You are ahead by a century

She slowed, realising they didn't know that she was following them. She hid behind trees, watching her step for twigs and ice. Soon enough, the three boys split up, eyes peeled for any flash of red in the snow. Deciding to follow Billy, Anne continued to sneak around the trees, often darting out of sight just in time. 

After tracking him for a while, she couldn't see him anywhere. No matter how hard she tried to find him and his stupid gun, she had lost him. When she finally surrendered and began to head back to Green Gables, she heard two piercing shots. Whipping around, she sprinted towards the source of the noise. She soon spotted Billy in a clearing, gun poised, at the ready. 

"Don't hurt my fox!" Anne screamed, clambering forward, out of breath. Billy dropped the gun out of sheer fright and turned to glare at her.

"I was taking practice shots," he shouted, "Either way, what does it matter if it were the fox? I would have killed it before you had the chance to stop me!"

"Billy Andrews!" She advanced on him. "If you think that I will let you get away with this for even one second, you must be more stupid than I thought. I will do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of my fox."

He was dumbfounded. Trying desperately to regain his composure, he attempted a comeback.

"I do  think that I'm going to get away with this!"

It took only a second to think about the implications of that phrase; Anne chuckled. 

"I didn't mean that I am more stupid than you thought... I meant..." Billy could not get the words out. He had lost this one. "Besides, what do you think an ugly little orphan like you could do to stop me?" Confidently crossing his arms, he stepped forward, challenging her. 

"I could do more than you." He was provoking her. Curling into tight fists, Anne's hands travelled down to her book bag, searching for something that could help her.

"As if. You're just a girl, you're ugly, your red hair is revolting, and you're a freak who has no friends. What makes you think you could stop me?" He grinned, knowing he hit all of her insecurities.

"Ugly?" Turning red with rage, she took a firm step forward, "Revolting?" She took another, "FREAK?" With one last step, she screamed, "HOW DARE YOU!"

Finally, her hands grasped around what she was trying so hard to find. In one swift motion, she smacked her brand new slate across Billy Andrew's face, leaving a red mark on his right cheek. Staggering back with shock, Billy knelt to grab his gun. Anne raised the broken slate once more, prepared to bring it down on the top of his head.

"FINE! I won't shoot the fox! Just please don't to that again!" She dropped her hands.

He scrambled away, figurative tail between his legs. Anne replaced the slate in her bookbag before beginning the walk back to Green Gables, smiling all the way. Arriving just before her curfew, she burst into the kitchen, excited to tell Marilla and Matthew about her adventure. 

"Good heavens, Anne! Whatever happened to your new slate?" Marilla scolded.

Anne dumped the buckets in the doorway of Green Gables. “Here you are Marilla”

“Thank you, Anne”

“May I please go over to Diana’s house now?”

Marilla sighed, “Alright. But be back before sundown!”

“Of course,” Anne replied gaily, running to grab a coat before making her way to Diana’s house.

The warm sun glistened down onto Anne’s face, making her shield her eyes. The afternoon was perfect; the sun was shining, birds were singing. It seemed as if nothing was wrong with the world.

“Anne!”

Anne peered at the figure calling to her. Diana’s bouncing curls and gorgeous dress came into view as she eventually reached Anne.

“Diana! Whatever are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at your house”

“We were going to, but I was so excited that I had to meet your partway,” she exclaimed, skipping around Anne. Looking around, she found a log that was in fairly good condition and beckoned Anne over. “So,” she said, sitting down, “How do you feel about your birthday?”

Anne laughed, of course this is what Diana was excited about, “Ah yes, the soulmate day, of course,” she replied sarcastically.

“Really Anne? I thought you would be more excited than this!”

“I am,” she reassured her friend, “It’s just, I’m struck by nerves, that’s all. I mean, what if the person I match with is an awful person? Or what if we can’t find each other after the three days?”

“You’ll be fine, millions of people have done it before, even my parents managed to do it, and they lived on different sides of the world!”

“I suppose. There’s just a lot of pressure, that’s all”

“Well, I think your lucky” Diana shrugged, stood up and began walking towards her house.

“Lucky?” Anne jumped up following her, “How on Earth am I lucky?”

“Well,” Diana paused to think, “Frankly, you already know who your soulmate is…”

“I do?”

Diana cleared her throat. “Does the name ‘Gilbert Blythe’ ring a bell,” she said slyly. Diana hadn’t seen Gilbert for many months, as he was on one of his adventures, but even with their lack of contact, Diana knew Gilbert’s true feelings. Even if Anne didn’t want to hear about it.

Anne’s face flushed a beetroot red and her eyes widened, “I’ll get you for that”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” Diana exclaimed, running away from Anne. They continued the chase all the way back to Diana’s house; giggling the entire time.

As the golden glow of the sun was gradually disappearing, Anne began to make her way back to Green Gables, reflecting on her time with Diana. She still got nerves at the thought of her coming birthday, but she tried her best to push those thoughts out of her mind. This was unsuccessful. Her mind was plagued with worries and fears for the rest of the night. Her overactive imagination was no help in calming her nerves. All she could think about was what could go wrong and what that would mean for her relationship with her soulmate. She went to bed that night, still conjuring stories and situations that chilled her to the bone.

A cool breeze flew through the open window and tickled Anne’s feet. She curled deeper into her blankets, wishing that today would not happen. It was the day before her birthday, meaning tonight, at midnight, she would no longer be in her body. There was even a  possibility that she wouldn’t be in Avonlea anymore. She began to spiral; what if she appeared somewhere… outside of Canada? She flushed those thoughts away. ‘No,’ she thought, ‘today, I will do my best to remain calm and have the best day ever before I need to leave’. With this though lingering in her head, she jumped out of bed, dressed herself and headed downstairs for breakfast.

“Good morning Anne,” Marilla’s calm tone rang out from the kitchen.

“Good morning Marilla, wonderful morning, is it not?”

“I suppose,” she replied halfheartedly, far to focused on preparing breakfast.

“I am beginning to feel the warmth of summer drifting away from us. Oh how I’m looking forward to winter!” Anne gleefully skipped through the dining room.

“Anne be careful, you might hurt yourself,” Marilla said, dodging out of Anne’s way, clutching a plate of warm toast and butter.

“Oh I’m sorry Marilla,” Anne came spinning to a halt, “Just the thought of winter snow makes me want to sing and dance!”

Marilla raised her eyebrows, “Are you sure it’s not something else that you’re excited for? Something a little sooner?” Anne stopped in her tracks and turned.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“Oh you know,” Marilla struggled to find the right words, “You’re 16th birthday”

“Oh that. Well, I am excited, but I don’t want to think about it… I will make myself too nervous”

“I see.” She didn’t see. Marilla didn’t see how this 16th birthday hogwash was such a big deal. Back in her day there was no hype or excitement about it. It was just a part of life, but, with Anne as her daughter, she should have expected this kind of behaviour.

“I think I will go and find Matthew, to see if he needs anything doing.”

“Alright Anne”

Marilla watched from the kitchen window as Anne skipped out to the barn.

“So….” Diana began, raising her eyebrows glancing towards Anne, “How’s Gilbert going?” She finished slyly. Anne’s eye’s widened and her cheeks flushed, clearly discovering the implications behind her question.

“To my knowledge, he is perfectly alright” She responded keeping her head forward.

Diana turned to Anne and looked at her indignantly, “Come on Anne! I’ve seen the way he looks at you!”

Anne continued to walk forward, trying her best not to fall for her trap, “I have no idea what you’re talking about Diana”

Diana followed Anne forward, walking backwards so she could still face her friend, “No Anne, you definitely know what I’m talking about!”

They continued arguing back and forth like this, Diana walking backwards desperately, Anne walking forwards indignantly. Diana was so set on proving their possible relationship, she didn’t notice the large log looming behind her which she then ungracefully fell over. With a cry, Diana landed on her back and let out a scream.

“Oh no, Diana!!” Anne leaped over the log and knelt down beside Diana grabbing her hand, “Are you okay!?”

Diana had tears streaming down her face, “Anne! My ankle, I hurt my ankle when I fell!”

“How is that possible? You fell over backwards?”, Anne’s eyes flicked to Diana’s ankle. It was then that she noticed that Diana’s foot had caught in a large crack in the log, as it was quite rotten.

“Oh goodness, what to do! Can you walk?” Anne grasped her arms and helped her to stand. Diana winced. “Maybe try taking a step?”

She tried and failed. Her knees buckled and she quickly sat down on the log to relieve herself of the pain. Anne softly grabbed her ankle and moved it around gently.

“Does this hurt?”

“Yes”, Diana winced. Anne had no idea what to do, the only thing that she had treated in the past was coughs and colds, not hurt ankles.

“Anne, I can’t walk on it, I can’t move it, I don’t know what to do, I think I need a doctor”

Anne paused to think again, “We’re too far away from Green Gables for me to get Matthew, and too far into the forest to go back to the school house”

“What about the Blythe Orchard? It’s only half a mile away!” Diana said through clenched teeth, still wincing at the pain shooting up and down her leg

“No way, I am not going to get Gilbert! Please don’t make me go!” She begged.

“Anne, he’s studying medicine, he’s the closest to a doctor that we’re going to get! Please, it hurts so much!”

“Okay Diana, but I’m only doing this because you’re my bosom friend and I love you, Okay?”

“Okay, hurry back!” Diana shooed Anne away, and Anne started running towards Gilbert’s house

Anne’s feet started to ache. She had been running for a while and she wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up. Luckily for her, the Blythe Orchard was just around the corner. The house was just ahead of her and she used up her leftover energy to sprint towards the door. She began frantically knocking and calling for him. Suddenly, the door opened, and there stood Mary who seemed surprised to see her.

“Anne! What are you-“

Anne interrupted her before she could finish, “Gilbert” she panted, “I need Gilbert”

“He’s in the barn, is something the matter?”

“Diana, my dearest friend, she fell, and you know, since he’s studying medicine and all….”

Mary nodded knowingly and trudged through the house to the back door to fetch him. Anne followed quietly, still getting her breath back from the run. She admired the house, she realised that she had never really had a chance to look at it fully from the inside, besides Mr Blythe’s funeral of course, but at that time, her mind was distracted she supposed. She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Gilbert approaching them.

“Anne! Hi! What brings you here?” Gilbert began with a soft smirk.

“No time to explain, we need to go!”, Gilbert could tell by the shake in her voice that something was worrying her, which immediately put him into ‘doctor mode’.

“Where do we need to go?” he asked seriously.

“Midway through the woods, let’s go!”

He thought for a moment, if this was really that urgent they would need to get there in a hurry, “I was just setting up the horse and cart to go to Carmody, let’s take that, it will be a lot faster!”

They both jogged towards the barn and Gilbert finished setting up the horse while Anne hopped in the cart, trying not to freak out too much. They headed out and Anne started giving directions to Gilbert.

“So, what has happened Anne?”

“Diana and I were walking, she tripped over a log and hurt her ankle”

“Alright, sounds like a sprain to me, but I’ll see when we get there”

The rest of the ride was done in silence, both of their minds preoccupied. Anne thinking about the state of her poor Diana, and Gilbert already thinking about how it should be treated.

Diana finally came into view and they stopped, got out, and ran over to where Diana was sitting.

“Diana, hi, I’ve heard from Anne that you have a hurt ankle?” Gilbert said, kneeling down beside her and inspecting her ankle.

“Yes, I tripped over the log and my ankle got caught and it really hurts”, at this point Anne had sat next to Diana and wrapped her arms around her in support. After moving the foot around a bit, much to the annoyance of Diana, Gilbert said, “Okay, I’m going to get you to stand up and try and walk around”

“We already tried that, it couldn’t support my weight”

“Oh, alright” He said, surprised that Anne would think of that “In that case, I will bandage it up and make a makeshift splint using a stick fust to support on the ride home.”

“Okay”

Gilbert then turned to Anne, “Anne could you find me a sturdy stick please?

“Of course”

Anne started shuffling around, looking for a good stick to use as a splint while Gilbert wrapped the ankle up with a bandage that he had brought with him. Anne ran back with a stick and Gilbert propped the ankle up with it.

“Now Anne, can you help me lift Diana onto the cart?”

On the count of three they lifted up Diana and slowly carried her to his cart and set her down gently. They then both got in and started off towards the Barry estate. Not much conversation went on during that ride either. They eventually reached Diana’s house and Anne explained everything to Mrs Barry while Gilbert gave medical instructions to Diana and Mr Barry. With a final goodbye, Anne and Gilbert left the Barry’s house and headed back towards the cart.

“Would you like a ride home Anne?” Gilbert asked hopefully.

“I suppose, my legs are still sore from running all the way to your house” replied Anne as she lifted herself onto the cart.

As they set off, Gilbert started up the conversation, “So, it was pretty good of you to be so on the ball, I mean, you got her to walk around and moved her ankle around, pretty impressive!”

“Oh really? That’s nothing!”

Gilbert was fully confused by this, “Have you had other medical experiences?”

“Funnily enough my most recent one was with Diana again, her younger sister had croup and Diana came over for help, I treated her and stopped her from choking up”

“Wow! Where exactly did you learn to treat croup? I heard that it is quite a bad cough!”

“I used to work for a lady with three sets of twins” Anne said quietly, “They all got sick often so I had to learn how to care for them”

Gilbert was surprised to hear this, he realised that he never really asked Anne about her past, he assumed she had been through something or other, being an orphan and all, but he can’t imagine her having to work for a family.

“Three twins? That must have been tough to deal with!”

“It was indeed, I’m glad that I left that family. Wicked group of people. Truly horrid”

At this point they had arrived at Green Gables and Marilla and Matthew were coming into view. Anne hopped out and ran over to them, no doubt explaining her tardiness. Gilbert got out and followed her towards the house to say goodbye and apologize to Marilla and Matthew.

“Why hello Gilbert! I hear that you and Anne have had quite the afternoon!” Marilla said kindly.

“We have indeed, you’ve got quite the doctor on your hands Mrs Cuthbert”

Marilla smiled at this. “Is that so?” Marilla said, proud that Anne was so well accomplished.

“For all we know she could become a doctor” Gilbert laughed, smiling warmly towards Anne.

Anne returned his smile and responded, “Thanks for all of your help today Gilbert, I can’t imagine how much pain Diana might be in, but I hope that with your help she’ll feel better”

“It was my pleasure”

“How was your weekend?”, Charlie interrupted his thoughts with the blandest question he had heard all weekend, and a bland question can only be responded by a bland answer… “It was good”

“Do anything interesting?” Charlie continued.

“Not really” Gilbert lied, “What about you?”

“Oh, well my family and I headed down to the markets and did a bit of grocery shopping. There’s this stall that sells the best bread….” Charlie was going on, and on. Gilbert supposed that this was a good thing as he really wasn’t in the talking mood.  

Before Charlie could ask Gilbert another question, Miss Stacey walked in and began their lessons for the day. Gilbert tried his hardest to focus on the work, he really did. He just found it so difficult to be interested in maths when there was a beautiful, red-headed girl just across the aisle from him, only metres away. His thoughts were yet again interrupted when Miss Stacey said his name.

“Pardon miss?” Gilbert drearily responded.

“I said, do you know how to calculate the volume of this sphere?” Oh no. He really hadn’t been paying attention.

“Uhhhh…. 32m3?

“Gilbert, the unit of the equation is in litres” Miss Stacey exclaimed exasperatedly, “Maybe try listening next time!”. He’ll just have to make it up by doing extra homework and blame his cluelessness on medical studies. The time for class to end finally came, and Gilbert began gathering his books and supplies. As he was about to leave the schoolhouse there was a soft tap on his shoulder. It was Anne.

“Hey…… Anne,” He was both confused and nervous. Why on earth would she want to talk to him? And how on earth would he tell her what he wanted to?

“Um, do you mind walking back with me? I need to ask you something…” Her cheeks had flushed a bright red, almost matching the colour of her hair.

“Sure…!” His throat was dry and he desperately tried to swallow. It seemed to be now or never.

They began walking in silence through the trees. Admiring the beauty of nature that surrounded them.

Breaking the silence, Gilbert asked, “So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Well, I just wanted to check that you were okay… You see, maths has always been your strong point and since you didn’t get the answer right in class, I was wondering whether you were okay, or whether you needed some help or something?” She looked genuinely worried. Gilbert thought it was sweet that Anne would notice his incorrect answer and check whether he was okay. Just one of the reasons he loved her. Gilbert suddenly stopped his train of thought and it occurred to him, ‘Loved’, he thought, ‘Yikes! Wasn’t expecting that from myself!’. He then realised that Anne was still awaiting his response.

“My mind was just preoccupied at the time, it was nothing…”, he lied.

“What were you thinking of, if you don’t mind me asking”

‘You’ Gilbert thought.

“Me?” Anne said in surprise.

Gilbert’s eyes widened and his hand swiftly rose to cover his mouth. “Wait a minute, did I say that out loud?”, he thought frantically. Gilbert was panicking at this stage, he supposed he just had to roll with it.

Gilbert hesitated. This was his chance. He let out a sigh then began what was about to be the most torturous monologue of his life.

“Well, you see…” ‘Come on Blythe’ Gilbert thought to himself desperately, “Ahh, I was remembering the Christmas Panto, and…” Gilbert fiddled with the inside of his coat, thinking of what else to say, “And was recalling your fantastic performance!”

“You’re lying aren’t you?” Anne said with a smirk pulling at the side of her mouth.

Gilbert sighed, “yeah…”

“So,” Anne quickly turned, in turn blocking his path. She then crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, “Do you mind telling me what you were REALLY thinking about?”

Snow began to fall again, surrounding them and getting caught in their hair. Gilbert admired how beautiful she looked with her rosy cheeks and illuminated breath. His shoulder slowly relaxed and he realised that he was staring, his eyes flicked away, but he couldn’t help glancing at her one more time before beginning his long, overdue explanation.

“Well, you see,” he began walking forwards, “When I came back, I was sitting with the other boys and the subject of a certain game came up, Spin the Bottle”

Anne’s cheeks flushed.

Gilbert continued, “Moody started filling me in on the events of the game, and one of the things he told me was that, when it came to your turn,” Gilbert paused, sighed, then carried on, “No one wanted to kiss you”

Anne’s cheeks flushed once again and her eyes opened wide.

“He then told me that Cole kissed you.”, Anne went to speak, but before she could interrupt he stopped her by saying, “Please, let me finish, if I don’t get this out now, there is no way I will ever say it.” She nodded, “For some reason when I imagined you and Cole”, he cleared his throat, “kissing… I felt, well at the time I didn’t know what I was feeling.”

A look of utter confusion flashed across Anne’s face.

“Anyway, I thought that I should get the actual information from Cole himself and we ended up talking for a while about… things… The point that I’m getting to is… the feeling that I felt was jealousy.”

Anne’s eyes practically bulged out of her head, and Gilbert swiftly stepped in front of her, placing the two 3 metres away from each other, the same move that Anne had pulled earlier. But this time, it was in an attempt to stop her from running away, “I was insanely jealous that you might have feelings for Cole, and I know now that you too don’t have feelings for each other, but even the thought of you two… kissing… simply makes my blood boil” Gilbert hadn’t realised how loud and fast his voice had become until he finally stopped. Anne seemed overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings. He took a deep breath.

“Jealousy, hey?” Smirking at his distress, the smirk turned into a look of confusion, “What exactly are you trying to get at, Gilbert?”

 “What I’m trying to say is…” Gilbert sighed before shaking his head in disbelief and continuing, “I like you Anne Shirley-Cuthbert. I’ve liked you since the day that we met. I just haven’t been able to realise it yet, and I’m totally fine if you don’t reciprocate my feelings. I completely understand. I just didn’t-“

Gilbert paused in exasperation, trying to find the right words. The snow became lighter now, and wisps of frost were dancing around them, catching on the tips of their hair and coats.

“You don’t need to continue”, Gilbert’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and a small smile rose on Anne’s face, “I know how you feel”

“Oh you do, do you?” Gilbert replied with a raised eyebrow and soft smirk, closing the space between them with a small step.

“I do indeed” Anne whispered in response before softly biting her lip and awkwardly staring down at her feet. Gilbert gently caressed her cheek and softly raised her chin until their eyes met. Gilbert gingerly lent down and lightly pressed his lips into hers. Sparks erupted and Gilbert better than he had ever felt before. His hands reaching around to cup the back of her head and run his fingers through her gorgeous hair. Their lips slowly separated and their foreheads connected as they regained their breath.

“So, I suppose this means that you like me back?” Gilbert whispered with a small chuckle.

“I suppose it does” Anne replied with a giggle.

Dear Cole, 

As much as I hate to admit it, you were right. Aunt Josephine especially, our time on this earth is short and we must do things before it’s too late. As you may have guessed by now, I told her. I told Anne that I liked her, and it turned out that she likes me too! I just wrote to tell you that your advice truly paid off, and now, because of you, Anne and I know how we feel towards each other. I’ve never felt better, and for this feeling, I thank you.

Ever since my father’s death, I haven’t felt whole, but now, I feel the same as I used to. Happy!

I hope to see you and Aunt Josephine again soon,

All the best, and thank you again,

Gilbert

Anne and Gilbert were lying underneath a tree in the Blythe orchard, Anne reading a book and Gilbert writing his letter to Cole. After finally finishing he folded it neatly and placed it inside an envelope. His movement distracted Anne from her reading.

“What’s that?” Anne said glancing at the letter in Gilbert’s hand.

“Nothing” Gilbert chuckled slowly, sitting up and sealing the envelope.

“We’ll see about that!” Anne giggled reaching up to grab the letter. Gilbert’s height played to his advantage, and Anne could hardly reach the hand holding the letter high above her. She tried jumping up to grab it but ended up toppling into Gilbert, knocking them both to the ground. The landed underneath a tree in a fit of laughter. After their laughter finally died down they realised how close they had become. Anne lay down facing upwards, her arm intertwined with Gilbert’s.

“Hey, Anne?” Gilbert said turning to face upwards

“Yeah?”

“I’m so glad you came to Avonlea”