Work Text:
Sometimes, Camilo felt invisible. Like no one ever saw him for who he really was. That looked at him, and all they saw were the chameleons on his rauna. They didn’t need Camilo. They needed everybody else. He felt that who he really was had been pushed to the side, that he was cared for less, given less attention.
That’s why he was always so loud and energetic. So they would notice him, even if it was only to tell him off. He didn’t like to be loud. It hurt his sister's ears. He hated hurting her.
He didn’t like being so crazy and reckless all the time either. It stressed out his mamá. He hated when she was stressed. Not because the weather got hectic like most people would think, but because he wanted her to have peace of mind and to be happy. He never minded when anyone called him a mama’s boy. He wore it proudly. He loved his mamá.
Pepa called him her special boy. But Camilo wasn’t special. At least, that’s how he thought. If he was special, why didn’t he get attention like Isabela? All she could do was grow flowers. Camilo could do that too! Anyone could! Isabela could just do it faster.
If Camilo was special, why did no one ever think about him like they thought about Dolores? They were always being careful not to be too loud or to say something too harsh. It didn’t seem like anyone cared about his feelings. A few months after his gift ceremony, Camilo started to not like his gift so much. He didn’t like how people would just come up to him and tell him to shapeshift. They could at least ask. Sometimes he just wants to be Camilo.
If Camilo was special, why was he always underestimated? No one ever underestimated Luisa. In fact, sometimes they even overestimated her. But every time Luisa wasn’t available, and his family or the townspeople had to do something themselves, Camilo was one of the last ones to be called. He had stopped volunteering because they would just keep brushing him aside. It didn't matter what the job was, even if he had already proven he could do it. Nobody seemed to think he was capable.
If Camilo was special, why weren’t people making sure he was included like they were for Mirabel? His family seemed to forget about him when making plans to do things like playing games and just spending time together. More often than not, he found himself having to ask to join somebody else or just crashing in without an invite. It seemed to get increasingly rarer for him to be asked to join a game. It just didn’t feel like anyone wanted to spend time with him.
If Camilo was special, why did it feel like Antonio was trying to take the whole family for himself? Camilo understood that Antonio was the youngest and therefore the cutest, but the family seemed to have an obsession with his little brother. It seemed like every conversation he engaged in somehow ended up about Antonio. Every. Single. One. Camilo loved his little brother, but that just seemed excessive.
If Camilo was special, why didn’t Casita catch him when he jumped off the roof?