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CAMILO knew he shouldn't be staring.
His gaze shouldn't be focused on this girl with those pretty, piercing blue eyes that shimmered like the beauty of the sky and were clouded with mischief.
The certain girl who had endured all the attention of Camilo Madrigal was Brielle Castillo, who had been messily slumped against a wall of a house in the village, sitting cross-legged on the dusty ground, looking at the cards she always carried with her.
He knew he shouldn't be staring.
And her fiery red hair, which drew practically all of the sunlight, made it even harder to try look away.
Her hair was actually the first thing he noticed about her. He met Brielle ten years ago at his gift ceremony. He remembered being nervous, and although he tried to play it off, he was sure his hands were shaking all so slightly as he climbed the stairs to his Abuela, who was looking at him with that expectation in her eyes. He remembered how relieved he was when his gift was revealed... shapeshifting. With this gift he would make everyone smile. He had to make everyone smile.
He wanted to make people smile.
He was born to entertain.
And then he caught a glimpse of that redhead in the crowd. For no reason at all, curiosity kindled in his head and so he made his way to the person with the red hair, ignoring the questioning look of his sister Dolores.
And when he came face to face with her, his eyes widened and he was pretty sure that his heart had stopped beating for a moment. Long red like fire curls fell into the girl's face as she turned towards him.
He didn't even have to use his gift to make her smile like he had done the others, because as soon as they locked eyes, her lips twisted into a smile that he swore could've lighten up the whole room.
That was when Brielle Castillo and Camilo Madrigal crossed paths and became best friends.
And Camilo, a boy with the ability to shapeshift and still not done figuring out who he was, knew that Brielle would stay by his side no matter what.
Which was really comforting to know.
On the day they met, Brielle gave him a deck of strange looking cards with different symbols and figures as a present for his ceremony. The five-year-old spent what felt like hours with him explaining what exactly those cards were and how ‒ if you were open-minded‒ you could see the future with them. Camilo didn't know why, but he couldn't stop grinning as he listened to her voice and followed her every word.
