Gravity Rises (S1)

FE: Part Four

Mabel buried her face in her scarf as she breathed into it, trying to restore some of the heat to her body. Hopefully, she'd get warmer once she got her skates on and started moving; but, for now, she was freezing.

She peeked over her scarf at Ford. Her uncle stood on a dock on the frozen lake, hands on his hips, looking for all the world like an adventurer exploring the terrain. The low morning sun shone in front of him and silhouetted him in its pale golden rays. He looked majestic from here, Mabel had to admit. It reminded her of the man he once was — the man who wrote the Journal. She longed to meet that man. She would tell him about his Journal and ask him question about the magical things inside its pages. But the awe-inspiring explorer that was once her uncle was now gone, and no stock photo silhouettes were going to change that.

Right?

"Mabel, Mabel, look! Look how big it is! A whole lake, just frozen over!" Dipper ran past his sister and to the lake shore, puffs of snow flying out behind his heels as he went. With all that hyperactivity, Mabel could bet he wasn't cold.

Mabel heard the approaching sound of laughter and looked over her shoulder to see Melody with ice skates slung over her shoulders. "Your brother really is a happy guy, isn't he?" she asked as she and Mabel headed towards the lake.

"Yeah," Mabel said. She wanted to say more, but nothing came to mind; so she awkwardly fell into silence, watching her feet in the snow.

Melody didn't seem to feel awkward herself. "Are you happy to be out here and spend some time with all of us?"

Was Mabel acting sulky? She didn't think she was. She'd gotten a bit more sleep, and she felt fine. "Yeah, I'm happy. I just don't show it as much as Dipper, is all."

Melody looked surprised, and Mabel sighed inwardly. The woman hadn't been implying that Mabel wasn't as happy as Dipper at all. Mabel was just jumping to conclusions, per usual. "So, um, got enough ice skates?" Mabel asked, recognizing her mistake but not wanting to own up to it.

If Melody could tell what was going on in the girl's head, she didn't show it. She smiled. "Yep. These smaller ones will hopefully fit you and Dipper; if they don't, I think we can make do."

"They look all right to me," Mabel said. "Can we try them on?"

"Sure thing."

They had just about reached Dipper. He hopped back and forth on his feet, his scarf fluttering around him as he moved. Melody handed him a pair of skates, and he sat on the dock to put them on; as he did, he talked about how cool the lake looked, and how he wondered if there were some parts that wouldn't hold him, and wouldn't the lake water be freezing? Mabel tuned her brother out, looking back at her uncle. She hoped they could actually have fun with Ford, and that he wouldn't spend all day being a grump. She also hoped she could have a good time with him without telling him about the Journal — or without feeling guilty about not telling him about the Journal — or, at the very least, without acting weird around him.

She sighed as she laced up her skates. Today probably wasn't going to amount to much.

"Something wrong, Mabes?"

Oops, she set off Melody's radar. "No," she tried, but she probably didn't sound very convincing.

Melody nodded with a knowing look and sat down next to Mabel, tugging her boots off and putting her ice skates on. "It's your uncle, isn't it?"

Mabel looked up, surprised at her accuracy. "How'd you know?"

Melody shrugged. "It isn't hard to figure out. I can see that adventurous look in your eyes. You have a curiosity about the world, don't you? And Ford is supposedly this scientist that researches the supernatural, so you were excited to meet a kindred spirit. Right?"