Revenge. It plagued his heart. The yearning for vengeance pounded deep in his very soul and came out in a mournful yet powerful song. The people who had once made a fool of him would now become the fools. Those who had made him suffer would now suffer. This thought overpowered him and compelled him to go to great lengths to achieve his goal. He needed this. Those people who caused others to look on him and laugh had hurt him. He wanted them to experience pain, for what goes around must come around.
Recently, he had experienced loss. Such a great defeat it was, too. The one girl who he thought he could love had scorned the gifts he had given her in exchange for another's. The pain from that incident had scarred him deeper than he had ever been scarred before. As though to make it all worse, she had shown him love, compassion, and sympathy before she left him. He thought that she was the only person in the entire world who would ever understand him. She had understood him, but understanding is not all that love requires. Now he recognized it.
Even here, as he stood, hooded and cloaked before the gates of the traveling circus, her memory plagued mind. He looked down on the happy, laughing children around him and scoffed. If they only knew. Their pleasure was at other people's expense. They were thoughtless, rude, and selfish as they hooted at other people's unfortunate state. Now, he planned his revenge.
Staying in the shadows of the night, that night which he had always loved, he walked through the exhibits. He neither laughed nor showed pity on the poor souls who displayed their skills or defects for the enjoyment of others. Some people he recognized, their faces branded on his mind and he took mental note. As he studied their still familiar features, he could almost taste revenge on his tongue. There would be no mercy.
Yet, as he came to the last exhibit, he was captivated. It was not by any sort of sick enjoyment, but rather by the subject itself. It was a slim girl with long but matted hair. The man in the cage with her was holding a plate of aromatic food held just out of her reach. She reached for the food, lunging forward, but she was always eluded. She seemed to be following the scent of the food more than the location of it. Her hungry face was wet with tears of frustration as the group around her cage laughed heartily. Finally, to show the cause for the girl's ability to get the food, the man lifted her hair from the girl's haggard face and lifted it to the crowd. The mysterious onlooker almost expected to see a face that looked much like his own, but he was surprised. There were no burn marks on that beautiful yet sunken face, no disfigurations. It was flawless perfection until someone would look into the dark blue eyes and realize that she was blind.
The girl sunk to the ground, crying, as the audience moved on. Still, the one viewer stayed and watched her from the shadows. With the hay that was her bed and carpet, she wiped her tears. Slowly, she lay back on the ground of her cage only to arise just as carefully. She did not grope around but stood gracefully. Then she began to dance.
It was not the ballet of someone who had been trained, but simply the dance of a girl who sought emotional release. She twirled around her enclosed space, leaning back elegantly here and there, raising her leg up fluidly in another place. The song, the timing, the beat, was all in her head. As he watched, though, he could almost feel the song. It pulsed off her and the waves of vibration brought the tune to his mind and out through his lips. The mystifying girl found new power when she heard the song not only inwardly, but outwardly. The passion that flowed from her dance took his breath away as his music and her movement ended in perfect harmony.
Just as revenge had overwhelmed his heart only moments before, the only thought that he had in his mind was to free this girl and train her, teach her, just as he had done with his first love. The man who had been in her cage with her before now returned. The watcher waited until the cage had been unlocked before he moved. He attacked the keeper from behind. The girl, who could not see what was going on, moved about frantically, wishing she could help or know what to do. Within moments, the guard was dead, lying on the floor.
The murderer now took the frightened girl's hand and led her from the circus through darkened alleyways and abandoned streets. The girl seemed to take comfort from his touch and followed him willingly. He came to a grate in the wall of a building and pushed her gently inside. She stepped hesitantly down each step before reaching the end of a hall. Again, he grabbed her hand and led her through the chapel and to a great flight of stairs. She was being led so quickly that she tripped over the first step. With one swift motion, he caught her against his chest. Almost immediately, the tired girl fell asleep. Without a word, he and continued down the steps. When they arrived at their destination, he laid her on a lush velvet bed in the catacombs of Le Opera Populaire.