Chapter Twenty-Four:

Nineteenth Encounter: Ties that Bind

"These last few years… have they been good to you, Mysteri?"
By now Erik, Patti, and I were all casually sitting on the stage. She was still somewhat shocked, since she was so quiet (for ONCE) but other than that, I think she was okay. I was sitting between her and Erik, slightly leaning on Erik's shoulder. I realized that in our dreams we had always been touching somehow when we talked, maybe his arm would be against mine, or our hands would be together, or we would be leaning on each others arm, side, shoulder… why we did that I'm not sure. But on that stage floor, seeing Erik again, I felt that pull to be near him, and be as close to him as possible without it being too obvious.

I looked at Erik to answer his question, and gave a small smile.

"It's been hard for me." I confessed, "But it's been wonderful too. I've loved other people, my voice has gotten better than I thought it could ever be, and I've done a lot of cool things. Growood, the school I'm going to now, is great. It's given me a lot of opportunities to perform, and grow up. I've had to live in a dorm, and learn to take care of myself. It's been an interesting process, that's for sure."
"You have become a young woman." He said, "I can see that. Twenty-one years old, and so full of experiences and knowledge. Three and a half years has changed you."

"I hope for the better."

He nodded. "Oh yes, it made you stronger. You had to cope by yourself. Relying on you is never a bad thing to learn."

I sighed. "When you left, I had to learn."

"It was necessary. I cared for you too much to have you rely solely on me."

"I get that now, Erik. And it hurt, but I get it now."

"It wasn't healthy. I didn't want you to be a repeat of my last mistake."
"Your last mistake?"

He took a deep breath. "You know of Christine. You know of my past."

"I understand. She needed you too much. And when Raoul…"
"No." He interrupted, "Mysteri, I thought someone told you this part of my story. I thought you knew everything."

"I do now! I know you kidnapped her and that Raoul had to get her back. I know what happened…"

"She didn't come to rely too much on me. I became obsessed with her. I drove her nearly mad, and she did destroy me in the end. I did not want you to endure a fate like that, either me driving you mad, or being destroyed." He took a deep breath. "I am not sinless in any of this. I have killed many people. All of them were in self-defense though, during my time in Persia… in that land it is either kill or be killed if you want to escape with your riches and life. But no, there are only two who I could've let go, here in Paris. The two men I killed here were trying to track me down, or had seen me. Their names were Joseph Bouquet and Philippe DeChangy. Joseph saw me on the catwalk, and Philippe was in my underground lair. I killed them for the sake of my secret existence. To most I was only a ghost, and rumored shadow. No one was certain that an Opera Ghost really did exist, and I was living in the catacombs to hide. I was quite used to living how I did, and I wasn't ready to give it up. All I wanted was peace… and love from Christine. I was a fool for wanting such things."

"For wanting what things? Affection and happiness?" I asked, "I don't think wanting love and to live happy are unreasonable."
"Now, probably not. Perhaps nowadays I could have had a somewhat normal life, and the opportunity to be a great composer. But back in my time, and you have to realize this, that opportunity wasn't my right as a human being. From the moment I came into this world, I was punished for simply existing."

"What's your secret?" Patti questioned, finally speaking. "Erik, what is so terrible that you had to travel behind a mask for many years, and then come to this opera to live alone? Why did everyone fear you so much?"

He looked down. "What lies behind this mask is a horror beyond anything you two can dream of." He whispered, "I'm sure Mysteri has told you what she almost saw underneath my mask years ago. I'm quite aware that she has told you everything about me. So you must believe me when I say that my face is that of a corpse's."

"This sounds like something from an old fashioned horror story." Patti said, "Erik, your face can't be that bad…"

"It is. My face is terribly disfigured. Even my own mother never kissed me." He said, his tone hard, "My father sold me to traveling gypsies so they could put my face on display. I was the Devil's Child. The only thing that seemed to make up for my disfigurement was my voice and mind." From here he became bitter, and he spat his words at my friend. "Do you want to hear about how the Sultana of Persia sent my one friend in that life, the Daroga, to track me down after I fled the gypsy camp? Do you want to know how she paid me like royalty to see my face, and then devise traps to kill her enemies? Do you want to learn how my education to kill began there? Tell me Mademoiselle, do you want to know the nightmare of my life!"

"Erik, stop." I said, turning him to face me, "She isn't saying all this out of some morbid curiosity. She's trying to understand you; I'm trying to understand you. What happened in your life was wrong and terrible, and I get that you had to kill to survive. Maybe that isn't right, but it was necessary. As for the two people you could've let go, Philippe and Joseph, I don't know if you were right or not. I wasn't there, and I can see you feel guilty about all that, so I'm not even going to try to put myself in your position and figure out if that was moral. I don't know who you were then. What I do know is who you are now. I know you visited a young girl in her dreams, and made all her wishes come true. I know you taught her beautiful music, and was her support system. I know you are a genius, a dark genius maybe, but a genius nonetheless. I know whenever I'm with you, I feel at peace and so damn happy, I could combust. So maybe your past life was terrible, but that doesn't matter now. It's not about what you did. It's about what you triumphed over."

Erik didn't say a word, and I reached out to touch his mask, pretending it was his face for a moment. He flinched when my hand rested against the cold surface, and he said timidly, "No! Please…"
"I won't take it off." I reassured. "I won't." My fingers ran across the contours of it, trying to map it with my senses. "Erik," I said, "there's one more thing I need to ask."
"Yes?"

"How did you die?"

He shrugged. "Of a broken heart. And maybe my lifelong addiction to morphine and opium had something to do with it." He laughed bitterly, "After Christine left I had no other reason to live. My health hadn't been the best at that time anyway. I knew the end was near. I asked the Daroga to come and destroy my music, and the underground lair. He did after I met my end. But, I couldn't leave the Opera House. I enjoyed peace and power here and I guess I didn't want to give that up. I stayed here, and watched as my body was buried deep in the Earth of the catacombs. I told the Daroga to make sure I was never found, so they wouldn't put me on display anywhere. I had all ready been mocked in life. I didn't want to be mocked in death."

"I'm sorry." I said, "That you would have to worry about that. No one should have to worry about being caged after they die."

He carefully pushed my fingers away from his mask, and then cupped my face in his hands. "You brought me back from the edge of darkness. I sensed your musical ability and you're yearning to learn. So I sought out your mind those years ago, and my energy guided me to yours."

"God, you two are meant to be." Patti said, "I mean, really now. You two found each other through dreams, and out of millions of people, you guys connected when she was only six."

"Five." I corrected.

"Whatever." She sighed, "Just kiss and admit you love each other. Get it done with all ready."
"It's not that simple." He said, "I don't make the choice. She does." He looked over at me. "A spirit cannot love the living, unless the living ask for it. It's one of those unwritten rules in being a ghost. When I first kissed you, Mysteri, why do you think I had to ask you? If I don't have your permission, when I try to do anything romantic, a shock runs through my body. It's a barrier, to protect the living. Some ghosts, the evil ones mind you, simply wish to take what they want. That electricity keeps them from doing so. It's very painful, about one hundred times more powerful than what you would call a shock collar. The decision on how close you want me is yours now."
"And what if I make this choice?" I asked, "What happens?"
"I can't tell you now." He answered, "For your teacher is coming back to get you. I can sense them nearing. I have to go!"

He stood up quickly, but before he could do anything, I stood too and grabbed his arm. "Erik!"
"I have to go, dear. What is it?"
"I want to see you again."
"You'll see me soon, don't worry. Bye, Mysteri." He gave me a quick hug, and then disappeared off stage. As in… he literally vanished, like a spirit.

I looked over at Patti, who had turned pale, and I gave a small smile.

"Patti," I began, "are you okay? It looks like you've seen a ghost."
She glared at me. "Come on." She said, "Let's sit down. I think I need a moment to think."
She shook her head as we made our way back to the audience, and sighed, "God, Mysteri, you have the weirdest humor, you know that?"