Chapter Six: Learning to be Lonely

"Raoul . . . he is real. I've seen him! I'll never forget that sight! How can I escape from that face? It was so distorted, so deformed . . . It was hardly even a face, in the darkness . . . " Christine confessed to Raoul, her face displaying more fear than the Vicomte had ever seen before. She looked as though what she had seen would scar her for life.

As Raoul led Christine away from the edge of the roof of the Opera Populaire, the focus of the young girl turned completely to him. As she stared at Raoul and allowed him to lead her from the darkness, she dropped the beautiful red rose she was holding. It delicately hit the ground, but the impact seemed much larger to the figure hidden behind a nearby statue.

"Let's have no more talk of this darkness," Raoul began comforting Christine.

"No more talk of me," Erik thought from his hiding place. His heart began to break as he watched Christine, who was intent on Raoul's loving words. The rose Erik had given her was completely forgotten.

Erik turned over in his sleep.

"All I want is to be free and to live in a world with no more night," Christine told Raoul.

"A world with no more night?" Erik thought. "She means a world with no more music of the night . . . a world with no more me."

Erik rolled over several more times.

"Raoul, say that you love me," Christine's requested, dreamily. She was so obviously in love with Raoul that Erik felt ill.

"Oh, Christine, I do. You know that," Raoul answered back, smiling at her.

"Of course you do. She's perfect, how could anyone not love her?" Erik thought, his heart sinking as he watched the two young lovers kiss passionately.

Erik tossed and turned violently.

Rose petals fluttered to the floor.

Erik jolted awake and sat up quickly. He was sweating and his breathing was ragged. It was two weeks after the day Meg had visited his lair. Since then, Erik had been plagued with many dreams of Christine. Most of them centered around her, Raoul, and the love they shared. The dreams were incredibly painful for Erik. Sometimes he felt as though reliving the heartache through his dreams was more difficult to endure than real life.

Erik slowly got out of bed, trying to calm himself and erase the images from his mind. As he dressed himself and prepared to face the day, he chased away the visuals, but the music he heard inside his head would not be forgotten so easily. Melodies crescendoed in his mind until he had a headache. Erik had always had music in his mind. Sometimes it played softly in the background and sometimes it made its presence more obvious. No matter what the volume, Erik couldn't remember a time when his thoughts weren't swirling with unborn songs. It was how he composed new music - it just came to him. He would take what he heard inside his head and develop it into something magnificent.

This time was different, though. Erik no longer wanted to be a composer or a musician. He was through with singing and music altogether. They had once been his sole reason for living. Then, he met Christine. Together they created the sweetest song ever sung. Christine was Erik's first true love. He had hoped he could be hers, as well. That plan was foiled, though, and now Erik was left alone. Ordinarily, he turned to his beloved music in times of trouble and loneliness. Now, it hurt too much. He knew his music would never be the same without Christine. Without her influence, Erik found it as empty and cold as the rest of the world.

Erik might have been ready to give up his music, but it was unwilling to abandon him. It had disappeared for awhile after Christine first left. Nonetheless, it returned, quiet and subtle, within a few days. Now, it raged in his head day and night. It offered him no escape.

As Erik walked through his lair, he knew he had to do something. He felt as though the music that flooded his thoughts was killing him slowly. He sat down in front of the gorgeous organ that resided in the higher level of the lair. He sighed heavily. Without warning, the memory of the kisses he had shared with Christine interrupted the deafening music and took over Erik's thoughts. In his mind, he saw her, standing before him.

She was completely soaked, but she looked stunning. She wore the beautiful white wedding dress Erik had designed and made, just for her. She looks like a princess. Erik thought. No, a queen. No. An angel. My angel. Christine walked slowly toward Erik. Before he knew what was happening, she kissed him. Erik was shocked. He had never felt the touch of another person's lips before. The emotions that rose up inside him were overwhelming. She does love me. Erik thought. She really does. Just . . . not how I love her. Not how she loves Raoul. But, she loves me! She loves me for meThen, Christine kissed Erik again. Erik had never felt happier than during those two kisses. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and never let go. He wanted her to share the rest of her life with him. But, most of all, he wanted her to be happy. Erik knew Christine was truly in love with Raoul and would never be completely happy without him. Erik knew what he had to do. He let her go.

Erik held onto that memory. While he did, he felt happy and serene. The music reentered his mind, but with less force. Erik surprised himself by welcoming it. Normally, a feeling as glorious as how he felt when Christine kissed him would have inspired him enough to write an entire opera. Then, it dawned on Erik. He smiled at the organ in front of him. He placed his hands on the keys and played a chord. The sound filled his soul and reminded him why he had always loved music so much. Hearing it and feeling that way again confirmed his realization. The only way to be set free from the pain he had been living with was to compose the music that was constantly blossoming in his mind. The music of the night was over, but it was not finished. It would not rest and neither could Erik until he finished it and set it free. Then, he could free himself of the pain, the longing, and those heart-breaking dreams. Then, he could move on, alone, and live in peace.

Notes from the author: I just want to mention that, in this chapter, I borrowed the concept of the song "All I Ask of You". I did not take the lyrics directly, but I followed them closely, changing them around some. I read in the rules that you can't use real people in your stories. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to even mention real people to give them credit, so I will say this: The song "All I Ask of You" was written by two incredible writers. If you look up the song, I'm sure you can find the true lyrics and the names of the lyricists. Though I did not borrow their words exactly, the wording is very close and came directly from their lyrics, so they deserve to be credited.

While I'm at it, I might as well mention the title. If you're at all familiar with the movie, you'll see it closely resembles the song "Learn to be Lonely". Again, you can research the song to find out who wrote it and learn more about it.

As always, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and the ones to come.

Please review my work and don't be afraid to share your true opinion. I will welcome any and all criticism - positive and negative. Thank you!