Camila a receptionist on a unit her father built for "special victims" is best friends with Detective Shawn Mendes of the Toronto Special Victims Unit. They've been inseparable since they met at a college party a few years ago. Both are adventure...
We get to the hospital about an hour before the ceremony. Shawn looks so good in his dress blues. His unruly curls now tamed by his detectives hat.
We're currently standing in one of the reception halls waiting for more people to arrive and the event to begin. Shawn is talking to Commander Olivia, who gave me a huge hug when she saw me. It was so out of character for her, but she just seems so genuinely happy that Shawn and I are official. "He's waited for you for a long time Miss. Cabello, take care of our boy." She had whispered to me while we hugged. The whole interaction went on without Shawn's knowledge and it made me smile that she liked me enough to talk to me without him present.
Connor, Brian and of course Tiffany are here as well. My mama and Sofi went to find Aaliyah and Shawn's parents, so I'm standing waiting for Dr. Story to find me.
I grab at Shawn's arm quick. "Babe, I'm going to go make sure things are ready for the mural unveiling. I'll take Tiffany with me. Be right back." I say as I kiss his cheek and he nods, as he continues to talk to Commander Olivia.
Walking over to her and Brian, I steal her away from him and we leave the reception hall and make our way to the unit.
"You ready?" She asks as we interlock our arms.
"Yeah I think so. It's weird being back after so long, but I'm glad to be here. To honor our boys and show people this mural." I say as we arrive at the cloth covered wall hiding my mural underneath. As kind of an added bonus, I was able to paint something else kind of special for the survivors.
"Tiff...you think you can take a picture of me with this?" I ask handing her my phone.
Smiling, she takes her phone out as well and I briefly remove the cloth that's hanging over this painting as well. (Pretend this is Camila).
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"Mila, this is so beautiful! You're glowing!" Tiffany says. She's smiling so wide, I'm excited to see the pictures she took.
I got the idea of butterfly wings from a trip I took to Nashville once. They have so many walls there with different sets of wings that make for a great photo opportunity. In my mind though, the wings I created symbolize new beginnings and celebrating the beauty that comes with that. In small gold writing around the wings are little sayings related to new beginnings and rising from the ashes. Words of healing and words of hope. My personal favorite saying I included was "Never let anyone dull your sparkle." I realize that butterflies don't "sparkle" per say but I found it to be symbolic that just like a butterfly, we too can go through many changes but still remain beautiful to our core, and no one has the right to take that from us.
"I'm so happy with how this turned out!" Dr. Story says as she comes up next to me and helps me cover it back up for the unveiling. I simply smile at her and give her a huge hug.
"Thank you Dr. Story!" I smile at her as Tiffany gives me a small nod and steps aside to let the two of us talk.
"No need to thank me Camila! You've put in all this work and have managed to turn something bad into something beautiful. I'm so proud of you, and I can't wait for you to show this to everyone else! You're an amazing example of what it means to be a survivor!" She says as tears are now running down both our faces. With a little giggle we agree that it's time to go back to the reception hall and the three of us all walk hand in hand back to our seats.
