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Camilo was starving. Breakfast seemed years ago, and he had not been able to do more than a normal person sized lunch, which was only a couple hours previous.
He knew he would not make it to dinner, from experience.
But he was still on the fence on whether he should try to sneak some food or not.
Camilo decided to head back, relieved that he wasn't required to do work like he had been before. It used to be a way more common dilemma for him.
That day though, his friends had wanted him to keep shifting for their games and whatever else they came up with.
He had also helped out as much as he was comfortable with, which was the new normal with their abilities, ever since the Miracle came back.
Camilo much preferred it that way. He did like helping people, but it was nice to get to do it on his own terms, and to not be expected to do it.
Everyone was trying to make sure no one over did it but...
He didn't think anyone really knew what overdoing it looked like for him.
Camilo wasn't prepared to explain it.
After all, since he was little and his appetite grew, everyone scolded him for eating too much and for trying to sneak more food.
It took him years to realize that it was connected to how much he shifted. He used up a lot of energy when he shifted, especially the rapid ones compared to shifting once and then holding the form, which meant that he needed to eat more.
He'd figured out his limits over time and sometimes had to stretch them.
The hardest part was not the day, it was the night.
Eating a single snack to stave off the hunger, then enjoying a normal sized dinner with maybe some extras... it wasn't enough to get him through the night after shifting too much during the day.
Camilo usually tried not to shift that much, but this time he didn't notice the obvious signs- hunger coming on quickly, his skin starting to feel unreal like he was just in a costume he could step out of, and some signs of exhaustion or headaches, though now he was experiencing them all.
He hadn't been able to get a snack in between breakfast and lunch, and lunch wasn't the usual amount he preferred when no one was watching, no he was forced to eat the more normal sized portions that would barely sustain him on a day he did a minimum of shifting.
Camilo glanced in the kitchen and sighed when he spotted Julieta and Mirabel working on dinner. He wasn't going to be able to get at least a small snack this time.
He decided not to climb the stairs- he didn't think he had the energy for that and instead went out to sit in the shade and wait for dinner to be ready.
Isabela found him and woke him for dinner, smiling and teasing him over taking a nap. At least it was genuine instead of mean-spirited- he knew she quite enjoyed the luxury of taking a nap in the afternoons after spending some time working, something she had never been allowed before.
Camilo pretended to play along with her teasing, but really, he knew he had passed out from the lack of food. At least it was time for dinner.
Mirabel gave him an odd look when Isabela mentioned finding him sleeping.
Camilo barely kept himself from eating too fast, slowing down once he didn't feel quite so hollow.
He didn't have much on his plate by then and he had missed most of the conversation, not that he usually participated anyway.
Camilo focused on eating, half listening so that he wasn't caught completely off guard when things happened later.
he blinked in surprise when he realized there was suddenly more food than there used to be.
It wasn't near enough for how starving he had been, but at least it would help him feel full for now.
Camilo ate the rest of the food on his plate. Then he decided to just go to bed early. Then he could get some sleep and wake up later for food when everyone was asleep instead of being awake.
He knew from experience that he had to be very hungry before it woke him up.
He didn't notice Mirabel, Dolores, and Bruno watching him
Camilo managed to fall asleep quickly. He slept restlessly until he couldn't stand the hunger anymore.
He felt unsteady as he headed for the door. He had to stand at the door for a moment to wait for his head to settle down. He felt really lightheaded. He probably should’ve gotten up as soon as he felt hungry to see if it was safe to go for food.
Camilo rubbed his head and took a deep breath before poking his head out of his room.
It was late enough to sneak snacks into the kitchen, and there were no signs of others being up.
Perfect.
Camilo started towards the stairs and almost lost his balance when Casita started moving him to the ground floor.
Once he realized what Casita was doing, he relaxed and sighed. "Thank you," he whispered, relieved to make it to the kitchen without falling over.
He really had pushed it... Really should know his limits better than that.
Camilo spotted a plate of arepas left out and glanced around. He decided to eat one while getting a plate and looking for other food to eat.
He had it in one hand, taking a bite every so often while he prepared his midnight snack meal.
He reached to grab a bowl for some sauces and the world tilted and went dark without warning.
.
Mirabel jolted awake at the sound of dishes breaking.
She rushed down the stairs, Bruno and Dolores behind her. They had all tried to stay up to catch Camilo going for a snack, but they had all fallen asleep.
Mirable gasped at the sight of Camilo sprawled on the floor on top of the broken pieces of the dishes he had broken. There was a lot of blood, and she couldn't even see where the blood was coming from.
Aside from the blood gushing out of his head.
Dolores gasped. "What happened?"
"He didn't eat enough," Bruno said grimly as he grabbed an arepa, all of which had been made by Julieta earlier that day.
"I knew he was hungry enough to need more but how do you know that caused this?"
"Help me get some food in him." Bruno just wanted to make sure Camilo was going to be okay before he answered.
Dolores and Mirabel moved Camilo to make it easier.
Bruno didn't speak until the blood stopped flowing, then he sighed.
"I used to faint from not eating enough," he admitted. "I've noticed the signs in the past when Camilo snuck into the kitchens but I never saw him pass out... he probably has, though."
Mirabel nodded. "He's always really careful about eating, constantly snacking and trying to get seconds when no one is paying attention... But he didn't eat a big breakfast because he got up late, and then... I think he's been busy shifting all day."
"He was," Dolores confirmed. "And his plans to eat more for lunch since he always has a big lunch when no one is watching were foiled. I... I've noticed that he gets hungry easily and that sometimes he's struggling because he hasn't been eating enough but I never thought that it would get this bad. I should have said something before."
"It's not been that long since we started fixing things," MIrabel said softly. "You aren't used to speaking up. The question is... what are we going to do now?"
"Well first, now that it looks like the injuries have healed up, we're going to move Camilo over there, and then we're going to clean up this mess," Bruno decided.
Mirabel jumped up at the reminder.
Casita ended up doing most of the work for most of them.
Just as they were settling back down, Camilo woke up and stared at them. "Uh..."
Mirable shoved the plate of arepas in front of him.
Dolores hugged him tightly before helping him sit up.
Bruno just hovered awkwardly in the background.
Camilo opened his mouth to ask questions and Mirabel glowered and shoved an arepa into his mouth.
He got the hint and started eating it, then after remembering how hungry he was, he started eating more. He glanced at Dolores and Mirabel uncertainly after he had eaten three arepas but both were fine with him eating more so he ate more.
He didn't stop until he was starting to feel better, though his stomach still felt hollow.
"Camilo, you need to stop letting yourself starve," Dolores said softly.
"Why do you care now?" he demanded.
Dolores flinched back. "I don't know what you mean."
Camilo huffed and grabbed the last arepa, taking his time eating it. "I know that your hearing really only works with whatever you focus on, but you're telling me that in the ten years since I got my gift you haven't once picked up on how I am genuinely hungry when I go for more food and I'm not just being greedy? You haven't noticed me struggling with shifting when I have been shifting too much and eating too little? You really never even heard me fainting before?"
Dolores looked down. The more he spoke the more ashamed she looked, twisting her hands in her lap.
"I-I know. I'm sorry. I should have done something to help you at least. Take bigger portions and give you what I couldn't eat, I don't even need to eat as much as some of the others do so taking a little extra of what the usual size is would be a good amount for you and I should have done that. I don't know if speaking up would have helped, all the adults in the family weren't exactly good at listening to us and... and I'm sorry. I could have done something instead of thinking I should just stay quiet and keep my head down."
Camilo stared at her, surprised that she said so much at once. Then he sighed. "I just wanted a sign you cared about more than telling Abuela everything," he admitted. "Um, why are you here now?"
"We're not blind," Mirabel replied with a huff. "We could tell something was bothering you even before you went through your dinner faster than the rest of us, and then you got seconds, eating a little more than you usually try for."
"And I've seen you sneaking around before, I know you need food, I've been there, for different reasons, but I've fainted from starving before."
"You have?" Camilo asked, twisting to look at his uncle.
"Yeah. I didn't always feel up to eating after my visions, and it often felt like no one wanted me to eat. So eventually I would faint."
"Oh."
"Now, just like my sisters said to me when they caught onto that, I'm going to tell you the same thing: We need a plan."
"I've been really good at paying attention... I don't shift as much so I don't get as hungry... My friends were more demanding today, and I just... didn't eat the way I usually do..."
"First things first, we're going to tell Julieta," Bruno decided. "That way she can make sure you don't have to worry about sneaking snacks. Both Julieta and Pepa should understand considering they had to deal with me, and you actually have to eat more because of your shifting. All the gifts have a downside one way or another, that's clearly yours."
Camilo nodded slowly. "Okay... then what?"
"We'll check in a few times a day," MIrable told him. "Make sure you eat, take a break from shifting if you've been doing it a lot."
"And we'll have to tell the rest," Dolores added in, "so that they know too, but we'll wait a day or two so you're feeling better. If I hear your stomach grumbling I will bring you a snack from now on."
"You don't have to, I should be aware enough of it to do it myself."
"I want to, at least until things have settled a bit more and make sure you've unlearned all the bad habits," Dolores said firmly.
Mirabel nodded. "You wouldn't do that on purpose. You're used to pushing through, you're used to everyone being tense enough to yell at you if you encounter them at the wrong time. You're used to going hungry. Just like I'm used to fading into the background and helping out in quieter ways when I can... I still forget I can speak up. I sometimes find myself off on my own when I had intended on helping my mom or Abuela that day. You know that we all had to take turns with Luisa to make sure that someone was always with her to tell people no because she always agreed even though she didn't need to and honestly shouldn't put up with a lot of those demands."
"...yeah. I remember that." Camilo smiled. The first time she had said no without any nudging or defense needed from whoever was with her was when he was with her, and the face of the villager who had made the ridiculous request was one of his favorite memories.
"So we'll be around until you remember that things aren't the way they were and you should always be able to get the food you need."
Mirable came back to the table with the exact snack meal that Camilo had been intending to make, only with extra parts.
"I was too worried about you to finish dinner," Mirabel admitted, taking some to eat.
"Oh... sorry."
"It's okay. We're still practically twins, of course I care about you and worry about you when something is clearly wrong."
Camilo winced and looked down. "I haven't been a very good cousin."
Mirable shrugged it off. "Just eat, Milo. We've been through different things and are coming to terms with how different things are at our own pace."
"I guess. Um, thank you for the food though... How did you know?"
"I still know you, we did hang out sometimes after all when we could get away with it. And besides, it's one of the few things I can make without screwing it up."
Camilo snickered and started eating.
After Julieta, Felix and Luisa were the ones that could be trusted in the kitchen the most. Mirabel could handle it more than her father could, but she still wasn't very good at cooking, just at helping and taking off a burden if Julieta needed help.
"Finally a smile!" Bruno pointed out as he helped himself.
Even Dolores took some.
Camilo decided that though fainting hadn't been fun and he'd initially been embarrassed, this late night snack had turned out way better than he would have expected.
And maybe, maybe things would be better over all, now that he knew he had the support of others and they had something of a plan for the future.