Camilo x Reader -Broken Reflection

Chapter 1 (Escaping Home)

Y/N POV

You've always wondered what was behind those two tall mountains. They've separated your city from whatever lies beyond them for all of your life- even if you've only been alive for fifteen years. Sometimes you'd try to catch the bus that takes its passengers to the very edge of your city. You try to hike through the mountains and make it past but always get too tired to go on.

Today was different. You'd always wanted to make it past the mountains to find something new- a better life, maybe. Today was the day you finally stuck to it.

You sprinted out of your house with your breath heavy in your ears. Tears were overflowing in your eyes but you ran anyway. You'd had enough of it. You were tired of how you lived and couldn't take it anymore. Her shouts were loud in your ears as your feet pounded on the rough city stone but you only ran faster as you watched the bus approach its stop. You chased it as it briefly stopped to let on a few passengers, and then it resumed its travel.

"Wait!" you cried, but you knew that the driver couldn't hear you over the sound of the bus' rumbling engine. You gasped for breath, feeling your arms pump at your sides as you struggled to carry your skirt, your sandals briefly catching on a rock.

You stumbled and almost fell, but found your footing once again as you scrubbed at your face, banishing your tears from your cheeks. This was no time for you to cry, no matter how much you hated it when they yelled at you.

The bus skirted to a stop and you heaved a sigh of relief.

"Come on, little lady!" The driver called. He'd seen you- or maybe a passenger did and told him to stop. You thanked him profusely as you climbed on and slipped a few coins into the change slot.

A few of the passengers were clapping as you slipped onto the bus. You couldn't help but give a little laugh. At least the people in the city were kind. You knew you'd miss them, but maybe you'd visit. Maybe you wouldn't get very far, but you at least had to try. You couldn't go back to your house- not after your parents did what they did.

And your little brother? Well, you'd miss him but that was something you couldn't think about. No, not then.

The bus made its way to the end of the city and you stepped off after thanking the driver again. As the bus pulled away, you turned around to take in the sight of the thick forest that stood in front of you. It would take a while, but you couldn't give up.

You inhaled a deep breath and closed your eyes, imagining the life that might be behind the twin mountains. You were unprepared and left in a hurry with only a slice of bread and a few coins to get you through the day.

"I'll be okay," you said to yourself. And then you started walking.

+++

The forest was thick and warm, damp with fresh rain and full of chittering animals. The bugs were atrocious but you were used to it by then- you'd been in the forest before and used to spend scorching days there with your brother when it was too hot to be out in the sun or inside.

When you thought you couldn't get any more tired or unmotivated as the hours passed, the trees started to recede as you made your way through the thick underbrush of the trees.

Your eyes lit up and you'd never thought you'd be so happy to see the sky. It was beginning to darken outside and you worried about the animals that would start to wake and hunt. Before rushing past the lake that led to the mountains, you stopped to dip your sore feet into the river and eat your slice of bread. You'd had it tucked into your skirt the entire day and it had broken into crumbs that soiled the pocket of my clothes. You sighed, knowing that it would be a pain to clean.

As you swished your feet around the clear water, you watched as a bright yellow butterfly fluttered by. It swooped down and flapped around your head, briefly stopping to rest on the tip of your nose. You breathed a surprised gasp. It didn't move. You had to cross your eyes to see its round dark eyes and thin frame.

Before you could get comfortable, the butterfly flew away into the sky. You watched it fly away in wonder until the sun slicked past the mountains and brought you out of your daze. The sun! It would set and in less than an hour, the only things that would allow me to see would be the half-moon and the dazzling bodies of fireflies.

You jumped off of the rock and stole a glance at your reflection in the river, wishing that you hadn't when you saw how swollen your eyes were from your crying. You sloshed through the water, struggling to lift your skirt so that it wouldn't get wet. It still did but you didn't care- you were chasing the sun and all of the running you'd been doing lately was starting to get a little tedious.

The sun set before you could climb past the mountains but that wasn't a surprise: your luck was never any good and you could never beat nature.

Finally, you made it past the mountains and stopped to take in the view. The air was cool against your complexion. It sent shivers over your skin but you didn't mind. Fireflies danced around you and while the sight was beautiful, it was nothing compared to the lights of the city below that were less than a league away. You'd be there in less than a few hours if you kept a good pace. At first, you thought it was city you were fleeing, but when you leaned closer to take in the view, you saw that its lights were bright orange where yours were white. It was much smaller, and in the distance, you could see a building that stood taller than them all with brighter lights than you could imagine.

It stole the breath from your lungs and you couldn't help but smile. I did it. You began your descent from the mountains, almost running to the village from your excitement. You didn't know what was in store for you, but you felt lucky. What were the people like? Were they kind? Did you have a future in this city? With someone?

You only ran faster as these thoughts coursed through your brain, and all was well until you saw it. Your breath caught and you knew you were done for as you saw its yellow speckled body stalk its way through the tall grass in your direction. The jaguar made eye contact with you. You felt your heart stop.