Gilbert's Violets to Anne Shirley
Summary : Gilbert's trying to give Anne Shirley some Violets after having called her carrots as a gesture of his goodwill.
One afternoon, Gilbert Blythe got to picking some Violets for her, the Her being Anne Shirley, the only girl he loved in Avonlea. A lovely and vivacious little girl, with some air about her. When she refused to talk to him after he called her a "carrot" in class, he regretted it immediately. He tried very hard to beg for her forgiveness, to get her to be friends with him, but to no avail at all.
Today was flowers' day. He thought he'd get her some violets, one of her favourites as gift. He wished she'd accept them and would stop holding a grudge against his person. He crossed his fingers when he went to the Cuthbert's home for a visit. Marilla was at the door :
"Isn't it Gilbert Blythe? Tell me, what brought or got you there, young fellow?" Marilla squinted at him.
"I… humm…. came to give her some violets for flowers' day?" He was stuttering… Marilla sympathized with him and called Anne down.
"Anne, come down here at once, Blythe's here!" Marilla ordered her. Anne refused to comply and replied :
"No, I don't want to see him!" Blythe felt very awkward to be there…
"What's this nonsense, you'll get down to see him NOW, DO you hear me, Anne?" Marilla felt so sorry for the Young Lad. Anne was being really rude.
"No! He offended me! Don't ask me to see his gloating face… Marilla, I can't" came her scathing retort.
Blythe reassured Marilla:
"It's fine or all right, Marilla, I'll just leave those flowers on the porch… I'll go now…" He almost cried when he heard Anne's biting rejection from her room.
"I'm sorry, Gilbert, apparently, she's still holding it against you…" Marilla got highly embrassed. She'd have to scold Anne for her misbehaviour later on.
He reiterated once more to Miss Cuthber t:
"It's okay, I knew she'd be this way. I knew she wouldn't relent this easily."
"Oh Gilbert, I feel so bad for you, just give up on her altogether. Pick another 's not worth your heart. She's way too prideful and vain as a peacock."
"I can't Marilla, I will always like her."
"Hey Marilla, I heard that and tell Gil—I hate him, I'll never be friends with him, ever!"
"Anne, you can't talk about a guest this way. You've already hurt the poor lad's feelings. Come downstairs right now and apologize to him this instant!"
"No… it's fine… it was my fault for calling her "carrot" in class and humiliating her in front of the whole school. I'll be leaving now." He left the purple flowers on the porch, heart-heavy.
At the Blythe's
Blythe's Mother was cleaning a room, when he heard her son at the door. She left everything there and went to the door :
"So, Gilbert, how was it? Did she accept your gift …?" She didn't dare ask more.
Gilbert shook his head disappointingly and dejectedly :
"No… Mum… why won't she? I've apologized heartfeltly many times? What's wrong with me?" Tears almost fell from his eyes.
"It's not you, My Son, it's her, forget about her, I'd say… there are plenty of other girls in Avonlea, waiting to be yours. Why don't you just pick one of them?"
"No… you know I can't, they aren't Anne, Mum… She's my girl, Mum… When I saw her going out with that boy… I couldn't take it …" He broke down this time.
"There there…better luck with another girl. Don't be such a dramatic and go feed the pigs." His Mum was indifferent about her son's heart matters or affairs.
Some few weeks later, Gilbert Blythe's corpse was found in a pond. In his hand, he had a ring and a letter addressed to Miss Anne Shirley of Green Gables :
"Dear Anne,
I couldn't live without you in my world…. So I killed myself to atone for my original sin when I first met you. I hope you'll finally be satisfied and we could be together in Heaven."
Gilbert Blythe
When Anne got wind of the news, she couldn't live with such guilt in her heart. She felt awful for pushing someone to his limits and vowed to never do it again. She went to his funeral, clad or clothed in mourning clothes, unable to face Mrs. Blythe's blameful look. She took Gilbert Blythe's ring and decided to never marry anyone else. She got some violets on his tomb and watered them everyday for her dead "husband". She finally had the courage to tell him on his tomb :
"I forgave you, Gilbert, ever since you've rescued me from the rushing pond waters. It was very silly or stupid of me to not have realized this before. Forgive me for having killed you." Mrs. Blythe let young "Mrs Blythe" take care of her son's stable as a married wife would to ease
Anne's consciousness.