Visions of the Past
Chapter One
"Everyone, keep up please," the tour guide said as he led us through the Parisian Opera House. I looked amongst the grand staircase and the golden statues that seemed all too familiar to me as the rest of my class walked with the guide. "We'll be going into the room where we have recovered articles from the Opera House after the fire and before it was renovated."
"Come on, Sophia," Drake said, taking me by my hand so I could be with the rest of the class. Drake was my boyfriend. 18, blonde hair, blue eyes, tall and handsome. A typical American boy. Once we caught up, I recieved a glare from Monsieur Destler, our music teacher. He was about 32 with black hair, green eyes, tall...taller than Drake, dark and handsome, but his face was scarred from a birth defect. In our music class, he would always asked to be called 'Monsieur Destler' or just 'Monsieur' because he came from France. No sane woman would look at him twice after they saw him once, except me. I was his favorite amongst the class. I briefly glanced at myself in the mirror, observing my long, brown curls and my brown eyes, then felt myself being dragged into the other room by Drake.
"Please," the guide said, "just look at the items. Don't touch them."
I walked over to an object, looking at it closely. This too, looked familiar. It was a monkey, sitting on a wooden box, playing the cymbols. "Excuse me, sir," I spoke up, looking at the guide, pointing to the object. "What's this?"
Monsieur Destler smiled at me as I asked the question. The tour guide came over, smiling also. "This, madamoiselle," he said, picking up the object, holding it up so the class could see, "is one of the Opera House's most prized pocessions. This is a papier - mache musical box that was found in the vaults of the theatre back in 1919."
"Does it still work," Monsieur Destler asked, coming to the front of the group, his voice filled with a rich French accent and it was amazing, as was his singing voice.
"I'm sorry, monsieur, but I'm afraid that -"
Suddenly, a small little chiming melody began to play and the monkey began to put the cymbols together. It was odd, but it was as if I had heard it somewhere before. It was like a lullabye and the words rang through my head.
Masquerade...
Paper faces on parade...
"I'll be," the guide whispered as the class began to murmer.
"Amazing," Drake said softly as the guide placed the music box back where it was so the rest of the class could observe it. I tore myself away from Drake's side, wandering away from the group and going into the empty theater.
Lot 666...a chandiler in pieces...
The voice echoed through the empty theatre. I was freaking myself out. Why did it feel like I had been here before? I heard something creak above me. I looked up and saw that the chandiler was shaking.
"Sophia, are you in here," Monsieur Destler's familiar voice rang out as he entered the theater. I looked toward him and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm here," I replied.
He began to walk towards me. Suddenly, the chain supporting the chandiler snapped and it came crashing down. I looked at Monsieur Destler. He was going to be killed if I didn't do something and fast. I ran to him, shoving him out of harm's way. I felt the weight of the chandiler crash onto my small body as I fell to the ground. Soon, I heard the screams of my classmates.
"Sophia!"
"Don't you dare touch her!"
The second voice was Drake. The first voice was Monsieur Destler. I felt his warm hands touch my face as the tour guide came over.
"I've called for help. They're on their way."
"Sophia...Sophia, stay with me..." I heard Monsieur Destler say. His voice faded and everything went black.