This was inspired by a tweet from hugs4camilo on twitter about Camilo running to save Mirabel.
And here we are.
Might wanna grab a tissue.
Enjoy!
"Camilo."
"Go to sleep, Mira."
"Please, Camilo."
The groggy 4 year old rubbed his eyes and sat up to the sight of his little cousin looking around fearfully.
"What's wrong?"
Mirabel grabbed her glasses with both hands to fix them. "I heard a noise," she whispered.
Camilo groaned. He really wanted to sleep.
But, instead, he got up and asked "where?"
Mirabel pointed at the window so he faithfully pulled a chair in front of it and stood on top of it so he could see out of it.
It was pitch black outside. Camilo, still looking out of the window, put one of his hands behind his back. "I need a torch."
He heard Mirabel rummaging in a draw and within moments, he felt the cold metal press against his hand.
Even with the torch, there was nothing of interest outside. "It was just the wind, Mira."
He clambered off the chair. Mirabel still looked around nervously.
Camilo took her hand in his and led her to his bed. "You can sleep with me."
"Really?" She didn't wait for him to answer, wriggling into his bed and under his blanket before he could change his mind.
Camilo laughed and pulled her in for a hug and squeezed her hand. "I'll always help you, Mira."
When Agustín and Félix came to wake up their children, they found the two sprawled out on Camilo's bed. Camilo was sideways on the bed, his head essentially hanging off the side. Mirabel was using his stomach as a pillow. But they were still holding hands.
The fathers left the room silently.
They could sleep a little longer.
There wasn't long left.
Just an hour until he was to stand in front of his door and receive his gift.
An hour until he was to leave the nursery.
He knew his mother was looking for him. He could hear the rumble of the thundercloud that was inevitably hanging over her head.
Pepa came into the room, waving a hand above her head to try and get the cloud to disperse, without much luck.
"Where is that boy?" She grumbled. "Oh, Mirabel, have you seen Camilo? It's almost time for his ceremony."
Camilo held his breath. Partly because he didn't realise that under his bed would be so dusty but also because if Mirabel told his mother where he was, he'd have to face the music.
Or rather, the door.
"No, Tia. If I find him, I'll tell you."
Camilo waited until Pepa left before he sighed in relief.
He watched Mirabel's shoes make their way across the room. They stopped right in front of him.
"You heard Tía Pepa. You need to get ready."
Camilo didn't say anything.
Mirabel's shoes moved away and a few seconds later, she wriggled under the bed so that she was next to him.
"What's wrong, primo?"
"I don't want to leave the nursery." He felt her hand cover his and took comfort in her presence. "What if there's another noise that wakes you up? Or-"
Mirabel let go of his hand and covered his mouth, muffling whatever his next words were.
"I'll be fine, Camilo. Besides, I will get my own room and gift soon."
Camilo grumbled at that. "Why can't we get our gifts at the same time?"
His little cousin laughed and nudged him. "Because we're not actually twins."
"Says who?"
"Everyone."
"I don't."
"Yeah, well, you don't count."
They giggled.
Across the house, they heard Pepa yelling for Camilo to hurry up.
Camilo looked at Mirabel and she smiled at him.
"Let's go before Mami rips Casita out of the ground with a hurricane."
"Mirabel."
The sobbing in the room stopped. But there wasn't any sound of movement.
"Mira, please open the door."
"...okay…"
Camilo heard the sound of shuffling. There was some hesitation but Mirabel finally opened the door. She grabbed Camilo's arm and pulled him into the room, slamming the door behind them.
He wasn't fazed and immediately wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
She began to cry again.
"Why…"
Camilo wanted the answer to that as much as she did. Why didn't she get a gift?
"Did I do something wrong?" She hiccuped, rubbing one of her eyes under her glasses. "Is that why I didn't get one?"
"No. No, no, no." He let go of her and took her glasses off, using his ruana to dry her eyes when he couldn't see a tissue. "You haven't done anything wrong."
"Then why didn't I get a gift, primo?"
Camilo's throat closed up. Without her glasses on, his little cousin looked even smaller and more vulnerable.
"I-I don't know, Mira. Maybe there's some way we can share my gift."
She sniffled. "It doesn't work like that," she whispered.
There was a knock on the nursery door.
"Mirabel." The sound of Abuela's voice made Mirabel jump into Camilo's arms. She would never say it but the idea of seeing her grandmother at that moment terrified her.
Camilo acted immediately.
He took Mirabel to her bed and got her to lie down. Putting a finger to his lips, he tucked her in, arranging the covers so that her face was hidden.
Only when he was sure Mirabel was okay, did he open the door.
"Hello, Camilo. Where is Mirabel?"
"She's sleeping." Camilo angled his small body in a way that Abuela could not get past him.
"I needed to have a word with her." Abuela tried to gently move her only grandson aside but Camilo quickly shapeshifted into his Tío Agustín, the tallest person he knew.
"Sorry but no."
His grandmother pursed her lips. "It's getting late. You should go to your room."
"I'm sleeping here," was Camilo's response. There was no thought or hesitation. Abuela was the noise at the window. Camilo would be the shield between her and Mirabel.
Abuela, sensing she was fighting a losing battle, told him to get some rest and left.
Camilo shifted back into himself and reentered the nursery. Mirabel was sitting up in her bed. She had retrieved her glasses and was smiling, just slightly.
"Thank you, primo."
"I'll always look out for you, mi melliza."
Mirabel laughed but didn't refute it.
Camilo, upon hearing her, was determined to make her laugh as much as he could for the rest of his life.
Camilo watched his cousin for 10 years.
She soon got over not getting a gift, choosing to focus on the fact that she was part of such an amazing family.
His heart warmed whenever he saw her smiling and dancing and praising her family.
The silent vow he had made the day of her failed gift ceremony made an ongoing impact on his life.
Camilo became known as the goofball, the prankster of the Madrigal family. It was all worth it when Mirabel would chuckle or roll her eyes fondly at him. His favourite days were the ones when his antics made her laugh until she couldn't breathe.
Perhaps everything would've been alright if it weren't for Abuela.
After that first night, she had said very little about Mirabel and even less to her.
Camilo really wanted to say something but when his parents had heard about the way he didn't listen to Abuela, he was warned not to do anything stupid.
Ergo, we don't talk to Abuela about Mirabel.
And he hated it.
But Antonio was born and Mirabel was delighted with her new roommate. So Camilo kept his mouth shut and did his best to remain civil with his grandmother.
That day had started pretty normally for the Madrigals.
Camilo, after being awoken by Mirabel's loud knocking and singing, woke up.
He had a busy day today. He was babysitting for someone so the mother could get some well earned rest.
And afterwards, they had Antonio's ceremony to prepare for.
Nothing much memorable happened until just after Antonio's room was revealed.
When Mirabel ran in, distraught. Camilo felt his heart sink when she exclaimed that Casita was about to fall apart.
But he was mildly surprised when Abuela instructed Mirabel to show her. Perhaps, finally, Abuela could put it all behind her.
"There is nothing wrong with La Casa Madrigal. The magic is strong. And so are the drinks."
Camilo stared at Mirabel's confused and anxious expression as everyone laughed at Abuela's joke and returned to the room. Dolores grabbed his arm to lead him back in.
And so he was forced to leave Mirabel standing in the middle of the house, all alone.
"Hey!"
Camilo froze as Mirabel came racing towards him. Normally, he'd be glad to see his little cousin; except right now because he had shapeshifted into Dolores so he could get more food. He didn't say anything, letting Mirabel believe she really was talking to Dolores.
"Dolores, hey. You know, out of all my older cousins, you're, like, my favorite cousin, (Camillo was highly offended) so I feel like I can talk to you about anything, ergo you can talk to me about anything."
Camilo kept slowly piling food onto his plate but the large majority of his attention was now on Mirabel. He was surprised she hadn't realised it was him yet. She could normally tell it was him in an instant. Whatever she was thinking about must've obviously been weighing heavily on her mind.
"Like the problem with the magic last night that no one seemed to worry about, but maybe you heard about that maybe I should know about."
He opened his mouth to admit that he wasn't actually Dolores.
Unfortunately, his dad beat him to the punch.
He was shooed away by Casita before he could even offer to help Mirabel.
Camilo just hoped she'd get the information she needed from Dolores.
"Mirabel!"
Where on Earth has this girl disappeared to?
Camilo had left his mother with Dolores and was now looking for Mirabel.
He knew she'd be upset at the events of the dinner.
Camilo wasn't stupid.
He had heard his Tío and Tía arguing with Abuela.
About Bruno's prophecy.
Ok, so when he had been telling Mirabel about their lost uncle, maybe he'd exaggerated.
But he remembered the night that Bruno had disappeared.
The last time Camilo had seen him was when Mirabel's door disappeared.
The two had exchanged horrified looks.
And then he vanished.
Camilo knew it had something to do with Mirabel and her lack of gift. But the fact that he'd just ran away instead of telling them what was going to happen-
If Bruno had made that one change, they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.
Camilo had his reasons for lying to Mirabel.
He'd come clean.
Just not yet.
"Urgh! Mirabe-"
He felt his body shift, involuntarily, leaving him with the body of a full grown man and the head of a baby.
Camilo was unamused. But all he could do was keep looking, unusual appearance be damned.
"MIRABEL!"
He really hoped she was okay.
"I will never be good enough for you. Will I?"
Camilo's mouth went dry as Mirabel finally said what he had been thinking for 10 years.
His cousin was near tears, looking up at Abuela with a venom in her eyes.
"No matter how hard I try. No matter how hard any of us tries."
Her sisters, Camilo's cousins, stood to the side, as shocked as he was at Mirabel finally reaching her breaking point.
"Luisa will never be strong enough. Isabela won't be perfect enough. Bruno left our family because you only saw the worst in him."
"Bruno didn't care about this family."
"He loves this family. I love this family. We all love this family. You're the one that doesn't care."
The rest of the family started mumbling worriedly. Camilo just stood there, a chill travelling through his spine.
"You're the one breaking our home."
Abuela had enough. "Don't you ever…"
But so had Mirabel. "The miracle is dying, because of you."
Camilo had imagined this over and over. The day someone would finally tell Abuela what she was doing to their family. He should've been pleased. It was a step forward.
But as the ground rumbled beneath their feet and cracks shot through the house, all he could feel was fear.
"The candle!"
The family watched terror as the candle flickered and toppled over, rapidly melting.
Before anyone could react, Mirabel ran in the direction of the candle, determination in her eyes. "Casita! Get me up there!"
"Mira!"
She didn't listen to Camilo's yell of fear.
Leave it! We need to get out of here!
His mind protested but he couldn't just stand by idly while his little cousin put her life in danger.
Camilo ran up the nearest stairs and began sprinting towards Mirabel. He didn't care about the candle. He just wanted her out of there.
"Mirabel!" From the corner of his eyes, he saw Isabela try to reach her sister and the candle but the light of her door went out and she fell to the ground.
Debris was falling more rapidly and he could hear Tía Julieta and Tío Agustín yelling for Mirabel to get out.
Camilo shapeshifted effortlessly, leaping over their falling home, never truly taking his eyes off of Mirabel.
He leaped, shifting into Jose in mid air.
He was so close.
And then his powers died.
His fingers merely brushed against the roof he was trying to reach. If it weren't for Casita extending a railing to slow his fall, he'd be in a lot more pain.
Isabela was next to him and in their utter confusion, a look of fear passed between them.
Camilo chances a look up. Mirabel was so close. But it was getting more and more dangerous. He heard someone scream and saw cracks racing up Bruno's tower.
"MIRABEL!"
Camilo couldn't be sure if that was him screaming or someone else.
All he knew was that Casita's tiles rippled to push them outside and Mirabel was directly under the falling tower.
The family could do nothing as Casita had sealed the doors shut. They were forced to watch as the house crumbled with Mirabel inside.
"Mirabel!" Camilo followed his Tía as she ran into the wreckage. Mirabel sat under some doors Casita must've used to protect her, her hair grey with dirt.
Camilo watched from afar as Julieta checked on Mirabel. He turned his attention back to the ruined house, his distraught family. Antonio was in Félix's arms, sobbing quietly. Camilo took Antonio off of their father, gently rubbing his back as he quietly spoke to his dad. "My powers. They're gone. What about Antonio? What is he gonna do?"
"Mirabel?"
Everyone spun around to see Julieta's expression as she called her daughter's name. "Mirabel!?"
She can't be gone…not after all of this…
He'd lost track of the time, too busy calling his cousin's name to consult a clock.
His Tía and Tío were almost inconsolable. Nothing but finding Mirabel would appease them.
And so the family searched. And the townspeople, upon hearing about the missing Madrigal, joined them.
Camilo pursed his lips tightly together, trying to convince himself for the hundredth time that Mirabel was okay and that they'd find her any minute.
He stopped, near the wreckage of their home, their Casita, to take a break. He'd been looking non-stop for hours.
His Abuela still sat where she had sat after the house came down.
She hadn't said a word, nor made any move to look for her missing granddaughter.
He couldn't help but make a biting remark. "Why don't you help us?"
His family had all arrived with the idea to take a moment's break. He already knew his parents were gesturing for him to shut up.
Abuela stood up to face her oldest grandson. "Why should I go after her? The miracle is gone because of her-"
"IT'S NOT HER FAULT, IT'S YOURS!"
His shout echoed around the empty space where their home used to be.
Abuela's eyes widened. From the corner of his eye, Camilo saw Dolores cover her ears instinctively, before lowering them again when she realised it was no longer necessary.
That only made Camilo's anger bubble more furiously.
He heard his parents call his name warningly but he ignored him.
10 years of anger on behalf of his cousin brewed within him like a storm.
He took a step towards Abuela, forcing her to move backwards.
"She was the apple of your eye until she didn't get a gift. You go ON AND ON about gifts and miracles but you fail to see the biggest miracle in this family."
Pepa came forward and put a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged her off.
"No, Mami. I've had enough. Mirabel has been nothing but supportive and loyal, even after not receiving a gift. AND NOW SHE'S GONE!"
Abuela took another step back but it wasn't necessary. Camilo crumbled.
"My baby sister, my twin, is gone," he whispered, his voice cracking with fear. "She's gone and I don't know if I'll ever see her again."
His grandmother didn't say a word. Camilo took a deep breath.
"If-when we find Mirabel and you don't apologise…I'm leaving the Encanto…and I'm taking Mirabel and Antonio with me."
He might as well have said he murdered someone if the gasps of his family were anything to go by.
"I am sick and tired of you undermining everyone to make yourself feel superior. Abuelo didn't give up his life for his family to feel so unhappy with themselves. If taking my younger siblings away from here is the only way I know they can live happily, I'll gladly take them."
He was breathing heavily, the monologue, mixed with the adrenaline, taking a lot out of him.
He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. This time, it was Isabela.
"If they go, Dolores, Luisa and I are also leaving." Camilo turned to see his cousin and sister nodding resolutely.
Confidence surged through him at the support. He and Isabela might not get along often but he was glad that she had his back now.
He turned back to Abuela and was taken aback. Tears were streaming down her face as she suddenly realised what she had done.
"I've got to find her."
Camilo nodded. "Then, let's get looking."
When Mirabel returned, Camilo didn't say anything. He let her parents relish having their daughter back.
He couldn't, however, help but say, "Not if we don't have a house," in response to Tío Agustín telling Mirabel that he'd be okay.
Camilo's dad nudged him. Read the room, was how Camilo interpreted it, which was ironic since they no longer had a room.
"What?! We don't have a house! I can't say we don't have a house?" He gestured at the rubble. "What is that? Not a house!"
He glanced at Mirabel, who just smiled at him, softly.
She was resolute, determined to build their home better than ever before.
So, as he dropped shovels in an attempt to look cool, Mirabel took charge.
And seeing her at the door, watching Casita come alive?
Camilo had never felt so proud.
"Camilo."
"Go to sleep, Mira."
"Please, Camilo."
The groggy 15 year old rubbed his eyes and sat up to the sight glancing at the clock.
It was nearly midnight.
He raised a questioning brow at Mirabel, who pretended to look shocked.
"Primo, mi primo. Did you really forget that it's your birthday in-", she looked at the clock, "four minutes?"
Oh yeah.
"Whoops?" Was all he could offer her.
It was a tradition now. They would always wait for their birthdays together. The two would sit together and talk quietly, watching for the moment the clock strikes twelve.
"I have a very special surprise for you," Mirabel said, waving a package in her hands.
Camilo was suddenly very awake.
"Lemme see!" He reached for the package and almost fell flat on his face as she moved it away from his grabby hands.
"It's not your birthday yet." Her voice was a mocking sing-song.
Camilo only huffed in response. He knew that she wouldn't concede to any attempts of flattery or persuasion.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."
Camilo's eyes flashed up at her. "What happened?"
"Jeez, Camilo. Nothing happened."
He didn't say anything. He just looked back down.
"Isabela told me what you said to Abuela about me…"
Camilo's heart stopped. Was she angry? Why did she-
Mirabel didn't let him finish the thought, engulfing him in a hug.
"Thank you…so much," she whispered. Camilo could feel his shoulder getting wet and realised she was crying. "I'm sorry, I'm being silly. But I can't help but think how different things might've been if you didn't say anything. I thought that-"
"No. No, no, no." He let go of her and took her glasses off, drying her tears with the sleeve of his shirt over his thumb. "You don't have to worry about it. It's done. Okay?"
She sniffed a little and laughed. "Okay."
Camilo grabbed her shoulders, his expression serious.
"Don't ever run away again, got it? If someone, anyone, I don't care if it's my mum, hurts you in any way, you tell me, yes?"
"Camilo…"
He wrapped her in another hug. "Eres mi melliza, whether you like it or not. And I'll always help you, Mira."
She nodded against his shoulder and then chuckled.
"Happy birthday, primo."
Camilo moved away and looked at the clock. It was a few minutes after 12. He was 16 now.
"Can I have the present, now?"
"Oh, you are insufferable!" Mirabel laughed at his pleading face. But she handed him the present and let him rip it open. She looked very pleased with herself when she saw his mouth fall open in a little o.
He pulled out a blanket, covered in Mirabel's signature embroidery.
It was covered in baby pictures of them printed onto the fabric, the words "Camilo Madrigal" and "Mi Primo" stitched all over it.
It was bright and warm and it was getting wet, why was it getting wet?
Oh, I'm crying, he thought, dully.
"Doooo…you like it?"
He looked at her, speechless.
"There…there's one more thing." Mirabel gently pried the blanket from him and draped it over his shoulders. She tapped his shoulder and there, in tiny stitching, was the words, "Mi Mellizo".
"You've admitted it," Camilo pointed out, quietly.
Mirabel used the corner of her skirt and dried his tears, the same way he'd done for her so many times.
"Yep. No going back." She squeezed his hand. "Happy birthday."
When Félix came to wake his son up, he found the two cousins fast asleep.
Camilo was sideways on the bed, his head essentially hanging off the side. Mirabel was using his stomach as a pillow. But they were still holding hands.
Félix just chuckled and closed the door.
They could sleep a little longer.
I really hope you enjoyed it!
Comments and kudos are always appreciated.