The new girl crawled of her bed in the ballet dormitory of the Opera Garnier. Why did she sleep with ballerinas anyway? She was no dancer. She was a clumsy duckling and the ballerinas had done nothing but tease her, and it had only been two weeks since her arrival. Mademoiselle Giry was always too busy to comfort her.
The child silently walked out of the room to explore. She ran through backstage passageways, curls of gold trailing behind her. The next day was her thirteenth birthday. She was independent now. She went into the orchestra pit of the theatre and sat at the piano, looking through the sheet music which had been left there. She found the sheet music of Faust and began to play, eventually singing as well.
Non, non, ce n'est pas toi!
Non, non, ce n'est pas ton visage!
C'est la fille d'un roi!
C'est la fille d'un roi!
Ce n'est pas toi, ce n'est pas toi!
C'est la fille d'un roi qu'on salut au passage!
She suddenly stopped. She thought she had heard breathing.
"Don't stop."
She didn't say a word. She had to be dreaming.
"You have a lovely voice. What is your name again?"
"A..."
"I'm sorry about your parents."
"I'd rather not talk about that."
She finally decided to speak.
"My apologies."
"Azurite. My name is Azurite."
"Happy birthday, Azurite."
"How did you...?"
"I heard you speaking to Giry."
"You spy on people?"
"No. I simply overhear conversations. I'm always here."
"Are you a ghost?"
"In a way."
"Who are you, really?"
"You may call me Opera Ghost."
"Oh..."
"How old are you turning tomorrow?"
"Th...thirteen..."
"I wish you a happy birthday. Thirteen is a happy age."
Azurite was sure this couldn't be real. She couldn't even see this "opera ghost". He was somewhere in the shadows.
"Where are you?"
He stepped out just enough to not reveal his face. She only saw a black cloak.
"Where did you learn to play?"
"I had a music teacher. But she only taught me the piano. I'm not a very good singer."
"You are."
"Am I?"
When Azurite looked up, he was gone. He didn't respond to her. She stood up and went back to the dormitory, shaking her head as she walked.
"This is a dream, or I am going insane" she thought to herself before falling asleep.
Little did she know that she was being watched.
In the middle of the night, Azurite shot up from her bed. She swore she had felt a hand on her forehead and couldn't have been more terrified. She awoke little Meg Giry at once.
"Meg! Meg! Someone is here!" She said as she shook the child.
"Wh...what? Azurite? What happened?"
Little Meg sat up. Such a small child. She was nearly eight years old, but looked no older than six.
"Meg...I felt someone touch my forehead!"
"Wh...what if it was the Bogeyman? I'm scared!"
In a split second, Meg was out of bed, running to find her mother. Unfortunately, her cries awakened two older ballerinas, Sofie and Emilie. They weren't the friendliest girls. Azurite jumped back into bed and tried to hide under the covers.
"What happened, Azurite?"
"I felt someone touch me!"
"You were just dreaming."
"Was not! I awoke because I really felt it!"
"Nobody here did it."
"It was the Opera Ghost!"
They burst out laughing.
"Opera Ghost? That's silly!"
"He is real! I snuck out into the Theatre a few hours ago and he saw me playing the piano! He said I have a lovely voice!"
"You!? A lovely voice? You can't dance, let alone sing!"
She was getting teary-eyed.
"If he is real, what did he look like?"
"Um...I didn't see his face."
"It never happened, silly girl! You were dreaming!"
"I really did sneak out!"
"Then you were seeing things!"
"No I was not! I am not insane!"
Emilie threw a pillow at Azurite. She ran out of the room crying and ran into someone backstage.
"I really am insane!"
As she tried to run in the opposite direction, the person grabbed her wrist.
"Don't listen to them, Azurite! I am real!"
"No, you aren't! I'll wake up soon, and this will have been a dream!"
He felt guilty now. It was all his fault. He never should have spoken to her. She should have remained in the shadows. But her voice. It was flawless. Only a fool would be able to resist.
He kneeled down, hoping to stop intimidating her.
"I'm sorry."
She was now crying. She suddenly thought of what Emilie and Sofie had said. She also thought of her parents' death.
"Don't be. I shouldn't even be talking to older men. It isn't safe."
He was nearly beginning to cry himself. He had never meant to terrify the child.
"Azurite...you can trust me!"
She yanked herself free of his grip.
"I don't know who to trust."
She suddenly had a dark look in her eyes. She decided she was no longer a child and she had to defend herself from the world.
Opera Ghost stood there and felt more sadness than he had felt in years as he watched her run back to the dormitory. She could have become a daughter to him. He would have taught her music better than her childhood teacher and she would have filled his world with the music of angels. But now, she would grow into a beautiful young woman and run off with a unworthy boy.
Azurite ignored Emilie and Sofie's giggling and slipped into bed. She had to get back to reality. There was no Opera Ghost and she was just a clumsy ballerina.
He went back to see Azurite after the girls had fallen asleep. He watched her for a few minutes.
"Perhaps we shall meet again, in the future, if fate allows it."
He softly kissed her forehead and left.