A Story that's Been Lost
MTUL: Drabbles are the easiest things I can do to pass the time while I work on my bigger projects, so enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls nor the Transcendence AU. They belong to Alex Hirsch sempai and Zoey-chan on Tumblr respectively.
"Hey Zakirah what do ya think is out in the woods?" A little boy turned to his twin sister as they stood at the edges of the woods by their house. The tall pine trees loomed high above them as the shadows hide most of the woods contents from them. It was the middle of the day and a faint breeze was blowing. The blond-haired girl turned to her brother with a concerned look.
"Eddy I don't think that's such a good idea. Mommy told us not to go in because it's dangerous and filled with mean monsters." She started playing with the hem of her light pink dress. It was the middle of July and their mother said that they could play outside as long as they didn't go near the woods. But here they were, just a step away from descending into a pit of darkness and unknowing. The boy, Eddy, gave her a cheeky grin before turning back to the woods.
"Yeah, I know but that can't stop me from wondering, right? These few days' I just couldn't stop thinking about what might live in there. Maybe some group of gnomes who aren't desperate or to prideful to go around rummaging in the garbage cans of humans for food, or maybe some pixies? Gosh, there are just so many things that could be lying and waiting for us to find!" His sandy hair kept on falling over his eyes as he couldn't contain his excitement and curiosity. While Zakirah had to admit find some pixies would be pretty cool there were still so many dangerous things to be worried about. Like dragons, or vampires, or- and this is the point in which she promptly gulped- demons. With a shaky voice she responded to her brother's curiosity.
"But- but Eddy you can't forget about the de-demons. And- and lets not forget about the rumored Woodsman who haunts these woods. If we run into it, it could hurt, or worse, make us go "bye-bye" as mommy puts it." Now her whole body was shaking as she thought about the horrors the woods contained. Her little rain boots (although there hadn't been rain in weeks; she just liked wearing them) which had bows on the side started lightly hitting each other. Her blue eyes widened as she thought she saw something in the shadows. Eddy noticing her distress tried to make her calm before she started to cry, as he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
"C'mon Sis, I promise it's not as scary as it seems. Watch I'll go in and prove it!" He stepped forward as Zakirah gasped and tried to reach out to him but he was already to far away, and she was as still as a rock. He took one step into the woods and as he did a shiver went down his spine. Taking two more steps it got worse and he felt like a million eyes were gazing upon him. Before he could go in further something grabbed the collar of his baby blue t-shirt. He let out a squeak and started thrashing about when it started pulling him back. Before he could scream for help, he heard the scariest voice he could ever imagine speak; his mother.
"Eddy Richard Oakley what in Heaven's name do you think you're doing?!" He turned his head to see the angry face of his mother whose curly blond hair was falling over her face. She had her smock over her green floral dress, which meant that they had caused such a commotion that she had to stop making dinner and come out and stop them from doing anything incredibly stupid. Taking a glance at his sister she had her hands covering her eyes and was shaking worse from head-to-toe. Turning his attention back to his captor he noticed how she had calmed down a little, but that didn't mean he was in any less trouble.
"How many times do I have to tell you? What is the number one rule in this household?" Expecting her son to recite the rule she waited patiently as he rolled his eyes and with a huff said the same thing he's said since he was able to form coherent sentences.
"The number one rule of this household is to never, ever go out-"
"Go out into the woods!" He didn't even need to finish as his mother did for him. Setting him down, she put her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "And what did you do? You go into the woods. What if you had wandered too far and had gotten lost? What if something took you away from me and I never got to see you again? Do you know how sad that would make me? That I would never see you ever again, you just don't know how much that would make me hurt on the inside." She pulled her baby boy into a hug, with the thoughts in her mind making her very upset and emotional. Now Eddy felt bad for making his mother sad, he didn't mean to do that he just wanted to explore. Hugging his mother back he buried his head into her chest.
"I'm sorry mommy; I promise I'll never do it again." Zakirah now peeking out from within her hands saw her mother. She ran to her and hugged her from behind.
"Mommy, I thought that Eddy was going to be in trouble and I got scared. I remembered everything you told us about the woods and I didn't mean to do nothing and it's my fault that he went out into the woods and I'm sorry two mommy!" The mother moved her self so she could hug both of her children at the same time. Running her hand through her daughter's hair and rubbing her sons back. They stayed that way for a while as she waited for her children to calm down. When she did she rested her head on her sons and began to speak.
"Let me tell you both an old tale about these particular woods," With that said both her children looked up at. Her face was solemn as she stared out into the deep abyss of the woods. "Now keep in mind that this story took place many, many years ago. So long ago in fact, that Grandma Lucy and Grandpa Charles hadn't even been born yet." Eddy's face scrunched up and he looked at the sky.
"But they are ancient! They've got to have been around longer than the Transcendence happened!" Zakirah giggled as he said that; she had to admit that they were pretty old.
"Oh no, no, no! You see compared to this tale Grandma and Grandpa are as young as you guys are now," she didn't include that it was slightly ridiculous to think that her parents had been born before the Transcendence; they were kids after all, what with their over-active imaginations. "Now this takes place here in Gravity Falls, and just like right now, it was summer time. Two twins- just like you two- had come over to spend time with their great-uncle. The first-born and oldest child was a girl, just like you Zakirah, and she was a very creative and gentle girl. She had loved animals of all types and had made friends with about everyone in the town. But her younger sibling, a boy like you Eddy, was the polar opposite of her. Where she was more social, he was more of a social outcast and tended to stay to himself. He didn't have much fondness of animals, but a burning curiosity and desire to learn and know all that he could.
"They had spent most of their summer together and most importantly: out of the woods. They had been advised by their great-uncle that it was dangerous to venture into the deep forest. He said that it was where the supernatural laid and it was their territory not the twins or anyone else's in the town. The girl took this information to heart, she understood what could and would happen if she went out on her own. However for her brother, this just added to his curiosity. And unfortunately for his great-uncle, the warning went right over his head. There's a term that stems from this tale: "Curiosity killed the cat." As the term implies that's what sadly happened.
"The following day, the boy got up really early in the morning when everyone else was asleep. He gathered his things and off he went into the woods. Wandering off with no destination in mind he encountered things of the like that he was sure no one else had ever seen. Crystals that could shrink or make things grow in size based on what side the light bounced off of. There was an area where the forest itself glowed with a bright blue light. It was all magnificent in his eyes, and he had written everything down in his journal. But when he went to go back home he found out that he didn't know the way. He went every which way that he could in hope that he would stumble out to where his great-uncles house was. No matter where he went or what he did he simply could not find his way home. The next thing he knew was that it was night-time and he was lost in the woods."
With a pause the mother looked down at her children. Eddy was so absorbed in the story he hadn't even noticed that his mother had stopped. Zakirah however wasn't even looking at her mother, but instead gazing sadly into the woods. If her mother's eyes deceived her she could catch a faint glimpse of remembrance or reminiscence in her eyes. Finally noticing his mother had stopped he shook her a little.
"Mom what happened next? Did the Woodsman find him?" The mother turned her attention back to her son as she shook her head sadly with a faint smile on her face as she appreciated that her son was enjoying her story telling.
"It wasn't the Woodsman that found him in the end. It was something much, much worse." Giving her children a light rub on their arms she gazed back towards the woods continuing her tale. "After running for so long he collapsed on the ground to catch his breath. What was merely supposed to be a quick stop to rest became a place where he cried for who knows how long. He cried out that he wanted to go home, that he didn't want to be in the woods any longer, and how he wanted his sister oh so badly. Covering his eyes with his hands he cried some more, with no strength to move on. Eventually he ran out of tears, but he didn't make any move to get up or to continue onward. The woods were completely silent, and this was what got him to finally look up. The woods were never quite. He looked all around him when he saw it. He saw eyes in the shadows. Those eyes stared straight into his soul. No matter how hard he tried there were no words that could come to mind on how to describe them. Soon a form was forming from the shadows, a form so horrifying, so divine, and so unbelievable that describing it would certainly summon the demon at this very spot, this very moment. As quickly as he could he scrambled backwards until his back bumped into a log. His breathing was so quick and short that he was certain he would pass away before the being could do anything to him. The being came forward, with no verbal way of expressing how it managed to come closer to him. It paused in front of him staring him down. This being loomed higher than any of the trees in the forest could ever do. Before he had anytime to scream his lungs out with any futile attempts to call for help a smile protruded from the being and it lunged at him.
"With the sister and the great-uncle they had been searching for him for only a few hours around the time of where the sun had yet to meet the ground. They had assumed all day that he had gone out into town or he had finally made a friend, but when he hadn't returned home for dinner they knew something was wrong. They had gone all over town looking and asking if people had seen him. When all the answer had not become different from one another the great-uncle had realized the horrifying truth. His great-nephew had gone out into the woods. Everyone in the town had gathered into a big search party, they grabbed their lanterns and headed towards the woods. The great-uncle had reluctantly let his great-niece tag along as long as she promised to never leave his side. They searched all through the night and as far as they could. They finally found him at the break of dawn. The sister, happy that they finally found her brother leaning against a log seemingly asleep ran up to him to wake him up.
"However, when she got to him she screamed. The great-uncle fearing the worst ran immediately over to her and saw a sight he hoped he would have to never see. His great-nephew's eyes were rolled up and his mouth was wide up, all of his limbs were limp and his head was tilted to the side. Reaching for his wrist to check for a pulse, he cried out in despair, for there was none. After he and his great-niece mourned for the lost of the boy the townsfolk bowed their heads and those wearing a hat took it off in respect. After regaining his posture, the great-uncle picked up his great-nephew bridal style and silently with his niece trailing behind him and the townsfolk following them they all returned to town, except for one soul left behind never to return. A funeral was held a few days later and everyone in the town had attended. The women silently prayed for the boy's soul to go to Heaven even if it was stolen- which is what everyone suspected happened- and prayed for the family. The men in the town had one thought in their head: they were going to go out and search for what had killed the boy and they would kill it in return. Once the casket was buried and everyone left a token on his grave, they all returned home, with some preparing for the "witch hunt" of tomorrow, one of them being the great-uncle who would not rest until he got his vengeance. All but one little girl had plans for the next day, and that was the boys sister. She cried day-in and day-out and was the shell of her former self. Everyday she would watch as her great-uncle would come home angrier then he was the day before. She stopped one day though as a thought came upon her. This isn't how her brother would have wanted her to spend her life. So she wiped her eyes and swallowed her sadness and went back to how she used to be.
"However, unlike his great-niece, he simply could not let it go. Each day the men of the town would gather together and go out into the woods hunting down any supernatural creature they knew that could steal the soul of an innocent child. They searched for days; they never found the culprit. One day they all agreed to stop searching; it was fruitless. With a heavy heart the great-uncle went to his great-nephews grave gave it a small pat and shakily said "I'm sorry that I couldn't avenge you. I just came to say goodbye." For the rest of the summer the great-uncle cherished every moment he could with his great-niece and she cherished it too. At the end of the summer, she had to go back home. Making a small trip to her brothers grave she said that she had to go for now, but promised to come back as soon as she could.
"A bus that originally came with a pair twins coming into town, left with only one." With that the mother finished her tale. It was a sad one at that and she knew it.
"Did this really happen? Is the story true?" Eddy's eyes grew twice their size; the tale certainly had his attention all the way to the end. If what his mother said was true he would never, ever set another foot inside the forest and would follow all the rules his mother would tell him and his sister.
"Yes, my dear it is." That was a blatant lie. The tale was not true in the slightest. She had gotten in it from a book of Grim Brothers type of fairy tales, something akin to Hansel and Gretel and Sleeping Beauty. Sure she was lying to her son, but it was all to teach him a lesson, as that was the point of every fairy tale that has ever existed; to teach children a lesson. What with the Transcendence these types of stories were very important for parents to teach children not to do certain things. They would both figure it out and thank her later in life she was sure of it. "Now do you see why I worry for you both?" Eddy nodded his head rapidly taking in everything his mommy said, while Zakirah nodded her head slowly as if in a trance of some kind, still looking out at the woods.
"Well I think it's about time we got back inside, don't you two think so? It's getting a bit chilly out and I'm sure your tummies are getting hungry." Letting go of their embrace the mother stretched her back and turned towards their house. Eddy grabbed his mother's hand and walked with her, while Zakirah stayed back, still staring out into the forest.
During the whole story Zakirah had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and instead of turning her attention to her mother she turned it to the woods. This story that her mother was telling her, it sounded so familiar and at the same time different? Why was this? She had certainly never heard of it before today? The ending surprised her, she had a feeling that this story wasn't exactly, true? But mommy never lies, she thought, and if she told Eddy that it was true then it has to be. When the mom got up, Zakirah saw something in the woods. It was a shadow figure with glowing bright eyes, with its head cocked to the side studying her. It was so similar to the being in the story that she started to get scared, more scared than she originally was when Eddy went into the woods. Was this thing going to eat her soul? Will she never see her mommy again? She was brought out of her thoughts by her mother calling her over and telling her to catch up.
Without a second thought she ran over to her mother and grabbed her hand tightly, afraid to let go. However like her mommy said, "Curiosity killed the cat" and so she looked over her shoulder, back at the figure in the woods, wondering if it was still there. The figure was still there but this time the gold eyes looked sad if that was possible? It turned its head to the side, closed its eyes and disappeared into smoky wisps. Only one thing was said by this being and it carried out into the wind. In an echoed, deep voice "Mabel" was whispered into her ear as a small gust of wind blew towards her. The voice and name sent shivers down her spine; they were both familiar, but why and how? Looking at her mother and her brother both having a light conversation with smiles on their face, she closed her eyes and only pondered one last though about the being. Why was he so sad?
