4. Past the Point of No Return

Mme. Giry invited Christine into her house. She could tell that Christine had been crying for some time now. Christine was clutching a single red rose, a black silk ribbon tied to it in a bow.

After settling herself into a chair, Christine looked at Mme. Giry. "I'm still in Love with him, Mme. Giry. I've tried everything to put him out of my mind, but it's hopeless."

Mme. Giry lit a few candles. "I know, dear. I could see it in your eyes that night at the masquerade ball."

Christine frowned. "Could you, really? Was I that obvious?... Anyway... It doesn't really matter. I came here in hopes that I could find out more about him from you. He's still such a mystery to me. There's much I don't know about him. You seem to have a strong bond with him. Raoul told me about how you rescued him from that angry mob. You've known him for many, many years. What is he about? What does he love? What does he fear? I desperately need answers!"

Mme. Giry was silent for awhile. She toyed with her braid. "Oh, very well. These secrets have been buried for far too long. What can it hurt if you knew?... especially after everything that has happened..."

Mme. Giry took a seat next to Christine. "I'll start with the biggest secret. The nature of relationship that Erik and I once had..."

The tragedy of Erik & I began many years ago, before you were even born. It was some years after I hid Erik from that murderous mob. He had since flourished as a sort of Architect in hiding. The way it worked was that I would submit the designs on his behalf - a sort of 'wife serving as proxy for her husband' - at a good price if no questions were asked. It worked because his designs were such flawless works of art. He used his portion of the money to build what would later become the underground lair you know so well...

Erik was in love with me, I think.. or at least as much as a young, foolish man in his early 20s could possibly be. But I too was young and foolish.. and fickle.

(Backstage, after the first Act)

Mme. Giry's face dimpled with a smile. She looked down at her black ballerina shoes, her face reddened with embarrassment. A dark, mysterious looking masked man held her delicate white hands together, speaking sweet words to her.

Erik's lips brushed gently against both her hands. "How divine you were, my sweet! If The Angels of Heaven could only dance so gloriously!"

Mme. Giry removed her hands from his grasp. She held a side of Erik's face with one open hand. "You really know how to make a girl blush, Erik. Do you intend to reduce me to a pile of mush in front of all these people!"

Erik laughed. "Hey, can I help it if you look so adorable when you blush?"

Mme. Giry beamed. The cast assembled itself behind the closed curtains. She lingered on Erik before turning to join the rest of the cast. She ran to take her position. Her auburn hair, fastened in a ponytail by a black ribbon, bobbed back and forth.

Erik was so sweet to me in the weeks after that. sigh He made me feel so happy and I didn't think any love in the world could surpass it. But then, another man came into my life and shattered my expectations. He was a renowned violinist. While Erik could make me feel like a teen princess on her pedestal, this man truly inflamed the WOMAN in me. His marriage had turned into a miserable bore. He stayed with her only because she was pregnant. He was your father, Christine... Mattias Daae.

"Your father was incredibly romantic. When we had to be away from each other for long stretches of time, we'd leave each other a symbol of our love. I'd leave him a black silk ribbon that I used to tie up my hair, and he'd leave me a single red rose...," said Mme. Giry.

Christine looked down at the Phantom's Rose. Her eyes welled up in tears.