A Last Reminder
Meg Giry stepped into what was left of the Paris Opera House. Her dull, brown eyes swept across what was left of the Grand Foyer, a prominent ache in her chest. She walked across the Foyer, bittersweet memories coming back to her. This had once been her home. This was the place where she had once known happiness, and where she had learned the true meaning of pain and loss. She went into what was left of the theatre itself, where a small crowd had gathered. A podium was set up on the stage, and a short, fat, middle-aged man stood behind it, auctioning off what was left of the artifacts that had survived the fire that had destroyed the great Opera House. When she reached the stage, she saw an elderly man sitting in a wheelchair. He turned his head, and recognition sparked in both of their eyes… It was Raoul de Chagny. The man who had married Meg's best friend, Christine Daae. Meg smiled gently, and inclined her head at Raoul. He nodded once in greeting. Then Meg turned to the man behind the podium. He was joined by a young man. His assistant. He was carrying an object in his hand, which was wrapped in an old piece of cloth. The older man looked out across the audience and said, "Lot 665, ladies and gentlemen: a papier mache musical in the shape of a barrel organ. Attached, the figure of a monkey, dressed in Persian robes, playing the cymbals. This item discovered in the vaults of the theatre, still in working order, ladies and gentlemen." The assistant pulled off the cloth, and held the music box up for all of them to see… Meg gasped, and her heart skipped a beat. She recognized the music box. She had seen it for the first time in the cellars of the Opera House on the last night she was here… The night of the fire… The night Raoul and Christine had eloped… The night she had lost the one man that she had ever truly loved… The older man continued. "May I commence at fifteen francs?" Meg raised her hand. The man nodded at her and said, "Fifteen, thank you." Out of the corner of her eye, Meg saw Raoul raise his hand. The man nodded at him and said, "Yes, twenty from you, sir. Thank you very much." He looked back at Meg. "Madame Giry, twenty-five?" Meg nodded. The man nodded. "Thank you, Madame." Turning back to Raoul, he asked, "Do I hear thirty?" Raoul nodded. The man nodded and turned back to Meg. "And thirty-five?" Meg nodded. "Forty?" Raoul and Meg looked at each other one more time. Then Raoul looked back at the man and shook his head. The man nodded and said, "Selling at thirty-five francs, then. Selling once… Selling twice… Sold to Madame Meg Giry. Thank you Madame." The assistant smiled gently at Meg as he knelt at the edge of the stage and handed her the music box. Meg smiled gently back at him. Then moving away from the crowd, she looked over the music box. It was beautifully crafted, and she knew that it was hand-made. "Oh Erik!" she thought sadly. "At least your music survived! Even though you did not…" Tears filled Meg's eyes. And as she left the Opera House for the last time, she thought about Erik Destler, the man who had been known throughout Paris as, "The Opera Ghost", who had been hated by all of Paris, and who Meg had dared to love…
