CAMILO

Weeks pass.

Our lives at Casita continue with drama-free leisure. Sofia and I spend most of our free time with or around each other, whether it be snuck in-between chores, classes, it doesn't matter. We're always together, with other people present or not.

All the while, neither of us bring up what happened at Carnaval. Something I was content in doing at first because I had no idea what to say. But now . . .

Now I want to know what our kiss means.

What we are.

Being with her has been like a dream, full of unimaginable warmth and laughter. I've never been as happy I am now. I'm confident in that.

Yet, every time I finally manage to get her alone, away from Al's constant prying gaze, I can't summon enough courage to ask.

The worries creep in.

What if she doesn't feel the same?

What if I'm imagining things?

What if what happened meant nothing to her?

Maybe I'm being too hasty?

Do we need more time to figure this out?

It's not like there's a manual for any of this, and although I don't know about Sofia, this is all new to me.

A part of my subconscious believes I should just let it go—that if this is something, it'll develop between us naturally, and I should try to be happy with the now.

But is that really for the best?

Or am I fooling myself?

Such thoughts haunt me more than usual this morning, while we help Tia Julieta prepare arepas with Mirabel in the kitchen.

"Here's your next batch." Tia slides another bowl of flour-covered dough onto the counter.

I sigh and stop patting my current portion, exhaustion and frustration intermingling within me.

"How many more of these are we going to have to make?" I groan, eager to get this over with, so I can finally try to whisk her away, to talk to her alone today.

"I'd wager another dozen, given how much you usually eat," Mirabel sneers and gives me a teasing look.

"Hey! I don't eat that much." I scowl back.

"Don't you?" Sofia raises a skeptical eyebrow, beside me.

My jaw drops. I purse my lips and gently bump her with my hip.

She stumbles slightly, catching herself, and, giggling, gifts me one back.

"Ah! Ah! You two!" Tia walks up before I can do it again, this time harder. "Careful. You knock any of this over, you'll both be on clean up duty." She waves a cautionary finger at both of us, her 'mom' stare sharp enough to cut rocks. She takes one of the empty bowls on the counter and turns back toward the stove, still watching us.

"Yes, Tia," Sofia and I both mutter, in mumbled acquiesce, then quietly smirk at each other.

We continue obediently pulling out chunks of dough, patting them flat until we lay them softly on top of their trays.

Not long after our scolding, I catch Sofia glancing at me, still smiling.

My heart flutters.

The warmth I've been experiencing so often around her lately returns.

I suppose I can still be content with the now.

That smile alone makes it feel all worthwhile.

Alejandro, Antonio, Bruno, Mirabel, Sofia, and I all stand out in front of Casita on the grass, gathered in a small semi-circle. Mirabel's holding her hands out in front of her, eyes shut, completely focused.

A golden light seeps out of her hand onto the ground in front of her. The earth slowly moves, lifting to create a kid sized house between us. It's completed window shutter flaps out to wave at Antonio in front of it.

"Wow! You really did it, kid! Look at you!" Bruno grins at Mira the second she stands back up straight and the light vanishes.

"It's all because I've got a great teacher." Mira smiles softly at Sofia. The small echoes the praise with some roof tile claps.

Sofia immediately grins and rubs at one of her arms. A nervous habit of hers I also find endearing.

"Oh, alright. I see how it is. I guess I'm just for decoration then, huh? Maybe I should work full-time on pretending to be a statue," Alejandro snarks, crossing his arms and pouting.

We all chuckle.

"Okay. Correction. Teachers," Mirabel offers, emphasizing the 'S'.

"Thank you. Finally, some appreciation around here." Alejandro humphs.

I snicker and glance at Sofia then. She immediately looks back, smiling brightly. Her hazel eyes glimmering like a beautiful green forest in the golden afternoon sunlight.

"With the way your progressing, you're probably not going to be needing lessons much longer, are you?" Antonio asks as one of his toucans land on his shoulder. Which, I have no idea. But I'm betting it's Pico. That's the main one that's always at his side. I think.

"Um . . . well . . ." Mira glances back at Sofia.

She immediately goes rigid. "Mmm. That's right." She nods. "I'd say after just a few more, you'll be done. I won't have any more to teach you."

I furrow my brow at her, confused why she seems so tense about that. It'd mean more time we can hang out with each other.

Alejandro sighs and lowers his head. "I guess that means we'll be leaving soon then."

My heart drops.

Any burst of happiness I felt at the prior idea goes out like a flame.

A silence falls across all of us. The smoke and words still lingering. Registering.

Bruno and Mira glimpse back and forth between me, Sofia, and Alejandro. "Really? Do you guys have to?" the latter asks, fidgeting with her hands.

"Yeah. Our stay here was always only temporary." Al doesn't even hesitate. Unmoving. "We've still got a lot of places and people to see."

Sofia doesn't say another word. She heads straight into Casita.

I race after her, heart pounding.

"Sofia, wait," I call and grab her by the arm inside the foyer.

She stops and turns toward me. My mouth runs dry at the shocked and somewhat downcast expression on her face.

Words fail me.

I struggle to say something. Anything. Every part of me feels unnaturally heavy and shaky. Like I've transformed into something made of lead.

Gulping down the stunned nerves, I let go of her and stand up tall. "Do you two really need to go?"

The sentence barely comes out—its ending almost catching in my throat. Half of me wishing it had.

Sofia's lip form a tight line. Lowering her head, she nods. "It's what we promised."

The finality in her tone heightens my panic. "Things change! We can always use you two here," I counter, waving my hands desperately in front of me. Anything to help her see reason.

She closes her eyes. "We have a duty to ourselves, and to our family, to keep exploring the world out there."

The response feels like a blast to the gut.

I stand there, chest aching, head numb, thoughts spinning. Unable to move. To breathe.

Biting her lip, Sofia looks off to the side. A thoughtful look overcomes her, and she opens and closes her mouth a few times. "But . . ." she finally relents to the current, "if you wanted to come, I'm sure Alejandro would let you."

She stares back at me, uncertainty plastered on her face. A vulnerability glimmering in her gaze.

The words struggle to make sense, and once they do, my jaw drops. I can only blink at her for a moment.

"Come? As in go with you?" I repeat, pointing between the two of us.

Sofia grasps her hands and nods.

My pulse accelerates. Its sound now pounding in my ears. If the world was spinning before, it's swirling now. "I-I can't. I have Antonio, and Dolores, and my mom. The house. The town. They all need me. I-"

"It's alright. I understand." Sofia cuts me off. She stands up tall again, expression harshening, going blank. "I was just saying that . . . if you wanted to come, the offer's there. But if what you want is to stay here, then that's fine, too."

Sofia looks everywhere but at me while saying this.

She then pauses, bites her lips again, and sighs deeply. "Just . . . whatever you do, make sure that it's what makes you happy," she says.

Sparing me on last hesitant glance, she steps back and pivots away.

"I'm . . . going to go get some water," she says.

Without another word, she leaves me standing there, gaping in the foyer. The open sky right above, yet the whole weight of the world, the walls of Casita, and my family seemingly crashing down on me from all corners. Suffocating me in a frozen silence.