Enlightenment | Journal Number One

37. whoops

Boom. There went all the hard work Grunkle Ford had done. All his research? Gone. There in front of us lay only bits and pieces of the machine, ashes, and small sparks exploding here and there to add fuel to the flame. We heard a yelp and footsteps thundering down the stairs.

"We're so dead," I muttered, trying hard to swallow the huge lump in my throat. The shock from what we've done left me almost paralyzed. I couldn't freak out and ramble on about how Grunkle Ford would lose his trust in me.

But I worried about Mabel. She was trembling, looking down at the ground, turned away from m-

"WHO'S IN HERE?! SHOW YOURSELF!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Mabel let out a small scream, then quickly slapped her hand to her mouth. I pulled her close to me as Grunkle Ford towered over us, followed by Grunkle Stan. My breath hitched. We're sorry we're sorry we're sorry-

"Dipper and Mabel Pines." Ford's voice seemed to echo ominously across the room. "What trouble have you gotten yourselves into again?"

I didn't say a word. Quiet tears trickled down my sister's face, her hands clasped together, head bowed low.

"And may I ask where is the. . .thing that I have been working on?"

My heart started to beat faster and the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach grew worse. He sounded cold. The question didn't even sound like an actual question. Eventually we will have to fess up.

And that fact scared me more than anything else.

Suck it up, one part of me said. Everyone dies anyway, whether they like it or not.

I closed my eyes, lowered my head in uniform with Mabel, twiddled my thumbs, and was about to open my mouth when she beat me to it.

"We-we broke it, Grunkle F-Ford," she softly confessed.

Silence.

Then a grunt of frustration.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you two in my lab."

A pause. His eyes locked in on every fiber of Mabel's being.

"Especially you, Mabel."

That did it. It was like a switch had flicked on inside me. Anger flared up like that of an erupting volcano. I didn't care that the author of the Journals is standing right in front of us. All I know is that I have witnessed him downright telling her that she shouldn't be trusted. He does not--he did not--he just didn't--

"You can't just talk to my sister that way-!!"

A couple steps forward and he has had me laying on the ground, making me shrink back in fear. "The same way you do not talk to your great uncle, Dipper."

"Woah, woah, woah, take it easy Poindexter. Before you go on about how the world went bonkers, how 'bout you explain what happened, huh?" The sarcastic voice of Grunkle Stan broke the momentary tension that hung in the air, which made Mabel smile a bit. I patted the ground, motioning for her to sit down, and pulled her closer.

"Stanley," Ford began, his voice raising higher with each word, "do you think that destroying the contraption that I've been working on a long time is fine to you?!"

"You've been working on whatever that thing is for only two days," I mumbled matter-of-factly. Ford shot me a glare.

"I don't know! Stanford, they're just kids! You think they would know something--"

"Kids? Kids?" His voice is deathly low now. "I don't know any kids."

I silently gasped. Mabel let out a whimper. Her body shook with sobs.

"Stanley, please get out."

"W-wait," I called after Stan hoarsely, reaching out my hand as if to stop him. I gently pushed Mabel to him. "Take her with you, pl-please." In the dark, I could see her eyes widen. I tried forcing a smile, but failed. "I can handle this."

Stan hastily retreated, tugging Mabel's arm.

Ford knelt down, gently lifting my chin with his finger for me to look at him. I stared into his gray eyes. It's only now that I noticed his glasses. Cracked. A bit cloudy.

"You're Dipper."

Well, obviously, I thought.

An expression that of a person charged for a crime displayed on his wrinkled face. But here, the person feels extreme remorse. He lowered his head, sighed, and laid his six-fingered hand on my shoulder.

"I. . .I apologize for my incessant actions."

With that, he slowly got up as if he was hesistating. He turned, got up the stairs, and shut the door.

Blocking out the light from the gift shop.

Leaving me in the dark.

Alone.

****

yee