Camilo Angst [Encanto]

the whole shabang

Even despite how tired, worn out, and hungry the little shapeshifter was, all he could do was stare down at the plate of food he was served for dinner. He was starving, but he didn't touch his food. And on top of it all, he felt somewhat.. Guilty, for feeling this way. Didn't others in the family, in general, have it worse than he did? More responsibilities than he did, definitely. He had what seemed, and probably was, the most lousy gift out of all.

"Cami, everything alright?" Dolores questioned her younger brother as she looked in his direction.

Without really processing the question he was being asked, he shook his head for yes silently, avoiding eye contact with the rest of the family.

"You sure?" Mirabel said in a jokingly tone to try and lighten Camilo's spirits. "Cmon, something is up, we all know you love Tia Jullieta's arepas!"

In all honesty, Mirabel was right. Something was wrong. But Camilo said nothing, all he did was sit there, staring down at the table.
After many moments of silence, Camilo abruptly rose out of his seat at the table, pushing his chair in quickly.

"Honestly the food looks awesome, really--! But I don't really feel like eating right now so I'll just go to my room yeah bye," is what Camilo said as he looked at his family surrounding the table, inching away and towards the stairs to the rooms.

And for some reason, he felt on the verge of tears. As he saw his family look into his now tear-filled eyes, he bolted for the stairs and fled, like a little baby. Biting his lip to avoid breaking into sobs then and there, he traversed up the stairs quickly and rushed into his room.

The whole family, and even Casita, were all in silence. What had just happened? Nothing good, that was for sure.

Sobs could be heard from Camilo's room as he slammed his door shut. His eyes and face were stained with tears, at almost an instant of isolating himself. Feeling alone was one of the worst feelings for him, especially right now. And now, he was stuck. Stuck in his little room, filled with all those mirrors.

Ah, those mirrors. They weren't always there. Before, when Camilo was younger, his room was relatively his favorite space in all of Casita. It was a huge theatre, and he slept in the backstage. Fun times, back then.

But the older he got, the mirrors started to appear. The more insecure he felt, the more mirrors spawned. And now, they covered his whole room, in every little nook and cranny.

He tried his hardest to make them shatter, but all he was met with was failure. It was like they were unbreakable. He hated the mirrors so much. And with that, he despised his reflection.

The mirrors never showed Camilo what he wanted to see. Only distorted images of how he was presented. He just wanted to feel good about himself, how he looked. But insecurities seemed to creep up into his head, then flew out into the threshold of his room.

It was the only place he felt safe. Rather, used to feel safe. Now he was reminded in every waking second that he would never be who he truly wanted to be. Was he a monster at this point?

Camilo sobbed as quietly as he could, but it was no use. And when he tried to look away from all the mirrors showing distorted images of himself, they still showed. Reflections all around.

"L-leave me alone!!- Please-.." he exasperated between heavy breaths and cries.

Dolores perked up at hearing her little brother say that. The first words he uttered since leaving. Who was he talking to..?
"Cami just asked someone to leave him alone, what's happening--!??" Dolores asked her family as she looked around at everyone.