Disclaimer: None of the characters of Moulin Rouge belong to me.
Author's Notes: Not a songfic! I'm on a roll! Anyway, this one can be from anybody's point of view except Satine or Christian… and yes, I know Montmarte is not next to the ocean! Just pretend! It's just symbolism… enjoy. And review! :)
The Sunken Cathedral
Hear the bells toll…
Montmarte. It is indeed a Village of Sin. A place where the wretched congregate like twisted bees in a hive, reveling in one another's evils.
Here, there is no law. No order, no rules. All there is is sin.
Hear the waves crash…
The whores parade the streets. The drunks slouch on every street corner. The smell of absinthe and other drinks hang on the air. Smoke from cigarettes seeps through the streets like a poisonous mist. And in the Moulin Rouge, a whore is raised to the place of a queen.
How wretched are we…
Trapped in our miserable world, unable to break the shackles of this life, bound to Montmarte for all eternity.
Have you ever heard the legend of the sunken cathedral? In the village of Ys, everyone was sinful and wicked. Even the priests who worked in the grand cathedral were corrupt and impure. As punishment, the sea rose up and engulfed the cathedral, swallowing it from view. The village was in turmoil and shock, terrified of the disaster. At the sunrise, the cathedral rose into view, with the sound of bells chiming and voices singing. And then it sunk away forever, leaving the people with that solemn reminder of their sins.
My mother told me that story as a child. I used to imagine the bells tolling, the waves crashing, as this magnificent cathedral appeared from the sea, shining with the rising sun. And I always wondered… how could any place be so terrible as to deserve such a disaster.
I learned that the day I came to Montmarte.
Now, not a day goes by without me making my wish: that the sea would rise and consume this wretched Village of Sin. Screw the cathedral. The whole damn place should sink to the bottom of the ocean and stay there forever.
I can see it now…
The water seeping through the streets, slinking with silent efficiency. Crawling under doors, splashing in windows. Catching the stragglers on the road. And finally, rising in a great wave and crushing it all.
At dawn…
The people of Paris are full of fear and wonder. The ocean crashes, at last revealing the whole village rising up on a pillar of foam. And the Moulin Rouge stands out above them all, shining a bloody red. And instead of bells and voices, they hear the stamping of feet. And a single voice slicing through the air…
'Diamonds are a girl's best friend…'
And Montmarte would sink from view forever, reminding all of Paris, the whole goddamn world, that we deserved to die. No pretty morals, no happy ending. Montmarte deserved to perish, dragging the Sparkling Diamond with us…
Everyday I make that wish…
Come on, ocean. We're waiting for you. And I'll bet the water's fine…
~ The End