Sincerely Yours, Bill Cipher

Never Thought Possible

Yule waits for our reactions.
"Well?" I prompt him on. "Are you going to tell us what she said or not?"
     He hovers, putting one of his floating to his hands to his chin, posing a gesture of thought. "Um, no, actually." Before we can protest, he holds his other hand out to silence us. "She's coming over herself in a few minutes to tell you all herself." His face breaks out into a glowing smile.
"Then why would you announce that?" Mabel asks, pouting, fighting to keep a smile off her own face. If Yule starts to laugh, she'll lose it. Yule has the most contagious laugh of any human I've ever met. "Especially if she's going to tell us herself!"
"I'm sorry," Yule says, though he doesn't sound too apologetic. "It's just... oh, man, it's insane. You're not gonna believe it, but," he brushes his fingers though his hair, "just wait and hear, okay?"
     Ding dong!
     As if on cue, Merrily enters, as we've left the door unlocked. "Hey, everyone!"
     Mabel immediately pulls her to a seat. "Okay, so Yule's been driving us crazy. What's going on?"
     Merrily flashes a look at Yule. "You couldn't keep your mouth shut for two minutes?"
     "I didn't know I was supposed to!" Yule floats around her quickly, and she laughs.
     "It's fine. Are Dipper and Pacifica around?" she asks, craning her neck.
     "Yeah, they're in the gift shop," Mabel answers. "I'll go and get them."
     A minute later, she returns with the two. She sits them down so we can all see Merrily. "Okay," she says. "Spill."
     "I'm going to start from the beginning. I don't know if you guys knew yet, but I've known all along that Bill is the notorious Bill Cipher, the one who ransacked Gravity Falls years ago."
     It suddenly occurs to me that we never did yet tell her the whole story of who I really am. "But how?" I ask.
     "Bill Rehpic? How dumb do you think I am?" she asks, but with a smile.
     "That's what I said!" I exclaim, throwing up my hands.
     "Okay, the truth is, I overheard you and Yule talking once, and everything about you just seemed to click. I don't know how you're human now, or what changed, but you can tell me that story after this. Right now, I want to tell you my story.
     "I've lived in Gravity Falls all my life," Merrily begins, tying back her hair. "And I didn't grow up in one of those oblivious families, no. I've grown up in a family of monster hunters. About nineteen years ago, when I was three-"
     Dipper stops her. "Wait, but you're-"
     "I know. I'm getting to that," Merrily tells him. "Anyway, nineteen years ago, when I was three, my father caught a baby ningyo. He was thrilled. He didn't know exactly what it was then, though we do now. Well, he had gutted the thing like a fish, taken off the skin and scales. You see, ningyo are like Japanese mermaids, though Gravity Falls has a few. They look much more like fish than people, and my father was dissecting this one for his research. Well, as I was a toddler, and my father had left the scales and thin fish skins in the sink, I got ahold of some and, well, put some in my mouth and ate. Minutes later, my mother found me there and was yelling at me, because wouldn't you think that sort of stuff was unsanitary and unhealthy? Little did we know until further research that eating the skin of a ningyo will give a person immortality.
     "So, you see, I grew until I was seventeen years old, and then I just stopped. I've looked like this for five years, and I will look like this forever. I'm an immortal."
     We are all silent. Immortal? Merrily?
     "I attended school for this year. It was lonely not being around people when I didn't. Legally, my parents were able to forge an ID for me, one that matches with my age and appearance, but this was going to be my last year at school. After, I was going to get a job, try to live a normal life, but then you all showed up in my life.
     "I never imagined school this year could be such a great experience. Yule," she looks at him, her eyes twinkling, "I've liked you ever since the first day of school. Then I met Ivy. She's been my best friend, but I never told my secret to even her. I didn't want her to know that our friendship wouldn't last. I didn't want anyone to know. That's why I planned to leave school. I knew you all would grow up, but I would be stuck like this. I would watch you all die, and I would still be here. I was such a mess at Yule's funeral. I know everyone was, but it was so bad for me because I knew that I would have to let go everyone in my life at some point, but I never expected the first one to be so terribly soon.
     "But I just realized that Yule is now so similar to me. I know you've feared to watch your friends leave you," she says, looking right at him. "I know you will probably only exist here as long as your friends will. But..." her eyes brighten, and so do his. "As long as we're both like this, as long as we're both here, we each will be here as long as the other is, so why can't we be together? I love you, Yule, and though I never wished for you to become like this... it's all worked out for the good, hasn't it? Would you give me the honor of being your girlfriend?"
     Yule's face glows with happiness. "Yes!" His cloudy form envelops Merrily, and he kisses her. He doesn't phase through her, and I know that neither of them can feel anything of the other, but this is enough. They are both happy.
     Mabel shrieks with delight and claps her hands. "Congratulations, you two!"
     Dipper blinks, looking at Merrily still. "Wow. So, can you die at all?"
     Merrily pulls away from Yule, even though they aren't technically touching. "Sure. I can still be killed, but I'll never die of old age. That's kind of the basis of human immortality."
     "That's weird to wrap my mind around," Pacifica says, standing up from the couch. "But thank you for telling us."
     "Yes," I add. "I'm glad you can still be a part of our lives."
     Merrily beams gratefully in response. "So am I." She looks around at us. "All right, I exposed all of my secrets, it's time to hear yours, Bill."
     So I recapitulate my life story while my friends add in comments throughout.
     I'm reminded that even in the most frustrating and worst of times, you will find friends and relationships where you never thought possible.