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A tiny, pure white snowflake fell from the glorious winter sky of Charlottetown, dancing for a little between the spirals of wind, before falling right on Anne’s nose and melting at the warmth of her skin. Anne smiled, her hands opening wide with her palms turned towards the clouds, as if she were waiting for a miracle to fall along with the gentle snow.

She adored winter. Everything about it was just so comforting, and despite the painful loss of those gorgeous orange and yellow leaves which adorned each tree’s foliage during fall, she still found pure joy when she saw streets covered in white, looking like the most lovely cotton candy land. Anne remembered a time in which Christmas was nothing but another miserable day of humiliation and complaints of crying twins, as she rushed between bottles of burnt milk and the loud words of Mrs Hammonds. Back then, she couldn’t find any sort of solace in those December days, which she now adored so much. To her, Christmas time meant family time, and family time meant happiness. Sometimes she found herself thinking of how amazing would have it been, to celebrate such a special time with Bertha and Walter Shirley, and maybe with her grandparents too! She imagined them circling her in continuous hugs, and sharing gifts and childhood memories.

However, she wouldn’t have exchanged what she had now, not even for the brightest diamond. She had missed Matthew and Marilla while she was at Queen’s more than she could ever explain; of course, she had travelled to Green Gables at least three times each month, unable to be far from them for more. Nonetheless, though, sometimes she missed her comfortable room, very much hers, in which she had been accepted, raised and loved after years of loneliness. And she missed Marilla’s plum puffs, Matthew’s hugs, and having dinner with them or spending time by the fireplace before going to sleep, cuddled by the sweet lullaby of her beloved Snow Queen.

However, she had never been one to disdain changes and newness, and honestly she loved the experiences she was living. Sharing her room with her bosom friend was the most exquisite gift she had: Anne and Diana spent entire nights chitchatting about everything and anything, including more sensible topics which had been the cause of their first – and last – bad fight. Moreover, she had had the chance to make the aquaintance of new girls, who were studying at Queen’s too; more specifically, she had created a very special bond with a lovely girl, Caroline, whose sweet personality and fascinating soul had immediately caught Anne’s attention on her very first day of class. Moreover, her hair were of a beautiful shade of red, slightly lighter than Anne’s, but as soon as she saw it, she couldn’t believe she wasn’t alone in that. Needless to say they quickly became friends, and they were more than happy to spend time together, despite Caroline’s poor ability to stand Josie Pye – Anne tried her best to convince her of the fact that it takes a while, but eventually she could learn how to stop the urge of yelling at the blonde girl.

Their friendship was healthy and genuine, and that’s what led Anne to ask Josephine Barry to invite Caroline too to her Christmas party.

It was the first time Miss Barry had decided to host a Christmas Eve dinner on the 24th of December, and when Anne received her invitation, she immediately knew that the source of that splendid idea was Cole. He had been living with Aunt Jo for months and Anne could swear she had never seen him behaving more freely and spontaneously as he did now. The invitation had been extended only to the closest bunch of people – everyone believed Christmas was made to be enjoyed in a kind of intimate way – but Anne was sure Aunt Jo wouldn’t have refused a bright and polite presence such that of Caroline and her parents. The invitation, of course, had also been extended to a certain boy Anne had kind of very much grown attached to.

Gilbert had been studying in Toronto for a while now, and Anne was always so eager to know about his studies, his friends and professors. He seemed so fascinated by Medicine, just as much as he had always been with the desire of healing people and making the world a better place, and out of all the people she knew, Anne was more than sure he was made exactly to be a doctor. She had admired him, when she had visited him in Toronto a couple months before, as he studied on those thick colourless volumes: he not only had an impressive memory, but he had curiosity, passion, desire to know more. She found him wonderful, and she couldn’t help smiling with a hint of sadness as she thought about the last time they had seen each other. It happened on the last day of summer, right before he had to go back to Toronto for the beginning of the classes. They had the chance to spend a whole month together, and what an exciting month had it been: he had taken her to Toronto, to visit the most lovely spots he had found, and then they had gone back to Avonlea together, spending entire days on flowers fields, reading out loud each other’s favourite books, and playing with baby Delphine, who was growing more and more each day. They had spent days at the seaside, laying on the golden sand on a picnic tablecloth and sharing those precious, heartwarming and teasing kisses which had become their favourite way of communicating.

As she stood under the snowflakes, Anne blushed, thinking about how strongly she longed for his touch and how every moment spent with him made her feel so whole, yet always in a desperate need for more. They hadn’t seen each other for three months now, with him being too busy with his exams and her going insane trying to understand philosophy – a subject which she adored, but was a little too imaginative even for her taste.

“Anne! It’s here!”

Diana’s voice came delicate and excited from the front door of their boarding house. It was the 19th of December and the classes had just finished; the winter session of exams would have started in January, but Anne couldn’t stand being on books all day long when such a heartwarming – and cold – atmosphere was painting the city in white and light blue shades.

“Anne! You’re going to catch a cold, come here!” Diana exclaimed again, wrapped up in her blue coat. Anne reached her best friend, smiling widely as she noticed the envelope Diana held in her hands.

“Is it him?”

Diana grinned teasingly. “Of course it’s him, Anne. Who else could add the drawing of a rose on the envelope of a letter if not him?”

Anne rolled her eyes jokingly, but her heart was fluttering and pounding into her chest.

“It’s not always a rose. Sometimes he also draws-”

“Sunflowers, peonies, magnolias, or anything related to flowers. You must have told him so much about that book Marilla and Matthew gave to you that he now knows how to aim at your heart” Diana replied, walking inside the main hall and shivering a little from the change of temperature.

“He already knew how to aim at my heart before” Anne whispered, not loud enough for Diana to hear though.

“Caroline and the girls are still getting dressed, then we can head for dinner. I’ll wait for you here as you read the letter, alright?” Diana said sweetly, smiling at her friend, who nodded cheerfully and walked upstairs into their room. As soon as the door was closed behind her, she sat on her bed and opened the envelope, revealing the elegant, yet so comforting, calligraphy she had grown accostumed to. After all, not even exams could prevent them from writing to each other, like they did each week.

Toronto, December 15th 1899

Dear Anne,

I am sure your room must be all decorated for Christmas by now, but I’m even more positive it has been for the whole past month. You always had a thing for Christmas, am I right? It suits you. You look lovely between the white shades of winter time – as you do in every season.

I’ve been missing you terribly. It’s the longest we’ve been apart this year and the desire of seeing you again sometimes makes me get a bit too distracted during classes. However, I may have bad news for us.

Our academic program has been extended to one more exam for this winter session, which began two days ago actually. So I’ve been studying for three whole exams, and I’ve given just one so far – I’m giving the second one tomorrow. I’ll have to study for the remaining one in the next days, so I’m most certainly not going to be able to celebrate Christmas with you at Josephine Barry’s. I know what you’re thinking now, that you could come here in Toronto, but I have no intention of asking you anything similar. Not because I don’t want you here – because trust me, that’s what I want the most – but because I know just how much you’ve missed Matthew and Marilla, along with Cole and everyone else. I’ll try and catch a train in January if I manage to pass all the exams within the end of December, but I know the time spent together won’t be that much for now.

It hurts my heart, and I know it hurts yours too. I miss being with you, hearing your voice as your read, spending time with you and Delly and watching how amazing you would be as a teacher. However, even if we won’t spend Christmas together, I want you to have fun and spend time with our family. I’ll be with my coursemates, so I won’t be alone and I don’t want you to worry.

I’ll see you soon, my love.

Always yours,

Gilbert

P.S.: the rose drawn on the envelope means beauty, and it’s just as red as your hair. There’s also a tiny twig of rosmary. It means “your presence brings me back to life”. I love you.

When Anne finished reading, she couldn’t quite grasp which feeling was dominant inside her. Was it disappointment or was it sadness? Was it nostalgia or was it a hint of jealousy? Not that she thought Gilbert was lying, of course; she knew just how reliable and loyal he had always been, yet pain leads you to certain thoughts which are as bitter and stingy as venom. Truth be told, she knew which feeling was dominant. It was love, the purest and most instense form it could have.

She knew how hardworking Gilbert had always been, and she was the proudest she could ever be for his determination and willing to succeed. Yet, she also knew how he could drive himself to spend all his time studying, without enjoying the beauty of such a splendid time of the year.

And she missed him too much.

As she read, she had the idea of going to Toronto and visiting him, but she knew he was right. She couldn’t leave her whole family during Christmas, plus Gilbert would have been busy and he probably wouldn’t have been able to spend time with her that much. However, she couldn’t help feeling tears in her eyes as her vision got slightly blurry, but those tears never fell.

A knock at the door woke her up from her limbo.

“Anne, are you there? Mrs Blackmore is calling us for dinner” Caroline’s voice said from outside the door, and Anne immediately got up and straightened her skirt, clearing her voice before answering.

“Yes, I’m coming!” she exclaimed, looking at herself in the mirror to check if she looked as desperate as she felt. When she opened the door, Caroline’s sweet smile welcomed Anne’s hesitant steps. However, as soon as Caroline saw her friend’s face, she furrowed her brows and her smile dropped.

“What happened?”

Anne shook her head, shrugging her shoulders.

“Gilbert won’t make it for Christmas. He’s busy with exams, so…well, shall we head for dinner?”

Caroline looked at her with her usual empathy, which Anne appreciated so much, and circled her with her arms.

“I’m sorry about it. I know how much you’ve been wanting to see him. I’m sure he’ll come as soon as he can, and I’ll make sure his absence won’t ruin your Christmas spirit” she said, smiling at Anne, who held her friend’s hand as a sign of immense gratitude. Together, they reached the other girls in the dinner hall, Anne swallowing her sadness and making sure to write back to Gilbert as soon as she could, to let him know that – even apart – she was thinking of him each day and night.

And on the other side, in Toronto, a couple days later Gilbert sat at his desk, his eyes heavy and his jaw clenched. His heart, of course, ached like it got stung by bees when he received her letter on the 21st. He could read the weight of her words, like grey clouds full of rain, and he could perceive her need to see him, just as strong and persistent as his was. He read the last sentence of that letter at least ten times.

I hope you remember that my heart is yours.

He had never felt such a wholeness in his entire existence, and he firmly believed that that fiery, sweet, passionate and caring human being in the incandescent and delicate form of Anne Shirley-Cuthbert was an angel which he wanted by his side for years to come.

So he folded her letter, opened the books for his last exam, and started studying again, a plan very clear and precise shaping his mind in that very moment.

Christmas Eve came before anyone could notice.

The streets were filled up with laughters and kids playing and being yelled at by their elegantly dressed mothers, all caught up in the preparation of each meal and decoration for everyone’s favorite time of the year. Charlottetown was a bubble of frenzy, with jingles in each street and snow covering the branches of the trees like a blanket of fresh cotton. Every corner of the town was surrounded by the smell of roasted vegetables, cakes and cinnamon, and even the sun had dressed up properly for the day, with lovely pale rays of sunshine making their way through the pearl white mass of thick clouds.

Anne almost stumbled more or less five times before managing to find a balance with all the bags she carried with her. She would have stayed at Aunt Jo’s for a week, and even though she had never been one to carry much stuff with her – she only had a very precisely selected bunch of essentials – she still had to carry books, gifts and the dress she would have worn that night. It had been a gift from Diana during a shopping day, and in spite of Anne’s insistence in telling her that no, I don’t need this and it’s way too much for me. I could never in my whole life let you get this for me, forget it, the dark-haired beauty smiled and took Anne’s hands into hers, saying clearly and sweetly that she needed to gently shut up and let her buy a gift for her best friend. It was a deep blue velvet dress, with tiny white blossoms and floral themes on the bustier. When she tried it on the first time, Diana grinned.

“Gilbert is going to actually cry” she said, and even though Anne rolled her eyes, she still kept the little, innocent hope of him seeing her in that dress. She had never believed she was particularly beautiful; there was a time in which she could hardly look at herself in the mirror without hating her hair, or her freckles, or her big eyes and large forehead – not her nose though, she always considered it to be quite a cute one. However, as she grew up she realised that she was beginning to appreciate not just her inner strength and the love she carried in her heart, but her traits too. They were like her parents’, it was the only thing she had of them – apart from the book. And when she looked at herself in Gilbert’s eyes, she felt beautiful too. She understood that the reflection of love is what makes one gorgeous, inside as much as outside, no matter which flaws are there. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it? Plus, what’s a life without flaws, if not a perpetual boredom?

“Girls, I can’t feel my arms anymore” Anne cried, as they reached the front door of Josephine Barry’s spectacular mansion.

“Neither can I, but you can put them down now. We were lucky we got to come here by carriage, or else we would both have broken arms by now” Caroline replied, as Diana knocked at the door. When Rollings opened it, revealing his usual seraphic expression and his elegant figure, Anne couldn’t help but smile widely.

“Rollings! I missed you!” she exclaimed, dropping her bags and stepping ahead to hug him. Rollings tried to keep a serious face, but not even the most diligent person in the world could avoid feeling his heart melting in front of that bright spark which was Anne Shirley-Cuthbert.

“I see the queens finally managed to reach their destination” a voice came from inside the house, and Anne’s squeak immediately made Rollings regret his tenderness.

“Cole!”

The two of them shared the most sincere and heartwarming hug, even though they had been able to see each other practically each week since Anne had started attending Queen’s. Diana joined them very soon, but as soon as they felt a presence missing in that scenario, they turned towards Caroline, who was standing awkwardly and so respectfully behind them.

“Oh, right! How is it that you guys never managed to meet?” Anne asked more to herself, before taking Caroline’s hand and turning to Cole once again.

“Cole, this is Caroline, one of my closest friends at Queen’s and at the boarding house” she said, before continuing, “and my dear Caroline, this is Cole, my best friend from Avonlea. You guys will get along so well, I can feel it.”

Cole smiled politely, shaking his hand with Caroline’s.

“Oh, I already know” he said, and the girl replied with a warm and soft chuckle.

Aunt Jo came right after, welcoming them all with open arms and real happiness flowing from her heart. She lead them to the main hall, where decorations were still being put up and where a sweet smell of sweets surrounded them. Anne could feel her heart bursting with joy at the perspective of spending such a special night with her loved ones. Almost all of them, at least.

When Cole led Diana and Caroline upstairs, Anne stayed with Aunt Jo for a moment, with the intention of telling her about Gilbert’s impossibilty to join them to celebrate.

“Aunt Jo, I didn’t mean to let you know this late, but my-er, Gilbert can’t make it tonight. He has exams and-”

“Oh, my dear, I do already know everything. That young man is way too polite not to tell when he can’t come. He sent me a letter a bunch of days ago, it almost made me cry how sad he seemed from his words. He truly wanted to be here” Miss Barry said, taking Anne’s hand into her and smiling sadly, hoping to comfort her with that gesture.

Anne smiled back, fighting back the urge to scream how much she had wanted him to be there too.

“He’ll come soon, it’s okay. Besides, I can still have fun tonight, right?”

“Of course you can, sweet one. Now go freshen up a little, it’s almost 2pm. We can take some tea before getting ready for tonight. The guests should start arriving from 7pm, so we have quite a lot of time” the older woman said, watching the young woman as she walked upstairs, sensing the hint of sadness even in her steps.

After all, no one could understand true love and the pain linked to it better than Josephine Barry, right?

The sky quickly got darker, but the usual melancholy connected to that moment of the day, when light kissed darkness goodbye before leaving her place, was absent. Electric lights lit up each street, and Josephine Barry’s household was a proliferation of scents, colours and warmth. The main hall had a long table in the middle, with a seat for each guest and their names on golden paper – carefully written by Cole, of course. There was a huge green spurce in the corner, dressed with bright red and silver decorations, and a whole immensity of other ornaments were displayed inside and outside the house, from garlands to mistletoe, up to poinsettias – known as “Christmas flowers” – near the front door. Everything was just exquisite and heartwarming, as Christmas was supposed to be.

“Diana, you look absolutely insane” Caroline said, fixing her friends long dark hair as they stood in front of the mirror. Diana was wearing a long, baby blue dress with some tulle on it. She looked like the Queen of snow storms, as Anne had precisely said.

“Says you!” Diana replied, making Caroline blush a little. Her dress was forest green, with light blue spirals sewed in the lower part of the precious and stratified silk skirt. “Anne, are you still there? Do you need any help?”

Anne was still in the bathroom, stuck in front of the mirror, checking if she looked decent or not. As soon as she heard her friends calling her name, she stepped out and searched for their eyes.

“So…How does it look?”

“You look like a celtic goddess, Anne, oh my” Caroline said, getting closer to her friend and brushing her hands on the fabric of the dress, as to check if it was real. “Gilbert would-”

As soon as she said those words, she immediately bit her tongue. She truly didn’t mean to bring up any shaky topic, but she was always sincere to her friends, and she couldn’t help thinking that Gilbert would have lost it if he had seen Anne that night.

“Sorry” Caroline murmured, but Anne did not have a trace of sadness in her eyes. She just pulled out her sweetest closed-lip smile, and hugged her friend. Her heart was always glad to have people like Caroline in her life, especially when things got a little harder.

“No worries. You look splendid too. And look at you, Di!” Anne exclaimed, bringing her bosom friend right into the hug. Family was everything to her, even when parts of it were missing. She missed Gilbert wholeheartedly, but she knew she had her – their – family with her, and that was more than enough.

Cole entered the room in that very moment, and after a second of confusion for the scene displayed in front of him, he complimented the three girls and joined the hug too, lightening the atmosphere just as it started snowing out of the window. As soon as they heard the first guests stepping into the mansion, along with a cheerful music being played in the hall downstairs, they knew it was time to go. However, while Diana and Caroline started greeting the guests, Cole kept Anne into the bedroom for a minute more.

“Hey princess, hold on a moment” he said, walking right behind Anne and moving her hair aside, before putting a cold, thin necklace around her neck and making sure it was properly visible. “You were forgetting this.”

Anne smiled, taking the tiny charm of the necklace between her thumb and index finger. It was her name, written in a lovely and elegant cursive, made of silver. It had been Gilbert’s gift for Anne’s sixteenth birthday, when they still weren’t together. She had found it on the kitchen table of Green Gables after she came back from Diana’s house on her birthday, and it had a little note along with it.

Dear Anne,

Happy birthday! I’m sorry I cannot be in Avonlea today, I have some errands to run for Mary, Delphine and Bash. However, I hope you enjoy your day and this gift. It will look lovely on you.

Gilbert

“I wasn’t forgetting it. How could I? I was just waiting to put it on” Anne said, remembering that wondeful day where everything had seemed so perfect. She remember wearing the necklace for the first time and feeling a weird, warm feeling in her stomach and chest, something similar to wholeness, perhaps. And she remembered trying to push away the remote hope of Gilbert seeing her with that necklace on. If she could go back in time now, she would yell at newly sixteen-year-old Anne to accept the fact that she was undeniably falling for Gilbert Blythe, instead of pushing her feelings away for months. It would have avoided a lot of misunderstanding, wouldn’t it?

“C’mon, this night is going to be better than you think” Cole said, grinning happily and making Anne chuckle as he led her downstairs.

The guests were way more than Anne had imagined. Good thing, they were mainly people she knew; however, she got the chance to meet some of the people who had been at Aunt Jo’s party years before, and she was so glad to see them again. They had been a special and bright presence in her life, and they changed her way of seeing the world in just a day.

Her heart, though, started bursting with joy as soon as Marilla and Matthew came into view. Anne couldn’t hold back the little squeak which came out of her mouth as she ran towards them and circled them both with her arms.

“Finally! I’m so happy to see you again” she exclaimed, and the two siblings were just as excited as she was. In the past months, Anne’s absence inside Green Gables had been a huge emptiness, impossibly hard to fill, and sometimes Matthew found himself wondering if his beloved daughter was alright, if she needed anything, even though he knew better than anyone else that she was the bravest person he knew and that she would have always handled life with grace and determination.

Moreover, Jerry had been a good presence to have around, both for Marilla and Matthew. And Anne was more than happy to say that she trusted him to take care of her adoptive, dearest parents.

Some minutes later, light and childish giggles filled Anne’s heart with amaze. Delphine Lacroix was the most lovely little angel she had ever seen, and she couldn’t believe how much she had grown up in just a couple of months. She couldn’t talk well yet, if not by saying some nonsense words now and then, but her sweet chuckles were recognizable everywhere. Gilbert and Anne had spent so much time with her in the previous summer, and it still amazed her how Delly’s eyes looked so much like Mary’s warm ones, just like her curls. However, Gilbert had many times said that her random bursts of energy and laughters were definitely taken from Bash.

Speaking of whom, Sebastian was there, holding his daughter into his arms.

“Bash!” Anne exclaimed, her heart filling up a bit more each second that passed.

“Look who’s there, Delly, auntie Anne!” Bash said, before turning to the redhead and smiling widely. “I can’t believe how grown up you look, Anne. You are lovely, if that mock were here we would find his jaw on the other side of the hall for how shocked he would get” he teased laughing, and Anne was so grateful for how easily he could light up a whole night with his humour and usual kindness. The two of the shared a brief hug, and the following thirty minutes were spent welcoming new guests and chatting with those who were already there. It was such a wonderful evening, and it was hard to stop smiling even just for a moment.

From the moment they sat at the dining table and started eating, surrounded by the most fulfilling smells and the most sparkling energy, Anne’s minutes turned into hours. There was not a moment in which she felt lonely, or sad, or unloved. However, she kept a part of her heart safe and untouchable, the one she knew belonged to the only person who wasn’t there that night. Sometimes she found herself thinking of what he was doing, of how would it be if he were there with her, but she was immediately brought back to Earth by Cole’s cheers or Delly’s giggles. It was heartwarming, to say the least, and she wouldn’t have changed the people she had around for anything in the whole universe. She felt as if the sweet scents of sugary butter and spices was warming everyone’s hearts and filling them with the most pleasing feeling.

When it was time for the dessert, it was already almost midnight. Aunt Jo declared a break before finishing that eternal, but oh so amazing meal, each guest’s stomach filled with deliciousness and joy. They all got up from the table, still chatting about everything and anything, admiring the beautiful decorations and beginning to exchange some of the gifts which, until that moment, had been a burst of sparkles and colours under the majestic Christmas tree. Anne had grown to think that she liked making gifts more than receiving them: seeing people’s bright eyes as they opened the presents she had so carefully chosen for each of them sometimes getting emotional as they read the cards she wrote for them, was an unspeakable experience of satisfaction, like a balm for her heart and eyes. She couldn’t deny, though, that thrilling feeling she got when someone approached her with something made specifically for her, even the smallest thing. That night, Anne received a new, wonderful fountain pen from Diana, with her initials carved on it; Caroline gave her a lovely hair clip, with small and shiny pearls on it. Matthew and Marilla got her a decent amount of money – just to be sure she could always go back to Green Gables whenever she wanted, of course – along with a new journal, which had a spectacular blue and silver cover, and an A on it.

“So you can make this journal a written version of your multicolored mind” Matthew had said, making Anne’s heart melt.

She also received a whole new handwritten copy of Jane Eyre – with all the pages, finally – from Aunt Jo, and a portrait of herself from Cole. Finally, she was gifted with a photograph inside a mahogany frame by Bash. It depicted Anne, Gilbert and Delphine celebrating the baby’s first birthday.

“I had the help of Miss Stacey with this, if she hadn’t had her camera that day it wouldn’t have been possible to give you this” Bash said, smiling at Anne, who hugged him so tightly. She could have watched that photograph all day long, and if it had been a painting, she would have named it Bliss.

Still in the middle of the gifts exchange, poor Delly started getting bored – too people were hard to handle for someone as hardworking as she was, duh – and began emitting sounds of complaint and boredom. So, Anne offered to take the child for a stroll in the other parts of the house, were there were less sounds and less confusion. Bash, after thanking the girl at least a thousand times for making him breathe for a moment, let Anne take Delly into her arms. Surely enough, Anne didn’t see him winking at Cole and Aunt Jo as he watched her walking out of the hall.

Anne soon reached the threshold of the mansion, were her ears could find a bit of peace too and a warm amber light illuminated the rooms.

“Sometimes it gets too loud, doesn’t it Delly?” she asked, more to herself actually, and started pacing back and forth to calm the baby down, showing her the pictures hanging on the walls of the other rooms. “See, this was one of Diana’s ancestors, Lady Charlotte Barry. Di told me she was a very strict woman, I think she was Aunt Jo’s grandmother. See how serious she looks here? It’s kind of creepy actually” Anne said, and she certainly didn’t miss Delly’s little smile. She kept talking to her about the most random things, mainly trying to make her fall asleep, seeing how exhausted she looked. Even though the baby was still awake, she leaned her little head on Anne’s shoulder, making the girl almost get emotional at the tenderness of that innocent, and probably involuntary, gesture.

As she walked, her voice soothing and calming for the kid, she ignored the knock at the main door, knowing that Rollings had the situation under control, as always. Aunt Jo had mentioned the fact that one of her friends would have gotten there later, because of a long trip, so she didn’t worry about it.

She soon reached another huge room, which kept portraits of four generations of members of the Barry’s family, and Anne smiled as she spotted Diana’s and Minnie May’s one; sometimes she still wondered how they could be sisters, when they were so different from each other. They had a huge trait in common, though, which was the ability not to let anyone make a fool of them.

“Would you want a portrait too, Delly? As large as Minnie May’s one, with flowers all around your head, yes?” Anne said, tickling the baby’s belly and making her chuckle and move uncoordinatedly, her curls bouncing up and down.

“Having fun without me nonetheless, I see” a voice said jokingly behind her, next to the doorframe. A voice she knew better than anyone else. A warm one, which felt like a soft blanket on her heart when she was in pain; a smart one, which could lead a whole speech without making the tiniest mistake; a soothing one, which cuddled her senses before falling asleep. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in more than a hundred days, and just six words in that moment filled her whole heart in a matter of milliseconds, making up for all the time spent apart. When Anne turned, her eyes got lost and stuck in the love of her life.

Gilbert Blythe stood there, dark curly hair covered in melted snowflakes and his cheeks looking flushed from the cold winter air. He had his usual smile on his face, the one he displays when he’s genuinely happy, and even though he looked tired, his eyes were so full of love at the sight in front of him: the two sweetest miracles of his life together illuminated his whole world, making the great majesty and splendor of that room look insignificant.

“Gilbert Blythe you are the most insane person I know” Anne murmured, feeling that little part of her heart which she had kept so guarded finally filling up. Before any of them could make a move, Aunt Jo and Sebastian appeared right behind Gilbert, a sincere beam on their faces.

“Ah I see you finally met my special guest of the night, now haven’t you Anne?” Josephine Barry said, welcoming Gilbert, well aware of Anne’s great shock.

“Here goes the moke, finally” Bash joked, bringing his friend into a hug and patting his back. “I guess Delly played Cupid this time” he said, getting closer to Anne and taking the baby into his arms, thanking the girl again for her kindness.

Anne felt utterly confused, still trying to understand if that sip of red wine she had tasted earlier had messed up her mind or if the sight in front of her was real.

“So you all knew about this?” she asked, not a trace of anger in her voice though. How could her heart feel anger when the only thing she felt was pure joy?

“Only Cole, Sebastian and I. Of course I didn’t tell Diana, she would have ruined the surprise as soon as she’d have seen your sad eyes this morning” Aunt Jo stated, making Anne blush a little as she felt Gilbert’s sweet glance on her. “Well, I guess it’s time for the dessert, isn’t it Sebastian?”

“Oh, it sure is. We’ll make sure to save some for you, lovebirds” Bash teased, before taking his leave with Miss Barry and going back to the dining alone, leaving Anne and Gilbert alone under the enquiring eyes of those painted ancestors.

It didn’t matter at all, though. The world could have imploded in that very moment, but Gilbert Blythe would have still kept his eyes on the angel in front of him. He had always found her beautiful, from the first moment he saw her, looking so defenseless – he soon found out she was everything but defenseless – and tiny in the forest that far gone day, with her beautiful freckles like stars and that red, red hair he adored so much. She had a beauty made of simplicity, of uniqueness and something extraordinary which made his heart skip a beat or two each time he looked at her. This time, though, she looked ethereal, like a muse, or a lake nymph, or a dryad. Gilbert felt like he had so much to tell her, yet so little voice to do so.

However, after a couple of seconds, they both hurried towards each other to finally be together, their heartbeats becoming an harmonized concordant melody, their bodies intertwining like branches of the same tree. She circled him with her arms around his neck, closing her eyes automatically as if she could just feel him. He held her, pouring those days and nights spent missing her laughter and big, big blue eyes into that hug.

“I missed you so much” he said, his voice coming out slightly muffled, his lips on the crook of her neck, placing a gentle kiss there.  That innocent gesture made Anne smile, her heart and insides melting into a puddle of absolute adoration. She brushed her hand between his hair, ignoring the fact that her vision was getting blurry with tears.

“I missed you too” she murmured, as he lifted her up a little from the floor, making her burst into a mess of giggles which to an external eye might have seemed way too childish, but, to them, only incredibly natural and sincere. Anne brought her eyes to look at his face, before pressing her lips on his with all the intensity she had. He placed one hand on her cheek, his thumb gently moving up and down – a habit she had learned to adore each time they kissed – and the other one around her waist, wanting to keep her as close as possible, like a chance, a hope he didn’t want to miss. They could feel the distant music of the main hall, but to their ears the only sound worth listening to was that of their breaths as they longed for each other’s lips a little more.

When they parted, Anne didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry, so she did a bit of both, her dimples popping up as she filled the room with her laughter and glassy eyes.

“Do I look miserable?” she asked, as soon as he dropped a peck on her forehead.

“You look like a miracle” he answered, and Anne swore she was floating between the stars. She kissed him once again, before leaning her head on his chest.

“How did you manage to come?”

Gilbert placed his chin on her head, his arms still circling her as if they were glued.

“I could choose when to give the last exam of this session. My first choice was to give it on the 27th, that’s why I couldn’t have come. But” he said, stepping back a little to look at her, “There was a certain someone I wanted to see a little too much. So I managed to give the exam last night, I’m waiting for the results” he concluded, taking her hands into his.

“If the mark doesn’t satisfy you, are you going to hate me for keeping you away from your duties?” Anne asked, trying to joke, but truth be told she was kind of serious. Gilbert chuckled, shaking his head.

“My only duty right now is to be with you and our family. Plus, I could never hate you, it was my choice, you were just the source of it” he answered, kissing her knuckles. “I have one week before I have to go back” he added then, and Anne nodded, unable to feel sad for the short amount of time they had together, because she was living right then, in that very moment. And she wouldn’t have changed a single thing.

“Oh no, I had a gift for you but I left it upstairs in my bags. Will you come with me so I can give it to you?” Anne asked, already stepping ahead to take his hand and lead him to her bedroom. She had worked on that gift quite a lot, and she vividly remembered not having a present for him on the first Christmas they spent at Green Gables right after he came back from Trinidad. She had to make up for it, of course, and she spent her free time on it after classes.

“Of course, but first” he replied, stopping her on her hurried walk and spinning her around to lead her back to him, as he took something out of the inner pocket of his suit, “Here goes mine”. It was a little cube-shaped package, with a tiny red ribbon on it. Anne eyes softened once again – was it possible at this point? – but she shook her head.

“You didn’t have to, you came all the way here-”

“-to see you, and also to give this to you. Just…tell me if you like it” he interrupted her, a slight tension filling his voice, still as gentle as always though. Anne nodded, her hands carefully – but excitedly – unwrapping the package to find a velvet box. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, and she couldn’t quite believe her eyes when she opened it to reveal the most lovely ring. Its shank was made of tiny silver leaves, while the center stone was a little ruby, of an intense red shade.

“My internship made me able to save some money to help Bash and Delly, but also to fulfill some… personal desires” Gilbert said softly, checking for her reaction. He perfectly knew Anne valued feelings more that material things, because he did too; but he wanted her to have that ring, because it carried a meaning for the two of them. It was a hello, a goodbye, a see you soon and a forever; it was a promise and a hope, a wish and a reality. “I want to be with you forever, Anne, if you’ll allow me to” he murmured, almost whispering.

Anne had never felt more astonished in her whole life. She felt like her whole body was burning and she couldn’t even explain how much his words made her feel loved. He wasn’t asking for her permission to love her – he would have done it nonetheless – but to accept his heart and give him hers. He wanted to tell her that he wished to see her walking down the aisle one day, towards him; he wanted her to know he admired her, and that he was grateful for her. He wanted to tell her so much, and he poured it all into a tiny ring and a few words. I want to be with you forever.

“It’s going to take a while until I finish my studies and we’ll be able to settle down for good, if you’ll still want it. But as we wait, I want you to know I’ll keep you safe in my heart everyday, mentally thanking Billy Andrews for being in the forest that day and catching my attention. And Matthew and Marilla for adopting you and bringing you into my life” Gilbert added, making Anne laugh a bit shakily. Holding back tears was nonsensical at this point.

“I’ll wait forever” she replied after a moment, her voice almost a murmur, a warm breeze on him. Being without him for a long time always felt as if air got stolen from her lungs; it was suffocating, excruciating, sometimes paralyzing. She was grateful to always be surrounded by people who loved and appreciated her, like Matthew and Marilla, Diana, Caroline, Ruby and the girls who weren’t there that night. Yet, she had never felt such a pang in her heart when it came to feelings, until she realized that she was falling slowly, gradually, deeply in love with Gilbert Blythe, and it was an irreversible process, a no-way-back path. Being without him now meant being without a part of herself too, which was the one she consciously decided to put into his hands like a treasure, for him to take care of, to keep with him forever, if he wanted do, because she trusted him with all of herself.

Gilbert finally relaxed his jaw, always clenched when it came to making hard decisions or to say something he was afraid could have been denied. Now he smiled, because he knew that the sparkle of flame in her eyes as she looked at him was originated by genuine love, and that was all he truly wanted. Her love, and her hand to hold for years to come.

She chuckled, laughter mixing up with gentle teardrops as he wiped them away with his thumb and kissed the tip of her nose first, and then her pinkish lips once again, his tongue tasting the salty flavor of her happy sentiment, in the form of tears, and the sweet taste of her love for him. It was something he would have never got used to.

When they parted, she revealed her most glorious smile to him, her dimples popping up and making him melt right there.

“May I?” Gilbert asked, pointing at the ring still inside its box. Anne nodded, handing it to him and extending her hand so that he could slide the tiny jewel down her ring finger, the sparkling light of the small ruby shining perfectly on her fair skin.

“Good, now that’s going to be the place where it’ll stay forever” she stated, and Gilbert truly didn’t want to hear anything for the rest of the night. That was more than enough. “My turn now. Come with me, before Aunt Jo finds out I’m sneaking upstairs when I shouldn’t” Anne added, and this time he followed her into her guest room. As she rummaged into her bags, looking for the gift she so carefully made specifically for him, he thought she looked like a flame, her blue dress like the lower base of it, and her hair like the apex. She was the exact representation of warmth, and he was more than happy to burn.

“Ah! Here it is” she exclaimed, before turning excitedly towards him with what appeared like a book. “Before you see it, I want you to know I made this myself, so it might not be the most well done present ever, but well…” she murmured. He wanted to tell her that it didn’t matter at all, that she didn’t even have to give him anything, but he could see how anxious she was to find out if he could have liked it or not, so he furrowed his brows and smiled curiously. He took the book-shaped object into his hands, and opened it.

It looked like a handmade journal, and each page was covered in beautiful, black words in her calligraphy, in the form of poems. Turning and turning the pages, Gilbert found himself lost in them, along with some orange leaves and small, dry flowers Anne had apparently put in between the journal. She had handwritten poems which she knew he loved, because their literary discussions had been quite common in their relationship. Each of them carried a meaning for him, and she was able to read through his heart and mind, and put it into written majestic words. The last poem of the series she had written was short, and immediate, but oh did it twist his heart. It was accompanied by the dry petals of a red rose, and as absorbed as he was into it, he couldn’t notice Anne blushing a little.

“Day by day

and night by night

we were together –

all else

has long been forgotten

by me.”

- Walt Whitman

Merry Christmas. I love you.

Your Anne

Gilbert Blythe believed that Anne Shirley-Cuthbert could’ve taken his whole existence and make anything she wanted with it, and he wouldn’t have minded at all.

“I remember you told me that your dad loved Whitman. And, well, I love you, so I combined the two things, but be sincere if you think it’s an awful gift. I thought it could be…well, I don’t know, sweet maybe, for when we are apart for months, but after your ring I feel like my present seems very nonsensical and pointless and-”

“Anne” Gilbert said, chuckling at her. She raised her eyes to look at him, and she unconsciously relaxed as she noticed his grin, the one which she always wanted to kiss off his face.

“Yes?”

“The only nonsensical thing here is what you’re saying” he said, before bringing her closer to him. “I absolutely adore this. It has everything I cherish the most inside. My dad’s memory, poems regarding all the bonds I’ve formed so far…and you. I couldn’t possibly wish anything else” he said, and he wanted her to get that he wasn’t just being nice for a gift. He was thankful for her, for real, and for the passion and love she put into what she did, turning into diamonds everything she touched and covering her words with melted gold every time she spoke. She had turned his life upside down from the moment she came into it, and when he came back from Trinidad and saw her again, he simply knew.

Anne had been Gilbert’s gold all along.

They kissed once again, their bodies becoming one as they blended like liquid galaxies, busy in their own universe as they grew, learnt and walked together through the paths of life. When they heard the clock ringing, announcing the beginning of the 25th day of the loveliest December, their eyes met again.

“Merry Christmas, my love” Anne whispered in his ear, making his cheeks blush adorably, before he smiled tenderly and brushed his nose against hers.

“Merry Christmas to you” he said back, as he absorbed the beauty of life in a split of a moment.

That night, they finally spent time with their family, still not leaving each other once. When you get how precious time can be, it’s hard to waist even a second of it, and they got it. They both knew that one day, eventually, they could have been together every single day, sharing tears and laughters and love – like they did now, but living under the same roof, hopefully, and seeing each other’s faces as the first light of the morning and the last whispered goodnight before falling asleep. She would have waited for him to have dinner after work, and they would have cooked together – two people attempting at making a decent meal are better than one, right? – and they would have told each other their successes and their failures, their glorious steps ahead and their ungraceful tumbles. He would have combed her fire-shaded hair in the pale moonlight, and he would have kissed her shoulders, making her smile. And they would have made the most wonderful love, bodies dancing together like drops of dew on green, green leaves. He would have held her tightly, as she brushed her gentle fingers through his hair and on that splendid chin she adored so much. They both would have silently thanked the heavens for being so blissfully graced by each other’s presence. And then, they would have fallen asleep, fingers, legs and hearts intertwined, unable to dream of anything better than what they already had.