Burning Bridges

Chapter Six - Hidden Memories

(A/N: Fluff and angst my dudes)

 (Ford's PoV)

[December 19, 2020]

With her chin resting on her hand, Jupiter stares out the window with a distant expression. She's hardly touched her breakfast, something that's very unusual for her. Jupiter's appetite is usually quite finicky during the later hours of the day, but the moment she wakes up, she's ready to eat. To say that I'm concerned is a tremendous understatement.

"Are you feeling alright?" I ask her, tilting my head.

"I'm fine," she mumbles, eyes trained on the falling snow. "I'm just thinking."

"What about?"

She shrugs. "Stuff. Hey, do you think we could do some more searching soon? If Arlyn really did research this phenomena, I'd like to see what she has to say."

"Sure, as soon as you finish breakfast."

She rolls her eyes with a slight smile, focusing on her food and beginning to eat slowly. I excuse myself, telling her that I'll be in the study when she's done.

I make my way over to a small wooden chest in the corner of the room. I know Arlyn's research won't be in there, but I don't want to leave anything unturned. Besides, if I can close it when Jupiter comes, she won't search it. This chest holds some very... personal items, and I'd rather not have everybody knowing about them.

I feel my heart ache a little as I open the chest. With shaking hands, I gently pick up the letter, aged and slightly worn at the edges. Her handwriting always looked the way her voice sounded, strange though it may be. I continue to sort through the items in the chest, reliving memories that occurred in happier times. Back before it all happened... before I met my dreaded Muse.

I smile sadly as I come across a photograph of her. Those are rare, considering how camera shy she was. She would avoid cameras at all costs, and because of the way we had to develop photos back in that time, you could never tell how they would turn out. She knew how to time things at the exact moment necessary to ruin an otherwise perfectly good photo. The only reason I was ever able to get the ones I do have is by making the excuse that I was just taking research photos. I think she might have suspected I wasn't always being honest, considering the way she holds herself in some of the pictures.

The last time I looked through this chest was a few weeks after her funeral. I refrain from even touching it if I can, fearing it might be strange of me to keep these old notes and photographs. It's all I really have left of her, like the footprints of a ghost untouched by sand or sea. A mere impression or mirage of what once was...

I slowly close the chest as Jupiter walks through the door. She looks at me with an expression of hope, but I just slowly shake my head.

"You finished sooner than I expected," I comment.

"I guess I was hungry," she replies with a shrug. I give her a wary glance in response to the way she says it, but she's not looking at me. She seems on edge, as if she has something she wants to tell me, but doesn't know how to go about it. Maybe she's just worried about the prophecy...

"So, how are things with you and Dipper?" I ask, hoping to provide a distraction.

She lets out a heavy sigh with a bit of a chuckle. "Everything is fine, Stanford. Trust me, if they weren't, you'd probably be the first to know."

"I know things are 'fine', but that doesn't really tell me much," I quip.

"Maybe that's the whole point," she jests.