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

The Date (Part 2)

Hanna and Camilo sat on the stone steps watching the sky turn a soft, orange color. Camilo was turning the pegs on his guitar, tuning the strings. As soon as he was done, he looked up to see Hanna gripping her quena in both hands, looking out in front of her, nervously.

"You sure you're okay with this?" Camilo asked her.

"You did ask for us to play together. And I was the one who said to come out here to do just that. I'd be a fool to back out now," Hanna said, still watching the people passing by in front of them.

"No, you wouldn't! Seriously!" Camilo said.

Hanna then looked over at him to see his concerned expression. "It'll be okay. I can do this. I want to do this," she said.

Camilo paused to look at her for a moment. His expression then changed to admiration, and he said, "Yeah. You can do this. And I'll be right here with you."

Hanna smiled and nodded. She then looked out into the crowd of people once more. A few of them had already stopped to see what was going on and were waiting in anticipation. Hanna looked from left to right, getting more and more anxious by the second. She really felt like she had backed herself into a corner. 'You made your bed, now lie in it,' she thought to herself. Hanna continued looking until she quietly gasped at the sight on her left. Someone had come over and brought a beautiful, brown mare along with them. As she stared into the horse's eyes, she miraculously felt much calmer. Braver.

Camilo watched as Hanna suddenly stood up and made her way down to stand at the foot of the steps. She then took the ribbon that held her long ponytail and slowly tugged it, letting her hair cascade down her back. Camilo gazed at her. He noticed the look in her eyes was much different from just a moment ago. Hanna looked over at him again, determined, and said, "I'll tell you when to come in."

"Okay," Camilo replied. He sat up a little with his guitar.

Hanna then closed her eyes, raised her quena up to her lips, and began to play.

The soft sound of the wooden flute began to ring out into the village. More and more people began to turn heads toward the church and started to gather. Camilo watched in awe as Hanna slowly played the first few notes to the song, 'Romance de Viento y Quena.' The sound was so hauntingly beautiful it gave him chills. And the sight of Hanna with her eyes closed, playing with her quena, and her hair gently blowing in the breeze took his breath away. When she paused the music, she turned to look at him and nodded her head once more. Camilo snapped himself out of his trance and began to play his guitar softly. Hanna started back with the same beginning notes to the song and they were now playing together. The people standing in the crowd were all watching in complete silence. Julieta had also come over and was watching with her hand over her heart, completely moved by the music. While the crowd was watching them, they continued to play slowly, while only having eyes for one another.

Osvaldo turned to Senora Pezmuerto and said, "Look at that! You wouldn't think that's the same, mischief-loving shapeshifter that we know!"

"Yeah! And do you just see the way he's looking at that cute, young lady?" Senora said, smiling.

"Yep, that's a man in love, for sure," Osvaldo said, grinning and nodding.

"She likes him too!" said Senora, grinning back.

After a pause, Camilo stood up and started to pick up the tempo and Hanna did the same. The song became a much happier and lighthearted tune. After a few bars, the rhythm changed again and people in the crowd started to clap along to the music, including an enthusiastic Julieta. In her new confidence, Hanna began to dance around and play at the same time. Camilo watched her from the steps, letting her enjoy the spotlight. Her long skirt flared out as she spun around once and then twice. She continued to dance without missing a beat and her fingers showed no sign of slowing down. Eventually, the notes on Hanna's quena began to climb and she ended the song with a beautiful, high-pitched sound.