Into the Deep End
Part II
Camilo lay passed out in the pile of petals Isa had made. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. But the room was dark except for a small flower-shaped lamp next to the full-length mirror by the door. Also, he was exhausted, yet somehow very content. He felt as if he was floating. He remembered feeling that way once before- last year on his birthday- after he drank too much wine, but before it started to make him sick.
As little sparks of consciousness sought to rouse him from his slumber, he was aware of a soft, yet insistent, tapping sound. He blinked a few times, still not fully awake. This was not his bed. Or his room. Where even am I?
His gaze naturally shifted toward the tapping sound. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, a shoe came into view. A girl's shoe. The style was probably called something specific but he didn't know what- just a nicer-than-everyday type shoe. He furrowed his brows in confusion. This dress shoe was moving up and down, making a light tapping sound as it did so. What is this- some kind of haunted shoe? Don't be ridiculous, he told himself.
Then he realized there was a foot inside that shoe. His chest panged with surprise- and then dread. His eyes rose and saw the foot was attached to a leg, which was attached to a person leaning against the door with arms crossed and a livid look on their face. The long hair finally got his mind up to speed.
"Isa?" He said, hesitantly. A beat of silence followed.
"Hello sleepy head," Came the terse reply- with a hint of barely contained fury.
He slowly lifted himself to a sitting position, hindered by the too-long sleeves that covered his hands. Am I wearing my dad's clothes? The events of the evening were slowly coming back to him, like one of Tio Bruno's broken prophecies. The dinner party, the brilliant prank idea, the shape-shifting into Mariano… Oh shit! I'm supposed to be Mariano!
He quickly glanced in the mirror and was met by his now-unshifted reflection; mop-top, freckles, oversized clothing and all. Ohhhh shiiiit!
"Isa! I- uh – I mean," He stammered, grasping for the right words. He really hadn't meant to do anything other than get a good laugh at Isa's expense.
"Shut UP!" she yelled, interrupting his feeble attempt at explaining. Uh-oh… his mind began racing. Could he put it past her to currently be in possession of a large kitchen knife? No- no way! Finally emerging from the shadows, she advanced on him.
"You… you immature, idiotic, unforgivable, HORRID little boy!" Isabela screamed, volume increasing with each word. He had never seen her so angry. He scooted back away from her until the bedroom wall stopped him.
Fight-or-flight kicked in and Camilo sprang to his feet. He took off running- where? He didn't know- just away from his outraged, and likely homicidal, cousin. Isabela's room was dark and unfamiliar- he had never spent any real time in here, so he didn't know of any hiding spots or escape routes. Isa chased right after him, flinging flower bombs in his direction. They may not be dangerous, but they could knock him off his feet- that he knew from experience.
When he came upon the mountains of pink flower petals, he dove headfirst into them, disappearing from sight. Isabel stomped her foot in frustration.
"Get out here right now you little shit!" Camilo watched from his precarious location as Isa circled the petal pile like an apex predator.
"No way!" He hollered. "Not til you calm down!"
"That may or may not ever happen!" Isabela shot back.
"Then I may or may not ever come out!" Camilo answered, tossing her own words back at her.
After a few minutes of angrily pacing, Isabel went and sat on a floral-patterned chaise lounge that she shifted to face the mountain of petals. This stalemate could last awhile so she may as well be comfortable. Getting an idea, she took reached over and took a heart-shaped box from a side table drawer. Opening it, she perused the selection of chocolates with assorted fillings.
"I bet you didn't eat dinner," she said casually. "In fact, I bet you haven't eaten since breakfast. Oh dear- you must be absolutely starving by now!" She tossed a round-shaped candy up and caught it in her mouth. "Mmm toasted coconut. Those are your favorite right?" Isabela quipped, a smug expression lighting up her face.
Camilo sat surrounded by flower petals. With this many, the sweet scent was overwhelming. He desperately wanted some fresh air. Maybe I can move to the back wall and sneak out along the edges. Meanwhile, Isabela continued her taunting.
"Dinner really was SO good- grilled steak and chicken arepas with all the trimmings- Abuela outdid herself!"
A low rumbling sound caught both their attention. Camilo froze. Isabela giggled like a cartoon villain. She obviously thought it was his empty stomach growling, but he knew it wasn't.
A few seconds of silence passed, then the rumble began again, louder this time. It was followed shortly by a shaking sensation.
"Whoa!" Isabela sat straight up and grabbed the sides of the chaise lounge. The fancy chocolates slid off her lap and spilled onto the floor. "WHAT is going on?" she said – to herself or him he didn't know- but her anger had been usurped by fear.
Camilo cautiously emerged from the petal mountain, eyes darting around the room.
"Hey yeah- what is that?" He wandered cautiously closer to where Isa was sitting, their feud temporarily forgotten.
Little bits of stone shook free from the ceiling, sounding like hailstones as they met the floor.
Isabel rose in alarm, taking an unsteady step. Camilo tried to take her arm, but she slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me you little freak!" He stepped back, putting his hands up.
"Ok, ok sorry."
The shaking resumed, more forceful this time. Casita swayed on its foundation.
Isabel screamed and grabbed onto Camilo. With a thunderous sound, a crack appeared in the ceiling overhead.
"We need to take cover!" Camilo shouted and looked around for any options.
"Here!" Isabela ran over to her heaviest piece of furniture- a wardrobe- and flung the doors open. Tossing shoes, handbags and clothing onto the floor, the two hastily cleared enough space to fit into and climbed inside.
Larger chunks of stone were falling now. One of the vines holding Isa's iconic hanging bed snapped, leaving it dangling precariously above.
Each of them grabbed a wardrobe door and pulled it shut, trying to keep out any falling debris. They clung to their respective cabinet doors, listening to chunks of stone rain down around them. Several times, a stone fell directly on top of the wardrobe. It was incredibly loud. Camilo squeezed his eyes shut and tried to cover his ears as best he could with one hand. The house shook for several minutes before subsiding to less frequent rumbles, and eventually, an uneasy silence.
At first, they were both too scared to move, as if the slightest noise could set things off again. After a few minutes of quiet, Camilo summoned enough courage to carefully crack his door open. After about a third of the way it hit something solid. Isa tried her side, but it only opened a few inches. Even so, they could see that the only lamp in the room had gone out. They sat there in the inky blackness, together, but lost in their individual thoughts.
Camilo carefully sat back against the back of the wardrobe, trying to get a little more comfortable.
Isabel sniffled softly.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.
"No," Isabel replied, letting out a heavy sigh. "This has just been the worst day."
Camilo cringed inwardly.
"I'm sorry. I know it's partly my fault."
Isabel was quiet. He continued, wanting to explain himself.
"It's just- I've never done anything like that before- It happened so fast- I didn't know what to do."
"I know," she said. "I mean, I know you didn't mean for it to happen. I just feel like such an idiot," Isa said, her voice breaking. Her sniffling resumed. Camilo winced. He was glad it was dark.
"Don't," he said. "My shapeshifting fools everyone- even my parents." After a beat, he added "I just didn't know you and Mariano were… at that point."
"We're not."
Camilo was taken aback by this revelation.
"What- seriously? Then why…"
Isabela took a moment to sit back in a more comfortable position. It was already an uncomfortable conversation. After a beat, she continued.
"When "Mariano" showed up at my door… I just thought that's what was expected. I mean, I guess I was trying to impress him," she admitted.
They were both silent for a few seconds.
"Well- I'm impressed," Camilo said. His hands flew to his mouth, as if he couldn't believe he said that out loud. He felt like kicking himself.
Isabela blindly swatted at him in the dark, managing to land a half-hearted smack on his upper arm. After a beat, a soft giggling came from Isabel's side of the wardrobe.
Camilo shifted a little so he could try pushing the wardrobe door with his legs. Bracing himself against the back, he pushed with all the strength he had. The door didn't budge.
"Geez. Whatever's blocking us in must be big…" he surmised, stopping to catch his breath.
"Yeah," Isabela agreed. "I guess we're really stuck until…" Suddenly, she sat upright. "Camilo!"
"Hmm?"
"What if you shape-shifted into Luisa? Could you get us out then?" Isa asked hopefully. Camilo grimaced.
"Mmm I wish… but no, my gift doesn't work like that. I can look just like someone else, but I don't get their abilities," he explained.
"Oh," Isa said, deflated. She leaned back with a defeated sigh, her head hit the back wall with a soft thud. Camilo wanted to do something to lighten the mood.
"Yeah I found that out the hard way- one time, I morphed into my algebra teacher right before the midterm exam. Too my horror, I wasn't any better at math."
"Oh no!" Isabela giggled.
"I was able to distract him long enough to announce to the class that the test had been cancelled and they could all go home early."
"Old Mr. Carlotti's class? Shoot- I would have loved to see that!" She gushed. Camilo thought he may have detected a hint of admiration in her voice. "I wish I had the guts to do something like that," she added softly.
In the darkness, Camilo was staring at her in disbelief, but said nothing.
"I've always been too afraid to break the rules. Too afraid to disappoint people," she continued in a serious tone. "By doing that, I just ended up disappointing myself."
What is she talking about? Camilo felt totally clueless but also exceedingly curious. I don't think I'll ever understand girls.
"So… what actually happened at dinner?" He didn't want to upset Isa, but he was also dying to know.
"Did Mariano propose?" The question was out of his mouth before he even had a chance to think. He slapped his forehead in regret.
Isa let out a sigh. Camilo was about to apologize, but she answered right away.
"No. He didn't get a chance- everything just went wrong."
"I'm sorry," Camilo said for the umpteenth time. He was feeling worse by the second.
"I'm not," Isabel replied, quietly.
"You- you're not? You're not upset?" Camilo asked, genuinely shocked.
"No," she was silent for a beat before confessing "I don't want to marry Mariano."
If it hadn't been pitch-black, Isa would have seen Camilo staring at her, eyes bulging, mouth agape. He couldn't even remember a time when Mariano was not in the picture.
He blurted out the first thing that jumped to mind.
"But- you- isn't that what you always wanted?!" His frazzled brain struggled to put the words together.
"It's what Abuela always wanted," she said- with more than a hint of frustration.
"Oh," Camilo replied, still trying to wrap his head around the situation. Abuela could be a bit controlling. And you never had to wonder about her opinion on well, anything. "So…you're in love with someone else, then?"
"No! I don't move that fast," she said, rolling her eyes. "I don't want to get married to anyone," she added, as if realizing it for the first time herself. "Certainly not right now."
"I can't imagine getting married 3 years from now- not even 10 years from now," Camilo replied, shaking his head. "Maybe when I'm 50. Or 55. We'll see."
"I wish I had that kind of time," Isabela balked. "People started mentioning marriage to me when I was like, 12."
Camilo's face scrunched up in disgust.
"There's something really not right about that," he said, honestly shocked.
Maybe that's one reason Isa always seemed to be in a bitchy mood growing up. He wondered if Dolores had experienced something similar. Maybe after they got out of this mess, he would ask her.
"That's what I think!" Isa agreed, her voice growing increasingly confident. "It's ridiculous! I don't even know who I am yet- or even what I like- I mean, apart from silly things like favorite ice cream."
"Birthday cake?" Camilo guessed.
"Birthday cake." Isa confirmed.
"And there's nothing silly about ice cream!" Camilo said in the most serious voice he could muster.
"Isa!" A faraway voice called. "Isa where are you?" It was coming closer.
Camilo gasped. "I think that's Dolores!"
"We're in here!" He shouted.
"Dolores? Is that you?" Isa called out.
"Yes!" came a relieved-sounding reply. She sounded close- as if now just on the other side of the bedroom door. "Are you ok?"
"Yes! And Camilo is with me!" She yelled. "We're fine, but it looks like we're stuck!"
"Oh, thank god! We were all outside in the courtyard when- whatever the hell this is- happened. Everyone is looking for the two of you!"
They heard the door handle jiggle and then a thud, followed closely by two more. Dolores groaned in frustration.
"I can't get the door open," she called out. "You'll have to wait for Luisa!"
"Don't hurt yourself!" Isa told her. "Just tell everyone where we are- we're fine here for a while!"
"The power is out so we may not be able to do anything 'til daylight- but don't worry! We'll get you out as soon as we can!"
"Ok!" Isabela called. "Just be careful," she added.
"I will!" Dolores' voice sounded softer and further away. Her hurried footsteps faded as she descended the stairs. It was silent once again.
A low rumbling sound made Isabela jump.
"Oh no!" she said, bracing herself against the wardrobe walls.
Camilo groaned. "Don't worry- this time it really is my stomach."