Chapter 5

Joséphine leaned back in the carriage and stared at her parents sitting before her. All of them were in mourning, her mother was wearing a splendid black dress which was made especially for the funeral, her fake blonde curls and her face were covered by a mourning veil and occaisonally she lifted a handkerchief near her eyes. Although she couldn't see her face because of the veil, Joséphine knew she wasn't crying, she was just putting on an act for the people who came to Lamarque's funeral. Her father was just staring blankly out of the window and the look on his face clearly showed how much he wanted this to be over. Joséphine couldn't decide which was worse, her father's honest negligence or her mother's fake tears, but either way the atmosphere almost strangled her. It was the same when she returned home and told her parents what happened, the only thing they could think of was the financial part of the funeral and that how unfortunate it is, that now they all have to be in mourning and that made her feel sick. Joséphine looked out of the window for a little relief and she was flattered by the number and affection of the simple people who had come. She was sure her uncle would be happier if the people for whose sake he worked so hard were to accompany him on his last journey instead of the ridiculously grandiose ceremony which her parents organized.

As the funeral procession slowly went on, she started to wonder if monsieur Enjolras or anyone of les Amis came as she searched for them in the crowd. Earlier that day she thought she saw Gavroche but then she convinced herself it was just her imagination, though she thought he must be here somewhere. When there was any kind of public gathering, Gavroche was always in the middle of it. The thought of the cheerful little boy almost put a smile on her face, when suddenly a horrible noise disturbed the solemn silence. It sounded like a gunshot, but Joséphine wasn't sure because she had never heard a gunshot before, and she couldn't imagine who and why would shoot during her uncle's funeral. But then the noise was repeated again, and then again. Everyone in the crowd was moving at once, everyone was looking for a way to escape, or to join the rebellion. Because it was a rebellion indeed, as Joséphine leaned out of the window to be able to see more, she saw several soldiers dispersing the crowd and shooting basically anyone they could.

'Do not lean out, Joséphine dear.' said Mme Lamarque in a hysterical voice. Now she shed real tears because of the panic, and she trembled as she tried to pull Joséphine away from the window, while her husband held her protectively. 'You will get hurt.' she cried but in vain, because at that moment Joséphine caught a glimpse of a blonde-haired gentleman leading the crowd, carrying a red flag and she immediately jumped out of the carriage and ran after him. Her parents didn't follow her.

Joséphine tried to force her way through the crowd, but she got swept away several times. She started to panic herself, everywhere she looked, terrified people were trying to find shelter. A dead body in a pool of blood was left in the mud of the streets, a little boy was crying in the midst of the chaos and the horrifying sound of the guns could be heard without end. Joséphine was holding back the tears. Why is this even necessary? There must be a cause to this cruelty. She was desperately searching for Enjolras, from whom she expected all the answers and confrontation. She needed to believe that everything will be alright. That moment, she spotted him at the highest point of the whole scene, on the top of the hearse. The hearse in which her uncle's coffin was. Her uncle's coffin! She started walking towards him, but she lost him again, as a young gentleman, in whom she recognized Marius, galloped away holding a red flag just beside her. She ran after him, hoping that Enjolras will be there and she was right, although she couldn't get near him as he was leading the crowd and everyone gathered around him.

'Enjolras!' she cried at the top of her lungs not even noticing that she forgot the monsieur. Enjolras turned around and looked at her surprised. He stepped out of the crowd and was now standing face to face with Joséphine. 'What is the meaning of this?'

'What do you think?' asked back Enjolras forgetting about politeness himself. He wanted to go and help at the barricade, there might be a chance that they will be attacked, and here he is, wasting the time.

'People have been hurt.' said Joséphine desperately.

'I know.' he said suddenly realizing that fact.

'People have died.' continued Joséphine.

'I know.'

'Innocent people, who had nothing to do with this.'

'I know.'

'You can die too.' said Joséphine trembling at the thought.

'I know.' said Enjolras frustrated.

'Then why are you doing this?' she asked.

'Because we have no other choice.'

'Of course you have.' she said interupting him. 'I'm sure you can solve this peacefully.'

'Lamarque tried to solve it peacefully, and what did he achieve?' said Enjolras raising his voice. Joséphine backed away offended. 'I'm sorry' said Enjolras in a whisper 'but if we want a change, we have no other choice.' he said and ran away towards the barricade. Joséphine stood there as the tears slowly ran down her cheeks. Then she took a deep breath and wiped them off. She didn't want to go back to the funeral, the ceremony was messed up anyway, so she decided to go to the Martins.

She spent the whole day with them trying not to hear the distant sound of the fight and trying not to think of what could have happened by now. When she told Mme Martin what had happened on the funeral, she refused to let any of her children out and the little boys were quite offended because they wanted to see a real fight. They tried to ask Joséphine about the details, but she told them they shouldn't hear of such cruel things. Louise and Élodie sat down in the corner with their needlework and looked at Joséphine anxiously from time to time. Joséphine was in very low spirits and as time went by, she became restless. She was walking up and down the tiny room wondering why she is so concerned about Enjolras or rather, why she is more concerned about him than anyone else. It may be that she knew him better than the others, but that didn't explain why she feels that her world would end if something happens to him. Her heart broke even at the thought of it, and no matter how hard she tried not to think about it, it crept into her mind every time she heard a gunshot from the distance. She felt so useless, but she didn't know what to do either.

Mme Martin watched Joséphine's struggles and realized their cause even before Joséphine herself did. She suspected it for a while, and now her heart broke at the sight of two young people being torn apart. She took Joséphine's hand as she almost fainted when the sound of another gunshot reached them.

'Bring him home.' she whispered kindly. Joséphine looked at her confused, but as she understood, she smiled gratefully and ran away towards the barricade. Mme Martin watched her as her figure vanished in the darkness of the night and suddenly had that uneasy feeling that this may be the last time she saw her.