Snowflakes drifted down from a starless sky. Frigid air slipped in underneath every door and through every cracked windowpane. There could be no doubt about it; winter had taken over the city, and it was a more tight-fisted tyrant than any who had claimed rule of France yet. The freezing air had driven every citizen of Paris indoors for the night.
No, not quite everyone.
Gavroche crouched in the snow in a narrow alley, doing his best to defy the weather. He blew on his hands and rubbed them together, humming to himself as he did so. Snow was all well and good in the daytime. Gavroche was a valiant warrior when it came to snowball fights. Once, he and his friends had dared to venture out on the frozen river, but they hadn't gotten too far before a policeman caught them and made them come back. Silly grown-ups, always spoiling all the fun!
But when night fell, snow was his enemy, and a fierce enemy it was, not nearly as easy to outwit as the police. A bitterly cold wind screamed through the night, driving the snow before it. Gavroche crawled behind a garbage barrel to get out of the wind. A painful coughing fit seized his small body, and he realized he'd been coughing a lot lately. For a moment he wondered if he might be…no, impossible! He would never allow himself to get sick, he was tougher than that! He pushed the thought from his mind. He leaned against the wall of a building and pressed his cold hands against his forehead, which felt hot in spite of the cold. Winter might be strong, but he'd find a way to beat it. He had to.
Eponine trudged through the snow, wondering how much farther she'd have to go until she reached her apartment. It was sheer cruelty to make anybody go out on a night like this, but her father wasn't used to thinking about anyone but himself, and when he sent her out with a letter to deliver, she didn't dare to refuse. Now all she cared about was getting home. There was a shortcut she knew of just ahead. The wind howled; she pulled her threadbare coat tighter around her shoulders and took a step into the alley. Something stirred in the shadows. Eponine stopped in her tracks. She knew very well what could happen to someone who trespassed in a dark alley late at night, but she was a brave girl, and she was desperate to get home. She had just made up her mind to run through there as fast as she could, when she realized who it was lurking in the shadows.
"Gavroche?" she called out. She went to where she had seen the movement, and found her brother huddled against the wall. He looked up at her, and half-smiled. "Hey 'Ponine, whatcher doin' out here?"
"I'm on my way home." She could see he was shivering; his face looked extremely pale. "Are you all right?" she asked. Gavroche shrugged. "Guess so. You'd better get home, it's cold." He began to cough. Eponine knelt in the snow beside him. She put her hand to his forehead. "You're not all right!" she exclaimed, "Gavroche, you're sick!"
"I'm fine," said Gavroche, pushing her away, "Just leave me alone!"
"Leave you alone to freeze to death out here? I don't think so. You're coming home with me and that's final!"
"Mother said she never wanted to see me again."
"I'll deal with her. Come with me."
"How come you're so nice to me all of a sudden?"
Eponine put her arm around his shoulders and drew him into a tight hug. "Ain't I always nice to you?" she said in a gentler tone. Gavroche coughed again. "I guess."
"Well, you're my little brother and I love you. That's a good enough reason."
She helped him up to his feet, and together they stumbled towards the old apartment building she called home. The night was still bitterly cold, but now Gavroche hardly noticed. He was with someone who cared about him, and that was enough to drive the cold winter away.
