"Camilo! Rise and shine primo!"

He stretched and sat up as Mirabel's voice echoed through the room.

"I'm coming." He yawned back, standing up from his bed.

Camilo shuffled over to his closet, changing from his night clothes to his day clothes. He glanced in the mirror, checking his appearance. Everything seemed to be in order except one last thing.

He walked over to his chair, plucking his ruana off the back before pulling it over his head. There, much better.

Camilo put his hands on his hips, grinning at his reflection. "Looking handsome, as always. Now, let's go snag some extra arepas before the rest of the family gets to the table."

Camilo made his way out of his room before dashing down the hallway. He grinned as he jumped on the banister, sliding down to the bottom. When his feet touched the floor Camilo made his way to the table to find his family already there.

"Good morning everybody!" Camilo greeted, taking his place. "What's for breakfast today?"

The table grew quiet as everyone turned to face him. Their stares showing confusion and alarm.

"What's the matter?" Camilo asked. "Do I need to fix my face again? I swear all the shifting has turned my facial muscles into arepa dough."

Despite his joking tone, no one laughed. Instead, they glanced at eachother with uncertainty.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Camilo asked, growing concerned. "Why are you all just staring at me?"

Abuela Alma cleared her throat. "I apologize for our silence, but we were not expecting a stranger to join us at the table."

"A stranger?" Camilo repeated in disbelief before a knowing smirk grew on his face. "Okay, I get it. Very funny everyone. Joke's on me. Now, can we eat?"

Abuela Alma rose from her seat. "This is no joke. I must ask you to leave. This is a family meal."

"W-What?" Camilo replied. "Abuela, it's me, Camilo. What are you talking about? Mami, Papa, tell her."

Clouds gathered over Pepa's head. "How dare you claim to be my son. You are not my Camilo!"

Fèlix placed a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down mi vida. Perhaps he is just confused."

"Confused!?" Camilo snapped, standing up. "I-I'm not confused! I'm Camilo! Dolores, come on. Tell me this is a big joke."

Dolores shook her head. "This is no joke. You aren't my brother."

"Yeah, do you really take us for fools?" Isabella asked.

"No, no, no, no." Camilo grabbed at his hair as he backed away. "Tía Julieta, Tío Augustín, Mirabel, please. Tell them to stop."

The three of them shook their heads.

"You are the one being untruthful." Julieta replied.

Augustín nodded. "You are the trying to be someone you're not."

"And you are definitely not my primo." Mirabel added.

Camilo stared at them in disbelief. How could they not recognize him? How could they say he wasn't himself?

"Tonito." Camilo called out weakly. "Come on hermanito, you know I'm your big brother, right?"

Antonio rushed into his mother's arms. "You're not my brother! You're not!"

Luisa stood up. "I think it's time you leave, before I make you."

Camilo stared at his family in disbelief, panic welling in his chest. "Por favor, I swear it's me. How can you not believe me?"

The entire family rose from the table and began to walk towards him.

"Stranger."

                       "Imposter."

"Liar."

        "You are not Camilo."

Camilo backed away from his family as they drew closer, their words echoing through the house.

"Stop it! STOP IT!" Camilo shouted. "Why are doing this!? Why don't you believe me!?"

Casita's tiles clicked and clattered as it moved a full length mirror in front of him. Camilo stared into the mirror, slowly reaching a hand up to touch his face. He could feel it. The only problem was, it wasn't his face.

"W-What happened to me?" Camilo asked as he stared at his reflection. Every part of his body belonged to someone else. He had his fathers hair, Isabella's skin, one eye was Cecilia's, the other was Bruno's, he had Abuela's nose, and Dolores' smile.

Camilo's body shook as he continued to take in his appearance. He had Agustin's arms, the baby's hands, Osvaldo's gut, José's legs, and Luisa's feet.

He closed his eyes and willed himself to shift back to normal, but nothing happened. When he finally opened his eyes, his family had surrounded him, continuing to stare at him like a stranger.

"Casita." Abuela commanded. "Get rid of the intruder."

Camilo stumbled as the floor began to shift and crack beneath his feet. "No! Abuela please, it's me! Don't do this!"

Abuela stared at him coldly. "I will do what I must to protect my family."

With those words, Casita's floor crumbled beneath him and Camilo felt himself begin to fall.

"NO!"

Camilo shot up from his bed breathing heavily and covered in sweat. He swallowed a few gulps of air, trying to steady himself. When he was ready, Camilo slowly turned and looked at himself in the mirror. Fear melted into relief when he saw that he was himself, not a mishmash of other peoples' body parts.

"It was just a dream." Camilo reassured himself, running his hands through his hair. "It wasn't real."

He slipped out of bed and walked to his balcony, welcoming the rush of the cool, early morning air. Camilo took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He'd started having nightmares after Casita fell. At first they were minor and he'd dream that he had shapeshifted but then couldn't shift back. But as time went on, the nightmares had grown darker and his family had become more prominent within them.

Losing their magic had opened everyone's eyes. They had to learn to adapt and go about their lives without the help of their gifts. Rebuilding the house had taken months, even with the help of the village. And at that point, they had thought their gifts were gone for good. Being unable to shapeshift had made him realize things about himself he hadn't paid attention to before. His height of 5'4 while average, had its limitations. He also discovered while helping rebuild their home that unlike his cousin Louisa, who still had her natural strength despite losing her gift, he did not have much natural strength. Though he had done his best to help out in any way he could, the realization of how minimal his abilities were without his gift hit hard.

Camilo started to head back inside but when he saw his dark, empty room, he decided against it. There was no way he could go back in there and sleep. No way.

"Casita," He whispered. "Can you help me get to the roof please? I think I'm going to stay out here for a while."

The bricks in Casita's walls rumbled before jutting out from the wall, creating makeshift stairs for him to climb. Camilo carefully made his way up to the roof. He took a seat, pulling his knees to his chin as he stared out over Encanto.

Camilo sighed, reaching down to give the roof a gentle pat. "Gracias Casita."