OCEANS | shirbert

III. The Letters

A/N - This chapter was totally inspired by the song Talking to the Moon by Bruno Mars, so play the song for a full experience.

I wanted to write a flashback chapter so, here it is <3

This is also my favourite I've written so far so enjoy and tell me what you think about it in the comments!!!

CHAPTER III

The Letters

in which two teenagers separated by an entire ocean exchange (definetely not love) letters

New York, a year ago.

"Writing again?" Bash asked, looking over a very concentrated Gilbert Blythe's shoulder. "Dearest Anne..." he read out loud. "Oh, I see" he grinned "is this for this red-haired, fiery-tempered Anne from Avonlea?"

"Yes" Gilbert simply answered as he put his hands over the paper, trying to cover it. "And before you say anything else, she's just a friend"

"I never said otherwise" Bash joked.

"Just anticipating some facts before you say it" Gilbert answered before getting up and moving away from Bash to have some privacy to write.

Dearest Anne,

I am currently writing to you as I am sitting in one of the many docks in New York. This city is so immese it scares me. I know that I still haven't got a reply from the last letter I wrote to you, but today I found myself amazed by the blueness of the water when I was taking a look at the horizon in the boat's deck this morning. One half of it, the sky, was light blue whilst the other, the ocean waves, was a darker colour. It reminded me of your eyes.

How's everything in Avonlea? Are you still top of the class? Please note that I only ask this as a sign of courtesy, since I am more than certain that you are. I feel that you get better every day, if that's even possible.

Are you reading something interesting these days? Please, do tell me about it if you feel like answering this letter. I just want to know if you and the Cuthberts are okay. Oh, by the way, I've visited many book shops here. They made me think of you too, you'd probably love the smell of those old piles of books. It felt like the kind of place you'd like.

I really hope to see you soon and tell you about all these things in person, even though I'm still going to be travelling across these oceans indefinately.

Take care of yourself,

Gilbert Blythe.

Anne had received another letter from Gilbert Blythe. This was probably God's punishment for not replying to the previous one. "It's not that I didn't want to reply. It's just that Ruby would not be glad if she heard that me an Gilbert Blythe are pen-pals" she had explained to her bosom friend Diana that morning at school. Diana just nodded in understanding with a knowing, soft smile. "Besides" Anne added, seeing that Diana had not said a word. "I have nothing interesting to tell him. He's out there living his best life and I'm here stuck with this routine... Oh! Don't get my wrong, I do love this routine of my life in such a splendid place like Avonlea, Diana!" The dark-haired girl giggled at Anne's passionate tone of voice, whilst resting her chin on her hand. "But I can't help but feel jealous of Gil- that boy living thrilling and frenetic adventures out there!"

"Maybe he just wants to genuinely know about you, Anne" Diana suggested. "Write to him and tell him about this prodigious routine of yours" she concluded, using a word that Anne had taught her, which caused a smile in Anne's face.

Dear Gilbert Blythe,

First of all, indefinetely is spelled with an e.

Of course I am still top of the class. It's not a difficult task since you're not around. There's no one to compete with, and you were a decent rival to challenge my intelligence. Apart from that, everything has remained the same in Avonlea. Right now, all of it is covered in the whitest snow I've ever seen.

It reminded me of a poem I read the other day from a book that Matthew bought for me in town. It's Shakespeare's Sonnet 97. Have you ever had the pleasure to read it? It's too long to fit this paper, but I'll write the first two verses below:

How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!

Isn't it absolutely romantic? His lover was the only thing that made winter an enjoyable season. I suppose this answers your question about my latest reads.

Please do make sure you read something if you ever happen to have free time during your travels. Do not make me correct you again in my next letter.

Come home some day,

Anne (with an E) Shirley-Cuthbert.

When Gilbert Blythe received a letter adressed to him and only him in Port of Spain, Trinidad, from a young lady called Miss Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, he could not wait to rip the envelope open. He had thought of her every single night in that boat. Sometimes he would sneak out to the boat's deck and gaze at the bright moon, reminding him of the girl's silky pale skin. The night he read Anne's letter was one of those nights, only difference was that he had gotten a letter from her and only for him, he was not alone. She was there, somehow.

"First of all, indefinetely is spelled with an e"

He let out a small chuckle, holding the letter in his callouse hands under the moonlight. "At least, spelling indefinetely incorrectly worked" The scene was accompanied by a dim light from a candle he had brought up to deck. Luckily, it was not a windy night.

It's funny, that Anne has mentioned that sonnet, he thought. He had read it in some bookshop in New York a few days before writing to her. He did know how the poem continued.

What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!

"Without you, I've felt very cold, and the days have seemed very dark" he whispered into the dark night's calm air.