Long Distance Love Letters

A Life-Altering Question

Kissing Gilbert, Anne decided, held some sort of powerful magic. Every time his lips met hers, every time his arms wrapped firmly around her, her legs would somehow turn to jelly and she would be unable to hold a thought in her head.

She was under this very spell as she stood in Gilbert's arms, her back resting against a tree, wrapped in a passionate kiss. They had finally found a moment to sneak away together and one thing led to another. They rarely became intimate like this, but considering Gilbert was going back to Toronto in a week, they were looking for any chance they could find to be alone together.

Gilbert finally pulled away and thoughts filled Anne's mind again.

She breathed out a laugh as she opened her eyes. "That is something I will miss when you go back."

He smiled. "Me, too." He took her hands in his. "Want to go for a quick walk before heading back?"

Anne nodded. The two began walking through the woods, their hands clasped together. Anne could barely enjoy their time with each other; she could only think about how much she would miss him.

A smile creeped on her face as they entered the opened field that led to her house. The sun was setting, casting her surroundings in a golden blanket. This was a sight she rarely got to see in Charlottetown.

"I think I want to live here forever," she thought out loud, the long strands of grass tickling her legs.

Gilbert looked over at her in surprise. "Really?" he said, more of a statement than a question.

She nodded, moving closer to him. "I want my children to be able to run around and play. I want them to grow up in a place with tons of scope for the imagination."

She looked over to see that Gilbert had taken on a very nervous expression.

"Gil?" she asked, growing concerned. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he assured. He stopped walking and turned to face her. "There's just something I've been meaning to do."

"Okay," she said softly, facing him as well. She was becoming quite nervous herself.

Gilbert took a deep breath and took both of her hands in his.

"Ever since I was young," he began. "I knew what I wanted in a partner. I would always tell my dad that I wanted her to be ambitious, and outspoken, and kind. The idea of being with someone who just wanted to be my wife and nothing else sounded boring to me. As I got older, I became more and more doubtful that I would ever find someone that would fit my ideal." He gave her hands a squeeze. "Then you came barreling into my life."

Anne laughed, her heart speeding up.

"I'm not quite sure of the exact moment that I fell in love with you. Maybe it was when you gave me the silent treatment the entire walk to school the day we met. Maybe it was when you smashed your slate over my head. Maybe it was when you were the first person to attempt to comfort me about my father. Whenever it was, I knew that somehow, I found the girl with every single quality that I desired."

Anne had to take a deep breath to keep herself from having a heart attack.

Gilbert breathed a laugh. "And, for some reason, you decided to love me, too. I am the luckiest guy in the world because of that, Anne." He took a pause. "Anne, you are everything to me. You are my best friend, my partner, and the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with. Because of you, I learned how deeply I can truly love."

Anne let the tears come as Gilbert sank to one knee.

"Anne Shirley-Cuthbert," he started, pulling out a beautiful ring which she immediately recognized to be his mother's. "I promise to love you every single moment for the rest of my life. Will you do me the absolute honor of marrying me?"

Anne took a moment to respond due to her sobs taking her breath away.

Finally, she got out, "Yes, of course." A beaming smile took over her face.

Gilbert let out the most gleeful laugh she had ever heard and slipped the ring on her finger before standing up and wrapping his arms firmly around her and locked his lips on her, seeming like he was completely set on never letting her go.

And you'll never have to, Anne thought, happiness submerging every single inch of her body, mind, and soul.