Camilo
The girl had short, curly, hazelnut hair, and wore a radiant purple skirt. But I could see what looked like dried blood on it. She also had small cuts and bruises all along her arms. It was only when I clearly heard sniffles that I realized that she was crying. So that is what I heard. What is she doing out here on her own anyway? Oh, wait. I'm here by myself too. Shit.
My thought was interrupted when I heard her small gasps between sobs. Her sniffles made my heart feel. . . strange. I couldn't help but feel empathy for the girl. She looked like she needed help, so I approached her silently. Don't want to startle her.
"Hey-" I tried touching her shoulder gently, but she immediately swatted my hand away and stood from the ground. Her face reflected utter fear. She looked from left to right as if waiting for someone or something to pounce on her. She then turned to look at me, putting her fists up to protect herself.
"Who are you?" She asked. "Where am I? What are you doing here?!" I could tell she was frightened.
I put both hands up, trying to calm her down. "Hey, don't worry. I'm not trying to hurt you," I told her softly. She didn't look convinced. I walked one step closer to her, slowly, making sure not to scare her more than she already was.
She stepped back, "Get away from me." Her warning was serious, something very bad must have happened to her.
When she stepped backwards, I noticed that she was limping. I looked down to see that there was blood running along her right leg. And it wasn't just a drop, it was way too much blood.
"You're hurt," I said.
She didn't react to my comment, she just stood there. If I want to help her, I need to act quickly. Her skirt is too long for me to see the injury, but I can tell that it must be very severe. If I don't help her now, who knows what'll happen to her!
She was breathing heavily, not letting her guard down. I decided that there was no time to waste, so I just kept walking slowly towards her. Unfortunately, the more I moved, the more agitated and nervous she became.
"No, stop. Stay away I said!"
"It's alright," I said. "Look I just want to help you, you're in really bad shape, ok? Just look at yourself, you're not going to get very far if you stay like this. Please, let me help you."
The girl started thinking about it, but she still seemed uncertain. Damn it, what can I do to make her feel like she can trust me? It was then, when my thinking lightbulb started shining brightly. I had second thoughts for a moment, but I couldn't think of another option.
"Hey," I started, "I'll let you in on a little secret, ok?"
The girl looked back at me, a little bit of curiosity flowing inside her eyes.
I put my right hand over my left cheek, gesturing to her that I was about to confess my "secret" to her. Then, I whisper-yelled to her, "I can shapeshift."
She narrowed her eyebrows, clearly a sign that she didn't believe me. I don't blame her; she probably thinks I'm nuts. That is when I shot her a wink before transforming into an exact copy of her. Now we had the same hair, same eyes, same figure. She gasped at the sight in front of her, but she didn't look so scared anymore. She seemed surprised, and I think she relaxed a little.
I waved at her, smiling.
"How-how did you do that?" She asked, stepping forward to take a closer look.
"Wait, don't move," I said. "You could hurt yourself more."
She stopped herself, but she looked even more astonished than before. I think she was more focused on me than on her wound now. This is good, she isn't so terrified anymore. Now I have to find a way to be able to treat that wound without her freaking out and thinking I want to harm her.
She spoke again, "You even sound like me."
"Yup, it's kind of what I do, you know?" I started, "Not to brag, but with this gift I've been able to prank more people than you can count. One time I turned into one of my cousins, and I started a fight between her and her older sister. The fight lasted for almost a week, and no one ever found out it was actually me."
I can't say for sure, but I think I saw what looked like a small smile start forming on the girl's face. I believe I even heard her laugh softly at my anecdote. She was still a little tense, but not as much as before.
I shifted back into myself. "I'm Camilo," I said.
"What about you? What's your name?"
"I'm- I'm, huh. . ." she paused, "that's weird, why can't I remembe-" She started to look really dizzy, and she started to stumble. She touched her forehead and squinted her eyes.
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, worried when I saw how pale she got. But before she could answer, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed on the hard ground.
I immediately ran to her and kneeled on the ground by her side, I grabbed her shoulders, shaking her to see if she would wake up. "Hey! Hello, can you hear me?! Come on, wake up!" I begged. She didn't respond, and I started to panic. Ah, shit. What should I do?! That's when I remembered her wound. I used my left arm and used it as support to hold her back and head. Then I used my right hand to lift her skirt. What I saw really shocked me. She had a massive, deep cut on her right leg. Blood was just flowing and dripping from it, her skin now tinted red from all the blood. It's worse than I thought, I need to act fast. She could bleed out!
I placed her head down quickly, but gently. There was this one time one of the villagers had an injury just like this, so I tried to remember what the others did to help him before my tía Julieta could cook something to heal him. I ripped a piece from the hem of her skirt, and I used it to wrap it around her injury. I made a knot with it, and tightened as much as I could to apply pressure and stop the bleeding. By now my hands are stained by the crimson red liquid, but I didn't care.
Ok, now what? I can't just leave her here; I need to get her medical help. Wait, tía Julieta! Yes, she can heal her, and her wound will disappear as if it was never there. Not even a scar will be visible. I don't think Abuela -or anyone for that matter- will be happy about me leaving the Encanto, but I'd rather be scolded than live with the guilt of not helping her laying on my shoulders.
I'm not strong enough to carry her, but I bet someone else is. I quickly transformed into one of the adult villagers and picked her up carefully. Her body was so still, and so limp. I worried that she hadn't made it, so I tilted my head next to her chest. I could barely hear her heartbeat; her pulse must be very weak. I need to go now!
I started running back to the small mountain entrance, but I made my best effort to not move her too much. I reached the tunnel, but it was too small for the both of us to fit. I changed back into myself and squeezed through with her. I walked through the vines and was now back inside. I shifted back into the villager. I looked at the girl's leg, and her wound was just looking worse. I could see the blood seeping through the bandage I attempted to make, and her breathing was decreasing.
I ran. I ran. And I ran through the forest.
I didn't stop.
I tried going around the town, hoping no one would notice me. The last thing I needed right now was for the full town to make a fuzz. I mean, just imagine how that would turn out. "Uh, what is that guy doing? Why is he carrying that girl? Wait, she has blood on her!" Yeah, that would be a disaster. If that were to happen, Dolores would listen, and she would tell everyone back at home. I had to be as discreet as possible. I need to get her home now; I don't know how much longer she'll hold on.
I turned around a corner, when I suddenly saw my brother and my cousins. They seemed to be looking for someone, probably me. I guess I have been gone for a while. Sorry guys, I can't afford for anyone to see me right now. Much less in the open.
I kept going until I reached the side patio of the Casita, and I headed to the French doors that led to the dining room. I stopped abruptly, however, seeing that Abuela Alma was right there. I quietly backed up and sneaked outside again. I was slowly backing up when I suddenly bumped into something. Or rather someone. Because when I turned around, I saw Dolores standing there, watching me with wide eyes.
I could tell she was about to scream, so I transformed back into myself. "Wait, don't freak out! It's just me!"
She calmed down a little. "C-Camilo? Who-? What-? Where-?"
"Listen Dolores," I started, "I don't have time to explain, but I need you to help me! I-I found this girl, and she's really badly hurt, ok? I can barely hear her breathing, and I need to find tía Julieta to see if she can help. So please don't say anything, not now, ok?"
Dolores started thinking about it, biting her bottom lip nervously. Then, she turned to me with a stern look. "Alright, listen carefully. Take her to my room and lay her on my bed. Wait there until I come back with our aunt, and don't leave her side. Grab a towel and place it beneath her leg and find a rag to change her bandage in the meantime."
I silently nodded and started to walk to the main entrance. I saw Dolores leave for the town before entering, and I whispered a small "thank you."
I was now inside, and I tried to look from side to side to see if there was anyone in sight. No hay muros en la costa¹. I turned left, and I rapidly headed up the stairs. I reached my sister's door, opened it, and finally stepped in. I let out a sigh of relief. I passed by the chimney and walked up a few more stairs before reaching Dolores' bedroom. I placed the girl down on the bed delicately and did everything my sister told me to do. When I took off the wrap from her leg, blood started coming out of her wound again. So, I immediately grabbed another rag and used it to bandage her leg again.
Shit, where are they? I couldn't sit still, so I started pacing anxiously around the front of the bed and biting my index finger. I glanced back at the girl, feeling more worried by the minute. What in the world happened to you?
About ten minutes passed before Dolores burst into the room, with my aunt trailing behind her. She seemed to be holding a cup filled with something, most likely a remedy.
"Dios mío, ¿pero qué le pasó?² What happened to her?" She asked, taking a seat next to the girl. She put the palm of her hand over the girl. "She's burning up."
"I-I don't know, I just found her like this and-"
"Where?" She questioned, lifting the girl's head up. "It's strange, I've never seen this girl before." She looked up at me.
"I, um-" I stuttered.
"You'll have to explain later, mijo. Right now, I have to give her this," she gestured to her cup, "before she fades out on us."
Dolores and I looked at each other, then back at our aunt. We watched closely as aunt Julieta lifted the cup towards the girl's mouth. I could see her neck moving a little as she swallowed the mysterious liquid. Once she drank all of it, tía Julieta layed the girl's head back down on the pillow. Then, she unwrapped the bandage, and we all gasped.
The wound had not healed at all, it looked exactly the same as before! I don't get it, this doesn't make any sense at all. If you eat or drink anything my aunt makes, it heals you instantly. Why would this be any different?
We all looked at each other, and I could tell that we were all asking ourselves the same question. My aunt sighed in disbelief, and then looked at her patient. "I don't understand, why didn't my remedy. . .?"
"This should be impossible," Dolores added, "why isn't her wound healing like it should?"
Dolores sat on the bed and placed her hand on top of the girl's head. "Her fever seems to be going down, she isn't sweating as much anymore."
I hugged my left arm with my hand. "That means it's working, right?"
Julieta did the same as Dolores did, and she thought to herself for a moment. "Mmm, I guess it does. But that still doesn't explain why the cut isn't healing. The wound seems very infected, it must have been exposed for a while."
She paused to think, then looked at Dolores. "Cariño, can you please bring me a washcloth, a bowl of warm water, and the health kit I have in my room. It's a small, white box in the first drawer of my vanity, please."
"Yes, tía." Dolores responded, leaving to get the materials. A health kit?
"What's a health kit?" I asked.
Julieta looked up at me. "It's a small box of medical supplies, it has more sophisticated tools to treat certain types of injuries."
I was curious, but I chose my next words carefully. "Is that what people from the outside use?"
"Yes," Julieta said, covering the girl's wound again, "I had it in case of an emergency like this."
"But, how do you even know how to use it? I mean, I just never would have thought that you ever needed to learn how to actually treat an injury. Since you can just heal someone by feeding them, when did you even think about learning?"
"I don't know," she started, "I guess I just did. When I was younger, I once asked myself, 'How do normal people treat injured or sick people?' So I asked some of the people from town that had come here with my mother, and they taught me some techniques and medicinal recipes. I guess it's a good thing I did." She smiled.
"Yeah, guess so." I responded.
My aunt's smile turned into a serious look. "Camilo, where did you find this girl?"
"I-uh," I rubbed the back of my neck. "I might have, uh, met her. . .outside. Of-the-Encanto."
"Outside!?" She exclaimed. "Camilo, how did you even-?"
She was interrupted by a hurried Dolores, who walked towards her with all the things she had asked for.
"Here you go, tía. I brought everything you needed." She said, placing the bowl of water on a small stool next to my aunt.
She sighed, "Listen, Camilo. We'll have to talk about this later, because right now I need to treat this poor girl's leg. I need to clean the cut, disinfect it, and bandage it up correctly."
I looked from my aunt back to the girl. She seemed so fragile just laying there, like she could break any second. Her face was still a little pale, but not as much as before. She seemed to be breathing normally now, which is a good sign. However, I can't even imagine the pain she is going to wake up to. How did she hurt herself so badly?
"She is most likely going to have to stay here," said Julieta. "You know you're going to have to tell Abuela and everybody else about this, right?"
I sigh, "I know."
"Come on, little brother." Dolores said, placing her hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to look at her and nodded.
My eyes never separated from the girl's figure, that is until we left the bedroom.
We walked downstairs together, and we saw Luisa, Isabela, and Antonio. They all came up to me hurriedly, looking worried.
"Camilo, where have you been? We got worried about you," Isabela said.
"Yeah, we thought your little butt got lost in the forest, and that we would have to come rescue you," Luisa added, with a sly smirk on her face.
Antonio pulled on my ruana to get my attention. "Did you find the ball Cami?"
I chuckled at his question. "Sorry Toñito, I couldn't find it."
"Oh, well. That's ok," Antonio said.
I smiled at him, and then we all saw Abuela head towards us from the kitchen. Oh boy, this will not end well for me. I am so done for. Abuela approached us with a loving smile, "Hola³ mis niños⁴, I've been looking for you. I need you kids to come help me with something in town, come along now."
She turned to leave, and everybody followed suit. Dolores nudged my arm with her elbow, and I gave her a look. "Actually, Abuela," I started, zero confidence in my voice, "there's something I need to tell you. . .
* * *
Soon, every single one of my family members were now gathered in Dolores' bedroom, except for my cousin Mirabel and my brother Antonio. Mirabel was told to distract Antonio for a little while until this was all sorted out. Afterall, Antonio was just a kid, there was no need to involve him in this. At least not at this moment.
Tía Julieta had already finished treating the girl's wound, but she still sat close to her. Her husband, Augustín, stood right behind her. I had quickly explained the situation to my family, how I found the girl, about the hidden passage, and about how I was on the outside. Abuela Alma was definitely not happy, not to mention the look of worry on my mother's face.
A small, gray cloud started forming above my mom's head. "Camilo, what were you thinking? You should have told us about the tunnel, not go in! What if something happened to you, huh?!"
I squinted my eyes as she yelled and hovered over me. "Pepi, amor³. Please, stop scolding him, alright? I know this was not very responsible of him, but we can't rectify it by yelling at him," father said, holding her shoulders.
My mother took a deep breath and sighed. "Ok, I'll calm down. But this is something very serious," she turned to look at me again. "Not only did you leave the Encanto, but you also brought in an outsider, a stranger. We don't know anything about her-"
"I know, mamá. I know that, but, come on. What did you expect me to do? Did you expect me to just leave her there? All bruised, injured, and defenseless?! She was dying for crying out-!"
"Enough!"
We were silenced by Abuela, and we all turned to look at her. She seemed to be deep in thought, most likely making decisions regarding what would happen. Abuela wouldn't kick her out, would she? No. Not like this.
She sighed. "This is what is going to happen, so all of you listen carefully. The girl is at no fault for what is going on, and we can all see that she is seriously hurt. She will stay with us until she is fully recovered. When she is fully healed, we will then discuss her options. I have no clue what could have caused her so much harm, but I do know this; I am not surprised, considering where she is from. The outside world is a nightmare. The only thing people do out there is destroy every ray of sunshine."
"Something still doesn't square right," Isabela started, "why didn't mamá's remedy heal the girl instantly? That isn't normal if you ask me, or any of us for that matter."
"Uh, well, I-uh," Abuela stuttered, looking nervous, "it must be because she isn't from here." She assured us.
Everybody stayed silent, there wasn't really any reason to keep debating about the 'why' or the 'how'. It's not like we would get a straight answer anytime soon.
"Camilo, since you were the one to bring the child here, you will be in charge of taking good care of her until she heals, with the help of Julieta, of course. However, she will mainly be your responsibility. I assume you will have no problem with that," Abuela said.
"No Abuela, of course not," I responded. Why would I have a problem with that? I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I brought her in, what kind of a person would I be if I hadn't? I know Abuela was trying to slightly punish me for going outside, but I didn't care. Honestly, I'm glad I did. If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't have found her.
"And one more thing, Camilo." Abuela's voice grew deeper, "You are never to go outside of the Encanto again, is that understood?"
I dropped my head down, "Yes, Abuela."
"She can stay here in my room for now," Dolores offered, bringing the tension down.
"It's settled then. Now come on, familia⁴, we should let our guest get some rest." Abuela guided everyone out of the room, but I stayed behind.
Once everyone was gone, I let out a breath of relief. Well, that wasn't so bad.
"Camilo," I turned to face tía Julieta. "You can go for now if you'd like, I'll watch over her for now. Go do whatever you need to do."
"But-"
"No buts, mijo. Go on. I'll call you if anything happens. Besides, I'm sure Mirabel and Antonio are very curious about what's going on. Why don't you go and tell them?"
I softly smiled at her. "Alright, thank you tía."
I started to leave, when I heard her yell behind me. "I'll teach you how to bandage her leg properly later."
"Can't wait!" I yelled back as I left my sister's room.
To my surprise, however, Mirabel and Antonio were already there when I opened the door. I smirked at them, and crossed my arms, "Were you two eavesdropping?"
"Pfft, us? Eavesdropping? Nah," said Mirabel.
I crouched down to Antonio's level, "Were you eavesdropping, Toñito?"
"No."
"Oh, really?" I grabbed Antonio by the waist, and I started tickling his stomach. He laughed as I rapidly moved my fingers through his body.
"Haha. Camilo, stop it!"
Once I let go of him, and Mirabel sat down on the floor with us. "Come on, Camilo. Just tell us what happened," she begged, her eyes showing a mix of curiosity and excitement.
"Alright, alright. Jeez," I said. I explained for the second time what had happened in the past hour. Eventually, I got hungry. So, I headed to the kitchen to grab a snack, maybe an arepa con queso. Both Mirabel and Antonio followed me there, asking me a million questions.
I was looking through the cupboards and cabinets, looking for any trace of edible food. "Wait a second. So, my mom's antidote didn't take any effect at all? How is that even possible?" Mirabel asked me.
"I'm not sure either," I started, "we all thought it was strange as well, but Abuela told us that it may be because she is from outside."
Mirabel grabbed her chin, "Mmm, I guess that could be it."
"Camilo," Antonio said, grabbing the hem of my ruana, "if she is hurt, is she going to be ok?"
"Don't worry, Antonio. She'll-"
I was cut off by a loud scream. Mirabel and I exchanged glances, and immediately ran to the main living area. We looked from side to side, up and dowm.
"Camilo!"
I looked up, it was my mom. She looked stressed, and I figured that something was wrong. "Camilo, hurry! Come quick, the girl woke up and she is really agitated. She won't let anybody near her!"
I quickly ran up the stairs and entered Dolores' room. I stumbled a bit, but I finally reached the door to the main bedroom, and there she was. My family was surrounding her, attempting to calm her down. She weakly leaned against a wall, fear radiating from her. She was yelling, warning them to stay away.
I saw her reach for something, and then realized she was going to throw a book.
I sped through the room, pushed through my family, and stood between my family and her.
"Wait!"
The girl stopped herself.
"Don't. . .it's ok." I held my hands in front of me, just like when I met her. She looked at me, observing me, her breathing heavy.
I slightly smiled at her, "You remember me, right?
* * * * *
¹[Coast is clear]
²[What happened to her/him?]
³[Love]
⁴[Family]