Chapter XIXa: The Good Ending
It is the next morning. When you wake up, you find yourself still in Erik's arms, and you blissfully recall the previous night.
"Erik, that was wonderful!" you say, smiling. "I love you so much."
Erik, already awake, turns to you tenderly.
"I love you too, Angelique-Céléstine Reader", he says, stressing every syllable.
You laugh softly.
"That's not really my name", you say.
"I would never have guessed", Erik says, looking at you in mock surprise. "What is your name, then?"
Leaning closer towards Erik, you softly whisper your name, your real name, in his ear. He smiles at you.
"That is a very beautiful name", he says. "I am glad you told me."
"Why?" you ask.
"Because it is a little strange doing this to an alias."
He kisses you gently on the lips.
"And", he continues, "it would feel very awkward indeed doing this to an alias..."
While he speaks, he rises and gets out of the large bed both of you have been sleeping in. He walks over to a cupboard, opens a drawer and takes out a small black box. Then, box in hand, he returns to the bed and kneels before you.
"My dearest", he says with a trembling voice, "you have done more for me than you can ever imagine. You have taught me that there is kindness in this world, and love, and beauty. You have stirred up emotions in me which I never knew existed. Will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"
He opens the box to reveal a beautiful gold ring with a large sparkling diamond.
"Oh, Erik", you say, "I am quite overwhelmed. This is so unexpected..."
"You little hypocrite!" I comment in your ear.
"Shut up!" you hiss angrily.
"I beg your pardon?" Erik says, looking hurt and confused.
"I'm sorry, Erik", you say hurriedly, "I wasn't speaking to you."
He now looks a little less hurt, but infinitely more confused. You take his hands and lean towards him, gazing into his eyes earnestly.
"Of course I will marry you", you say. "It would make me the happiest woman alive."
Erik breathes a sigh of relief. With shaking hands, he removes the ring from the box and puts it on your finger. You can see that there are tears in his eyes. The sight fills you with an irresistible urge to take him into your arms. You embrace him, and this time, he responds by putting his arms around you and holding you tightly for quite a while.
"I will buy us a house, of course", Erik then says, in the voice of an excited child, "and we will go for long walks on Sundays, and we will have a horse and carriage..."
"Erik, wait", you interrupt him, "there is something I need to tell you. Something important."
"What is it, my darling?" Erik asks.
You take a deep breath. This will take some explaining.
"The truth is", you say, "I am not from this time. I am from the future, from the 21st century. And I don't know how long I can stay here."
You're right, we never did discuss that. But since this is the last chapter, that ought to give you some indication.
Erik doesn't seem half as surprised as you had expected him to be. You remember that he is, in fact, a technical genius as well as a musical one, and it would make perfect sense to him that in a few hundred years, people could be traveling through time. He simply nods calmly.
"Is it very different from now, your century?" he asks.
"In some ways", you say. "But in other ways, it's just the same."
"And you like it? You want to go home?"
"I suppose I must", you say, hesitantly. "And I do have my whole life there..."
"In that case", Erik says, "I should very much like to be a part of that life. If you want me to."
"Of course I do!" you exclaim, then whisper inwardly to me, "Narrator, may I keep him?"
"Sure," I answer, "why not? Let's go then, shall we?"
The next instant, you hear a sudden loud BANG, and Erik's lair is gone.
When you regain consciousness, you are back in your own room, in front of your computer. To your great disappointment, you are alone.
"Narrator!" you call out. "What's going on? Where is Erik?"
I appear magically before you. You know it's me, because you recognize me from Chapter I.
"I have no idea", I say. "The two of you should have arrived at the same time, give or take a few minutes."
Then you hear someone coming out of the bathroom. It is Erik, soaking wet and wrapped in one of your towels. He is adjusting his mask.
"I must say that science has made some progress in the past century", he says. "This water contrivance is both useful and comfortable."
You are hoping he means the shower.
"Erik!" you say. "Are you all right?"
"Yes", he says, "but it seems the mask was the only article of clothing which survived the journey."
"You don't have to wear that for my sake", you say, smiling at him.
"Maybe not", Erik says, "but it is easier on the eye, both for you and for the rest of the world."
He throws a significant glance at me.
"Erik", you say, "may I introduce you to the Narrator? She has been with me all along in Paris, and I'm sure your face doesn't bother her any more than it does me."
"So that is the invisible friend you have been talking with", Erik says, nodding his head. "Well, I don't know how she managed to conceal herself if she was really present all the time, but I do appreciate a good fellow magician."
Erik bows towards me. I smile at him triumphantly.
"I can make more magic!" I say, enjoying my moment in the spotlight. "Just put me to the test!"
"Can you conjure up some new clothes?" Erik asks doubtfully.
"Voilà!" I say, pointing at him. Immediately, his towel is transformed into a modern black suit. Erik looks down at his own body in amazement.
"Very impressive..." he murmurs to himself.
Suddenly, you get an idea. You remember another piece of magic I performed on you in the beginning of this story.
"Narrator", you whisper to me, "if you can transform my towel into clothes for Erik, and if you could improve that part of my body I wasn't happy with in Chapter I, couldn't you heal Erik's face, too?"
"Nineteen chapters, and you only thought of that now," I say. "I have been waiting for you to figure it out. Well, better late than never, I suppose. Consider it done!"
With a very dramatic gesture I learnt on TV, I point towards Erik's mask. Nothing happens, apparently - the mask is still there. But you trust my abilities (you do, don't you?).
"Erik", you say, "please remove your mask!"
Erik stiffens.
"I would rather not take it off any more than necessary", he objects.
"In that case", you say, "let me do it!"
You walk towards Erik and rip off his mask before he has time to react. The face looking back at you takes your breath away. It is Erik's face, definitely his face. The eyes are his, the expression is his, the shape of the face, the bone structure, the jaws... and yet, his skin is smooth and healthy, the nose no longer deformed, and the lips even and well defined. It is a very handsome face. And you can imagine that it is the face Erik was always meant to have, and would have had, if a cruel fate had not intervened.
"Erik..." you say.
Erik, misinterpreting your reaction, reaches for his mask, but you don't let him take it. Instead, you lead him firmly towards a mirror, and urges him to look. At first, he doesn't want to. He has avoided mirrors all his life. But, finally, you manage to persuade him to look at his own reflection. Staring at it in disbelief, he staggers.
"This can't be..." he says falteringly, exploring first the glass of the mirror, then his own face, with his hands. "It is not possible..."
"It is", you assure him. "Your face is healed! You never have to wear that mask again!"
"But I don't understand..." Erik continues, still touching his own face, tentatively pulling at it with his fingers to see if it will fall off. Luckily, it doesn't.
"It's pure magic!" I say, grinning.
"Who are you, really?" Erik asks me, still astonished. "If this is a conjuring trick, I fail to see how you did it!"
"That new face of yours is genuine enough!" I exclaim. "And don't worry, I won't charge you a fortune like the plastic surgeons do these days. As for my identity, you could say I am the Deus Ex Machina, or you could simply call me Narrator, just like your lady friend does. Speaking of which, I'm sure the two of you are eager to start your new life together. And I have to be off, anyway. Yours is not the only story in the world, you know!"
Before you have a chance to say goodbye, I have vanished very dramatically into thin air, never to be seen again. You are alone with Erik. The two of you are silent for a long time, letting recent events sink in. Then, Erik slowly moves towards the window and looks out in quiet admiration.
"I rather think I will like your time", he muses. "It seems very intriguing. Would you care to join me for a short walk outside? There must be a great deal of things left for me to discover. And... and I should very much indeed like to feel the wind on my face. It will be a new experience for me, you see. It would be appropriate, would it not? After all, I believe it is Sunday."
"Sunday or not, it is certainly very appropriate!", you say, smiling.
Erik caresses your face and smiles back at you happily.
He has a beautiful smile.
THE END