The falls

chapter 15

The sun crept through the curtains of the Mystery Shack, casting a warm, golden glow over the room. Jessica and Neomi sat cross-legged on the floor, tearing into the brightly wrapped presents that Santa had left the night before. The joy of Christmas morning filled the air, the two girls laughing as they unwrapped various gifts—books, gadgets, and one very odd sweater that Jessica wasn't quite sure how to feel about.

Neomi, being Neomi, couldn't hold it in any longer. "Hey, Dad! Guess what? We, uh... kind of saved Christmas last night!"

Dipper, who was sipping his morning coffee, immediately froze. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Saved Christmas? What do you mean you saved Christmas?"

Neomi grinned sheepishly, fiddling with a piece of wrapping paper. "Well... Santa's sleigh crashed in the woods, and we had to, um, borrow it. To deliver presents. And fix it. And, oh! We broke into your lab to clone ourselves!"

Dipper's cup stopped mid-air. "You what?"

He was about to go into full-on dad mode when Dr. Mathis, who had been standing nearby, interjected with a calm voice. "Before we get upset, let's ask the important question here—what did you learn about Gravity Falls from this little adventure?"

Jessica blinked, caught off guard by how quickly the conversation shifted from scolding to curiosity. She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Well... I learned that gnomes can actually be really friendly. Lauren, the one who helped us, was the reason we even knew Santa's sleigh had crashed. So... maybe gnomes aren't all bad, you know, when they're not trying to force people into marriage."

Neomi chimed in, nodding. "Yeah, they're just... weird, but not always in a bad way."

Dr. Mathis smiled thoughtfully. "Interesting. So, even the creatures we think we understand in Gravity Falls can surprise us."

Jessica, still turning over thoughts in her head, suddenly remembered something else. "There's... actually something else." She shifted uncomfortably, unsure how to explain what had been bothering her since the previous night. "One of my clones—before it dissolved—it said something strange."

Dipper, who had been bracing himself for more trouble, raised an eyebrow. "Strange how?"

Jessica hesitated, glancing at Neomi before continuing. "The clone said... it could get used to the Christmas vibe of the book. Like, it knew we were in some kind of chapter. Almost like we're in a story."

There was a brief silence as everyone processed what she said.

Dipper set down his coffee, suddenly more intrigued than annoyed. "Wait, hold on. It said... 'book'? Like, you're in a chapter?"

Jessica nodded. "Yeah. It was really weird. I didn't even know how to respond because—well, we're here, right? We're real. So how could we be in a book?"

Dr. Mathis's eyes twinkled with a hint of excitement. He looked over at Dipper. "You were saying something similar about Bill, weren't you?"

Dipper sat up straight, his earlier frustration forgotten. "Yeah, Bill Cipher—the demon who caused Weirdmageddon—once said something like that too. He always talked about how 'reality is an illusion.' And it bugged me for a long time. Like, why would he say that?"

Neomi leaned forward, her curiosity piqued. "Because he's evil and wanted to mess with your head?"

Dipper shook his head, deep in thought. "No... I think it's more than that. Reality... it's based on what we can observe, right? But in a place like Gravity Falls, where things are constantly shifting and crossing dimensions... what we think of as 'reality' might be different from someone else's idea of reality."

Jessica furrowed her brow, still trying to grasp what he was saying. "So... what are you saying? That we're not real?"

Dipper glanced at Dr. Mathis, who gave a small nod of encouragement.

"What I'm saying," Dipper continued, "is that maybe reality isn't what we think it is. Think about it—Bill could move between dimensions. Maybe some of those dimensions can observe us. Like, maybe to someone in another dimension, we're just a story. Like a book or a movie. And from their point of view... they're the ones who are real, and we're just... characters."

Jessica's mind raced, trying to piece it together. "So... you're saying that... our dimension, our reality, might just be someone else's story?"

Dipper nodded slowly. "Exactly. It's like... who gets to decide what's real? If there are infinite dimensions, then maybe there are places where we exist only as stories. But here, this is our reality. Just like to someone else, their reality is what's real to them."

Dr. Mathis leaned against the table, his eyes gleaming with fascination. "It's a mind-bending thought, isn't it? That what we experience might just be part of a larger picture—something we can't fully understand yet."

Neomi stared at both of them, wide-eyed. "So you're saying we're, like, book characters to someone? But... that's crazy!"

Jessica, still thinking about the clone's comment, shook her head. "It sounds crazy, but... it sort of makes sense, in a weird way. We already know Gravity Falls is a place where the rules of reality don't always apply. What if this is just another part of that?"

Dipper grinned. "That's why I think you're going to be great at this, Jessica. You ask the right questions. The same ones I've been asking for years."

Dr. Mathis nodded in agreement. "Curiosity is key to understanding the unknown. And it seems like you've got plenty of that."

Jessica smiled, a little overwhelmed but also excited by the idea. "I just... never thought of reality like that before."

Neomi shrugged, picking up a piece of wrapping paper. "Well, whatever the answer is, I'm just glad we saved Christmas. And hey, if we are in some kind of story... at least we're the heroes, right?"

Jessica laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

As they all settled back into their morning routine, the conversation left a strange, lingering thought in Jessica's mind. Reality, illusions, different dimensions—it was all too much to process right now. But one thing was certain: in Gravity Falls, the mysteries never truly ended.