Chapter 1
Antonio Madrigal stared at the blank canvas, the brush hovering, the paint already drying up. When nothing came to mind, he dropped his hand, the paintbrush now on the table next to the jars of paint.
“Mirabel, what am I supposed to paint?” Antonio asked his elder cousin, Mirabel, who was already halfway through her painting of the high mountains that surrounded the Encanto.
“That’s all up to you, primo.”
“But, what if I don’t have any good ideas?”
“You have lots of good ideas. Your ideas.”
Antonio rubbed his arm shyly. “I don’t know. Can’t you just tell me what to paint?”
“And take away the best part?” Mirabel kneeled in front of her little cousin and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Antonio, you can create anything you can imagine.”
“I guess. But, what if I don’t like it?”
Mirabel thought for a moment before standing upright again. “You know what, why don’t we take a short break. Come on.” Mirabel led Antonio back to their magical Casita. Once inside, Mirabel asked the sentient house to pull out a specific book from the family library.
“Thanks, Casita. Here it is.” Mirabel invited Antonio to sit next to him on the foot of the stairs. “Before the Encanto, Abuelo used to collect books from all over the world. Anything he could find, and Abuela kept all of them right here. This is one of my favorites. It’s about a boy who’s paintings saved his life.”
Antonio’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“But, you’re probably not that interested.” Mirabel teased, only for Antonio to start begging.
“No, I wanna hear it, please!”
“Okay, okay, you dragged it out of me.” Mirabel opened the book and started reading, transporting them into an entirely new world.
“Long, long ago, in a time of castles, kings, and magic, there was a secret manor hidden deep in a dark forest. It was said that the woods were filled with dragons and all kinds of monsters. And even if you were brave enough go into the forest, you couldn’t see the manor.”
“Why not?” Antonio asked.
“Because it was hidden away behind a magic wall, which kept intruders out. And, more importantly, kept a young boy hidden inside.”
