Anne with an E - A Winter Journey

3 - Snow drifts

Anne, Diana, Ruby and Gilbert leaned closer to the window to look outside. Diana was right. The train had stopped but it was hard to tell with the flurries of snow blowing horizontally past the window.

"What do you think has happened?" asked Ruby, her voice laced with concern.

"Snow drifts!" replied Anne and Gilbert in unison, their eyes meeting as they each waited for the other to continue. Diana hid a small smirk, acknowledging how similar they were.

"Please," said Gilbert, signalling for Anne to continue. She gulped as she tried to find her words but she could think of nothing but how beautiful Gilbert's hazel eyes were as they bore into hers, waiting for her to continue. Anne willed herself to remove her gaze but for some reason she could not tear her eyes from his. "Speak then!" she scolded herself but her mind was completely blank. "What are they even talking about?" 

Gilbert was confused. Anne was the most talkative girl he knew and suddenly she was lost for words. The silence was almost awkward as the group waited for her to continue.

The longer Anne stared back in silence, the smaller the train carriage felt. And when Gilbert narrowed his eyes in confusion, she felt the whole world around her fall away. It was as if he was pulling her into him and her heart fluttered. Suddenly she broke out of the trance, mortified by her own thoughts.

"Umm," Anne finally said, looking down at her hands shyly. She still couldn't remember what they were talking about. Diana rolled her eyes as she watched her best friend, noting how similar she looked to Ruby at that moment as her cheeks turned pink.

"So you think the snow is the problem?" Diana asked Gilbert, relieving Anne of the group's attention and allowing her complexion to recover.

"Yes," replied Gilbert, reluctantly removing his gaze from Anne. She looked so beautiful when she was embarrassed, her pink cheeks lighting up her face. It wasn't something he saw often as Anne was usually so confident. In school she knew the answer to almost every question and she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself – or her friends – when faced with adversity. The only time she ever looked self-conscious was when she had put her foot in it. Gilbert's thoughts briefly flickered to the day she apologised for calling him "lucky" at his father's funeral. He had been so enchanted by her wide-eyed sincerity that Anne could have done something much worse and Gilbert was certain he still would have forgiven her.

"Have you experienced this before? Do you think we'll be here long?" prompted Diana.

"No, I haven't experienced it before," Gilbert answered, his thoughts returning to their present situation, "but I do think this could take a while. Because the tracks are so exposed where the forest has been cut down to make way for the trains, snow fall tends to build up quickly and can become too dense for the train to move. My father said it happened a lot out in Alberta."

At that moment, the conductor entered the carriage and cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am afraid we have been forced to stop because of some deep snow up ahead. The snow is too deep for the train to get through and it looks like we may be here for some time, probably overnight".

Gasps echoed through the carriage as panicked whispers filled the air.

"There is no need to panic," assured the conductor, "we are not in any danger. Right now we are about half-way to Avonlea. Some passengers who were staying on to further destinations have chosen to walk back to the city to find accommodation for the night. Others have decided to wait on the train until morning. I will return with any further news if and when I have it."

Anne looked out of the train window and noticed some passengers clambering down from a carriage up ahead. "How wonderful", she thought, "what an adventure! " 

"Well, what do you think we should do?" she asked the others. Any previous bashfulness now forgotten as Anne was far too excited by the prospect of adventure to be distracted by something as silly as Gilbert Blythe's eyes! "Shall we stay on the train or venture outside?"

"Well if we stay on the train we will be safe," said Diana sensibly, "We will have shelter and will get news from the conductor."

"True," added Ruby, "but we don't know how long the train will be stuck. And what if the snow gets worse!?" Panic filled her eyes. "Mother and father insisted I came home today. That was why we could not stay over at Aunt Josephine's, remember?"

"What do you think, Anne?" Diana asked, although she already knew what her friend would say.

Anne's eyes lit up with excitement. "Wouldn't it be just splendid to go on an adventure? It looks so beautiful outside, like a winter wonderland! And the conductor said we're half way to Avonlea. It shouldn't take too long to walk. Certainly it will be faster than waiting for the snow to clear!"

"Well it looks like we have a decision," Gilbert said, smiling openly at Anne's enthusiasm. "Let's walk to Avonlea!"

Anne beamed with excitement as she grabbed her hat and bag. Gilbert led the way to the carriage door with the three girls behind him.