"Cordelia, time for bed!" shouted Cordelia's mother.
"Yes mother!" was the exasperated reply.
Cordelia Fitzgerald lived in Florida. She had the typical life a fifteen-year-old American girl, except with a slight lack of technology. Cordelia loved the arts, music, dance, and literature. She was quite an accomplished ballerina. At that particular moment, it was a summer evening, and Cordelia decided to read before she went to bed.
Anne of Avonlea was one of her favorite books. She curled up in a corner of her room—with her book of course— and began to read. What she found most interesting about the series to her was the fact that she seemed to be the girl of Anne's dreams. It couldn't just be a coincidence that her name was Cordelia Fitzgerald, nor the fact that she had raven-black hair, along with no freckles on her face.
Cordelia continued reading. She was almost finished, but suddenly, she fell right through the pages, into the book.
"Where am I?" muttered Cordelia.
She was startled by the sight in front of her. Gone were the tall buildings that she was used to, and in their place were small cottages. Cars and buses were replaced by horse and buggy.
She could see a clear sky, and fresh grass. Cordelia was confused. She had just been reading Anne of Avonlea, and the next moment, she seemed to have gotten sucked into the book, or at least, a place that looked just like how she imagined it. Nature surrounded her. She could have sworn the lake that was sparkling in a nearby field was the Lake of Shining Waters.
She was quite right. Poor Cordelia was no longer in her modern, tropical, Florida home, ready to go to bed. She was somewhere that was much colder, and older. Cordelia noticed that she was no longer in pajamas, but a pink dress with puffed sleeves.
"Great!" Cordelia thought out loud. "I'm stuck in what appears to Avonlea, wearing a hot, itchy, pink dress with puffed sleeves! I guess the next thing that will happen is that I'll meet some character from the book!" She knew that all too well.
A red-headed—excuse me—auburn-headed girl came up the road, with a handful of lilies. "Hello!" she said cheerily.
"Um, hello," Cordelia replied tentatively. She was not sure if this girl was Anne Shirley—the Anne Shirley—but she sure did look a lot like her. Cordelia wondered how Anne would react when, and if, she knew her name.
"Who are you?" inquired the girl with auburn hair. "You seem quite knew here."
"Well, my name is Cordelia Fitzgerald, and I just arrived here." The Anne-like girl seemed very kind and polite with her reaction, though nobody ever knew what thoughts were flying about in her Anne-like head.
"Well, you don't say!" replied the Anne-like girl elegantly. "My name is Anne Shirley. You might be surprised that I have always wished that my name was Cordelia Fitzgerald." That was what Anne said out loud. In her head, there were thoughts of surprise, friendship, and of course, jealousy. This girl's appearance was just the appearance Anne wanted to have. She desperately longed for Cordelia's raven-black hair, her freckle-free face, and most of all, her name. How elegant would life be like with a name like Cordelia Fitzgerald.
"I have heard much about you," said Cordelia, choosing her words carefully. At the same time, she was quite stunned to actually meet Anne.
"Oh, have you?" replied Anne, lightly, but rather coldly. Jealousy may have been getting the best of her.
"Yes I have. I happened to know that you have always wanted to live an elegant life as a beautiful, black-haired maiden named Cordelia Fitzgerald. The man of your dreams is a tall, dark man, with a velvety, melancholy voice. You m—" Anne had no idea of her future, and Cordelia just realized that she had almost spoiled Anne's life.
It was now Anne's turn to be stunned. "How do you know all of that?" She demanded. "What happens with the man of my dreams? Do I ever have a chance to meet him?"
Cordelia had said too much. She could not say more. She decided to tell Anne of the complicated situation she was in. "You see, Miss Shirley, I am not from this time. I am not from this country. I believe that you would call a person like me a Yankee, for I come from the states. I come from Florida, and the year is 2010. You may be surprised, and you may believe that I am telling a dreadful falsehood, but this is the truth. I was reading a book about your life, actually, one of many books about you, when I suddenly entered your world. I am desperately in need of getting back to my home in my time. I request your help—please."
Cordelia looked up cautiously into Anne's face. She was instantly met with a look of sheer astonishment and disbelief. Behind that, there seemed to be concealed thoughts of trust, belief, and thoughtfulness, for Anne's imagination was quite vivid. Reassured by what she saw, Cordelia continued. "I believe that if you cannot help me get back home, you might be able to give me a place to stay. I'm worried, and if you help me, I promise to repay you, if that is your utmost desire, though I swear—" at that moment, Anne opened her mouth to say something, but Cordelia was on a roll, "—not to tell you of important events in your future. It is not good for one to know about one's future. I may not be a kindred spirit, or a very good friend, but I have to get home. You must know how it feels being away from your true home. Please help me."
This plea truly left Anne Shirley, of all people, lost for words. The story was incredulous, but the tone in Cordelia's voice made Anne believe that Cordelia was telling the truth (even though she was living over a hundred years from her time), and that Cordelia may be a kindred spirit. All jealous thoughts were now gone. Anne thought for a moment. "I suppose shall help you, but first I must take you home." She stated decisively. Cordelia nodded, and the two set off to Green Gables.
Cordelia was relieved. She never thought that Anne would truly believe her. But, if one believes that there is a ghost of a dead baby in the Haunted Woods, then one must believe the true story she had just told. "I don't have to sleep in a spare room if you do not want me to," added Cordelia, with a slight trace of a smile playing around her lips.
"Oh, it's okay. I had a horrible experience of jumping on a poor old lady in the first spare room I was in," replied Anne, whose sense of humor was developing nicely. "But," she added knowingly, "you must already know that."
"Indeed I do," said Cordelia softly. "I also believe that Miss Josephine Barry will one day leave you a gift, and you do not want to hear Davy's comment after the gift is handed to you. Also, your hair color and freckles are fine. Plenty of men will probably choose your appearance over mine."
"I hope that I won't die an old maid," hoped Anne.
"I do not know for sure if you will or will not, but there is probably going to be a time that you wish that you would," was the reply.
"You make my life sound somewhat miserable," said Anne, playfully.
"Life needs some misery, and unfulfilled dreams. If life was perfect, wouldn't it be boring?"
And so, the two young ladies arrived to Green Gables.
The voice Cordelia heard next was old, and she knew exactly who it was. Marilla Cuthbert.
"Anne Shirley, where have you been?" scolded Marilla.
"I just came back from cleaning up Miss Lavender's and Mr. Irving's wedding, Marilla. I have also come back with a friend."
"Our house is already full with those twins, how are we supposed to manage another one?" asked Marilla, coldly.
Cordelia—without knowing exactly why— found it necessary to step in at this time. "Hello, Miss Cuthbert. My name is Cordelia Fitzgerald. I'm sorry if I came at a bad time. Davy and Dora Keith must be a handful to manage, but I might be able to help you, and I dreadfully need a home." She looked at Marrilla earnestly.
Anne nodded furiously in agreement. "She can have the extra room," she suggested, "or share my room. She might help with the cooking and cleaning, and I would teach her about the things that she did not know how to do. She could learn from my schoolbooks, and if she knows enough information, she can take the test for the Cooper Full College Scholarship. Gilbert, Charlie Sloane, and I will be taking the test as well."
"Fine," agreed a reluctant Marilla. Far more curious things have happened in good ol' PE Island.