Anne with an E - A Winter Journey

11 - This is all my fault

Snow was falling thick and heavy around the group, so much so that it was becoming difficult to see anything at all.

"Okay, this is dangerous so I need you to listen carefully," said Gilbert, swiftly taking control of the situation. "There's no point trying to find our way to Avonlea when we can barely see each other. We can shelter safely in the cabin until the blizzard is over but we need to turn back now while we can still see some of our footprints. Follow me and make sure you don't lose sight of the person in front of you."

Gilbert quickly strode into the snow with Diana and Ruby close behind him. Anne remained at the back of the line, still trying to give some Gilbert some space. "Now is definitely not the time to try and rekindle our friendship," she thought to herself.

No one spoke as the group hurried through the quickening snowfall but their fear and panic was almost tangible as they urgently stomped in the direction of the cabin. A strong wind howled through the trees, replacing the previous quiet of the empty forest and making it harder for Gilbert to keep his eyes open. He raised his hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the worst of the snow, desperately trying to focus on what remained of their earlier footsteps.

Anne was unaware of Gilbert's struggle at that moment for she was lost in her own thoughts. For the first time since she had arrived in Avonlea, Anne felt genuine fear. This was no longer a thrilling winter journey in the snow, their lives were in danger and Anne only blamed herself. "If it hadn't been for my insatiable need for adventure," she thought, "then we would never have found ourselves in this predicament."  Normally Anne could find the positive in any situation, but it felt like a dark cloud was looming over her and all she could think of were her mistakes. "This is all my fault.  If I hadn't suggested we walk to Avonlea, then we never would have gotten lost," she reflected miserably, "and we never would have slept in the cabin, and I never would have held onto Gilbert in my sleep, and I never would have said those awful things about him, and Gilbert would still be my friend."  The list went on and on.

As Anne continued to mentally list her many mistakes, she suddenly realised that she had fallen behind the rest of the group. Ruby's jacket was barely visible as she scurried along behind Diana and Gilbert. Anne called out to her friends but her cries were stifled by the howling wind. She broke into a run, desperate not to lose sight of them.

Running was almost impossible in the thick snow and Anne put all of her energy into lifting her feet from the deep hole each footstep created. She was trying so hard to keep track of her friends that she wasn't watching where she placed each stride. As she plunged into another deep pocket of snow, her left foot caught under a large tree root. Unaware of the hidden danger, Anne heaved her leg upwards, only to feel a sharp pain shoot right through it. Her foot was firmly wedged under the root and she had badly twisted her ankle as she had tried to march forward.

Anne let out a piercing scream as she fell to her knees in agony.