CAMILO
Camilo was not sure if his Tío Bruno was sending him a message or generally mocking him.
On telenovela night, instead of continuing his ongoing story of Rato del Encanto, Tío Bruno particularly chose to present another story with his rats. Normally, Camilo would help come up with dramatic and emotional scenes, but this one was solely Bruno's doing. And yes, the telenovela was about two cousins who fall in love.
Bruno was narrating and imitating the voices as the rats were on the small rat-sized stage. The rats seemed to know where they were supposed to be, which meant Antonio had told and trained them on what to do. The little costumes the rats wore were Mirabel's work, of course.
The plot was centered on the two cousins, who did not know they were cousins. Their mothers were sisters who had a falling out because of a boy, whom they both like. The sisters' parents disapprove of the boy. The older sister, Juanita who the boy actually likes, decided to cut ties with her family and they run away together to another town, marrying secretly. The younger sister, Paula grew resentful of her sister. As years went by, the younger sister eventually got married. Both sisters then had families of their own.
And of course, it's Paula's eldest son, Mateo who fell in love with Juanita's youngest daughter, Carmina.
Real subtle, Tío Bruno, Camilo thought. He even played around with the first letter of the characters' names too. No one in the family would understand at the moment, but he did.
The sisters met again after not seeing each other for twenty-five years after Mateo and Carmina decided to get married and have their families meet each other.
Both sisters spoke simultaneously when they saw each other.
"Juanita?" Paula gasped.
"Paula?" Juanita shrieked.
"Mamá," Mateo said. "You two know each other?"
Juanita then grabbed her daughter. "Carmina, we're leaving now."
"But, Mamá-" Carmina interrupted.
Paula shoved her son behind her. "I can't believe you let this happen, Juanita."
Juanita turned to her sister. "Me? I didn't even know they are courting." She insisted.
"This has to stop," Paula announced. "You cannot marry each other."
The two lovers started to protest.
"You are primos!" Juanita blurted out. "Paula…is my sister."
Tío Bruno imitated different gasps.
"But cousins can marry, right?" Mateo asked. "Right?! I love Carmina. She is mi vida. I cannot lose her." He insisted.
Without knowing, Camilo had tears in his eyes. Because he is Mateo. Hopelessly in love with his cousin, but unlike the character, it is not reciprocated.
Camilo probably cried more than Luisa did.
Mirabel, who was sitting next to him noticed. "Camilo, are you…crying?" She asked mockingly.
"No," He denied as he wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
"Aww, it's okay, primo," She assured, putting her arm around his shoulder. "It's just a telenovela. It's meant to do that for the drama."
Right, Camilo thought. He then glanced at Mirabel, who was focused on watching Tío Bruno's telenovela, and wondered if he will ever have the courage to tell her how he really felt.
As he expected, Tío Bruno ended today's telenovela with a cliffhanger.
"What?" Isabela shrieked as several cacti popped up around her. "That's it?"
His Mamí, Pepa had dark clouds above her head. "No, no, no!" She complained. "You cannot end it there, Bruno!"
Dolores, who had her ears covered, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we need to know what happens next."
Tío Bruno simply shrugged. "We'll find out next time."
Antonio, Camilo's sweet and innocent hermanito, asked the question they did not expect. "Can primos marry each other?"
Everyone froze, not knowing what to say.
"Uh…" Tío Bruno faltered.
The clouds above his Mamí's head grew darker. "Answer the question, Bruno." Pepa said, gritting her teeth.
Tío Bruno took a deep breath, took Antonio's hand, and led him away from them. If Camilo had to guess, Tío Bruno had already seen that it will only anger his Mamí with whatever answer he will give his brother.
Abuela pointed out that the story itself was intriguing, but didn't think it was appropriate for children around Antonio's age. To be fair, Antonio only instructed the rats where to stand for blocking, he didn't know the actual lines of the characters that Tío Bruno adlibbed. So yes, of course, his little brother would be asking questions.
Camilo suddenly remember that he still had the date beyond the Pass with Mirabel, so he faked a yawn and announced that he would be heading to bed.
The instant his bedroom door closed, Camilo hurriedly grabbed the picnic basket and climbed down his window before he went to his and Mirabel's spot.
Camilo set up the blanket and the food before transforming into Santiago and waiting for Mirabel to arrive.
He kept thinking about Tío Bruno's most recent telenovela. Cousins who fall in love and how they declared their love and defended each other against their mothers. He'd always wondered how it felt, to love and be loved by the most amazing person he knew.
But alas, Camilo never had the courage to say it. Not yet.
When will I have the courage to tell her? Camilo mentally asked himself. How will she react? He was almost too afraid to find out.
Not long after, Mirabel arrived. "Hola, Santi," She greeted. "Sorry, I took a while."
Mirabel then proceeded to kiss Camilo on his lips, which definitely surprised him. But well, he welcomed that with open arms, or should he say, open lips.
Camilo went back to reality the second Mirabel broke free from him. "So, how was telenovela night?" He asked.
"It was great," She said. "The story was a bit different. It's about primos who fall in love. I'm not sure why Tío Bruno picked that, but it definitely raised some questions from the family."
"Like what?"
"Antonio asked if cousins could marry." She recalled. "And my Tía Pepa did not like it."
"Would you marry a cousin?" Camilo asked curiously before he could stop himself.
Mirabel made a face. "I only have two cousins who are boys." She pointed out. "The one closest to my age is Camilo and I do not wanna talk about that."
Camilo raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, sorry for bringing that up." He then cleared his throat. "Anyways, I thought we should do something different today."
Mirabel stared at him curiously. "Hmm, what did you have in mind?"
He held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"
Mirabel giggled. "But there's no music."
"Just pretend that there is." He suggested.
Mirabel shrugged. "Alright." She said as she took his hand.
Camilo led her away from the picnic blanket. He guided her hand on his shoulder before placing his hand on her waist. His other free hand, held hers as they started dancing under with nothing but the moon and the stars above them.
"You know," Mirabel spoke up. "The last time we danced was during Dolores and Mariano's engagement."
Camilo nodded. "Now, how could I forget that?" He smirked. "It's one of the best nights of my life. People were giving us weird looks, but I didn't care."
Technically for Camilo, that night was one of the worst. It was the real Santiago who danced with Mirabel in the courtyard that night. His prima looked so happy and flustered, while Camilo, on the other hand, stood on the balcony looking at them with envy.
"At least they'll be no teasing this time," Mirabel pointed out. "Because it's just you and me." She then leaned her head on his shoulder and he held her tight.
That alone made Camilo smile. He wished it could stay that way, holding the person he loves and not worrying about anything else.
But Camilo wanted something more. It was bad enough that he was having the best night so far, but Mirabel doesn't see him. She sees Santiago.
He suddenly broke free from her, which made Mirabel confused.
"What is it?" She asked.
"I have another surprise for you," Camilo brought up. "But you have to close your eyes."
Mirabel frowned. "What? Why?"
"Just close your eyes," He insisted.
"Fine." Mirabel closed her eyes.
"And no peeking."
"I won't." She promised.
He stared at his prima for a good three seconds before stepping forward with his face a few inches from hers.
Camilo transformed into himself before her.
Even with only the moon and the stars as their source of light, he could see Mirabel clearly. Her curly hair draped on each side of her face, the sprinkle of freckles on her nose, and the dim reflection of the moon on her eyeglasses.
Camilo pushed back a lock of her curly hair behind her ear. Dios, she's so beautiful, he thought as he gently caressed her cheek.
He then went ahead and closed the space between them as he kissed her on the lips.
It was a million times better. Mostly, because he's kissing Mirabel as himself and not as Santiago.
Mirabel flinched when his lips touched hers, but she eventually melted into his kiss, and thankfully, she had kept her eyes closed.
When they finally broke free, Camilo quickly shapeshifted into Santiago again before Mirabel was able to open her eyes.
They continued on with the things they usually did: they talked, ate, and stargazed.
The walk home felt surreal. Camilo's heartbeat pounded faster than it did, and he also felt less giddy and more guilty than he did yesterday when they walked back to Encanto.
Even the goodbye kiss she gave him wasn't the same. He honestly preferred kissing her with his actual self than Santiago's.
That night as he lie in bed, Camilo was conflicted. He would've done a victory dance, but his conscience was starting to take over.
The kiss they shared with Mirabel's eyes closed and him as himself was…extraordinary. He wanted that. He wanted Mirabel to see him as Camilo and not as Santiago.
Maybe Tío Bruno was right. Maybe Camilo should tell Mirabel how he really felt about her. But…
She's gonna hate me if she finds out, Camilo thought as a few tears streaked down his cheeks. The longer this goes on, the more she will hate me.
How was he gonna explain everything? With what he did, he'd always be in the wrong. He pretended to be someone else just to get close to Mirabel.
Camilo didn't know if minutes or hours had passed. He was still awake, thinking about the time he spent with Mirabel beyond the Pass, until he heard a knock on his bedroom door. And it sounded urgent.
He did the only logical thing to do: Made it look like he was just woken up from his sleep. Camilo rolled his eyes with his knuckles and mess up his hair. He had then scattered the pillows on his bed before walking down the tier and the hallway of mirrors to his door.
Camilo answered the door. "What?" He demanded, purposely putting an annoyed tone in his voice.
He came face-to-face with his younger brother, Antonio, and his prima, Mirabel, who were both in their sleepwear. Antonio was in his pajamas. He was holding a stuffed jaguar in one hand and Mirabel's hand in the other. And he looked like he'd been crying.
His prima was in her nightgown. Her hair was messy and if Camilo had to guess, she did the same things he did before opening her door to Antonio, pretending to have just been woken up.
"Oh," Camilo said, then knelt facing his brother. "What's wrong Toñito?" He asked. "Had a bad dream?"
Antonio only nodded, then whimpered.
"He insisted on waking you too." Mirabel explained.
Whenever Antonio had a bad dream, he wouldn't go to their parents. He'd go to his two favorite people in the Casita: Camilo and Mirabel.
His hermanito obviously went to Mirabel first before knocking at his door.
Camilo took a deep breath before speaking again. "Alright, let's get you back to bed." He then held out his arms, to which Antonio immediately run to and wrapped him in a hug.
He grabbed his brother and carried him. Camilo started walking to Antonio's door with Mirabel following behind him.
It was a sort of long walk from the door to Antonio's bed. They had to walk across an open paved clearing, cross a rope bridge, and climb up the carved wooden steps of the giant tree to where his hammock bed was.
Camilo tucked in his brother. "Go back to sleep, Toñito."
"No," Antonio tapped the open spaces on either side of him. "Please stay with me." He insisted.
Camilo and Mirabel exchanged looks.
"Just go," Camilo said, gesturing for Mirabel to get into the bed. "I'll be on his other side."
Both of them reluctantly climbed onto Antonio's bed.
"You know, Toñito," Camilo said as he lie down beside his brother. "I thought you said you're un niño grande already. But why do you still go to us whenever you have bad dreams?"
Mirabel shot him an annoyed look before turning back to Antonio. "It's okay, Toñito." She assured. "Just go back to sleep. We won't leave you." She promised.
Camilo fell asleep almost as immediately as Antonio did.
Some time during the night, Camilo woke up to someone tapping his stomach.
"Wha-?" Camilo started to say as he squinted his eyes.
As his vision cleared, he saw his brother, Antonio, half-asleep and snoring, and using his stomach as his pillow with his arm cling to his waist. How he got there, he had no idea. But according to Mirabel, Antonio snored, tossed, and turn when he slept.
Speaking of Mirabel, Camilo had somehow found himself in an awkward position with her. Well, not really, as he liked where she was at the moment.
Mirabel was sound asleep beside him. She was using his arm as a pillow and she had her hand on his chest.
Seeing her clinging to him made him smile. Camilo couldn't resist and stared at her. He pushed part of her curly hair behind her ear so he could see her face clearly.
She's still so beautiful, he thought as he reached out and gently touched her cheek. He would never get tired of staring at her.
Mirabel was so close. So close. But it's as close as they will get: sleeping next to each other all because Antonio has bad dreams.
Camilo was very, very much tempted to kiss her, but he restrained himself.
I want to, He thought. I very much wanted to, but I can't. And I shouldn't.
Camilo wished time would just stop at the moment and that this night would go on forever just so he could hold her in his arms much longer.
But of course, that's never gonna happened. And no one will ever know. It will be like it never happened.
His eyes began to water and a tear escaped down his cheek. At least he had this one night when he held Mirabel close in his arms. He decided to just make the most of it and make every second with her last.
Camilo gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love you." He whispered before drifting back to sleep.
. . .
The following morning, Camilo woke up to his brother tugging his shirt. And once he opened his eyes, he saw their Tío Bruno standing by the hammock bed. Subtly smiling at them.
"Buenas días, sobrinos," Tío Bruno greeted. "Breakfast time!" He gently shook the hammock.
"It's too early," Antonio grogily replied.
"You're woken up the same time everyday, Toñito." Tío Bruno said. "Now, wake up your brother."
"I'm already awake," Camilo pointed out, half squinting from the artificial daylight in his brother's room.
Tío Bruno helped Antonio get out of the bed. "Go ahead, Toñito. Your Mamí's already waiting for you," He said. "You don't wanna make her angry, do you?"
Camilo could hear the sound of his brother's footsteps as he probably went down the flight of carved stairs.
Tío Bruno then poked at Camilo's shoulder and Mirabel's arm. "Cami, Mira, come on, get up!"
Mirabel rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then realized that she had her arm around Camilo, which she immediately pulled herself away from before sitting up.
"We were worried when we couldn't find you," Tío Bruno brought up. "Since you're usually the first one up. And you both weren't in your rooms."
Mirabel shrugged. "Antonio had a bad dream."
Camilo combed his hair with his hand. "And he insisted that we stay with him."
"Mm-hmm," Tío Bruno smirked. "I figured. I honestly almost didn't wanna wake you. All three of you look so cute cuddled up together."
"Bruno!" They could hear his Mamí, Pepa calling out. "Have you-?"
"They're here, Pepa!" Tío Bruno replied back. "You can stop worrying now." He turned back to them. "Okay, we don't want a storm early in the morning, so go."
Camilo and Mirabel hurriedly got up and went into their rooms to change.
During breakfast, Camilo sat directly across Mirabel. And he could not dare to look her in the eye.
Partly, because there was that awkwardness he felt when they woke up in each others' arms. But mostly, there's the guilt of him lying and pretending to be someone else to get close to her slowly coming to the surface.
Camilo knew what he was doing was wrong, but the warm feeling of being kissed by the person he loves won over his conscience. It was addicting, like a drug. And when he got more of it, he couldn't stop. And he doesn't want to stop.
The thoughts of it threw him off the entire day. While doing his chores, all he could think about was how he would ever tell Mirabel the truth without her hating him. Well, it was that, and him stealing glances at her.
Mirabel's smile always gets him. Like he just melts everytime he sees her smile. He could stare at her all day, but reality always kicked in.
Either the children they looked after would pull him to play a different game or dare him to do crazy stuff or to impersonate someone they prefer.
When Camilo met her that night, he was scared and nervous. Especially, since he arrived later than Mirabel did.
Mirabel had her arms crossed, an annoyed expression on her face, and she was tapping her foot impatiently.
"You're late," She pointed out.
"Apologies, mi amor," Camilo said as he placed the picnic basket down. "I was still preparing our late night meal."
Mirabel didn't respond. Instead, she immediately closed the space between them as their lips touched. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her height.
Camilo got carried away and used it to his advantage. He surged forward, pushing her back, still kissing her. Mirabel willingly stepped backwards slowly, allowing him to take control as she backed against the trunk of a tree.
"Santi," Mirabel said as they broke apart for air. "Take me." She said as she started kissing his neck. "I want you to take me."
"Mirabel," He grunted between kisses. "I-I…" He faltered.
His youngest prima then started pressing her body against his that he could feel her breasts squeezing on his chest. And it was seriously starting to make him hard beneath his pants.
"We can't do this," Camilo insisted, trying hard to resist her.
Mirabel pulled away from him. "Don't you like it?" She asked, giving him a seemingly seductive grin.
"I never said that."
Mirabel then reached for his shirt's collar and started unbuttoning it.
"Mira-hmm," Camilo moaned as Mirabel started sucking spots on his neck. "We can't…" Finally, his conscience took over and he stopped her by holding her shoulders and pulling her away from him.
As much as Camilo wanted this to happened, this was crossing the line. No, it was more than crossing the line. It was crossing that line and burning everything in it.
Camilo, you need to stop! Camilo chided himself mentally.
The further this went, the more hurt they both would be. Mirabel would hate him and it hurt that it was Camilo receiving his desired affection from her but she was still seeing another person in his place.
He wanted her to see him as Camilo and not as Santiago.
"We shouldn't be doing this." He declared, tearing up. "We can't."
"Why?" Mirabel asked frustratingly.
Camilo took one look at her and he broke down on his knees. "I'm sorry," He apologized with tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-but I couldn't help it and-"
Mirabel looked confused. "Santi, what-?"
"I'm so sorry, Mimi," Camilo choked.
Mirabel's confusion turned to shock. "Wait, what did you just call me?"
Camilo did the unthinkable. He looked her in the eye and transformed back into himself right in front of her.
Mirabel was mortified, then her expression turned to rage.
"Mira-" Camilo tried to take her hands, but she shook him off.
"Stop it, Camilo!" Mirabel chided, her eyes watering. "It's not funny!"
"Mirabel, it's not what you think," Camilo insisted. "I can explain. Santiago wasn't-"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She said before storming off back into Encanto.
Camilo wiped his tears, hastily grabbed the picnic basket by his feet, and ran after his prima. "Mirabel, wait!"
