Creating a world of our own
I had always been a Phantom Of The Opera fan. Off and on over the years but now the obsession was back with a vengeance. I had just finished the Susan Kay novel, Phantom and I was certain that what was once infatuation was now love for Erik.
It wasn't a love just for his genius and amazing array of abilities but for his kind heart that lie under the terrifying anger and lust for power. I knew that his face, no matter how deformed, wouldn't change the fact that he could have been the most brilliant man in the world. However, as I found out about his origins I could tell he had become so fixated on what other people and society thought, that he had become as twisted and monstrous on the inside, as people thought he was on the outside. I feel physical pain when I read about his suffering but I realized there was nothing I could do to help, except wish I could be there for him. I wished with all my soul that we could meet and that I could show him what life could really be like.
I was reading the book for the third time this week in my room when I found myself whispering,
"I wish I could be there for you Erik. If only you had a second chance at life, I would love you" I said to myself quietly.
If only I knew what was going to happen next, then maybe I would have held my tongue.
I remember having yet another dream about Erik. It was one of those that felt all too real; the ones that are wonderful when you're in one but are all the more disappointing when you wake up.
"Erik. Erik, don't go" as his dream self was turning away from you.
"No wait. Please!". My dream self ran after him and continued following through an ever increasing fog. It was getting harder and harder to see Erik's form so I desperately reached out and called out to him once more.
"Erik, wait for me!"
"Then come to me" a beautiful voice whispered. It continued to sing softly as I pushed on through the fog. I had lost sight of Erik, in fact I couldn't see anything, not even my hand in front of my face.
Then as quickly as I had lost myself in the fog, a series of shapes were appearing before me. It was surprising that I hadn't ran into anything with this limited visibility. The shapes were increasing and the fog was lifting so much that I could see a few lights in the distance and my feet on a dirt path as I continued walking.
One particular shape was becoming the center of my attention as I recognized it to be a stony cottage. As I got nearer, no more than 10 feet away from the well kept garden, I could see little details like the walls covered completely with ivy, a small crack in the paintwork and a single lamp burning in what appeared to be a bedroom.
I took a deep breath. It was pretty tiring from chasing Erik all that way and although I was young and a picture of health, sprinting after people through fog still makes people out of breath. A thought passed through my mind as I bent over slightly, trying to regain composure;
"My goodness this corset is tight".
I looked down at myself and my mind managed to discern that I weren't wearing my pajamas anymore, I was in fact wearing an 19th century style dress with long fitted sleeves, a ruffled blouse, corset and a skirt that flowed to the floor, where it covered a pair of shoes that looked like a cross between a ballet pump and a plimsoll.
"I certainly have an active imagination if I can dream all this up", I noted to myself amusingly.
All of a sudden, the door of the pretty house was forced open abruptly and a maid rushed out with tears running down her face, half mad with fear and panic.
Before I could check if she needed help, a large spaniel launched itself at me from the entrance of the house.
"Woah, easy now. Ok, stop now. Get down you silly dog" I said as the dog jumped at me.
By the time I got the over friendly animal off me, the maid had disappeared and I still had no idea where I was. The longer the dream went on, the more realistic it was; the pain of the spaniel standing on my foot was so substantial that I was slowly wondering if this dream was bridging reality too much to be considered a dream at all.
The spaniel, who appeared to be female, seemed terribly excited about something and was jumping up and down and nudging me towards the door of the house with her nose.
"No, no, I cant go in" I said warily.
The maid had reappeared from the way I assumed she left, with a priest in tow. This dream was getting weirder and weirder, even by my standards.
"There's no way I'm going back in there! It's a cursed house now father, the demon has cursed us all!" wailed the maid. By this time she was hysterical and panting hard from her panic.
"Now, now, I'm sure it's not a demon. Come back inside and you'll see" said the aging priest gently.
"NO! NO! Never! It's cursed...evil...the monster will steal my soul father. I'm not going in there and you can tell her that as well!" With that she took off in the other direction.
The priest was looking a little stunned at her reaction. I thought now would be the best time to interrupt and actually get some answers; after all I had been here nearly 10 minutes.
"Excuse me sir, could you tell me where I am please?
He spun round to face me; he had been completely unaware of my presence, even with the dog nearly knocking me over.
"Oh, hello my child, I didn't see you there. How may I help you?" He seemed like a very kind man who meant well.
"I just need a little help finding out where I am so could you please tell me what village this?"
"You're in the lovely village of St-Martin-de-Boscherville, Miss, a small village outside Rouen."
"Oh I see. Thank you" I was more confused then ever. It seemed very familiar this town, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
"I'm sorry mademoiselle, but I must go now, I have urgent matters to attend to" he said briefly and went into the house before I could thank him.
"Everyone here just rushes about. Whatever is going on inside must be very important" I mumbled to myself. The spaniel seemed to agree and once again tried to get me into the house.
"Will you stop it. Please. Stop it!", I was quickly losing my temper with the annoying mutt.
"I can't just walk in uninvited to a strangers house" I explained to the dog. Oh great and now I'm talking to a dog...
"This isn't a dream is it?" I asked the spaniel and she just barked happily. "Well, if you're so smart, why am I here, hmm?" I inquired of the dog. No response, only she sat down by the garden wall and almost seemed to encourage me to sit beside her.
"Oh, why not? It's not like I have anywhere else to go" I said with dismay as I sat down on the stone wall. I gently petted her head as I wondered why I was here and retraced the steps in my mind.
When the priest reemerged from the house, I was staring ahead blankly and the dog was leaning against my leg because she was really enjoying the attention.
"Hello again mademoiselle. Why are you still here?, if you don't mind me asking. It's getting very cold and dark and I'm sure your family would be worried if you're not home shortly." The priest was a very compassionate man who looked like he had just seen something very worrying.
"I have no where to go sir. I'm not even sure how I got here if I'm being honest" I said bluntly.
"The lord blesses honesty child, I'm sorry to here that but would you mind if I made a suggestion? I think I can be of assistance"
"If you have any ideas I'd be very grateful" I said hopefully whilst trying to remove the weight off of my leg and stand up straight.
"I assume you saw the scene with Simonette, the maid a while ago. Well, her lady is in need of a new maid at the moment. She's just given birth and I can't bear to leave her alone in her current state. I'm sure if you told her I'd sent you she would at least be able to give you a room for the night. She might even let you stay permanently if you made yourself useful and helped her attend to the baby" he said with confidence.
"Thank you for the advice sir. That's sounds like a great idea, I'll try it then. By the way, what is the lady's name?"
"Madeline. She's a little confused at the moment but she's got a good heart."
"Thanks for all your help"
His face then changed from his usual happy and kind demeanor to being suddenly very serious and grave.
"I have to warn you though, the baby is badly deformed and will be quite unpleasant to look at. You'll need to have a strong will to stay for very long."
I had begun to piece together where, or rather when I was and why I was here. Boscherville, a french town, in the 19th century and a lady called Madeline with a badly deformed baby...so my wish had come true although not quite how I intended.
"Don't worry sir, I'll do my best. And sorry father, I didn't catch your name." I said with barely suppressed excitement.
"I'm Father Erik Mansart my dear. I must bid you goodnight now. Go in peace and with God's blessing."
"Thank you again for everything. Goodnight."
With that he walked away into the night. I looked down at the dog realizing why she was so excited.
"Come along now Sacha, lets go in". The dog was very happy that I was calling her by her name.
Here I come Erik...