It was the next morning in the Encanto with the town bustling to finish their morning chores as usual. The Madrigal family was waking up and hurrying down for breakfast. Dolores was just outside her door when she saw Camilo coming out of his own room next to hers. "Didn't get much sleep?" she asked with a disapproving voice. "I could hear you tossing and turning all night!" Camilo gave her a look of annoyance as she berated him, but she continued. "I told you not to...uh...Camilo? Your eyes! Look at your eyes!"
She handed him a tiny, jeweled pocket mirror so that he could look at himself. Still annoyed, he took her mirror in his hand and turned it over. He expected his eyes to be red from the lack of sleep. When he looked into his reflection, he saw that sure enough, circles were starting to appear under his eyes. But then he discovered that wasn't what Dolores was talking about. The color wasn't his. Instead of hazel-green eyes looking back at him, they were crystal blue. He let out a little gasp and clenched his eyes shut. When he opened them, they were back to normal. "Um...here," he said, awkwardly. He handed back the little mirror to his sister and walked off without another word. Dolores shook her head. "What was that about?" she wondered.
Everyone was sitting down at the long table in the morning sun. Alma sat at the head of the table while Mirabel sat on her right side, as was the norm these days. Dolores was watching Camilo like a hawk. She noticed how he was looking at his plate of food but was barely eating any of it. He didn't even try to steal seconds this time either. Now she grew worried. Something was wrong with him, for sure. 'But he can't be sick,' she thought to herself while twirling her spoon. 'Tía Julieta's cooking would've taken care of that in a heartbeat. He should be a bottomless pit by now, like always! What could possibly be upsetting him that Tía's cooking can't make better? Unless...it's not physical. Is it something...internal?' Dolores just couldn't understand it. The eye color from earlier was certainly unusual, but his mood concerned her more than anything. Camilo was always a happy kid who loved to make people laugh. But somehow, overnight, he became quiet, cold, and distant. It was truly unsettling to see her brother act so...lifeless. Not to mention, it was so sudden. Literally, right before the Engel family came to visit the Casita, he was perfectly fine...And then her mouth fell open slightly. It hit her like a ton of bricks. How did Dolores not notice it sooner? Not that long ago, she was behaving the exact same way when Mariano was betrothed to Isabela, and she thought her feelings would never be reciprocated. And now, Camilo had that same, dead-looking expression on his face. 'It can't be! Could it?' she thought. Camilo looked up to see Dolores staring at him and his eyes were back to that strange, bright blue color. Dolores gestured at her eyeballs. Camilo looked at himself in the back of his spoon, shook his head from side to side and his eyes reverted to hazel-green once more. The gears in Dolores's head were turning fast. She tried to think back. Which of the two daughters had eyes like that? She thought of the eldest one for a moment, but Dolores remembered vaguely that her eyes were brown. That left only one other option. Johanna was certainly a pretty girl. Dolores thought she looked like a doll. She was at least Camilo's age as well. 'It must be her!' she thought. Dolores now gave Camilo a smirk. 'Oh, you are so busted!'
Alma stood up and cleared her throat to address her family. Everyone's eyes were now on her.
"Mi Familia," she said lovingly. "Two months from now will mark the one-year anniversary of the day our beloved Casita was rebuilt, and our miracle restored. And it would never have been possible without the help from our wonderful community and of course, our sweet, brave, dear Mirabel. And as you know, it has been decided that such an occasion is deserving of a celebration in the form of a festival. I am happy to say that the preparations are coming quite nicely." Everyone murmured to each other in excitement. Alma chuckled at their enthusiasm. "And now, everyone, please give your full attention to Mirabel. She'll take over from here." As Alma sat back down, Mirabel stood up proudly and said, "This festival will be a definite change from the family traditions we've held in the past. Because we are not just focusing on the Madrigals, but anyone and everyone in the town can have a chance to shine. Because everyone has something about themselves worth celebrating. It is up to us to arrange the final and main event. Nothing too extravagant, but something simple. So everyone here is encouraged to share their own ideas with me and Abuela."
"Ooh! I got some ideas!" Félix said, raising his hand enthusiastically.
"Me too! Me too!" piped Antonio.
"So do I," said Isabela. "And I get to talk to her first since I'm her sister!"
"You're not the ONLY sister!" Luisa said in her deep voice. "I said I'm FIRST!" Isabela said through gritted teeth, glaring at her buff sibling. Luisa's eye twitched as she glared back.
"Okay, okay, okay, okay!" Mirabel called out with her hands up. "I'm going to talk to the grown-ups first and then I'll get to all of you," she said, addressing her sisters and cousins. "But until then, take the time to process your ideas. I promise to listen to all of them. Alright, everyone. Let's close out." The family stood up, said 'La Familia Madrigal!' and started to clean up. Dolores was picking up the plates when she said. "It sure seems like our cousin is doing well at taking charge. Eh, bro?" She looked over at Camilo who wasn't paying attention. He was shuffling his feet and looking down at the ground. His plate still had food on it. 'Alright, that's it!' Dolores thought to herself. She just couldn't stand it any longer. She had to confirm her suspicions, right now. So, she waited until everyone was out of earshot and said to Camilo quietly, "Hey. I bet the Engel family will stay long enough to enjoy the festival."
Camilo froze for a moment at the mention of the name but said nothing.
Dolores pushed further.
"Maybe we could invite them to stay the night at OUR home," she said. "Then you can share YOUR room...with Hanna."
The trick worked. Camilo gave a nervous choke at the last two words, transformed into Hanna for a second, and changed back again. Dolores squeaked, and whispered, "I knew it!" She was pointing at her brother with her lips. "Don't you say a word!" Camilo said, warningly. His cheeks glowed bright red. Dolores gave him a smug look.
"What's going on here?" asked Félix. He, Pepa, and Antonio approached the two of them. "Are you guys fighting?"
Pepa looked down at the plate her son was carrying. "Camilo, you've barely touched your food! What's wrong, mijo!? Are you sick?" She rushed to put a hand on Camilo's forehead to check for a fever. A rain cloud began to appear over them. "Peppy, mi Amor," Félix said, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. "If he was sick, he'd already be cured with Julieta's cooking by now." Camilo handed his plate to Antonio who took it and started feeding the food to his animal friends. "No, Mami. I'm fine. Really," Camilo said to his mom in a gentle voice. But Dolores wasn't having it. "Oh, he's sick alright," she finally said. Camilo glared daggers at her. But it was too late. "He's lovesick."
There was silence from all five of them.
The only noise was that of Antonio's animals chowing down on the breakfast food. Camilo hung his head in defeat. Dolores really couldn't keep a secret to save her life. "What? What!? WHAAAAAAAT!?" Pepa shouted.
CRASH!
There was a clap of thunder from Pepa's cloud which was now getting bigger and bigger. Antonio's animals scattered in fear. But the cloud didn't stop there. Drops of rain were now falling on everyone's heads. Camilo looked at Dolores in exasperation and said, "Now look what you've done." He then took their mom's hand in both of his and told her, "Mami, it's okay. It's not a big deal."
"What's not a big deal?" asked Mirabel, who was making her way towards the scene. Everyone else was right behind her. Julieta ran over to Pepa, getting herself wet in the process. Bruno joined her. "Pepa, are you alright?" he asked, putting his hands on Pepa's shoulders. But Pepa wouldn't answer. She was in shock.
Julieta then looked at Camilo. "What happened?" she asked him.
"Um..." Camilo said.
Dolores was just about to speak again when Félix put his hand over her mouth. He shook his head, telling her just this once to stay quiet.
"Everything's fine. Pepa will be fine," Félix assured everyone. "But I think the five of us," he said, indicating Pepa, Dolores, Camilo, Antonio, and himself, "need to talk in private. So, could you all excuse us? We'll be in Pepa's room."
Everyone looked at Félix in concern. Nevertheless, Mirabel said, "Sure, Tio Félix. We'll give you all some space if you need it. But just tell us afterward, okay? Otherwise, we'll be worried."
"We'll let you know how it goes," Félix said. He then turned to his children and said, "Vamo!"
Dolores and Antonio led the way while Camilo and Félix ushered Pepa along with them. She was moving but her face was still in shock. They made their way inside Pepa's room. The place was airy, filled with fluffy, white clouds floating up to the ceiling. The family of five gathered around the bedroom area where Camilo and Félix guided Pepa to her chair in the corner. Her storm cloud was still hovering over her head, but the rain had finally stopped. After Pepa was seated, Félix stood by her while Camilo took a spot near the dresser. Dolores stood on the other side of it near Camilo, and Antonio sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Pepa's feet. All eyes were on Camilo, who was not used to this kind of attention. He felt like he was eight years old again and in trouble, even though he knew perfectly well it wasn't the case.
"Well, Camilo?" Félix started. "I assume what your sister said is true. You have...developed feelings for someone?"
Camilo sighed. There was no reason to deny it, so he nodded.
Félix then turned to Dolores. "Alright, let's get something perfectly clear," he said. "Dolores, I know the word 'secret' is not really in your vocabulary, but there's a time and place to just speak out about other people's personal matters. And I do not feel like it was your 'place' to do so in this case. If your brother wanted to talk about it, I'm sure he would've."
"But Papi," said Dolores in her small yet pouty voice. "You didn't see how miserable he looked at breakfast? I was trying to help him! And when I finally figured out what was bothering him, I was just so relieved! I couldn't help it."
Camilo scoffed.
"Yeah right, you wanted to help. You were just making fun of me," he said with his arms crossed, leaning back against the dresser.
"No, I wasn't! I swear," Dolores said. "I mean, yes, maybe I tease you a bit, but I would never make fun of you!"
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Félix said, holding up a hand. "Dolores, you figured it out? How did you figure it out?"
"You mean besides his sudden change in how he carried himself and his lack of appetite? His eyes were a different color earlier. It made me wonder whose eyes they could be, and then I remembered," she said.
"So...you think you know who it is?" Félix asked. His curiosity got the better of him.
Dolores started, "Yes! It's..." But then she turned to Camilo and said, "You know what? Why don't YOU tell us?"
Camilo just stared uncomfortably at the floor. His tongue felt like it was made of stone.
"It's alright, mijo. It's just your family you're talking to," his dad said, calmly. Then Camilo finally lifted his head up and Félix's eyes widened a little.
"Oh...That IS an unusual color," he said.
Camilo figured his eyes must have changed back as he thought about 'her' but made no attempt to change them this time. It was pointless.
Antonio smiled and said, "Those are Hanna's eyes. Aren't they? They are so pretty."
"Hanna?" Félix asked. "You mean the young lady, Johanna? Cal's daughter?"
Camilo, frustrated with how everyone could know without him saying anything, just sighed and nodded.
Pepa, who had been silent the entire time put her hand over her heart and finally spoke.
"My son...is in love?"
Everyone looked at her. The cloud over her head was starting to drizzle. Her bottom lip was in a pout.
"Peppy, why so glum?" Félix asked. Unlike his wife, he was ecstatic. "This is wonderful! Our son is in love for the first time! The boy is becoming a man!"
Pepa started wailing, uncontrollably. The drizzle over her head became a downpour. Félix picked up a nearby umbrella and tried his best to soothe her but to no avail. Camilo then went over to his mother and knelt beside her. He took her hand and said, "It's alright, Mami. Just calm down." He waited until she finally looked him in the eye.
"Remember? Deep breath in. Deep breath out," he recited. Pepa started breathing heavily. Her chest was heaving up and down. Then Antonio climbed onto Pepa's lap and hugged her.
"It's okay, Mami," he said.
Pepa took her hand from Camilo and wrapped her arms around Antonio. She then got up from her chair and started pacing around the room, holding him close to her. His curly, black hair tickled her chin.
"How can this happen?" She whispered to herself. Her cloud was following her head every which way she went. "Isn't it bad enough that my daughter is engaged to Mariano? And now my son is in love?"
"For the last time," Dolores said while rolling her eyes. "We are not engaged! He is still just my boyfriend."
"You may as well be! That's not even the point!" Pepa exclaimed.
"What is your point, mi Vida?" Félix asked, calmly.
Pepa turned to Félix and said, "My point is my...our children are growing up too fast! And what am I supposed to do with that!?"
There was a long pause until Félix finally spoke.
"That's what you're upset about? Mi Amor, is our children growing up such a terrible thing?"
Pepa didn't answer and started pacing again, clutching Antonio to herself.
"Mami, I don't think you have anything to worry about," Camilo told her. "I've only just met...her...it's unlikely she would feel the same about me anyway." He said this with a forced smile to cheer his mother up. But deep down, his heart twisted tightly in his chest at hearing his own words. Pepa stopped pacing and stood to face her eldest son and said, "What?" She finally put Antonio down and went over to Camilo to cup his face in her hands.
"And why not?" she asked.
Camilo didn't look at her but just mumbled, "Because...she'll probably fall in love with some rich guy. Ya know? Someone of her standards."
Pepa looked at her son incredulously.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. "You are a Madrigal, for goodness' sake! How can you be talking about standards? Besides, not every woman on Earth looks for 'some rich guy.' You have so much more to offer in a relationship. You're my funny, talented, clever, kind-hearted son, and if..." she paused for a moment. "If she doesn't see that, it's her loss," she said with a sense of finality.
"Peppy, I thought you were against him being in a relationship just a minute ago," Félix said.
"I never said that!" she exclaimed. "I knew it would happen...eventually... just not this soon!"
"He's not even in a relationship now!" Dolores said. "He barely knows her, as he said."
Pepa let go of Camilo's face and turned to her daughter.
"You think she wouldn't fall for our Camilo?" she asked.
"How should I know?" asked Dolores. "I can't see the future!"
Pepa gasped.
"Bruno! That's it! I'll ask Bruno!" she said, excitedly. She was about to dash out the door.
"Peppy," Félix started to say, but he was interrupted by Camilo.
"No! Mami, DON'T!" he shouted.
Pepa stopped. Everyone turned to look at him.
"Look. As much as I appreciate that you all want to help, I feel like this is...well...not helping at all. And if you bring Tío Bruno into this, it'll only make things worse," he said.
"He's right, mi amor," Félix said to Pepa. "You don't want to risk seeing our son heartbroken before it even happens, do you?" Pepa looked at Camilo sadly with both of her hands on her heart. "No! Of course not!" she said. She walked over to Camilo and held his face in her hands again. "I'm so sorry, mijo," she said. "I got carried away. Being in love is not always easy. And I'm sorry about what it's doing to you. But just know, that there is always hope. So, hold onto it. And no matter what happens, you're still my baby. Don't you forget that." She hugged him tightly and Camilo hugged her back.
"I know, Mami," he said softly.
Félix, Dolores, and Antonio gathered around to hug Camilo as well. They stayed there for a few minutes until Félix said awkwardly, "Well, we gotta tell the rest of the family now."
He then looked at Camilo and asked, "Are you gonna be okay?"
Camilo nodded.
They walked out of Pepa's room to meet the rest of the family who was waiting for them downstairs.
Félix told them everything and their reactions were very much like what Camilo expected.
"Really?" Agustín said, grinning in surprise.
Julieta and Bruno let out a cute 'Aww!'
Isabela smirked. "Oh, you poor thing," she said sarcastically.
Luisa gave a sniffle and her bottom lip trembled, "Yeah! Poor Camilo," she said, genuinely. "Unrequited love is the worst!" She hid her face in her hands.
"Now, now, Luisa. Pull yourself together," said Alma, reaching up to pat her arm.
Camilo then looked at Mirabel to see her reaction.
"This has gotta be embarrassing for you," she said.
Camilo threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Thank you for being the only normal one here!" he said to her. And then he added, "No offense."
"Meh. None taken, "she said in a half-smile.
Camilo spent the rest of the day trying to act like his usual, silly, upbeat self. He was working hard to be of help to the town wherever he could. If he wasn't working, he was entertaining the children. But then, he suddenly felt tired and told his family that he needed some time alone. He walked along the riverside staring into his reflection. His shapeshifting always came to him so naturally. Easy as breathing. If someone needed another Jose, he was there. If someone needed another Osvaldo, he was there. And yet something didn't seem the same. Camilo didn't find shapeshifting as enjoyable as he did before. No one in the town has ever said to him, 'We need a Camilo.'
And then, there was Hanna.
Though he knew it wasn't her fault, his feelings for her were causing him to have all these insecurities about himself. Would she like him if he didn't have his special Gift? Would she find anything to love about him? He wasn't tall or muscular. His hair was too curly, and his nose was too big. But even though he was perfectly capable of changing all those things, it wouldn't be real. It wouldn't really be him, whoever that even was. Camilo kicked a small pebble into the river, distorting his reflection. Then he turned and walked away. He didn't even notice that Hanna was watching him from the top balcony of the summer house. She tried waving 'Hello' at him, but he left without even looking up. Hanna watched him go until he was out of sight.