Chapter Text
Camilo's POV
"But why can't I come with? Antonio, I understand, cause he's a little kid. But I'm fifteen! Practically an adult!" I argued.
"Because the reception is for adults only, and you, are not an adult." Mi Mamá calmly replied, tying a a dark green ribbon into her hair.
"Now I am!" I declared, turning into Dolores.
Mi Mamá chuckled. "Nice try, but no. You're still mentally fifteen." She said, ruffling my hair.
I groaned as I turned back. "But--"
"No, Camilo." She interrupted, her voice becoming more stern. "And besides, you can keep Bruno company after Antonio goes to sleep." She added cheerfully, walking out of her room.
I followed her quickly. "But Bruno doesn't like me!" I complained, trailing after her.
She turned to face me. "Why on earth would you say that? Bruno loves you! When you were little, he used to carry you around town, showing everyone how cute you were." She smirked, pinching my cheeks.
I pushed her hands away. "But I never see him except at meals. And even then, he sits as far away from me as possible!" I explained.
Mi Mamá gave me a sad smile. "Mijo, he's been alone for ten years. The last time he saw you, you were Antonio's age, and now, well..." She trailed off, biting her lip.
"Just, give him some time to open up, okay? Who knows? Maybe you two will become acting buddies!" She laughed, giving me a quick hug before walking down the stairs.
Click.
I turned, gaping at the sight of Mirabel in a long, dark red dress. "Don't tell me you're going to the reception too!" I exclaimed.
Mirabel grinned. "Alright. I won't tell you that I'm going to the reception." She said, allowing the house to slide her down to the first floor.
"But how?!" I asked, sliding down after her. "My mom said it was for adults only."
Mirabel shrugged. "I guess my mom thought that I was old enough to count."
"But--but--" I spluttered, tugging on my curls in frustration.
Mirabel frowned. "If you want, I can stay home with you. It's...it's just a reception." She smiled, but I couldn't help but notice that it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Mirabel! It's time to go!" Su mamá called from the front door, where the rest of the adults were grouped together.
"Actually, I--"
"She'll be right there!" I yelled back to Tía Julieta.
Mirabel's eyebrows furrowed. "But I thought--"
"You should go. You probably spent, like, hours doing your hair or whatever. It would be stupid of you to have done all that for nothing." I interrupted her, crossing my arms.
"Are you sure? Because I can just stay home, it's really not a big deal." She insisted.
"I'm sure. Just bring me back a polvorosa, got it?"
She nodded, giving me a quick hug before racing after the other adults out the front door, slamming it shut behind her.
I slumped, turning around and walking to the dining table. I froze a few meters from my destination, surprised to see Bruno putting three plates on the table around a platter of arepas.
I don't think he's noticed me yet, I realized. I turned around slowly, about to creep back upstairs, when Antonio came racing past me into the room.
"Hi Bruno!" Antonio yelled, jumping into the spot at the head of the table. "You will not believe what Julio told me today!"
I sighed under my breath, turning around and sitting down in front of one of the plates. I quickly grabbed a few arepas from the dish, putting them on my own.
"Ah, hi Antonio! Hi Camilo!" Bruno smiled slightly, sitting down across from me.
"What did Julio say?" Bruno asked, handing a piece of arepa to the rats on his shoulder.
I droned out their conversation, eating my arepas as fast as physically possible. Three minutes later, I excused myself, racing out of the room.
I couldn't resist the urge to glare at the front door. It's not fair. I'm older than Mirabel, but she gets to go to the reception while I'm stuck at home with two people gossiping about rats.
I stared at the door for a minute, before grinning, an idea forming in my head. Running up the stairs, I quietly snuck into my parents' room. Opening mi papá's chest, I rooted through his clothes, searching for inspiration.
After fifteen minutes of looking, I settled on a solid green top, striped green and yellow pants, and black shoes. Putting the clothes away quickly, I shifted into my dad's body, looking into the mirror.
Not bad. I thought with a smirk. I opened the room's door slowly, only to quickly close it again at the sight of Bruno carrying a sleeping Antonio into his room.
I waited for the sound of the door shutting, before rushing out of the room. Sprinting down the stairs, I swung the front door open, taking a deep breath in of the warm night air.
Town, here I come!
Bruno's POV
I smiled, tucking Antonio into his hammock. He's so tiny and cute! I thought, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair. Turning around, I slowly climbed back down the gigantic tree, doing my best to avoid all of the more...carnivorous, animals.
Finally, I made it down the tree and out the door. Closing it quietly behind me, I looked around, wondering where Camilo went.
Walking down the hall, I stopped in front of my other nephew's door. I paused for a minute, admiring the glowing piece of art, before raising my hand and knocking.
No response.
"Camilo!" I whisper yelled, trying not to wake up Antonio. "Are you in there? I was thinking we could maybe play a game or--or do a skit, or, or read an adventure book together? Like we used to..." I suggested, straining my ears as I waited for him to say something.
No response.
"Camilo?" I called, opening his door slowly. I looked around for a moment, surprised at how messy the room was, before noticing the empty bed.
I frowned, closing the door gently and walking back downstairs.
"Casita, could you show me where Camilo is?" I inquired, looking around at the walls.
The house didn't even creak.
"Please, I just--I just want to make sure he's okay. I know he really wanted to go to that reception tonight, so I stayed home, cause it's not really my thing, and I figured we could do something fun together. But, now I can't even find him." I whispered, looking down at the floor tiles.
I sighed, about to head back to my room, when suddenly the floor tiles moved underneath me, carrying me to the front door. I blinked, surprised, trying to figure out what the house was telling me.
"Did...did Camilo leave?" I asked incredulously.
The front door opened.
I whistled, calling all of my rats to me as I walked out onto the sidewalk. Immediately, a couple dozen rats came scurrying out of the house behind me. Once the last one was out, I closed the door carefully, making sure not to slam it in my rush.
"Thank you, Casita." I patted the wooden surface. "Please, keep Antonio safe." I turned, walking briskly down the pathway.
"I have an idiot sobrinito to find."