Come morning, Mirabel had woken up her usual time, in time to find the rest of her family getting ready for breakfast. She found the members of her family gathering all sorts of food on their plates - courtesy of Julieta; Mirabel, Isabela and Luisa's mother - before they gathered around the table. Ever since last night, Mirabel had been on edge with wanting to converse with her cousin - the one who could hear a pin drop or hear an eye twitch. 

Members of the large family were seated at a long table suited for the entire family. Mirabel had the intention of speaking with her older sister, but with her lack of discretion to speak to her sister in the middle of her Abuela's family notice, she was forcefully separated and seated adjacent to Abuela Alma. Isabela noticed this but thought nothing of her sisters. 

The fact being that she very much disliked her youngest sister. Her belief that Mirabel was out to sabotage her life was strong; so passionate that that was the main reason there was conflict between both siblings. Ever since she lived up her role as the favourite child, Mirabel had felt her relationship with her sister was skewed on account of her entitlement and the fact that she chose to spend as little time with her little sister or share any form of happiness with her. 

"... I spoke to the Guzmán's about Mariano's proposal to Isabela. Dinner will be held at our home tonight, so we must all make a good impression on the Guzmán's. Dolores. Do we have a date?" Abuela Alma spoke proudly as she got up from her seat and approached Isabela. 

The young girl perked up, honing her ability of super hearing on a conversation that was to please her Abuela. 

"Tonight. He want's five babies." Dolores responded with a soft and gentle voice, knowing that her sensitive ears couldn't handle loud sounds very well. 

Her answer caused her cousin to blush profusely in shock, not in glee. Flowers sprouted on the top of Isabela's head, most of which were purple flowers with one white flower. Its existence was very short-lived when Abuela Alma plucked it from her granddaughter's head before she gently touched the golden child's shoulders which encouraged her to fix her posture and fake a smile. 

"Wonderful. Such a fine young man with our perfect Isabela, will bring a new generation of magical blessings. And make both of our families stronger." 

Isabela's shape-shifting cousin mischievously morphed into that of his cousin's boyfriend and playfully teased her, to which she popped flowers at his face and in his mouth, causing him to puff said flowers out of his mouth. 

"Okay. Our community is counting on us. La familia Madrigal!" 

"La familia Madrigal!" 

And so, the family commenced with breakfast, in the absence of both Mirabel and Luisa. This surprised some of the members of the family but they simply thought nothing of it and ate as they pleased; with Camillo enjoying the food he'd stacked up, even after being caught by his father. As they ate, Isabela found herself distracted with a familiar sound nearby. Her glances over her shoulder and all around drew the attention of her mother across the table. 

"¿Qué pasa, mi amor (What's the matter, my love)?" Julieta asked with a warming voice. 

"Oh, n-nothing mami." Isabela replied dismissively and quickly put food in her mouth. 

The middle-aged woman creased her forehead but dismissed the matter for the time being. This time, out of the corner of her eye, her cousin began to pester her a second time. Except this time it wasn't about her boyfriend Mariano, but rather someone else. His incessant staring made Isabela uncomfortable to the point she spoke up and rebuked him for annoying her - on a more minimal scale compared to her sister, Mirabel. 

"So, Isa... who's that mendigo ciego (blind beggar) you talk to, huh?" Camillo asked teasingly with a wide grin on his face. 

"He is not a mendigo! He's my friend, Javier." Isabela protested with a startlingly raised voice. 

Abuela Alma furrowed her brows together and questioned the young woman about her affiliation with her blind friend. 

"Isabela, I thought I told you not to associate yourself with that boy!?" Alma said crossly. 

"Abuela, I don't see what's wrong with him. He's just a friend!"

"I don't want you to talk to him anymore!" 

"You can't do that!" 

"I CAN AND I WILL! I FORBID YOU FROM SEEING THAT BOY EVER AGAIN!!" 

Alma's nostrils flared, her eyes widened to form a furious expression as she fired back with prejudice and hatred. This raised the question to the other members of the family about the reason behind her disliking the blind man, only for her to shut down the topic for now. Everyone ate in dead silence as Isabela found absolutely no comfort in her grandmother's decision. Too many times she disrespected Javier in front of Isabela and now she had enough. 

Little did she know, just around the corner Javier had listened to the conversation take place where a frown fell upon his face as he evaded the family's line of sight, making his way back into town. People didn't bother greeting Javier as he walked past, let alone bother to help him as he walked along, appearing somewhat capable of guiding himself which brought much speculation on whether he were blind at all. 

He heard somebody run past him down the road in the same direction Javier was going. His inanimate friends hobbled after him, conversing in a secret dialect as they sought the means to make the day pass by faster. The further he went down the path, the closer Javier walked along into range of someone singing. Curiously, he drew closer to the noise and listened in on somebody confessing the stresses of being strong and living up to family expectations. 

https://youtu.be/3imnxCmR7bw

The sound of popping caught Javier's attention as well as something weighing down on his head. His hand came up to speculate what suddenly touched his head when he felt a small flower in his hair. Plucking it out of his hair, Javier held it in his palm when he heard a familiar voice call out to him, thus engaging in conversation. 

"How did you know I liked peonies?" Javier asked with a light chuckle. 

In his company arrived the illustriously captivating Isabela Madrigal. Though he couldn't see her with his own eyes, he could thanks to the statues around him which had altered their appearance into seals. 

"What brings you around these parts, querida (my dear)?" Isabela asked curiously with an obvious hint of friendliness that caused Javier to blush. 

"Estoy bien. ¿Lo estás (I am fine. Are you)?" Javier answered coolly. 

Isabela forced herself to smile at him for the occasion that she hoped to not concern him about her Abuela's wishes. 

"All is well, Javi." She replied dismissively. "What are you doing over here all by yourself?" 

He stuttered incoherently before he got something through. "Just... looking around. W-Why do you ask? Shouldn't you be with your family... or Mariano?" 

The black-haired woman observed him carefully when suddenly it clicked. She grinned widely at him without his full awareness. 

"You are jealous, aren't you?" Isabela tittered. 

"¿Qué? No, no lo estoy. No se de que estas hablando (What? No I'm not. I don't know what you're talking about)." Javier protested, crossing his arms as he shifted away from her. 

"Sí! ¡No lo niegues, puedo verlo en tu cara (Yes you are! Don't deny it, I can see it on your face)!" 

"Maldita sea (Damn it)..." 

"Don't worry, cariño (sweetie). You'll find the right girl some day." 

A peony flower magically appeared in the palm of her hand which she fixed onto the left breast of his poncho. Her face flushed red as she stuck the peony onto his poncho before she touched his cheek with her hand and headed off to prepare for dinner that evening. Everything she was doing, it was for the family. But could she go along with it if it meant ruining her friendship with Javier?