Who You Are: Camilo's Story (After Encanto)

The Right Time

The next morning, Camilo woke up and found himself tangled up in his blanket. After shifting around, he sat up in his hammock, yawned widely, and stretched out his arms. He blinked owlishly a few times, slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings. As soon as Camilo felt more awake, his thoughts immediately went back to the time he spent with Hanna. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh as he wrapped his arms around himself, thinking about how soft Hanna felt as he held her. And then suddenly he remembered their conversation. She had told him outright that she wanted to 'work something out' between the two of them in the future. At that moment, Camilo was so overcome with happiness that he just wanted to lift her up into the air and bring her back down to kiss her. But then he could hear Dolores's voice in his head saying two, distinct words.

'Slow down!'

And she would've been right. It was probably too soon. That night, it was more important for Hanna to understand that she can trust in him completely and that she had nothing to hide or fear when they were together. Nevertheless, it was difficult to control these urges the longer Camilo was with her. In the end, he settled for giving her a goodnight kiss on the forehead, even though it wasn't exactly what he wanted.

But was he already being too forward with Hanna?

First, he kissed her hand at the party and then her head on the first date. Not to mention that he could barely keep his hands off her. Was he pushing his luck? Was he already moving too fast? Then again, it did seem like time was working against them. Their time together was limited. Shouldn't he make the most out of it? Besides, he had never had his first real kiss before and was now simply itching to try it. But how would he go about it? Should he ask her first? Or take her by complete surprise? Which would she like better? Or would she even like it at all? "Gahhh! What should I do?" he asked himself while grabbing at his hair. He then rolled over in his hammock, hiding under his blanket. After a moment he sat up again and thought, 'I need some help.' He would have to find someone to talk to. Someone who could give him advice and maybe ease his mind. But who would that be? He couldn't ask his dad. Just the thought of asking him about Mami made him cringe. Tío Agustín wasn't that much better of an option. Camilo's next thought was Mariano. 'Ugh! No! That's even worse!' he thought with a grimace. He then got out of his hammock, slipped into his sandals, buttoned up his shirt, and pulled his ruana over his head. As he was checking himself in his dressing room mirror, he decided that he would try talking to Mirabel. She was the best choice he could think of. As Camilo stepped outside, he was met up with Dolores who came out of her own room holding her head in both hands.

"Good morning," he said to her.

"Huh?" Dolores said, looking up at him. "Oh, good morning."

"You okay, sis?" Camilo asked, concerningly.

"I'm okay," Dolores answered. "Just have a bit of a headache."

"Oh," said Camilo. "Well, nothing that an arepa from Tía can't cure."

Dolores nodded and started heading down the stairs and Camilo followed. But then she stopped at the bottom, turned around to face her brother, and said, "Hey. Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Camilo blinked. "Sure," he said. "What's up?"

They moved away from the stairs and Dolores said, "First of all, it was a good thing I suggested you pretend to be Mirabel when you went to get Hanna after all. You know, she told her sister that Mirabel was outside so I'm sure that Amalia could see you from a window. She was hesitant to have Hanna go somewhere without her or their mother. And that was when she thought Hanna was going with a girl. Imagine what would happen if Amalia knew her little sister was with a boy!"