As the sun was now setting, Camilo stood at the front of the Casita with the rest of his family, waiting anxiously for the Engels' arrival. There was a sense of déjà vu, and yet something in the air was so, very different. He could swear it wasn't just him feeling it either. It was as if everyone in his family was on edge about one thing or another. What concerned him the most was Dolores. He couldn't understand why, but she seemed determined to avoid making eye contact with him at all costs. Bruno's demeanor had not improved since this morning. In fact, it seemed to only have gotten worse. Julieta was not letting him out of her sight, nor was Pepa who kept glancing over at him from her husband's side.
'You can't avoid me forever!' she thought.
"Um...Peppy?" Félix asked. He pointed up towards the cloud over Pepa's head which was now beginning to drizzle. "I'm getting wet here," he said, kindly. Pepa looked up and shooed the cloud away.
Soon enough, Camilo could see the Engel family making their way up the trail toward the house with Cal leading the way. Mrs. Engel was two steps behind him, and their daughters followed behind her. Amalia was wearing a dress of light purple, and her dark hair was, once again, in a French braid. Hanna had on her pale pink dress. She had her hair tied into a high ponytail with a pearl hair clip and she wore tiny, white earrings. When Camilo saw her, he blushed a little. 'She looks so cute! This is gonna be a long night,' he thought. It pained him inside that he had to pretend there was nothing going on between the two of them just to save face in front of everyone. So, before Hanna went back to her house, he made sure to give her a loving kiss, despite Antonio also being present. But Antonio did not complain. He only gave a smirk at the sight of Camilo's red face afterward. As Hanna approached the Casita, she glanced over at Camilo and then at her sister. But Amalia's attention was on Mirabel instead. Hanna took this chance to give Camilo a warm smile.
'Ah, Bonita!' Camilo thought to himself as he grinned at her. Mirabel, however, was frowning at Amalia.
Alma went up to the family and said, "Bienvenido. Please, come in."
"Thank you," said Cal. Camilo turned to glare at him but was suddenly caught off guard. He was surprised to see something unusual in Cal's dark eyes as he stared at Alma. Was Camilo going crazy? Or was Cal...intimidated by her?
When the greetings had been exchanged, Agustín walked up to escort the family inside and Camilo followed behind Dolores. The long table had been set up near the kitchen area with 16 chairs all around it. Hanna gazed excitedly at all the delicious food Julieta had prepared, including Arroz con Pollo, meat-filled empanadas, and a mound of corn on the cob.
"This looks absolutely wunderbar!" Mrs. Engel said to Julieta.
Julieta smiled. "Gracias," she said kindly. "I had lots of help, of course."
They all took their places at the table. Hanna sat next to Amalia who sat next to their father. Mrs. Engel was sitting with her husband on one side and Bruno on the other. On Bruno's other side was Julieta and then Agustín. Pepa and Félix were on the other side of the table with Camilo next to his dad. Dolores was sitting next to Pepa, and Antonio was next to his sister. Alma sat at the front of the table with Mirabel on her right side. Next to Mirabel was Isabela and then Luisa who was also next to Hanna.
As both families were enjoying their dinner, Camilo heard Julieta making small talk with Mrs. Engel. "I'm guessing 'wunderbar' means 'wonderful'?" she asked, curiously.
"Yes, that's right," Mrs. Engel replied. "It's German."
"So...you're from Germany?" Bruno asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We are German-Colombian," Mrs. Engel explained. "We were all born and raised here in Colombia, but our ancestors immigrated from Germany. But about 20 years ago, even more Germans were evacuating the country. Just pouring into Colombia from all over! It was...during a very troubling time to say the least."
"Now, now, Marie," said Cal who turned his head to listen in. "No need to get into the gruesome details. Besides, the 'past is in the past' is what I say."
"Yes... of course," Mrs. Engel replied.
Camilo rolled his eyes. He could then hear Isabela and Luisa silently talking to one another about which Madrigal was going to make the 'biggest impression.' He glanced over at Amalia and noticed there was something different in the way she was carrying herself. From the beginning, she always walked with her head high. Yet now, she seemed to look more guarded than the one time he spoke to her. She wouldn't look at anyone else but Hanna. Hanna on the other hand seemed excited to be back in his home, surrounded by his family. He smiled at this. This was how she was supposed to be. Having a good time, surrounded by everyone who cared about her.
And finally, after what felt like a long time to Camilo, dinner was finished. Alma then put her hands together and said, "Well, time to move this little party out of the kitchen. We are ready to show you something very...special." She stood up first, followed by Mirabel and then everyone else. As Agustín poured more wine into Cal's glass, Hanna and the rest of her family watched in amazement as all the chairs at the table began to move on their own outside the kitchen and towards the entrance of the house where all the doors gleamed from atop the balcony. As everyone got seated, Alma nodded at Agustín. He walked up to the front, cleared his throat, and addressed Cal's family.
"When you were last here, I mentioned that there was more to see in the Encanto than a magical house, didn't I?" he asked.
"But of course," said Cal, in a curious manner. Hanna waited with her hands in her lap, while excitedly glancing over at Amalia and their mother.
Agustín took a breath in and said, "Okay...here goes. See, everyone on Abuela's side of the family here is all Gifted. And by that, I mean they have special powers."
He paused for a moment to see that Cal and his family had their eyes wide open. "Abuela Alma here is the founder and keeper of our miracle," he said, gesturing towards Alma. "Her husband gave up his life to save her, their triplets, and the people from their village. In turn, his sacrifice blessed them with a magical candle that created this whole refuge, and this house. On top of that, her children received a special power, or what we call a Gift. And so did their children."
Amalia looked at Hanna, stunned. Hanna looked back at her trying to mirror her reaction. Mrs. Engel had her hand over her heart, listening with rapt attention. Cal grinned excitedly as he swirled his wine glass. "So, it isn't just the land here!" he said. "I knew it! There are sorcerers here too! And you thought you could keep that a secret!"
"Well... not exactly sorcerers," said Agustín, grinning back.
"And...just what are these... powers, exactly?" Cal asked, intrigued.
Agustín answered, "Well, first, Pepa. She can affect the weather with her emotions."
Camilo watched as his mom stood up in front of the family. While smiling, she lifted her hands way up into the air and created a rainbow over her head. Hanna, Amalia, and Mrs. Engel gasped in surprise.
Cal stared upward at it. "My word!" he said, quietly. Pepa curtsied and walked back to sit next to Félix who took her hand, smiling at her with adoration.
"Her daughter, Dolores, can hear everything from about within a two-mile radius," Agustín said.
Dolores simply turned to look at Amalia from where she was sitting and said, "You put three lumps of sugar in your coffee this morning."
Amalia's jaw dropped. "How did you-?" she began to ask.
"I can hear it. Plink, plink, plink." Dolores said, smiling.
Cal chuckled and said with a crooked smile, "Amalia, dear? That's...unusual. Normally, you have only two. Right?"
Amalia gave a forced smile. "Yes... Of course, Father," she said. Both Camilo and Hanna looked up at Amalia. Though she was smiling at their father, her eyes told a different story. They looked stressed. Scared, even.
Dolores noticed this as well. She bit her lip, nervously thinking she had made a horrible mistake.
But Agustin interrupted them. "Um...Pepa's son, Camilo, can shapeshift into other people," he said.
'Here goes!' Camilo thought. He took a deep breath and got up to stand in front of the Engels. He glanced over at Hanna for a second to see that she was watching him in anticipation. Without saying a word, he began to dance and twirl in circles. Each time he spun around, he transformed into Agustín, Bruno, Abuela, Julieta, Antonio, Dolores, Cal, Mrs. Engel, and Amalia in the span of ten seconds. He shapeshifted into Hanna for last and stopped twirling to strike an elegant dancer's pose. When he was finished, he transformed back into himself and took a low bow.
"Mutter Gottes!" Mrs. Engel exclaimed, breathlessly. Camilo stood up and went to sit back down in his chair. Hanna glanced over at Amalia and saw her eyes were wide and her mouth had fallen open again as she stared at him. Cal was very intrigued.
"Next, little Antonio can communicate with animals," Agustin said. Antonio got up to take Camilo's place with Pico perched on his shoulder. Antonio looked over at his companion and said, "Call them!"
Pico let out a loud croaking sound and many more animals came to Antonio's side in response. By Antonio's instruction, Pico told the other birds to fly in perfect circle formations. The coatis and tapirs performed acrobatics with each other, and Parce came bounding in last, playfully lifting Antonio onto his back.
"Wow!" Mrs. Engel said, clapping softly. Hanna clapped as well, smiling at Antonio. Amalia was staring at Parce in shock. Cal was also looking at Antonio with the jaguar in fascination.
Agustín kept going. "Now, on to my side of the family! My daughter, Isabela can make all kinds of plants grow," he said.
Isabela glided towards the front. With a wave of her hand, she decorated the top balcony and pillars with multiple-colored roses. Mrs. Engel stared up at the flowers. "Beautiful!" she said, mystified.
Isabela then created two flower crowns that landed on both Amalia and Hanna's heads. "For you," she said with a smile.
"Thank you," Amalia said, albeit still looking uncomfortable.
"Thanks," Hanna said, adjusting her white flower crown.
Isabela gave Camilo a smirk that said, 'Doesn't she look lovely?' Camilo shook his head at her, unamused.
Next was Luisa's turn. "My second daughter, Luisa, as you may have guessed, is incredibly strong," said Agustín. Luisa picked up the two pianos nearby, lifted them over her head, and started to juggle them with ease. Mrs. Engel gasped again, putting both hands over her heart.
"Now that's what I call strength!" Cal said, grinning in amazement. He took another sip of wine.
Hanna watched with much enthusiasm while Amalia merely continued to stare wide-eyed at the pianos until Luisa set them both gently back down to the floor.
"And my daughter, Mirabel? Well, she is the glue that holds this family together," Agustín said with his arm wrapped tightly around her. She blushed and adjusted her glasses. "She is just like Abuela," said Agustín. "A natural-born leader. She saved our family and restored the miracle after we lost it once. So, it is only right that she would become the next matriarch."
"Hmmm. The third child becomes the matriarch," Cal said, chuckling and then taking a sip from his drink. "What next?" he said under his breath. Hanna tightened her fists in her lap as he said those words. 'Did he forget that Dolores can hear him?' she thought. She got a glimpse at Dolores who was looking unhappily in Cal's direction.
But Agustín pressed on. "My brother-in-law, Bruno, can see glimpses of the future," he said.
Everyone turned to look at Bruno who just smiled awkwardly. "I...can't exactly demonstrate right here. I usually require more space and lots and lots of sand," he said. Mrs. Engel nodded at him, listening with fascination.
"Oh, then I suppose you couldn't tell me right here and now which horse is gonna win the next race at Los Andes, huh? Haha!" Cal said before taking yet another sip of wine.
Bruno looked at him uncomfortably and said, "Uh...no...sorry, Señor. It doesn't really work like that."
"Wait! I saved the best for last," Agustín said while waving one hand in the air. He then looked over at Julieta with pure admiration. "My darling, Julieta. She has the Gift to heal people with her cooking!"
Julieta smiled at her husband, lovingly. Mrs. Engel looked over at Julieta with the same fascination she had for Bruno.
But suddenly, Cal laughed out loud. "You're joking. Right?" he asked.
Agustín smiled over at Cal. "No, it's true. You remember how I've always been so accident-prone since my youth! I can't tell you how many times she's had to heal my bee stings. In fact, I have one right here!"
He lifted a finger on his left hand that was, indeed, quite swollen. Julieta shoved a buñuelo into his mouth and everyone watched closely to see his finger shrink down to normal size. Mrs. Engel put a hand to her mouth, astounded.
"And it's not only injuries," Agustín added, proudly. "One small portion of her food can cure just about anything from a tiny cold to a broken bone!"
But as Cal had witnessed Julieta's healing, his smile disappeared. Now, his hand started shaking. "You mean to tell me..." he said slowly, "that your wife can cure any ailment, with just FOOD?"
"That's right," Agustín said, looking at Julieta sweetly.
Cal suddenly stood up. "YOU could have-," he began to exclaim, but then he stopped.
Everyone turned to stare at him. Mrs. Engel, Amalia, and Hanna looked terrified. But Cal quickly looked over at Alma and then at Pepa who started to have a small thundercloud swirling over her head. He coughed once and said more calmly, "But...no, you couldn't have. No. Of course not. You... wouldn't have known." He sat back down shaking his head. No one could tell if he was talking to Julieta or to himself. He was avoiding eye contact with everyone around him. "Forgive me, Agustín," he said flatly without looking up.
Agustín gasped. "Oh no...Cal, I'm..." he began to say.
But Cal interrupted him. "I...I think I need some air," he said. And he walked out the front door with his wine in his hand, leaving everyone shocked and confused. Pepa's cloud remained.
"What was that?" Bruno asked looking at Mrs. Engel, Amalia, and Hanna.
Julieta looked up at her husband with worry. "Does my Gift offend him somehow?" she asked.
Agustín turned to look at her. "Oh no, no, no, Mi Amor," he said, softly. "You did absolutely nothing wrong! It's my fault for forgetting. I was being so tactless when I brought up your Gift." Everyone stared at him, questioningly.
Agustín looked at Mrs. Engel who did not say a word. He then sighed, turned to Julieta, and said, "Okay...You see...Cal lost his mother when he was just a boy."
Julieta gasped and put a hand over her mouth.
"Her health was always very poor. So, she was ill...quite frequently," Agustín said, sadly. "Eventually, she became bedridden, and...just didn't get better. Cal was...very close to her."
"Oh, my goodness," Julieta said, quietly.
Everyone shifted awkwardly in their seats. Mrs. Engel looked down at her lap.
When Bruno saw her expression he asked, "Why are you acting surprised?"
Mrs. Engel looked at him and merely said, "Because... this is my first time hearing about it."
A more awkward silence followed. Camilo glanced over at Hanna once more and saw that she was staring back at him with shock in her crystal blue eyes.