Philippine had another nightmare. And they weren't the kind of nightmares most people have. They were so twisted and disturbing that she couldn't even describe them. She had been having nightmares frequently since her father and her twin brother, Philippe went missing. Philippine's father abandoned her and her brother when they were eight years old. Two years later, Philippe went to look for their father. But he never came back. Now she lives alone in her house.
She never got to know her mother either. Her father left her and took the twins with him. When she'd ask her father why they couldn't see their mother again, he'd always answer, "You wouldn't understand."
Now Philippine is fourteen years old. Frankly, she's not sure how she survived for so long with no one else to take care of her. Well, there was her friend Marius who brought her some food and kept her company every now again. But she had no family. Or at least she didn't know where they were.
Philippine sat up in her bed and looked out the window. She squinted when the morning sun shone in her eyes. She was glad it was morning. If it was night time, she would have had to stay in the darkness that surrounded her while the thoughts of her horrific nightmare terrorized her. When she has nightmares in the morning, she forgets about it instantly. Philippine stood up and went downstairs into the kitchen. The only food she could find that was adequate for breakfast was an apple and some bread that Marius gave her the other day. She cut up the bread into little slices and did the same with apple. She took a bite out of an apple slice and thought of Marius. She liked his freckles. He was Philippine's only friend. Well there was that other boy named Montparnasse who she would talk to sometimes. But she wasn't sure if they were friends.
When she was done with her breakfast, Philippine went back up to her room to get dressed. She put on a brown dress which was a little torn on the right sleeve. She didn't care; she liked that dress. Then, Philippine brushed her wavy, dark brown hair and tied it into a ponytail with a red ribbon. She found the ribbon when a wealthy looking girl dropped it in the street. Philippine picked it up and was about to bring it back to the girl. But she decided to keep it for herself.
Since Philippine was low on food, she decided to go to the market. She took some francs which Marius gave her. She felt bad when he first gave her money. But he says his family is wealthy so he doesn't mind and he's sympathetic for the poor people of France. Philippine liked that about him.
It was a long walk to the market. But Philippine didn't mind. She liked taking long walks because it helped her daydream. It also helped her forget about her father and her twin brother. Half way through her walk, she saw a man and a woman holding hands. They looked wealthy, but they didn't look like those kinds of people who marry for money. They looked in love. Philippine started to think about finding true love. She wondered when she would find the right person. What if she never found the right person? She swore to never marry for money. Philippine always wondered how those people sleep at night. Then she remembered that she never slept very well.
She finally got to the market and bought some apples, some croissants, some bread, and some milk. The friendly customers always greeted her. She knew everyone's names: Victor, Claude, Marie-France, Therese. Philippine liked people liked them. We need more friendly people in the world, she thought.
She took the long journey home and couldn't wait to lie down. Her feet were killing her from all that walking. At last, her house was straight ahead. But she stopped short when she saw a suspicious-looking group of men by her house. Most people who saw strangers by their house would have said "Get away from my here!" or "This isn't your property! Leave at once!" But Philippine wasn't a fighter. She didn't like to be bothersome. Those men look like thieves, she thought. Philippine always assumed that suspicious-looking people were thieves because there were so many in France. She was especially nervous because she had a basket full of groceries in her hands. She didn't want to be seen by them. So, she slowly tried to sneak in through the back door.
They saw her.
"Hey, where are you going?" one of them shouted.
Philippine's heart stopped.
"Merde, merde, merde, merde, merde." Philippine whispered to herself.
She slowly turned around and looked at the intimidating men. She tried to say something but she didn't make a sound.
The one who seemed to be the leader of the "gang" said, "We asked you a question, Mademoiselle."
"To my house." Philippine said weakly.
The men laughed. "Oh, this is your house!" the leader said.
Philippine just stared at them wanted to run away.
"Can we have that little basket of yours?" a tall one said.
Philippine looked at her basket with the food she bought from the market in it. Then looked back at the gang.
"No." she said.
They laughed again. Then, the leader spoke once more.
"You see, little girl. I don't think you know who we are," he said, "We're the Patron-Minette, Mademoiselle. And we always get what we want."
Philippine didn't know what else to do. So, she ran past them. When, she got to the street, she fell to the ground dropping her groceries. The gang tackled her. Two of them picked up her groceries and fled while the other two kept her down.
One of them whispered to her, "If one word is spoken to the police, you're dead."
Suddenly, one of the men punched the poor girl in the face. Then, they started kicking her. Philippine tasted blood in her mouth. Finally, the gang fled with her groceries. She saw a crowd of people standing around her, but no one helped. After a minute or two, the crowd dispersed.
Philippine couldn't believe what happened. She was punched and kicked. Just because she had food? Not only that, but nobody bothered to help. This is France, she thought this is what our country has come to. Somebody needs to do something. Somebody needs to help the poor and stop the thieves.
"Will nobody help this poor girl?" Philippine heard a manly voice say.
Surprised, she looked up and saw a blond haired boy walking towards her looking concerned. Finally, somebody came to her rescue. She was relived. But then she realized that he could be another thief. Nobody can be trusted.
The boy knelt down to meet her bruised face, "Do you need help?" he said.
Philippine thought the boy was handsome. He had long blond hair which he kept in a ponytail. And he didn't have those cliché blue eyes that most blond people have; he had dark, brown eyes which looked brighter in the light. But handsome or not, she couldn't trust anybody.
"Yes." She said.
"I can take you to the hospital if you like." The boy replied.
"I-I don't know." Philippine said weakly.
"Are you sure?" he said.
There was a long pause. Philippine stared at the boy, intimidated.
"I don't know if I can trust you." She said finally.
The boy felt terrible. He wanted to help the beaten girl. She must have been through a lot he thought.
"I won't harm you, I promise. I just want to help." He said softly.
Philippine didn't say anything. She just wanted this day to end.
"If somebody doesn't take you to the hospital soon," he said, "I'm afraid you might die out here."
"I'm not that badly hurt. I-"
"Please." He cut her off. He tried to smile to seem less intimidating.
Philippine sighed and finally agreed. The boy picked her up but she objected.
"No its fine, I can walk." She said.
Reluctantly, he put her down. Philippine suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed back into the boy's arms.
"I think I should carry you." He said.
Philippine nodded and the boy picked her up again.
"My name is Enjolras by the way." The boy said slightly smiling.
Philippine tried to smile back and said "My name's Philippine."
"Philippine," Enjolras reiterated, "That's a lovely name."