𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐲 《The Owl House》

𝟖. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒄𝒌

The morning breeze blew through Luz's short hair, tousling it. Vee stood beside her, bouncing up and down.

Luz was still dead tired. She had spent a good part of the night thinking about what she and Hunter could do together. Her mom had told her that there was a huge forest in Gravity Falls and she couldn't wait to explore it with Hunter.

But she also had slight concerns. Who was this friend of her mom and why had she never told her about her? Had something happened between them back then or something.

"Remember to call when you arrive mija. "Camila said, gently stroking her daughter's hair out of her face.

"Of course mom, don't worry. "Luz said and smiled, "Gravity Falls isn't that far away is it? I'm sure nothing will happen."

"Luz-"Camila began, but interrupted herself and suddenly found great interest in a tree standing behind Luz instead of looking her daughter in the eyes, "Gravity Falls is not a place like-it's hard to explain, but please be careful. And try not to trust everyone. That wouldn't be safe. You-"

"Mom? "Luz frowned. What did this all mean? She knew her mom had lived in this town for a while before moving in with her dad, but her mom hardly ever talked about her time in Gravity Falls. Had something happened that she didn't want to talk about? Did it have something to do with this mysterious friend named Eda?

"I just don't want anything to happen to you, Luz. "Camila said gently and hugged her tightly, "Your bus is coming mija. Please be careful, okay?"

"But mom! Do you think gnomes are going to come out of the woods and attack me. I mean, that would be cool but-"

"Let's hope that doesn't happen Luz." her mom said, almost panicking. But Luz could only have imagined that, couldn't she? There was no way her mom would believe in gnomes. That was just ridiculous. But something about the expression in Camila's eyes bothered her. She looked so serious, as if she wanted to stop Luz from getting on that bus and going to Gravity Falls.

"Whatever," Luz murmured, pulling away from her mother's grasp to hug Vee, "Don't get into mischief without me, little sister."

Vee laughed. "Don't worry Luz. You won't miss anything funny."

The bus came to a stop next to the Nocedas with a soft squeak.

"Say hi to Hunter for me, mija. "Camila said, pressing a quick kiss to her daughter's forehead.

But despite the anticipation, a strange feeling spread through Luz's stomach. She had rarely seen her mother so worried. Luz was only visiting a friend in another small town. Why would she be so worried about that? A bus ride was nothing Luz hadn't done before.

And yet, the look on her mother's face made her skeptical. Had something happened when her mom had lived in Gravity Falls? And did it have something to do with this Auntie Eda?

Her mother's worried look drilled into her subconscious as the bus turned a corner and she lost sight of them. It was almost as if her mom regretted buying her those bus tickets.

Camila had had a similar look when she had watched the police car that had brought Hunter to Gravity Falls.

It had to have something to do with the city. But what could it be?

Luz settled into a seat by the window and looked out. Besides her, only the bus driver was on the bus. Apparently Gravity Falls was not a favorite vacation spot.

She sighed and fished the sandwich out of her bag that her mother had made for her that morning and chewed on it listlessly.

And so her thoughts wandered from her mom to Hunter. She really hoped he had been telling the truth when he had called her after that first day to tell her if he was okay. He had told her that Darius was a nice person and he had even told him stories about his father.