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

A New Life

"Dearly beloved," said Señor Flores. "We are gathered here today to join Camilo Madrigal and Johanna Roslyn Engel in holy matrimony..."

All the while, Camilo only had eyes for Hanna and was hardly paying attention to what was being said. The only thing on his mind was how long he had waited for this day to come, and it was finally here. But eventually, Señor Flores said, "Do you, Camilo, take this woman to be your beloved wife so long as you both shall live?"

Camilo grinned. "Si," he said. "I do."

Señor Flores then turned to Hanna. "And do you, Johanna Engel, take this man to be your husband, for all that he is, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do," said Hanna, softly.

"The rings, please," said Señor Flores.

Antonio put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. Two toucans came flying in response, each with a golden ring in its beak. When Camilo and Hanna took the rings, the toucans perched themselves on Antonio's shoulders. Camilo took Hanna's hand and very gently placed the ring on her finger, and she did the same for him.

"I now pronounce you 'Camilo and Johanna Madrigal'," Señor Flores declared. "You may kiss."

Camilo gently cupped Hanna's face in his hands and they sealed their vows with a loving kiss. The guests erupted into applause. Antonio snapped his fingers enthusiastically. Amalia, Isabela, and Luisa smiled at one another with tears in their eyes. Camilo and Hanna broke apart to smile lovingly at each other. Then, Hanna took a moment to glance in her father's direction, and she saw him applauding. When they made eye contact, he smiled at her and nodded his head proudly. She smiled and nodded back at him. Isabela then glided up to the front and started spinning around in circles. Flower petals came raining down gently from the sky like snow. The little children started jumping around trying to catch them in the air. Camilo and Hanna stepped forward, holding hands and presenting themselves as newlyweds.

"Finally," said Hanna.

"Yeah," Camilo said in his gentle voice.

Then Bruno stood up and exclaimed loudly for all to hear, "I see it now!"

Everyone immediately fell silent and looked up at him, worriedly. But Bruno just smiled, shrugged, and said, "There's gonna be a party at our house!"

There was a long pause, and then an outburst of joyous laughter.

And with that, Camilo, Hanna, their families, and the rest of the crowd excitedly moved the celebrations to the now even bigger Casa Madrigal.

That night, Casita came alive with much dancing, music, laughter, and singing. Camilo and Hanna were in the center of the floor, dancing the cumbia with many people watching them. Luisa was dancing with Amalia, twirling her around by the hand and Mirabel was dancing with Nicolas. Antonio, who was casually standing around with his arms folded, was suddenly approached by Alejandra. She smiled at him while playing with her long, braided hair. Antonio smiled shyly back, and Alejandra immediately grabbed his hand to drag him onto the dance floor with her. Everybody in the house danced and sang under the stars, having a wonderful time. Casita suddenly started to roll the tiles on the floor from under the Madrigal family, getting them together for a picture. Camilo and Hanna were in the center, surrounded by Amalia, Luisa, Isabela, Dolores, Mirabel, Antonio, Mariano, and Rosita. Alma, Pepa, and Félix were on one end with Agustín, Julieta, and Bruno on the other. They all smiled at the camera.

"Everyone! Together!" Alma exclaimed excitedly.

Hanna and Amalia joined in as they chimed loudly, "LA FAMILIA MADRIGAL!"

In the blink of an eye, two more years had come and gone. Hanna was in the nursery panting heavily in through her nose and out of her mouth. Every muscle in the lower half of her body felt like it was on fire. Her hair, forehead, and neck were drenched with sweat. The only prominent thing she could see with her blurry vision was the large swell that was her stomach. Julieta was at the foot of the bed in which Hanna lay, helping her with each contraction. Amalia was holding onto one of Hanna's hands and Pepa had the other. She was patting the top of Hanna's head gently. A small cloud was drizzling above them.