Anne Nation

October 30, 1899

My Dearest Love,

 

As I write to you the sun is just making its appearance over the horizon, and the world is still quite asleep around me (as are my housemates). You may be set to admonish me for not getting enough sleep, but let me forestall that speech before you get too far. You see, I have just awoken from the most perfect and beautiful dream and found myself needing to write to you immediately.

 

I cannot even quite call it a dream, for it was more memory than imagination, and it was so vivid that I still feel it lingering even now. And what was the focus, you ask? You, Anne-girl. As my mind wandered the realms of reverie, I found myself wandering a familiar path towards the Avonlea ruins. As before, I came across you dancing to a music only you could hear, alight with the fiery glow of a crackling bonfire, ever the fire nymph made flesh. As I drank in the sight of you there, the world slowed and stilled and the entire universe became centered on you. My heart and soul leapt at the sight, calling out “there she is, there she is, there she is”.

 

Anne, I came to you that day knowing I loved you, although I had not yet accepted quite how deep that love flowed. But, looking back (something I have done time and again), I know now that seeing you then was the exact moment my soul realized it had found it’s true match. That no matter how far I travelled, or how much my mind tried to use logic or reasoning, I would never find another who would be a perfect fit in the way you are. I do believe that one can find love in many places and ways, and that one can even be so lucky as to find romantic love more than once in a lifetime (something I sincerely hope for Bash’s future—Mary will surely send someone along for him someday). But I also believe that true, everlasting soul-bonds are rare and absolute. I cannot begin to describe the overwhelming joy and gratitude I feel at having found my own so early in life. Anne, my Anne, what a life we will have! Some days the distance between us seems overwhelming, and the years of schooling we have left before truly beginning our lives together seem never-ending. But today I only find absolute comfort knowing we have a lifetime of love and adventure and passion before us, and that our souls remain entwined no matter the miles and days between us. For you are always with me, and I am always with you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

***

What a romantic you have made of me, Anne-girl. Classes are done for the day and the spell I was under this morning has faded (though the sentiment has not!), allowing me to once again write to you like a normal human. Allow me to respond to your recent missive, which arrived with the post just this morning (a welcome surprise on the tail of my rather vivid dreams).

 

I am so happy to hear of your Thanksgiving with our families. It is hard to believe Delly is walking now—when I left she still seemed just a babe, and to think she has spent all this time growing up! It boggles the mind. I confess to spending much of this break being homesick, but before you worry, know that I actually had an enjoyable holiday all-told. Dr. Oak and her husband were so kind as to host a “Misfits Feast” for those of us who were stuck here for the holiday. Most of the student body did indeed go home for the week (to their own home or that of others), leaving behind a mere dozen or so. Other than myself and Ben, we were joined by a spattering of upperclassmen and a handful of fellow first-years. The Oaks are spectacular hosts and made us all feel welcome and joyful. After a delicious Thanksgiving meal (Anne, I swear the table was groaning with the weight of the food! Their cook doesn’t skimp and certainly knows her way around the kitchen!), we were entertained in the parlor with a delightful game called “charades.” 

 

My love, you would have adored this game as much as you would have excelled at it! It is played in teams and the general idea is that you pull a word or phrase from a hat and then must act it out for your team to guess. You must do so silently, with absolutely no words or sounds, within one minute. I will confess that I considered the benefits of Sign Language, but that seems rather at odds with the spirit of the game, so we shall have to resist when we have the chance to play. While some of the fellows were rather reserved at first—it is quite silly, after all—once everyone loosened up it resulted in some truly hilarious moments. We were all in tears of laughter and played well into the night. We shall have to arrange to play with our own gathering of friends some time over Christmas break! I would be happy to host such an event. I am actually chuckling at the thought of Bash joining us—I have a suspicion he would give even you a run for your money.

 

I find myself suddenly missing you terribly. Christmas break seems so far away in this moment, although I know it really isn’t when compared to the days apart we have already put behind us. I cannot wait for our “date” under the stars in two days’ time. While I think of you constantly, and know you think of me too, I know I will feel that much closer to you when we are both looking up at the same stars, at the same time, sending our love across the sky. 

​

Drat. Ben is knocking at my door—we have a study group at the library this evening and it appears I have lost track of the time. I am so sorry to cut this short, but it seems that duty calls. The audacity of responsibilities to interrupt romance.

 

Before I go, I will just say once more: I love you, I love you, I love you.

 

Until we meet under the stars,

 

Gilbert