Heart Attack • Shirbert

• 31 • occasions, oceans, and opportunities

'Little did he know that she felt the same,

Wanted to tell him, but she was afraid'

--

Gilbert hated his birthday.

Before his father died, they would go to the edge of PEI together and walk around the shore. They would each have an apple, take a bite out of it, and throw it into the ocean. The ritual seemed wasteful, but it was symbolic. Gilbert's father told him they were giving their energy out into the world to see where life took it. When he was 18, Gilbert would be just like the apple. He would see where life took him.

When Gilbert's father fell sick, the tradition stopped. He could barely tell what day of the week it was, let alone what day of the year. Gilbert's birthday fell incognito to the world.

Since his father died, Gilbert revived the ritual. He would go to the shore and throw in his apple, but place the other apple on his father's grave. He never told anyone when his birthday was or about this tradition. He didn't want a celebration without his father.

His birthday was a reminder of his father's death.

So, when his 18th birthday came in late March, Gilbert was everything but excited.

It was a Saturday, which Gilbert was grateful for because it meant not having to see his classmates. Some of them could have remembered, and the last thing Gilbert wanted was any sort of celebration. Anticipating his poor mood, he told Dr. Ward he needed the weekend off. There was no reason to bother Dr. Ward with his negativity, and Winifred probably would sense something was off.

He didn't tell Bash and Mary he had the day off. This way, they assumed he would be away and wouldn't attempt to rope him into anything. He selfishly wanted this time for himself. It was his birthday, after all. He should do what he wants to.

Gilbert got up early, walked past Bash, Mary, and Delly in the kitchen to say his goodbyes, grabbed two apples, and walked towards the graveyard.

Another year older.

Little did Gilbert know, Anne knew it was his birthday. Ever since her birthday, she was desperate to find out in hopes to reciprocate an amazing gift. After extensive sleuthing, also known as begging the minister to look in the church's records, Anne found the date and began putting together a special surprise.

In all the years she had known him, Gilbert never talked about his birthday. There was never a mention of any party, even when they were younger and his father was still around. When she realized it would be his 18th birthday, Anne knew she had to do something. So, in true Anne fashion, she devised a plan.

That plan didn't predict Gilbert being at his father's grave, and it certainly didn't predict her seeing him there.

Anne spotted him from 20 feet away. She couldn't see his face, but she knew it was Gilbert. He sat on a stone bench, leaning forward to see the grave. He was fiddling with the apple in his hands carefully. His hair looked more untamed than usual, as if he woke up and someone messed it up more than it already was.

How tragical, to mourn your father on your birthday.

In an attempt to let him stay within his thoughts, Anne approached the bench and sat next to him silently.

The last thing Gilbert expected was company, so he jumped when Anne joined him.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" His voice was a little shaky. He hadn't cried, but he was pretty choked up.

"I walk by Matthew's grave almost everyday." Anne could see his grave in the distance from where they were sitting. The cemetery in Avonlea was small. "What are you doing?"