Anne with an e- a new version of the story

Chapter 93 - By a whim of the gods

His brown eyes watched her intently, waiting for the answer to the proposal Gilbert had just made, and Anne found herself lost in the depths of his soul, as if deep inside that extraordinary man was the answer she should give him.

Gilbert was inviting her to go to New York with him, but what was that supposed to mean? That they should live together, breaking all the rules in the name of the love they shared? It seemed too bold an invitation for him, but for some reason the thought seduced her.

Why shouldn't she stay with him for good? What was stopping her from spending the rest of her life with Gilbert, leaving behind all the nastiness of a hypocritical society that didn't hesitate to point the finger at anyone who didn't live up to the perfect model of standard behavior?

What did it matter what others thought when in her heart she and Gilbert had already united and nothing could make her turn back? She didn't need a piece of paper, or oaths made in front of a pastor so that she and Gilbert could live in the same house and love each other freely. She had stopped thinking about what was right and wrong when she fell in love with Gilbert.

He had saved her from ending up like most of the girls in Avonlea, who from birth were conditioned to an arranged marriage, without the right to choose their future husband, and spent their childhood and adolescence preparing for it, losing their youth, intelligence and creativity among the baking and embroidery of their trousseau. 

Anne thanked heaven every day that she had been adopted by Matthew and Marilla, who had never imposed this burden on her, leaving her free to make her own choices without anyone's influence.
Marilla on the outside could be quite tough, and in Anne's early years in Green Gables she had demanded a certain discipline from Anne, teaching her everything a young girl should know about the Christian precepts under which the Avonlea community lived. 

But Anne had always had a mischievous spirit that led her down other paths, where a taste for adventure was the main ingredient of her life experiences, and this had never been pruned or limited by Matthew or Marilla.

And if it hadn't been for that, she wouldn't now be evaluating what Gilbert had told her as a passport to a kind of freedom she had never experienced before.
But would she have the courage to free herself from the last shackles that bound her to the world of etiquette and good manners? Would she dare to set her sights on a different destiny than the one she had so far pursued?

Would she dare to throw everything away and have the most exciting experience of her life with Gilbert? Would she dare to give her life into his hands once and for all and let the whole world witness their free love, with no strings attached, no borders and no rules dictating how and when she should lead her own life?

But how far would she be willing to go? She thought of Matthew and Marilla, and wondered if she would be able to put them in a position where they would have to defend her from the sharp tongues, the fingers pointed in her direction, judging the orphaned, freckled redhead as a libertine with no morals?

That thought seemed to weigh on her immediate response, and she waited a few more seconds before starting to speak. Anne tossed her hair to one side, tidying up a rebellious lock that the afternoon breeze never tired of disturbing, and without taking her eyes off Gilbert, she asked:

- Are you inviting me to live with you in New York? Gilbert continued to look at her enigmatically, his smile still shining on the attractive lips that Anne never tired of kissing, and he answered with another question, as if he wanted her to discover for herself the real meaning of his request:

- Don't you like the idea of coming to New York with me?

- Of course I like the idea of going to New York with you, but I want to know exactly what you have in mind. - Anne insisted. She needed to understand what he was thinking in order to give her a concrete answer, although she was confused about what to decide. If it were only for herself, Anne would accept without thinking.