Camilo and Mirabel giggled as Nico and Milargo wrestled around on the grass in Mirabel's room. Camilo, once again, managed to sneak into her room. Yeah, he wasn't supposed to be there. But it never stopped them. The two puppies, who follow their owners around, were no different.
After watching them for a while, Camilo's eyes drifted to Milargo. He then remembered the painting of their Abuelo, Pedro, and his dog, Mariposa. He never realized it but...Milargo held an uncanny resemblance to Mariposa. Of course, their dog breeds look similar, but look very similar. It was almost scary.
"Hey, Mira?" Camilo asked, looking over at Mirabel, who was laughing as she looked at Camilo.
"Yeah?" She asked, adjusting her glasses as she looked between the two puppies and her primo.
"Did Milargo always have that butterfly mark on his ear?" Camilo pointed towards the small golden puppy, and Mirabel's eyes followed his finger. She saw the butterfly mark upon his fur and nodded.
"Oh yeah! Milargo, come here!" Mirabel called, and Milargo and Nico parted, darting over to their respective owners. Milargo squeezed under Mirabel's arm, and Nico scrambled onto Camilo's head. Mirabel gently held Milargo's ear, lifting it. "This?"
"Yeah, that right there! Has it always been there?" Camilo scooted closer, Nico's eyes looking down at their slightly younger puppy.
"Yup! It's been there since he came on my ceremony. I think it's a birthmark," Mirabel shrugged, looking down at her little puppy, who looked up at her with wide eyes. "I always thought it made him feel more like my dog. And butterflies are my favorite animal."
"Butterflies aren't an animal, that's a bug," Camilo corrected.
"I still like 'em," Mirabel shrugged.
"Well...you know Abuelo's dog, right?" Camilo questioned, and Mirabel nodded.
"Yeah, Mariposa," Mirabel said, remembering the painting in the hall.
"I noticed something about her and Milargo," Camilo mumbled, his small fingers gently touching the mark on Milargo's ear. "I mean, besides the fact that they both look almost like the same dog, Mariposa also has a butterfly mark on her ear."
Mirabel blinked before her eyebrows furrowed in thought. Her eyes widened in realization and she nodded her head in agreement. "Now that I think about it...they do! I think it's on the same ear too, right?"
Camilo smiled, and Nico yipped at Milargo. "Yeah! Hey...do you think Abuela noticed?"
Mirabel looked down at Milargo, who barked at her, then Nico. "Hm...I don't think so," Mirabel then lit up, and looked towards Camilo. "Should I show her?"
Camilo nodded his head eagerly, beaming. "Of course! She always looks sad when she looks at pictures of Abuelo and Mariposa, so maybe if you show her that she and Milargo look alike, she won't be so sad!"
Mirabel was on board with his plan. That had to work. After all, their abuela seemed to like all the dogs. Of course, Ophelia, who was their abuela's dog also liked all of the dogs, but that was a given, right? But Alma was the only one who had seen Mariposa when she was living.
"You gotta give me credit though. Cause I figured it out first," Camilo said and Mirabel rolled her eyes.
"Or you could just come with me," Mirabel said in an "isn't that obvious" kind of way. Camilo blinked before nodding.
"Oh yeah," Camilo muttered and Mirabel laughed
"We should do it tomorrow, ok?" Mirabel looked at her primo who nodded.
"Yeah. This will totally make abuela happy," he smiled, looking at his younger cousin.