"It's over now, the music of the night". His beautiful, tragic voice could be heard echoing through the caves, washing over the lovers in the boat, making their way from his dark lair, back to the world above…
Erik cursed as he shattered all the mirrors in his home, cursing fate as he destroyed his image. Coming to the last mirror, he swung with a wild fury, shattering the glass and revealing a passageway. As he stepped through the mirror, he heard a shouted "Over here" and knew they were almost upon him. Making his way through the dark passageway, he threw a carefully concealed switch, blocking off the back of the mirror he he had just entered this hallway through, blocking his pursuers route.
Now that he was safe from the angry mob, which he could hear destroying his home and all his possessions, he stared into the dark gloom, wondering what he would do without Christine. She had consumed him these last nine years. She had been all he thought of, dreamed of, lived for. Now, there would be a return to the unremitting loneliness. Add to that the fact that his opera house would now be silent, perhaps permanently thanks to the damage HE had caused, and he had no idea where his life might be taking him. What his life was even worth. He had no illusions that he could begin again with another engenue. Christine had been truly spectacular. He would find no more willing and eager pupils, waiting for their "Angel" to appear. He was well and truly alone.
Several hour later… "Child of the wilderness, born into emptiness…" He heard these words, sung in a soft, low alto, coming from his living quarters. He screwed up his face in confusion, coming out of his deep reverie to re-open the sliding door between himself and the mirror opening and peer carefully through the small peep hole in the side of the mirror without raising the curtain. The sight that greeted his eyes was too puzzling at first to understand. A woman, Reubenesque without a doubt, stood near his piano, a light shining on her dark hair, singing into something that was making her voice amplify through the cave. "…learn to be lonely, learn to find your way in darkness. Never thought out in the wild, there'd be arms to hold you. You've always known, your heart was on its own." He started listening to the words, realizing they were more than likely about HIM.
Charging out into the cave, he bellowed, "Who in the hell are you and where is that damned light coming from?" The woman stopped her singing and looked at him with some surprise. "You must be Erik" she said in a flat, oddly accented voice. He listened for a moment, then frowned and said, "You are speaking English, but you MUST be an American." She smiled and started to sing again, "Life can be lived, life can be loved alone." It was then he realized this woman was accompanied by music, but he saw no musicians. "Where IS that music coming from?"
"Actually", the woman replied, that's coming from this battery powered karaoke machine. I had to bring it with me, along with this microphone set up and my little spotlight. No electricity, you know. This IS 1871 Paris. Ben Franklin still has to do the whole key on a kite thing…or was that Thomas Edison? Hmm…" He had stood there listening, thanking Heaven he was fluent in English, puzzling over her God-awful accent. Now he strode up to her, livid that his privacy had been thus intruded upon after the so recent trauma in his life, and demanded of the woman, who was wearing odd looking spectacles and must have suffered some recent illness to have such short hair…and was she wearing men's breeches? "Who are you and what are you doing here?", he demanded gruffly, in heavily accented English.
"Why, my name is Sarah Griffin. I am from 2005 America, sent here by the fates to sing you this song from the movie made about your life. I have been "blessed", you see, because Angels can't curse, though that's really what it is. I cannot leave your side for one full year. I must be within thirty feet of you at all times. I simply cannot get away from you, and you can't get away from me. Isn't that lovely? Never piss off an Angel, by the way. They'll take you fantasies and make them all come true. Even if that is DEFINITELY not what you really wanted."