Spending time in the woods of Gravity Falls always helped to decompress after a rough day. There was something calming about strolling through the forest, the light streaming through the gaps between the pine needles, the scent of damp earth- even the squelching sound of boot sinking into mud was oddly satisfying. And best of all, not many of the townsfolk bothered to explore the wilderness that was right in their backyard, and even fewer strayed off the handful of paths that criss-crossed the area, leaving the rest nigh-untouched by civilization.
Alexi had been having more than zir fair share of rough days recently, and had gotten to know the untouched parts of the woods well as a result. Today was no exception to the rule- a poor grade here, a classmate's insult there, and a promising day was turned rotten once more- and ze was all too glad to leave behind the perils of home and school and go somewhere where ze would be all alone, with no one watching, no one judging, even if just for a few hours.
It was drawing close to sunset now, and the bits of sky that ze could spot among the treetops were turning from blue to pale yellow, a soft prelude to the show of colors that would flare up within the hour. The trees cast long, dark shadows that overlapped with Alexi's own as ze squeezed between the trees, following a makeshift path that only ze knew.
After a few short minutes, ze was there.
The clearing was almost perfectly circular, with one mossy log splayed across the middle of it and another propped up against two trees. The sunlight was brighter here, and it streamed onto a mixture of mud puddles and violently green grass, a testament to the downpours that had plagued the town on and off for weeks now. A large, rounded rock sat off to the side, and maybe it was zir imagination but Alexi could swear that there was a visible indent on its top from all the times ze had sat there, doing homework or writing or just daydreaming.
But Alexi wasn't there to see the clearing itself.
Ze strolled over to the eastern end of the clearing, zir long shadow stretching out in front of zir in the dusky light, and plopped down next to the statue.
That old statue had been there for... centuries, probably, though it seemed like nobody knew for sure. It was half-covered in moss, and the rest of its surface was grimy, with a few spots of brightly-colored paint clinging to its stone facade. The sides were cracked badly and the statue was partially lodged in the ground, but it was still easy enough to discern its shape- it was some kind of pyramid with an eye, like that weird symbol on the back of the dollar bill, but with a tall hat balanced precariously on its top-most point. One four-fingered hand stuck out from its side, with a gesture that might have been it reaching out for help, or possibly giving somebody a thumbs-up.
Gravity Falls was known for its eccentricities, true, but there was nothing quite like that statue, hidden away in the middle of nowhere, a monument made by and for ones unknown. Alexi had tried to find out more about it, but all ze came across was a handful of bizarre, disconnected rumors- that the statue moved when nobody was watching, or that its eye lit up in photographs, or that it would haunt your dreams if you fell asleep near it. Typical urban legend fare, some of which had been easily disproved with a little experimentation. Its true origins remained a mystery.
But that wasn't such a bad thing, really. It was nice to keep a little mystery in your life now and then.
Alexi looked at the statue's thin, outstretched hand that seemed like it should have broken off long ago, but instead was somehow the best-preserved part of the statue. Then ze sighed and nestled zir body against the statue's triangular side, unconcerned about the mud that now enveloped zir clothes but careful to avoid getting poked by the statue's hand, a lesson that ze had learned the hard way time and again.
"This is nice."
The sun was beginning to sink under the horizon now, and the sky was filled now with vivid pinks and purples and oranges. Even the dark storm clouds that were approaching the town (they were being threatened with yet another deluge, though it wasn't supposed to hit until tomorrow morning) were touched by these dimming rays of sunlight, thin streaks of gold lining their amorphous edges.
"Pretty, isn't it?" Alexi paused for a moment, then let out a laugh at the thought that ze was talking to a statue, speaking to it like it would answer back.
But, hell, at least it was a good listener. No talking back, no interrupting, always just sitting there and taking in what ze had to say, no matter what.
"I wish..." Alexi let the words trail off into silence as ze pondered how to follow them, then pulled zirself up so that ze was sitting upright, resting zir chin on that surprisingly-sturdy stone arm as ze watched the clouds dance in the sky and the sun sink below the earth. "...I wish things were always like this. No school, no people, no nothing. Just me and the trees and the sunset..."
The wind picked up, and tree branches trembled as they struggled against the force, the ones overhead showering Alexi with pine needles.
Alexi picked out a pine needle that had fallen over zir eye and threw it to the ground, taking pleasure in watching it slowly sink into the wet earth.
"And you, I guess. You could stay too. We get along well enough, I think." Ze laughed as ze intertwined zir fingers with those of the stone statue, resting hand against hand, palm against palm. "Man, I'd give anything for that."
And in the blink of an eye, all the color of zir surroundings was leached away. Gone were the warm hues of the setting sun, the soft greens and browns of the forest. Everything, save for zirself, had turned gray.
Or rather, everything except for zirself and the yellow triangle that now floated in front of zir, the spitting image of that old stone statue.
And somehow, though it had no mouth, that strange one-eyed triangle spoke, its voice echoing across the woods.
"Kid, I think we have a deal!"