An Unexpected Visitor

The first time that he had heard her sing, she had been alone and pouring her heart out into her song. The second time, at rehearsals, she had been forced to prove her skills. She had sung so well, he almost felt like clapping her on the back with pride, even though she and he had never even met. At the performance, she had seemed very nervous in front of such a large audience. She had, none the less, performed outstandingly. He was going over a mental list of things that she could improve, not knowing why, while he walked to Madame Giry's room.

Entering through the front door, for she was expecting him, he nodded a hello. They chatted for quite some time, talking about random subjects that had no meaning to either of them. Neither of them wanted to discuss what had happened in the past, especially the subject of Christine.

At around midnight, he left Madame Giry's room via secret passage and made his way back down to his lair. He still did not know what to make of Mercedes. She puzzled him, as well as intrigued him. Shaking off all thoughts of Mercedes, he went back to his dreary thoughts of Christine. Every day, he tortured himself with thoughts of Christine, and yet his heart wasn't into it any more. For some reason, part of him just wanted to let go of the whole ordeal and forget about it. The majority of his entirety, however, felt that he should be punished for eternity because of his loathsome actions. He sat down to the organ, trying and failing yet again to compose a song, anything.

Without knowing why, he started singing a lullaby that he had learned as a child traveling with the gypsies. Near the end of his song, he heard splashing, as if someone were swimming or drowning in his lake. Maybe fish really did inhabit this lake after all. Although he thought it pointless, he decided to go see what was happening anyway. Maybe this minor distraction could calm his nerves.

He didn't expect to see the young woman Mercedes lying in a heap on the stone near the lake. He quickly rushed over to her side and saw that she was asleep. She was shivering violently and he immediately covered her with his heavy cloak. He felt her smooth, pale forehead and found that she was feverish. He lifted her up and found that for someone as slender as herself, she was incredibly solid. He laid her down on his bed and noticed that she was dripping wet. He knew that he had to take off her nightgown or else she could catch pneumonia, yet he was extremely reluctant to do so. Finally, his sense stepped in and he placed her under the heavy blankets, only removing her nightgown when she was properly covered.

He hung her nightgown up to dry and left the room, his cheeks burning scarlet. While she slept, he placed food and water on the nightstand next to her bed and rushed up to see Madame Giry. Although it was very late at night, he heard Madam Giry moving around in her room. Obviously she was still awake. He knocked gently on the heavy door, and Madame Giry admitted him to her room for the second time that night.

"What is wrong, Erik?" she asked, a little startled that the Opera Ghost was showing some semblance of fear.

"It's Mercedes. She found her way to my home, don't ask me how, I think she swam the whole length of the lake, she's cold and feverish, I think she's sick, what should I do?" he was babbling and he knew it, but he couldn't stop. He was genuinely frightened for this young woman's life.

"Did you get her into a bed?" she asked. Erik nodded, grateful that he could answer this question silently. "Did you check her temperature? Was she wet? Did you leave food for her? Did you cover her well with blankets? Did you remove her wet clothing?" she asked all of these questions in rapid succession, and he nodded to every one of them, thought the last question made him blush furiously again. "Well, then, it appears as if you have done all that you could. No one could do any more than you, and it would not be wise to move her right now. I'm sorry to burden you with the responsibility of caring for her, but I'm sure that you can understand my request. If you wouldn't mind, I am tired and I would like to retire for the night. Thank you again for caring for my young employer." Madame Giry said to Erik. Erik nodded his head, still not trusting his mouth to form words yet. He left Madame Giry's room and quickly made his way down to his home.