Chapter III

Mrs. Lynde sends her regards

About a fortnight after the incident at the picnic, Anne had never left her white, cozy room at Green Gables. The summer had passed, and fall was beginning to arrive at Avonlea. Through the pretty curtains Matthew had bought for her, she could see the trees starting to change colors, and the wild winds racing the colored leaves through the air. Normally, Anne would have gone out in the gorgeous summer sun, which was slowly fading into a winter sun to meet the fall, but now she was too depressed to even give a thought to it. Marilla, who had tried to comfort her enough to get her to come out, and finally given up and had resorted to bringing Anne's meals to her room. "That child," she mumbled angrily one day. "What am I to do without her? The twins are pulling my butt hair out and I have no time spared in work now that shes "too depressed" to do anything. I know, I'll go to Rachel for some advice. She'll know what to do." With that, she gathered up the the twins, Davy and Dora, locked them in the horses' poop barn with a plum cake for both of the poor children to eat, and strided out to Rachel Lynde's home. Once she got there, she was greeted rather lukewarmly with a handshake and a blueberry milkshake, a new fashionable drink that had come to Avonlea. "So, I hear about Jane Andrews and Diana Barry," said Mrs. Lynde, knowingly. Marilla blinked at her in almost surprise. "Nothing ever gets past your dumpling of a body, does it Rachel?" said Marilla dryly. Mrs. Lydne laughed in a rather uninsulted way. "Everyone knows that Anne must be mortified, Marilla. Common knowledge. I expect the docter said along with your eyesight, your intelligence is going to the dogs also?" Marilla chose to ignore this comment, and continued to speak about what troubled her. For nearly half an hour, Marilla spoke of Anne in almost rapt silence, except for the squelching sounds coming from Mrs. Lydne who was picking her nose. "Shes hasn't been eating, sleeping, or doing much of anything at all," finished Marilla dramatically. She waited for gracious feedback from Mrs. Lynde. "Sounds like you got a problem," said Mrs. Lydne thickly, with her finger still in her nose. "I'll tell you a secret, Marilla. Since I know you won't tell anyone. My second cousin in White Sands is rather attracted to men around his own age, and not in a friendship sort of way. Since I found that out, which was almost four years ago now, my blabbing mouth has never let that slip. I knew if anyone found out, that I was related to someone of such fashion, my family would go down in shame. But Avonlea is getting more and more full of these sort, and its getting less shameful to know one. No doubt on whether the Barrys and Andrews will be shamed a little at the least if they have shame. This world is becoming so unclean and so unearthly, that I sometimes wonder if God has done this to us because we have acted in a way that should be written down in Satan's book. But, nevertheless, I must send young Diana Barry and young Jane Andrews my regards, for if I go against them, I will be going against my own family. I cannot happily gossip on whose family has one, for my own family is soiled. But, I'll tell you what. We cannot let Anne die from these wretched people we will have to learn to love. Give her small things to do, such as needlework or cleaning. Things she can do in her room. When shes gotten past that point, which should be in a few days, she will get out of that wretched room herself, and go back to normal life. If it doesn't work, do what I did. I raised ten offspring all by myself, and its never failed to work once. In about a fortnight, if she still refuses to give up depression, then take her out to the barn and have a piglet chew on her ear." Mrs. Lydne actually took her finger out of her nose this time. "It works," she said with a rather twisted grin. Marilla went home pondering on whether she should do what Mrs. Lydne said, or if the overweight broad had lost her advice touch. I think it might work, thought Marilla. If it doesn't, I will not resort to letting a pig chew on Anne's ear. Heaven knows if her ears can get redder than they already are.

Chapter IIII

Anne's Awakening

"Oh Marilla, I'm so glad to feel better and out of that depression. I feel like I could just hug the earth!" said a very happy Anne. "Thats good to hear, Anne," said Marilla wearily. She had to do all the work by herself while Anne was still depressed. "I could always use help with the twins, but right now they're nowhere to be seen. I don't think we should search for them just yet. Four hours tops?" she raised her eyebrows at Anne. "I'd think five hours tops, Marilla," said Anne winking. What they didn't know was Davy was busy trying to find things such as spare doorknobs and such to make toys out of, and Dora was busy searching for a dolly in the gable. "Marilla, I feel as if I've just been awakened from a long sleep. Depression is so tiring, is it not? It is so much more lovely to just think about fairies, and dryads, and beautiful lakes full of shining water where mermaids like to dance. Oh! Look at that!" Anne pointed outside the window to the large cherry tree that had grown to quite a large size since Anne had arrived at Green Gables four years earlier. It's blossoms were turning a delicious dark pink, and they were swaying in the wind as if the wing was playfully pushing them back and forth in it's fingers, taking some off the tree and blowing them around the tree, so that they looked like they dressed the tree in a candy pink shawl. "I must go pick some of those blossoms for my room!" cried Anne. With that, she flew towards the door, using as much weight as the blossoms flying around the air, and Marilla heard a loud bang! "That girl," she mumbled as she started picking herself off the leather sofa in the kitchen. "Must have crashed into the tree again. Such a day dreamer, tsk tsk, such a day dreamer. What an awakening."