The Heart of Camilo (A Camilo Madrigal x Reader Fem Y/N Story)

Something Small

*Camilo*

It started small. When you grow up in a village as intertwined as Encanto, all the villagers are extensions of you. I grew up knowing them all, and when I got my gift, they all began to rely on me for help, just as they did the other members of my family. Shape-shifting became who I was to everyone - the mother needing help with her newborn child, the children needing supervision when the teacher was ill, a strong hand to handle an out-of-control cow, or simply when someone needed two of themselves to get the work done. At 5 years old, I was becoming an adult - literally- regularly to help - always help. Except with Y/N.

Such a small thing - to be a child, to be seen as a child by someone. When I was 7, I had been asked to become a replica of a farmer whose cows had escaped. I had shifted into his likeness and was running around, tall enough to not be trampled, helping him round up all the cows that dared to escape. And then suddenly, a girl my age ran into the field, yelling, "Papa, papa!" at me. Confused, I stopped what I was doing and quickly ran towards her, picking her up and leaping over the fence to place her back where she couldn't be run over by the cows. She giggled and then slowly her smile faded. "You... are not my Papa".

Floored, I didn't even have time to think of a response. Her real father, the farmer, came up from behind us and swiftly took her from my arms. He asked me to keep rounding up the cows while he made sure that she was back inside safely. I didn't know what to say, I was 7 and so confused about why that moment had been so impactful, and so I nodded reluctantly. I finished the job and then shifted back to my 7-year-old self. I was on my way home when I saw the girl at the window of the farm-house. She looked at me and then her face broke into a smile as if she recognized me. She waved. Smiling back, I waved as I walked down the path back towards the main area of the village.

I often ask myself, how did she know I wasn't her father? No one had ever noticed when I was someone different before. It was such a small thing. I had walked back to the village smiling broadly.

***

"Camilo!" A thundercloud clapped overhead and woke me up from where I had dozed off at the desk in the kitchen. My mother, Pepa, had the gift of controlling the weather, and whenever it was thundering I knew she was upset. Scrambling up, knocking over the papers I had been writing on for my homework, I quickly headed over to the stove to start making her some tea to help her calm down.

"No, no, Camilo - I don't need tea, I just need you to get outside, Abuela needs you", my mother quickly corrected when she noticed what I was doing.

"No problem, mami", I grinned at her. I headed outside, and as I turned away, the grin dropped off my face. I had spent all morning helping out by turning into various people who couldn't get their chores done themselves - I had homework to do and was already exhausted. Year 10 at school was a tough one for me - I had always been a good student but lately the responsibility of my chores had been wearing on me. Abuela used to allow me to have days off when I was younger, especially during the school year, but now that I was 15, I was told I needed to step up and accept more responsibility in keeping the village safe and running smoothly.

As I stepped into the sun, I winced and held my hand up over my face. I pushed my curly air out of my face and ran up to Abuela, who was waiting in the front yard for me. "How can I help?" I asked when I reached her side.

"What took so long, Camilo?" she asked, looking down at me in an appraising way. She adjusted her black shawl subtly - but I knew she only did that when she was annoyed.