Camila wasn't old, but she thought she'd already lived long enough to be sure she couldn't be surprised by anything anymore. Yet, sometimes fate seemed to reserve such absurd surprises for her that neither she nor any human being with a modicum of common sense would have thought even possible. Of course, she never thought that the puppet she had carved just the day before had suddenly come to life and made her breakfast as if it were her real daughter.

Fortunately, after the first moment of surprise, Camila had managed to maintain enough composure, but she still needed some time to calm down or at least to accept that she wasn't still sleeping and that this wasn't a dream. And so now she was there, sitting on the modest table in her kitchen, intent on eating some pieces of cooked bread (not very well cooked actually, but considering that this was technically a first attempt, she could have overlooked it... and then the taste of what she was eating wasn't even remotely the thing that occupied her mind at that moment); and sitting in front of her, smiling and intent on looking at her with her curious eyes, was Luz, the puppet that she had carved with her own hands. "So… um…" Camila had no idea where to even start. "Do you exactly... well... do you know where you're from?"

"Of course! From here!" Luz replied without even thinking. "You made me in this place, so this is where I was born, mom!"

"Yeah…" Camila murmured. She felt strange being called 'mom': technically the one in front of her wasn't her real daughter... or was it? After all, a mother was just a person who generated another life. She had built Luz, so she was technically her mother... or something like that. She didn't know what to think: the puppet aroused mixed emotions in her. Part of her wanted to remind herself that that wasn't her real daughter, but another part, one that for some reason was becoming very insistent, seemed to have already accepted her as such. "Do you remember anything from... well, before? When you were a piece of wood, I mean?"

Luz seemed to think about it. "Actually, not much. When I wasn't yet born I felt... well, not yet born. I remember that everything was dark and silent because I didn't still have eyes and ears, but in some way I can... feel something. I remember wanting so much for someone to shape me and give me life. I remember falling. And I also remember being scared... I felt that there was someone close to me who wanted to hurt me, and so I tried to escape, although I don't remember how. But then I also felt that someone had appeared next to me, someone who was kind and wanted to give me birth... I don't know how to explain it, it was like an instinct. So I tried to reach you. And I did well! You really gave birth to me, mom!"

"Uh... well, I'm glad you came all the way to me then. I guess that strange wood was magical, or something like that..." Camila said, trying to keep her mind calm, but she couldn't. Luz's radiant smile as she talked about how she had given her life was so wonderful that it warmed her heart. It was the same smile as Manny, but with some traits of Camila herself, and then... also something unique, something that was only Luz's, and that seemed to give off light like a little sun. Faced with this vision, Camila found herself smiling back without wanting to. "Well... it sure is strange, but... I guess there's nothing I can do about it now. I certainly can't throw Luz away now that she talks and walks like a real girl. At this point I might as well accept her as my daughter" she thought, trying to find a rational justification for the feelings she was experiencing.

While still thinking, Luz suddenly stood up and ran towards her until she was directly next to her. "So, what are we doing today, mom?" she asked. She almost seemed to vibrate, as if she was full of energy and couldn't wait to run through the meadows like a deer.

Camila thought about it. "Well... I was planning to finish making more puppets, and then open the shop"

Luz puffed out her cheeks in disappointment. "But it's so boring! Why don't we go for a walk in the woods instead? Or play in the park?"

"Well, I guess that after being a piece of wood for who knows how many years, she's itching to move..." Camila mused. "Luz, I understand that you want to play, and I'll be happy to play with you as much as you want... but first I have to work. We need money to eat and... wait, do you eat?". She realized she had never thought about that detail: did a puppet need to eat? The simplest answer she could think of was no, but after all she didn't even think a puppet needed to breathe and yet she saw Luz's chest moving as if there were real lungs underneath.

"Of course I eat! And I love eating!" Luz replied. "I didn't eat breakfast with you just because I took some buns from the pantry before making it for you!"

Camila frowned at those words. "Luz, you can't take food from the pantry without asking my permission. I had those buns because they last a long time. You should eat the bread first, and only when the bread is finished will the buns..."

"But the buns are so good!" Luz protested vehemently. "And I want buns! Bread isn't as good!"

Camila sighed. Evidently whatever magic had animated Luz hadn't bothered to also provide her with common sense or the importance of being thrifty. But after all, she reflected, it was technically her job, as her mother, to teach her certain things. "Luz, I know that the buns are good... I too would eat them all the time if I could. But they are also expensive, and that's why I have to work. So you can't eat them whenever you want; if you want something, from now on ask me for the allowed first"

"Ugh! Okay, mom!" Luz replied, and even though she had agreed with her mother, she still sat down on a chair with her arms crossed and a grim look as if she were very angry for that ban.

"Mh. So this is what happens when a child throws a tantrum..." Camila thought. She had seen it done to other women's children sometimes, but seeing it done to her own daughter was something else entirely. "I assume that managing a daughter is even more difficult than I imagined..."

Camila was certainly not ignorant when it came to parental care: having wanted a child for so long she had adequately informed herself about it, and given her work she also had a certain familiarity with children of all ages. However, no one could really teach another person how to be a parent. Camila had only been a mother for a few hours, and already she felt as tired as if she had run a marathon. "Listen, do you want to help me with the shop? Then I'll take you to play..."

"No! I want to go play now!" Luz protested.

"Damn, she's really capricious" Camila thought. How was she supposed to correct the behavior of such a pestiferous girl? She didn't even know where to start... maybe she should let her play with the puppets in the shop? But something told her that Luz would end up breaking them, and she needed them to make some money...

Luz for her part was really disappointed in her mother. How could she want to work when they could go out and play? It was silly. Working was hard and boring. She didn't like it in the slightest. She wanted to run around the meadows and have fun, because that's what kids did, right? Well, that's certainly what she wanted to do. And while she was thinking about it, her gaze focused on the window of the shop, which Camila had already opened to let in some air. An idea crossed her mind... if her mother didn't want to go out and play... then she would go out and play alone!

With a quick leap she stood up and reached the window and jumped over it, down to the street. For the first time in her life her feet touched the stone of which the road was made; it was so different from the wooden floor she was used to that Luz stopped and reached down to touch it and see what it felt like. Camila rushed to the window and breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was still there; for a moment she thought there was also something strangely tender about that scene. Luz was truly a girl who was just starting to explore the world. However, that thought didn't stop her from saying in an angry voice: "Luz, come back inside right now! And don't ever use the window to go out again!"

But the puppet didn't agree at all. "No way, mom! I said I want to go play and I'll go!" and without waiting for her answer she ran away.

"Luz!" Camila screamed worriedly. How would the citizens react when they saw a puppet running and jumping? Come to think of it, it probably wouldn't have been a big deal: Gravesfield was a town used to seeing a lot of strange things. For example, there was a ruined house in the middle of the woods that was said to be haunted or a small lake filled with water mixed with some other liquid that was said to contain a portal to a magical world. Camila was sure that after she explained to them what had happened, her fellow citizens would consider Luz no different from all the other kids in town. But first she had to explain it... and above all she had to avoid her ending up meeting the wrong people. So she also left the shop and started running after her.

Inside the shop, Willow and Gus leaned out of the plant where they resided. They had obviously observed the whole scene, and even if they still weren't clear what was happening, they were more than sure that their peaceful life had come to an end.

As always, some explanations: in the original novel, Pinocchio runs away from Geppetto's house as soon as he finishes building it, while he is still teaching him how to walk. In this story the events are a little different, this is because The Owl House's Luz, although not exactly an obedient girl, however has much more facets than Collodi's Pinocchio. Therefore, I decided to insert an initial dialogue between her and Camila to outline her personality, which is practically that of Luz from the first episodes of The Owl House: sweet and cute, but intent on doing only what she likes and not very obedient to her mother, giving her a lot of trouble. After all, all kids are a little like that, let's face it.