Chapter 8
Mirabel
Camilo, Shayla, Antonio and I sat in a bench, waiting for Abuela to speak at last. She'd caught us on the roof, and didn't seem to buy the story about us helping Antonio with his birds. Abuela paced, back and forth, on the floor in front of us.
Shayla was humming a tune, except she couldn't really reach the higher notes, and every once in a while she'd mutter something really quietly like, "Ugh, that song's so annoying."
Other than that, it was completely silent.
Abuela's heels tapped against the stone floor.
Tap tap tap.
Each step made the knot of anxiety in my stomach swell.
Tap tap tap.
Finally, she faced us.
"You kids really shouldn't have been up there," she said. She didn't look mad, surprisingly, just... worried.
"Perdón, Abuela," Antonio and I mumbled.
"Yeah, we're sorry," Camilo told her.
"I'm really sorry," Shayla said, "I'm being a lousy guest."
She said that last part so quietly, she probably didn't think we could hear her.
But I could.
"I don't want your apologies," Abuela said, "Just promise me you won't do something as reckless and dangerous as running around on the roof again."
Shayla flinched.
"I can't speak for everyone, but... I promise," She said. Camilo, Antonio and I agreed with her.
"Good," Abuela said, "Now, go. There's still time before lunch."
I heard a deep voice singing. The song was beautiful, lyrics so pure and wonderful that one will never forget.
The singer sang quietly, like he was trying not to be heard, but his voice was so perfect it demanded attention, no matter how quietly he sung.
I love walking into a room when Camilo is singing. He always thinks he's being quiet and discreet, but a voice like his is simply meant to shine.
Then, a second voice joined in to Camilo's song. It was quiet, not quite as perfect, but charming in its own way. The voice sang mostly in deeper notes. I didn't know who it belonged to until I walked into the room where Camilo and Shayla were singing to a small baby. The deep singing voice belonged, surprisingly, to Shayla.
They came to an abrupt stop when they saw me.
I clapped quietly.
Camilo bowed, his curly hair bouncing up and down. Shayla's face went red.
"How long have you been listening?" Shayla asked.
"Since I was in the kitchen," I answered.
Shayla's face somehow got redder.
"You reached some really deep notes," I told her, "That's really impressive."
"Would be more impressive if I could reach the higher ones," She muttered.
Camilo rolled his eyes.
"Don't talk like that," He said, "You're amazing."
"Thank you," Shayla said, "But that's not true."
"Shayla," Camilo said, "Repeat after me."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
"Fine"
"I'm"
"I'm"
"Really"
"Really"
"Amazing"
"Amazing"
"Now put it all together," Camilo told her. I knew what he was trying to do, so I didn't say anything, just in case Shayla actually fell for it.
"I'm really amazing," Shayla said with a sigh.
"There," Camilo told her, "Was that really so hard?"
"Yes, yes it was," Shayla said.
"Did you guys plan this?" I asked them. They turned to me.
"I forgot you were there," Camilo admitted, "But no, we didn't plan this."
A few seconds passed.
"I really loved the song you two sang," I told them.
"Thank you," Shayla and Camilo said at the same time.
"That wasn't planned, by the way," Camilo said, with a grin. I chuckled.
"And who's this?" I asked, gesturing to the small child.
"This is Vivian," Camilo said. He picked up the sleeping little girl, "Her father is at work, and her mom had to run an errand, so I'm babysitting her."
Vivian had warm brown skin, with a puff of black hair on her head, tied with a white bow.
The baby suddenly opened her eyes, and surveyed the room. After a few seconds, she started crying really loudly. I winced.
Camilo cradled her, and his appearance shifted to a tall woman, with curly black hair and skin a few tones darker than Vivian's.
"Shh, shh it's okay mommy's here," Camilo said, "No llores, todo esta bien," he whispered. Vivian stopped crying, and slowly went back to sleep. Camilo shifted back to his own self, and gently set the baby back into the cot.
Camilo put his finger to his lips, making the universal sign for shh. Shayla and I got the message.
Do you want us to leave? I mouthed. Camilo shook hishead, Stay, please.
Shayla looked at the baby, How long do you think it'll be until she wakes up? She mouthed, then raised an eyebrow when Camilo and I shrugged.
"When will her mom come for her?" Shayla whispered.
"Around one or something like that," Camilo whispered back.
Shayla nodded. Tears seemed to form in her eyes as she looked away from us.
"You okay?" Camilo asked her.
Shayla nodded, but I was unconvinced.
She looked at Vivian.
"Sorry," she said to us.
I wrapped my arms around her, and when I pulled away, I noticed a few of her tears had slipped down her cheeks.
She wiped them quickly.
"Sorry, I just..." She trailed off. But I knew what she meant.
"We'll get you home soon, I promise," Camilo said.
"Maybe, maybe not," Shayla looked at us, "I like being here with you guys."