When I reached the house with Jasmine and the medicus, I saw a tearful woman with brown hair and green eyes standing next to the bed on which Quasimodo had been laid. A little girl with reddish brown hair and green eyes clung to her skirt. It had to be Quasimodo's mother and his little sister, Mary, whom Joe had told me about. The medicus treated Quasimodo, put a paste on his wound, bandaged it and then said to us: "He should rest for a few days so that the blood that he has lost can regenerate."
"Thank you," said Joe and handed the medicus a bag of money and then escorted him out. Quasimodo's mother was on her knees and seemed to be praying while Mary eyed us curiously.
When Joe joined us again, he introduced his family: "This is my wife Hannah and my daughter Mary."
"Hello, I'm Regina," I said.
"And I am Jasmine."
"You brought us our son," said Joe.
"I would never have dared hope to see him again ..." Hannah stammered and stepped closer to Quasimodo who was sleeping on the bed. She stretched out her hand carefully and stroked his head: "It must not have been easy for him."
Jasmine and I bowed our heads sadly. Then Hannah turned to us: "How did you meet him? What do you know about him? Please, I want to know everything."
Jasmin gave me a little push forward: "That is your cue."
"B-but ... what should I say?", I whispered to her, "I can't tell you where we're really from."
"Come up with something," said Jasmine and grinned.
I sighed deeply and tried to stick to the truth as much as possible without facing the stake as a witch: "I've known Quasimodo for a very long time. But he has only recently known me. It is difficult to explain ... I have watched him for a long time, you know? I heard that Quasimodo was abandoned 20 years ago in the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, where a priest took him in. His name was Claude Frollo. He gave Quasimodo his name because he got him The Sunday after Easter. That was the white Sunday that is called Quasimodogeniti in the Church. Frollo was very inquisitive and studied a lot besides his priesthood. He became Archdeacon of Notre Dame de Paris a few years after he took in Quasimodo and he appointed Quasimodo thereupon as bell ringer of the cathedral. Unfortunately this work had the consequence that Quasimodo became deaf. After it had taken Frollo a long time to teach his protégé to speak at all, he now developed a sign language for him so that Quasimodo would not be completely cut off from humans. Quasimodo also learned to read a bit from the lips. "
"Oh ... we should thank Paris and this archdeacon," said Hannah.
Jasmine raised her hand: "Don't be in a hurry, there's more."
"Anyway ... It has been almost two months ago since a dancing gypsy girl named Esmeralda caught everyone's attention. Frollo in particular became something like obsessed with her. He couldn't curb his desires. When he found out that the gypsy girl was had fallen in love with the captain of the king, Frollo murdered him at a rendezvous with Esmeralda. Esmeralda was held responsible for the crime and was convicted because Frollo had used the gypsy's dagger for the crime and he was not seen by anyone when he entered the house. "I explained further
"How awful ..." said Joe.
"Anyway ... Esmeralda also had a special meaning for Quasimodo. Before the act of Frollo, which I just mentioned, Frollo had used Quasimodo to kidnap the gypsy. However, the attempt remained, because the king's guard freed Esmeralda from Quasimodo's hands and they arrested him. Due to the misfortune that the judge who sentenced Quasimodo was also practically deaf, Quasimodo was flogged on the stake. After an hour after he was subjected to the ridicule of the population, asked Quasimodo for water and only Esmeralda took pity on him and handing him water. Quasimodo probably never forgets this good deed, because he had only ever experienced hatred and disgust from everyone around him (with the exception of Frollo at this point in time) ... As such the gypsy was supposed to hang for the attempted murder of Phoebus, the captain, Quasimodo saved her and gave her asylum in the cathedral. Unfortunately, the gypsy was also only afraid for left the poor bell ringer and only used him when necessary. When Frollo found out what Quasimodo had done (for he had not been present at the events of Esmeralda's rescue), he abused the poor bell ringer and looked for a plan to let Esmeralda down. With the help of her gullible husband (a poet, but also indifferent to her) Frollo forged the plan. While the city's gypsies stormed the cathedral because the rumor was spread that Esmeralda was to be fetched from the cathedral the next day and hanged by royal decree, the poet secretly led out with Frollo, who was hiding under a hood the Cathedral. However, after they had crossed the Seine, the gypsy's goat jumped out of the boat and the poet followed her, while Frollo, who now revealed himself, led Esmeralda to the gallows. Esmeralda was hanged when she was only 14 years old. When Frollo told him at the sight of the dying gypsy that he had led her to the gallows, Quasimodo threw him in anger from the bell tower of the cathedral. "
The couple stared at me in shock, probably unsure what to say. Mary yawned, she probably had hardly understood anything about it and therefore found the story boring.
"Chapeau. I'm impressed.", Said Jasmin and winked at me.
"We met Quasimodo shortly after these events when he was going to lie down next to Esmeralda in Mountfaucon. We felt sorry for him and wanted to offer him a perspective. That's when I got the idea to look for his parents. I knew that he had first appeared here in Reims. He had been exchanged as a baby by gypsies for little Esmeralda. Her mother was terrified and left him looking for her daughter. Who Quasimodo to Paris I don't know, unfortunately, but Reims was a good starting point. ", I said and nodded encouragingly to the parents.
"Whatever a terrible past he had, we will make sure that he has it better from now on," said Joe.
