Flashback 10: Esmeralda
"Esmeralda, please!" Clopin begged. "Talk to me!"
Ignoring him, Esmeralda continued to sob under the blanket. She didn't want to explain why she was crying like this. It felt like a silly reason, something she had no right to be this upset over. She was eighteen, for crying out loud. Besides, she'd been through much worse things than this. She'd grown up without parents and lost her aunt too. A rude comment didn't seem like much to get emotional about in comparison.
Clopin pulled the blanket back to reveal her face.
"What happened?" He asked. "Was someone mean to you? Who do I need to beat up?!"
Clopin's concern was somewhat comforting. There probably wasn't anything Esmeralda could say to earn any judgment from him, so she decided it was okay to share.
"It was him..." She whispered. "That man who always walks past me smiling..."
"What? I thought he liked you! What did he do?!"
"I thought so too! He asked me to meet him today, so I did. I was excited, I thought we were going to talk, but then he just grabbed my face and kissed me!"
"He did WHAT?!"
"I know! I wasn't expecting it at all, so I pulled away. But then he got mad! He didn't want to talk to me, he just wanted to take me to bed! I said I wasn't interested, but then he said..."
Esmeralda struggled to speak, sobbing.
"Tell me." Clopin begged. "What did that bastard say to my sweet sister?!"
"He said... That it was unfair of me to reject him when I've obviously slept with every other man in Paris..."
Clopin scowled viciously.
"That disgusting pig!" He roared. "Don't worry, I'll find him and teach him to leave you alone!"
"I don't think it's just him..."
"What do you mean?"
Esmeralda tried to wipe some of the tears off her face.
"Clopin... Does everyone think what he thinks?"
"What? Why would they think that?"
"It wouldn't surprise me... I'm eighteen and still no one wants me! Not the way I want them to, anyway. I know men find me attractive, they're always giving me those looks! But they never try to get to know me, and I think that's because they see me as a whore!"
"Esmeralda, you don't know that for sure!"
"I'm awfully sure about it! Everyone says how beautiful I am, but no one says I would be a good wife. I get attention from men, but only if they want to sleep with me! I bet it's all because I dance for money! They think that means I'm taking money for other things..."
"If they really think that, it's not your fault! People are prejudiced against people like us! They would make assumptions no matter what you did! Don't blame yourself!"
"Even down here, no one thinks I'm wife material! Even in the Court of Miracles, where my reputation has never been bad, no one wants me that way! Why would that be?!"
Clopin touched Esmeralda's shoulder, attempting to comfort her.
"Esmeralda... It's not about that. It's just that you've known everyone down here your whole life. When you were little you always played and wrestled with the boys, and even now they go to you for jokes and card games. You're like a sister to them, like you are to me. That's the only reason they don't want to marry you."
Esmeralda shed another tear.
"So every man here sees me as a sibling and every man in town sees me as a whore. Great, I'm destined to be alone!"
"No, don't think of it like that! Surely someone will give you a chance!"
"Not if they think I've slept with everyone... You don't think that, do you?"
"No, I don't! Even if it were true, I wouldn't judge you for it!"
"Maybe you wouldn't... But other people aren't like you, Clopin..."
Desperate to do something helpful, Clopin took Esmeralda in a hug, letting her cry on his shoulder.
"Don't give up." He whispered to her. "You're wonderful, and I know someone will see that."
Though she felt defeated, Esmeralda hoped that Clopin was right.