Chapter Eight: (Dreams Reprise)
"Think
of me
Think of me fondly
When we've said goodbye
Remember
me once in a while
Please promise me you'll try…
Think
of me, think of me waking silent and resigned
Imagine me, trying
too hard to put you from my mind
Recall
those days, look back on all those times
Think of the things,
we'll never do
There will never be a day, when I won't think of
you"
Christine stood on that huge stage wearing a beautiful pink dress and sang like an angel. That song which Christine had sung in the past without really understanding was now the ultimate expression of her life. In her heart Christine felt every word and mourned every sentence but she knew that it was time to say goodbye.
She had tried to fight for her marriage but she knew that she had to accept the fact that she didn't belong to Raoul. She had wanted to believe with all her might that Erik was still alive but she knew that she had to accept the fact that he was dead.
"With this song it began," Christine thought to herself, "and with this song it shall end."
"Flowers
fade, the fruits of summer fade
they have their seasons so do
we
But please promise me that sometimes
you will think of me!"
The crowd stood up to cheer as she curtsied politely, tears streaming freely down her face.
As she raised her head up, wiping away her tears and looking at the audience who were still clapping and shouting their highest praises, her sight fell on box five, the box that was always kept empty for Erik. As she looked at it for a few moments, her heart missed a beat. She could vaguely see a face with a white mask staring back at her.
Christine closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again to make sure that she wasn't dreaming, the face was gone. There was nothing there… dreams are dreams, nothing but fantasies.
"It was just a figment of your imagination, just a figment of your imagination!" Christine whispered frantically to herself as she tried to calm the drum of her beating heart.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Christine sighed a sigh of relief as she entered her room and sat on the chair by her vanity table. She was back to the quiet of her room at last, away from the chaos that existed just a few feet away from the door.
Carlotta barged in, angry and hysterical as usual, wearing a big fancy hat and a very big dress. Christine braced herself for Carlotta's tantrum.
"You! You Little-a Toad. You will-a not-a steal-a my act-a!" Carlotta yelled with her high- pitched, nasally voice, like a spoiled child who had not gotten her way.
Monsieur Firmin barged in after Carlotta and led her outside while she was still screaming and making a complete fool of herself. Then he walked back into Christine's room.
"I'm sorry for that. It's just that - you know how Carlotta is," Monsieur Firmin said apologetically.
"Don't worry about it," Christine replied.
A few moments later, Madame Giry entered the room with Monsieur Andre who was excited.
"You were magnificent tonight, Mademoiselle Daae! You truly outdid yourself!" Monsieur Firmin said fervently.
Christine smiled. Monsieur Andre turned to Monsieur Firmin and continued, "Letting Miss Daae be the lead was the most genius step you have ever taken! I was skeptical at the beginning, but-"
He turned around to Christine and continued, now directed to her, "You are truly and amazingly a talented young lady. We are proud to have you with us!"
"Enough praise already. Let the girl relax, Monsieur Andre," Firmin interrupted as he led Andre outside and left with him.
Now, Madame Giry and Christine were the only ones left in the room.
"You did very well, my dear."
Christine smiled and sighed at the same time, as if she were glad it was over.
"I will leave you alone now. I know you are tired," Madame continued.
Christine nodded and Madame Giry closed the door.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Yes, it was time to say goodbye.
Goodbye, that simple word that breaks the heart and tears the soul. Goodbye, that simple word that forever changes one's life. Goodbye, that word that Christine so dreaded had now become her only remedy.
As Christine lay in bed that night, she realized that it was only through the pain of goodbye that she could attain the relief of closure.
Christine rose from her bed and walked up to the window. She looked outside at the stillness of the night and softly sang into the infinite darkness of the starry skies, "Help me say goodbye."
Her voice rang in the corners of that silent universe. That phrase that she sang spoke more than a thousand words. Christine continued to stare at the beautiful night skies. The silence wrapped her in its cloak.
"Angel of Music, I know that you're out there somewhere, watching over me like you always have," Christine whispered with a longing smile. She continued with a strained voice, "Someday, we will meet again, someday. But, for now, I have to say goodbye, because if I don't, I won't be able to go on with my life. I hope you can understand."
The night wind brushed against her face and caused her soft curls to sway as tears rolled down her pale cheeks.
She looked down for a moment at her trembling hands and then raised her head back up again toward the starry skies.
"Until we meet again, until then," she said with a trembling voice.
Her tears now flooded her eyes and cheeks as they slid into the oblivion of the night.
"This will be the last night I mourn the past, the last night…dreams don't come true," Christine thought to herself with determination, not caring how broken her heart was.
With the blink of an eye, Christine's life spiraled into complete chaos all over again, as her room suddenly lit up with candles and she heard an enchanting voice sing.
"Nighttime
sharpens, heightens each sensation.
Darkness stirs and wakes
imagination.
Silently the senses abandon their defenses"
In utter shock, Christine abrubtly turned around.
Standing in the dim light of the candles that seemed to appear out of nowhere in her room, she could see a tall figure wearing a white mask staring at her.
Christine's heart started beating like a drum and she couldn't breath. She whispered to herself, "You're just dreaming. It's just a dream."
How could she deny his presence and that otherworldly beautiful voice of his. Her angel was still singing.
"Softly,
deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it, secretly possess
you
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind,
in this
darkness that you know you cannot fight
the darkness of the music
of the night."
Christine closed her eyes for a few moments and tried to calm down as Erik approached her.
When she opened her eyes again to make sure she wasn't dreaming, she gasped. To her shock, Erik was standing right before her looking down at her with his gorgeous, piercing eyes as his hand gently caressed her cheek. He continued.
"You
alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the
night"
Then there was silence, deafening silence. And his eyes continued to stare.
It was as if he was seeing right through her soul. Although Christine wanted to turn away from his eyes, those eyes that both threaten and adore, she couldn't.
His voice had put her under a spell and his eyes held her captive.
Erik had been watching her all the while. He had heard every word she had said and saw the tears she was shedding for him. Seeing her mourn his death like that was so unexpected.
Erik didn't say a single word; he only looked at her for a few moments while his hands lingered inside the rich curls of her hair. Christine was in such shock that she couldn't bring herself to speak.
"They told me you were dead!" she finally managed to whisper.
Erik gently put his hand on her lips, silencing her.
Christine waited for an explanation but Erik didn't say anything. He continued looking at her, studying every detail of her face as his fingers traced an invisible line down her neck.
Erik then held her hand, gazing at it while slowly tracing the lines of her palm with his finger.
Christine watched for a moment as their hands touched and intertwined. Then she raised her eyes back up to Erik, who was still looking down at her palm.
Christine's other hand instinctively went up to Erik's face. She softly touched his bare cheek. Erik flinched away for a moment, the union of their hands breaking. He abruptly looked back into her eyes, a fierce emotion blossoming in his eyes. Christine could see it.
Erik gazed at her for a few moments, reading her eyes and studying her features. As Erik stared, Christine found herself utterly and helplessly lost inside the oceans of his breathtakingly beautiful eyes.
He then slowly took her hand in his once again and placed it back on the left side of his face. As Christine softly touched his face again, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Erik opened his eyes a few moments later and looked at her, his lips coming closer to hers as her lips parted in anxious waiting.
Now, his hand was caressing her cheek again.
As their lips got closer, Christine whispered passionately, "I don't care if this is a dream. I just want to be with you."
x-x-x-x-x-x
Yes, dreams are wonderful, dreams are beautiful, but in the end dreams will always remain just what they are, nothing but dreams.
And yet, sometimes, when we least expect it, dreams come true.
Their lips locked with such passion and fire.
They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, devouring each other with every touch and every sigh.
Erik and Christine were in their own paradise, a place where Christine was not a married woman, and Erik was not a wanted murderer, a place where anything was possible.
Yes, dreams are wonderful… dreams are beautiful…
But what happens after the dream is over?
