[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

"My family, well, here it is, you've all seen it," said Anne, in a forced lilt, shrugging her shoulders, "just me.—Why, look at your faces! I No one needs to pity me, at least I'm still alive. My parents and my two younger brothers are not so lucky."

Corona wanted to ask, but she didn't dare to ask. She already knew the feeling of tearing open the wound too well.Instead, Annie asked her: "Well, since this gentleman is not your father - I didn't see another man in your house yesterday. Are you married? Don't you live with your father?"

This question sounds a bit like revenge.Maybe it was just Corona's delusion and paranoia, maybe Annie was really revenge for her own rash question that she asked without thinking, but in any case, Corona answered honestly: "My father...is no longer here. . just a month ago."

"...Oh." Annie said softly.After a pause, she reached out and took Corona's hand.

It shouldn't be Anne who comforts her, Corona thought so.Annie has lost far more than she has: her parents and two younger brothers are gone, and she is alone now.Corona has at least several other family members.No matter from which point of view, she should be comforting Annie, not the other way around.But the words stuck in her throat, and she couldn't utter a word.The two girls held each other's cold hands, and Annie stroked the back of Corona's hand soothingly with her thumb.

"...I don't have a father anymore." Corona whispered, "I never had a mother, and now I don't have a father either."

Anne leaned toward her, and put her arms around her.At the beginning, she was a little hesitant in her movements, as if she was worried that Corona would object, but Corona accepted the hug, so Annie hugged her tightly, and stroked the blond hair scattered on her back. "I understand," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I understand."

No matter how you look at it, there is a huge difference between them.But, somehow, Corona and Anne quickly became friends.

Anne was more like her sister than Fantine.Perhaps it was because she was in such a bad state when she first met Fantine, and after several years, Corona still has a sense of responsibility and protective desire for Fantine.But for Annie, the situation is completely reversed, and Annie seems to treat her as her younger sister naturally.Every few days, Corona would take some supper and take the stagecoach to where Anne lived, and they would have dinner together, talking and chatting—most of the time they would talk about the family members they had lost, one of whom they had little regard for the others. The only thing anyone has ever said is that they feel safe talking to each other.Corona talked about her mother, her father, and the entangled grievances between that generation.Annie talked about her parents and her two younger brothers.

"Actually, I have a younger sister, so I do." She said while picking up the crumbs on the plate. "My mother fell in the factory while she was pregnant, and my younger sister died. We spent a lot of money to pay for it." Doctor, owed a debt for it, but she didn't survive. We buried her, and Dad made a huge mistake at work the next day. He was promptly fired."

Corona moved closer to her until their arms touched.Anne lowered her eyes and did not look at her, but quietly leaned her shoulders on hers. "He used to be a copyist in a law firm, and his mother was a sewing girl. Our family had a good life before, and my father said he would teach us to read. Can you believe it? He even thought about sending us to school! But then he I won’t mention it anymore. I went to work in my mother’s factory, and the two of us supported four mouths. Then he fell ill, we owed another debt, and he left us. I had to sell the previous house and move Come here. Three mouths for one person! Come to think of it, I had to work seventeen hours a day to make bread for three people, and I didn't have time to look after them! I had to let them fend for themselves , what can we do, or we will all starve to death! It's not that I don't want to care about them! But my youngest brother, Savy, he fell into the river and drowned. It was Phelan who ran to the factory and told me, and they watched He fell, he was five years old. I don't even have a dead body! After that I asked Phelan to stay with me, he was 13 years old, he was going to be a good boy, but he got the same disease as Dad The doctor couldn't cure him. At last, you see, I am now alone to feed myself with a mouth. I tried my best! But God just refused to leave them to me, not even a brother! "

"...I'm sorry." Corona whispered.

"Sorry for what? It's not your fault." Annie said, sniffling and turning her face away.Corona pretended not to see her and quickly raised her hand to wipe her eyes.

"But you're so good. You don't deserve this," she said, feeling a well-known anger rise in her heart, exactly the same anger she had felt when she received Cosette.But she still doesn't know who to direct this anger at.

Annie laughed bitterly: "As if anyone in the world deserved to suffer this!" She exclaimed, "No one. If I ask you, no one! The fate of few people is worse than mine. Have you heard of Elisa in our factory? She is almost 50 years old. She gave birth to six children. A plague killed all six. Let that disease bring her together Maybe it would be kinder to take it away! She's not alive now, she's just a shell.... Oh, why should I tell you this? Why do you want to know this? You're a happy rich lady, Corona, at least you are now. Wouldn't it be nice to have one more happy person in the world?"

"If I haven't seen the suffering in the world, maybe I can be blinded in the happiness of ignorance." Corona said, "But I have seen the suffering, I know you, how can I pretend to be a I don't know? How can I stay out of it, ignore it, and pretend that I can't change anything? Anne, I don't live in Taoyuan Township outside the world - indeed some nobles pretend that they have no connection with the world, as if they But this is not right! If I know that the farmers are suffering and starving, and that five or six-year-old children are starving to death on the side of the road, how can I enjoy the delicious food at the banquet with peace of mind? Cake? I went to a textile mill once and I feel guilty every time I wear a silk dress to a dinner party after that! I know what my sister and my mother lived, and I know you now, and I can't be indifferent. Do I Can't you do something?"

Anne shook her head amusedly, her expression was as if she was facing her naughty younger siblings, and Corona had seen similar expressions on the faces of Lucy and little Lucy countless times. "You got to know me. So what? It's not that I don't have faith in you, but you might move, you might get married, your pain of losing your father would subside, and something would eventually make you forget me. As for Me, I don't even know how long I can live, maybe I won't be around next winter, just like Dad, Mom and Phelan." She paused, "But I think there is still a little advantage: if I die , I think I can still count on your kindness to buy me a thin coffin and choose a cemetery, can't I?"

"Don't say that!" said Corona, grabbing her wrist firmly. "You underestimate me, Anne! You underestimate yourself too."

"And you underestimate poverty," Anne said. "I thought Papa would get well too, and I thought I could protect Savy and Phelan, but now I've learned my lesson. You can't change anything, Corona, unless You adopt me like a stray cat. But I said earlier that I would not be your pet cat, so you can't change anything. "

"I never wanted to adopt you, or have you as a pet!" Corona said, and she let go of Anne's hand in shock and anger. "I consider you a friend, and I just want to help you live Better, because I'm not that short of money—I'm not giving you a handout, I thought you knew!"

Annie laughed instead. "I know, and I'm not accusing you. But you have to admit, you can't change anything. You can't get my parents back, can you?"

"I can't. I'd like my parents back if I could," Corona said, "but I don't agree with you. I can always change something..."

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind. "You said your father once said he would teach you how to read. Do you still want to learn?"

"Of course, but I can't go to school anymore at my age, and I don't have time." Annie said casually, and then she caught Corona's real meaning and was stunned for a moment, "You don't want to... "

"If you want," Corona said, "I can teach you!"

"Really?" Annie asked, she sat up straight suddenly, turned around and grabbed Corona's arm, "Are you serious? Let me tell you first, I can't afford the tuition."

"Who wants you to pay for the tuition!" Corona laughed, "I can come and teach you at night, one or two hours at a time? It doesn't take too long, we can learn slowly. Of course, if you really want to learn. "

"Of course—when are you going to start?" Anne asked, all of a sudden excited like a child. "Tomorrow?"

Corona thought for a moment. "The day after tomorrow." She said, "I have other arrangements tomorrow afternoon, maybe I won't be able to come here in the evening."

The next day she changed back to men's clothing.Over the past few years, the feminine lines on her body have gradually emerged, and ordinary men's clothing is no longer enough to conceal the changes in her figure.So she now wears sweaters and coats that are one size too big, covering up her figure with a baggy shape, pretending to be a small and distressed teenager who cannot afford to wear clothes of the correct size.She used a charcoal pencil to draw her eyebrows rough and straight, and used a darker powder to darken her skin. The light shadow shaped the overly prominent and straight lines of the bridge of the nose and cheekbones. The dark circles under the eyes, and the few freckles that were painted with paint are still in the fixed positions.The blond hair was neatly braided and tucked into a hat, and from the outside it looked like she was only wearing a short ponytail that fell to the nape of her neck.She is already very proficient in this set of makeup, and it only takes more than ten minutes to complete the whole set, but she looks at the vanity mirror in the room again and again, for fear of revealing any flaws, until the time can no longer be delayed, she is unwilling Lowering the brim of his hat, he walked out the door.

It is a sunny afternoon.Corona hoped that the weather would not be so good - the better the light, the easier it would be for her makeup to show flaws.Can you count on sudden cloudy skies, sudden snow, sudden rain?No, the rain is out of the question, even though she used all waterproof paint, but who knows?It's a pity that all these messy prayers were not fulfilled until Coronne walked to the gate of the University of Paris. The weather was still bright and sunny, and the golden sun shone on the lawn in front of the school.Under a sycamore tree next to the school gate, stood a figure with his hands in his pockets.

All of Corona's doubts were suddenly thrown to the winds.

"Combeferre!" she cried, running forward.

The author has something to say: Due to the word count requirement on the list, an update will be added tomorrow.

The next day update on the 23rd will remain unchanged.