ADIEU » LES MISÉRABLES | ✓

EPILOGUE

OR
THE LETTER

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Dearest Claudine,

I am so sorry.

Our fate is sealed. We are outnumbered, our ammunition is running short, and the national guardsmen have cannons. I am afraid, not of dying, but of seeing my friends fall. I gave them the option to leave, but all of them chose to stay by my side, including Gavroche. I asked him to deliver this letter in the hopes that he would be left out of danger. Perhaps it will be all over by the time he comes back.

Jehan and Éponine are no longer with us. I think you deserve to know. Jehan's absence is so heavy, so substantial, that it's almost suffocating. Éponine's is more subtle, but we feel it nonetheless. We can only hope that they are in a better place now.

On a lighter note, I have figured out the mystery behind your bracelet - it unravels into a map of the Court of Miracles. I knew there was more to it than met the eye. Still, I do not fully understand why the Court meant so much to you - you always seemed so lonely, even back when you had it as a home.

Nevertheless, I would like to thank you once again for choosing to entrust me with it, though I don't think I can ever adequately express my gratitude in words. It is so much more than a gift. It is a little piece of you that I carry around with me wherever I go. It reminds me of you; your fierce grit and dedication, your unhesitating honesty, and your uncanny ability to warm someone's heart with a single smile.

I've never been fond of remembrance. Why waste time dwelling on things that have already passed, when the power to change the future lies in our hands? For years, I firmly held that remembering only served as a distraction with no actual purpose, but it is only now that I realize how wrong I was. Remembering is a way to hold on to things you have had no choice but to let go of. Claudine, I promise you this - I will remember you. At the end of the line, when everything is about to be over, I will think of you.

I hope you find your family. I hope you'll wear all the dresses I bought you. I hope you'll be happy. But most importantly, I hope you'll live - because even if we fail to bring about a better world, as long as there are people like you, there is still hope. There will still be a tomorrow. And until then, Claudine, take heart, stay strong, and continue to stand for what you believe in, even if it means you might fall.

I realize too late that I never got to bid a proper farewell to you - I hope this letter sufficiently makes up for that.

For the first and last time - goodbye, Claudine. It was lovely knowing you.

- Enjolras

THE END.

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[ AUTHOR'S NOTE ]

can't believe it? well,, neither can I. I actually don't know what possessed me to write AND publish all three final chapters at one go so I'm probably coming back to edit this. It's definitely not the best, but I'm just so glad I finished it! There's going to be a final author's note + Q&A coming up, so if you have any questions for me, feel free to comment here or drop me a message! :)

Big big love,
Nat 🍃