Warnings: This is a death story. And I don't mean Satine's death.
Thanks: Tem-Ve and Bunny for the beta work :) Any remaining mistakes are mine.
It all ends today
Written by Franzi (July/August 2002)
The woman I loved... is... dead.
Christian buried his face in his hands, feeling his tears watering his palms, running down his cheeks.
Satine.
He loved her from the very first moment he'd seen her at the Moulin Rouge. She was a courtesan, and he was the penniless writer falling in love with her. She'd never told him of the disease that was taking her away from him, leaving him torn, empty. All that he had left were his memories, the memories he just typed on his type-writer.
Typing them had helped him. It eased the pain, but now that he was finished the pain returned, like someone stabbed him and the blade went right through his heart. He needed something else to relieve the pain that was just too much for him to endure.
His gaze fell on the bottle of absinthe that was standing on the table. He had already had downed several glasses of it while he was writing down their story. He still wasn't used to the bitter taste of it. Sighing, he gulped down another glass of the green liquid, drowning his pain in alcohol. Everything reminded him of Satine. And it hurt. It hurt so much.
Another glass of it, and the room began to spin. His head ached, but at the same time he felt numb, the Absinthe beginning to take effect. He felt that his legs would no longer support him and turned around, to walk towards his bed to lie down - and was stopped mid-action.
Satine.
She was lying on his bed. Dead. Blood oozing out of her mouth. He couldn't believe what he saw. His knees became wobbly as he staggered forward, desperate to try and touch his beloved Satine, to feel her again. He reached out to touch her arm, his fingers shaking - but his hand went right through her and he was clutching the sheets instead.
"No... no... Satine," he cried out. Tears running down his face, he dropped to his knees, arms wrapped around his belly. He'd lost her before - and just lost her again. The pain was too much for him to take. He hurt; his heart felt like someone was tearing it out of his chest. His stomach ached and his throat hurt from the sobs that wouldn't stop. Christian grabbed the bottle of Absinthe and took another sip of it. His knees were still wobbly as he slowly got up from the cold floor and lay down on the bed. Memories overwhelmed him. Memories of the nights he and Satine had spent together in this room, in this bed.
"Come what may... I will love you until the end of time."
Satine's voice. He was hearing her voice singing their secret song. Shivering, he clasped his hands over his ears, trying to shut out her voice. It was only adding to his pain, but it didn't stop.
"I am the Hindi courtesan... and I choose the Maharaja. That's how it really ends."
"No!" he screamed out in pain, both emotional and physical as his stomach began to cramp. He didn't have any tears left. His eyes were red and swollen. He was lying on his side in a foetal position, his arms again wrapped around his belly, memories overwhelming him again.
"Wait...no, please wait. Before when we were--when we...when you thought I was the Duke and you said that you loved me. And I--I wondered if..."
" If it was just an act?"
"Yes..."
"Of course."
"Oh. It just felt real..."
"Christian, I'm a courtesan, I'm paid to make men believe what they want to believe."
"No... no... She loved me!"
Closing his eyes and crying out in pain, he clutched his belly as suddenly the stomach cramps became worse. The colour of his face changed from red to white as he started retching. It didn't last long until he was dry-heaving, but not being able to stop retching from both - the smell and the effects of the Absinthe.
He started to shiver uncontrollably from the cold, even though he had the sheets wrapped around him securely. As he opened his eyes again, Satine was standing in the other corner of the room, smiling at him.
"You're coming, Christian. I've been waiting for you too long."
His eyes were fixed on her, he tried to reach out to her, but his body didn't obey him anymore.
Convulsions had set in, but Christian wasn't aware of anything. All he noticed was how beautiful Satine looked in her red dress.
Yes, he was coming.
Finally.
They'd be together forever.
Until the end of time.