He had been lying there surrounded by dead bodies for days. He remermbered everything. How he got there. How his friends fell on the barricade. How he was hurt. Though he could not understand how could he be still alive.
Enjolras slowly opened his eyes, blinked several times and looked at the streets of Paris. The revolution he waited for only lasted one night and was not a success. The people still lived in fears and misery. They disgusted him. They had not move, they had done nothing to help them, to gain a better life but they did not stop complaining.
He slowly stood up. He arrived near a puddle and decided to see the damage. Of course he had several wounds on his chest as the proof of his bravery on the barricade but his face, his once so beautiful face, was deformed, as burned on his right side. He did not recall that he was hurted in the face though. He never really cared about physical appearance but now that he was seeing his new face he could not help himself to look away in tears.
He stood up again and took time to think about the past events. He now had nowhere to go as his friends was dead and his family had rejected long ago because of his ideas and he douted that he could find a nice place in a inn with that face. What was he to do with the rest of his life ?
As he was lost in his thoughts, he walked on the streets of the town, walking by famous monuments he could not see. As he was concluding that he could not live any longer in the light he found himself in front of the Opera. He looked at and gazed upon the building was a slight twinge. He had spoken about the Opera with Grantaire and Marius before the horror and now the building which never appealed him calmed him down. The Opera was also once the symbol of the people's freedom during the Commune and he seemed to him that it was the perfect place to start a new life.
He started to explore the building while being hidden as he was ashamed of his ugliness. He remembered rumors about a possible lake under the Opera. He went down to the fifth basement and found the wide puddle. In front this calm black water he felt safe and relaxed. He had found a new home.
He decided to decorate the approaches of the lake to have somewhere to sleep. He put some candles and bought a little boat. He analysed his reflection and decided that he had to do something to make that vision bareable. He made himself a mask that only covers the disfigured part of his face. He also wore a wig as he missed the feeling of having hair.
To past time he hid between the walls of the building and stole the food that he could reach whenever he wanted. He spent his days between wandering and long naps in his boat. The Opera was a perfect place for whoever loves music and Enjolras had not sung since the barricade. However the melodies that flew from the stage charmed him and he started to sing again.
One day as he was wandering in the halls near the dressing rooms he heard the purest and most beautiful voice he had never heard. He then thought of Marius's words as he was speaking of his beloved and he understood that for the first time he was in love. He was still standing there turned upside down when he heard a screaming girl behind him. He turned around and the girl almost fainted. He ran away as fast as he can while being caution on not to be followed. At the corner of the hall he could hear the young girl saying « The Phantom of the Opera ».