Ever since I was pulled away from that chance at getting Becky back, I began hearing her voice, and saw her everywhere I went. The first time I saw her, I thought she had miraculously escaped the Phantom. I talked to her and ran to hug her, but she felt cold, and the coldness brought me pain, and she quickly faded into the atmosphere.

I never knew if what I saw, heard, or felt was even real. Eventually, the mirror that I had broken in the dressing room was fixed again…but no one admitted to fixing it, for example.

After about a week, I had realized that I lost my sanity; thus, I didn't pay attention to anything I saw, heard, or felt. I just stayed in my room, or played the piano on the stage. One night, I sang a rock song about not being able to let go of those who had passed away, and I was growing weak from ignoring the voices in my head; it took all of my will power not to kill myself, and I didn't, for I knew Rebecca wouldn't want me to commit suicide, but what was left for me to live with?

A deep voice told me to sing that song again, and as I sang, I heard Rebecca singing with me. My own mind-torture was consuming me, and I couldn't stand it anymore, so in the middle of the song, I slammed my arms on the keys and shouted "Stop!"

All was silent again, and I was there, shaking, whimpering, and crying. I then heard Rebecca's voice, and it sounded so sweet, so innocent… so pained, so sad…

"Oh, Gloria, I'm here, now."

"Shut up,"

"After all this… and you say 'shut up?'"

"How about 'go away?'"

The figure of my imagination then hugged me, but unlike the previous incident, she felt warm, and the affection true, not mocking.

I felt a giant lump in my throat, preventing me to speak, and I hugged the figure back. Through my tears, I saw Rebecca holding me, her head on my shoulder.

"R…Rebecca?"

"Gloria!"

I wept hard, and although I didn't see any tears fall from her eyes, she made choking noises, as if trying as hard as she could not to sob.

Then, she became silent, and simply hugged me. I did the same, so immeasurably grateful for the miracle of my friend living, being with me.

I sat back, drinking in the appearance of my friend, and saw that she had grown paler than she usually was, thinner (and not in a healthy way), and had dark, purple and brown circles underneath her eyes. What has she been through? The same as I, perhaps? I could tell that she hadn't eaten nor slept, similar to my being. I noticed that as I was staring with delight at my real friend, she kept glancing nervously to her left. I decided to glance at what she may have been seeing, and saw two dark, tall, slumping forms among the shadows behind the curtains.

She sniffed, "Thank you,"

"Becky, who are you talking to?"

I looked back at her, then the direction in which I saw the forms, and discovered that they were gone. I eyed my friend, and she gave me such a pitiful look, that I just held her hands in mine and said to the shadows "Thank you," and happily led her to our dressing room, where I slept, but before I closed my eyes, Rebecca was sitting up in her bed, her blue eyes alert, and shifting all around the room. She seemed to be listening for something…

For a while after that, Rebecca acted strangely. She would avoid dark places, rooms where no one else was, and she, from what I gathered, would be awake when I began to sleep, and awake before I had awakened, which made me think she didn't sleep, either. Also, her appetite changed, for she ate much less than what she used to. It seemed as if she was slowly withering away. Not my Becky, no-how. I wouldn't let her wither away from me right when I was reunited with her. However, she seemed distant, and whenever I wanted to talk to her, she would speak in riddles, and would run off somewhere, or act as if she didn't hear me and speak of something else….like more riddles. Something was up, and I had to find out, somehow…

Becky's POV

For some reason, surfacing through my companionship with Gloria, Erik's words had haunted me.

She has many privileges that you could never obtain. Are you jealous of that?

More and more frequently, I found myself envious and having child-like thoughts towards her. She got accepted back into acting at the Opera House. Were her parts longer than mine? How unfair. Did that man over there cast a curious eye upon her? Not me? Why was she prettier than I? She is older than I…I could never obtain the privileges she has…

I also became annoyed from everything she did. From that genuine smile to her knack for getting what she wanted from her bubbly, lovable personality, I hated her for it. I never felt actual hate toward anyone before. I was wondering if I were somehow under a spell that the devil had set upon me, or if I truly acquired a disdain for my friend.

Things started to return to a similar version of 'normal.' By that, I have the intention of explaining that I always felt watched, I was constantly in fear of something happening that involved my being taken down the cellars of the Opera House. I had bruises from where Erik took a bit of his frightening temper on my shoulders. I was always listening and taking care in noticing all of my surroundings, I was too frightened to sleep, and I was so 'out of it', that I didn't feel hungry. When I did feel hungry, I was to overwhelmed with hatred, spite, and fear to eat very much.