The day has come. Antonio's celebration.
Camilo begins making his rounds in an attempt to bring his mother some sense of peace. She was already stressed enough as it is. The sound of thunder was woke Camilo up after all.
He began helping with decorating as more and more people arrived to help. Of course he was excited for his little brother's celebration, but an echoing thought in the back of his head thought of the girl from a few days before.
"From the way the Delgado's described it, it sounds like she'll be here tonight. I'll try to take the chance to introduce myself. Hopefully she doesn't just tear me down and ignore me." He talked to himself while walking around looking for someone to help.
He looked up and around and made eye contact with his sister from across the room.
He stared at her and she stared back. "Don't do anything to embarrass me.." he whispered.
She made a *hmp* sound and walked away acting like she didn't hear anything.
"Dolores don't even try to act like you can't hear me. You of all people can't use that as an excuse." Camilo rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Time seem to pass quickly as the day progressed. It was already almost time for Antonio's ceremony, and Camilo along with his siblings and parents gathered in a room once more to wish Antonio good luck. Camilo tried to ease Antonio's nerves by mocking their dad. It was an attempt to make him laugh.
When Dolores said that it was time, Camilo and her went to the main room to watch with the crowd while their parents waited by his little brother's door.
Camilo watched as Antonio walked along with his cousin, Mirabel. Seeing Mirabel walk along that same path as she did 10 years ago made him ache in a way. Long ago he believed he was the reason she didn't have a door, that he took the rest of the power. But as much as he wanted to apologize, Mirabel never let him, saying that it wasn't his fault.
As Abuela said the last words and Antonio accepted the responsibilities of his gift, Antonio went to the doorknob. Everyone watched in desperation, hoping it would work.
Camilo seemed to be the most tense. This would really be the test to see if he took the power or not. If he could be to blame.
Dolores seemed to notice her brother becoming more and more tense, reaching out to hold his hand. She squeezed it to get his attention, giving him a 'it will be okay' look. She remembered how he felt at Mirabel's ceremony. That memory never left her head as this ceremony went on.
They all watched intensely, not even wanting to blink.
And then, it happened.
The door began to glow, with a light that grew brighter and brighter. And then a bird flew to Antonio, sitting on his arm.
He looked like he was talking to the bird, and Dolores confirmed.
"He says he can understand it." She whispered to her brother.
Just then, a bunch of animals started coming into the house, running up the stairs towards Antonio. The door finished glowing, creating the final image of Antonio surrounded by animals on its front.
"We have a new gift!" Abuela announced. Everyone cheered and a wave of relief came over Camilo. His sister gave his hand one last squeeze before covering her ears as the fireworks started going off.
Casita opened the door and Antonio was taken it, being followed by the rest of the animals.
Everyone soon followed in as well, watching the room finish create itself.
It was an actual forest. The floor led to a tree that took up the room, and it's height was beyond sight. Antonio rode up and journeyed the tree as everyone cheered him on. When he arrived back to everyone else at the main floor of his room, he was immediately surrounded by all of his family who congratulated him.
Abuela called for a picture with the family and afterwards, the party part finally began.
Music began playing and everyone was already ready to dance. Camilo danced alongside his family, though he secretly tried looking around to see if could catch a glance of the girl. He hadn't seen her arrive, and wasn't sure if she was even there.
As he was about to lose hope, he accidentally bumped into someone. He turned around to apologize.
"Oh sorr-" he stopped short. It was her, the Angel girl. After the kids called her that, he couldn't help but think of her as that as well.
He blinked in disbelief. She stood before him, in a beautiful golden yellow and white dress that seemed match his outfit. Though it was probably a coincidence, he so wanted to think it was on purpose.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she stared at him wide-eyed before covering her mouth, giggling softly.
At first he seemed to fall for her even more. But then he wondered why she was giggling. She then looked at him up and down and then pulled on her dress to show him.
He looked at what she was showing him scrunching his eyebrows, confused. Then he glanced down his outfit on accident and had to do a double take before he realized he was wearing a dress with the same design.
He examined the rest of his body before completely realizing that he had indeed unconsciously transformed into her.
He immediately turned back into himself and chuckled nervously. He already felt his cheeks heat up, knowing his face was probably all red.
Embarrassed, he tried to walk away, already giving up. But before he could he was stopped, a hand pulling him by the shoulder, turning him back to the girl. That's when he saw that she herself had pulled him back. He froze in his spot, completely willing to do whatever it is she wanted him to do.
Then she began walking past him, and he looked down.
'She wanted to be the one to walk away then ..' he thought sadly.
Before he could start to walk again, he felt a hand trace his upper back from shoulder to shoulder. He stood up straight at the action, confused by what to do.
As the hand traced around his shoulder, he saw it was the Angel girl who had circled him. Her hand then stopped on top of his shoulder for a second before continuing up the side of his neck and along his jawline as it came to a pause right under his chin. She gently pushed his face up and made sincere eye contact with him before removing her hand gracefully to her side, grabbing his complete attention.
Then, she spun around, following the tempo of the music as she gazed back into his eyes and began dancing in front of him. She swung her dress as she dance, enchanting him further.
"Come on." She finally said. This made him stand up straight. He had never heard her voice before.
"Don't just stand there enjoying the show," she held he hand out, pausing her dancing for a moment. "Dance with me." She smiled.
Her voice sounded as sweet as how Arroz con Leche tastes. He could listen to her talk for hours, and she had only said a few words.
Before he fully registered that she had asked him to dance, she grabbed his hand and took a step back before spinning herself while still holding his hand up.
"Don't make me dance with a statue, that doesn't look like it's your gift," she laughed.
He shook his head, returning to his full consciousness and chuckled an apology.
"Apology accepted, now dance with me." She insisted.
Camilo laughed once more before spinning her himself and dancing along to music with her.
As they danced Camilo took the chance. "I don't believe I know your name."
"I don't believe I've told you." She replied almost mockingly in a joking manner. "My name is-"
"The house is in danger!" A voice called from afar.
This made all the dancing and music come to a stop. Walking towards the voice, Camilo realized that it was Mirabel.
Concerned for his cousin first, he excused himself and ran down the tree from where he was with the girl.
Unbeknownst to him, the girl had followed him from a distance, not to be intrusive but wanting to make sure everyone was alright. Soon after the crowd followed Abuela Alma and Mirabel outside of the room, filling up the open hall of the second floor.
The girl stood right up against a pole, squished by the crowd. She watched the scene below as the girl with glasses tried to convince the older lady that there were cracks in the house.
The older lady turned back to the crowd after hushing the young girl and assured everyone that the magic was strong, along while joking that the drinks were as well. The crowd laughed and quickly returned to the bedroom to continue the partying.
But unlike everyone else, the girl waited until the area was a little clearer and walked down the stairs. She had seen the girl walk off with who could've been her mother. She retraced the pairs' steps and eventually found the kitchen where they were.
Quietly she came around the corner, speaking with a caring yet concerned expression on her face.
"Um, perdón, I don't mean to intrude. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You looked really scared."
The girl with glasses was surprised, but then came over to the girl, speaking in a friendly manner. "Oh I feel better now. Thank you for your concern." She smiled,
Then she introduced herself. "I'm Mirabel. I don't think I've seen you around before."
"Oh, I'm new in town." The other girl started. "I'm living with my Tía Maria. My name is Sophia."
"Welcome to town Sophia. My name is Julieta. We're the Madrigals." The other lady said.
"So I've heard." Sophia scratched the back of her head.
"So, are you sure you're alright?" Sophia repeated.
"I'm sure." Mirabel smiled again.
The smile didn't feel right to Sophia, but she didn't want to push into someone else's business. Especially Someone she had literally just met.
"I think what my daughter needs is some rest." Julieta grabbed Mirabel's shoulders, shaking her gently and lovingly. It made Sophia's heart ache for a moment before she realized she didn't know how to return to the party.
"Oh um.. could one of you give me the directions to go back to the room? I don't even know how I managed to find this place." Sophia chuckled.
"Here, my mom can take you. I'm gonna head to my room. Thanks for coming Sophia. I hope to see you again really soon!" She stopped at Sophia's side and held her hand up in hers as a form of thanks. Right before she let go, Sophia did a gentle tug.
Mirabel turned to look at her and was immediately welcomed by the most kind green eyes. "It's not much of a difference, but you can call me Soph."
Mirabel gave her one last small smile before they let go and she went on her way to her bedroom.
Julieta came up to Sophia, putting a hand on her shoulder. When Sophia turned to look, Julieta also smiled at her, almost making her believe that her worries could just melt away.
"Come, I'll show you back to the party." She softly assured.
When they arrived back to the room, the people went on like nothing had happened.
Not long after, Dolores came up to Sophia.
"Hello, Sophia is it?" She asked.
"Oh um y-yes. How did you know?" Sophia asked, a little nervous.
Before walking away, Julieta added, "her gift is super hearing."
"Oh." Sophia looked at Dolores with an astonishment.
"I'm Dolores. Nice to meet you." She introduced herself as she took Sophia by the arm and started walking her somewhere.
"That woman is my Tía. And you've met my brother Camilo?" She was very interested in Sophia, but was trying not to scare her.
"Camilo?" Sophia tried remembering someone named Camilo. Could it be the boy she was dancing with earlier?
"Him." Dolores pointed out the curly haired boy standing not too far from them.
"Oh, that's his name." She smiled again.
"You didn't get to introduce yourselves I see." Dolores muttered before making a *hmp* sound.
Camilo seemed to be looking for someone. When he turned in their direction he caught sight of his sister locking arms with the girl.
"Oh no.." he trailed off, then covered it up with a nervous smile.
He started walking towards them, completely terrified of what his sister might've said.
"Camilo, this is Sophia, Sophia, Camilo." Dolores quickly introduced.
Camilo pressed his lips together, his eyes still wide. He glared at his sister and then looked at Sophia completely embarrassed.
Then, Dolores sort of pushed her softly towards him saying, "Now dance! Get to know each other a little bit."
Sophia stopped for a second, looking back at Dolores smiling gratefully. She then turned her sights back to Camilo, seeing how much he wanted to kill his sister in that moment. This made her laugh which got Camilo to look back at her. She then jogged forward, grabbing his hand saying "Come on! She's got a good point!"
She then began running backwards for second, maintaining eye contact as they smiled at each other.
"What's the worth of music if you don't give yourself a chance to feel it with your soul?" She expressed.
'Man she only gets better and better.' Camilo thought to himself.
"I already love that smile." She giggled. Camilo was shocked at her statement. "Now, can you keep up with me?" She challenged.
"I like your style." Camilo smirked before spinning her around and dancing with her the rest of the night. Even when other "potential bachelors" came up to them and tried to steal her away, Camilo would steal her right back.
They talked and laughed and when they were tired of dancing they went up the tree to a private spot away from everyone.
"This is incredible." Sophia sighed admiringly to the sights below and around them. "I've never seen anything like it."
Camilo watched her carefully, memorizing every single one of her features.
"You know Camilo, you're not quite like the other guys in this village. That much I can already tell." She rested her hand on the branch and leaned in his direction.
"Why do you say that? Because of my gift?" He raised his eyebrow, stating the obvious.
"Well there's definitely that." She chuckled. "But there's something more, I just can't describe it. It's like.. you're safe to be around."
"Oh.. really?" He rested his elbows on his knees.
"I can't explain it, but it just makes sense to me. Do you understand what I mean? I'm probably talking crazy." She trailed off, resting her hands in her lap.
"No, I understand. Besides the things that don't always make complete sense are the things that matter most." He reassured.
"You really think so?" Sophia glanced back at him. "I'm not talking nonsense to you?"
"You could be speaking another language and I'll still make sense of what you say." He looked into her eyes. "We may have just met, but I too see that there's more to you than.." he brushed her hair out of her face before finishing, "..meets the eye."
Sophia felt her heart flutter for a second. She tried to control her breathing to make sure it didn't become obvious.
Not knowing what to say, she looked back down at the people dancing, trying to find a sense of focus. Then an idea came to her as she slid down to the branch almost directly below them.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Camilo shouted, scared for a second by her suddenly leap.
"There's still a party going on and I don't want this night to end. Especially as long you're around. Come on!" She laughed as she began taking the path around the tree back down to the party.
Camilo soon followed her, making it a game of chase.
"You're fast!" He gradually got closer to her as they got to the base.
"Almost.... Gotcha!" He managed to wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her into him and wrapping another arm around her before spinning around with her in his arms.
"Ahh no!" She broke into laughter, both of them having the time of their lives.
He placed her down and she turned and grabbed his hand, making them both run towards the crowd to dance again.
The way they danced made so many stop and stare. It was a beautiful thing to see a young love bloom. Especially one from such an important family and a girl who nobody had ever seen before.
They dance like they had know each other all their lives. They talked like there was nobody else around them.
Soon the night would come to end, and day would creep up on them. But this was a night that they never wanted to end.
When it was time for Sophia to leave, her Tía came up to her.
"Sophia, mi amor, is time to - oh Camilo! You've met my niece I see!" Señora Maria came up to them as they were enjoying some of the refreshments.
"Wait, this is your niece Señora?" Camilo looked at her surprised.
"You know my Tía?" Sophia tilted her head.
"Camilo is a very sweet young man! He noticed when I wasn't feeling very well because of how anxious I was for your arrival. He always came by to check in on me and didn't leave me alone when I needed company. I can't thank you enough mijo!" Señora Maria recalled.
"Mm Oh um.. it was nothing!" Camilo scratched the back of his head. "Here, I'll walk you guys out."
When they made it to the front door, Sophia whispered something to her Tía, which made her walk out while Sophia stayed inside.
She turned back to Camilo who stood behind her.
"Is everything okay?"He asked.
"Everything was amazing." She said, walking to him until she stood almost directly in front of him.
"My Tía really talked you up all on her own. Thank you for taking care of her." She gazed into his eyes and he stared back, wondering what she would do.
She slowly leaned in towards the side of his face and kissed his cheek, pausing for a second before releasing and standing straight up again.
"Goodnight Camilo. I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked before turning to leave.
He stood there speechless, jaw dropped and wide-eyed, not making a single sound. From up the stairs, Sophia heard a "Yes! Yes you will. He'll be in the village with me after breakfast!" Dolores shouted.
"And me!" Another voice popped up behind Dolores. A beautiful girl with darker toned skin and straight hair peeked over Dolores' shoulder.
Sophia giggled. "Alright then, I'll see all 3 of you tomorrow." She waved goodbye and walked out. Casita let Camilo watch Sophia leave and once she was out of sight Casita closed it's door.
Camilo shook his head and softly felt his cheek where she planted her kiss. 'It was so soft..' he thought. As his sister and cousin begin sneaking back into the party, Camilo came to about what had been said.
"WAIT DID ISABELA KNOW BEFORE??! DOLORES!!! ISA!!!COME BACK HERE!!!"