I furrowed my brow and drained the contents of the tankard. I set the glass down and stared at it.

"My life is going to the dogs," I muttered hoarsely. "Fill me up, Matelotte." I held out the glass in anticipation. The gotesque waitress stuck her tongue out at me, as if to say, 'at least address me nicely'! I ignored her. With a sigh, she sloshed more of the blood-red wine into the tankard. I sighed sadly.

"My dear, you have no inkling of the tragedy I face. This drink, which numbs the pain of my dead sister, is my sanctuary. It's the only thing keeping me alive, if you can call it that! And Enjolras still cares not for me. I'm just lazy, ugly, stupid R, in his eyes! But he's soo brave, passionate, perfect. Oh, how I adore him! How he despises me! My life is filled with nothing but anguish! Oh, kiss me, my love."

(Of course I was drunk!!! What, you thought I actually pined for affection from that hideous, lumpish girl? HA!!)

Matelotte slapped me soundly. I doused this new, physical pain with more drink. The room spun around and around. I smiled, drowsily. A few more tankards and I'd be out cold! Perfect! I took another sloppy swig of that marvelous wine. The room slid in and out of focus.

I had scarcely closed my eyes when I found myself being shaken by Mère Hucheloup. I slid down further in my chair and groaned.

"GAH! Go away Hucheloup, I'm busy!"

She merely kicked me in the shins.

"'Monsieur' has a message for him!"

I ignored her. She continued to kick me.

"Get up, you lazy lump of a man! I want this gamin out of my cafe!"

I sat up at the word 'gamin'. There was only one person I knew who fit that description so perfectly. Sure enough, I was greeted by a familiar, cheerful voice.

"Oy! Whaddya been up to R, you look a sight!"

The boy, around 11 or 12, glanced at my bloodshot eyes, sloppy clothes, and bedhead.

"Gavoche?" I hiccuped. The gamin, now adjusting his cap, perched on top of his scruffy, red-brown hair slid in and out of focus.

"Yup!" He beamed proudly. "I got a message for ya!" he answered gallantly, puffing out his small chest.

"All right, what is it?"

Gavroche cleared his throat and recited: "M'sieur, I saw you walking by and at once knew who you were. I must talk to you tomorrow at sundown in the Rue Saint-Martin."

"Are you sure that's for me, Gavroche?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Yeah! I was told to deliver it to M'sieur Remi Grantaire, and that's you! A young lady gave me a franc to deliver it to ya. She's nice enough, but she's got a rummy name. Cosette. Yuck! she says she knows you, but couldn't tell me how."

I felt the blood drain out of my face.

"C-C-Cosette?" "Yep."

"As in Cosette, Marius's lover??"

"Ya-WHOA! Marius is in love with a Cosette?"

"Yeah, and I've never seen her, so don't ask me who she is."

"Well, how many Cosettes do ya know?"

I groaned. This was not good. Marius's lover wanted to meet me tommorrow, at sundown. Great! This was just fabulous.

Gavroche slipped out, looking a little embarrassed about the news he'd delivered. Matelotte came over with another bottle of wine. She opened it, but I stopped her.

"No thanks, Matelotte, I need my wits about me!"

By next afternoon, I still hadn't drunk anymore. Evening came around, and I headed off to the Rue Saint-Martin. The street was empty. I wandered around aimlessly, until I bumped into someone.

That someone was a girl.

"Sorry, I muttered, glancing down at my shoes."

"No, it's my fault Monsieur, I should be the sorry one." Her voice sounded oddly familiar. She spoke again.

"Umm, M'sieur, do you happen to know a Monsieur Remi Grantaire?"

I looked up, startled. She gazed earnestly at me with dazzling blue eyes. She had the prettiest eyelashes... Aw, dammit, I was falling unbder her spell!

"Er, yeah," I said quietly. "I'm Remi Grantaire."

"Oh, M'seiur Remi, I've been looking all over for you! My, you look different. Perhaps you remember me, Cosette? Euphrasie? The lark?"

I looked hard at her. 'The Lark' sounded familiar to me. Suddenly, I recognized her: The Lark. The pathetic little girl from Montreuil-sur-mer.

"OH! Good to see ya!"

"Good to see you, too."

Together, we spiraled off on a long discussion of our childhoods in Montreuil-sur-mer. My family had stayed at Thenardier's inn for a while, and Cosette had been my playmate during that time. Now, I was seeing her again, after I thought I never would.

The moon was high in the sky when we finished talking. She gazed at me with those dazzling blue eyes.

"M'seiur Remi?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you so melancholy today?"

I sighed. "I'm melancholy every day, Cosette. That's how it's been since my sister died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

She slid her hand into mine. We leaned in, slowly, until our heads were almost touching. She broke away suddenly.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm sorry, Remi, but I can't. It's all in the past."

"Oh, I see," I said coldly.

"Good." She smiled sadly, leaned over, and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Goodbye M'sieur Remi!"

She dashed off into the night, leaving me all alone.

"Goodbye," I muttered, "goodbye."

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