Mi Corazón Book 1(Camilo Madrigal and y/n story)

Chapter 12-Birthday

I am awoken by the soft morning light as it warms my face. Opening my eyes, I look around, slightly disoriented. My back is aching and my arms feel stiff. The sun is climbing slowly into the sky. Beside me, his curly hair rustling in the wind, is Camilo, still asleep. It takes me a few seconds before I realise we're still on the roof. "Ay, my back-" Camilo yawns, sitting up and twisting his back. "Y/n? I think we fell asleep..." He says, rubbing his eyes. "I think so," I reply softly, my eyes still heavy with sleep. I'm about to stand up when I see a vine rise up over the edge of the roof. "What in the-" Camilo begins, but we soon see the reason for the vine. Isabella's head rises into view, followed by her dark blue, colourful dress. She's holding onto the vine with one hand, and has a stern expression on her face. "What are you doing up here?" She asks, her brows furrowed and nostrils flaring. "Isa, we fell asleep on the roof, sorry. Is everything ok?" Camilo explains, getting to his feet. "Ok? No! Everything is not ok!" She exclaims, jumping onto the roof. "Did you forget what day it is?" I look over at Camilo, who smacks his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Mierda! It's Mami, Tia y tios birthday!" Isa sighs, still looking mad; "Yes you idiota! We have to start the preparations!" Camilo grabs my hand and we run to the edge of the roof. "I'm sorry Isa, it slipped my mind!" He says as we climb down the ladder. "It's the triplets birthday?" I ask. "Si, they're turning 51." Isabella says, following us inside. "They haven't woken up yet, have they?" Camilo asks in an anxious voice. "No, they're still sleeping. Mirabel is making breakfast in the kitchen, you too go help her." Isabella says before hurrying off.

We enter the kitchen and I am immediately hit with the smell of smoke. "Camilo! Y/n! Finally Isa found you!" Mirabel exclaims, waving away the cloud of smoke coming from the brick oven. "Let's just say my mom's cooking talents probably skipped a generation." She laughs nervously. I smile genuinely, and begin to help her. Camilo joins me, carrying the pile of dirty saucepans into the sink. "Don't worry, Mirabel, we'll help." I say and she gives me an appreciative smile. In 30 minutes we manage to put together a batch of breakfast tamales, a jug of hot chocolate, and a plate of arepas. We place 3 plates on the table, piled high with the food, and Camilo sets up a few candles and a vase of beautiful purple flowers on the table. As we finish up Pepa, Julieta and Bruno enter the room, followed by the rest of the family. "¡Feliz cumpleaños!" The 3 of us say, and Camilo runs up to hug Pepa. "Happy birthday Mami." Pepa smiles, "Gracias mi hijo." The 3 of them enjoy the breakfast, thanking us for preparing it. As I sit down next to Camilo, I hear him let out a sigh of release. "I can't believe I forgot, I was so busy with your thing with the candle it just slipped my mind." He whispers to me. "Sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so worked up about it." Camilo turns to me, "Hey, you don't need to be sorry, everybody gets overwhelmed, please don't apologise." I smile at him, a warm feeling inside me. He shoves me gently, and we return to the conversations at the table. Bruno, Pepa and Julieta reminisce on stories of their childhood. They tell us how Bruno would make prophecies for the village children, and if anyone gave them a hard time, he would stretch his visions into something worse, and they would run away, never to bother the triplets again. We all laugh along to the various stories, and soon everyone has finished eating.

The day goes on as usual, I go around the village with Camilo, helping him with odd jobs. Once we finish our chores we stop by the market to find birthday gifts. "Maldición, I really should've gotten something earlier." Camilo says, looking through the various stalls." I feel guilty again, but don't say anything. After looking for a while, we end up with a shawl with embroidered suns on it for Pepa, a green ruana for Bruno, as well as some cheese for his rats, and a new saucepan for Julieta. By the time we return to the house it's late afternoon. After a quick dinner, Abuela stays in the kitchen with the triplets and the rest of us leave to set up for When we enter the lounge room, we see that Isabella has decorated the entire room with various coloured flowers. Mirabel comes in with gifts of her own and Dolores enters holding a beautifully made cake, with exactly 51 candles on it. Mariano, Agustin, Antonio and Luisa arrive a few moments later, and we all sit down, waiting for Abuela to bring the others. After a couple of minutes Abuela brings in Pepa, Bruno and Julieta. "Sorpresa!" We all shout as they enter, and Dolores covers her ears but smiles happily. Julieta and Pepa embrace their children, kissing their foreheads; "Ay mi vidas, te amo mucho!" All together they blow out the candles on the cake, and I see Bruno begin to tear up. This is his first birthday with his family in 10 years...I realise. Mirabel gives him a tight hug and hands him his gift, which only makes him begin to cry more. Camilo and I give our gifts, to the great appreciation of the three of them. The night continues with lots of laughter, chatter and wine for the adults. At the end of the night, Bruno, Pepa and Julieta thank everyone, and we wish them one last happy birthday before turning in.

The next day after dinner...

I'm about to leave the table after we finish eating out in the courtyard when Abuela beckons me to stay seated. "Y/n, you have been staying with us for a long while now," she says, standing up. "We want you to know we think of you as part of our familia, so there is something we want to show you." Everybody stands up and I follow suit. "Vamos," she says, and we walk into the house. I give Camilo a questioning look but he just smiles mischievously, concealing his excitement. Antonio runs over and grabs my hand, his small face alight with excitement. We head up the stairs and walk around to Dolores' door. I give him another confused look but he just smiles. I follow Abuela just past the door only to see that another one has appeared at the end of the row. "Wha- What's this for?" I ask, completely bewildered by the new door. Everyone stops to gather around. "You've been staying in Mirabel's room for so long, and you're staying here for many months and years to come," Abuela says, smiling warmly. "So we all agreed you deserve your own room." I look around at everyone, my face showing full surprise. "We asked Casita to create a new room for you, Y/n, nothing too fancy but a space all your own." Mirabel says, smiling proudly. "I- I-, thank you so much," I say, with deep appreciation. "This means so much! You have all been so generous to open your home to me, I can't describe how thankful I am!" I exclaim, still in slight shock from the generous surprise. "You can't stay in Mirabel's room forever!" Augustine pipes up, his arm around his daughter's shoulder. "Go ahead, corazon, check it out," Camilo says, indicating towards the door. I smile excitedly and reach for the door.