No, No my angel. You need to straighten out your diaphragm" Christene sighed. Erik was an excellent teacher but he was so very demanding. They'd been rehearsing the same song for half an hour.

Erik stepped behind her. He sensed her frustration and smiled slightly. She reminded him of another pupil. He placed one arm around Christene's waist and another lightly against the base of her throat and whispered one single word in her ear. "Sing"

Christene shivered against Erik's touch. He was so intimate, so sensual without even trying to be. She arched into his touch and started to sing the song all over again.

"Think of me,

Think of me when we've said goodbye.

Remember me once in a while,

Promise me you'll try"

She was rewarded with clearer notes and more power for each note. It was pure as crystal. She turned smiling. "Thanks Erik." She bit her lip. "Erik, I want to ask you something but I want the truth." She looked long and hard at him. "Erik, how did you get here?" He frowned. 'I suppose I should have expected this. Sit down my angel, I have a story to tell you"

Christene sat, not so much puzzled as expectant. Erik seated himself in her armchair with his usual catlike grace and began his tale.

"First of all, whether you believe it or not I am the original phantom." Christene nodded, "I suspected as much" He smiled. "You are so bright. Anyway I was thirty four when I met the love of my life. I'm sure you can figure out who she was. Christene Daae. She was beautiful, trusting, innocent, and had unbelievable potential. I only needed to unlock her gift. I began singing to her when she was still a child under the guise of her 'Angel of Music' I never thought that that name would become my calling card for the rest of her life.

Years later I felt that she was ready to tackle the world of the opera. I caused the events that led to Carlotta's quitting and Christene singing her part. She was phenomenal." Erik smiled as the memories flooded his mind. "She was so beautiful. I'm sure you know you resemble her. I took her to my lair. I could not resist her anymore. I had to have her know me. My one mistake was not thinking the young vicomte truly had her affections.

Months went by. I was falling more and more in love with Christene and I never realized that the only love she had for me was the love for a teacher. I was head over heels and this woman, child really. She didn't understand this world. The masque came and went. The trap for me was set. Trust me, I knew what they were up to. I knew that they were willing to kill me. Wanted to kill me. The monster. I was willing to play their game and disappear, but she removed my mask."

Erik's lip trembled. Christene had watched in silence. Her heart broke. He still felt the pain even after it all. He continued.

"I took her to the house again but this time I wasn't in control. All I could think was how to keep her with me. I couldn't survive without her. She was my only love. What I did next I regret to this day. I made her choose between the man she loved and the angel turned monster that made her sing. Eventually I realized I couldn't keep her against her will. Even if it killed me.

She left and I abandoned my house, my life. None of it had any meaning. I wandered Europe for a while. I visited America. I went everywhere. Then one day I went to India.

Have you ever been to India?"

Christene shook her head in a negative. Her heart was in pain for him. He was still so beautiful. He had truly loved her grandmother. The madness had faded, but too late. Even he had known that. She sat quietly, trying not to cry, and listened to his story.

"I wandered down the river. Their sacred river. A child had strayed too far and was swept away. Drowning. Before I knew what happened I had jumped in after the toddler. No one else could have reached the child in time but somehow I did. The little boy clung to me for dear life. His mother was so thankful. His father was a magician and offered me a single wish in return for the child's life. I asked for unending youth until me and my love were together. It was a stupid wish and the man knew it. But the want was spoken. The magic cast and here I am. I am 140 years old but in the body of a thirty five year old man.

At first I believed this youth to be an advantage but soon realized that it was a curse. I watched everyone around me die, times change, yet I did not. It was a curse. Eventually I became a legend and everyone forgot me. I moved back into my home and rebuilt what the mob had destroyed. I started to live again, but without music. I couldn't write, not with her ghost chasing me."

He looked up and nodded. "Yes I attended Christene's funeral. I saw her son. I wish he could have been mine. I will never have children though. I won't risk this evilness upon another."

Christene crossed the room to him and kissed his exposed cheek. "She loved you Erik. She loved you with her entire being. She never found you but she always loved you."

Erik, undone by the sincerity of her voice sobbed. He sobbed for the pain, the laughter, the love, and most of all the chance to be cared for again. Christene sobbed with him, but she sobbed for his pain, and for hope, hope of a romance to be kindled.