"MARIUS!" A loud, imposing voice shouted. The voice distinctly came from the spacious sitting room, lavishly decked out in old and no doubt valuable paintings, delicate china ornaments and plush, magnificent furniture. However, only one being sat in this room, and surely the old man, most definitely over sixty and however lively he appeared to be could not have produced such a demanding, bellowing sound?
Yet it was to this man that small boy of about ten years came running to. He was a small, almost pathetic slip of a boy. Once neat brown hair hung into his large eyes and a small thin mouth remained closed as the boy hung his head, staring desperately down at his polished shoes, making no effort to conceal his avoiding the eye of the old man. "Yes Grandfather?" He timidly replied after a long pause.
"You did not finish your reading last night did you?" The interrogator questioned.
Young Marius shifted nervously from foot to foot, still guiltily looking down at the floor. "No Grandfather." He timidly answered. Then, overcome with some spontaneous form of confidence, he continued. "It wasn't interesting enough."
At this remark, the grandfather raised his eyebrows in such way that immediately the young boy lowered his head again. The look on the young boy's face was one of such despair and remorse that one could not see it without one's heart melting there and then. The hard expression on the old man's softened and a smile once more lit his face. "Well then, let my daughter take you out for your walk. It will so you good to get some exercise." However strange this was, coming from a man who left his house very infrequently, and even then hardly walked, Marius only nodded in submission.
"Yes Grandfather."
And so the small boy found himself strolling beside his aunt, padded in a warm but suitable outfit to fit the times. He did not take much notice of his surroundings, only once in a while did he look up to glance at a house or some gardens, but when something caught his interest, he would stare wide-eyed at it until the stern woman again attracted his attention and took him onwards. Mlle Gillenormand led him to a different part of the city for a change. If the boy did not take any notice in a change of surroundings, she did all the same.
That was how the two found themselves bordering the old sector of the city. As they passed a small stretch of grass that contained a few flowers and a bench, Marius found himself being dragged into it. It was no-where near as pretty as those large, extravagant gardens closer to where he lived, but it was far quieter and at present no-one else was there. Marius, being shy, took comfort in this and looked around in interest.
He was in the act of examining a small flower when someone new turned the corner. Even though he knew that it wasn't polite or proper to stare, he took into account the fact that his aunt was in one of her oblivious gazes and took this opportunity to watch them for some time. It was pair of people, and from the looks of it, out for their evening walk like himself. Also like his position, it consisted of an old guardian taking out a younger child. There was a man, who looked strong and completely capable despite his white hair, and a young girl who clung adoringly to his hand.
She looked to be a few years younger than himself, although it was hard to tell as she was so small. Even at his young age, he noticed that she was not pretty; one might even say she was homely. Her black dress, consisting for the most part of wool and cotton could not conceal her almost sickly thin figure. She was neatly kept, clean and orderly as one should be. But he could not help but think that in this sallow, unremarkable face, the only pretty feature was her big bright blue eyes.
Happiness though shed light on this girl's face and her delicate hand rested, almost inseparably in the large firm one of the older man, probably her grandfather. In her other hand she clutched a large, beautiful doll. It was evidently a fine make, one even Marius could tell, despite his obviously small knowledge bout dolls. However now this doll's fine pink dress was faded and worn. A sign of love really, but Marius, having had no toy to adore infallibly, did not know this and simply thought it dirty out of carelessness.
As he stared, the two couples had neared each other, and finally the young girl noticed his attention. She shied away, evidently not knowing any reason why anyone would take an interest in her. She tugged her grandfather's sleeve and whispered something into his ear. Marius caught snatches of her surprisingly sweet, bright voice and made out. "Papa, why is that boy dressed so much, and like that? Like a boy version of Catherine." The old man, on hearing this chuckled.
"That is the way some people dress my dear." He replied, not really taking any notice of the subject of this conversation."
The girl paused for a second; unaware that Marius had any notion of what she was saying. "Why is he staring at me so much?"
This time it was Marius's turn to blush and he turned away. At the same time, the man suddenly took some notice of the passers-by. From the corner of his eye, the man scrutinised first him, and then Mlle Gillenormand, then he seemed to become nervous at the sight of the severe woman, dressed so finely, despite modestly. He recognised the style of the Bourgeoisie and for a moment, Marius discerned someone bordering the lines of fear in his eyes.
"Come Cosette. It is time for us to go back home." The girl made no complaints, and with that, they retreated and walked briskly back the way they had come.
Marius followed their path for a while, and then walked on with his own aunt. He immediately forgot the name of the little girl; it was only a passing memory in his mind. He didn't quite know why the face of that almost ugly child stayed in his mind for so long. Even when he was back in his house, he could still envisage it. The next morning, it had become misty and vague, but it was still there. After a while though, Marius forgot about the small girl he had met and never thought twice about it. He did not know how much a part of his life she would become.