Once Upon a Dream (A Marisette Fanfiction)

Prologue

Cosette has had one dream since she was young. Ever since she was a child, she has known exactly what she wanted to do with her life. Once she stepped on a stage for the first time, she knew that the only thing she wanted to do for the rest of her life was dance.

Picture it: a young girl, with her blonde hair bound up in a tight bun and a pale pink tu-tu that she spent an hour spinning in beforehand, walks into a small dance studio, clutching tightly onto her mother's hand. The room is large to the five year old, and it intimidates her. For the first time since her mother has said she has signed her up for dance lessons, she is frightened. She looks up at her mother, who sees the apprehension in her daughter's eyes.

She bends down, and places a hand on her daughters cheek. She gives her the warm reassuring smile that always helps the girl to relax. Her voice is soft and clear, "You are going to be amazing, my little ballerina." At the word ballerina, the girl's eyes light up, her fear practically disappearing. She hugs her mother tightly, as her mother whispers in her ear, "I can't wait to see you on that stage soon."

Soon, her mother leaves to speak to the teacher. The girl is the first to arrive, so she is left alone in the room. Her feet fall gently on the wooden floor in her hand-me-down ballet slippers. She takes in everything around her. The mirrored walls, bouncing back a reflection of herself. The wooden bars that she just about managed to reach. The entire scene leading to the ideal of performing on stage. The girl smiles to herself, and begins to twirl around the room until she falls down on the floor.

Cut to a mere 6 months later. The time has come for the girl's first recital. Her teacher has given her a solo spot in the dance, for her teacher says she sees promise in her. She waits in the wings patiently, but does manage to peek out the end. She gulps quietly, looking at all of the faces staring back at her. She searches the audience for a familiar face. The only face she can find is her uncle Jean's face, who has grown to be more of a father to her. She moves back into the wing, slowly remembering that her mother would not be there, as her life had been taken a month before.

Her nerves are getting the better of her, and she's ready to make a run for it, but she is stopped by a pair of familiar hands. She looks up to the face of her teacher, who gives her a soft smile. She reminds the girl that her mother is her, but only in spirit, and that she knows that her mother would be oh so proud of her little girl. At this, the girl smiles, and goes on stage to join the other children.

She remembers fumbling on a few of the moves with the group, but she nails her solo spot. The whole time, the girl believes she is dreaming. There is a light in her eye that only comes to one when they are in love, and the second the number ends to thunderous applause the girl knows this is what she wants to do forever. 

Marius, as well for as long as he could remember, had a dream. The second his eyes hit a camera, and he pressed down on that button for the first time. Marius knew that the only way he ever wanted to see the world was through the eye of a lens.

It starts with a young boy, and a plastic disposable camera. After a trip to the shore, and the development of photos from a dsyfunctional family's attempts at getting along, the boy is given the camera to be disposed of in a garbage can outside the local drug store. Just as the boy is about fulfill his mother's wishes, he stops. The plastic box makes him grow curious, and he slowly begins to explore its wonders. His eye meets the view finder for the first time, and gently his hand runs over the shutter button. Slowly, he presses the button, and enjoys the click that comes from the box as he releases the button. It's love at first click.

After about a year, the boy still holds onto the plastic camera, taking it everywhere he goes. He takes "photos" of everything he sees. The world that he knows that is only one block long. The school where he is mocked by the children for pretending to take photos of them. The home that has become even more lonseome after his mother passed, and his father left, leaving him in the care of his grandfather. The only companion he truly knows is his little plastic camera, and in his mind that is all that he truly needed.

The boy's grandfather notices this infatuation, and soon decides to take action. One day, he approaches his grandson, and snatches the box away from him. The boy looks up at him with wide eyes, prepared to kick and scream the way most children his age do when they have something taken away from them. But before the boy can do anything, the older man is kneeling in front of him, and handing him a box. Tentatively, the boy opens the box, and gasps in surprise. In his hands, he is grasping his very own working camera. His words jumble between is it really mine, and scattered thank yous, along with a plethora of hugs. The man simply smiles upon seeing his grandson so happy. He leads the boy outside to the porch, so he can take his first picture. 

The photo is blurry, and at the top right corner you can see the boy's finger. However, his grandfather places a kiss atop the boy's spiky hair, and tells him it looks beautiful. It is the first of many photos, and also the first of many cameras. Even as the years go by though, he spends his money to keep his first camera working, and uses it to take one last photo of his grandfather before he meets with God.

This is the story of both Marius and Cosette: The pursuit of their dreams, the story of their passion, and their lives within the big city. Both of them come in with expectations, but neither of them expect what will come out.