Hidden Mysteries

Epilogue

Four years later...

October 15th

Heya, journal. Long time no see, huh?

I haven't written anything in here since...I think a month after Merripen's defeat. A lot has changed since then, and I don't mean in the sense that I'm in my senior year of high school now. Oh no, there's a lot more than that.

Gonna start with a big one, Balloon and I are a thing now! We've been going steady since eighth grade, actually! I'm really lucky to have a girlfriend like Balloon, she's the best thing to ever happen to me!

Speaking of Balloon, it turns out she's trans! She said she sort of knew she felt off in a way, but she didn't know it meant she was transgender until she talked with Paintbrush about it. She's getting an appointment to talk about bottom surgery soon, and I hope it goes well for her!!

As for the rest of my life? A while after Nickel's funeral, Mom and Dad started actually dating again, and Mom actually proposed! They got remarried last year, and while Dad still misses Nickel, they're both really happy.

Test Tube and Fan are doing great, too! Test Tube's still in therapy after what happened (in both the physcial and mental sense), but she's improving a lot! She still has some bad days, but Fan's got her back, and so does Lightbulb and Paintbrush! (Lightbulb keeps taking her prosthetic off to "give Test Tube an extra hand", which never fails to make us laugh.)

And Candle's been happier than I've ever seen her now that Merripen's gone. She hasn't said anything, but I can tell. It's the way she carries herself, y'know?

And me? It's..complicated. With the whole demigod thing.

But I'm not letting that weigh me down. I've decided to persue a career that'll let me do things similar to what Mom did. I want to explore all of the weird shit the world has.

Because while I don't think I'd like to experience all my trauma again, I'd do it again if I got the chance. Because life is full of hidden mysteries, and while not all of them are good, I think all of them are worth the adventure.

"Suitcase! Suitcase, c'mon, Balloon's here!"

"Coming, Mom!" Suitcase shut her journal, running her fingers through her hair before grabbing her bag and leaving, heading off to find out what the day's mystery had in store for her.