The Smile of a Chameleon

Adventures Around The Encanto

The next morning you wake up to the usual sounds of birds chirping and squawking. with a grin on your face, you roll out of bed and look at the outfit Mirabel had sewn you last night. you would put it on and admire yourself in the mirror for a few seconds before grabbing a few other things placing them In your bag. as you leave the house you feel the warm sun of a Colombian morning hit your face as you start your walk down the pathed streets of the village. when you find yourself turning the corner to the Cafe you work at you see someone already waiting outside. you watch as Camilo turns to you and waves jogging over to you. 
"Oh hey! wow, you look good, where did you get that outfit from?"
he says your eyes meeting, his bright hazel eyes seeming to shine in the morning sun. You explain that Mirabel had gifted it to you yesterday at the cafe. Camilo would laugh as he nodded 
"Oh ya that's Mirabel for you! well, it looks good on you" Camilo would say as he leads you through the village. you chuckle and nodded telling him that his whole family seems to be very kind and caring to each other.
"You think? I mean ya they are all nice, they can be annoying though. I mean just last night at dinner Antonio announced that I had a crush on someone! now the whole family knows I like someone!" he would huff not making eye contact with you seeing that he was slightly nervous. deep down you know damn well that Camilo's crush was probably you, but for now, you decide to just keep that thought to yourself as you try to comfort Camilo by telling him they probably don't even know who it is.
"I don't know, it seemed like they already knew! I mean last time I checked I didn't say anything about liking anyone, and who it is for that matter!" you rub Camilos back to tell him it was ok and that whoever he liked probably liked him back. 

knowing you were blushing softly you try to change the subject by asking what the other had in mind for doing today. he looks over at you with a cheeky grin and by this, you already know whatever it is will probably be just as chaotic as he is. you watch as he points over to the barn with a smile"well, I was thinking we could go and try to ride a horse around the forest. Abuela told me once that there is this really pretty river somewhere near the base of one of the mountains so I thought it would be fun to go check it out!" you look at the barn and then back at him trying to explain to the other that you have no clue how to ride a horse yet alone a donkey. but before you can protest for too long Camilo grabs your hand and starts pulling you towards the barn. the others hand was so soft yet strong as you keep telling him that you have no clue how to ride a horse. but as you near the barn, he chuckles reassuring you that it's fine.
 "It's fineee, I Camilo Madrigal will help you with the horse! I promise I won't let you get hurt ok?"
You sigh knowing there was no way you were going to be winning this argument, so you allow him to drag you all the way to the barn. he lets go once you were at the barn gates which is where he would push the barn door open hurrying both of you inside and shutting the door after him. you look around at the barn seeing a few horses staring back at the two of you, nervously you hold Camilos hand again asking him if this was really a good idea.
"Relax it's fine, they are nice, see!" he said going over and gently petting a light brown horse's head. you feel Camilo lead your hand onto the horse's hand making you pet the large animal. with a chuckle, you started to enjoy petting the horse but before you knew it you were being lifted up and placed on the back of the horse, and not long after Camilo was on the horse holding the reins. you feel a bit panicked as you try to explain to Camilo that this wasn't safe
"It's alright, just hold on around my waist ok?" you hold onto Camilo around the waist and closed your eyes as you felt the horse start moving.

once you open your eyes you realize that Camilo was leading the horse straight through the village. as much as the whole ride scared you, it was quite enjoyable the wind in your face as you pass by buildings as if you were the breeze. as you got to the forest part Camilo slowed the horse down so you two could actually enjoy the sights and sounds of the forest. you explain to him that the horse ride wasn't as scary as you thought it was going to be.
"See I told you, you can trust me I promise. alright, where do you think this river is gonna be? it can't be that far! the Encanto isn't that big!" you think about it for a while and try to imagine which way the river in the village leads. you explain that they should try heading north from here seeing that the river flows south. he turned the horse and starts heading through the lush forest the sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves filling the air.
"wow not only are you cute, but you are smart too? I'm starting to think that you are more perfect than Isabella.... N-Not that I like you or anything!" you can't help but giggle as you keep your arms wrapped around Camilo and thank him for being so kind to you. the horse continues to trot on as you and Camilo make small talk asking each other small things like what each other's favorite animal is or your favorite colour.
"no way! we basically like the same colours, maybe we should do some crafts one day and do a painting! that would be fun seeing we basically like the same colours" you agree to the offer as you continue to talk about many other things. although it was mostly Camilo leading the conversation you enjoyed listening to the other talk on and on about his family. he seemed so passionate about his family members and the way his voice seemed to paint the stories he told were exciting and kept you intrigued.
"oh ya! did i tell you one time my Tia Julietta got really mad at me and started to chase me around with a rolling pin? my gosh she was scarier than my mamá, i never knew she could run that fast until that day! so i guess the moral of the story, don't shapeshift into her husband and try to steal 3 times the amount of food you usually get" you both laugh together, all the stories Camilo told were so interesting. it made you wish you were also part of the family Madrigal... maybe soon you will be excepted in as well.

Camilo stops the horse as the two of you go silent. in the distance, you could hear the calm flowing sound of water. you both look at each other for a few seconds a bright smile on both of your faces. 
"looks like we found it... come on this is gonna be amazing!" he laughed as he made the horse start running towards the sound of water. after a minute of galloping across the forested ground, you find yourself looking at a beautiful river the sun shining onto its flowing water. you look around amazed at the lush greenery both in and outside the water. Camilo hops off the horse and helps you down as he looks around stunned at the beauty of the place
"Wow... look at this place! how have I never noticed this place before" he laughed walking around the sanded shoreline. despite the whole place is absolutely stunning all you can focus on is the ray of sunlight which was Camilo. you watch as he looks back at you and holds your hand bringing you closer to the water's edge. you look into the water watching as a small school of fish swam through the aquatic plants in the river. you look over to see Camilo smirking
"dang-  it's pretty right? it would be a shame if we went for a swim" you look back at him confused before you feel yourself get tackled into the water the calm river now rippling from the force of the splash. you emerge your head from the water and look over at Camilo his fluffy hair soaking wet. you both look at each other in silence for a bit before you both burst out laughing splashing each other with the water around you. the two of your play around in the water for a while splashing each other or swimming through the soft currents. after what seems like hours of aquatic fun you and Camilo get out of the water and flop down on the sandy beach looking up at the sky white fluffy clouds drifting through the air. you point up at one of the clouds and said it looks just like one of Antonions rats. you look over to see Camilo laughing his wet hair dripping onto the ground as he nodded pointing at a different cloud.
"Hehe, that one looks like a penis!" you pause and look at the cloud Camilo was pointing at and fair enough, it did look like one. you ask why out of all the clouds he could have picked he chose to point out that one. he shrugs as he sat up his eyes seeming to brighten as the setting sun started to paint the clear river into a soft golden colour.
"what!? am i wrong! it looks just like one- oh shoot the sun is already setting! hey would you like to come over for dinner? my Tia Julieta always makes enough to feed at least 3 jaguars, I'm sure my family would love having you over!" without a second thought you nod and tell him that you would love to come over for dinner. he smiles and helps you stand looking around for the horse before finding it grazing on some grass down the river bank. 
"Alright.... DOLORES WE ARE COMING HOME FOR DINNER TELL MAMÀ WE WILL BE THERE SOON!" he yelled knowing his sister was most likely listening in to their conversations anyway. he holds out his hand for you and you take it as he leads you back to the horse.
"Don't worry the rest of my family will be excited to meet you! now come on" he said helping you back onto the horse to start your journey back to the Casita.