A/N: This is my third fanfic. I got the idea for this the other night. I wanted to elaborate on Christine's past and throw in a bit of a twist. I hope you will like it. Please read and review.
Now with out further ado I give to you Remember
Life wasn't always like this. I wasn't always alone, in fact I was once happy. . .
I once had a father who loved me and was always there by my side. He would play me the violin and tell me stories about a Little Lotte and her angel of music. Little Lotte reminded me of myself and sometimes I wondered if perhaps I was the little girl my father based those stories on.
My closest friend was Raoul. He and I would spend the days together in my attic, having little picnics while my father would tell us stories. I always thought Raoul was my prince charming. He was nice, brave, charming and handsome. He came from a wealthy family, but I never thought that would be a problem. Raoul's parents had died when he was young and his brother Phillip had to raise him.
One summer night I walked to the beach which was conveniently only one block from our house in Long Island. NY. I bent over to take off my sandals and I saw a boy standing a few feet away, staring at me. I stood up and looked at him. He had pitch-black hair and tanned skin. I remember that he wore a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans and white tennis shoes. I walked over to him, feeling drawn to him. I saw that he had dark blue eyes that sparkled in the moonlight. I noticed that the left side of his face was strikingly handsome. A white mask that glowed in the darkness covered the right side of his face.
"Hello, I'm Christine." I said timidly, realizing I had been staring for quite some time.
"Hello, Christine, I'm Erik." He said, and looked down at the sand.
I smiled at his shyness. He was quite attractive and I didn't want him to walk away so I tried to make conversation. "How old are you Erik?" I asked curiously. He raised his eyes to look at me and said "15, you?"
"I'm 12." I replied. 'Oh great, now he'll think I'm a little brat and he won't want to talk to me anymore.' I thought to myself.
He smiled at me, and I felt my heart stop. "Have you lived here long?" He asked, looking out at the ocean. "Yes, my whole life. Are you new to the neighborhood?"
"Yes, I just moved here actually." He answered and looked at me once more. "I should be going, but if you want we can continue talking tomorrow around the same time." He said and walked off. "Bye Erik!" I shouted and began walking in the opposite direction.
The next night I met up with him once more, we talked almost the whole night. I learned that he was an orphan and a family had taken him in. He was to be home schooled like many other children in the neighborhood. He told me he didn't have many friends since he found it hard to trust others. I asked him why but he changed the subject. I brought him home one night and he heard my father play the violin. He seemed swept away by the melodies my father played. My father was touched by his appreciation for the instrument and offered to give Erik lessons. After that I would see Erik every day since he would come over for lessons with my dad. He soon mastered the instrument and my father was amazed.
Soon I introduced Erik to Raoul, but there seemed to be an immediate dislike between the two of them. Since I was spending so much time with Erik, Raoul decided to go to camp for the summer. I didn't mindWhen Raoul returned I did my best to split my time between them. It worked out well and the time flew by.
When I was 15 my father became ill. It was two months before my sixteenth birthday when he started coughing. He wouldn't see a doctor because we didn't have health insurance. I thought he would be fine and pull through. But he began to lose weight and soon he was sleeping most of the day. During this time I was already going through a lot. I thought I was falling in love with Raoul. We had been spending more and more time together. He was 17 at the time and we would take walks on the beach at night. One night I will never forget.
I had told Erik to come over around 7 that night, but Raoul had come at 6:30 and asked me to go for a walk to the beach with him. I totally forgot about Erik, I am ashamed to admit. Once we were at the beach Raoul looked nervous, and finally he cleared his throat. "Lotte," he said calling me that name from my father's stories. "We've been spending a lot of time together lately and for quite some time I've had feelings for you…"He said and looked at me with a nervous smile playing on his lips. "I wanted to know if you would be my girlfriend." He asked, sounding like a little boy.
"I would love to be your girlfriend Raoul." I said happily. He took me into his arms and lifted me, spinning me around a few times. When he put me down he kissed me. It was wonderful, but then suddenly I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. I turned and saw him, staring at us looking absolutely furious. "Erik.." I said, just as he turned around and began to walk away.
I pried myself from Raoul's arms and ran after him. But he started running too and I couldn't keep up. I stopped running, tears running down my face. Raoul walked over to me and said, "He didn't look too happy."
I turned around and looked at him. "You knew he was standing there, didn't you?" I asked him, trying to remain calm.
"Yes. I did." He said, smugly.
"Stay away from me." I said and turned from him and ran to my home. I was shocked to see my Aunt Val standing in my living room. "What are you doing here?" I said, in shock. Then realizing how rude I had been I corrected myself. "I'm sorry, it's just I didn't know you were paying us a visit Aunt Val." She smiled at me sadly.
"Christine, sit down dear. I need to talk to you." She said, and sat herself down on the couch and motioned for me to follow suit. I did as I was told and waited for her to speak. "Christine, as you already know you're papa is sick. Honey, he is going to die soon. He has lung cancer." She said as tears swam in her eyes. She was my dad's only other sibling and they had been close growing up. "We went to the doctor today. He's been sick for a while, but he now also has pneumonia and he won't last long." I sat there, taking this all in, my dad was sick…and he was going to die.
"My dad…is going to die?" I asked her, still shocked. "Yes." She replied, as she wrapped her arms around me. Tears began to flow from my eyes. "No, this can't be happening. My dad cannot die! No!" I shouted and stood up. I looked at her and at my front door. I had to get out, get away. I ran out the front door, and heard my aunt call after me but I ignored her. I ran to the beach and collapsed on the sand. The waves rolled in only a few feet away and I wished they would pick me up and carry me away with them.
I cried as I had never cried before, sitting on the sand with my knees tucked against my chest and my arms wrapped around my legs. I rocked back and forth in the sand, like a child. My world was falling apart. My father was the only thing in this life I had ever been able to count on and soon he would no longer be there for me. I continued crying and didn't even notice the shadow that had crept up on me. I jumped when I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Erik, kneeling down next to me. I was sure he was still mad at me but when I looked into his eyes I didn't see anger, but concern.
"Christine, what's wrong?" He asked me, lifting my chin with the tip of his finger.
I threw my arms around him and began sobbing. He wrapped his arms around me and stroked my hair gently. "Erik…papa…dying." I choked out between sobs.
Erik continued stroking my hair and back. He let me cry and when I calmed down a bit, he pulled away so he could look at my face. I must have looked horrible, but he smiled and stroked strands of hair from my face. He made sure I was calm and said, "What about your papa?"
"He's dying Erik." I said as I gathered the shirt by his shoulders in my fists. I needed to grasp onto him, when everything else seemed to be slipping away. I saw the pain in his eyes when I said that. Erik had always looked up to my father and had loved him.
"What is wrong with him?" Erik asked, fighting back the emotion that was washing over him.
"He has cancer. He has been sick for a while. Now he has pneumonia and there is nothing the doctors can do for him." I said trying to keep myself from crying once more.
"Christine," He said and drew me to him once more. "I am truly sorry. I love your father. And I know how much you love him and how much he loves you."
"Erik, what am I going to do. He is the only one I have ever depended on. He has always been there for me. Once he is gone I will be alone. I can't live without him. I can't!" I said, crying once more.
"Christine, listen to me. You will never be alone. People who love you surround you. You will survive, because you are strong. And because your father would want you to live your life. He would want you to be happy. And you will be happy." He stated seriously. I took his words in and cried on his shoulder
"Erik, please make this pain go away." I said softly.
"I can't Christine." He said sadly. After I had cried a bit more we stood and he took me back home. We quietly went inside. My aunt was relieved when she me. I introduced her to Erik and then my aunt told me my father wanted to see me. I nodded nervously and walked upstairs and into my father's room. He was sitting up in bed, propped up on some pillows. He looked so pale, at first I thought he was already dead.
"Christine." My father said with a smile from the bed. I walked over to him and took his hand in mine. I sat down on the edge of the bed and tried not to cry. "Christine, soon I will be going to heaven and I will see your mama soon." He said, and I was amazed at how calm he was. "I want you to know, dear child that I will never leave you. I will always be in your heart." He said and coughed a few times.
"Papa! Please don't go. Don't leave me." I said, tears streaming down my face. "I cannot live without you!" My dad gently wiped my tears away with his shaking hands.
"Christine, I do not want to leave you. Trust me, I want to be here to guide you through life. To be there for you. But child, although I may not be here physically. I will be there in spirit. No matter what you go through I will always be here for you. I wish I could be there to walk you down the aisle at your wedding. To hold my grandchildren in my arms, to see you make your dreams come true." Tears began to run down his face as well. "But child, I will see this all from heaven. And I will always listen when you need to talk. Just listen to your heart and you will hear my voice. Now please listen to me when I say this. You must live your life for me. You must live, and make your dreams come true. I want you to listen to your heart and to find true love and marry that man who makes you happy and will always be there for you and will make you happy. I want you to have children and tell them of their grandfather. And how much he would have loved them. Take care of yourself and live a long and happy life. Christine, please you must do this for me." He said, squeezing my hand with as much strength as he could muster. I could see he was weak and he coughed every few words. He began wheezing as his tears flowed faster.
"Father, how can I ever be happy again if you are not by side?" I asked him.
"Because you will have your angel of music. I promise you. Once I leave this earth I will send him to you. One day when you are least expecting it, when you feel very lonely he will be there." My father said, his eyes twinkling even as his strength began to wane.
"Oh father, we both know there is no angel of music." I said gently. My father looked at me seriously as I said that. "Christine, there is an angel of music." He said and began to cough once more. "You must promise to listen, to not shut him out when he comes. Listen with your heart child." His coughing became more violent and his body began to shake with the violent coughing.
"Papa!" I said, tears streaming down my face, I grasped his hands in mine and soon the coughing fit passed. But his breath was shallow and his face was even more pale than it had been before. He looked at me, and said, "Christine, never forget how much I love you. I will always be here and do not forget to listen with your heart. Live your life and knowing how proud of you I am. I love you more than you will ever know. I am sorry child." He said and squeezed my hands, then his eyes shut. His chest stopped rising and I knew he had left.
"Papa no! No please, don't leave me. No! Papa! Come back please." I said as I shook him. His eyes didn't open. I held onto his lifeless form and began to weep. Soon I felt two strong arms wrap around me. I was carried from my father's room and into my own. I was placed on my bed and felt someone sit down on the edge. They didn't speak, they just sat there rubbing my back as I cried. I felt as if my life had ended. How I wished I could follow my father to heaven. To leave this world that held nothing more for me. Soon my crying stopped and I fell into a restless sleep, and found peace for a few blissful hours.
A/N: I must say, I cried writing the whole scene where her dad cried. Maybe I am over emotional lol. I hope you all liked it!