We stood side beside each other looking at each other intently. I just had told him everything about myself, even my darkest secrets. I was exposed to him and yet I felt whole. How had I come to this? I had dreamed and pined away for something like this to happen, but it all happened at once and when I least expected it. When I had stopped believing.

Perhaps I should start out in the beginning. Perhaps.

Ever since I could remember I've been surrounded with musicals. My mother -stepmother since I was 3, so I consider her as my "Mommy"- introduced to the two most greatest ones Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. There was a time where I was obsessed with Peter Pan but that was when I was young enough to believe in him and young enough to believe that he would take me. But that became an unreality even if he did exist because I doubted that he was as tall as me. I remember one sleepless night where I kept repeating over and over "I do believe in fairies. I do. I do." Perhaps I was even too old then for such fantasies. But then I began to have interest in another story one that I'd grown up with. Phantom of the Opera. One can never grow old for him. He's ageless. Yet there was a desire within me still to meet him when I was still young in my twenties at least. I researched the story, I saw the 2004 movie and I came to believe that he did exist, at least he had. I was convinced that if I ever made it to the very depths of the Paris Garnier Opera House I'd find a way to get to his home, although hidden and perhaps I'd find his grave. And be the first person to put flowers upon it. To truly show respect to the greatest genius who lay hidden even though he was well-known.

But as I grew older I realized the daydreams I played in my mind and the imaginary Erik I spoke to weren't real and I had to stop them. I would never mature if I didn't leave behind certain fantasies. I hated leaving that source of comfort that although dangerous to my heart and mind had comforted me many a time.

Gradually I left behind such daydreams. Not saying that I ceased to do so completely but I stopped the daydreams where I was talking to thin air. (Many a time my mother would shout through the bathroom door, "Who are you talking to, Katlene? Perhaps you should invite him to dinner?" Her laugh came from the other side, only a slight sign of worry recognizable in her tone.) My dreams at night were still imaganitive and it seemed that many I was a silent figure in the background and was constantly helping others in the background.

But I know what you are thinking, "You said that this was about the Phantom of the Opera!" And you are right, its just I thought to give you the background because I was bound to confuse you if I just started off from the middle. You'd probably be asking, "Who?" "What?" "Why?" Obvious questions of course and I wouldn't blame you so that's why I'm telling you now. But don't worry I'll get to the point soon.

Anyways as I was saying gradually I let go of the dangerous daydreams. A year passed and I was soon "16 going on 17"- flashback girl in white dress jumping from bench to bench…sorry. But as my birthday was fast approaching, a sickness took over my body. At first the doctors believed it to be pneumonia but then it got worst, if you can imagine that. My body was shaken in deep tremors that rocked my whole body in tremors. My heart rate was dangerously unbalanced. I went in and out of 

consciousness. One of the times that I woke up two people on both side of my bed were looking down at me with concerned faces. I don't believe they thought that I was capable of hearing at that moment but I could.

"We must help her Peter…She helped us even though she may not know it, but she did." The woman that had spoken had long chestnut hair swept up in an elaborate bun, she wore a nurse's outfit and from the corner of my eye I could see that the man wore a doctor's uniform. He leaned down and gently brushed a damp piece of hair behind my ear.

"I know." The blond man replied. Who were they? I did not know but I couldn't find out for I slipped back into the darkness.

I woke up to the sound of a loud beeping but I couldn't open eyes for they felt like lead. A bunch of voices surrounded me, far in the background I could hear my mother crying and my father yelling. I could feel hands about me and then I realized what was happening, I was going to die. The blood was rushing to my head and it sounded like the ocean on a windy day. I could hear my heart it was slowing down. Bump…bump…bump…..bump……bump…………..bump. And it continued to grow fainter. Colors flashed beneath my eyelids. Purples, bright pinks, neons and then all of the sudden nothing only the hurried whispers around me all saying the same thing. "We are loosing her." They mean me, that's what rushed through my mine. I'm going to die. As the panic rose up in my throat, a familiar voice stopped it in mid pace. It was the woman.

"Peter you have to do it now." I could my heart slowing down even more where I could barely hear it and then in the last moment it stopped and my breath escaped me and I knew I was soon to be gone. But then all of the sudden time seemed to freeze the voices froze in med sentence the monitor stopped in mid beep and I could breath again.

Two weeks later I was out of the hospital but still needed to stay at home. Thus independent studies. I was still checked on every week, by a nurse and this is how I came to know Rachel and Peter better. They came to check on me and as I saw them realization hit me I'd seen them before but in the most impossible of places, my dreams. They were the ones I'd been helping. So when I saw them that's what first came out of my mouth.

"You're both from my dreams." They looked at each other and then the blond man, Peter shrugged.

"So you figured it out."

"Well…yes…but its impossible." My eyebrows furrowed trying to think of a realistic explanation for this but instead something else came to mind. "You saved my life." He smiled at me and looked over at Rachel.

"Yes, that's what we're here for. You may not believe it but what you did in your dreams actually helped us perhaps not in a total physical sense but in a mental theoretical way." He smiled at my confused expression. "Don't worry its not exactly need to know info."



Then Rachel turned to me and said the one thing I least expected.

"We are here to make all your dreams come true, but especially one in particular."

Peter looked at Rachel and Rachel looked at Peter they both smiled and then looked down at me and said in unison, "Erik."