This story takes place 3 years after the great fire. Workers have restored the Opera House, and operas are beginning to be played again. The story begins in a small house a few miles away from L'Opera Populaire. A young girl, Elisabet, is preparing to star in an operetta in a theater her father owns.
Elisabet was a young French girl that had a promising career as a singer. As she prepared for that night's performance at her father's theater, she knew that her life literally depended on the outcome of this performance. Her father, an alcoholic, had threatened to kill her should she not live up to his expectations that night. With his threats in her mind, she put her cloak on, left the house and stepped out into the brisk night. She walked along the road to the theater and entered the theater through a side entrance. She removed her cloak, prepared for the show, and walked on to the stage. The deep red curtain still hung in front of the stage, a sign that the operetta had not yet begun. She and the other performers went to their places, and soon heard the orchestra begin to play. The curtain parted, and the operetta began. Elisabet sung her heart out, and tried her best, but near the end of the play, she knew that her father was not pleased. She could see him on the side of the stage, and his face was not happy at all. When the curtain fell, she knew her life was over. She slowly made her way back to her dressing room and changed back into her clothes. With one final glance at the room she had known for so long, she gathered up her black cloak, put it on, and made the short walk back to her house. When she arrived, she knew her father was in a sour mood. She opened the door and barely had time to shut it behind her when her father descended upon her, unleashing his full drunken wrath.
"Horrible. You were absolutely horrible tonight." He raised his cane and began hitting her, in the midst of curses and insults. "Despicable. That was the best you could do? Pitiful."
Elisabet sank to the floor, taking the hits, curses and insults. She silently whispered a final goodbye to the world, fully expecting her father to kill her within the next few minutes. However, her father's words became slower and slurred. She opened her eyes, and saw her father begin to sway. He sank to the floor, overcome by the enormous amount of liquor that he had consumed before leaving his opera. Elisabet waited a few moments to see if her father would awaken out of his drunken stupor. When he did not move at all, she shakily stood up, opened the door, and forced herself to close it behind her. She stumbled along the road to L'Opera Populaire. She could see the famed Opera House in the distance and the sight urged her on. She continued to stumble, and arrived at the Opera. As her world began to close in upon her, the last thing she remembered was seeing a small grate near the ground with light protruding from it. She hoped that someone, other than her father, would come along and find her. She then collapsed on the ground, as her mind succumbed to the welcoming world of unconsciousness.