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"I'm starting to think that Gideon is still too young for this particular kind of trip," said Belle.
They had been at it for about an hour and a half, hiking from the main camp to what Belle had said would be a better view. They must be an interesting sight, Rumplestiltskin thought, an older man who was not properly dressed for the ambiance with his long trousers and light button up shirt, accompanying the human ray of sunshine that was Belle, who did seem to have prepared better for this particular side trip they had taken. Rumplestiltskin smiled thinking about the other times Belle had done something similar, where they had taken a vacation to a specific place only for Belle to notice that there was a point of interest relatively close by. She never had to coax him too much for them to take the detour.
On this particular vacation the plan had been to visit the beaches along the northern shores of Colombia and Venezuela, and then maybe visit some of the national parks located along the mountain range that flanked said beaches. But on their second day after having arrived in the town of Choroni, Belle had asked to take a flight inland that would drop them in a campground in the middle of the jungle. Now here they were, on a trek from one campsite to another with a fuzzy three-year-old in their midst.
“Nonsense, He’s just as resilient as you,” Rumplestiltskin said. “He’s just annoyed because he wanted to keep playing in the water of the lagoon.” The camp they had arrived to was sitting by a red-tinted lagoon that made him glad they were making this trip with Gideon, because Rumplestiltskin could see Belle wanting to swim as far as the people there had told them it was safe for her. With Gideon there, however, she would remain where it’d be safe for him.
“At least we don’t have much further to go; I think he’s also tired of being carried,” Belle replied. “Aren’t you, Gid?”
Rumplestiltskin could hear Gideon mumbling about playing in the water and eating the plantain snacks they had been having since they’d landed on the first plane. “Ah, so He’s hungry.”
“We’re almost there and then I just have to set up, we’ll have a really good view,” Belle said.
Rumplestiltskin still didn’t understand what they were supposed to be getting a good view of. Belle had said they would go see the tallest waterfall in the world, but there had been some impressive falls right in the lagoon they had been staying by. Rumplestiltskin thought it was good for this place if it held some sort of record, as he imagined it must be some small point of pride for a country that seemed so turbulent as of late, but he was not sure that the view would be worth the detour they had taken from the perfectly nice beach they had been visiting initially.
Suddenly their guide turned around and started speaking to Belle. Rumplestiltskin was always so impressed by how quickly she picked up languages, albeit not surprised. It was as if she had been made for adventuring and discovering, and Rumplestiltskin would never get tired of his little explorers, for surely Gideon would follow in his mother’s footsteps.
“Rumple, we just have to follow them to the shore,” Belle said.
Rumplestiltskin looked around. It seemed as if the people in this camp had been waiting for them, and they were led to the spot where they could set up whatever it was that Belle had been planning. They walked a little further, following the people, until they came out from under the cover of the trees.
They had arrived along the edges of a river, although not as big as the ones they had already seen on their way here. Rumplestiltskin heard the rush of the water before he saw it, a mountain wall and water falling over, so tall that it seemed the water was being poured directly from the clouds. The peak of heaven, Rumplestiltskin remembered the song they had heard on their first night in Choroni, also remembering how Belle had translated some of the lines for him and had explained that the music video had been recorded somewhere in the jungle of this country. Was it from that song that she got the idea to come here, he wondered.
“Over here Rumple!”
Belle had kept walking with the group and they were making their way to a spot where people were settling down, Rumplestiltskin caught up to them and sat down on the blanket where Belle had placed Gideon.
“Here, you hold Gideon and I’ll take those bags from you.”
“Alright,” Rumplestiltskin said. “Now what?” he asked.
“Now we’ll be here for about three hours with the group and then the guide will take us back to the camp by the Canaima lagoon,” Belle explained. “You can take Gideon to play in the water while I set this picnic for us.”
Rumplestiltskin looked toward the river and his first instinct told him that getting too close might be a bad idea, but then he noticed that the water didn’t look violent at all despite the noise coming from the massive falls, and that some people were already playing with the water, even if there wasn’t really space to swim.
“Okay,” Rumplestiltskin said. “But only very quickly for Gideon to cool down.”
Rumplestiltskin set Gideon down, making sure he held his hand very firmly, lest he got too excited and ran off, and accompanied him to the water.
A couple minutes had turned into fifteen, during which Gideon had soaked Rumplestiltskin just from a little splashing, but he had had so much fun that Rumplestiltskin couldn’t find it in his heart to be angry. Walking back to the table Rumplestiltskin saw that the picnic was very simple, but he knew they’d enjoy it all the same. One of the things that he liked the most about Belle’s spirit of adventure was the fact that it gave him the opportunity of learning how to cook new dishes fairly often, and he loved Belle’s delighted smile whenever she saw he’d made something new just for her.
Rumplestiltskin brought Gideon over, dried him down and sat him on his lap. It seemed that Gideon had been seriously hungry, because once he noticed the food there was no need for either Rumple or Belle to coax him to eat, and so he started eagerly.
“So my dear, will you tell me why you took us away from the beach and dropped us smack in the middle of the jungle?” Rumplestiltskin asked, with a humorous timber in his voice. “This sure is impressive,” he continued, “but I think I would have rather stayed under my umbrella.”
Belle laughed at that comment, her eyes sparkling with it, and spoke.
“Well, this is not some random jungle, Rumple, do you remember that time when Ashley and Aurora got together to order some new children’s materials for the library?”
“Right,” Rumplestiltskin remembered Belle taking on that project with the same fervor that she had for everything else in her life, and how the three women had quickly assembled a good entertainment area for the children that would last for a fair amount of time.
“Among the new stuff they found there was this one film about two little adventurers who dreamt with coming to this place their entire lives,” Belle explained. “They actually dreamt with going all the way to the top of the Tepui, but I thought that might be a bit too much for us on this trip.” Belle was smiling with her adorable smile, her eyes going a bit misty, absorbed by the pull of the falls. Rumplestiltskin looked to Gideon on his lap and quietly whispered: “Mommy is lost in her stories again.”
Belle laughed and said: “I’m not lost, I’m just thinking.” She reached across to wipe some food off of Gideon’s chin.
“You saw a children’s film about this place and that made you want to come here?” Rumplestiltskin asked.
“I had forgotten about it until we heard that song a couple days ago at the beach, I asked about it and they told me the video for that song had been filmed around these parts, Angel falls. When they showed it to me it was unmistakable, I could see the scenes in my mind and I felt as if it were really important that we saw it.” Belle said. She kept looking between Rumple and Gideon and the Falls that were still a good distance from them, but felt incredibly close.
Rumplestiltskin realized then that he could feel water particles from time to time, for the water was coming down from such heights that some of it got separated from the main stream and just showered the general area. He looked at Belle and said: “So, a cartoon couple spent their lives wanting to come here, but why did you feel it was important for us to come?”
Belle thought for a moment. “I know they maybe weren’t real, but people in this world say that we’re not real and that our friends are not real… just because this world believes something it doesn’t mean it’s true. In any case, even if this couple wasn’t real, I like to imagine that somewhere in this land exists a couple who love each other as much as the characters in this film did,” Belle said. “…maybe a pair who was already right here, in Venezuela, who grew old together and who couldn’t imagine their life without the other.”
“A love for all the ages and a floating house” Rumplestiltskin added. “I might have to watch this one with you,” he chuckled, although he couldn’t imagine for a better rest of their lives with Belle and Gideon than what they already had. Rumplestiltskin looked at Belle, adoringly, loving the thoughtful expression on her face when she realized he did know a little something about the film she was referencing.
Belle took a breath in while looking Up to the falls and said: “I just love you and our family so much; you have definitely been my greatest adventure.” She paused to turn to look at him and continued: “I feel that the kind of true love that we have is not all that common in this or in any other world, and so I felt that honoring that kind of love is important, once it is found.” She finished speaking with an air of contentedness.
At that moment Gideon spoke for the first time since he had started eating, repeating his mother’s words as “twue wuv,” and laughing.
Rumplestiltskin chuckled at that and said: “That’s right Gid, twue wuv.” The words were followed by a quick tickle directed at Gideon. He so loved to hear his son’s laughter.
Rumplestiltskin thought for a moment and said: “You know my darling, I’m glad you brought us here. You know I love you and Gideon, on this adventure and all our adventures to come.”
As they finished their meal Rumplestiltskin sat there, with their son in his arms, his wife right next to him and that imposing sensation emanating from the nature around him. He felt blanketed by the falls in a warm and cozy sort of way, and realized that it was not unlike the feeling of the true love he felt for Belle and his family, only dampened by his absolute certainty that the true love he had was the kind of love that could move a house without magic and place it atop this impossibly tall Tepui.