wondrous • gilbert blythe

and his name was death

If you were to look at Adelaide King two years ago, she would have been a cheery little girl, with two parents who loved her dearly. She would have long, flowing blonde hair and a smile always etched onto her face.

Now, she was quiet and closed off. She only ever smiled when she was with Anne or Gilbert, and it was seldom.

She hated it.

Adelaide absolutely despises the person she has become, but what was there to do about it? She was a scared young girl who didn't have enough emotion to truly be her own person. She was scared of losing people she loved, she was scared of being a disappointment, and most importantly she was scared of losing herself.

The one thing Adelaide did not fear was death. She knew that it came and went like the tide, and it was inevitable. Death would always be there to strike. It was the only thing anyone could ever depend on.

Unfortunately, death had finally taken its newest resident of Avonlea: John Blythe. Death wasn't kind to this one, no, he had been dying for a while. It was stretched out for a very long time. But, maybe that was good, in a sense.

Adelaide wasn't shocked when she found out, she knew it would happen soon enough. She did shed a tear, but it wasn't for John. It was for Gilbert. John didn't need her tears, he was in a better place now. It was the boy left on this Earth without any family that needed her tears.

Adelaide smoothed out her dark dress. Her hair was pulled back from her face with a ribbon, trying to look presentable. She knew that Gilbert wouldn't want to talk to her today, but she felt that he deserved her to be there for him.

"Are you almost ready?" Alice yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Adelaide tied up her boots before running down to meet her mother.

"Yes, let's go." She replied curtly.

The duo meet up with the rest of town, who was dressed in similar, depressing clothes. They all walked slowly behind the horse-drawn wagon. Atop it sat a casket, and inside of that lay John Blythe. Adelaide could see Gilbert at the front, and even from that much of a distance, she could see how much pain he was in. He trudged along next to the blonde nurse, leading the group of people who were mourning his fathers death.

Adelaide kept up her pace, and sighed when the mass finally reached the burial place, which would be right past the Blythe home. A few other graves were planted there, so John's wouldn't be the only one. She kept her head down as the priest spoke his peace about the matter. She couldn't meet the eyes of anyone, not even Gilbert. Especially not Gilbert.

She couldn't let people see the truth that was held just behind her emerald eyes. In reality, she wasn't sorrowful for John. She was jealous.

Adelaide couldn't believe that she was thinking this, but she was jealous that John got to have a good life and die peacefully. Adelaide pondered on the thought of how easy it would be to die, how much pain that it could take away from her.

The morbid thoughts escaped her mind as she suddenly received a bear hug. Spotting the crazy red hair, she relaxed and hugged back.

"Hello, Anne." Adelaide said with a sad voice. Anne released the hug and looked into her blonde friends lifeless eyes.

"Oh, Adelaide, isn't it just terrible? How awful Gilbert must feel! Although, at least he got to spend this much time with his father. I never got to meet my parents, they passed when I was a baby." Adelaide put her arm over Anne's shoulders to shush her. Adelaide then laid her head onto the redheads shoulder and closed her eyes. She listened to the kind words of the priest, and almost cringed at how fake they were. He barely meant anything he was saying. He didn't know John Blythe the way he was talking like he did. Nobody really knows anyone other than them self.

After he was done speaking, everyone traveled to the house for the reception. Adelaide stuck behind to talk with Gilbert. Her heart broke even more as she could see his eyes had lost most of their twinkle. He sat on the bench, staring into nothingness. Adelaide sat down next to him, and waited in a few seconds of silence before speaking up.

"I should know better than anyone that pity is the last thing you need or want right now, so all I'm going to say is that I am here for you. I can listen- or, talk, or whatever you need. I just thought you should know that I'm right here." Adelaide stuttered out, not able to find the right words. He didn't meet her eyes.

"I think I just want to be alone right now, Adelaide." Gilbert fiddled with his scarf, and Adelaide had to do a double take towards him, but she sighed and nodded. This was a natural instinct of someone who was grieving, to push people away. She had done it before.

Taking one last look at the sad boy in front of her, she stepped through the deep snow towards the Blythe house. Townspeople chatted amongst themselves, probably forgetting what the sole purpose of being there was. After milling around for at least an hour, she had had enough of the constant pity, and it wasn't even for her.

Adelaide grabbed a cookie from the table and slumped onto a chair. Her eyes switched to Anne, who was looking out the window.

The redhead's shoulders were slumped down, and her breath began to fog up the cold glass. Adelaide took a bite of the cookie and cocked her head, wondering what Anne could be staring at. The pair met eyes, and Anne smiled softly before walking over to the older girl.

"Hello, again." Anne said solemnly.

"What were you looking at?" Adelaide questioned.

"Oh, I just noticed Gilbert walking away and a terrible sadness came over my heart. I don't know what to do about it. I don't think he likes me very much, so if I spoke with him, nothing good could come of it. Maybe you could cheer him up?" Anne said, barely taking a breath. Adelaide sighed before shaking her head.

"I don't think he wants to talk to me-" Adelaide started, but Anne had already set her mind to it. She put her scarf around Adelaide's neck and pushed her towards the front door.

"Go! Just go talk to him, you are the first person he will want to talk to." Anne said and gave a final smile before shoving the girl out the door and slamming it shut.

Adelaide sighed once again at how persistent Anne could be, but nonetheless followed the tracks that Gilbert had not long ago walked.