The mist was oddly refreshing. The cold wind that howled in the early morning seemed so fresh and clear, that if he submerged himself enough in the mist, he could convince himself, even for a moment, that he was someplace else. Gavrohe took a deep breath, looking at the gray sky above, and began walking with his hands in his pockets. Though he would have liked to wait for Éponine to wake up to ask her all about the previous night, he preferred to sneak out the apartment before his parents woke up. Though the cold breeze made him smile, he was soon distracted by the growling in his stomach. He regretted not taking anything from the kitchen before leaving, for though it was off limits for him, he would much rather endure the punishment than the present pangs of hunger. Gavroche walked towards the river. Arriving this early, he would be able to get a nice spot among the crippled, the old and the mothers who held their children to their chest.
He had learned to beg.
At first it bewildered him anyone would willingly give him money without anything in return, but if he said the right words, if he smiled, they did. Éponine would refuse to do it, and insisted that she and Azelma could get him anything from the kitchen, but Gavroche knew it was not true, there was simply not enough for all three of them. So the young boy made his way under a bridge, where a few men were up already. He liked listening to them, most were new to the city, like himself, but came from faraway places he could only try to imagine. They talked with thick accents and teary eyes about their homelands. They often had great stories too, like the man who claimed he had traveled across seventeen countries to escape the devil, who was following him after he stole a chalice, or the runaway bride who knew how to knock a man down with a single punch. Gavroche listened to their stories carefully, excitedly, and maybe that was why they seemed to like him and even occasionally share some of their earnings with him.
The blond boy waited then until the first morning rays began piercing through the horizon, and listened as the streets slowly came to life with the sound of coaches and voices.
"A sous! A sous!" He exclaimed with a faint smile. "A sous for an unlucky boy!"
Azelma looked at Éponine in an attempt to decipher what to do. Éponine might have forced a faint smile to reassure her sister, if only she wasn't too focused on her parents barking at each other. The two sisters listened carefully, watching from the other side of the room.
"Just lower your voice woman!" Monsieur exclaimed, robbing his temples. "You're killing me here"
"Oh I'm killing you? Well maybe you should be drinking less and thinking more, you idiot!" Madame exclaimed, raising her voice as she stood in front of her husband. Despite their height difference, she somehow seemed bigger. "He won't stop, you know that, don't you? What are we going to do now? He'll come here, he'll cut you open and skin you, hell he'll skin me, and our daughters!" Madame pointed at the girls in the corner so suddenly that Azelma instinctively hid behind her sister. "Think about your daughters for crying out loud, do you know what they'll do to them?"
Madame finished her frenetic monologue, panting slightly, waiting for her husband's fierce reply. Even the girls stood petrified, as a deep silence took over the place. Monsieur Thérnadier, nonetheless, walked calmly towards his daughters, each step making the wood creak.
"I know, I know" He replied at last, he looked at his eldest daughter's eyes, with the same look he used as a warning whenever she talked back at him "That's why we have to do especially well today, you hear, girls?"
The girls nodded rapidly, as Thérnadier pushed them towards the door.
"Now you listen to me, woman" He stopped at the entrance, looking at his wife as he opened the door "I'll have the money by the end of the day, okay?"
He then pushed the girls out of the apartment.
"C'mon you, I don't want any excuses today, y'hear? I need you to bring good stuff, none of that crap you've been bringing lately. So, listen, by the time you're back home, you better have something good or you'll see papa angry, and we don't want that, do we? Now, remember what I told you? Where are you going to look?"
"Crowded places" Éponine replied in a hushed voice.
"Yes, always, and remember to keep your eyes open at all time, the golden rule's if you get caught, you're on your own. Now go and be back early, we're going to a house tonight."
The girls walked away and he closed the door, trying not to make any more noises that could intensify his headache.
"Unless they rob a dam queen, that won't be enough." Madame Thérnadier said.
"Tonight's house's a good one, I'll go with the eldest." Monsieur replied. "It's not that big, but we'll leave it clean. I might need extra help, the boy's too stupid, but the other girl will do."
"Robbing another house! Is that your solution?" Madame barked, walking towards the stove. "Did you stay up all night coming up with that brilliant plan? Bah! You've got no vision, you've got no guts!"
"Then what's your solution!" He followed her.
"Finding another husband."
"Finding another husband! Have you seen yourself lately?" He laughed placing a lock of his wife's hair behind her ear "It'd be easier for you to rob a dam queen."
Then he kissed her, and when she kissed him back rather violently, he decided to continue leaving a trail of kisses down her neck.
"No, you've got to earn it" She said as he suddenly felt her cold hand pushing his cheek away. There was no use in begging, before he could even open his mouth, his wife was already pointing towards the door.
"Go, solve this shit." She ordered.
He mumbled something and walked out, purposefully stomping on the old wood with each step.
"Missing a tooth and going bald" She said out loud, as he left "you're lucky I haven't left!"
Monsieur Thérnadier slammed the door and stepped outside. As he went downstairs, he considered knocking on his neighbor's door and bargain for a bath. He could use the cold water to relieve his throbbing head. He knocked on the door and was soon met by the robust woman, who immediately tried to close the door, stopped only by the man's foot.
"Looking lovely today, madame" Monsieur Thérnadier grinned.
"Go away." She commanded coldly.
"That's no way to treat a client, don't you know? Besides, a pretty flower like you looks nasty frowning like that."
"Unless you've got anything to pay for a bath, I want you out of my sight."
"Well, I do have something to pay you with, I have it right here" He smirked grabbing his crotch.
The woman then slapped him across the face, taking advantage of the moment to close her door.
"Well good day to you too, old hag!" He exclaimed, rubbing his cheek.
It was the missing tooth, he thought, he had lost his trustworthy smile, and his charming personality could only take him so far.
"If it wasn't for those two monkeys that follow him" Monsieur murmured, exiting the building "I would leave that Jacques in a hospital bed, no doubt. That bastard…"
They sat to count their loot. Azelma slowly placed the items one by one on her sister's hands. Éponine saved each item carefully as she tried to keep the count, her pounding headache wasn't helping her focus.
"Hand me the next one." Éponine said.
"That's it." Azelma replied.
"Just that? Four handkerchiefs, three sous and an old ring aren't going to help" Éponine sighed, her feet were blistered and aching, but only now she felt the exhaustion of the day's work piling up.
"I hope Gavroche hadn't left so early this morning" Azelma said, looking down.
"Well, I don't think we'll get much more right now, we better head back."
"Can't we rest for a moment? Pleeeease"
Éponine smiled, and sat back on the bench "I guess we can take a moment."
They remained seated, as a gentle breeze played with their hair. From the bench, Azelma watched the people, some walked, some ran, and some strolled casually. She often wondered about their lives. It still amazed her how big the city was, after all, if she sat like that in Montfermeil she was bound to recognize at least half of the people that went by. She could watch them walk away and some would smile and say "good evening" and she would say "good evening" back. She would be able to say he's Maxime's father or there goes the doctor's wife, she sometimes would spot a friend and the two would start talking, loosing track of time, but the people walking in front of her now were all strangers. She had discovered that it was rather easy to feel alone, even when surrounded by so much people.
Azelma frowned, she noticed then a small bird flying above them.
"Do you remember the ducks?" Azelma asked her sister suddenly.
"The ducks?"
"Yes, the ones we fed in that lake sometimes, remember them? And they sunk and shook their tails in a funny way."
"I remember."
"Do you think the ducks are still there? They left at winter, but they always came back, I'm sure they must be there right now."
"I suppose, yeah."
"I wish-" Azelma started, but remained silent for a moment before continuing, staring at a door she hesitated to open.
"I wish my friends were here." She said, at last.
Her sister looked at her.
"I know." Éponine said "But maybe one day you'll see them again. On the meantime you can make new friends."
"I don't really want new friends. I don't like the girls here."
"Have they been mean to you?" Éponine asked, placing a hand softly on Azelma's shoulder.
"No. They just, I don't, they wear a lot of makeup, and most of them just go after boys, boy this, boys that… I don't know, I just don't like talking to them."
Before they could continue their conversation, a police officer approached the bench. His face resembled a stone, where the features had been carved precisely with a sharp chisel. He didn't say anything, he didn't even look at them, he just walked towards their bench and stood next to it. He didn't have to say anything, Azelma knew he had come because of them.
"Let's go" Éponine said, the two girls stood up and walked away under the officer's stern gaze.
Azelma walked slowly, heavily, picturing what her father would say once he saw their loot. The eleven year old sighed, maybe it would be better to escape for a while, and wait until he was too tired to do anything. Sometimes she wondered if it would be better to occasionally disappear like her brother did. Azelma looked at Éponine briefly. No, she couldn't flee every now and then, she had to stand by her sister. Gavroche was only a kid, Azelma thought, but she was about to turn twelve, she had to be more responsible. She was almost a woman, and that meant something, even she wasn't so sure of what it was. She fought the urge to scratch her head, she didn't want Éponine to notice the treatment against lice hadn't work that well.
Back home there was a strong smell of smoke but none to be seen around. Her father, who had been talking to her mother on the table interrupted his conversation and stood up. Azelma noticed there were two plates with soup in front of her parents.
"There you are!" He growled "Jesus, sometimes I think you do these things just to annoy me! Sit, eat something, I don't want you to faint, we've got a big job tonight."
Éponine nodded, while Azelma moved silently towards the bedroom.
"Where do you think you're going?" Her father's voice suddenly stopped her. "You're coming with us tonight."
"What?" Éponine asked immediately "No, no, leave her, I can do it alone, it's too dangerous for her."
"There's a window, it's too small, she's coming with us." Monsieur Thérnadier replied slurping a spoonful of soup loudly. Azelma stood still shifting her eyes between her sister and her father.
"Listen, I'll find a way to do it, just let her stay." Éponine insisted.
Her father banged the table with the fist in which he held the spoon. He looked at his eldest daughter.
"Enough! The only way to get into the bloody house is through a small bloody window! The only way you can do it, you ungrateful brat, is if I cut off both your arms! So it's either that or her coming!"
"I'll go." Azelma bowed her head, but did not stutter.
She was going to turn twelve. She was almost a woman and that had to mean something, even if that something was against the law.