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Today was a big day for the Madrigals. The helpful Madrigals, the thoughtful Madrigals, the loving Madrigals. And today, Casita is visibly busy, and so are its people. As to why they are so busy, is because a new Gift would be revealed the later night, a new Gift that would help the community. It was Antonio’s day to get his gift. His big brother never mentioned anything on how Antonio was feeling about the ceremony, but nevertheless, you wish him goodluck. Once again after a decade, a big celebration will be held at La Casa Madrigal. A feast, lots of drinks and food, and fun.
And your friend Camilo.
“Maria, you look beautiful today!” A voice shouted to which another voice replied with a thank you and a chuckle.
“Hermosa, lovely day, lovely as you.”
A string of phrases along these lines is a sign of a certain someone, making their way to you. And as usual, this action tugs painful heartstrings.
“Heyyyy! Good morning!” The sudden call of the familiar voice diverted your attention from the whining of the donkeys towards the waving figure in front of you. The rising sun outlined his curly brown hair and his bright-colored ruana.
You smiled, your eyes narrowing at the action and the shine of the sun. “Mujeriego!” You greeted back with a smile, acknowledging his presence. “What brought you here this early?”
Camilo flinched at the nickname. “Nothing, just checking you out…”
“ ‘Checking me out’? What’s that supposed to mean?” You smirked.
“Checking on what you were doing. I meant.” He confidently replied.
“What else, feeding the donkeys, like any other day.”
“Let’s decorate the house.”
You sighed, “As much as I want to help in the casa Madrigal, I can’t right now.” You shrugged with the feeds-scooper on your hand, “Responsibilities.”
Camilo threw his hands up in frustration, “Come on, princesa. This rarely happens! And what better opportunity than to help now that we’re older? Ditch the donkeys and let’s go decorate the house!”
He tried to reach for your wrist but failed, “No, not until I finish everything in this house.”
“Come on, let’s gooo!”
“Camilo, Papa will ground me if I don’t finish this! Would you rather not have me there at the ceremony later?”
He groaned.
“See?”
“You know you don’t have to obey his orders.” He had an evil grin on his face.
“Want me to feed you donkey food, dumbass?”
He groaned.
“Okay look. As soon as I’m done, we’re pranking Isabela. Deal?”
His face lit up, “Deal.” Damn, didn’t have to answer that quick.
“But… you’re going to be there later, right?” A question he’s been meaning to ask finally came out of his mouth. He was done beating around the bush.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Cool. I’ll see ya there. Adios!” He bid farewell with a wink and a salute.
He walked away, maidens’ eyes following his direction. This was a common occurrence, for Camilo to be stared by every girl he passes by. They would swoon and whisper words of admiration to one another. And of course, he’d flirt with every one of them. Must be nice being him, admired by all just by being himself.
Sure, you might be closer to him and he flirts with you, but that doesn’t affirm that he liked you. Hell, you’re just best friends!
And soon enough, a trail of girls was following him secretly, giggling at his every move. Poor naïve Camilo. If he only knew how much you appreciated his morning visits. How you enjoyed his company. How you liked being his friend. How you loved him romantically.
--
You dressed formally but festively for the event later. Well, you mostly dressed for yourself, initially not caring on how you look in occasions since you’d just be there in the corner sipping your drink. But that would change when a curly-haired extrovert male would come your way and actually made an effort to get to know you.
You still dress for yourself, but your brain can’t ever prevent thinking about “do you think he would find me pretty in this?” and you could only shake your head so you can get rid of those thoughts. It left you with warm cheeks, but you eventually got used to it. That’s how much you thought of it.
--
You stood among the crowd across Camilo. His eyes scanned for something specific, worry and anxiety written all over it, and it would disappear when he saw you in the opposite group of people as his. He repeatedly motioned his hand, beckoning you to his direction, telling you to transfer before the ceremony began. You refused his offer and turned your attention to something else. If you hadn’t had such a big crush on the boy, you would’ve gone there with no hesitation. Who knows what could happen with your heart beating so loud in your chest when you’re so close to him. That being said, you separately watched his brother get a new Gift.
It was visible in Señora Madrigal’s face that she was anxious. It was reasonable. Ever since Mirabel’s ceremony, it was difficult to place your trust on a family member to have a Gift. And most importantly, the town relies on the magic, so it would be a shame to let everyone down with another failure.
Antonio’s hand grasped his doorknob, and expectedly, the door lit up. Sparkles of gold dust burned brighter on the door, formulating a new Gift.
And then, a bird landed itself on his arm that was attached to the doorknob. “Uh-huh, uh-huh! I understand you! Of course they can come!” And then, flocks of birds came flying over the roof and into his room. Badgers, quokka, and squirrels skittered amongst the feet of the crowd.
The look on Señora Madrigal’s face shifted from anxious to relieved in just seconds. Everyone marvelled at the sight, and you glanced at your best friend and in his eyes you saw how proud he is of Antonio.
The sparkles of golden dust turned into slivers of gold and exploded into an image of Antonio and his Gift. Everyone cheered and so did you. You turned to look at Camilo which happily cheered for his brother. It was more than visible that he was proud of him.
Everyone entered Antonio’s room to take a look inside. The surroundings was covered in various plants, and in the center, a treehouse. A tree with thick extending branches and stood tall for everyone to see. A leopard made its way to Antonio and made him sit on its back. It ran towards the tree and bounced about every branch. Camilo snaps his fingers repeatedly, cheering for his brother.
After the short exhibition, the whole Madrigal family took a picture, each person showing off their talent. Camilo didn’t really know what to do, so he just… posed. For a moment, you glanced at Mirabel and saw absolute sadness in her eyes. You figured that the pressure must be immense since she’s actually part of the Madrigals. It was painful enough to not receive a Gift, and even in pictures, she’s neglected. But for the record, you don’t really know much about her. You should ask Camilo later, if it’s not too private.
--
Lively music, drinks and dancing people filled every sense of your body. You occasionally nod your head and tap your feet along with the music. Camilo was out there socializing. And of course, he was talking to another girl, looking her with suggestive eyes while holding a plate of arepas. You look down to the ground to distract yourself from any unwanted thoughts.
And as always, you were in the corner, but this time, you were talking to Dolores about random things. By random things, you meant Mariano. You have earned a fair amount of closeness to Dolores because of Camilo, and it’s really fun to be with her. It’s a win-win situation.
You heard a heavy sigh from the female. Despite the high atmosphere, her spirits seemed to be not. She started to tell her story without you ever asking, “Mariano’s proposal to Isabela is going to be soon. It kind of pains me to witness something like that.”
“Hey, if Mariano isn’t for you, I’m sure someone will come to your life and treat you well. Like how you would like for Mariano to treat you.”
“I sometimes wonder if I’d just be a cat lady in the end.”
“You won’t be. I’m sure of it.” You gave her an assuring smile despite not being certain of what you just said. Because whatever happens, you’d want the best for Dolores.
“I’m gonna get more drinks. Don’t leave, alright?” She had a somewhat sad smile as she walked away.
“Phew. Finally Dolores went away. Now I can have you all to myself.” You turned to the person in front of you. Camilo, of course. Your heart immediately sprung into life. “I’ve been searching for you since the picture-taking. I should’ve known that you’re here.”
“Camilo! Since when—?”
“As soon as Dolores took off.”
You were stunned of how close he is to you right now, but tried not to show it too much. “Well, yeah. Where else would I be? It’s actually relieving that you’re here now.” You smiled. Curses, you said too much.
“Not gonna lie, this party’s getting boring.”
“Uhm… I guess so. I was actually waiting for Dolor—”
“Let’s go to our usual spot.”
“What? But Dolores—”
“She’s gonna be fine. Trust me.”
When was a good idea to ever trust Camilo? Screw it. You can just apologize to Dolores tomorrow. It’s just a slice of the night with Camilo. It wouldn’t hurt.
“Okay… Woah—!”
Camilo’s hand hesitates on what to hold, your wrist or your hand as he pulled you away from the crowd. He settled on holding in between the two.
--
The river’s water crashing into the stones was pleasing to the ears and the crickets sang along with it. The breeze wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t freezing either. Just the right temperature to make you sigh. The full moon illuminated the surroundings with its bright light. And it also shone on his features that made you fall for him for just a bit more.
And along with the surroundings amidst the static insect noises, the laughter the both of you let out was prominent.
“Haha! Isabela really fell for it, huh?” You wipe a tear on the corner of your eye from laughing too much.
“Yeah. And then she tried to contain her anger just by walking away to all of that only to step at another one!” He was rocking back and forth, and repeatedly hitting his thigh from laughing too hard at his own story, but hey, so were you. “You should’ve seen her face!"
You were both gasping for air from all the laughing you have done. It was times like this where you really wish it could last forever. The heightened feelings and the calmed heart. You wish it was always like this.
For a few seonds of the calm, you remember an important question.
“Hey Camilo, about Mirabel.”
“Mhm?”
“Does she ever… you know, feel left off from the rest of your family?”
“Ahh…” He clicked his tongue and ruffled his hair. “If you ever heard her say,” He starts by shapeshitfting into her, “Gift or no Gift, I am just as special as the rest of my family.” He transforms back, “I’m sure that she really means it. I don’t know about the being left out though. I avoid talking about it around her to spare her from the grief. That’s all I know.”
“Impressive you’re her cousin and you don’t know anything about her feelings.”
“Hey, I just said I don’t want to hurt her feelings!”
You said nothing further and pretended to not hear Camilo. You looked up to the sky again, watching the show.
“But you know, sometimes I wish I had a different Gift, or no Gift at all.”
You were shaken by his confession, “Why… is that?”
“I don’t know, I just… I think I fear that I might not be able to know my own self anymore. I fear that one day, I might not be able to transform back to Camilo.”
“Hey,” you unconsciously grabbed his hand that was resting on the ground beside yours, “That’s not going to happen, alright? I’ll always be here to remember you. If you can’t do it, then I will guide you to go back to who you really are. That’s what friends are for, aren’t they?” The last bit of your speech stung a specific string in your heart, causing you to physically but invisibly flinch.
Camilo only looks at the water, taking your speech in.
You took your hand away from his.
The sudden explosion of a firework up in the sky interrupted your thoughts. You look up to see its magnificence as it shines against the night sky.
“Fireworks. When I die, I want to go off as beautifully.” He suddenly says.
“Like a firework?” You think about what could possibly make him want to go like that. Nothing. And to be honest, you don’t ever want him to go. A world without Camilo… With all these thoughts, you simply blurt out, “That doesn’t make sense.”
“You know what else doesn’t make sense?”
You chuckled, anticipating for his answer, “Yeah? What?”
“That we still aren’t dating.”
Hearing those words, your heart started pumping faster and the blood ran up your cheeks. You looked at him, wide-eyed. The chilly night suddenly became warm, and the singing of the crickets grew louder. Is this a dream? It could be. And it should be! Camilo would never say something like that, would he?
Every thought filled your brain as you stared at him for a long time, his oblivious eyes still looking upwards. What made him do this? Could you have unknowingly taken drugs earlier, is this why you were hallucinating?
“What? No reply? Aw, and I even mustered up all courage to say that.” He ran his fingers through his hair, curls dancing as he did so.
You looked away and covered your tomato red face, “You just left me speechless, is all.” Your hands covering your face muffled your words. You were trying not to burst into excitement in fear of ruining the atmosphere.
“I’m amazed on how slow you were on picking up until I said it myself. Though, I’m more amazed that I didn’t realize these feelings sooner. I even heard from somebody that you actually stay here in the late hours of night. I was flattered would be an understatement, and I don’t even know how to describe what I felt. I just—”
You’ve had enough of his nonsensical banter and your heart reacted faster than your haywire mind. You grabbed his ruana and brought your faces closer, crashing your lips together. His was unexpectedly warm, and you were passionate. A second later, he returned the favor, snaking his hand up your cheek, cradling your face. It was like various types of firecrackers exploded inside you, and the fireworks on the sky were more than helping the scene. It was all so ethereal.
You part after the contact, still hearing the persistent sounds of your heart in your ears. You look down on the grassy ground, unable to look the Madrigal boy in the eyes.
He rests his head your shoulder, taking your scent in as he catches his breath.
Why did you even do that? That was out of nowhere and he probably hated you now. He probably just went on with it so you’re not disappointed. Hell, maybe he was even trolling with his confession. Stupid you, didn’t even confirm and all you did was hide you blushing face and you never even told him what you thought of his confession.
“Surprisingly, you’re a good kisser.” Camilo commented. He slowly inched towards you, eventually touching each other’s shoulders.
You hit him in his arm, embarrassed. He laughs at your reaction. You intertwined your fingers together and held him tight. “Te quiero, Hermoso.”
“Yo tambien te quiero, Mi Vida.”