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“Well, this is new,” Stan mused as he turned the golden thing over in his hand. It resembled an oil lamp, albeit with filigree designs etched into the surface. What looked like sparkles emanated from it, and, solely out of curiosity, he rubbed it.
A force strong enough to knock Stan off of his feet suddenly burst out of the object, causing him to drop it. When he got his bearings back, he heard a mix of tones, both high and low pitched as the entity before him laughed, “Oh, how I’ve missed the outside world!”
Stan was speechless. Before him, floating on what looked like a wisp of pale blue smoke was a woman, wearing a matching off-shoulder top, with a belt to match. Right in the center of the belt was a beautiful aquamarine gemstone. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. Adorning her head was a beautiful headdress made of gold and jewels.
“Lemme guess, I got three wishes, huh?” said Stan.
“No. I am confined to grant only one. Choose your words wisely,” the genie replied. Stan thought for a moment.
Thirty years ago, he had a twin brother, until they fought one another for the last time. After that, he was gone. Stan still had nightmares about his brother being pulled into the center of the machine right beneath his feet.
While he couldn’t be happier that the kids, Dipper and Mabel, had become a part of his life, even their presence didn’t completely heal the gaping hole in his chest, an emotional cavity caused by the knowledge that he’d failed yet again, and in the process he’d lost somebody important.
Stan sighed, and with a sorrowful look, answered, “I just want my brother back.”
“Is that all?”
“Yeah.”
The genie snapped her fingers. “So be it.”
The genie vanished, and, to Stan’s absolute astonishment and joy, in her place stood a man, clad in black, with feathery charcoal colored hair, big nose that matched Stan’s, cleft chin, and two brown eyes identical to the ones Stan saw every time he looked in the mirror.
He didn’t look happy, just…confused. “Stanley..? How did I get here? This is-”
He was cut off when Stan suddenly pulled him into a tight hug. “My wish came true. You’re back, brother! You’re finally back!”
“What wish?”
Stan pulled away, and explained, “I know it’s gonna sound nuts, but trust me on this one, Stanford.”
After Stan explained himself, his brother looked absolutely livid. “Stanley, have you lost it?! Genies are notorious tricksters! Did you even think to ask about the consequences of your wish?!”
“What consequences could there possibly be, Stanford?!”
“No wish from a genie comes without a price, Stanley.”
Stan rolled his eyes. “Look, Poindexter, I don’t regret bringing you back home, and I’m not the only one who would be happy to have you home again.” He cast a glance up the stairs to the attic. “There’s a couple kids I want you to meet.”
“There are children in my house,” Ford deadpanned as he followed behind Stan. He knocked on the attic door. No answer. “Kids? There’s somebody I want you to meet!” Nothing. “He’s family!” That should’ve been Mabel’s reason to open the door. Stan sighed exasperatedly. “Dipper, he’s also the author of the journals!” And that should’ve been Dipper’s reason to open the door.
“Stan?” Ford questioned. Finally, Stan turned the doorknob. What he found on the other side made his eyes widen in utter bewilderment.
Gone were the two twin beds, and everything else strewn about the room, replaced with cardboard boxes stacked atop one another. “How the hell…?” Stan shook his head. “Y’know what, I’ll show you a picture of em.”
“Stanley, are you feeling alright?”
“Of course I am,” Stan replied, grabbing the framed photo off of his nightstand. He remembered the day the photo had been taken. He expected to see two smiling faces of the twins Dipper and Mabel, both wearing hand stitched fishing hats.
The sight made him gasp with horror. Gone were the kids, leaving behind nothing; there wasn’t a single piece of evidence that they had been there in the first place. “Kids…?”
Nobody knew what he was talking about. Not Wendy, not Soos, nobody. He even called their parents, both of whom had no idea what he was going on about.
Was he losing it?
“This- this is impossible,” Stan muttered as the full weight of what he’d done came crashing down. That genie had taken his wish literally. He just wanted his brother. Now, the kids were gone. Gone, not just from the world, but from the memories of all those around him.
Whispers came from all around him. Words such as “delusional” and “crazy”, just on the edge of his hearing. All softly spoken in a taunting manner.
“I think you should forget about this ‘Dipper’ and ‘Mabel’, Stanley.”
“I’m not crazy, Sixer,” Stan insisted.
Out of nowhere, he forgot what he was doing. It felt as if some invisible entity was invading his mind, tugging out bits of memory regarding the kids. Right before his eyes, what looked to be film strips with their images seemed to come straight from his mind and out into the world. Whatever was doing this to him cruelly decided to give him a visual of what was being ripped away from him.
Almost out of curiosity, Ford said, “Who were Dipper and Mabel exactly?”
Now it was Stan looking at Ford like he’d lost it. “Who?”
Stan awoke with a start. That was awful. He’d already forgotten the kids once. He couldn’t let it happen again.
It won’t, his conscience insisted.
*Knock, knock. It was too light to be his brother, so that left only two possibilities. Stan opened the door.
Make that three possibilities.
Dipper and Mabel stood at the threshold. Dipper explained to him, “We can’t sleep.”
Stan bit his lip. “I won’t lie, kiddo: I can’t either.”
Mabel wrapped her arms around Stan’s waist, with Dipper following suit. Stan didn’t hesitate for one second in returning the embrace. Mabel looked up at him and smiled. “We love you, Grunkle Stan.”
“You know that, don’t you?” Dipper asked, a little worriedly.
“Yeah, I know that,” Stan replied, ruffling the twins’ hair. “I love you too, ya little gremlins.”
THE END