Why couldn't I have loved a man like him? Fantine thought, studying the face of her savior. His worn and kindly features were etched with concern, and she could feel the warmth of his hand on hers. Had she been wiser in love, she could have know a happy contented life with someone like him that now seemed as foreign to her as the fact that she was now facing death.

Fantine shook her head, or would have, had she the strength. Now was not the time for regrets. Besides, had she never fallen for Ambroise, she would not have had Cosette, her darling little girl, the ray of sunlight that had kept her going through the hard lonely years since Ambroise had left.

And she would never see her again. A tear slid down Fantine's once-beautiful face; she didn't even know what Cosette looked like now. She would be almost eight, and Fantine hadn't seen her since she was barely three. Her baby, her joy, would not remember her. She would never again see the one she loved more than life itself. Never again.

Fantine's vision began to blur; she grasped Monsieur Madeleine's hand as she felt panic rise inside her. I don't want to die, I can't die. My child needs me. "I am here, Madame, I will not leave you." Fantine looked up at this man who had pulled her from the gutter, from the grasp of the pimps and the police, had promised to care for her Cosette; a man sent from a God who had finally looked down on her in pity. The panic subsided, and a feeling of calm washed over her.

"Take good care of her, Monsieur," Fantine whispered. Monsieur Madeleine nodded gently. Her vision began to grow dim, but now she was ready to go. How many times had she thought of escape from this world before, with only the memory of Cosette to keep her from taking her own life? Now with Cosette taken care of, death came like a friend, waiting to wrap her in a deep eternal embrace and keep her safe from the world that had been so harsh to her.

I will be your angel, mon bébé, Fantine thought as she began to lose the feeling of her body. I will watch you grow from heaven. Your maman loves you. Her eyes closed, and she left this world with a smile on her lips.

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