𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑜 𝑥 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 | 𝐥𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞 𝐞𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞

Chapter 4. Familia

After dinner I helped clear the table, then went to check on Abuela in her wagon. She had slept through dinner and decided to fix herself a small snack. She asked me how my day had been. It felt like she never asked me that question, reserving it for my siblings and cousins. I told her of the home that Señor Miguel had told her that she was welcome to, that she didn't have to sleep in the blanket pallet of the wagon and she was happy at that news.

"Did you tell that ginger Bruja what I told you?"

"No, Abuela. All she has to do is stay in good spirits, and her husband is very kind to her, so she's usually happy. And now you can stay there! So no need to worry about her."

She shook her head. "An entire family with strange abilities... I almost couldn't believe it when I heard of it in the market. But now I must believe it. And I must accept that you're one of them." She sighed.

I smiled and told her I'd be sleeping in their spare room tonight. I asked for a change of clothes for the morning, and my toothbrush and things. She handed them over and told me that she would go back for our family in the morning.

I held her wrinkled hand and told her goodbye before leaving for the Madrigals once again. I walked quickly, trying not to feel the eyes of those in the town on me.

Once I arrived back, Mirabel answered the door and showed me the guest room. She sat down on the small bed and smiled. "So... is your family coming?"

I nodded.

"Do you by any chance have any cute brothers or sisters?"

"I don't look at them like that, but you might think they're cute. I think my brother Manuel will probably come down. We were really close."

"Is he possibly cute?"

"Other girls think so. But he's not a player! He's waiting for the right one."

Mirabel smiled intently. "And that could be me!"

"It could be." I giggled before sitting down on the bed.

"But just in case he doesn't work out do you have anyone else?" She asked.

"I don't know! They're my family! How would you feel if I asked you if it was weird that I found Camilo kind of cute!"

Mirabel gasped. "Camilo! No no no no no! Absolutely not!" She shook her head.

I laughed as she continued. "He's not the one you want! Just because Abuela wants you to marry in doesn't mean you have to like Camilo!"

"Well I never said I liked him! I just said he was cute."

"Fine. But promise it's cause you actually like him."

"I never said I liked him!" I doubled down before laying back on the bed.

We sat in silence for a few moments before it slipped out. "Mirabel, if I could give you my gift I would. Or at least the fire. It scares me."

"I know. But you can't give it to me. And I'm okay. Really, it's fine without a gift. Everyone here didn't get one until they were five."

"I guess. I just feel guilty. Undeserving."

"I get that. Just learn to roll with it, you know? And by the way, make sure to soak Camilo a little more often." She winked before bouncing off the bed and leaving me with a "Goodnight, Y/N."

I rolled over and crawled under the lightweight covers, trying to sleep. But my sleep was dreamless, much like the nights in the wagon during our journey. I awoke to a rising sun out the window and the sound of Antonio's roosters crowing.

I brushed my teeth carefully in their washroom, just dipping my brush in the sloshing water.

That morning I take some time to look over my appearance. I wet my hands slightly, not enough to trigger any reaction, and scrunch them into my head of curls. My eyes are a deep, dark brown, nearly black, with lashes so thick they appear like the false lashes women in town would wear. I take my time to moisturize my skin, taking in the deep brown color. At home, they called me "Morenita," or Little Brown Girl because of my coloration, and my small height and figure. I dressed myself in a short sleeved, white top with small red birds I embroidered myself on the sleeves, and my chocolate brown skirt. I liked how it flowed, it both exaggerated and concealed my hips if that were possible; I suppose all it did was complement my figure, but those words didn't explain well either.

I tied the necklace around my neck that I always wore. It was sea glass, or glass shards that washed upon our shores back home. Once Papi ventured out and found some this teal color, the color of soda bottles about 70 years ago; he brought it home and gently drilled a hole through it, and now I wear it on a string from the butcher's packages around my neck. It looks pricey but all it cost was a place in Papi's mind and pocket.

I wondered what today would hold, if Abuela had already left without sayin on goodbye. I ventured outside to see a bustling town and thought... Who works with water? Maybe women doing laundry.

I asked a young woman where laundry's done and she pointed me to a small watering hole where some women were gathered with piles of clothing. I quickly walked towards them and asked if they were going to use a clothesline, how long it takes their clothes to dry here.

"A few hours. Why?"

"I want to try something."

I asked a woman to hold a shirt she'd already washed and I stared at it before concentrating and slowly pulling as if I were pulling at a rope. The water trapped in the fibers slithered out into the air, in a small stream as it flowed out of the clothing. The women began to gasp, saying I was the girl from out of town who could move water with her mind.

I smiled and nodded, and asked them to give me their clothes so I could was them for them. One woman exclaimed, "First that Camilo offers to watch my baby so I can do laundry, now you offer to do my laundry! Oh, the blessings." She laughed. "I suppose I can go relieve him, he's probably tired of looking like me." She explained that Camilo would shapeshift into mothers to watch their babies, so the babies would be comfortable with him. For some reason, I found that attractive; that he wanted to help mothers like that.

So I did their laundry, by wetting it with detergent and rinsing it in batches, then hanging it up to dry and pulling the water out. It took a while but it would've taken these women all day. I finished in time to return to Casita for lunch.

Alma instructed me to set the table and asked what I'd been doing. "Well, I saw some women doing laundry so I offered to do it for them."

"And you're already done?"

"Si, I used my gift." I said with a proud smile.

"So you're already getting more control." Alma stated. I nodded. "Very good. Maybe... All you needed was a little encouraging, instead of being called cursed all the time."