Epilogue

May 1903

Marigold was sitting by the flower bed tending to the new blossoms one Spring evening as she looked up to see her parents standing on the peak of the hill, watching the sun setting. It had been some weeks since she had seen Frans as he had business to attend to in Paris. For the past three years, they had enjoyed a happy courtship. When Frans finished his schooling, he attended university in Valence while Erik managed the theatre in his place. For a while, Marigold was only able to visit him every now and then.

After completing university and assuming new management of the theatre, Frans moved into his grandfather's house and made it his own home. Marigold continued to sing more until she became the new prima donna of the Clasir theatre. Now Frans was twenty-one and she was nineteen, she sighed longingly at the thought of when she would see Frans again. Looking quite a lady, she had her hair styled up in a simple bun and wore a white lace blouse with a long skirt of pale green.

Suddenly, she felt something placed in her hair, just above her ear. She reached up and felt a white rose. Then, she jumped slightly when she felt two hands touch her shoulders. "The marigolds are very beautiful this year, but I think the one I'm holding is the most beautiful of all," a soft voice whispered in her ear.

She turned around. "Frans!" she cried happily and leapt into his embrace. He tightly crushed her to him but she didn't care. She took a long look at him like she hadn't seen him in years and he looked lovingly down at her.

"It's so wonderful to see you again. I've missed you so much, my lovely girl."

"Oh, I've missed you as well," she said.

"Where are your parents?"

She pointed up at the hill. "Up there. Watching the sunset. Shall I call them?"

"Not just yet. I want a moment with you. I've thought of you every night while I was away. And after what I plan to do now, I want to enjoy every single moment with you from now on."

Marigold looked perplexed. "What do you mean, Frans?"

He simply chuckled. "There's no reason to worry, my love. Come, let's take a short walk. I want to talk to you about something." Smiling, she took his arm and walked beside him listening intently as he spoke.

Meanwhile, up on the hill Erik and Christine stood watching the sun slowly set in the horizon. Christine then looked down and saw Frans with Marigold.

"Oh, look. Frans has returned from Paris. Tell me, did he tell you what sort of business he was seeing to while he was there?" asked Christine.

Erik grinned knowingly. "Well, we did have a long conversation before he left. As business at the theatre has been rather successful for him, he had great intentions of bringing back something special for Marigold. A very special gift, indeed."

Christine looked speechless. "Erik, is he going to…"

Erik tilted his head toward them, smiling. "Look."

They looked down as they watched Frans get down on one knee before Marigold, holding a very important piece of jewelry to her. And the only sound they could heard was their daughter crying out "Oh, Frans…yes!" as he picked her up and swung her around him, laughing heartily.

"Oh, Erik…" said Christine, happily dabbing her eyes as tears welled up. She lovingly nestled her head against his chest as he placed his arm around her, looking proudly down. He stood silently in deep thought as the last bit of sunlight disappeared in the horizon.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Christine.

"How differently life might have been for me. I might have still been enslaved by the gypsies, on the run in Persia, or even still living in the dark catacombs of Paris. Or I might have been killed many times before then and not even at where I am now. But now look. I have a beautiful wife, a lovely daughter and an honorable future son in law. I have a real home and a respectable occupation. I stand freely in the open daylight. No longer hiding in the dark shadows."

Christine sadly pictured Erik sitting alone in the dark lair, wondering if that image was what might have been had she not stayed with him after she first saw his face. How she might have run away from him and never came back, thus causing him to die of a broken heart all alone in the cold darkness and completely forgotten by the world.

"Erik, that day after I first saw your face, when you offered me the choice of whether to stay with you or leave you, what would have happened to you if I had chosen to leave, hypothetically speaking?"

"In truth, I most likely would have died."

"Died?" shuddered Christine.

"Yes. I think the pain of being parted from you forever would have been far too much for me in the end. My heart would not have taken it. I probably would be a cold dead corpse rotting in the catacombs, unloved and forgotten."

Christine gave another shudder over such frightening thoughts. Then, she nuzzled against his chest for reassurance. "Oh, Erik…I would never have wanted to cause your death."

Erik held her closer and stroked her hair. "I know it, Christine. I knew at that moment, using force to keep you with me would not have helped me to win your love in the end. So, I decided to do the only honorable thing I've ever done in my life and let you choose. You have no idea how it gladdened my heart when you said you would be with me. I found love and earned love in return."

"You were meant to have my love, Erik. You endured such pain and hardship but you prevailed. And because you hoped for such love, you have it now. Those who are hardest to love need it the most. No one deserves love more than you. It is a strange thing how fate works. When I nearly despaired at the thought of not having an angel of music, it turns out I really did all along."

Erik kissed his wife like he never kissed her before and with every ounce of love he had to give. When he pulled back, he smiled ever so sweetly at her. "It is you who is the angel. All because you accomplished the impossible…you learned to love me."

Christine smiled. "But it wasn't impossible. When I did, it felt so simple. Just as you love me."

"But loving you means so much more to me. To love and be loved in return was the one thing I wanted more than anything. No one gave me love, Christine. Can you imagine how that feels? To crave something as simple as emotion?"

Christine hadn't thought of it before. How much Erik wanted love but could never have it. She could see the earnest love he had for her in his eyes and truly understood. "I suppose I never truly thought about it until now." Then she cupped his masked cheek in her hand and looked up at him. "I hope you always know how much I love you, Erik. Have I truly made you happy?"

Erik leaned over and touched his forehead to hers, both closing their eyes. "Oh, more than you will ever know, my little canary. When you first told me you loved me, and when I was afraid to hope even then, you said those words to me and nothing had ever felt like that to me, like your love. But when I saw it in your eyes, I believed then that, even for me, anything was possible. Then, for the first time, I felt beautiful because of you. I love you, my Christine…I love you so much. I always have."

"I love you too, Erik." Christine nuzzled her head on his chest as Erik held her close as they walked down the hill towards the house to congratulate their daughter. "I'm glad I was able to give you such love and happiness, my dearest."

"My darling, you are the gentle canary who has touched the heart of this dark crow."

The End