The townspeople that had come to see us off brought gifts for us, many of them being people that Camilo and I helped on a daily basis. Some of them were kids that Camilo had babysitted, kids that would definitely notice the lack of his presence. Most of the people brought gifts and goods that they had made themselves. Camilo, being as polite as he was when he wanted to be, accepted all of them, even if he wasn't completely sure what they were supposed to be or what they were for, with a smile and a thank you.
Eventually, it was just Camilo and I, standing between the two tall mountains that served as the official exit of the Encanto. I took Camilo's hand in mine and turned my entire body to face him.
"So..." I began "Whe-"
"Wait!" someone called out before I could finish my question.
The both of us turned around to see Amelia running towards us. Emilio, Ruben, and Hugo followed closely behind her. Eventually, they made it to Camilo and I, Amelia and Emilio panting with their hands on their knees. Ruben has run longer distances at a faster pace so I suppose that's why he wasn't panting. Hugo was still in the more formal clothing that he usually wore at his house so I assume he had just come from home and didn't have time to change.
"You-" Emilio yelled between wheezes "You were really- Gonna leave without saying goodbye to us?!"
"Well, I-" Camilo began to say before being interrupted.
"No!" Amelia said with a stern voice "You have no excuse! We had to run all the way over here just to catch you!"
"We didn't want you to leave on a bad note" Ruben added "And considering our last conversation..."
"Hey, look" Emilio cut in. "We're sorry for how we acted when you told us. It was just...really sudden, that's all."
"Yeah, we...We didn't mean to make you think we were angry at you or anything" Amelia explained "We just needed some time to process it all."
"You have been our friend since kindergarten so...It's still kind of hard for us to imagine life here without you" Ruben said softly "But we know it's been your dream for a while and we want you and Y/n to be happy so..."
"I-I just can't believe you're really leaving!" Amelia exclaimed.
"You're...really leaving..." Emilio repeated softly.
"Shit-" Ruben said, rubbing his teary eyes.
"Guys, c'mon" Camilo pleaded "If you cry, I'll cry..."
"Then cry!" Amelia exclaimed before letting out a sob.
"We're not leaving forever" I said "We'll visit you guys as much as we can!"
Emilio did his best to comfort both Ruben and his sister. He took the both of them to the side and was speaking softly to them, most likely a pep talk or something of the sort. Hugo made his way towards me.
"Hi, Y/n" Hugo began "Um...I'm not really sure what to say."
There was a slight chuckle in his voice that helped make the situation seem less serious and heavy.
"I just...I want to say thank you, I guess" he began "For being my friend even if I make it difficult sometimes. I wish you all the best on your travels."
He turned to Camilo.
"Both of you," Hugo added.
Camilo held out his hand for a handshake.
"I wish you the best too, Hugo," Camilo replied.
Hugo shook Camilo's hand and the corners of his lips curved slightly into a small smile. Once the handshake ended, Hugo laughed.
"So are we good now?" he asked.
Camilo smiled and shook his head a bit.
"Yeah, we're good," Camilo answered.
Amelia ran up to the both of us and wrapped her arms around us in a big hug. Camilo and I put down our bags so that we could hug her back. Emilio and Ruben joined us, making a comfy little group hug. Hugo moved to the side so that he could let us all have our moment.
"Get over here, Hugo" Amelia called.
Hugo hesitantly made his way over to us.
"I'm not really sure how to- Woah!" he exclaimed when Ruben pulled him into the group hug "Ooh, this is...different."
"Oh, shush" Emilio said, tearing up a bit himself.
We all dispersed after a bit. Everyone was sniffing or sobbing and had tears in their eyes.
"Promise you'll visit the bakery when you come to visit, okay?" Amelia said.
"Stop by my dad's restaurant too, I'll make you a meal free of charge!" Ruben promised.
"Do you...really have to go?" Emilio asked.
Camilo gave a bittersweet smile.
"I understand," Emilio said, before Camilo had the chance to respond "Take care of yourselves you guys, okay?"
"Of course!" I replied, a grin on my face.
"You're welcome to come by to my house when you visit" Hugo offered "I still owe you a song."
I nodded.
"As long as the rest of them can hear it too" I said.
"Oh, please!" Emilio pleaded "You've won awards for playing piano and somehow we've never heard you play."
"Uhh..." Hugo said "Y/n, what have you done?"
"Pleeeeease?" Amelia said in the same tone as her brother.
"We can...Discuss that later" Hugo answered hesitantly.
We all laughed together and for a moment, I forgot that we were leaving. I forgot that all of us weren't going to be together like this for a pretty long time.
"We...We won't keep you here any longer" Ruben said, a bittersweet tone in his voice "We're really gonna miss you guys."
"We'll miss you too," Camilo replied softly.
The four of them slowly made their way back to town, looking back at us every now and then. We waved goodbye to them before picking up our bags and clutching each other's free hand.
"Anyway," Camilo began, "What were you gonna ask me earlier?"
"Oh, right" I responded "I was just wondering..."
I paused when Camilo put down his bag and reached his hand towards me to wipe a tear that I forgot to wipe from my cheeks. I thanked him for the gesture.
"I was wondering..." I began "Where to next?"
Camilo smiled, brighter than I've ever seen him smile before. He placed a soft kiss on the back of my hand before looking outward towards the world beyond the Encanto.
"With you, mi vida?" he asked "I'd go to the ends of the Earth with you."
I laughed softly, he joined me soon after. Then...
We left.
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One more chapter to go!
-Kolour
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I lied, there's actually more than one chapter after this one lmao
-Kolour