Luisa tries to balance optimism with crush mistakes
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Luisa hadnât left her room in four days. No, she stayed curled up in her bed, not even getting up to eat. Her ankle remained elevated and as well cared for as possible, and while the aching in her ankle did lessen, the ache in her soul remained the same.Â
She could still see her motherâs haunted gaze. Her confusion at seeing her. Her mention of Abuelo. The blood trickling from her mouth.Â
Luisa had never seen a dead body, but her mamĂĄ practically counted.Â
The vision haunted her every time she closed her eyes.Â
Every night she prayed to a miracle that it would go awayâ that all this pain and suffering would just go away .
âŠbut a sound outside her door caught her ear.Â
Footsteps, familiarly light onesâ Isabellaâs. Of course, this was usual, her room was right next to hers. But she sounded⊠excited? A pace back and forth, followed by the quiet steps of none other than Dolores. Hushed whispers were exchanged right in front her door, and Luisa found herself now wanting nothing more than to get out of bed and know if something happenedâ
Was MamĂĄ better? Did the fever run its course? Was it over? Was she waiting for her too?Â
Suddenly, Luisa could no longer wait. She hobbled out of her room as fast as possible, swinging the door open, shocking her sister and cousin as they froze in place. Luisa looked around, her heart sinking slightly at her motherâs absence.
âL-luisa! Youâre⊠youâre up,â Isa said, a nervous smile taking up her face. Dolores simply nodded.Â
âI-i heard all the excitement and thought⊠itâs stupid now that I think about it,â Her heart sunk further.Â
âOh,â Isaâs smile faded.Â
âY-yeah, I think Iâll just⊠Iâm gonna go back to bedââÂ
âIsa has a plan to help TĂa but we canât let Abuela know because she said itâs a dumb idea!â Dolores spilled before covering her mouth with a gasp. Luisa blinked, not believing a word that was said, until looking at how red Isaâs face was.Â
âWhy would you tell Luisa that?! It was supposed to be our secret, Lola,â Isa whispered harshly.Â
âI-i donât know. I think Luisa deserves to know, you knowâ itâs her mama too,â Dolores glanced at her little cousin.
Isa glanced back at her sister, clearly contemplating. Luisa did her best to not feel betrayed.Â
âI⊠guess. I donât knowâ are you able to walk into town?â Isa asked. Luisa chewed her lip.
âMaybe if I had a cane?â Luisa shrugged.Â
âI think Abuela keeps one by theââ Before Dolores could finish her sentence, Casitaâs tiles rolled along in such a way that a cane was quickly presented to Luisa, who took it with a grateful pat on the wall.Â
âWell⊠I guess all thatâs left now is to go see Mariano in town and hope that message actually worked, haha,â Isa said, eyes dropping to the ground as she tucked hair behind her ear. Dolores quickly grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.Â
âDonât worry. Even if he doesnât, we can just look in the library ourselves. And youâve got help, right Luisa,â Dolores motioned for her to support.Â
âY-yeah of course!â Luisa hobbled over to the other side, Abuelaâs cane acting more like a crutch. âWeâre the cousins Madrigalâ if anyone can save mami itâs us, right?â Luisa forced herself to believe what she said. Isa nodded, seeming to share the same falsely positive feeling.Â
âOf course,â She said, gripping her sisterâs shoulder, her trembling hand confirming Luisaâs suspicions.Â
Together, the three of them made their way to the stairs, Casita making them move for Luisaâs sake, until they were down and almost out the door untilâ
âLuisa! Youâre out of your roomâ! Andâ Dolores? Isa? Where are the three of you going? And is that MamĂĄâs cane?â Pepa stood by a boiling pot of breakfast stew, her red curls in an even messier braid than usual, with deeper bags under her eyes too.Â
âOh, I just wanted some company while I did my morning flower run,â Isa bluffed.Â
âOh? Well, donât let me stop you. Itâs good for you girls to get your fresh airâ especially you Luisa. Iâll be sure to tell AgustĂn youâre up,â Pepa smiled, a soft rainbow overhead, making Luisa feel a little embarrassed, but a little proud of herself too.Â
âYes, yes, do that MamĂĄâ weâll be back soon enough,â Dolores practically pushed them towards Casitaâs doors.Â
âUmâ alright. Be careful then!â Pepa called back, but by then they were already out of the doors.Â
âDios mĂoâ did you really need to push us? My lie was perfectly fine on its own,â Isa huffed, brushing off her dress.Â
âCanât keep Mariano waiting,â Dolores gave a big shrug, before urging them on once more. Isabella quickly, though Luisa struggled to keep up. Determined not to distract though, she remained silent as she hobbled behind.Â
Soon enough the girls made it to the village, which remained⊠oddly quiet. What day was it? Luisa hadnât been out in so longâ perhaps the people of the village were just as sick as mami was, so if she wasnât fixed then no one would be and then the village would become a ghost town and thenâ
âYouâre breathing really fastâ are you okay?â Dolores was suddenly right in front of Luisa. The nine-year-old blinked, shaking her head to rid herself of the thought.Â
âJust⊠catching up,â Luisa grimaced.Â
âWell, weâre at my starting point so we can go slower from here,â Isa said, going to a light post and revitalizing the withering vines.Â
Dolores stayed by Luisaâs side as Isa worked more hurriedly just ahead, placing a soft hand on her back.Â
âHas⊠has the village usually been this empty?â Luisa asked.Â
âThings have been slowing a bit since tĂa got sick,â Dolores had to think about it. âBut it is still early, I wouldnât worry too much.âÂ
Right, Luisa was just being a baby, worrying about nothing.Â
Everything was fine. mami was fine, the village was fine, Luisa was fine.
Dolores noticed, but said nothing.
After what felt like a silent eternity, they eventually reached the bench Isa said Mariano and her had met on the previous day, and lo and behold the boy was running towards it too, a flower petal in hand, as well as a heavy bag.Â
âHola Mariano,â Dolores smiled sheepishly.Â
âOhâ Hola, Dolores; Isabellaââ He paused. âLuâŠisa?âÂ
âRightâ Luisa,â He gave an apologetic smile.Â
âDid you get the book?â Isa asked.
âWellâ I did check the library, but it turns out quite a few fit that description, so I just borrowed them all and threw them in this bag Señor SĂĄnches let me borrow,â he said, setting it down on the bench.Â
âWow, those books look big,â Luisa cringed at the sight. She liked reading, but it looked like⊠a lot.Â
âI can help you three scan through them if youâd like. I may not be the smartest, but I can read well,â Mariano smiled earnestly.Â
âOf course! A-and it shouldnât be too hard, we can just check the indexes to see if they might have anything we need,â Dolores immediately spoke. Isa glanced at her cousin a moment before verbally agreeing.Â
âYeah, it shouldn't take too long. Hopefully they have a picture too,â Isa said, tucking her hair back once more.Â
âLetâs get to it then,â Mariano beamed, taking a book and plopping onto the ground, Dolores sitting next to him, Isa across and Luisa on the bench.Â
Page after page, Luisa flipped through, carefully not to tear any pages on accident, scanning through index after index for any hint of aâŠ
âWait, what am I looking for?â Luisa asked.Â
âSomething on the Verbena or Yellow Fever or maybe Mosquitoes. MamĂĄ said that the flower held a cure,â Isa didnât look up from her reading.Â
Verbena or Yellow Fever⊠Verbena or Yellow FeverâŠ
No, this book was about animal diseases. No, this one only talked about malaria, geezâ how many red books with white letters could there be? Not this page, not that pageâ wait-!
Luisa spotted somethingâ a chapter on âYellow Fever and Other Mosquito-Borne Illnessesâ!Â
Verbena, verbena, verbenaâŠÂ Ah ha! Verbena!
âIsa! I found something!â Luisa proudly proclaimed. Isa perked up, rushing to her sisterâs side and taking the book from her.Â
âThe Verbena is a flower native to Venezuela, known for its healing properties!â Isa grinned wide, pink flowers appearing in her hair, catching the attention of the other two. âOften used to fight sore throat and heart related diseases, itâs uncertain whether or not this yellow flower can cure yellow⊠fever,â Isa slowed.Â
An uneasy wave washed through the children, but Isa read on. âStudies have been done but never has a cure ever been proven for yellow fever, and there⊠There might never beâŠâÂ
âLet me see that,â Dolores didnât believe what she was hearing. Quickly she grabbed the book and read over it, but the look in her eyes confirmed what Isa read was true. A tidal wave of guilt crashed over Luisaâs body as she saw Isa begin to cry.Â
âI-i shouldâve just listened to Abuelaâ why did I think I could ever fix this? That my job could ever be anything outside of making stupid flowers!â She did her best not to choke.Â
âN-no, Itâs my fault for not reading it before getting all excited,â Luisa argued.Â
âBut isnât it still worth a try? If Señora Julieta believes in it, then I know I do,â Mariano suggested, placing a hand on Isa that she shook off.Â
â MamĂĄ is dying ! Sheâs hallucinating, just like Abuela said. Sh-she probably was just imagining things,â Isa shouted, thorny vines wrapping around her arms. âAnd that book doesnât even have a stupid picture!âÂ
âIsaââ Dolores tried to comfort her too, but Isa stormed off. Without much thought, Mariano and Dolores gave chase, tossing the book aside and leaving Luisa to her lonesome.Â
âŠneedless to say, it didnât take long before Luisa too felt the sting of tears.Â
All she wanted to do was help, but it seemed like all it did was get others hurt, including herself. She shouldâve just stayed out of itâ let grown ups handle it.Â
Butâ but she was supposed to be useful. She was the strong one. She had to do something , right?Â
Luisa looked at the books around her. She picked up the one Dolores discarded and once again flipped to the page from before. What Isa read did turn out in fact, true, but Luisa couldnât accept it. She picked up a different book and flipped through thatâ nothing. Another oneâ nothing. Another oneâ yellow fever! âpossible cures!Â
A yellow cluster flowerâ maybe the verbena! A picture too! Isa just needs to see it!Â
Luisa jumped up in excitement to run to her sister, but fell over in pain from her ankle. Silently she cursed her foolishness, as she now also had a bruise to match her fatherâs. Head and ankle throbbing, Luisa couldnât help but still feel a sense of nervous excitement. Was she wrong about the other book, yes. Were all the others useless? Also yes. But this one at least suggested something, and while she wasnât certain if it was the verbena, it was something â and listed under possibilities. If Luisa could just get up and find Isabella to tell her the newsâ
Wait a minute, she had heard a ripâ the page was now torn clean off (Señor SĂĄnches wasnât going to be happy). Luisa struggled to get herself back on the bench, resting her ankle up on it too, bending for the page when suddenly a very, very poorly timed gust of wind blew by, taking the page and sending it away.Â
âWait-! Noâ come back!â Luisa scrambled to get up, remembering the cane this time and tried to ignore all the pain as she followed it.Â
âLuisa? Luisa! Where are you going?â She heard Isabella, who finally returned with her cousin and Mariano.Â
âI found it! But the page fell out!â Luisa pointed. Immediately the three of them sprang into action, trying to beat the wind and try to catch it before it hit any puddles or got stuck somewhere. Eventually, Isa decided to use her powers, and rode a gigantic flower up to the paper where she quickly clutched it, showing it off proudly. Luisa cheered loudly, forgetting Dolores was near, but even she let out a cheer of her own.Â
âIsabella Madrigal! What is the meaning of this?!âÂ
âN-nothing, Abuela, itâs justâ well, I know you said we shouldnât go looking for cures, but we found it! We found the flower MamĂĄ suggested andââ Isa glossed over the page before pausing.Â
âIt⊠it doesnât sayâŠâ She looked down at Luisa.Â
âIt matches the description of the other book perfectly though!â Luisa contested, heart pounding.Â
âI warned you, Isabella. We already tried searching every book, I didnât want you to get your hopes upâŠâ Abuela clutched her black shawl as Isaâs flower withered and she sank back to the ground.Â
âIsa, you have to believe meâ for MamĂĄ,â Luisa pleaded.Â
Isabella looked over the page again, then at Luisa, then at the page again.Â
Carefully, she created the flower in her palm, looking at Abuela.Â
âIsnât it worth a shot?âÂ
Abuela looked conflicted. All Luisa felt she could do was hobble over to Isabella and hold her other hand, which Isabella squeezed.Â
â...Alright, we can try,â the old woman sighed. Isabella squeezed her sisterâs hand once more.Â
âThank you, Abuela,â Isa said, and they all began walking, save Mariano, who decided to go back and return the books.Â
After a bit, Isa whispered, âI really, really hope youâre right Luisa.âÂ
Luisa could feel herself trembling as she whispered,
It didnât occur to Luisa how much time had passed until she noticed breakfast had been completely put away, with Camillo and Mirabel running around the foyer, playing with Casita while FĂ©lix watched. In the distance, Luisa could hear her papa playing piano.Â
None of that ultimately mattered, as when Abuelaâs presence was noticed, all came to a stop, minus the piano.Â
âBack so soon?â FĂ©lix joked.Â
âIsabella?â Alma held out her hand for the flower, which Isa handed, creating five more in the process.Â
âAbuela is going to make some tea,â Dolores told her father, going to sit next to him.Â
âTea for Julieta?â FĂ©lix asked. Luisa and Isabella nodded.Â
âI see,â He nodded seriously. âI should get AgustĂn.âÂ
âNo, I can get PapĂĄ,â Isa said, heading off to the piano.Â
Luisa decided to take her place on the steps, watching as Mirabel and Camillo played with blocks. Mirabel eventually noticed her sister watching, and made her way over, plopping down next to her, which Camillo copied.Â
âDo you have an owie?â She pointed to Luisaâs ankle. Luisa nodded.Â
âItâs okay, MamĂĄ will fix it,â She gave a toothy grin. Luisa couldnât help but smile.Â
âShe will⊠hopefully soon,â she couldnât help but look at Abuela, who huffed.Â
âItâs rude for you all to stare,â She said.Â
âSorry Abuela!â Everyone apologized, quickly looking away. Mirabel and Camillo giggled at that, which made even Alma laugh a little too.Â
Suddenly, hope was in the air of La Casita Madrigal. Everyone was dying to know if it would work, and how quickly they could know too. After all, tomorrow was the tripletâs 40th birthdayâ celebrations would be in orderâ if Julieta was alright. If not, well⊠it simply wouldnât be their birthday without all three of them, now would it?Â
Abuela finished brewing the tea right as AgustĂn and Isabella returned, and she carefully crafted a tray and began taking it up the stairs, allowing only AgustĂn, Mirabel in his arms, Isabella, Luisa to follow.Â
âPepa, sit Julieta up,â She said as she entered the room. Mirabel gasped at the sight of her mother, clutching her fatherâs collar, but not looking away. Luisa held onto Isabella.Â
Pepa quickly shot up from her chair and obeyed, carefully arranging her sisterâs pillows and her to an upright position.Â
âIs that a new tea?â She asked.Â
âItâs a special one,â Luisa explained.
âLetâs just hope my magicâs enough,â Isa whispered, squeezing her sisterâs hand once more, watching as Abuela sat on the bed and poured the tea in her mouth and forced her to swallow. Julieta winced weakly, but didnât move more than that. Abuela continued to give her the tea until the cup was empty, leaving the tray with the pot on her bedside table.Â
âAnd now⊠we wait. Dios tenga piedad de su alma.â
May God have mercy on her soul.