The rain was falling all around Anna as she stood outside of the Paris Opera House. She had been thinking about coming here for two years now. She could not believe that her mother had tried to keep this secret from her. The opera house rose five stories in front of Anna and she looked up at the steps leading up to the main doors. Since Anna had been a little girl she had been led to believe that her grandmother was an orphan who had met Anna's grandfather at a masquerade ball in Paris. There was no explanation as to how she came to be in Paris, but Anna had never felt the need to ask before.
But two years ago, when Anna's grandmother was in the last few days of her life, she drew Anna to her bedside and told her a story. An amazing story about a man in a mask, singing lessons through a mirror, and a journey across a subterranean lake. Before her grandmother could finish the story, Anna's mother had walked in. She had hurried Anna from the room and told her not to believe the stories, for they were nothing more than the wild imaginings of a dying woman. Anna wasn't allowed to see her grandmother until the day of the funeral. Anna believed that she would never know whether what her mother had told her was a lie, or whether the story was true.
But something about the story had sparked Anna's interest. One day she tried to talk to her mother about it, her mother had listened patiently until Anna began to talk about the opera. Anna's mother made it quite evident that there would be no mention of the Paris opera in her house. So Anna thought that her search for the truth would end there.
But one day when Anna was snooping around in the attic of her house, she discovered a clue that would help her. In a corner, hidden away, was a box that contained countless mementos from the Paris opera. Newspaper clippings, programs from different productions, and a few dried roses all stared up at Anna when she took the box to her room and emptied the contents on the floor to get a good look at them. She plucked one of the programs out of the pile and studied the photo of the woman on the cover. Anna thought that she looked familiar. Her dark hair fell in ringlets down her back and her face held an expression that suggested pure contentment. But it was her eyes that captivated Anna's attention. They were light in color and held a fire in them. After a few minutes of pondering the photograph, Anna realized who she was looking at. It was her grandmother.
Anna couldn't believe it. The more that she looked at the contents of the box, the more she realized what her mother had been hiding. Anna's grandmother had been a star of the opera. Anna wondered why this had been kept secret from her. She knew that if she asked her mother, she risked making the atmosphere in the house even worse. But she couldn't just leave it at what she knew to be true. Why would her grandmother leave the opera to start a new life? Even if her grandfather had been a wealthy man, Anna wasn't sure that she would choose that path if it were her. But it wasn't Anna, it was her grandmother. And she knew that there was something else that wasn't shown in the programs or newspapers. Anna had to know.
So thus began Anna's search to find out her family's past. And now she was here, standing in the rain in front of the place that her grandmother had run away from all those years ago. She shivered in the rain and walked quickly up the steps, between the columns and through the doors of the opera house. She removed her hood and looked around her at the grand foyer. The inside of the opera house was more beautiful than she could have imagined. In front of her was the grand stairs that she had read about in a book and all around her were marvelous arches and columns with carvings toping them. Sky lights in the ceiling were letting in the gray light of the rainy day. Anna moved in a daze through the foyer and found a corridor that she followed for what seemed like forever. The lights were dimming around her and Anna stumbled on something. She felt around her and as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she realized that she was backstage. Trying not to trip as she went along, Anna
made her way to the curtain and out onto the stage.
Once again she was struck with awe. At her feet was the orchestra pit and inside were a few instruments that could not easily be moved. The seats behind the pit flowed in a wave of red velvet all the way to the back of the theatre. Four balconies rose above the main floor and the stage was flocked on either side by box seats. The high domed ceiling was painted with a mural and dangling from it like a jewel was the chandelier. Ornate columns ran all the way down the walls, pausing at every floor to become beautiful carvings, and then returning to columns to continue their journey. Anna lost herself in the beauty of the place when the foot lights on the front of the stage were suddenly switched on and she was blinded. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the harsh light. Anna backed up until she felt the heavy material of the curtain behind her.
"What are you doing in here?" Anna squinted hard and looked all around her to find the person who was speaking. There was a movement of the curtain to Anna's right and woman came out of the wings, moving with the slow gracefulness of an experienced dancer. She looked to be in her late 60's or early 70's. But Anna wasn't quite sure. Her hair was silver in color and she was dressed completely in black. But her eyes were the only things about her that didn't look her age.
"I'm sorry," Anna managed to say. "I didn't mean to disturb anyone or do anything wrong." Anna suddenly felt very foolish trying to explain why she was here to a stranger. "But I was just.."
The woman held up her hand with an easy laugh that silenced Anna. "Don't worry child," she said. "There will be time for explanations. I have all afternoon, and if I'm not mistaken, so do you." She came towards Anna slowly, looking her over. "I feel as if I know you," the woman said when she was close enough to Anna that she could have touched her if she wanted to. "Your mother, what is her name?"
"Danielle." Anna said a bit uneasily.
"Your grandmother then. Her name is Christine is it not?"
"It was Christine. She died two years ago."
"Well, that explains a lot then."
"How did you know my grandmother?"
"Your grandmother and I were great friends. We were dancers together. We first met each other right here on this very stage. Even after she left the opera we remained friends. We wrote to one another often after she had gone. She wanted to know everything that was going on in her absence. And I wanted to know everything that was happening in her life. She wrote to me when your mother was born, and when you were born as well. You look much like she did when she was your age. She was certain that some day she would return to the stage. But she never did." The woman paused for a moment, looking at Anna with eyes that were full of memories. It looked as if she was going to cry. "Now," she said, quickly pulling herself together. "Let's start with the basics. Why don't you tell me your name."
"Anna."
"Well Anna, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. My name is Madame Giry. But you can call me Meg. Now why don't you tell me why you are here."
"Once before my grandmother died, she told me about the opera. She told me there was a man who lived beneath the opera house and he taught her how to sing."
"She told you about Erik?"
"Yes. If that is his name than yes, she told me about Erik."
"Oh dear."
"But she didn't tell me everything. My mother found out she was telling me all this and she forbade me to see my grandmother again. The last time that I laid eyes on her was the day of her funeral."
"And so you've come here to find out whether or not her story is true."
"Yes. And I want to know why she left the opera."
"Well you have come to the right place then. I believe that I can help you. Please, come with me." Meg turned towards the backstage again and started to leave. Anna looked around at the theatre on last time and followed. Meg led Anna out of the backstage area and down a hallway. At the end of the hallway they stopped and entered a small dressing room.
"This was your grandmother's dressing room," Meg told her. "This is where she first met Erik. At that time she believed him to be her Angel of Music. Her father had told that when he died he would send her an angel from heaven to teach her how to sing. She thought that Erik was her angel. He taught her how to sing, just like her angel was supposed to. And she had a beautiful voice...."
. . .
Anna stood in the center of the home deep within the Opera House. It was cold down there and she felt like she was being watched. Meg noticed how nervous Anna had become, and she put her arm reassuringly around the girl's shoulders.
"It's alright dear. There is no one down here anymore." They moved through a few different rooms until the light from Meg's lantern fell upon the remains of an organ. "Here we are," she whispered as she set her lantern down on the floor so that she could get a good look around.
"This is where Erik lived. This is where he brought Christine that final night. And this is where it al ended." Anna watched Meg drift across the room looking at each broken object. "It's been over forty years since that night." She stopped next to a chair and knelt to retrieve something from the floor. When she stood up, Anna saw that she was clutching a mask. But it was the strangest mask that Anna had ever seen, it was only meant to cover the right half of the wearers face. "When I followed the mob down here, this was all that was left of him. This mask and a few pieces of music." Meg handed Anna the mask and she held it close, feeling how smooth and fragile it was. "He had meant for Christine to sing the songs that he had written, but she never did. So he left them here."
"What happened to Erik?"
"No one really knows. Most think that he died. But there are some who believe that he escaped. No one knows for sure, except the phantom himself."
. . .
Anna knelt next to her grandmother's headstone and placed the box next to her. She felt the spring sunshine spread over her as she cleared away the weeds and moss that had grown up around the headstone. When was satisfied with her cleaning, she rocked back on her heels and opened took the lid off the box. Anna smiled when her eyes fell on the mask. She picked it up and held it close to her heart. "I know now grandmother," she whispered. Anna lost track of the time as she began to talk. She recounted everything that Meg had told her, and everything about how she had brought the mask home along with the music that Meg had given her. While she was talking, Anna had the strange sensation that she was not alone. But when she looked around there was no one.
When she was finally ready to leave she put the mask back in the box and bid her grandmother farewell. She stopped once more at the edge of her family's plot and turned around for a last look. She noticed immediately that resting on top of her grandmother's headstone, beneath a fresh rose, was a note. Anna ran back, forgetting her box momentarily. She broke through the wax seal, and the neatly written message made her heart skip a beat. It read:
Rest in peace my beautiful student. Forever yours,
A.of M.
Anna looked all around, but once again there was no one. And the only sounds that she could hear, besides her own breathing, were the birds in the trees.
But two years ago, when Anna's grandmother was in the last few days of her life, she drew Anna to her bedside and told her a story. An amazing story about a man in a mask, singing lessons through a mirror, and a journey across a subterranean lake. Before her grandmother could finish the story, Anna's mother had walked in. She had hurried Anna from the room and told her not to believe the stories, for they were nothing more than the wild imaginings of a dying woman. Anna wasn't allowed to see her grandmother until the day of the funeral. Anna believed that she would never know whether what her mother had told her was a lie, or whether the story was true.
But something about the story had sparked Anna's interest. One day she tried to talk to her mother about it, her mother had listened patiently until Anna began to talk about the opera. Anna's mother made it quite evident that there would be no mention of the Paris opera in her house. So Anna thought that her search for the truth would end there.
But one day when Anna was snooping around in the attic of her house, she discovered a clue that would help her. In a corner, hidden away, was a box that contained countless mementos from the Paris opera. Newspaper clippings, programs from different productions, and a few dried roses all stared up at Anna when she took the box to her room and emptied the contents on the floor to get a good look at them. She plucked one of the programs out of the pile and studied the photo of the woman on the cover. Anna thought that she looked familiar. Her dark hair fell in ringlets down her back and her face held an expression that suggested pure contentment. But it was her eyes that captivated Anna's attention. They were light in color and held a fire in them. After a few minutes of pondering the photograph, Anna realized who she was looking at. It was her grandmother.
Anna couldn't believe it. The more that she looked at the contents of the box, the more she realized what her mother had been hiding. Anna's grandmother had been a star of the opera. Anna wondered why this had been kept secret from her. She knew that if she asked her mother, she risked making the atmosphere in the house even worse. But she couldn't just leave it at what she knew to be true. Why would her grandmother leave the opera to start a new life? Even if her grandfather had been a wealthy man, Anna wasn't sure that she would choose that path if it were her. But it wasn't Anna, it was her grandmother. And she knew that there was something else that wasn't shown in the programs or newspapers. Anna had to know.
So thus began Anna's search to find out her family's past. And now she was here, standing in the rain in front of the place that her grandmother had run away from all those years ago. She shivered in the rain and walked quickly up the steps, between the columns and through the doors of the opera house. She removed her hood and looked around her at the grand foyer. The inside of the opera house was more beautiful than she could have imagined. In front of her was the grand stairs that she had read about in a book and all around her were marvelous arches and columns with carvings toping them. Sky lights in the ceiling were letting in the gray light of the rainy day. Anna moved in a daze through the foyer and found a corridor that she followed for what seemed like forever. The lights were dimming around her and Anna stumbled on something. She felt around her and as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she realized that she was backstage. Trying not to trip as she went along, Anna
made her way to the curtain and out onto the stage.
Once again she was struck with awe. At her feet was the orchestra pit and inside were a few instruments that could not easily be moved. The seats behind the pit flowed in a wave of red velvet all the way to the back of the theatre. Four balconies rose above the main floor and the stage was flocked on either side by box seats. The high domed ceiling was painted with a mural and dangling from it like a jewel was the chandelier. Ornate columns ran all the way down the walls, pausing at every floor to become beautiful carvings, and then returning to columns to continue their journey. Anna lost herself in the beauty of the place when the foot lights on the front of the stage were suddenly switched on and she was blinded. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the harsh light. Anna backed up until she felt the heavy material of the curtain behind her.
"What are you doing in here?" Anna squinted hard and looked all around her to find the person who was speaking. There was a movement of the curtain to Anna's right and woman came out of the wings, moving with the slow gracefulness of an experienced dancer. She looked to be in her late 60's or early 70's. But Anna wasn't quite sure. Her hair was silver in color and she was dressed completely in black. But her eyes were the only things about her that didn't look her age.
"I'm sorry," Anna managed to say. "I didn't mean to disturb anyone or do anything wrong." Anna suddenly felt very foolish trying to explain why she was here to a stranger. "But I was just.."
The woman held up her hand with an easy laugh that silenced Anna. "Don't worry child," she said. "There will be time for explanations. I have all afternoon, and if I'm not mistaken, so do you." She came towards Anna slowly, looking her over. "I feel as if I know you," the woman said when she was close enough to Anna that she could have touched her if she wanted to. "Your mother, what is her name?"
"Danielle." Anna said a bit uneasily.
"Your grandmother then. Her name is Christine is it not?"
"It was Christine. She died two years ago."
"Well, that explains a lot then."
"How did you know my grandmother?"
"Your grandmother and I were great friends. We were dancers together. We first met each other right here on this very stage. Even after she left the opera we remained friends. We wrote to one another often after she had gone. She wanted to know everything that was going on in her absence. And I wanted to know everything that was happening in her life. She wrote to me when your mother was born, and when you were born as well. You look much like she did when she was your age. She was certain that some day she would return to the stage. But she never did." The woman paused for a moment, looking at Anna with eyes that were full of memories. It looked as if she was going to cry. "Now," she said, quickly pulling herself together. "Let's start with the basics. Why don't you tell me your name."
"Anna."
"Well Anna, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. My name is Madame Giry. But you can call me Meg. Now why don't you tell me why you are here."
"Once before my grandmother died, she told me about the opera. She told me there was a man who lived beneath the opera house and he taught her how to sing."
"She told you about Erik?"
"Yes. If that is his name than yes, she told me about Erik."
"Oh dear."
"But she didn't tell me everything. My mother found out she was telling me all this and she forbade me to see my grandmother again. The last time that I laid eyes on her was the day of her funeral."
"And so you've come here to find out whether or not her story is true."
"Yes. And I want to know why she left the opera."
"Well you have come to the right place then. I believe that I can help you. Please, come with me." Meg turned towards the backstage again and started to leave. Anna looked around at the theatre on last time and followed. Meg led Anna out of the backstage area and down a hallway. At the end of the hallway they stopped and entered a small dressing room.
"This was your grandmother's dressing room," Meg told her. "This is where she first met Erik. At that time she believed him to be her Angel of Music. Her father had told that when he died he would send her an angel from heaven to teach her how to sing. She thought that Erik was her angel. He taught her how to sing, just like her angel was supposed to. And she had a beautiful voice...."
. . .
Anna stood in the center of the home deep within the Opera House. It was cold down there and she felt like she was being watched. Meg noticed how nervous Anna had become, and she put her arm reassuringly around the girl's shoulders.
"It's alright dear. There is no one down here anymore." They moved through a few different rooms until the light from Meg's lantern fell upon the remains of an organ. "Here we are," she whispered as she set her lantern down on the floor so that she could get a good look around.
"This is where Erik lived. This is where he brought Christine that final night. And this is where it al ended." Anna watched Meg drift across the room looking at each broken object. "It's been over forty years since that night." She stopped next to a chair and knelt to retrieve something from the floor. When she stood up, Anna saw that she was clutching a mask. But it was the strangest mask that Anna had ever seen, it was only meant to cover the right half of the wearers face. "When I followed the mob down here, this was all that was left of him. This mask and a few pieces of music." Meg handed Anna the mask and she held it close, feeling how smooth and fragile it was. "He had meant for Christine to sing the songs that he had written, but she never did. So he left them here."
"What happened to Erik?"
"No one really knows. Most think that he died. But there are some who believe that he escaped. No one knows for sure, except the phantom himself."
. . .
Anna knelt next to her grandmother's headstone and placed the box next to her. She felt the spring sunshine spread over her as she cleared away the weeds and moss that had grown up around the headstone. When was satisfied with her cleaning, she rocked back on her heels and opened took the lid off the box. Anna smiled when her eyes fell on the mask. She picked it up and held it close to her heart. "I know now grandmother," she whispered. Anna lost track of the time as she began to talk. She recounted everything that Meg had told her, and everything about how she had brought the mask home along with the music that Meg had given her. While she was talking, Anna had the strange sensation that she was not alone. But when she looked around there was no one.
When she was finally ready to leave she put the mask back in the box and bid her grandmother farewell. She stopped once more at the edge of her family's plot and turned around for a last look. She noticed immediately that resting on top of her grandmother's headstone, beneath a fresh rose, was a note. Anna ran back, forgetting her box momentarily. She broke through the wax seal, and the neatly written message made her heart skip a beat. It read:
Rest in peace my beautiful student. Forever yours,
A.of M.
Anna looked all around, but once again there was no one. And the only sounds that she could hear, besides her own breathing, were the birds in the trees.