Anne

The crimson colored leaf drifted daintily from its branch, landing with a small tap on top of Anne's sketchbook. She sighed, giving her sketch an unsatisfied look and shutting her notebook. Autumn had been her favorite season for years, but this one seemed more bittersweet than beautiful. Anne was sitting atop a small tree trunk inside the ruins of her old clubhouse, attempting to sketch the small red cardinal that seemed to be content with sitting atop the tree branch in front of her. She'd never been particularly interested in art, as her mind always moved much too fast for her hands to keep up; Cole was always the real artist.

She stood, brushing off the back of her dress and sighing. Looking back to the ruins of her clubhouse, she remembered her old group of friends. Picking up her sketchbook and pencil, she placed the two back in her basket and began back down the path towards Green Gables.

Gilbert

"Mr. Blythe?" Wilma stopped at the doorway of the man's room, knocking softly on the doorframe with one hand while holding a small pile of sheets and towels in the other. He looked up from his textbook, adjusting his glasses and leaning back from his chair.

"Thank you Wilma, you may leave those on my dresser, I will take care of them." She nodded, and placed them atop the dresser. She lingered for a moment, eyeing the small photo of a redheaded girl that rested there. It was one of the only things Gilbert had that was truly personal. He never spoke of his childhood, nor any other topic that was in any way personal at all. Noticing that she was staring, Wilma quickly set the items down and exited Gilbert room.

Upon Wlma's exit, Gilbert looked up from his textbook, and sighed. Since leaving Avonlea nothing but stress and loneliness had accompanied him. He stood, walking out of his room and outside his house, retrieving his hat and coat on the way. It was time he returned to Avonlea.

The wind blew a chill throughout Gilbert's small town, and he pulled his coat closer to him, a white cloud of air escaping his lips as he exhaled. As he walked, he felt a cold snowflake land atop his forehead. He looked up and saw more small, delicate snowflakes drifting from the clouds over his head. Gilbert smiled slightly and chuckled to himself, thinking of what a certain redhead had told him years ago during the first snow of that winter.

"It's magical," she'd said, gazing up towards the clouds. She'd lifted a hand towards the sky and smiled as a crystal-like snowflake fell softly into the palm of her hand. Gilbert had chuckled as she lowered her hand and watched as the snowflake slowly melted into a drop of water. The two then sat down upon two fallen tree trunks and watched as the world around them was slowly covered with a sparkling white blanket of snow. "I wonder if this is nature's way of telling us something." She'd said, that familiar twinkle in her eyes that she'd always had when she was exploring. "What would that be?" He said, chuckling, wearing a smirk on his face and looking down at her with a look of admiration. "I'm not sure," she'd said, "But whatever it is, I'm glad you're here to see it with me." She had rested her head onto his shoulder, as his cheeks flushed cherry red. Gilbert had closed his eyes and sighed, savoring the moment that he could share with his beloved Anne.

Gilbert shook away the memory and rubbed his eyes, finally feeling the sting of the frigid air. Pushing the buttons into place on his coat, He began his walk back towards his home as the sky grew darker, and the stars brighter in the sky. The breeze lightly shook the leaves on the branches, or at least the few that still remained. He heard the occasional skitter of animals rushing back into their nests or homes or wherever else they chose to sleep. The snow crunched softly underneath his feet as he walked, and the path was devoid of any other people. For a moment Gilbert forgot the cold and just stood, taking in the peaceful quiet of the forest and the therapeutic chirping of whatever bird hadn't already fled due to the cold weather. The scene reminded him of his childhood home, and the days he'd spent wandering the forest aimlessly after the death of his father. Ultimately, it was his father's death which had fueled his desire to become a doctor. On days like this one, when he lost sight of that desire, he reminded himself by recalling the feeling of utter helplessness when every doctor he had called had no explanation for his father's sudden illness. On days like this one, however, his mind wandered back to the past when he had not felt such a drive for the medical field, and felt as though there was more to life than simply studying.

It was with a jolt of surprise that he realized he had made it back to his house. Sighing, he walked inside, preparing himself for a lecture from Wilma.

Anne

Arriving back at Green Gables. Anne stopped first at the barn, giving each of her horses a treat and feeding them.

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long," She said, rubbing Bella's nose. Bella nickered in reply, and Anne chuckled.

"Tomorrow I won't be so late." Finishing up in the barn, she shut the door, and walked back up to the house.

After bathing and changing, she sat atop her bed, and sighed sadly. After she'd graduated and Gilbert had left Avonlea along with the rest of her friends, she'd felt alone. Every now and then she'd receive a short letter from Ruby, or Diana, telling her of the wonders of living in a bustling city. Diana had invited her quite a few times to visit, but Anne never did. She wondered if now would be a good time to do so. Lying back, she pulled out her favorite book - one by Jane Eyre. She touched the part of the book from which the pages had been ripped off when she was an orphan. Perhaps she could find another copy in the city and finally finish it. Quite suddenly, her fatigue hit her all at once, and she yawned dramatically. Settling into bed and pulling her covers over her, she fell asleep all too quickly.

Anne awoke late at night, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. She recalled only that she'd had a nightmare, but couldn't grasp the contents of it. Tossing off the covers, she stood, and walked tiredly down the stairs in search of a glass of water. Once it had been retrieved, she sat down on the armchair, planning to stay there for a few minutes to finish her glass of water and then go back to sleep. Once she'd finished her glass she took it to the kitchen, but was stopped in her tracks by a loud boom coming from the barn. With fear rising in her chest, she set her glass down on the table, and retrieved her coat and boots. She grabbed a lantern, and stepped outside, approaching the barn slowly. Her hands began to shake, so she grasped the lantern harder to keep them from doing so. Pushing the barn door open, she stepped inside, calling out timidly. "Who's there?" She grabbed a hammer she had hanging on the wall next to one of the stalls, and tried again. "I know you're in here!"

Slowly, a figure stepped out of one of the stalls with their hands raised by their head. "It's okay! It's just me!"

Having abandoned the lantern by the barn door, Anne walked backwards to get it, not taking her eyes off the intruder. "Don't move." She said, her voice shaking.

She picked up the lantern from the dusty barn floor and raised it towards the figure.

Cole - who was covered in hay - stared back at her with an embarrassed look.

"Surprise?"

Hi everyone! As this is the first chapter (but definitely not the last) there is a lot that is unexplained, but don't worry! I plan to update around once a week if I can, with some exceptions of course due to school schedules and stuff. Let me know if you have any ideas for something I should include in the story and I'll definitely consider them! I plan to continue this as long as the story flows naturally, so I'm not sure how many chapters this will end up being. Also, if you were confused by the switches between characters, I put the name of the person, then jump to them. Thanks for reading!