Michelangelo was still replaying the incident of a few minutes ago in his head; to know that his friend could have died right behind him made the young ninja shudder.
"That was spooky! Don't ever make me go to that place again," the orange-clad ninja said, his voice quivering in fear.
Who chuckled. "You're telling me. This play is about to become as cursed as 'La forza del destino' if things like that keep happening."
Mikey blinked. "L-La… fork da whatnow?"
"Verdi's The Force of Destiny. Many old school Italian singers felt it was 'cursed'and brought bad luck. And for that reason, the very superstitious Luciano Pavarotti avoided the part of Alvaro."
Mikey blinked again. Twice. "Uh… I got lost?"
Who facepalmed and sighed. "Old opera where everyone dies and it's said that the ghosts of the characters kill those who participate in it."
"Ohh! Now I got it!" the young ninja exclaimed. "Why didn't you just say that?"
"She makes the simplest things sound complicated; you'll get used to it."
The girl froze at the sound of the voice coming from behind her. This day had sure brought loads of surprises, but nothing could have prepared her for this. She turned around slowly, hoping her ears had tricked her, but as soon as she faced the figure behind her, her eyes opened wide.
A man around his 40's with thick, straight, and slicked black hair with a side part, wearing dark dress pants, dark shoes and a light blue long-sleeved formal shirt stood before her eyes with a bright smile and his arms folded against his chest.
"Dad?" She said, almost whispering.
"He's your dad?!" Mikey asked, half excitedly, half shocked.
The man chuckled lightly. "Happy to see me, dear?"
Who gawked at him, her senses completely shut down and not responding to any stimuli.
Mikey waved his hand in front of the girl's face. "Hello? Earth to Whoey~"
The man looked at Mikey in puzzlement. "Whoey? What Whoey?"
"Mikey, you think you can go back home by yourself?" Who said, once she remembered how to articulate words.
"Wait a minute, he's… your boyfriend?" the man asked, pointing at Mikey.
"NO! No way in hell!" she snapped. "Mikey is my… er… my…"
"Her fashion advisor!" the youngest finished the statement.
The man arched a brow. "Fashion advisor?"
"Tchyeah~ Can't you see how stylish I am?" Mikey said in a weird high society-like accent while striking a pose. A girly one.
The man blinked and so did Who. "Mikey, I think you should go back home and think of something I could wear for… er… New Year's Eve!" she said, smiling awkwardly.
"Okie dokie lokie!Nice to meet you, sir." With a wave of his hand, Michelangelo left both humans and disappeared into the next alley.
"So, now that my… very special friend is gone…"
"Love, if that's your boyfriend, that's okay! I-"
"-He's not dad. I can assure you," Who said firmly.
The man laughed and stretched out his arms towards the girl. "How about you give your old man one of your rib crushing bear hugs?"
The girl didn't have to be told twice and in less than a blink, she threw herself into the arms of her father, hugging him so hard it was a miracle she didn't break his rib cage.
Who's dad winced. "Ow! You still got it!"
"This is certainly a great surprise!" the girl said, smiling widely. "How about we go for some bagels and coffee, huh?"
"Bagels and coffee it is!"
…
"This place is not like TV says; it's better!" Who's dad commented after drinking his steaming coffee.
"Yeah, this city has its wonders," Who said. Then, she reached out for one of her dad's hands and squeezed it. "I missed you so much, Daddy"
"I missed you too, my little kitten," the man said, smiling softly. "Say, you still'meow', right?"
Who chuckled. "All the time; it drives Klunk crazy because he hears another cat but he can't see it!"
"Klunk?"
"Mikey's cat," she explained.
"Dear, what were you doing in that big cinema thingy?"
Who laughed. "It's a theater, Daddy. The Radio Music Hall, remember?"
"Ah, yes, yes! You never stopped talking about it when you were little," the man recalled.
"We're doing 'The Phantom of the Opera'for this years' Halloween Festival."
"Oh? 'The Phantom of the Opera' ,huh? Ah, those good old days," he said with a thoughtful expression on his face."I remember you were all crazy for the Phantom's story; you made me buy masks every Halloween. And you looked so lovely with that big curtain around your neck and you said it was your cape."
The dark haired girl blushed at the old memory; how silly she felt after remembering that.
"Well, I'm glad to let you know that my days as Phantom are over, and now I'm going to be Christine!"
Who's dad almost choked on his coffee after hearing this. "For real? Wow, congratulations! This first day in New York sure had pretty awesome surprises,"he laughed. "So, you're in rehearsals now?"
"Kinda. Everything was fine until things started happening. Weird things," Who commented.
"Things like?"
The girl rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "The stage floor had a hole and Frida stepped on it and almost fell down… and I almost got crushed like a bug-"
"WHAT?!"
Her dad's yell almost made Who jump out of her seat. "It was nothing, Dad. Really!"
"Nothing? NOTHING?!" The man had rose from his seat, fuming in anger.
"Dad, people are watching. Calm down!" Who whispered.
"Calm down? My princess almost died today and you say 'calm down'?!"
Who placed a hand on her dad's and smiled. "Dad, remember your blood pressure."
"Blood pressure? HAH! Look at me! I feel like teenager!" Who's dad said, flexing his arms. The girl sighed in relief; she was lucky her father changed moods pretty quickly.
"Well, I do have to say, Daddy, you look incredibly good! Have you been exercising?"
"Meh, your mom and her crazy diets. No meat, more fruit… and vegetables! Horrible, horrible vegetables… it's pure torture!"
The girl laughed at her father's distress. "If it's for your own good, then you have to eat them, Daddy."
"Oh and now you are against me too?! The horror!" the man said dramatically, causing his daughter to laugh loudly.
He joined her in her laughter for a few seconds before he caught his breath and simply stared at his daughter. She had grown up a lot in these last 2 years; she was no longer a little girl. Now she looked like a young beautiful woman. The scar of her surgery was no longer there, which proved she had been taking good care of herself on her own. She looked happier… most importantly: she was smiling! The thought made him sigh in contentment and also feel a bit nostalgic.
"You look amazing too, love. Just like your mom when I first met her."
The smile on Who's face vanished and she sighed loudly. "Gee, thanks Dad. Now I have to look for a plastic surgeon."
The man's brow furrowed with concern. "You're still mad at her, aren't you?"
"Dad, with all due respect, I'd like to not talk about that woman"
Who's dad frowned and looked into her eyes with a serious expression on his face. "That woman is your mother and you owe her respect! That's how I raised you and your sister."
The girl's eyes went downcast. "Hey, speaking of them… are they with you?"
"No. They are home."
Who looked at her dad in surprise. "But you never leave the girls home."
"Well, I got this mystery call with very specific details like: no girls allowed. Just me. I was just finishing up a surgery when I got a call from a young man; pretty cheerful like those guys from the TV. He told me about this… program… where they selected people that hadn't seen their relatives in a while and he told me where you lived and, of course I asked myself: 'is this some kind of joke?'Then he said there was a copter waiting for me," he explained.
"So you accepted. And how did you convince Mom to let you go? You know how paranoid she is when you have to go out on a trip."
Who's dad chuckled. "Tell me about it; we had an argument when I told her I had to leave for a 'very important conference' in New York. But I managed to convince her and… here I am!"
"That's… a bit odd," Who said rubbing her chin while she tried to find a logical explanation to all this. The sound of her cell phone brought her back to reality.
"Sup, Deuce … Right now?! But I'm with… Can't they just… Alright, alright. I'm on my way," she hung up with a heavy sigh. "Sorry Daddy, they need me back at the theater"
"Oh, it's alright. Duty calls, I guess." The man shrugged. "But I'd really like to see you again very soon."
"How about we 'go out on a date', huh? Just like old times," Who suggested. "8 pm good for you?"
"Sounds perfect! So, where are you living?" her dad asked.
"Oh! Uh, you can… er…" It wasn't until this moment that she remembered exactly where she was living. She needed to make up an excuse and fast. 'Think, Whoey, think!'
And then, an imaginary light bulb lightened on top of her head. She pulled out a pencil and a piece of paper from her purse and wrote down something. Then she extended the paper to her dad.
"Here! This is the address and now I gotta run!"
Jumping up like a spring, she left her seat and ran outside the cafeteria while her dad waved goodbye with a smile on his face.
…
…
Meanwhile, on Higgins' residence…
…
"I can notbelieve you gave up that easily!"
Frederick paced like a caged lion in front of Frida, whose arms were folded while she looked at the window trying to ignore her father. After they got home, she had told her father her wishes to give up Christine's pursue and settle to play Carlota's role instead, which had infuriated her father.
"If you didn't notice, Dad, I almost fell into a hole in the middle of the stage! I could've broken my neck or something!" Frida replied.
"And because of that you had to give your role to the enemy?!"
"She deserves it, Dad."
Frederick let out a halfhearted chuckle. "Your heart is softening, Frida. A couple of years ago you would have pushed that girl into that hole right after she let you out."
Frida's eyes widened. "Would you listen to yourself? You're talking like some kind of cold blooded murderer!"
"Sometimes, Frida, you must do whatever it takes to win," Frederick said coldly.
"Not if that includes getting my hands dirty!"
Frederick scoffed. "You talk just like your mother."
"AT LEAST SHE KNEW THE MEANING OF HONESTY! YOU NEANDERTHAL BRUTE!" Frida yelled.
Frederick didn't hesitate to use force against his daughter as he slapped her; the intensity of the hit made the girl stumble back and fall to her bed in a sobbing mess. He sprinted out of his daughter's room, slamming the door behind him as he left.
Frida curled up like a ball as she cried her heart out; she fingered her necklace and opened the small heart-shaped medallion. The picture of her deceased mother smiled at her and Frida had to force herself to smile back.
In the golden cage where she lived, this was the only treasure she really cared for.
"Sorry, Mom. I didn't want to insult Dad… or maybe I did want to," Frida said between sobs. "But I know you would've said something like: you must understand him, he's your dad, and more corny stuff like that, right?"
She looked at the picture once more before closing the medallion and tucking the necklace back into her blouse. She hugged herself tightly and closed her eyes, tears still rolling down her red and aching cheek.
Inside his studio, Frederick pressed the cell phone keys with much more force than needed; still pacing and fuming, he waited for someone on the other line to answer his urgent call. Finally after a few tries, Frederick got what he wished for.
"Pass me on to your boss," he growled and waited for 10 more minutes.
"Yes?"
"Draco, I believe I paid you to get the job done without any mistakes," Frederick said angrily.
"Oh, Mr. Higgins! Ya don't sound too happy, boss. What, my boys' professional job didn't please ya?"
"I have some news for you: my daughter almost died because of your 'professional work', you piece of shit!"
"Whoa there! No need to be harsh. We can solve that tiny mistake but… we gonna need some extra dough, ya know?"
"I don't care! Money is not the problem; I just want the girl wiped off the-"
A loud 'clang' coming from outside distracted Frederick; he looked through his glass door but didn't see a thing. When he was about to talk again, he heard a louder 'clang' that almost made him jump in fear.
"I'll call you back." After this, Frederick left his phone on the desk and went outside.
The air suddenly became colder which made Frederick check the air conditioner, but when he found nothing wrong with it, he shrugged and walked back to his studio. It was then that the lights started to flicker and Frederick froze in his tracks; the air got colder and colder by the second and the lights flickered rapidly now.
Higgins began to hear whispers and languid wails and his heart started to beat rapidly.
A 'thump'from the end of the corridor caused Frederick to jump back but then he noticed it was just one of his pictures that had fallen of the wall. Nonetheless, he grabbed an ancient foil from the wall with shaky hands and made his way towards the fallen picture with small steps. But the wailing never ceased, it got louder and louder the more Higgins approached to the picture. Frederick gulped loudly and looked at his surroundings, almost dropping the foil twice.
After what seemed like an eternity, Frederick got to the spot at the end of the corridor. Hesitantly, he picked up the picture and everything went back to normal; the air was normal, the lights stopped flickering and the wailing and whispering ceased.
Higgins sighed in relief and laughed nervously. "No more brandy for me."
He hung the picture on the wall again but noticed a dark spot on the glass; with his handkerchief, Higgins rubbed glass clean but the dark spot didn't disappeared. He rubbed harder and then leaned closer to the picture.
His eyes went wide and a scream left his lips right before his world filled with unbearable pain and darkness consumed him completely.
In her room, Frida had calmed down and was about to find her father and offer him an apology when she heard the scream. She bolted outside and was welcomed with a cold breeze on her face and silence all over the house.
"Dad?" she called.
When nobody answered her back, she got worried and walked through the rooms. She reached her father's studio and found the door open, his cell phone on the desk and papers all over the floor. Something that got her attention was the fact that in all the pictures where her father appeared, his face was scratched out like cat scratches on a pole.
"Dad, where are you?" Frida called, louder this time.
She walked through the large corridor till she reached the beginning of the long stairs.
"Dad, I heard noises. What's going-AHHHH!" Frida yelled in horror and fell to her knees after seeing the scene before her eyes.
Somewhere, in the dark depths of the theater, Cécil smiled wickedly. "Bien joué, mon amour"
Yes, this had been an eventful day indeed.