bonnie & clyde

The First Betrayal [chapter 11]

There was a silence that lingered in the air as everybody stilled, waiting for Abuela to speak. "Fifty years ago, in our darkest moment, this candle blessed us with a miracle. And the greatest honor of our family has been to use our blessings to serve this beloved community. Tonight, we come together once more as another steps into the light to make us proud."

Just as Abuela stopped speaking, some music started playing and the curtain Antonio stood behind opened. Casita turned on a light, pointing it downward onto the Madrigal like a spotlight. He stood still, eyes quickly glancing from face to face as he got more and more nervous. Casita tried to give him a little push forward, but Antonio stayed still. He turned his head to the side, holding out his hand to the person that wasn't currently in people's view.

There wasn't a doubt in her mind that it was Mirabel. They were close. And with Mirabel living in the nursery with Antonio all his life, he had a strong bond with his cousin. It took a moment and Antonio whispering something for only her (and Dolores) to hear before Mirabel stepped out. She walked Antonio up to his room, stepping off to the side next to her aunt and uncle once she'd reached the top.

"Will you use your gift to honor our community?" Abuela asked and Antonio nodded. "Will you serve this community and strengthen our home?" Antonio nodded once again, and then he touched the base of the candle.

He walked up to the door, taking a deep breath before hesitantly reaching his hand up to the knob. Everybody was holding their breath. Whatever happened after this determined wether or not the miracle could still continue to spread. Many thought Mirabel's ceremony was simply a malfunction, but the thought that the miracle was dying still ate away at their mind; slowly but surely making its way to their central thoughts.

Luckily for the them, Antonio's door didn't start to disappear as Mirabel's had. Instead, he had an intricate design in the back while Antonio himself was the main feature. Animals surrounded his engraving, giving a hint that his gift had something to do with animals.

Then a bird flew in, landing on the boy's shoulder. He let out a few 'yeah's and nods, stating that he could understand the animal. Antonio said something about 'of course they can come too' when the ground began to rumble. A million different animals came flooding into the house, running through the door as soon as Antonio opened it.

"We have a new gift!" Abuela announced the obvious.

Some fireworks went off, y/n being quick to cover Dolores's ears before she had the chance to. Th Madrigal sent a thankful look her way before looking up at the bright lights going off in the sky. The people in Casita clapped for Antonio, Camilo being the exception for he noticed his sister's discomfort from the fireworks alone.

He couldn't imagine how much she must've hated the cheering.

Camilo's looked at y/n with awe, seeing her do the same with him. He grabbed her hand, pushing through the crowd and rushing up the steps. Casita may or may not have helped them out with getting to the room fastest.

They stood at the door, still holding hands. The two wanted to give Antonio the chance to look around his own room first. Camilo had remembered when everybody rushed to see his room before he even got the chance to know where the bed was. He didn't like it, so he didn't want Antonio to relive the things he did.

"Woah!" he looked around the room. He slowly turned around, just in time to see the jaguar coming up behind him. He hooked on to the jaguar's neck, giggling like a mad man as the animal took off throughout his room.

Everybody started to file into the room, watching as he was taken around. There was one point where y/n's heart almost stopped. He'd fallen down, and she thought he was going to die. He didn't. Instead, a hammock, or what would be Antonio's bed, caught him and brought back up onto the jaguar's back.