A peaceful evening walk it was, as it started, on Holy Week's Monday. Erik was silently enjoying the presence of Christine, who agreed to walk with him before the dinner they were planning to have at Christine's favorite place.

- It is going to be a good reason for you to finally come out among people and stop being the slave of FL Studio. - She jokingly remarked.

Erik agreed, though he did not really enjoy the idea, save for the part of spending the evening with Christine. For that, he would do anything, even removing his disguise in front of an uncovered camera lens of a laptop, and launching a video chat with random people, he was so desperate for the love of the One Person he was in love with. Slowly and steady, during those lessons he had given her, he had fallen in love, and the girl seemed to like him too during those Skype audio lessons and months of chatting. Only when they met in person and the unfortunate event of her seeing him as he was, being old and horribly disfigured, was a breaking point in their short-lasting relationship, but finally the ice seemed to break between them since Christine knew his true face in the past weeks, and he wouldn't have lost a chance to secure the bond with her he was working on to make before. It took them numerous Messenger chat sessions to end up walking side by side right at that moment. It was a miracle she offered this walk and the dinner afterwards…

He did not know if it was a good sign, but she looked even cuter than before. She wore a light blue blazer with a white blouse, and the blue matched perfectly with her eye color, and for this time she wore a light yellow pencil skirt instead of the usual jeans she used to show up in. Her hair was casually, but nicely done in a braid, and she wore other, maturer kind of make-up than before. She looked like a movie star instead of the plain University student she was. Erik knew one day she will be a great star, and not the way she imagined for herself… no, she won't simply be a mediocre singer no one remembers…

He was just as elegantly dressed as always, trying his best to impress Christine, but his awkward silence did not help them talk too much. It was always Christine forcing on a subject, to which he replied by only one word- answers. After they finished getting through Christine's tumblr dashboard content and the newest youtube videos she saw, and what had happened to her during lessons and she was asking him enough about his upcoming musical projects, trying to convince him he should upload them at least to youtube, or he should start creating multitrack videos featuring his musical skills, they were walking in complete silence again, which was a bit of choking. Erik felt something wasn't right, but not only about Christine and him. The atmosphere of the city wasn't like usual, and he could hear the alarming sound of fire department cars passing some streets away, not for the first time that evening.

What on Earth had happened? If someone would have just smoked in bed, there would be only one round needed, this is something more serious issue. He felt like a catastrophe was going to happen, and he started feeling the need of a loving person near him, who would not leave his side again, even stronger than before. He first thought it was merely his depression playing pranks on him, so he tried to stop thinking about it, and offered his arm to his partner to walk arms crossed with him. It would be so pleasant… at least he would calm down. If they weren't together right now, he would have plugged his ears in with ear buds not to hear the annoying and frightening sounds, but it would be so rude towards her.

By the moment she would have accepted his arm, (if she would have wanted it at all, to begin with), Christine made a small gasp. Erik thought it was because of the fact he wanted to touch her and started staring at his shoes in shame, but the next moment she pointed above his shoulder, behind his back. He turned away to see what scared her so much and the next moment, he noticed a huge cloud of dark smoke rising towards the skies and hungry orange flames growing and gobbling on… Notre Dame.

Notre Dame, the architectural work of art, a historical and sightseeing masterpiece, one of the symbols of Paris, a centre of religion, was on fire. For a split second Erik thought he was simply in a new nightmare of his and hoped he was going to wake up the next moment in his apartment, all alone. It still would have been a better scenario than this one he had to witness. No, it can't be true. How can someone dream such a nonsense, that a walk with Christine turns out to be Inferno? Yet not any surreal detail had showed up, like in a horror movie sequence, or in a nightmare. He was waiting for the ground opening up under his feet, yet nothing similar had happened, and the fire remained at the only spot it was seen before. It can't be a dream, in a dream by this time whole Paris would be burning.

Notre Dame was burning. In real life. It wasn't a nightmare or a hallucination. He had to realize not only he could see it happening, many people were crying and saying the same thing. "Notre Dame is burning down!"

In a chaos of people either crying or screaming or recording the catastrophe by their phones, Erik stood in silence, with an architect's fatherly pain in his heart, thinking about the 800 year old miracle which was going to be destroyed in the matter of a few hours if the firefighters won't be able to put out the flames, and he involuntarily removed his hat with a gesture of grief, lowering his head. He could not think of Christine either at that moment, he forgot about her being present, he only was trying to imagine the damage in his mind and silently prayed the building would survive without severe effects taken. This was the first time in his life he actively prayed for a building.

"My Lord, please, have mercy. Save Notre Dame."

He thought to himself. He did not speak, only tried to talk to God in his mind. He should hear him no matter what.

At that exact time, as he asked this of God, the spire of the Cathedral had collapsed, accompanied by the orchestration of the monotone rumbling of the fire, the annoying sound of the alarms, and some passerby's cries or gasps. The spire… it was a symbol of a finger pointing to the skies, connecting to God. Did God just give him the finger by this merciful and well-composed reply to his prayer? He, for a split second, was considering giving him back what he just did, to show his middle finger up to the sky, but he found it rather childish of an act at that moment. He rather started silently crying.

He was a grown- up man with a terrible childhood and a violent upbringing, seeing many cases of fire, blood, beatings, murders… murders he committed on his own… he wasn't a man who cried easily… but this beautiful building being set on fire and burning, and the emptiness it brought to his already tortured soul made him lose control and weep.

Suddenly, he felt a soft touch on his arm.

Looking to his side he saw a shocked, but compassionate Christine, standing closer to him, and finally snuggling up to his chest, unexpectedly, seemingly out of instinct. She looked up at him with sadness, but it was something magical about that moment they shared together, in the middle of utter chaos with a horrible happening like this taking place, nearby people making up theories about the closeness of ending of the world, and both of them being in utter shock…

Erik finally felt someone was there with him in need, something he hardly ever could feel before.

- Erik… - she called out softly, making sure he was all right as hee mindlessly hugged her closer to himself.

- I am fine. - He responded quickly, not to show his weakness and insecurity to her.

- I know you are afraid. - She said.- And it is okay. I am scared too.

- I am not scared. - Erik lied, trying to disguise his real feelings, while he was screaming in the inside for protection and a miracle to happen.

- You are. - She argued and hugged him tighter. - You are shaking with fear, my man.

- No way… wait… what did you just call me? - Erik lost the argument about him shaking with fear or cold, he even forgot he wished to retort about him not wearing warm enough jacket for the April evening.

- My man. - She repeated.

Erik felt no need to ask any more questions, he simply turned to her and looked deep into her eyes.

- Christine…

- Erik… chill. Everything is going to be fine. There's still tomorrow. Everything can be saved.

- Are we still talking about the church? - Erik asked seriously.

- Not necessarily. - She shook her head with a sad little smile.

- It feels horrible for me to watch this… let's rather go to somewhere else…? Anywhere else…?

- How about we go to your place and watch a movie together while we are eating pizza? - She pulled him by the arm.

- Pizza rolls. - Erik nodded with a sigh. - What do you want to watch?

- We are deciding at you. - she pulled him again so that he will start walking finally.

While leaving poor Notre Dame to its questionable fate, Erik glanced backwards for a few times, but he forced himself not to look back too much. He decided he was going to see the news on the internet only in the morning, to see what had finally happened to the ancient building, and what could be saved in the end. Until that he should be happy to have Christine by his side, even if this catastrophe was going on around them. Christine looked into his eyes a few corners away while heading to Erik's home and she spoke out loud what was in her mind.

- You're not alone any more.

This one single sentence meant more to Erik than anything else, and prized it even more if the Notre Dame was magically restored in a few seconds.

- You neither. - He stated softly. - Even if the world ends and falls apart, I am here with you.