[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

At three o'clock in the morning, the sky was already slightly bright, and it seemed that it would not rain again the next day.The rebels chatted in the tavern, full of hope for the coming day.Although the casualties at night were painful, they believed that there must be reinforcements to respond to them, and the battle situation would definitely turn in their favor.

At [-]:[-], Enjolras came back and quietly stepped into the tavern without attracting too much attention.The few people who saw him were also familiar with the leader's silence and did not try to bring him into the conversation.Promising prospects were still cheerfully discussed: at six in the morning a regiment "which they had worked on" would defect;

Enjolras went straight to the corner of Collins, where Combeferre sat alone against the wall, with Corona beside him, and no one else.The students and workmen, having heard Combeferre's talk, turned now to surround Courfeyrac, giving the guide a little rest.Hearing familiar footsteps, Combeferre opened his eyes.

"How's the situation?" he asked.Corona heard them talking and moved closer.Enjolras glanced at her, didn't stop her, but glanced around to make sure no one else was overhearing their conversation.

"All the troops of Paris have been dispatched, and there are no reinforcements," he said in a low voice, clearly, firmly, and confidently. "There is no hope."

Coronna took a deep breath and pursed her lips tightly.Combeferre turned slightly pale, but calm.He was only silent for a short moment: "Then, there is no need for everyone to die together."

"I thought so too." Enjolras said, "Just now when I walked to the corner of Swan Street, I saw candles burning in a small window on the sixth floor, reflecting the shadow of an old woman waiting, maybe it was the one between us. I hope that as few children and parents die here as possible, we should send everyone out of the encirclement as much as possible, and the barricade only needs [-] people to defend it."

"The wounded have to be sent away, and we still have 38 people left. Let another eight go, and they can help the wounded."

"Then we should inform them," Enjolras replied.He stood up, took the key from Corona, and was about to stride back into the crowd.Corona stopped him softly.She also stood up, as if she was suppressing some intense emotion, her cheeks were flushed, and there was almost a smile on her lips, but there was a look of fear in her eyes.

"So we're all going to be dead at dawn," she said softly.

Enjolras nodded solemnly and calmly.

"In that case, would you like to kiss me now?"

She stretched out a hand, hanging in the air.Enjolras took the hand, lowered her head, brought the back of her hand to her lips, and kissed it.Corona was about to withdraw her hand, but Enjolras instead held that hand with both hands, pressing it against her chest.

Corona almost seems to be trapped in a dream, in the shadow of the boundary between life and death, it seems that she is no longer in the real world.She felt the beating of Enjolras' heart under her palm, echoing her own heartbeat, the rhythm of the two voices gradually became unified, and finally merged into one.She forgot the dim light of the candles, the dirt on the wooden floor, Combeferre sitting nearby and the people talking, she forgot the coming dawn and death, and she just stood there, motionless, as if He was fixed by some transcendent force.As if for a century and only for a moment, they stood there, looking at each other, neither of them moved. Finally, Enjolras took a step forward, so they could breathe and smell each other.He lowered his head slightly, and pressed another kiss on Corona's forehead.

Under the dim candlelight, it seems that this is not a small restaurant that has been evacuated, but a church and an altar.It was a kiss so pure and noble that onlookers would mistake it for a kiss from a god to a saint.But for the lovers who are in it, there's no mistaking it, it's a lover's kiss.Lips and brows parted with a mere touch, and they both smiled at each other, startled and indescribably happy, a happiness that emanated from them like a halo and stained his blood-stained blond hair. And her torn and soiled clothes have a kind of divine beauty.

"Ah, now I can gladly die with you!" Corona sighed softly.

"And I'd rather you survive!" Enjolras replied.

This is often the case in love: two hearts that reflect each other and shine brightly will soak up each other's brilliance.For a moment, their identities seemed to have a wonderful exchange: Corona, who was always turning around and seeking perfection, was willing to die, while Enjolras, who was fearless and willing to dedicate herself to the revolution, hoped that the other party would survive.

"I will always follow you," Corona said.

They stared at each other, smiled at each other, and neither of them had spoken.There is nothing else to say, these few words and two kisses are a promise of life and faith.How long they stood there I do not know, when at last they were interrupted by a slight cough, and Combeferre stood in a corner, watching them.

"I really hate to interrupt this moment," he said, with an apologetic smile, "but it's almost dawn."

Indeed, the sky had turned from pure black to a faint gray, and there seemed to be a ray of dawn on the horizon.To send the others away, you must hurry now.Enjolras finally nodded to her, they let go of their hands, and Corona stood where she was, watching him walk into the crowd.

In the gradually turning white morning light, Enjolras crossed his arms, walked to the center of the crowd, and listened to their pleasant discussions.Then, ruddy and full of energy, he said: "The whole army of Paris is out. One-third of the army is on this barricade where you are, and the National Guard. I recognize the [-]th Battalion of the Regular Army." Military caps and flags of the Sixth Gendarmerie. You will be attacked in an hour. As for the people, yesterday was excited, but this morning there is no movement. No hope, no hope. There is no suburb that responds to each other. , and there is no alliance to respond. You are abandoned."

The crowd fell silent for a moment.Corona looked at his profile from a distance, with tears and a smile.She turned to look for other friends in the crowd: Courfeyrac, Feuilly, Bossuet, Jean, and several others were blocked by other people.Their faces had something like Combeferre's, pale, but determined.

There was only a brief moment of silence, and then a voice called out: "Even so, we raised the barricades to twenty feet high, and we will stand. Citizens, let us protest with dead bodies. We want to show that although Abandon the Republicans, and the Republicans will not turn their backs on the people."

Coronne whispered to Combeferre, amidst the enthusiastic cheers echoed by the crowd: "No one will retreat. Enjolras will need your persuasion."

Combeferre nodded in anticipation, and went forward.After Enjolras had given his speech, he went on to persuade the wounded and medical students, as well as those with family responsibilities, to leave with that sympathetic and earnest tone.He spoke of aging parents with lonely lamps, of wives and sisters, of abandoned children.

Everyone lowered their heads gloomily.Someone shouted: "Then the women should go first."

"We won't leave!" came an exasperated woman's voice. "We can fight, too!"

"I don't think women should have the right, or duty, to leave first," said Coronne, raising her voice, and she also stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Combeferre. "Citizens, take note, we What is being discussed at the moment is the obligation to the revolution and to the family. This obligation is not necessarily directly related to gender. Those who have parents, wives and children, and those who bear family responsibilities should leave. I know that everyone here at the moment is willing to serve Great warriors of revolutionary sacrifice, yes, but you only have the right to sacrifice yourself, you have no right to sacrifice your parents, your children. Please save your enthusiasm for tomorrow! The revolution is not a one-day achievement, if you To be able to educate future generations to become a new generation of revolutionaries is to make the highest contribution to the Republic. At the same time, I also ask my sisters not to be selfish and not to try to prove themselves. Think about your husbands, think about you children! I know several of the women here are mothers. Great is the love for the Republic, but think also of the love for the children in your arms! Eliza, isn’t your daughter only three years old? Nina, you are the most popular teacher in the literacy class, and there is no student who does not love you. You have made equally great contributions elsewhere, why waste your life here?"

Under their turns of persuasion, the crowd wavered.Courfeyrac urged: "Hurry up! It's almost dawn."

"We practice a democratic system here, everyone votes to decide." Enjolras said.

So people started denouncing each other.One said: "Go away! You have three children." Another said: "Go away! Your two daughters need a mother." In the midst of the quarrel Coronne came up to Marius and said to him "You must go too." This surprised Marius. "Me? What do I have?" He said with a wry smile.

"Don't you love Cosette?" asked Corona.

The name made Marius tremble. "Cosette! Oh God, there is no one in the world who loves her more than I do!" cried he; "it is because I love her so much that I am compelled to come here."

"Why?" Corona asked calmly.

"Because she's going to England. She's leaving me, and I can't do anything! What's the point of living apart from Cosette? It's better to give my life than to live in a world without her." give her!"

Corona smiled lightly.

"So it is," she whispered to herself, and then raised her voice so that Marius could hear her voice over the tumult: "It is unnecessary. If you love her, if she loves You, you can court her in a dignified way."

"Me!" Marius said with a wry smile, grabbing his hair with both hands, "how could her family allow a poor man like me to woo her?"

"I agree." Corona said.

Marius stared at her dumbfounded, his hands were still stuck in his hair and he forgot to take them off, Corona couldn't help laughing at that stupid look: "Why. You've been with ABC for so long, you don't know I'm Cosette Te's aunt?"

Marius opened his mouth, as if he had lost the ability to speak.Corona reached into her pocket and found that she was out of paper, so she asked Marius: "Do you have any paper?"

Marius felt in his pocket, rummaged for a while, and found only the letter on his breast.Corona directly took it from his hand, unfolded it to read, it was written in Cosette's handwriting in a hurry:

"My dear, my father wants us to go to Lucy's Girls' School early in the morning. We will stay at school for a few days, and if the situation in Paris is not right, we will leave for England immediately. Cosette. The fourth of June. "

This letter only strengthened Corona's determination, and she was convinced that Marius was also the one Cosette cared about.So she scribbled a line in pencil on the reverse side of the letter, thought it over, added another line, put it back in the envelope as it was, and handed it to Marius. "I believe you won't take apart your character to see it without permission?" she asked.

Marius seemed to return to his soul at this time. "You, you—" He was trembling with excitement, and he wanted to grab her shoulders with both hands, but suddenly remembered that she was a girl, and retracted like an electric shock, "Are you serious? Please don't talk to me. Just kidding! You don’t know what Cosette means to me. She is an angel. She is more beautiful and pure than angels. There are no words in the world to describe it. You don’t know that she didn’t go to the Luxembourg Gardens. I sat up all day till twelve o'clock at night. She was my whole life. Will you really allow me to see her again?"

"I allow you to see her again, but I don't promise more. Only Cosette can give you such permission." Corona said, "Since love is the most important thing in your heart, not revolution, then there is no need for you Sacrifice here. You go."

She pushed Marius into the line of chosen evacuees.She had provided the key to leave the barricade, and no one questioned it.

In the end, it was voted that the wounded should be sent out in full.The other eight included two medical students, two women, and four young men with family responsibilities.Among the wounded, many people were unwilling to leave. For example, Feuilly kept protesting, saying that he was only slightly injured and could continue to fight.But in the end they left.Thirty people remained behind on the barricade, including five women.Enjolras, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Corona and Bossuet are among them.The remaining men ready their weapons and cartridges and went to their fighting posts.The sky has gradually turned white, and the faint morning light is enough for them to talk and laugh calmly. "If only there were paints here," Corona said. "I have a picture in my mind. I want to paint it!"

"Will you regret it?" asked a worker standing beside her whose name she did not know.Corona smiled back.

"It's one of the things I don't regret the most in my life," she said.