December 1931
The night was cold and snowy as the 12-year-old desperate and grief-stricken boy stood outside the house of the cruel toyshop owner who had taken his notebook. The notebook that contained all his father's work, and the key (not literally) to finally getting the automaton to work again. It was the last remaining piece and the only connection Hugo had left to him. He had to get that notebook back and he resolved to do just that, any way he could. As he contemplated what to do, he noticed in the window above him the man walking in and speaking to a woman, perhaps his wife. He looked emotional, but Hugo wasn't paying attention to that. He was trying to figure out if there was a way in, an open window or a door perhaps. As he scanned the vicinity he noticed something else in the window next to this one. It was the girl he'd seen from the shop, the one he always tried to get a look at. She had no beret on this time, her short golden hair not even making it to her shoulders.
'Maybe she can help me get my notebook back' he thought to himself as he reached down with his already freezing hands to form a snowball to throw at her window. He unleashed the throw and the projectile hit its mark, making a thump as it hit the railings. Isabelle looked up startled, slowly moving towards the window to see where the noise had come from. She saw the boy, waving like a maniac at her. She could just about make out a gesture beckoning her to him mouthing the words 'come down' as well. Isabelle knew better than to respond to the calls of strange boys in the middle of the street, but something about this pleading boy intrigued her. Against her own better judgement and intuition, she slunk her way past her sad-looking godparents and made her way down to the street to meet the boy she suspected was the thief Papa Georges had spoken of. As she made her way down the steps, and out of the door into the street, she saw the scrawny young boy, slightly shorter than her with a mop of black hair and striking blue eyes shivering. She approached him cautiously, not wanting to scare him, but also out of partial fear herself.
She stopped short of stepping into the road and spoke from a few feet away. As she grew into the conversation, calling the young man a 'reprobate' and finding out there was a secret to be had, she felt more comfortable around the boy, his strange appearance igniting Isabelle's natural curiosity. After promising to ensure that Hugo's notebook wasn't burned, she shared a wry smile with him and he ran off back to his train station home, and she was left pondering about the possibilities of the situation she had just gotten herself tangled up in. Maybe if she could sneak a look at the contents of the notebook, she would be better placed to help the boy with whatever he needed the notebook for. Of course, Isabelle had been taught manners by Georges and Jeanne, and that meant not snooping through other people's things without their permission. 'Social etiquette' she though as she trudged up the stairs back into the apartment. As she managed to get by undetected, back to her chair by the window and into her book again, she wondered of the blue-eyed boy, and what she would uncover about him and the notebook when they next met.
July 1932
Hugo was tinkering away in the back of the store, as he usually did now that he was officially employed there and acting as Georges Melies protegee. Now that people knew it was him running the store, there was a lot more demand and Hugo's help was greatly appreciated. Hugo didn't complain though. He loved working with machines, their individual components working in tandem with each other to create an object greater than the sum of its parts. It was one of the primary reasons he had come into contact with Melies himself in the first place. And as the young apprentice sat at his bench, working on a toy that Georges had challenged him to upgrade, he heard a voice and his mood instantly lifted. Isabelle, as she usually did, had come by the store to check on her godfather but, more importantly, to see Hugo.
He had mentioned to her about a month after he had started that he sometimes got lonely working in the back of the shop. Isabelle upon hearing this had made it her mission to keep him from that loneliness, showing up every single day to watch him work without fail. She was fascinated, watching with intrigue as Hugo would work on some invention to keep his machine-like mind occupied. They would converse all day as he worked, but never running out of things to talk about. Isabelle would tell him about a book, or a concept, or anything. And Hugo would listen, never tiring of hearing her talk passionately about something. They were rarely found apart, and even when they were, their minds often drifted to each other and the things they could be doing together. It was a mark of their closeness, a closeness which would only grow the longer they spent together.
December 1932
It was a year to the day since Hugo Cabret had shown up outside Isabelle Melies' house and demanded her help to get his notebook back. It was a meeting that had changed both of their lives, in so many ways. Hugo was now firmly established as a member of the Melies household, finally having a place to call his own. And Isabelle finally had a companion who shared her inventive yet rampantly curious spirit. In a way they were the perfect friends, falling into each other's lives at precisely the right time. To celebrate the momentous anniversary, all of them had gone out for a meal to celebrate. Whilst they dined on delicious courses, Jeanne and Georges had commended Hugo for the progress and advancements he had made in just one year. He in turn thanked them for the generosity and their acceptance of him into their home yet again.
During the meal, Hugo had noticed Isabelle more excitable than usual. She and her Mama Jeanne had been sharing looks all evening, and Hugo desperately wanted to know why. Eventually, as they were on their way home, all would be revealed. Isabelle finally let loose the information she had been holding onto and revealed she had prepared a surprise for him in celebration. Georges and Jeanne seemed to be aware of it and told them to go and enjoy it. Before they knew it, they were running off together, her eagerly leading him through the winding streets of the City of Lights towards their destination. They were running free in Paris, a pastime they participated in often, lost in each other and the promise of a phenomenal surprise to come. As they neared their destination, they slowed to a walk and Isabelle told Hugo to close his eyes. He did so, his excitement and curiosity peaked more than ever.
She lead him around a corner, making sure he didn't walk into anything. And as she told him to open his eyes, he gazed upon what stood in front of him, a library. Not a big one, just an average library in the arrondissements of Paris. He looked at Isabelle who just beamed and took his hand and they walked in together. The clerk greeted them warmly, smiling at them before pointing to her left. Isabelle nodded thanks at her and led Hugo away in the direction she had pointed in. They walked through the stacks of books, the smell that Isabelle loved so much latching onto them as they did so. They passed a couple of people and delved deeper into the bowels of this temple of books. Finally, they found what they were looking for. In a corner, tucked away from everyone, there was a small pile of books with all his favourites in it. He looked upon the scene in surprise.
'Happy one year of knowing you anniversary' Isabelle whispered excitedly, picking up a book and handing it to Hugo. 'They're all your favourites.'
Hugo looked down at the book in his hand, then at the pile, then all around him before his eyes settled on the one who had organised it all for him. She was smiling and bouncing lightly on her feet waiting for him to say something.
'Isabelle' he said looking at her, unable to find the words. 'Thank you so much. It's amazing, it's perfect.' He hugged her and she reciprocated before excitedly getting into the reading material. He looked at her after the hug. She looked warm, as if hugging him had made her feel safe and secure. That's how it felt to him at least. Without thinking he gave her a peck on the cheek. She blushed and touched where his lips had brushed her. She gave him one back, and they both tried to brush it off as though nothing had happened.
She went back to scouring through the selection she had engineered and picked up a book from the middle. 'Robin Hood' read the title. She pushed it into Hugo's arms as she sat down and look at Hugo, expecting him to follow suit.
'Will you read to me?' Isabelle asked, her voice piercing the silence of the library.
'Of course' replied Hugo, as he took a seat opposite to her. He read to her for what seemed like forever, time becoming irrelevant as she moved to curl up next to him, almost falling asleep in his arms as she listened intently to his voice tell the story. He watched her, eyes closed and smiling as he read, making him feel as if there was nothing but them in that moment. It felt so natural to both of them, like they both just belonged there. Maybe, just maybe, it meant something?
January 1935
It had been over two years since Isabelle's fateful library surprise. The emotions and the comfort they felt wrapped in each other had not been lost on them. In the two years since, they had tried many times, and failed, to deny the obviousness of what they were feeling towards each other. 'He thinks of me as a sibling and a friend' Isabelle would tell herself. 'I don't want to end up ruining this' Hugo would think. Their mutual fear of the other not feeling the same as them kept them from truly being together. However, in all but name they were already that. They still went everywhere together, making each other laugh and being the first point of call for any trouble or queries the other would have. They even bickered like a married couple, and they were still only both freshly 15. Despite this, and with three years of constant companionship between them, it was obvious to everyone but them that a romance between them was an eventuality rather than a mere possibility.
It was a normal, if not freezing cold, January day as Isabelle awoke. She rubbed her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light. She observed a small amount of snow on the railing, a remnant of the night before. Whenever there was snow it always reminded her of her first meeting with Hugo, standing outside three years ago. He had grown since then, faster than she had. He didn't tower over her, but he was noticeably taller now. His eyes were still ice blue, piercing and beautiful and surprisingly easy to get lost in. His hair was longer, but still scruffy and of course his dress sense and personal cleanliness had improved greatly. To Isabelle however, he would always simply be little Hugo, no matter how much he changed physically. She stretched a little and made her way out of bed. She got dressed, picked out her favourite beret and headed into the dining room for breakfast.
As Isabelle entered on this as of yet standard day, Hugo looked up and smiled at her, a smattering of jam taking its place on his cheek as it did most times whenever the strawberry spread was involved in his breakfasting. She smiled back and had to stifle a laugh as she herself sat down and started to eat what had been laid out in front of her. After a wonderful breakfast, in which conversation was surprisingly scarce, Isabelle and Hugo headed out together to the store. While it was still very much Papa Georges store, he had other priorities to attend to during the week with his teaching and whatnot so, on occasion, they would run the shop just the two of them. It enabled them to spend the time that they both adored with each other, free from distractions and only the customers to interrupt their shenanigans. On days when people didn't see or recognise Georges Melies in the store, business seemed to slow down, not that either of them considered that bad, it just meant more time for the two of them.
On this particular day, business was so slow that Hugo even suggested that they could leave the store, and no one would come by. The station inspector occasionally came to check on them and say hi, Lisette sometimes accompanying him. Today that wouldn't be happening however as Hugo had been reliably informed that he was planning to propose today and was currently out at lunch preparing to do just that. So they were in the clear in as much as they could go off and do whatever they wanted for a bit. They floated a few ideas between themselves, before deciding to go and see a movie before going up to the top of Gare Montparnasse's tallest tower and looking at the view in the evening. Their chosen film was 'J'ai une idée' (I Have An Idea), a comedy about fraud. They enjoyed it very much, laughing along and having a good time together. Once the film came to an end, they returned to the station to briefly check on the shop. Nothing had changed from when they had left.
It was still quiet, enabling them to do what they really wanted to do, and go to the spot that made them feel like they were on top of the world, lost in the rapture of each other, and free from the pressures of life. As they climbed higher and higher, getting nearer to the summit, they joked and raced although Hugo always ended up winning. He knew all the shortcuts. They reached the top, and Hugo helped her up onto the platform. They plopped themselves down in their usual positions, Isabelle's head resting on Hugo's shoulder as he pushed his hand through her hair the way she liked it. The sun was starting to set, and the golden rays were hitting the spot they were sitting in the perfect way they always did. This time however, rather than looking out at Paris in the light, he looked down at Isabelle. All he saw was her glowing. Her hair shimmered in the light, her eyes displaying gold specks in the iris and her lips looking perfectly pink. She looked up at him and questioned him at what he was looking at.
In that moment, he realised he didn't care. He wanted to be with her forever and spend a million more nights like this. He smiled at her and began to speak.
'I'm looking at you' he said. 'Because you deserve to be looked at. I look at you and I see a future, my future. For three years now we've spent every minute of every day together and I've loved each day more than the last, simply because of your company. Thank you for always being there and…' He was stopped by the pressing of Isabelle's lips against his own kissing him. He got lost in the moment as the kiss deepened, repressed passion and enamour finally being released.
'I love you Hugo Cabret' she said as the kiss finished.
'I love you too Isabelle' he replied, stroking her hair again.
She lay down and put her head in his lap as she looked up at him, the boy she loved and who loved her back in the way she had always wanted. Books were her speciality, the words speaking to her more than most humans ever had. But this wasn't a story stuck behind pages of paper, this was real. She had managed, somehow, to find everything she had ever wanted right here in this boy. And he, after grieving for his father for so long, had found not only a family, but a person who just understood him. It wasn't mechanical, there was no replaceable parts or gears that could explain this. It was simply natural, a consequence of human nature and plain old-fashioned love. He loved this girl more than he had ever loved anything before. And as they sat up there, the sunshine slowly fading and day turning into night, they realised that they couldn't live without each other. They were tied together in a lot more than a simple romance; they were meant for each other. No book or machine can prepare you for that revelation.
