Hi everyone

There are few things I love more than musicals - and Les Misérables is definitely one of my favourites. However, I feel that in the musical, the Cosette/Valjean relationship isn't taken as seriously. But if Les Miz is a story about romance, than isn't the main love story the one between father and daughter? Anyways, here is my little one-shot about Valjean's thoughts in his last hours. Does this style of writing work for me? I guess we'll find out.

P.S: (constructive criticism is always much appreciated, but so is kindness ;).

...

This is how it felt to be Jean Valjean.

A valley of coldness seemed to have descended upon your life. You'd felt your soul slowly escaping its mortal shell each day, desperate to float through the clouds and join the heavens in the never ending circle of life. You had been nearly ready to depart this cruel world, leaving behind the crushing memories of the man you used to be and the man you still were. Nearly, but not completely.

Because in your last hour, as you'd let your soul slip further than you ever thought it could go, she came for you. You'd later discover how she had raced through the streets in the beautiful dress, panic etched upon her lovely face, how she'd bargained with the wretched Thénardiers until she discovered your whereabouts. And of course, you're able to picture forever the pain in her eyes, the way she'd kissed your hands and thanked you for being her Papa. And that was more than enough.

In your heart, you knew that you'd held on for that last moment with your little girl. How could you leave the world without remembering all that was good and pure and beautiful within it? And for you, she was the only good part of your existence.

She had been a nervous child. Her small arms would wrap protectively around her emaciated figure as she sat, glancing suspiciously around the room, for what you didn't want to know. She'd seldom played - at the beginning she would only set the beautiful doll in front of her and stare at it as if in a trance, afraid of the punishment she expected would come with touching it. And when you had tucked her securely into her quilts, she'd flinch at any touch, watching with wide eyes as your hand rested upon her tiny head as a goodnight.

But that hadn't lasted long. She began to come out of her shell, playing house with the doll and rescuing the kittens she would find in the streets on your daily walks. On stormy days, she would sit in your lap and you would read her stories of fairies and princesses, of kings and queens and castles in far off places. And when she'd wake from her nightmares, she'd run to your small bed in the cold part of the house and curl up beside you, her tiny sighs assuring you all was well. You had brought love back into her life, and she to yours.

And then she became a woman. When she'd sit and gaze into the distance with a pensive look filling her features, you knew that it was not childlike musings that were passing through her mind, but mature and complex questions of the small world she knew to be her own. She had become frightfully clever - opinionated and stubborn, while maintaining the childlike curiosity she'd always possessed. Some questions she asked had you thinking long and hard, while others you had no answer to. She began to scare you, but yet you would do anything for this little girl who had blossomed into a stunning young lady. But you see, that had been your mistake. You had noticed, but failed to acknowledge, that your child was no longer a child. She was a woman with thoughts and passions and interests, a beautiful person with so many hopes and dreams. And that scared you more than you'd like to admit. So you'd kept her hidden from the world. She might be clever, you had thought, but she wasn't ready to face the world. The world could never deserve her, and thinking that had been your worst mistake.

But after all that had passed between you, she was here, weeping on her knees beside your chair, her hands clutching yours like a drowning man clutches a floating object in a raging sea. As she sobbed into your shirt, you felt like you were seeing her for the first time. How had you not recognized the woman she had become? The fluffy white wedding dress splayed across the floor by your knees was a painful reminder of all you had been too stubborn to see. I'm sorry, whispered your heart. I love you.

She begged you to hold on. For her, it was too soon. When she'd dreamt of a future with the boy, you'd always been in the close background, doting on a lively gaggle of grandchildren, her taking care of you into your old age.

But you were ready to go. And with a final kiss to her head, the letter clasped tightly in her hands, you slipped away so easily into peaceful bliss.

And then after what felt like an eternity, your eyes blinked open, your soul sliding easily from your body and coming forwards to step into the light. Outside the window, heaven and earth collided into the most breathtaking place ever imaginable.

A place where you were finally free.