A/N: This is my first fanfic story ever, so feel free to tell me if I could improve my writing. Please excuse any grammar that is wrong also. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom of the Opera in any way, shape or form.
Numb.
Numbness.
Is it normal for someone to feel so empty when another person has ceased to live? Erik wondered vaguely.
There isn't much to feel when the one thing you felt the most for is taken away I suppose. He thought wryly.
He hadn't even been there, that was the one thing that made him the most upset. He hadn't been there when her last breath had escaped her. Hadn't been there when she uttered her final words.
But, then again, would she have even wanted me there?
Erik refused to go down that path. That would only lead to much worse things. So he merely stared at the picture of her on the tombstone, desperately trying not to let the numbness go. Because without it, he was nothing. He would be nothing. Two teardrops silently made their way down his cheeks. He suddenly remembered the reason he had come in the first place and pulled out a single, red rose with the customary black satin ribbon around it. But this time, he had felt it needed more, so he had also tied in the wedding ring from that fateful night so many, many years ago.
So many things have changed…
The thought rose before he could even stop it. The thought that lead to so many others. He thought of what could have been, as he had for so many hours of so many days. He thought again of the many things he could have done differently, the things he wished he could have taken back and redone and the things that he wished had simply stayed the same.
And the things that he never wanted to forget.
Hands only shaking slightly, he placed the rose reverently on her tombstone. Barely restraining the sobs that had risen in his chest, he turned and slowly made his way back to the carriage. As he sat down and settled inside of it, he couldn't help but release one of the sobs that had been so forthcoming. He had never forgotten her. Never. Even if her memory of him had faded as she had made a new life for herself with her lover, he had never forgotten. He had never fallen in love again. He had dedicated himself to her and to her only. He buried his head in his hand as he realized that the one person who he had cared so deeply about was gone.
Gone forever. Gone.
Numbness
Numb
Then, nothing.
Because it's hard to even feel numbness when your heart shatters.