Author's Note:
Hello everyone, my name is Elizabeth and I would like to say a few things before you begin this story. First of all, in reading this you should not expect updates on a regular basis. I am a VERY busy person, and do this for fun as a hobby, but I'm not absolutely dedicated to it. Also, this story has an explicit amount of references to the Roman Catholic Church. If you have a problem with the Church, be cautious in reading this. As I said before, the purpose of this is for my entertainment, not to please other people, so please, no hate. Just to be clear, I'm not some intolerant person that dislikes other religions. I respect all of them, even if I don't necessarily agree with them. Anyway, if you have any questions about the Church vocabulary mentioned, the words with asterisks next to them have an explanation at the bottom. I grew up with words like this around me, so I might have missed a few. If you have any questions or if some of this doesn't make sense, feel free to contact me!
I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Victor Hugo's Les Miserables or any of its characters.
Chapter One:
Eponine
Thank goodness it's finally Sunday, was the first thing on my mind when I woke up. Not only does Sunday mean another day of no work, but it means mass and youth group, which, were my favorite parts of the week.
Work had become tedious at that point in my life. I worked in a public school as a band and chorus teacher. Don't get me wrong, I loved my job, but for a "just starting out" 26 year old, the stress was a lot to handle. My stress was also increasing at this time because it was beginning to be around our Fall Concert, and we weren't ready at all.
But putting all of that aside, I got ready to go to mass. Because it was one of those weekends that I had to cantor,* I dressed up more than usual, and put on a nice dark blue dress with black tights and black wedges; a typical cantering outfit. As I went out the door I knew that my siblings were still fast asleep.
Once I got to the church, I did my usual ritual of looking through the songs, praying, asking the presiding priest whether or not the Gloria* would be sung, etc., all the while hoping that Marius would show up. He is a very faithful Catholic, so I knew he would go to mass at some point, but he might have gone to a mass that I am not singing at.
Maybe today will be the day that he finally notices me the way I notice him…
Or not. He came through the doors and went to his seat in a pew without a second glance my way. There is however, someone who I caught looking at me. My best friend ever since I started to attend youth group was Antoine Enjolras, but we all just called him Enjolras. It's actually surprising that Enjolras and I are friends at all. He is nicknamed the "marble man" of our group and almost never shared his feelings. He isn't anti-social or anything like that. He just didn't like to share his deepest feelings sometimes. And not only was he my best friend, but all of his friends had become very dear to me also. Combeferre was like the older brother that I never had. Not to mention Courfeyrac, the man who first introduced me to Marius. I met Joly when I broke my wrist (he was the one to fix me up), and Jehan when we were both in school together. Feuilly was my partner at work and was a kindergarten teacher (God bless him!). We always did everything together there. The last of our original little group was Grantaire. He was somewhat wild, but we loved him dearly all the same.
Over time, others slowly joined our family. Joly brought his longtime girlfriend (I believe it's been around 7 years?), Musichetta. She fit right in to the group. I remember the day that Jehan Prouvaire and Grantaire introduced us to their fiancés. It was very funny because neither knew that the other was planning the same thing. Jehan's fiancé Amélie and Grantaire's fiancée Brigitte, Musichetta and I all became close friends very quickly. 'Chetta and I were in desperate need of some real "girl time" with all of those boys around us. When my sister became an adult, she became the last member of our group. Although all of us were (and are) extremely different, we had one thing in common. We all love God, His Church, and His people, and we were members of our parish's adult core group. This basically meant that we helped out a lot and planned everything for our youth group.
Enjolras was seated with his parents, Bernard and Marie. I absolutely adore them. Both of them had offered to adopt me on countless occasions (and these were serious offers) after what had happened with my parents, but I was fairly happy with just my siblings and I. Besides, the next time I joined a family, I hoped for it to be Marius'. And even if I wasn't planning on marrying at some point in my life, I don't know if I could have accepted their offer. I was still very wounded with what happened between my parents, siblings, and I…
My father and mother were drunks, plain and simple. My dad used to threaten Azelma and my three younger brothers all of the time. My mother didn't care enough to do anything about it. Eventually, I had had enough of taking beatings for my siblings and having to cower in fear in my own home. With Enjolras' help, I went to the police. Without him, I don't know what I would have done. The trial went quickly and smoothly, and my parents started spending their days locked up in a jail. I was only 17 when all of this had happened.
Enjolras caught my eye and mouthed to me, "Good luck and sing pretty Mademoiselle Thénardier!" I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm and mouthed back, "Thank you, Mr. Enjolras." I saw the slight twinkle in his eye that meant he was is a good mood. I wonder what's making him so happy today, I thought.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Azelma had finally arrived with my three younger brothers: Gavroche, Edmé, and Théodore. It was a big help that my sister had turned 18 that past year. We were then able to split the burden of having to drive everywhere we needed to go. She was also starting to work a part time job while she was studying at our local community college. Gavroche had also just had a big birthday; he turned 13. "Finally a teenager!" He had exclaimed happily. Edmé was still at the very ripe age of 8, and Théo was only 6.
At this point the announcements for today had started, which was my cue to zone out for a little bit. Cantors in my parish were required to sing at three masses a weekend, therefore I had already heard all of this yesterday at the vigil mass. However, I snapped to attention when I heard my name being said. That was my cue to be ready to sing.
This mass was just like every other mass, but today Father Myriel was presiding. Now Catholics aren't supposed to pick their favorite things about mass just because of the priest, but I have to admit that Fr. Myriel was my favorite. His love for the Church and our Eucharistic* Lord was so prominent, and I looked up to him for that reason.
However, during the Gloria, something weird happened. A girl who looked to be about my age came practically running in the door because she was late. At a glance, she had blonde, curly hair and was thin, but fairly tall. She sat in the same pew as Marius. He looked over to smile at her in order to be polite, and when he did, he looked as though he was in awe. After noticing this quick exchange, I almost messed up on my current verse in the Gloria. Fortunately, I was able to keep myself on track and refrain from looking at the pair until the prayer was over.
When I returned to my seat, I discretely looked over at Marius and this other girl. After having more of a chance to study her, I felt my stomach start to twist, and not in the good way. Oh my goodness. It's Cosette. A memory came to the surface of my mind:
"Please Monsieur. I cannot let my daughter live with me because I fear they will take me away soon. You and your family are well respected in this city; she will be at home here. She won't do well in the foster system. No child does! Please, I beg of you! I will do whatever you want."
I stared at this desperate woman from around a corner of the house.
Why doesn't Papa just help her? I thought. The woman and the girl seemed nice enough. And I wanted someone to play with! Azelma was still "too little."
I would have gone to get Mama, but she was out with some of her friends. Papa looked at the lady with a weird, almost cruel look in his eye.
"Come with me and we will discuss our… business." Papa said.
The woman gulped and turned towards her daughter.
"Stay here, alright? Mama has to make sure you are safe."
She followed papa into my parent's bedroom. I looked at the girl.
"Hi! My name's Eponine, but I like 'Ponine better, so that's what you should call me! What's your name?"
"I'm called Cosette." She said quietly with a smile.
For the next hour we played like little girls should. My collection of dolls was used massively and there was much giggling.
After a while, Cosette's Mother came out of the bedroom with disheveled clothes and hair. She went to Cosette.
Looking at how content her daughter was, she said, "Are you happy here, my love?"
Cosette just laughed and said, "Of course mama!"
The woman looked like she was about to cry and that she was torn between decisions. After that, she kissed her daughter on the forehead and left for good.
2 Years Later
Cosette glanced back at me with sadness as she walked out the door of my house for the last time. She was going to the orphanage.
"I've certainly had enough of you, you little hussy," mama murmured as she rushed Cosette out the door.
Why are they taking my friend away? I thought. I just didn't understand.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought me back to the day at hand. Fr. Myriel was looking at me expectantly. Shoot. My cheeks turned extremely red as I had zoned out when it was time to sing the Responsorial Psalm.
The rest of the mass went as planned, and I steeled myself for what was to come. How am I going to talk to her after all these years? Luckily for me, the girl had disappeared from my sight. However, Marius had disappeared also. I frowned. This might not be good. As soon as I realized this I shrugged and walked over to the Enolrases to talk with them. This was a usual Sunday ritual.
As soon as they saw me coming, Madame and Monsieur Enjolras greeted me with hugs, respectively.
"How are you doing, my dear?" Madame Enjolras asked me.
"Oh, I've been doing very well as of late. Work has been a little bit of a struggle."
"Oh dear," she said. "We will be praying for you."
This put a smile on my face. "Thank you very much Madame Enjolras."
After conversing with them for a while, they left to go home. This whole time Enjolras was leaning against one of the many columns in the church, listening.
"Well aren't you Monsieur Personnalité today?" I teased with a grin.
He gave me a rare smile and looked at me pointedly. "You know I am content with listening. That is one of the reasons our friendship works so well."
"Enjolras!" I blushed. "I stand corrected. You are in a very witty mood today." We laughed.
"On a more serious note, you sang very well today."
I sighed. "I can't believe I zoned out like I did though. Did you notice?"
He turned red. "I… uh-well..."
"That bad? Shoot. Well, I do have a good reason, though."
"And what would that be mademoiselle?"
When I answered, I was deep in my memories. "A childhood friend attended mass today."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Who might that be?"
"Her name is Cosette. All I remember is her mother pleading with my father to let her live with us. I'm not sure of exactly the circumstances."
His face took on an even bigger expression of shock. "She used to live with you?!"
"Yes. For a few years we were happy, and then when things started to go badly with my parents, they gave her to an orphanage. I hadn't heard about or seen her until now."
"Well did you get reacquainted with her?"
"No. She disappeared right after mass. However, I do intend to find her at some point."
"Maybe she will become a regular parishioner?" Enjolras suggested, but I cringed. "Or maybe not. What's with the face? Do you have any bad memories with this girl?"
I was blushing again. "No… I'm upset for a different reason." Enjolras knew about my feelings for Marius, but I didn't want him to think I was being inhospitable. I also didn't want to lie to him. But in the end, my honest side won out. "I think she and Marius went off somewhere together."
Understanding dawned in his eyes, along with something else that was unrecognizable. Anger? Jealousy? It was always too hard to tell with Monsieur Marble. "Oh," he said. "Well, you can ask him about it tonight at youth group then."
I thought this over and realized that this was my best option. "You're right. I'll just ask him in the core meeting before."
He smiled. "I'm glad you're finally able to make it to a meeting, 'Ponine."
I sighed. "Yes, I know! I've been awfully busy lately with the Fall Concert coming up and everything, but soon after this everything will be normal again."
But I was wrong. Nothing would be "normal" again.
Later that night, after an uneventful afternoon, I pulled up to our Parish Life Center and parked my car. I soon realized that I didn't know which room we were meeting in.
I texted Marius, Hey, what room are we meeting in?
I think in the Saint John Bosco Room.*
Thanks, I'll see you there. I replied.
He texted back, Oh, about that, I probably won't be there tonight. Some other plans popped up. Can you tell everyone sorry and that I won't be there?
I frowned at my phone.
Yes, I'll tell them. Is everything ok?
Oh yes, everything is wonderful I'll see you around Ponine!
Well this isn't what I planned, I thought. Then I remembered that the easiest way to get God to laugh was to tell him your plans. That made me smile.
When I walked into the SJB Room, Enjolras, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Jehan, Joly, Musichetta, Amélie, Grantaire, and Brigitte were all seated around the long conference table. They all made a big scene of me walking in.
"Well it's about time you show up to a meeting!"
"Yeah, what's been up with you 'Ponine?"
"I so glad you came!"
"Is Azelma coming later?"
I laughed and sat down in the seat between Enjolras and Combeferre. "Yes, I know it's been awhile, but I'm busy with work, which is where I'm assuming Feuilly is tonight." I got some nods of affirmation. "Azelma will be coming with Gavroche; she had to go drop the boys off at the rectory, and I'm sure she will be there talking for a little while. I'm so happy to be back! Should we get started with the meeting?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," said Combeferre. "Would you like to lead in prayer since you've been away from these meetings for a little while?"
"I would be delighted to!" The other chatter ceased. "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our dear Lord, we thank you for this day and the opportunities you have given us; especially the gift of the mass and youth group. I ask that You send Your Holy Spirit down to guide us during this time of planning, and that you would be with us through this whole night. I also ask that you look over those of us who couldn't make it tonight, especially Marius and Feuilly. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen."
"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" Brigitte asked after we had all blessed ourselves.*
Enjolras pulled out his notebook and read a few lines. "Well, first we have to pick out who is giving witnesses tonight, then choose who will be assigning the small groups and the questions with them."
Jehan asked what that night's theme was. "I believe it is God in our daily lives, right?" Grantaire replied. Enjolras nodded his head yes. There was a pause in the room while we all took in the theme. Then and idea popped into my head. "You know what? I already have a witness prepared that could coincide with this theme."
"I actually have one prepared also." Enjolras said.
"That's perfect! 'Ponine, you and Enjolras can figure out tonight's small groups after we greet everyone (we'll take care of the rest) and then you guys can give your witnesses." Brigitte said.
Enjolras and I looked at each other. "That sounds good to me," I said. "Me too," Enjolras confirmed.
We all talked, laughed and enjoyed ourselves until it was time to begin to great the teens. Combeferre and I went to grab our guitars. We were the unofficial leaders of the music ministry there at Saint Clare Lifeteen. All of the adult core members were required to participate in the music ministry in some way, so we all played and sang, however, Combeferre and I were the obvious choices for leaders. Enjolras also was very talented at playing the piano, but keyboards aren't as portable as guitars. We entered the Saint Cecilia* Media and Music Room chatting about random things. Then, Combeferre directly turned the conversation to a more serious note.
"Hey, 'Ponine?" He asked.
"Hmm?" I continued to get my guitar ready to play.
"I need to ask you a favor." His tone was a little bit nervous, which, was very weird for Combeferre.
I stepped towards him a little bit. "What do you need? You know I'll do anything for my grand frère.*" I said with a smile. Combeferre was about 6 years older than me, so he referred to me as his petite soeur.*
He smiled slightly, but still looked distraught; he started to run his fingers through his hair. "Eponine, I think God is calling me in a new direction, and a strange direction at that. I just need a lot of prayer support in the next few weeks in order to help me discern where I'm supposed to be. This sounds weird, but I'm getting sort of old. I'm 32 and I need to settle down and make sure I'm doing what I should be doing."
My sisterly love for him moved me to hug him. "Of course I will pray for you my frère*." I said while still in our familial embrace.
I bit my lip. "Can I asked where you think you're being called to?" I had a frown on my face at the thought of him moving far away from there.
He pulled back and sighed. "Do you promise not to tell anyone yet?"
I nodded. "I promise."
"I think… that I am being called to the priesthood."
A smile formed upon my face. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming. Of course this is the case! You would thrive as a priest. Have you talked to Father Myriel about this? I'm sure he would have some guidance for you concerning your discernment."
"No, I haven't spoken with him, but that is an excellent idea. I shall see if I can meet with him sometime tomorrow."
I smiled and gave him a hug again because I couldn't contain my excitement.
"Merci, ma petite soeur.*" He said.
"Je t'aime mon frère.*" I replied. I smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Now let's go sing!"
He chuckled at my enthusiasm. Once we both were ready, we left the SCMM (Saint Cecilia Music and Media) Room to go greet people at the door. In our youth group, greeting people was loud, obnoxious, and funny.
As Combeferre and I arrived near the entrance, Courfeyrac suggested that we sing a song before the teens started to arrive.
"What would you like to sing?" Combeferre asked.
"Oh how about a Rend Collective song?" Amélie said.
The Rend Collective Experiment is a Christian band with a wonderful sound that we all were fond of, especially Enjolras and I.
"That sounds great! Which one?" was my reply.
Musichetta wanted to sing "Build Your Kingdom Here," but Joly wanted to hear "My Lighthouse." Musichetta ended up winning because more of us knew "Build Your Kingdom Here."
Combeferre and I started playing our guitars and jamming to the upbeat song. Everyone was either dancing around like goofs or playing some sort of percussion rhythm with anything they could find. As we sang the song, my heart was filled with the joy of knowing that I had people that cared for me and who I was. I stole a glance at Enjolras, who, was currently drumming on the hanging coatrack. The way he moved his body in such a carefree manner made my stomach twist. Well that's weird. That had never happened before. The only time I got knots in my stomach was when Marius was around. It must have been just my emotions running high while we were singing that song, I thought.
I shrugged the whole incident off and focused my energy on greeting people.
In our youth group, greeting people involved fancy guitar playing, making silly noises, singing, pulling harmless pranks, cheering, and jokes galore. We tried to make everyone feel extremely welcomed. As people came, Prouvaire kept a list of the teens that had shown up.
Once a substantial amount of our regular people showed up, Enjolras and I went back to the Saint John Bosco Room (to work on tonight's plans) while the teens and the rest of the core members went to the Blessed John Paul II* Room.
Once we got to the SJB Room, we looked at the list of people that were there that night, and came up with six small groups. The group leaders were Azelma and Courfeyrac, Combeferre (he sometimes preferred to work alone), Jehan and Amélie, Grantaire and Brigitte, Joly and Musichetta, and Enjolras and I. We then decided what questions we wanted our leaders to ask. At that point I heard fits of laughter coming from the other room. I smiled.
Enjolras glanced over at me. "What has you so happy?" he asked.
"Oh, I just love hearing those kids laugh, you know?" I replied.
He smiled knowingly. "I understand exactly what you mean. Can you imagine having kids of your own one day? Life could be that joyful constantly."
We had had this conversation before, but I humored him anyway. "I would love to have kids someday." I said.
He looked at me in almost the same way he had this morning, only softer; more caring. "You will be a wonderful mother." He said softly.
I blushed. "Thank you. And you will be a great father." Although I was simply returning the compliment, I found myself believing with conviction every word that I just said.
When the time for our witnesses came, Enjolras and I were sitting on the love seat in the JPII Room facing about 30 teens that were sitting on the floor. The rest of the adults were standing or seated behind the teens. We had decided that I would go first ("Ladies first!" Enjolras had said) and he would follow.
I sat forward and began my witness.
"Hi everyone! For those of you who might be new or don't know me that well, my name is Eponine Thénardier, and I'm a music teacher here in Paris. So tonight's theme is God in our daily lives. Who feels like it's really easy to be Catholic here at youth group, but harder at school and at home?"
A lot of the teens (and some of the adults) raised their hands.
"Well I would like to share with you a story of how God worked in my life very simply, yet also in a profound way. Towards the beginning of my sophomore year in high school, I was going through a dry period in my faith. I didn't see God working in my daily life, but I knew that he was. It was very frustrating and confusing sometimes, but I still prayed for guidance and clarity. One particularly gorgeous day I was walking home from school and listening to some really good Praise and Worship music, and the song The Great I Am came on. If you aren't familiar with it, you should really check it out. It's an amazing song. Anyway, the part where the lyrics are: The mountains shake before Him; the demons run and flee at the mention of Your Name, King of Majesty. There is no power in Hell, or any who can stand before the Power and the Presence of the Great I Am! At this point, I was overwhelmed with God's Glory and Beauty all around me. I could finally see that He was there and working all along. So, I would like to encourage all of you to search for Him in the little things in your life, and you will find Him and also the Grace needed to get through your struggles and hardships."
I sat back at this, the close of my witness. Everyone was clapping and mostly everyone was smiling. I looked to Enjolras. The look he gave me was one that let me know that I had done well. I smiled, relaxed, and got ready to listen to his witness. He sat forward and straightened his back much like I had done in preparation for my witness.
"Hi guys! My name is Antoine Enjolras, but please, just call me Enjolras, and I would like to tell you guys how YOU can be witnesses to Christ in everyday life. As followers of Christ, we are called to be witnesses of what Jesus has done in us and for us. To point people to Christ, we don't need to be able to explain every theological issue or answer every question. What we must do is explain what we have witnessed in our own lives through the cross and the resurrection of the Savior. Even better is that we don't have to rely on ourselves alone to do this. Jesus said in the Acts of the Apostles, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). As we rely on the Spirit's power, we can point a hurting world to the redeeming Christ. With His help, we can witness to the life-changing power of His presence in our lives! I know this is hard at times; all of us, including the adults, have trouble with this. So I would encourage you to start small. No one is expecting you to have your whole school evangelized by next week." That earned some giggles and smiles from his audience. "But how about you start by inviting one new friend to come with you next week? That would be a great witness in itself. Thanks for listening everyone!"
Everyone started clapping and cheering again. I gave him an approving look as he sat back.
Joly got up and got everyone's attention. "Time for small groups! Who will be with who?" he asked Enjolras and I.
We read off the list of the leaders and names to everyone. The teens that would be coming with us were Roselle, Vincent, Yvette, Zacharie, and Adeline.
We let the teens suggest which room we would convene in. "How about the Blessed Chiara* Room?" Adeline said.
Enjolras and I looked at each other with a smile. Blessed Chiara was one of our favorite saints (or saints to be anyway).
We went to the room and sat in the bean bag chairs on the floor. Once we had prayed, we started with the questions.
"Ok let's get started. What was your impression on the witnesses? And don't be shy about your opinions just because it was Enjolras and I giving them." I said.
Zacharie was the first to speak up. "I really liked the simplicity of your story, Eponine. It helps to know that God works in both little and big ways."
I smiled. "Thanks, Zacharie."
The conversation continued as we worked our way through all of the questions Enjolras and I had developed. After we ended in prayer, we sent the teens back to the JPII Room.
"That went surprisingly well for a surprising lack of preparation." Enjolras joked. I laughed. "Yes! We always were good at winging it!" We looked at each other knowingly.
At that moment my phone rang. I answered it, "Hello?"
A woman answered, "Hello, am I speaking with Mademoiselle Thénardier?"
"Yes, this is she. And who am I speaking with?"
"My name is Madame Triste. I have news for you about your mother."
My heart started to race with anticipation, and my body clenched up as she told me the news. Enjolras looked at me in confusion. After I hung up my body started to wrench with sobs. Enjolras came over to where I was sitting, embraced me and tried to calm me down. "What's wrong Eponine?" he asked.
I looked at him gravely in the midst of my tears. "Mama has died in prison."
Definitions:
Cantor- (in formal Christian worship) a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds.
Gloria- a Christian liturgical hymn or formula beginning (in the Latin text) with Gloria, in particular. This is recited or sung at every mass except in the liturgical season of Lent. The text is as follows: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen
Eucharist- in Roman Catholicism the Eucharist is a sacrament, and the bread and wine are thought to become the actual body and blood of Jesus through transubstantiation.
Saint John Bosco- . ?saint_id=63
blessed ourselves- "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen." Also known as the Sign of the Cross.
Saint Cecilia- . ?saint_id=34
Grand frère- big brother
Petite soeur- little sister
Merci, ma petite soeur. – Thank you, my little sister.
Je t'aime mon frère. – I love you my brother.
Blessed John Paul II- pope/jp2/
Blessed Chiara Luce Badano- wiki/Chiara_Badano