Paris on this day. The people watch him carry the girl to the top of the cathedral. Each time they see him run past one of the church windows, they shout, "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!"
In the cathedral, Quasimodo looks after Esmeralda. He gives her his own bed and his own food. He brings her warm clothes, and she has Djali with her for company. She is safe, but she cannot leave the cathedral. If she does, the guards will take her to the Place de Greve and hang her.
Father Claude Frollo did not see Quasimodo save Esmeralda. After his last private conversation with the girl at the door of the cathedral, he suffered more than ever. He left the city and walked through the fields, thinking about his lost love. He imagined the guards taking Esmeralda to her death in the Place de Grěve. It is after noon now, the hour of her hanging. His only love, the only important person in his world is dead. Why did he destroy her? Why did his love for her drive him crazy?
The priest returns to Paris and to Notre-Dame at midnight. He falls to his knees and thinks of Esmeralda, now dead and cold in the ground. At last, he gets up and begins to climb the steps to his tower.
Suddenly, the priest feels a cold wind. He turns and looks into a dark corner. There he sees a sad woman in a long white dress with a white goat next to her. It is Esmeralda! "She's free," thinks Father Claude. "She's dead." He does not speak and the girl disappears without seeing him.
Next morning, Esmeralda's first in the cathedral, the sun is shining, and for the first time in months she is not afraid. Then she sees a terrible face at her door, and she turns her head away.
"Don't be afraid. I'm your friend," Quasimodo says. "I'll stand behind the wall. I don't want to scare you."
The voice is rough, but it is also kind. Esmeralda goes to the door and softly says, "Come here." She touches his arm and he looks up at her. She wants him to stay and to talk.
38