Shut out again. The metaphor was not on the girl as she clutched the gate. Her white knuckled grip only tightened as her anger increased. It wasn't fair! Life wasn't fair! What had she ever done to deserve this much misery in her life?
The only thing she could think of was that she was being punished for the sins of her father. And the lord knew Thenardier had committed many sins in his life.
But the one thing that had ruined Eponine's life was when her parents had taken in a young girl named Cosette, hoping they could extort money out of her mother Fantine. The little girl had been treated like a servant, not family and then she had been taken away.
Eponine had thought it was over; thought she'd never see Cosette again. But their paths had crossed again and now Cosette was taking everything away from Eponine and the worst part? She didn't even know what she was doing!
There was a boy named Marius who was a friend to Eponine. She adored him and pinned for him, but he never saw her as anything more than a friend. Eponine would do anything to make Marius happy, even if it meant finding out where his new crush was living.
But then Eponine realized the truth: that Marius had fallen in love with Cosette. The same Cosette that she had grown up with. But things had changed and now Eponine was the poor girl staring through the gate of the fancy house, looking into the garden when Marius was professing his love to a spoiled little rich girl.
Oh how the tide had turned!
Why had she done it? Why had she brought Marius here? It was her own fault she was locked out of his life. The answer was a painful one for her to admit. She had brought him here because she loved him and she would do anything to make him happy.
She let go of the gate and slid to the ground as a pain ripped through her heart. She closed her eyes and pushed back tears as she hugged herself. Even if Cosette wasn't around she knew Marius would have chosen her.
The rich and the poor didn't mix in real life. She could only have Marius in her dreams and she was far too old for such silly fantasies. It was time to face the truth: she was on her own and would be until the day she died.
