Chapter Two: When Broken Hearts Grieve

For the next few days, Christine was completely inconsolable. Nothing could coax her out of her deep despair and grief over Erik's abrupt departure. Raoul stopped by quite a few times over the course of the following week, but Christine was indisposed every time. The young man's concern was evident, and Mama Valerius secretly hoped Christine would one day allow the young man in for a visit. He was being so kind to her in her time of apparent need.

One day, Mama Valerius had had enough. Over a rather solemn lunch one afternoon in which Christine had finally stopped sobbing long enough to come out of her room for some soup, Mama Valerius brought up the subject of Raoul.

"Christine, dear...Raoul stopped by again this afternoon. He's very upset. He's only concerned with your welfare, my dear. I think you should speak with him."

Christine looked up from her bowl of soup and tried to read the meaning behind Mama Valerius' words. She saw nothing but genuine concern on the part of her guardian.

"Perhaps you are right, Mama. I think I'll see him tomorrow."

That night, Christine bid her final goodbyes to Erik...the only man she had ever loved.

With a sigh, she opened her journal, which she hadn't written in since Erik's leaving.

She flipped to the next clean page, took a minute to calm down and organize her thoughts, and began to write.

Dearest Diary,

I now write amongst your pages as a broken woman. A woman who has lost the only man she has ever loved, a woman who now stupidly realizes that such love was vastly unrequited.

My dear Erik has left me. He left by boat almost two weeks ago, bound for Paris. And I am sure that he never intends to return to his beloved home or to me, the woman who has always cared for him and been there for him. Like a fool I have stood by him, and only now do I believe that he would not have done the same for me. What a stupid and naïve little girl I have been !

But I will not allow that to happen again. I will never suffer from so pure a love as that which I have experienced, for I know that such roads only lead to heartbreak and misery. So I will build an ice palace around my heart, never to allow a man to so easily deceive me again. I will change my soul to accommodate heartbreak, and thus I will never feel this way again.

Truthfully yours,

Christine

P.S. : Tomorrow I will speak with Raoul, the young messenger who brought

me the news of Erik's departure. He has been far too generous to me, and I

owe him an explanation as to why I've avoided his sincere inquiries for the

past two weeks. I do not deserve such a caring soul.

Christine closed her diary and laid down on her bed, ready for sleep. But sleep wouldn't come, so Christine was once again plagued by one of her many memories of Erik...

Two Years Earlier...

For the past week, it had done nothing but rain in Marseilles. The weather had turned everyone foul and brought out the worst in everyone, not excluding Erik and Christine, who sat by the fire reading.

Suddenly, it stopped raining and Erik came up with a brilliant idea.

He and Christine would go on a walk through the magnificent gardens near the city center, and he would lift both of their depressing moods by getting them out of her tiny cabin.

Erik looked up to where Christine was sitting, completely unaware of his gaze, and equally absorbed in her reading.

Erik cleared his throat, causing Christine's intense concentration to break.

"You did that on purpose, Erik ! I was enjoying what I was reading, and you've destroyed my concentration."

"Ah, I have achieved my goal, then."

Christine sighed, then turned to face him and closed her book, mentally marking her page.

"Fine, fine. What is it that you needed my attention so badly for ? Tell me...you have my undivided attention."

"Well, I suppose you were so absorbed in your reading that you failed to notice that it has stopped raining, Christine. I was just thinking that perhaps you might like to join me in a stroll through the gardens at the city center and perhaps afterward we could have a picnic lunch."

"Well, I suppose that is a good idea...allow me to make us some food and grab my coat." Christine replied.

Christine exited the room, leaving Erik to his solitude. She returned precisely ten minutes later, having changed her dress, put on a warm coat, and carrying a basket of food.

"Are you ready ?"

"Yes, Christine, I am ready...you look beautiful, my dear."

"Why...thank you, Erik."

"You're welcome, Christine. Now, shall we go ? We certainly wouldn't want to get caught in the rain !"

And with laughter, they exited the room.

Christine closed her eyes, but it was too late. From beneath her squeezed-shut eyelids, two tears slid down her smooth alabaster cheeks, staining her pillow.

Oh, Erik, why did you ever leave me ?