****
New York, one week later
Mandy, in her costume as Christine for Phantom of the Opera, moved upstage in the dark. She had arrived back in New York a week ago. Yesterday she had resumed her role. Off in the distance a bell tolled quietly. Her voice started off soft, then grew into the volume and pitch it needed. The full house listened to the starlet unawares of the private pain she projected into each performance.
'Little Lotte
thought of everything and nothing . . .
Her Father promised her
that he would send her the Angel of Music . . .
Her father promised her . . .
Her father promised her . . .'
As she sang, the scene changed to a graveyard, a mausoleum with hanging moss. In the center a pyramid of skulls in front of a cross.
'You were once
my one companion . . .
you were all
that mattered . . .
You were once
a friend and father -
then my world
was shattered . . .'
Frank watched from his balcony seat. He had to pull some strings with the New York office to get these seats, but he wanted to see his Starlet up close and personal. But he watched her, not her performance. He could see the raw emotions she put into her character.
'Wishing you were
somehow here again . . .
wishing you were
somehow near . . .
Sometimes it seemed
if I just dreamed,
somehow you would
be here . . .'
In the week since she'd come back, Amanda had done a lot of thinking. If Frank hadn't come after her by now, there was no chance he would. This was goodbye then. The very idea caused a tear to slip down her cheek as she sang. He couldn't do it, he couldn't let her love him...
Alex shifted in her seat as she watched Amanda sing. She'd flown to New York this morning after no word had been heard from either Frank or Amanda. She was worried for the both of them. The contact she had in the New York office told her that Frank had pulled a few strings and gotten a box seat. As she listened, Alex looked around, trying to spot where Frank was sitting.
'Wishing I could
hear your voice again . . .
knowing that I
never would . . .
Dreaming of you
won't help me to do
all that you dreamed
I could . . .'
He'd told her when they first met that she had it within her to be great, that all she needed to do was just believe in that. And for a while she did believe in that. But now... it was all smoke and mirrors wasn't it? She had told Frank not to lead her somewhere he wasn't going to follow. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she led into the next verse.
'Three long years
I knelt in silence,
held your memory near me,
Three long years,
of murmured sorrow-
willing you to hear me. . .'
Frank heard the catch in her voice before she started the next verse. If only he could see her eyes, to know what she feeling. He leaned forward, putting one hand on the railing of the box as he lifted the opera glasses to his eyes to try and catch a glimpse of her beautiful eyes.
That was that. It was over. She'd given him a week to come find her and he hadn't. It was time to say goodbye to Frank Donovan and move on. With her decision made, Amanda's voice pushed full-throttle into the words with a powerful crescendo.
'Too many years
fighting back tears . . .
Why can't the past
just die . . .?'
Alex's head turned around to stare at Amanda. She'd heard her sing this aria before, but never like this. She knew instinctually that something had happened.
Frank's forehead furrowed in confusion. He caught sight of Alex in the audience, but at the same time he saw Amanda's face become firm and resolute. What had happened?
Amanda's voice never wavered. She'd had trouble the past few nights with this passage in the aria, her voice catching on the word 'goodbye'. But tonight she was saying goodbye to him... the only way she knew how. If he wanted it this way, then this is the way it would be.
'Wishing you were
somehow here again . . .
knowing we must
say goodbye . . .
Try to forgive . . .
teach me to live . . .
give me the strength
to try . . .
No more memories,
no more silent tears . . .
No more gazing across
the wasted years . . .
Help me say
goodbye.'
The orchestra music quieted, the soft violins and strings giving a haunted sadness to the theater as 'Christine' stood there next to a pyramid of skulls singing her goodbyes to the past. Scarce few people saw the blonde get up out of her third row aisle seat and hurry up the aisle towards the lobby. Even fewer people saw the man get up and exit his box seat. All eyes and ears were fixed on the frail and fragile diva on the stage. Now her voice shook with emotion, now she had given in to the reality that it was done. Now the sadness began...
'Help me say
goodbye...'
--
- song titled "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from the Musical "Phantom of The Opera" by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, all rights reserved.
****
New York, one week later
Mandy, in her costume as Christine for Phantom of the Opera, moved upstage in the dark. She had arrived back in New York a week ago. Yesterday she had resumed her role. Off in the distance a bell tolled quietly. Her voice started off soft, then grew into the volume and pitch it needed. The full house listened to the starlet unawares of the private pain she projected into each performance.
'Little Lotte
thought of everything and nothing . . .
Her Father promised her
that he would send her the Angel of Music . . .
Her father promised her . . .
Her father promised her . . .'
As she sang, the scene changed to a graveyard, a mausoleum with hanging moss. In the center a pyramid of skulls in front of a cross.
'You were once
my one companion . . .
you were all
that mattered . . .
You were once
a friend and father -
then my world
was shattered . . .'
Frank watched from his balcony seat. He had to pull some strings with the New York office to get these seats, but he wanted to see his Starlet up close and personal. But he watched her, not her performance. He could see the raw emotions she put into her character.
'Wishing you were
somehow here again . . .
wishing you were
somehow near . . .
Sometimes it seemed
if I just dreamed,
somehow you would
be here . . .'
In the week since she'd come back, Amanda had done a lot of thinking. If Frank hadn't come after her by now, there was no chance he would. This was goodbye then. The very idea caused a tear to slip down her cheek as she sang. He couldn't do it, he couldn't let her love him...
Alex shifted in her seat as she watched Amanda sing. She'd flown to New York this morning after no word had been heard from either Frank or Amanda. She was worried for the both of them. The contact she had in the New York office told her that Frank had pulled a few strings and gotten a box seat. As she listened, Alex looked around, trying to spot where Frank was sitting.
'Wishing I could
hear your voice again . . .
knowing that I
never would . . .
Dreaming of you
won't help me to do
all that you dreamed
I could . . .'
He'd told her when they first met that she had it within her to be great, that all she needed to do was just believe in that. And for a while she did believe in that. But now... it was all smoke and mirrors wasn't it? She had told Frank not to lead her somewhere he wasn't going to follow. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she led into the next verse.
'Three long years
I knelt in silence,
held your memory near me,
Three long years,
of murmured sorrow-
willing you to hear me. . .'
Frank heard the catch in her voice before she started the next verse. If only he could see her eyes, to know what she feeling. He leaned forward, putting one hand on the railing of the box as he lifted the opera glasses to his eyes to try and catch a glimpse of her beautiful eyes.
That was that. It was over. She'd given him a week to come find her and he hadn't. It was time to say goodbye to Frank Donovan and move on. With her decision made, Amanda's voice pushed full-throttle into the words with a powerful crescendo.
'Too many years
fighting back tears . . .
Why can't the past
just die . . .?'
Alex's head turned around to stare at Amanda. She'd heard her sing this aria before, but never like this. She knew instinctually that something had happened.
Frank's forehead furrowed in confusion. He caught sight of Alex in the audience, but at the same time he saw Amanda's face become firm and resolute. What had happened?
Amanda's voice never wavered. She'd had trouble the past few nights with this passage in the aria, her voice catching on the word 'goodbye'. But tonight she was saying goodbye to him... the only way she knew how. If he wanted it this way, then this is the way it would be.
'Wishing you were
somehow here again . . .
knowing we must
say goodbye . . .
Try to forgive . . .
teach me to live . . .
give me the strength
to try . . .
No more memories,
no more silent tears . . .
No more gazing across
the wasted years . . .
Help me say
goodbye.'
The orchestra music quieted, the soft violins and strings giving a haunted sadness to the theater as 'Christine' stood there next to a pyramid of skulls singing her goodbyes to the past. Scarce few people saw the blonde get up out of her third row aisle seat and hurry up the aisle towards the lobby. Even fewer people saw the man get up and exit his box seat. All eyes and ears were fixed on the frail and fragile diva on the stage. Now her voice shook with emotion, now she had given in to the reality that it was done. Now the sadness began...
'Help me say
goodbye...'
--
- song titled "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from the Musical "Phantom of The Opera" by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, all rights reserved.
****
