Chapter 29
31 years before Encanto
Félix and Pepa sat together in the fields, the morning sun shining over them.
"You look cute today, amor." He grinned, admiring how her hair fell loosely over her shoulders. He ran his fingers through her ringlets, enjoying how soft they felt. "You don't usually wear your hair like this."
Pepa grinned back, taking off her straw hat and putting it over Félix's head.
"Only for you." She kissed his face, then took her hair in her hands, snatching it back from him playfully. "And only for a short time."
"Ay." Felix groaned in protest as Pepa began to braid her hair up again. "You can leave it out, hm?" He rubbed his face against hers. "Why are you hiding it away from me?"
Pepa blew a puff of air against Felix's cheek and smiled, continuing to braid her hair. "Because," Her eyes gestured over to the crops, "I need to work, and my weather is too messy."
"But you wore it out at the party." Felix reminded her, his eyes sparkling as he remembered the storm she'd created in the forest.
"Ay, and I paid for that." Pepa sighed. "You know how long it took me brushing out those tangles? I wanted to cut it all off."
"Don't do that!" Felix laughed, hugging onto Pepa as she groaned.
She turned to Felix with a frown, holding up her messy braid. "You bumped me. See?" She muttered, tickling her hair against his cheek before letting it drop. "Ruined." She flicked her hand a little to emphasise her point.
Felix grinned, kissing her as she turned away from him, combing her hair out with her fingers so she could start again.
"Can I try?" He asked hopefully.
Pepa glanced over her shoulder with a smile. "You know how?"
Felix shook his head with a grin, and Pepa scoffed, turning back around.
"Then no." She replied, her back to him as she braided. "I'm not a horse."
Felix laughed. He went and got her yellow umbrella ready, then opened up her bag.
"Which book you want to read today?" He called to her.
Pepa came over and joined him, her arms wrapping around his waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. "You pick."
"Does María still make you cry?"
Pepa laughed. "Always."
Felix handed her the book, then went to return Pepa's straw hat, but she stopped him.
"It looks cuter on you, amor." She grinned, kissing his cheek.
Félix smiled and kept her hat on, slipping her bag over his shoulder and standing up. Pepa giggled as he opened up her yellow umbrella.
"Que bonita!" Pepa laughed, taking his hand in hers and spinning under his arm.
"Careful, amor." Felix grinned, twirling the umbrella. "All I need is a dress and people will start mistaking me for you... You'll lose your job."
"Ay." Pepa sighed longingly as she opened her book. "That would be a happy day for me."
Felix rested his head against Pepa, holding the umbrella over them as he watched rain pour down over the fields. Pepa sniffled next to him, her tears hitting the wax pages of the book and sliding off.
He kissed her face.
"Don't." She whimpered. "You'll cheer me up."
Felix turned away, holding his breath to stop himself from laughing.
When the rain stopped, Felix shook the umbrella off and handed it back to Pepa, along with her bag.
"Thank you." She smiled, wiping her eyes as she put the book away. "What do you want to do now?"
Felix smiled back.
"There is something..." He said slowly. "My pá. He's been asking for you to come and visit our casita."
Pepa looked at Felix in surprise, then hesitated.
"But I already met him at the party." She said quietly.
Felix looked back at her in confusion.
Pepa swallowed, recognising that wasn't a good response. Felix probably thought she was being rude. Maybe she was.
"You don't want to go?" He asked in a genuine tone.
"I want to go." She replied, a little too quickly.
A cloud appeared over Pepa's head and began to sprinkle. She frowned, annoyed at it for outing her.
"Is something wrong?"
Pepa shook her head with a smile, and the cloud rained heavier. Her eyes widened.
"You sure?" Felix laughed.
Pepa closed her eyes and groaned in embarrassment as she remembered Félix introducing her to his papá at the party.
"Pá." Felix grinned, embracing him. He stepped back, putting a hand to Pepa and leading her closer in excitement. Pepa stepped forward stiffly, her eyes wide with stress.
"You must be Pepa." The man grinned up at her. He was shorter and stockier than Felix. "My name's Camilo, but my friends call me Milo. But you, darling, you can call me Pá." He chuckled, waiting politely for her to extend her hand.
Pepa swallowed, slowly reaching out her hand.
Clear skies, clear skies. Act normal.
Pá took her hand in his and it slid a little. Pepa looked down, horrified at how sweaty she was. Why was she so sweaty?
"Encantada, darling." He smiled. He kissed her cheek, then let go.
"Igualmente." Pepa smiled back, putting her hands to her sides, her fingers fidgeting anxiously.
"You have a very special gift." Pá grinned. "You like changing the weather?"
"Not really." Pepa muttered without thinking, then flinched. Dios. That wasn't the right thing to say.
A cloud thundered over her head. She looked up at it with wide eyes, then turned back.
"I meant yes." She smiled. "Of course I do." The cloud thundered again.
Pepa glared up at it, whispering furiously under her breath. "What do you want from me?"
Pá laughed, glancing at Felix. "She's funny."
"She is." Felix agreed in a proud voice, rubbing Pepa's back as she continued to whisper at her cloud.
"Clear skies, clear skies, clear skies."
The cloud disappeared and Pepa exhaled, turning back to see them both watching her. She held her breath in anticipation.
"So where did you chicos disappear off to before?" Pá grinned. "Hm?"
"Pá." Felix chuckled. "It wasn't like that."
Pepa didn't understand that Pá was teasing. If Mamá asked her something like that, it meant she was in trouble. Pepa went into a panic, trying to cover for them.
"I ah, needed to remove-" She hesitated, feeling that was the wrong word. She saw Félix grin at her in disbelief. "The, ah, clouds. I needed to remove the clouds," She swallowed, her voice breathless. "From the sky."
"Right." Pá laughed. "And is that how you ripped your dress, then?"
Pepa stared back at him with wide eyes. Wind circled around her and her cloud thundered anxiously. She glanced up at the cloud then quickly ran away.
Pepa cringed at the memory, rain sprinkling over her in embarrassment.
"You ok?" Felix laughed, pulling her in for a hug. Pepa groaned, resting her head against him and hiding her face.
"Will you tell me?" He asked, kissing her head. "Are you scared?"
Pepa's cloud thundered.
"You're scared of my Pá?" He grinned.
She nodded, too embarrassed to look at him.
"Ok," He rested his head against hers thoughtfully. "So fighting off a jaguar doesn't scare you, but having lunch with a little old man does?"
"I was scared of the jaguar." Pepa admitted quietly, still not looking at Felix.
He kissed her head, feeling overcome with gratitude all over again. "I love you so much."
"Hm." Pepa still didn't look at him. Felix laughed in disbelief.
"Hm?" He repeated, leaning in closer to her with a grin. "Is that all I get back?"
She glanced at him with a smile, then hid her face again. "Hm."
Felix exhaled in a puff, his voice playful. "So rude."
Pepa laughed a little, still hiding her face. Felix tickled her and she squirmed. He then squeezed her into a hug.
"What if I promise you," He kissed her face, "That it will all be ok?"
Pepa looked back at him nervously.
"Because my Pá really likes you." Félix insisted.
Pepa frowned in disbelief. "Why would he like me? I was embarrassing."
Felix smiled.
"Is that why you're scared?" He asked. "You think you made a bad impression?"
"I did make a bad impression." She groaned. "I always make a bad impression. That's the point. The more he of sees me, the less he will like me." Her voice softened, "And I want your family to like me."
"Hey," Félix reassured her. "They already like you. I promise they do."
Pepa rested her head against Felix's.
"Do you want to give it a try?" He smiled hopefully.
Pepa sighed in resignation.
"Fine."
"Ay, Felix!"
A man who looked a bit like Félix but tall and thin greeted them at the door, embracing Felix with a hug that lifted him up off his feet.
"This is my brother, Macario." Félix grunted softly as his brother squeezed him tight.
Pepa remembered Macario as the brother who played the trombone with Felix. He'd seen her watching them from a distance, then saw her run away raining. Pepa took a deep breath in embarrassment.
"Come on in, Pepa." Macario smiled, his voice kind. "We're really happy to have you here."
Felix's casita was smaller than Pepa's, but it was alive with colour and character. All the walls had been painted into a mural of the Caribbean. Pepa looked around with bright eyes as she recognised all the things Félix had described to her about his old home - birds, boats, trees, sand. Water far as the eye could see.
"It's the ocean." Pepa smiled, turning back to Félix. He nodded with a grin.
"Our older brother Cayo and his wife Rosa painted it together." Macario explained with a smile.
"Makes the place feel a bit more like home." Another voice spoke up.
Pepa turned to see a man approach. He was a little taller than Félix but shorter than Macario. A woman with short curly back hair and a bow walked beside him, holding his hand. She guessed they must be Cayo and Rosa.
A bunch of kids pushed past them and ran towards Pepa, their voices clamouring. Pepa froze.
"Is this Pepa?" One of them called out excitedly to Félix.
"It is her!" The other exclaimed, grabbing at her dress. "See? The sunshine dress!"
"And the orange hair!" Another confirmed, pointing up at her. "That's Pepa!"
"Pepa!"
Pepa's eyes widened and her breathing became fast. She quickly took Felix's hand in hers, feeling overwhelmed.
"Will you show us your powers, Pepa?" One of then asked, staring up at her in excitement.
"Yeah!"
"Will you show us a rainbow?"
"No, make it storm!"
"Please, Pepa?"
Pepa felt sweat run down her face. As they surrounded her, memories of Pepa's childhood flashed before her eyes. She remembered being crowded like this, people all around her demanding to see her powers. She remembered being shoved down by other kids so they could watch her rain, laughing as she cried.
Pepa tightened her grip on Felix's hand and leaned into him. Above her a cloud appeared, thundering and flashing.
"Woah..." The children all looked up at the cloud in wonder and amazement.
Felix could see Pepa was stressed, so he started pushing his nieces and nephews back from her.
"Alright, enough, enough!" Félix spoke up, putting his arm around Pepa. "All of you step back, alright?" He then turned to Pepa with a quiet voice. "You ok?"
Pepa shuddered, hiding her face against him in fear. Her cloud thundered again.
"Ay, come away from Tía Pepa." Cayo chuckled, pulling their kids back. "Let's give her some space, eh?"
Pepa felt her heart race anxiously in her chest. Tía Pepa? Why did he call her that? She wasn't their Tía. She didn't even like them.
"Encantada, cariño." Cayo smiled as he stepped forward. "I'm Cayo, and this is Rosa." Pepa turned to them with a brave smile. Her cloud thundered again.
The children shrieked in excitement at the thunder. Pepa flinched at the sound, and it began to rain. They cheered, dancing under it.
"Look Mami!" One shouted. "It's raining inside!"
"We love you, Tía Pepa!"
Pepa turned back to Félix pleadingly, tears running down her cheeks. "I want to go." She whispered.
"Come on," Félix said reassuringly, leading her away.
They got to Felix's bedroom and he closed the door behind them.
Pepa collapsed against the floor, sobbing and gasping for breath as her cloud stormed over them. She pressed her hands against her head, groaning in stress. Felix knelt down beside her, putting his arms around her and kissing her face.
"Hey. You are doing so well." Felix encouraged.
"I'm not!" She exclaimed, thunder crashing at her words. She glared at him, then her face softened apologetically and she turned away. "Sorry, Félix." She sobbed. "I don't feel good. I want to go home."
Felix looked at her sadly. "I'm so sorry, Pepi... Of course you can go home." He kissed her face, his voice gentle. "Do you want me to take you right now?"
She shuddered. "I can't do anything right."
"That's not true." He smiled, stroking her hair. "You're amazing, amor."
"I'm not." Pepa sobbed, shaking her head. "I don't like those kids, Felix. I hate children. I don't want to be Tía Pepa."
Hates children? This information surprised Felix, but he didn't press it.
"Hey. That's alright." He smiled, kissing her again. His hand rubbed her back. "You don't have to be Tía Pepa. Hm? You don't have to be anything you don't want. It's your choice, remember?"
Pepa nodded, looking at him with grateful eyes. He smiled back at her, gently wiping her face and kissing her forehead.
"They're just excited," Félix explained, "Because you're all they've been talking about for the past week." He smiled, his eyes gesturing behind her. "The magic lady that saved their Tío."
Pepa turned around to see soggy papers hanging from Felix's bedroom walls behind her. They were colourful children's drawings, all of a woman with an orange braid and yellow dress. Pepa looked at them in surprise. It was her.
The drawings showed Pepa standing between Felix and a jaguar. Of Pepa holding her hands out as lightning struck and the jaguar ran away. Pictures of Pepa with rainbows over her head, or a sun, or rain. Drawings of Pepa flying through the clouds.
"You're kind of a legend in this casita." Felix chuckled, brushing her fringe behind her ear as he kissed her cheek. "You're their hero, Pepa."
Pepa's eyes softened. No one had ever called her that before.
Elsewhere in the casita, percussion and music began to play, followed by the playful sounds of Felix's family ululating and clapping from the other room. Pepa turned around at the sound of it.
"I know this song." She said quietly.
"This one?" Felix laughed in disbelief. "But this is an Afro-Caribbean song."
Pepa couldn't help but smile. "But I do know it." She insisted. "People in town played it when I was little. I know the dance. It's the Champeta."
Felix laughed in excitement. No way.
"I don't believe you." Felix grinned, baiting her.
"Ay." Pepa rolled her eyes, then stood up. Her feet skipped and stepped fast in time to the beat, her hips moving with the music and her arms dynamic as she turned effortlessly with the rhythm.
Felix laughed in disbelief, then trilled. He shook his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Chica!" He exclaimed. "You are full of surprises, Pepa Madrigal."
Pepa grinned, the rain stopping as she continued to dance.
Felix joined Pepa, his feet stepping and skipping in time with hers. Sun shone in through the window and the room became brighter as they danced together, laughing as they matched each other's moves.
The song ended and Felix hugged Pepa, jumping up and down as he laughed in excitement. He covered her face with kisses. "Man, I wish the others had seen that! They're never gonna believe me now."
Pepa smiled, the dance filling her with confidence. "Then we should go show them."
Felix smiled back at her proudly. He hugged her tight, closing his eyes as he rested his head against hers in gratitude.
Felix's family couldn't get enough of Pepa.
At first all their praise and encouragement made Pepa unsure, it felt strange getting this much positive attention all in one go.
She waited for something to inevitably go wrong, but more and more time passed and nothing bad happened. After a few hours of talking and drinking and dancing, Pepa started to accept the family's positive response to her, and once she embraced it Pepa began to feel very loved and special.
The family all gathered around the table for lunch, eating and talking over eachother as Pá sizzled up some more fried fish. Felix went over to the grill, patting his papá's back. "I got this." Felix grinned, "You go take a break."
Pá put his hands firmly to Felix's cheeks and kissed his son's forehead. "That's my boy." He beamed proudly, "Look at you. Feeding our family. Hm? What would we do without you?"
Pepa watched in curiosity. The family were all so openly proud of eachother, even for little things that should be their responsibility anyway.
She wondered what might happen if she said those words to Julieta, the next time she saw her cooking for their family. She smiled at the thought.
Pá came over to Pepa and sat down next to her in Felix's empty seat. Pepa watched him in anticipation.
"We are all so happy to have you here, mija." Pá smiled, gently taking Pepa's hands in his. "You light up this very casita, hm? The same way you light up my son's life."
He gestured over at Felix, who waved at them with a grin before flipping the fish.
Pepa smiled at Felix, then turned to Pá, unsure what to say back.
"Now," Pá reached down into his pocket, taking out a little package that was wrapped in starry fabric. He gestured for Pepa to hold out her hands, and as she did he handed it to her.
"This is very special." He told her, his eyes sparkling. "It is a family heirloom, and we want you to have it."
Pepa stiffened, her cloud thundering as she quickly shook her head. She couldn't take this. They hardly knew her. It wasn't right.
Pá put his hands around hers, closing the gift up in her hand. He looked at her with a reassuring smile, his eyes warm.
"Listen to me now, mija." His voice was serious as he looked her in the eye. "There is no price I can place on my son's life." His hands were still around hers and they moved with his words to emphasise his point. "I want you to have this, Pepa. To express our gratitude for you saving Felix's life. And also, to welcome you into our familia." He gestured around at the table, and everyone smiled and nodded.
Pepa looked at them all, blinking back tears. She took a shaky breath, and as she did her cloud started to rain. The water pattered down over the table and the food. She flinched, looking up at the cloud, then back to Pá in panic.
"Sorry." She gasped, her chest starting to heave as she breathed quickly.
"You're alright." Pá chuckled, putting a reassuring hand to her shoulder. "You're alright. There's no need for that word here, ok mija?" He rubbed Pepa's shoulder, then his other hand gestured up to the cloud. "This gift is for all of you." He smiled at her, "Because it is all of you that we welcome to the family, mija. The cloud, the sun, the thunder, the rain..." He then placed a hand to Pepa's cheek. "All of you. Ok?"
Pepa took another shaky breath. "Ok."
Felix grinned from where he watched at the grill.
"So," Pá glanced down at the gift in Pepa's hands and gestured to it once more. "Go on." He smiled. "It's yours."
Pepa carefully unwrapped the gift to find two golden metal suns. Her face softened. They were so beautiful.
"You like?" Pá asked.
Pepa looked up at him with bright eyes, smiling as she quickly hugged him. "I love them."
Pá chuckled, embracing Pepa and patting her back. "Buena."
A rainbow floated over Pepa's head as Félix walked her home, the two of them holding hands. Pepa skipped a little, feeling confident from all the kindness and love that'd been shown to her.
As they crossed the village creek, she hopped up onto the edge of the bridge and balanced across, Félix chuckling as he held her hand.
"You are full of sunshine tonight, mi vida." He laughed, holding out his arms and catching Pepa as she jumped down, spinning her around and placing her to the ground. As he did, her gold sun earrings shimmered against the moonlight. He put his hand to them.
"These suit you so much." He grinned, kissing her face.
"I'll always wear them." Pepa grinned back, interlocking their fingers and leaning into him as they walked back to the Casita together.
