The new girl in Gravity Falls; by Joona Irene

Back in the pine tree

By Joona Irene

Apparently, 'hanging' consisted of playful banter, like hitting each other with pillows or foam sticks in places of particular pain. I almost broke Dipper's arm. Thank goodness I didn't, or that would have been a lot of unneeded trouble for me. After we had 'hung' Mabel wanted to play with my hair.
        "It's just so long and white and pretty!" she said, her eyes wide with awe. Honestly, I'd forgotten about my hair. I didn't pay much attention to my physical appearances while talking to people. One misuse of language could lead to awkward questions that I couldn't answer.
        "But what do you want to do with it?" I asked, holding it. The length went down to my knees, because I was so small in stature. Mabel gasped.
        "Everything!" she exclaimed. "Braid it, dye it, crimp it, wash it, stroke it like a cat...okay maybe not that last one." her cheeks got red from embarrassment. I laughed.
        "I don't know what half those words mean." I said, smiling. Secretly I hoped I'd never find out. But my wish didn't come true.
        "Then it's settled!" Mabel grabbed my arm and quickly ran up the stairs. I struggled to keep up with her. "Let's start with the temporary dye! I have pink, red, purple, more pink, baby blue..." we reached their room. It was obvious who slept on what side. When Mabel let go of my arm, I backed away from all the color. I knew what dye was. I knew it wouldn't work on me. It wouldn't stick to my hair because my hair wasn't hair. It was the same stuff that made up all my body, the same hard, unbreakable, metallic, moldable stuff...I just made it seem like normal human body stuff, like skin and hair. But, truly, it was all the same.
        "How about we start with braiding?" I suggested instead. That seemed much safer. Mabel, who was already holding three different shades of pink in each hand, looked a little let down. "You know..." I moved my hands, trying to think of the right social custom "...uh, braid train?" It paid off.
        "Yeah, ok!" she said.

        I greatly disliked the braid train. Oh, Mabel's hair was fine, I finished really quickly with a glamorous fishtail braid I'd learned during my time in the sea. But her braiding my hair? That took forever and she seemed to weave it like a basket. Several times I caught her petting it with her face.
        "So soft." she would whisper. I didn't know what to do, which is dangerous. So I did nothing. After she had accomplished her braid, the twins let me leave. I couldn't wait to leave Gravity Falls. It was too modern, like I had predicted. All I wanted to do was sit in the tree and watch the sunsets. North West sunsets were the best I'd ever seen. So many colors, lounging in the sky like lazy dragons. And out here there wasn't much light pollution so I could see the stars too.

        I sat in the tree again. It was almost time for the sun to start setting. I waited, calmly, with peace and tranquility.
        "Tomorrow, I'll leave." I said to myself. "I'll watch the sunset one last time and then I'll get a bus ticket. And once I reach the middle of nowhere...I'll just hop out." Out of the corner of my eye I spotted movement again. I instantly recognized the floating triangle aura coming towards me. I stayed still, gripping the branch with my hands, a little scared. I noticed the other colors in it's aura; brown and regular purple. So this...thing, whatever it was, was defiantly dangerous to me. Not only was it three colors, but they were a lethal mix. Creative, deceitful, and a mind for chaos and bad stuff. I froze as it came closer. It seemed to float above my head for a while, then dropped down. It rested on my head for a bit. I tried to remember to breathe.
        "Just go away, just go away, just go away." I hissed at the presence. It stayed there, like it didn't know where to go. Finally after what seemed like forever, it floated out in front of me. Then it hung there some more. I blinked, wondering what it was. Clearly it was alive, otherwise it wouldn't have an aura. And it must be powerful to have three colors. But I couldn't see what was making the aura, which made me think it was a ghost. But this empty shape was a perfect isosceles triangle, and ghosts weren't so geometric.
        "Can..." I asked, thinking maybe it could talk. "Can you speak?" Silence.
        "I didn't think so." I sighed. I swung my legs as they dangled from the branch. A sudden breeze made my long white hair go flying. Soon the sun finished setting and the sky was dark, spotted with hundreds of twinkling stars. Still, the Triangle stayed.
        "Well," I said to nobody in particular, maybe to the triangle I didn't really know, "It's nighttime. You know Lilac," oh, I was talking to myself. Typical. "Those kids weren't that bad." I shifted my position so my back was leaning up against the trunk, my legs resting on the branch. "Mabel was cool, Dipper seemed nice. Maybe I don't need to leave. No, but I do. This place is too darn modern. There are so many things I don't know. But, Lilac, that's why you need to stay." Great, I was arguing with myself again. "You need to learn about modern society. remember what happened last time you spent too much time away?" I closed my eyes, remembering the pain of my return to a city. "Yeah," I whispered to myself. "I kept people safe when I was gone. And when I returned things happened, like dominoes falling down. It was like trying to stop ice from melting in he sun. These things happen Lilac, you can't help it."
        Strange how I ended up arguing with myself. Which side was me was beyond my understanding. I guess when I get lonely I make another me. Weird. I looked over at the Triangle. Yep, still there. Hovering, floating, still. Maybe it was a ghost, maybe it was something else. Eventually it'll go away and I'll forget about it. The Triangle, as dangerous as it was to me, didn't seem capable of harm. I laid down and pretended to sleep.
        "I'll stay for the week." I decided.