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CAMILO SUSPICIOUSLY skimmed around the room, holding the book with his left palm supporting the spine, as nobody seemed to look his way.

now one may be wondering, 'why is the camilo madrigal stuck in a library and not out babysitting or being the life of the party?'

the answer is simple.

     it's because mirabel — who was reading a book — was suddenly disturbed by her cousin, who just wouldn't stop pestering her.

     annoyed, the girl had challenged camilo to go read a book, and to actually finish one that's appropriate to their age, from beginning to end.

     amid the heat of the moment, camilo had instantly agreed to the provocation, heading towards the library without even stopping for a snack.

     camilo then snapped out of his trance and huffed, taking the book back to his seat, where a few others were quietly enjoying their adventure through the tomes.

     reopening to the first page, camilo had reread the passage; he had specifically chosen this "book" because it had a navy blue cover and seemed the thinnest out of them all.

     'dear reader,

     lucky you, not because you've won the lottery, but because you are the chosen one...or perhaps not'.

     camilo softly snorted at that sentence, but nonetheless, intrigued.

     'if you're looking for a small adventure in this magical town like me, well, how providential, because—'

     camilo had to momentarily pause in his reading to look up the meaning of 'providental', for the boy now knew why his mother was so adamant about him sticking his nose into a book like mirabel from time to time.

     '—I have just the perfect escapade! let us play a game of truth or dare. let us write to each other like companions using this journal. and let us both enjoy the process of this whimsical journey.

however, I must respectfully state that you must not be older than seventeen and not younger than fifteen. after all, I am looking for a confidant near my age.

     now if you've passed that requirement, for your first task, you're to see if you can fill out the blanks with the hints given. if you're able to complete it, flip to the next page. if not, then you're unfortunately not the chosen one. best of luck!

     signed by mariposa'.

     camilo scoffed as he snatched a pencil from the front of the library, ignoring the questioning gaze from the librarian, señora gloria.

     "this first one's easy! it's obviously from 'the poor old woman'!", the fifteen year-old madrigal exclaimed to himself.

     filling in the first two blanks with the word, 'do', camilo continued onto the second clue.

     "yearning to be what one sees in the mirror. overly cautious of what others say. understanding that the person in front is the real...", camilo quietly read.

     pausing for a moment, camilo scratched his head in confusion.

     "mmm...three letters...", he mumbled, tapping the end of his pencil against the short poem.

rereading the literature over and over again, camilo swore that he could recite it from memory with how many times he has ended up muttering it to himself.

it was when a sudden bump to his shoulder from a stranger, that camilo had accidentally drew a line across the poem, creating a distinctive separation of letters.

     "sorry!", the man quickly whispered, as he hurried off to the history section.

     "it's alright", camilo absentmindedly replied, as he focused his attention back onto the journal, where he saw that the line had somewhat sectioned off the first letters of the starting sentences.

     "aha! it's you!", camilo grinned, scratching down the word, as he moved onto clue three.

     "next is...find the book written by alisha perez, the one with a knight drawn on the cover. find the chapter where the knight and the princess — alicia — first dance, and the first word of that chapter's title shall take you one step closer to completing this sentence".

     camilo could only assume that it was a fantasy novel, and thankfully, the library didn't have a vast selection of books, making it easier for the boy to search for the desired story.

the only issue being that he was wrong, horribly wrong.

the book that the mysterious writer was indicating to was not a fantasy novel, and hence, camilo was already led in the wrong direction by his own assumptions.

"uh, excuse me, señora gloria? do you perhaps know a...a writer named alisha perez?", camilo hesitantly questioned, "I couldn't find it in the fantasy aisle".

"that's because alisha perez writes about historical romances. you're looking in the wrong section, mi amor", the old librarian lightly chuckled.

"ay, gracias señora!", camilo exclaimed, only for the librarian to smush her pointer finger against her lips.

"right, perdón", camilo whispered, as he skipped off towards the history-romance section.

there, he had successfully found the book, although finding which chapter the princess and the knight had first danced, was a struggle in itself.

determined, the shapeshifter had pried open the book and started to aggressively read.

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"I'm heading out, mamá!! I'll be back soon", felicia — the oldest daughter of the diaz family — had informed.

"stay safe, mi amor! and dinner will be ready soon", her mother, daniela, had cautioned.

"gracias y te amo!", felicia shouted, hurrying out of the house, as she headed towards the library. the sixteen year-old liked spending most of her time there, since it was the only place without the constant shouting of her younger twin sisters: penelope and phoebe.

     "buenas tardes señora gloria! do you have any new recommendations? I've finished all four of these books already", felicia greeted, gently placing the pile of novels on top of the counter.

"buenas tardes felicia! why you're reading at a faster pace with each bypassing week. honestly, I'm afraid that I'll eventually run out of books for you to borrow", the elder columbian softly sighed with a smile.

"then I'll just reread them, no worries", felicia assured, as she glanced around to see that nobody was around.

"oh, but I do have this book that might intrigue you", gloria said, her eyes visibly lighting up, as she maneuvered towards the shelf where the navy blue journal resided.

     felicia immediately recognized the notebook, for she is the rightful owner of it.

     "no way!", the young girl gasped.

     "you'd be surprised who had solved your little riddle. I believe he has answered your question as well", gloria grinned.

     felicia impatiently flipped open the book, seeing that the blanks were indeed filled with the letters that spelled out her question for them: 'do you dare to play?'

     'dear mariposa,

     it seems that I am the chosen one, for I have easily solved your first task. perhaps you ought to give me a challenge...a dare!

     signed by camaleón'.

     felicia's face unintentionally blossomed into a smile, as she took out a pencil from her bag and started writing after taking a seat at the nearest table.

     "do you know if he's coming back?", felicia worried, as she didn't mention a date or time since she wasn't even sure if someone would even find this.

     "oh don't worry, he'll be back soon", gloria chuckled, as she picked out a few other new books for the sixteen year-old to read.

     felicia had then pondered what dare she should give the mysterious guy.

     'perhaps we should start out slow...I wouldn't want to scare him off, but he also seems pretty confident in his abilities...'

the brown-haired girl had then brilliantly came up with a dare.

"hope you like this one, camaleón".

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