, Agustín,” Mirabel's mom said.
“When me and your tío Felix married into the family—outsiders who had no gift, never ever would, surrounded by the exceptional, it was easy to feel...‘unexceptional'—”
“Okay, Papi,” Mirabel said. Her father was insistent that she talk about her feelings on Antonio's special day.
“I'm saying I get it—”
“Eat,” Mirabel's mom said, stuffing an arepa in Agustín's mouth, healing him instantly. She shoved him away and turned to Mirabel. “Mi amor, if you want to talk—”
“I gotta put out the stuff,” Mirabel blurted, grabbing more supplies. “House isn't going to decorate itself.” Suddenly, Mirabel realized what she had said. “I mean, you could,” she said to Casita. “You look great.” With her arms loaded, she headed out of the kitchen.
“Corazón, remember,” Julieta called out after Mirabel, concerned. “You have nothing to prove.”
“You have nothing to prove!” Mirabel's father bellowed. Satisfied with their little talk, he exchanged a “we nailed it” look with Julieta—but then a bee stung his nose, causing it to swell up again.
Later on, feeling great and not like she had anything to prove at all, Mirabel hauled a huge box to the second floor. She pulled out one candle after another and arranged them around the balcony. Throughout the house, there was busy chatter.
“Casita, the whole town is coming. The staircase should be twice as wide,” someone ordered.
“Don't touch that! That's for Abuela,” another voice said.
“Anybody seen my tiple?” someone else called out.
Mirabel felt disconnected from the planning in the courtyard, but she was determined to find her own way to help on Antonio's special day. The box she was carrying had a special homemade gift for Abuela.
Mirabel moved down the hallway, still carrying the box, and paused briefly at the entrance of Tío Bruno's tower. His door was boarded up and covered with cobwebs. She looked at it with a mix of curiosity and fear. No one in the family talked about Bruno. What happened to him? Why did he leave?
Mirabel continued on. She knelt in the hallway and pulled out a beautiful candle doily she had made for Abuela. She gazed up at the wall above her. It was covered with photographs of her extraordinary family. As she looked over them, she realized her photo wasn't there.
Of course it isn't, Mirabel thought. This wall was for everyone who had received a magical gift. She knew she would never be on the wall with her family.
“One hour!” Abuela called out, startling Mirabel so much that she dropped a lit candle on the floor, setting the gift she had made for Abuela on fire. Mirabel rushed to put the fire out, but the doily was destroyed. Suddenly, Abuela stood in front of her, watching the whole spectacle.
“Maybe you should leave the decorations to someone else?” Abuela said.
Mirabel, still on the floor trying to save the doily, glanced up at Abuela. “Oh, no, I actually made this as a surprise...for you.”
Abuela looked down at Mirabel, not quite sure what to think, then she noticed a dark cloud forming in the sky. She called to her daughter,“Pepa, the sky has a cloud.”
“I know, Mamá, but now I can't find Antonio. What do you want from me?” Tía Pepa threw her hands up in helpless desperation, and the sky darkened. Abuela sighed, looked around, and checked her watch. People from the community would be here soon.
“I bet I can find him,” Mirabel offered.
“Oh, I'm sure you need to go get cleaned up,”Abuela said.
“It's no problem! Anything I can do to—”
“Mirabel,” Abuela interrupted. “I know you want to help, but tonight must go perfectly. The whole town relies on our family, on our gifts. So the best way for some of us to help is to step aside, let the rest of the family do what they do best. Okay?”
“Yeah. Mm-hmm,” she said with a nod.
Even though the words hurt her, Mirabel always went along with whatever Abuela asked of her. Mirabel loved her abuela and wanted to make her proud! She felt like she kept disappointing her. Abuela gave Mirabel a tight-lipped smile as a gust of wind gushed through the house.
“Pepa! Amor, the wind!” Abuela called out, rushing away.
“Ay! What do you want me to do? I need this muchachito,” wailed Tía Pepa.
Mirabel went to her room, as her abuela had suggested. She knew how important tonight was to Abuela, to her family, and to the entire Encanto. Why couldn't Abuela see that she just wanted to make her family proud?