avenir
[av(ə)niʀ}
"The future"
Avenir is an Unnamed from the dystopian society of Marseille who is doomed to a life of hardship after experiencing a tragic event at the hands of the Marseille police force. Once she discovers a chance to better her...
"You still haven't found Valjean, and it is getting on your last nerve."
Silence. I had hit the nail on the head.
"He'll be by the Musain tomorrow, giving alms to the poor."
For that was true. I had seen Valjean and Cosette helping the beggars in the square, and I had pointed him out to Enjolras.
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"He will be of great help to us later, and he's the one who Javert is after."
"Him?" Enjolras had questioned. "He is a good man, helping the poor!"
"Yes, he escaped from a wrongly executed sentence, reformed himself...broke parole, because frankly, he did nothing wrong! Yet it makes Javert look bad to not have caught him. People change, Enjolras."
"Yes," he said quietly. "You are right. People change."
And then he grabbed my hand as we walked on, and squeezed it softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I looked at Javert. Had I done the wrong thing, by giving away Valjean's whereabouts?
"Why are you telling me this, girl?"
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"I'm not a 'girl,' I have a name, and that name is Avenir. You're not very good with calling people by their names, are you? I don't know why I just told you that. I guess I just have to move the story along."
If Javert didn't find Valjean in the village square the next day, the Thénardiers would succeed in blackmailing Valjean!
I left Javert that day with tensions high. He had told me my brother was doing well...but what if this was all a lie? He could already be dead, for all I knew. I had received no letters from him...
And then Grantaire came running into the Musain that night with 50 more pounds of ammunition.
"How many more is there left?" laughed Joly. "You've practically wiped out the entire Bastille."
"They still have their cannons," said Grantaire gravely. He looked at me. "Jehan is well, but the future is grim. I know you have some huge, momentous speech to give tomorrow...you told me yourself you waited two extra weeks to give it. Well, I'm not so sure now is the time. We still don't have the upper hand."
"Oh, it's time..." I said.
It was May 31st.
We had no time left.
"Look, we've collected hundreds of pounds of ammunition right under the National Guard's nose! They suspect nothing! Javert is keeping the troops away at our rallies ---"
