Hello to all! I apologize, I have been incredibly busy and this chapter is not the best, I just knew I had to put something out there for ya'll. It's also a lot shorter than I realized, but its still a pretty important chapter in the grand scheme of things ( which I am very excited to share with you guys soon). Anyway, thanks for reading, stay tuned, and enjoy.
P.S: Here's where our story really begins...
3 months later:
Anne closed her eyes, and leaned back in the heavy wooden rocking chair. The gentle pitter patter of the summer shower lulled in her ears, carefully tempting her to succumb to her rich exhaustion.
It had been a long day, a long few weeks. Avonlea was busier than it had ever been, but loneliness hid behind every corner. Anne was all grown up now. Her friends married or living elsewhere, her once young pupils exploring their teenage-hood.
But unlike them, Anne couldn't picture her future -it was dark and mysterious and it terrified her. Where was the hope and happiness that had once caved her path, influenced every decision? When did Anne become the woman she had always backed away from? She was not the girl she used to be and not the girl she had wished to become.
She was beautiful, it was true. With long auburn hair and shining grey eyes. She was tall and slender, with an aura of grace so powerful that children whispered to one another, hoping that one day they could look like that Anne girl of Green Gables. But she was not as vain as she had once been, and beauty was only so important to her at the fine age of 20. She wanted love, she wanted joy and happiness- and it had walked away from her 3 months ago.
Her throat constricted and she swallowed the rising pain, forcing it down its ashy trail and back into her burnt heart. To this day she didn't know what had actually happened or where he had gone off to. She didn't have the courage to ask Mrs. Blythe although she always found herself walking subconsciously down that old road. She only knew that Gilbert was gone; gone like the winter breeze and the past she was constantly reminiscing, gone like the childhood dreams she had sung to her friends, gone like the young girl she had once been.
She would run after him if she could, she would in heartbeat! But alas, she knew - she knew it every time she sat alone under the wide trees, staring out at the cloudless sky, or sitting beside the empty rivers, watching the rippling shores lick the tips of her fingers- you can't search for someone who doesn't want to be found.
OOO
Gilbert walked hurriedly down the old cobblestone roads, clutching his newspaper to his chest and protecting his hat from the sharp winds. This particular day was colder than it had been in a while and he shivered lightly under his jacket. He had grown accustomed to the French heat, but the bitter air brought back an unexpected sentiment to the cold Avonlea days. He smiled despite himself. Where had the time gone? It wasn't so long ago; lying on the yellow pastures, sun blazing down on him like fire. Climbing apple trees and chasing his friends into those blue, blue creeks. He could remember long walks in the late afternoons with his pals, daydreaming about girls-
He caught himself, and shook his head as if to rid himself of those thoughts. He was over Anne Shirley, and he applauded himself for it. Years and years of pointless prayers and heartbreak were behind him now, finally and thankfully. He didn't fall asleep with her name on his tongue, nor did he wake up with her glowing image stained in his head like he used to. But he didn't like to think of his past-their past. To Gilbert, it was best to shut out what had been, to lock it up and throw out the key. No, he no longer cared for her the way he had, but to revisit the life they once had was dangerous territory.
He stopped in front of a tall, brick building. The sun gleamed behind it and a golden light washed over Gilbert. This is it! This is really it! He smiled, tucked the newspaper into his pocket, and walked up the stone steps with a newfound excitement. He was ready.