Work Text:
Flickering Hope
Leaving that prison felt wrong to Anne. Seeing Ka'Kwet's parents heartbroken tore at her conscience. Everything about this situation felt wrong, so so wrong deep in her soul.
The absurdity of the situation, families being torn apart. She couldn't comprehend how these people, who preached of community, love and family could be so cruel.
Growing up she'd believed all the children at the asylum had the unfortunate luck of having no parents or wanting relatives. A belief which had shattered when she'd visited with Cole all those months ago.
To find out the possibility of her parents being alive but leaving her to a life of being unloved. She'd thought all of her core beliefs had been based off a lie.
But this. How could they take away a child from a loving family, a family who loved and wanted their child.
A chilled ache had settled in her heart.
Anne had known being an orphan had its hardships.
Before coming to live with the Cuthberts, Anne believed her lot in life was living in cramped spaces full of unwanted children, being lent out to large families as free labor. And she'd known she'd lost some of her childhood innocence by having to grow up in the asylum, a fact she'd seen while navigating her way into Avonlea's communities good graces.
Even now after finding out her parents in fact did pass when she'd been an infant could not give her any peace. Realizing how much of her imagination she'd used to blanket the darkness of her youth. What was real and what wasn't in her memory plagues her dreams even now.
Every hardship she'd endured that pushed her down. Each blow to her already frayed view of the world, left her a bit more lost.
Seeing her beloved storybook house a rubble, Bash and Mary's alienation from the rest of Avonlea's community, the school a smoking corpse.
A glaring question pounds away in her skull:
`Why do bad things happen to good people?`
No, no more. What more injustices were being made to innocent peoples?
The image of Aunt Joe and Cole come to Anne's mind, and a cold lump settles in her stomach. What would happen if the wrong group of people found out about them.
These injustices, too many to count, and in her heart of hearts she wanted to right all those who had been, were or will be wronged in this world.
An all encompassing hopelessness surrounds her then. She feels so small, insignificant, what was she, a woman in a man's world to do?
The memory of her classmates coming together after learning of the printing press being stolen and seeing the censorship being placed upon them. They'd come together as a community to young adults, and they'd been heard by Avonlea.
A small flicker of hope ignites in her heart at the idea Matthew has.
Words have power in this world Anne knew; and like the injustice they'd faced not long ago in Avonlea she had hope bringing this horrid fact to light would also turn the tide in their favour as well.
No child or group of people should suffer a fate such as this. With every fiber of her being, however much strength in her. She will fight for those who can't.
Author notes:
I feel like while Anne in the books becomes a teacher to shape the minds of the future, the Anne from the newest TV version is someone who has a different calling.
I think she'd make a brilliant lawyer, or advocate fighting for the people who can't fight for themselves.
I don't know if it would have been possible during her lifetime but wouldn't that be an amazing journey to see.
I've been inspired by this week's episode. It makes me so sad that
there is such a dark history on Canada. But I feel that this is something that needs to be brought to light so that history will never repeat. Those correctional schools are a twisted mockery of what places of learning should be like.
It's the same for the camps for the Japanese and Jewish people and so many other things done in the attempt at forcing people to conform to your beliefs.
OK dark sad thoughts aside…
I can't stop falling in love with this series. Every episode this season has been amazing. I really don't want it to end!!
P.S. This hasn't been Beta'd so sorry if there are spelling or punctuation mistakes.