[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

Neither of them guessed that the sentence was not referring to Carton himself, but to Ramona.In the last month of his stay in France, amidst his growing disappointment, he understood one thing: the current property status of Caton and Dane was not enough to support their long-term search.So, either he settles down in France and tries to make a living - which is almost impossible no matter how you look at it; or he needs to make a fortune first, improve his status and economic situation, and then look for Raymond. Na's mission went on for a long time.

This plan, necessarily, temporarily interrupted the search for Ramona from his side, during which time the Darnays would no doubt continue their search, which Carton always regarded as his duty.Since it was his responsibility to find Ramona, it was also his responsibility to create conditions for finding her.Working hard to create conditions has also become an unshirkable task.

His transformation was excruciatingly painful, but the pain no one saw.Sometimes he would lie on the bed with his eyes open until dawn, and sometimes the desire for alcohol seemed to turn into countless insects that gnawed and gnawed under the skin of his whole body.Then he went to Darnay's house.With Lucy's soft "Ramona!", he regained his determination to fight the pain.

In only three months, he was nothing like the old man.Of course, an old habit is like an old tree that has been around for many years, and it will be difficult to dig out all its roots in a short time, but it is enough to cut off some thinner side roots.He still drank, but drank less; there was still some indifference in his words, but the sloppy look was gone.Just the word "responsibility" can play such a role!To this day, he didn't even know that Ramona loved him, or had loved him.But what his own interests and the future had failed to do, not even his love for Lucy, duty had driven him to do!This man worked hard, and finally poured his talent into the right place.It's not going to be easy for him to contend with his old reputation, but he's still getting back on his feet quickly.None of this was for his own benefit, but just to have the money to find the orphan girl who was nowhere to be found and whom he felt responsible for.There is such a strange thing in the world, that the condemnation of conscience can cause such a huge change in people!

Soon, Sidney Carton re-established his new reputation and severed the relationship with the original group of friends.He is not yet 40 years old, and he is a promising age in his prime. After regaining his energy, his appearance and bearing are not inferior to anyone else.He used all the increased income as funds to find Ramona. He never accepted the remittance from the Danes and his wife back then, but now he does not allow them to refuse.In [-], at the turn of the century, his job stabilized and his income increased greatly. It can be said that he made a fortune, so Carton reduced the number of cases he took, and spent several months every year to go to France looks for Ramona.

Mr. Lowry, old and retired now.Now there are three left to go to France: Carton, Darne and Lucy.They work almost in shifts.Indeed, some clues were found over the years: one said that Ramona had boarded the stagecoach to Lyons, and another said that she was her uncle who planned to go to Lyon.Darnay went to Lyon, but his uncle's family died of an epidemic one after another. The neighbor said that Ramona buried them and then went into the city.Another female worker in Lyon said that Ramona had worked in a textile factory, but she couldn't bear hardships, was not skilled in the work, and the money she earned every day was not enough to buy bread, and then she left. Lucy cried a lot for this .Carton later heard from an old mother who was a janitor that Ramona could not survive poverty and became a prostitute.Maybe she still has a bit of shame in her heart. After becoming a prostitute, she didn't use her previous name and changed her name to Maureen.

That was in [-], that is to say, only three years after the death of her parents, and the girl had just turned a child.For three years, she ran around trying to survive, lost her parents and uncle successively, and lived alone in the world.But the disaster did not simply let her go.Within a few months of working as a prostitute, Ramona became pregnant.The child's father gave her a sum of money and sent her away, and she left Lyon with her belly full, telling no one where she was going.

The trail ends here.There has been no news for several years, but none of the three mentioned giving up.Little Lucy is an adult, and she insists on going back and forth between London and France every year with Caton.Finally, in [-], they got a new lead: about a prostitute named Maureen.According to the description of the coachman, she was a pregnant woman who was alone, and she used to travel between Paris and the seaside town of Montreuil in a carriage.Everything fits, except that she's still pregnant—maybe she just happened to be pregnant again?

However, after finally catching this clue, Caton was unwilling to let go of any opportunity, and they had missed too many times in vain.He went to Montreuil first by an early stage coach in poor condition, and let little Lucy carry other luggage and hired a carriage.

It never occurred to them that what was waiting here was the news of Ramona's death.

It was dark when Carton turned back to the hotel with the baby girl in his arms.The boss and the customers in the shop couldn't help being surprised to see him go out alone, but when he came back, he was holding a baby.Carton ignored them, he asked about his room, went straight upstairs, pushed open the door, there was already a young girl sitting at the table inside the door, she turned around immediately when she heard the noise.The girl had thick blond hair, blue eyes, and a holy and gentle air.This is little Lucy, she has grown up, almost exactly like her mother when she was young, the only difference is that in addition to the mother's pure gentleness, there is also a little courage and perseverance from her father.The trials and tribulations she has experienced since she was a child and the years of travelling, not only did not wear away her softness, but instead made her more radiant like a polished diamond.

As soon as the almost radiant girl saw Carton, she stood up and stretched out her arms to him.There was endless sadness and sympathy on her face.

"I've heard it all," she said, in her mother's voice too. "Oh, dear Carton!"

Carton silently accepted her embrace that seemed to heal wounds.She kissed him on the cheek like a father, and took the child in her arms.The baby was fast asleep in a new soft swaddle, with a blissful blush on her rose-like cheeks.The suffering that followed her mother to death seemed to cherish a naive child, which had not yet had time to befall her.Little Lucy hugged her lovingly.Carton put down the box, and his whole body collapsed on the chair, like a bow that was stretched too tight suddenly snapped.

"Only three months!" he said, his voice hoarse. "If only I could have found her sooner!"

"Don't say that, Sidney! You did your best." Little Lucy reassured him softly. "Besides, she'll see. She'll thank you for saving her baby!"

Caton laughed miserably, buried his face in his hands, and let out a long breath: "I just hope she doesn't hate me!"

Carton and little Lucy took Corona back to London.

For many years, Caton had a low opinion of himself.He has become famous, but he still lives in the cramped, dilapidated apartment he rented many years ago, and the things in the house are still piled up in a mess.He was visited now and then by the Darnays, most frequently by little Lucy; but otherwise there was no one to take care of his life.Now it was different: he had Corona.Corona had to be looked after.

Caton took out his savings and bought a house next to Darney's house, and now the two are neighbors.No one was happier than Lucy's children, little Lucy and little Sidney, who almost regarded Carton as their half-father, and Corona as their little sister, naturally.Little Lucy looked after her with a sort of half-sister, half-mother affection.Lucy was older now, her blond hair was beginning to streak with gray, and her back was slightly arched, but she was as handy as ever.Corona's clothes have always been made by herself.

Winter goes to spring, and year after year has passed.Corona came from that poor orphanage to this heavenly family, but at first it was hardly noticeable that she had changed her attitude towards it.She still has a serious attitude that is not commensurate with a baby. She seldom cries or smiles, and she is not noisy. Those big clear eyes seem to be observing the world.But time has gradually witnessed her changes. As she grows up, she smiles a lot, and sometimes her eyes seem to be smiling when she is serious; she babbles and follows her sister and brother—that is to say, little Lucy And little Sidney - learning to speak, the first word she uttered was "Papa!" When she was three or four years old, she would also shout indistinct childish words, waving her shiny white hands and feet, stumbling He was running on the lawn, and occasionally fell and fell in front of a small flower, so he laughed instead of crying.

However, in general, Corona is more serious and stable than other children of the same age.Sometimes she would sit there in silence, for over an hour at a time, not talking or laughing, only her glass-clear blue eyes rolling around, as if the world was already in her little head.This once made Caton and little Lucy very worried, but Lucy comforted them with a gentle smile: "Maybe she is just too shy. I was often said to be too quiet when I was young."

However, when Corona was seven years old, after she learned to read, suddenly, in Katon's feeling, everything changed.Corona is no longer too quiet and serious. On the contrary, compared with girls of the same age, she lacks their soft and cute taste, but has a kind of stubbornness and enthusiasm similar to boys.She used to be like a pile of wood, but she was suddenly set on fire, and then emitted a bright but unsettling light from the inside out, as if she would burn her hand if she got close.Sometimes she still sits alone and meditates, but most of the time, she is not satisfied with the quiet and trivial work, and is impatient with the skills of sewing, weaving lace and decorating the home taught by little Lucy.She asked to read like little Sidney's brother, and not just the Rosary.The scriptures could not perfuse her.She had to read little Sidney's textbooks, learn Latin, mathematics, history, and Carton also taught her French in consideration of her background, so that she could be appeased.Carton looked at her with affection, but sometimes with fear.He is afraid that he, who has begun to grow old and frail, may not be able to hold this small flame one day; he is even more afraid that this small fire, which is just a lovely flame on a candle now, may burn to death in the future. If it was bigger, it would be nothing more than a furnace fire. He was only afraid that she would burn on the old path of the Defarges. Thinking of this, his heart was almost torn.Carton loves little Lucy and little Sidney because they are the children of the woman he loves; but he loves Corona because he really regards her as his own daughter.

Little Corona didn't know all that was going on in his heart.She is ignorant of her own life experience, and she only regards Carton as her father, and little Lucy and little Sidney as her own brothers and sisters.Only once, when she was eight, did she ask Carton: "Why don't I have a mother?"

Carton, known for his ingenious eloquence in court, was speechless for a moment.He wanted to lie to Corona, but Ramona's spirit seemed to be watching him and ordered him not to do so.Is he going to tell Corona the truth, but how can such a complicated truth be understood by an eight-year-old girl?Besides, Caton didn't dare to tell her the truth.He loves her, he is afraid of losing her.This question is almost impossible to answer.Corona didn't know the struggle in his heart, and quietly looked at him with a pair of big eyes, as if waiting for him to think.Ultimately, condensing the facts down to the bare minimum, Carton replied, "Because I adopted you."

"What about my mother?"

"She's in heaven."

Corona thought for a while: "So, I don't have a mother or a father, and you adopted me?"

"Yes."

Corona blinked, and then, much to Caton's surprise, she smiled brightly: "That's okay, I have you!"

She leaned forward, tiptoed and kissed his cheek, and left briskly.