He didn't sleep that night, and he knew he wouldn't; there was a faint hissing breath of a sigh that kept his eyes wide open. He was sitting in the corner of a dark, dull, and moist room, under the glare of a silver moon that intertwined with that bronze skin of his to sculpture his face like a statue with an imperial beauty.

It was nearly four o'clock in the morning when the first blear ray of the sun sneaked into his room after fighting its way through the snow.

His deep blue eyes instantly turned to gaze out of the window and he looked blankly with two pale eyes that reflected a future promising and shining with hope and confidence to paint that gray world with colours that his people never saw before just as Christmas brought the happiness and joy to the hearts of everyone living there.

The echoes of silence clashed with his thoughts to bring him back to earth, for there was someone knocking on the door quickly and steadily in a way that made his heart beat even faster.

He opened the door. It was a girl, one he never saw before, her dark black hair dropped to her back. She had white skin soft like spring flowers and eyes that were round and green promising life and warmth. Her mouth was red like cherries and roses, she looked at him with two watery eyes that were twinkling with mystical promises and softly whispered: "Enjolras."

Her glorifying beauty in the splendor of his were perfection. He felt his hands shake and he was about to drop his musket but he held it tight and gave a grave face. He fought her possessive passion and looked at her and said firmly, "Yes, Mademoiselle, may I be of any assistance to you?"

"Can I come in?" she asked in a voice that was music to his ears.

"I am here and willing to listen, but if you must come in then make it quick..." he said bitterly.

"Thank you, Christmas is the spirit of giving, Enjolras..." she said as he closed the door behind her.

"Get to the point if you please," he answered quickly; there was something inside him that was telling him he wouldn't be able to fight that royal beauty for long and he knew he was supposed to be strong.

"Enjolras, I know it might sound silly but I watched you everyday and heard all your speeches, I admired you and then went through bitter stages until I finally realised it was love, yes, now I will ask you once and forever, please offer me one hug, just one and then I will go away," she said.

"If that is all you came in for then may I be excused, I have things to attend to, and I can only wish you a better world in advance on this holy day, au revoir," he said opening the door and to his surprise she gently walked back without resistance.

He closed the door and felt a single tear roll down his marble cheek.

"Dear God please guide me, show me the path to salvation and I will follow it, God have mercy on me this day." He wept collapsing into a wooden chair next to the window.

He looked out of the window and saw her figure walking slowly through the snow like a lonely desert flower. "Jacqueline, you deserve better than someone who will die tomorrow, God I can not bring happiness to someone, not when I know it will be followed by grief, I will be watching over you from the heavens."

He held his musket and made his way out of the house following her footsteps.

He stopped as she got into her house and he turned the other way and walked off, he tried to cover his past memories that rushed through his head by layers of hopes of tomorrow, hopes that kept him going and hopes that stirred his blood.

His face was half buried in shadows as he walked through the path that was lit with dim candles, the path that seemed endless and guided him to the core of the earth.

He ran between the trees looking down at nothing but white snow and shadows that mixed with his own, he visualised the earth without shadows, the earth the way he wished it would look like, and earth watered with liberty, an earth living with equality hand in hand with brotherhood and justice, he only wished he would be there to see it.

He seemed clueless and lost in the streets of Paris when he suddenly walked into Marius.

"Everyone is waiting in the café," Marius whispered in his ears smiling.

He looked at him with blurred eyes and they walked together to the café.

"May you have a merry Christmas," said Grantaire to him just as he entered, Enjolras did not answer back, he looked the other way instead and pretended he did not hear.

He felt the blood in his veins rushing quickly and his feet guided him to the center as if they weren't his own.

"Comrades, this is Christmas today, but what is Christmas without happiness, what is Christmas with the laughs of children who are going to live in misery tomorrow, I need every single one of you, to put his hand in my hand and promise faithfully and truly that he will give everything, including his life to honour the name of liberty," said Enjolras.

There as a silent pulse in the café but Enjolras could not look at their faces again, for once in his life he felt he was so weak and tender.

"Dear God give me strength to go on," he whispered gently as he walked out of the café.

"What is the matter with him?" said Grantaire.

"I do not know, I always thought Christmas is a time to celebrate, I only hope he is all right," said Marius.

Just as Enjolras walked out of the café he saw Jacqueline again and for once he thought she was following him, but his thought soon faded when he saw her walk without looking at him.

A hissing voice came to his mind again, persuading him to go to her, to stay with her, a voice that he later called a whisper of the devil.

"If I really love her, I must stay away from her, my one and only love is the republic and my dreams will be achieved once the task of creating the republic is fulfilled but until then, I devote my soul to God and my life to this land and once I achieve my dream to see the sun of tomorrow shine on this desperate land I will rest in peace no matter where I am," he said.

He bent down and give a passionate kiss to the her foot step on the snow that the snow almost melted. He felt the spirit of Christmas silently enter his soul to shelter him against evil.

A few months later he was there on the barricade, still standing with the spirit of Christmas, that kept his soul and hopes high but his heart was pierced by eight shots and he lay there in a pool of fresh and pure blood that reflected the fake hopes of tomorrow and the spirit of Christmas flew to the sky, betrayed by her own being allowing Enjolras' soul to turn, to the point of no return.

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