guess who? (camilo - encanto)

- 2 -

Mirabel led me to the second floor, where multiple doors glowed as bright as the sun. She gestured at a candle that sat on a frame in the center of the house, standing tall as if it were watching over the Casita, as well as everyone in the Encanto. A woman with a bright yellow dress hurried past us, a dark cloud hovering over her head. Lightning crashed as Mirabel caught her in her steps. "Tia Pepa, what's wrong?"

The fiery-haired woman threw her hands into the air in a crazed frenzy. "I can't find Antonio! Where could he have gone?" She growled. A shorter man came and took her hand in his, placing a hand in her waist. "Amor, the flowers! You're blowing the flowers away!" He said, stroking her and calming her down.

"Clear skies, clear skies... " the woman chided herself anxiously while she ran her fingers through her curly hair as the storm subsided.

Mirabel dashed off to find Antonio, completely forgetting about me. She vanished behind a deep turquoise colored door. I slunk around awkwardly as many people bustled about, carrying decorations and party supplies.

I stumbled down the staircase and back onto the tiled floor and swiveled around, only to come face to face with a beautiful girl, her hair adorned with pastel colored petals. She wore a lavender hued dress that twirled just above her feet, which gave her the image of a lovely flower in full bloom.

She smiled at me and gave me a bouquet of the prettiest flowers I've ever seen. "I've never seen you before. I'm Isabela," she said, her voice smooth and sugary as if it had been coated with honey. "Nice to meet you," I said, holding out my hand for a handshake. She glanced at it and then back at me, then fluttered away in a flurry of violet and pink.

"Wow, she just left you hanging," a voice said, as I felt someone take my hand in Isabella's place. A boy with curly brown hair grinned at me slyly. He shook it and twirled me around, catching me in his arms. "You're not a bad dancer, " he said, his brown eyes twinkling. "I wouldn't say the same for you, " I retorted. He chuckled, which sounded like the light tinkling of bells.

"Camilo! We need another José, " Abuela from earlier chided from the top of the steps. "Coming," the boy in front of me yelped in response, and bounded up the steps. I watched him morph into a different person, an identical replica of the man across from him. My jaw dropped in awe. He noticed my expression from up the steps and winked at me.

I shrugged and turned my back on him. Another girl came right up to me. "I'm Dolores," she whispered. "If my hearing serves me correctly, you're new here, " her deep red colored skirt spun as she led me around the house, introducing everyone. The sky quickly became dark, and she left to go prepare with the rest of her family. I wandered about for a while before coming to the front of the crowd.

"I hope this ceremony works as well as the ones before," a townsperson murmured next to me. "Yeah, the last one was a bust. The last one being Mirabel's," another said. "What happened to Mirabel?" I asked. "Mirabel was the only Madrigal kid that didn't get a gift," the first person informed me.

I looked around for Mirabel, but she was nowhere to be seen. Without having time to look for her and the crowd jostling to the left and to the right, I was forced to stay where I was. Abuela descended the steps and the crowd went silent.

"Let the ceremony begin."

end