Garden

A Walk Can Change Everything If You Let It

Anne and Gilbert, peacefully walking, side by side, were thinking about different things, both slightly daydreaming, but conscious in reality enough to enjoy each other's company; but when their hands brushed up against one another's, it was inevitable that their thoughts were now, inadvertently, intertwined.
Could you — would you — suppose to suggest that a friendship, like a caterpillar, could start off adequately simple and nice, but when it reaches appropriate age, grows into something far more beautiful in its little, quaint cocoon: love? Could it be that this would be even somewhat resemblant to what they were both feeling? Could it be romantic love? Possibly?
Anne, being a very precise and thoughtful young woman, thought this out. She'd always felt something special for him, but never went so far to identify it. This mysterious feeling flustered her and rendered confident, strong Anne unsure and her thoughts foggy.
Alright, sure, it was definitely probable that she had some romantic infliction towards Gilbert, but would she be willing to venture so far as to propose the chance that she actually loved him? That was a different story. It was barely even practicable! Let's be reasonable, she thought. She wasn't even sure he was even capable of seeing her as more than a friend. What if all this speculation and wondering and worrying was all for naught? What if, in the rare, unlikely event that she confesses her newly-found feelings to him, he would just snicker callously and carelessly at her? To be fair, Anne has always loved fairytale-like male, fictional characters, and as a enthusiast of her own sex, she would never even waste a morsel of her thoughts on a cruel man who would tease and taunt her just for being vulnerable and open about her feelings; yes, she was being unrealistic and dramatic. She chuckled a bit at herself, and when Gilbert looked over at her, she just dismissed the cause for her laugh as "thinking about this line that Elizabeth said from Pride & Prejudice."
She made up her mind, however, that she should tell Gilbert about how she was feeling. She would probably end up making no sense, she reasoned, but she satisfied herself by presenting the thought "if he's kindred enough, he'll understand me."
She was terrified to be susceptible, but he was comforting and he was, at this point, her favorite person. She needed to talk perplexing things out with "her person," so to speak. 'God made me courageous,' she told herself as a sort of consolation; an encouragement to tell herself that she can, in fact do this. 'I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.'
Anne cleared her throat and uttered, after a few minutes, "Gilbert," and stopped abruptly in her tracks, but, apparently Gilbert was on a similar train of thought as she was, for he simultaneously spoke, "Anne."
He turned to face her. They just arrived at Green Gables, making it completely, wholly around the neighborhood. Their eyes met and, for a second, it was like Anne forgot all her fears. A slight, pink blush stained her face as it was clear that the two got lost in each other's eyes, and a wave of emotions drowned them.
There was also anxiety on his face. He broke the powerful gaze that they had held for a few seconds, which seemed like a few years to them. It was as if he couldn't bare to meet her eyes anymore.
Staring at the ground, he said, "Anne... you're my best friend."
She felt her heart faintly tear when she heard that sentence. She was, to her very core, disappointed. At the same time, somehow, she was also touched. He was trying to be sweet, but was, ultimately, discouraging. "Is that... all you want to say? To me?"
Gilbert felt a small smile tug on his lips. "No," he said with a quiet little laugh. Not at her, but at the fact that their relationship had become so complicated and puzzling that if someone asked him what his place with her was, he couldn't answer that question. "I've recently been feeling that we should be... more," he began, furrowing his eyebrows, finally looking at her again, "than just friends."
Upon hearing these ambiguous words come out of his mouth, her heart delicately fluttered. But, to be absolutely clear, she asked, "Then what should we be... Gilbert?" as if she didn't know what he was insinuating.
A smirk appeared on his face. But just as quickly as it occurred, it vanished. He sighed as he looked back at Green Gables.
She could tell he was struggling. Even if they were destined to be platonic forever, she still cared about him. In every form love came in. She put her hand on his arm, drawing his attention, and reassured him, "Hey. Whatever it is, you can tell me."
He looked at her with love in his eyes. His heart pounded furiously and he scrunched his eyebrows. Taking another deep breath, he finally professed, "I think I love you."
He had been so shy for the entirety of the moment leading up to this one that when he boldly declared his love for her, Anne was even more taken aback by this statement than she would have been had he not been so forward while claiming this.
She was still unclear on what exactly her feelings were for him. She felt so pressured, it was insane. Caught up in the wind of the moment, Anne ran into his arms. Right now, more than a romantic partner, she needed a friend. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She wasn't sorrowful or mad, she was simply so emotional at present that a single tear streamed down her pale, freckled cheek. The beautiful thing about their relationship was the fact that they never had to fit into a box or guideline; they just were always there for each other. Anne lingered on that thought. Maybe she didn't want a perfect prince, bursting into action on a gorgeous white horse. Maybe what she needed was Gilbert. Gilbert, who had always been there for her; Gilbert, who she couldn't see her future without; Gilbert, who had always had an uncertain force drawing Anne to him; Gilbert, who had set her entire world spinning off its axis; Gilbert, who she loved.
All of a sudden, she pulled away from his grasp. She examined his face carefully and a sort of relaxation came about her. She saw him in a new light. He was finally, in her eyes, her perfect, ideal man. She was crazily smiling at him, and just as he was about to ask why, she kissed him.