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Tall street lamps dimly lighted the streets. He was alone in this town he had never been to in his life. He didn't know where to go or what to do first. How would he find a place to live, he remembered when he tried to get a business going and the bank wouldn't let him, they said he didn't have some sort of number. And how would someone react if they saw his hands, he couldn't keep them hidden under this cloak forever. Even though he secretly wished he could. He walked further down the street shuffling his feet along. He looked at all the tall buildings and wondered what the words meant on the front, he remembered his inventor saying in Paris they spoke a different language, he never taught it to him though. How was he going to survive in this city if he couldn't even speak to the people.
He walked a bit more and seen just a few feet away a building it was old, it reminded him of his castle. He slowly walked up to the door, it was closed. He tried to open the door, but to no avail. His fingers just slipped off the handle with a loud scratch. He sighed and turned to walk away when suddenly the door opened and an older woman stood in the doorway.
"Excuse me sir, please come in. It's freezing out there." She said in English, he was surprised to understand what she was saying. He turned around to face her; she nodded and motioned for him to come in. He slowly walked inside the door and she went to remove his cloak. "Please. . .don't" He told her, she nodded and stepped in front of him. She looked into his brown eyes; they looked like the eyes of a little kid that had just been separated from his parents. His face was pale and covered in cars, his lips had a deathly purple tint to them, and his hair was perfectly black and looked like it hadn't been brushed in years.
"I am Madam Giry, welcome to the Opera Populaire or what is left of it." "What is your name?" "Edward." He told her quietly.
"Well Edward, are you looking for a place to stay?" she asked him.
He nodded, "You can stay here in one of the dormitories that we have."
"Thank you."
She led him through a hallway and opened a door for him, "You can stay here, if you need anything just let me know I stay right across the hall." She turned to walk out.
"Um. . ." He started, she turned around. "Do you have a garden or ice?"
She thought for a moment, "We have some bushes around the back and are you talking of big blocks of ice?" He nodded, "Not at the moment, but I'm sure I can get you some tomorrow." He smiled, and she walked out.
He thought he was doing good for his first night here, but what would she think if she saw his hands? He sat on the bed at the other side of the room and looked around. He seen a mirror at the left side of the room, he walked over. His eyes were dark and sad, his face had occurred more scars then he could remember from being at Peg's house. His hair was still an unkempt mess. He slowly moved his right arm up to get a look at his cursed hands. The moonlight shown in from a window glistening on his hand. A tear fell down his face, as he shouted "KIM!" His cry was so loud that Madam Giry came through the door and asked him what was wrong. He quickly turned around and put his hand back under the cloak. He hoped she hadn't seen his hands, but she did in the mirror. She slowly walked up to him and untied the cloak. "No. . .please. . ." She removed the cloak and held it folded around her arms. He knew what would be coming next, what happened at the town he would be shunned. He didn't even get to spend a night in this place and already he would have to run.
"What is that on your hands?" She asked him carefully lifting up his arm so she could get a better look. "Oh, dear. . .those are your. . ." Her voice trailed off, he just nodded slowly. He started to cry, she looked up and seen the tears. "I'm sorry." He told her. "There is no reason to be sorry." She told him. "It's late, you need some rest." She turned and left the room. He walked back to the bed and gently lay down on his back. He looked up at the ceiling. Why didn't she scream at him and make him leave. He had a feeling it would come soon, like it did back in the pastel town he once called home.
He woke up the next morning to the sound of Madam Giry calling him. She was standing in the doorway; he opened his eyes to look at her. "I have a surprise for you." She told him. He stood up and walked out of the doorway to her. She led him through to the front door. She opened it; a snow was gently falling from the sky. His face lit up in front of him were four big blocks of ice. "I got this for you, they should last here through out the winter." "I'm going to go back in. Will you be okay?" He nodded.
As soon as he was alone out there, he looked at the ice and thought for a moment then quickly began sculpting them. He started with the first and turned the boring block of ice into a miniature version of his mansion on the hill. The next one he carved of his inventor, he had the ice sculpture look just like the inventor did when he would read Edward poetry. The third one he carved into a hand, something he wished he could have. The final one he made into Kim, when she was dancing in the snow that he made with his cursed hands.
Madam Giry came out and looked at the sculptures in awe, and asked him why he made each one the way he did. He started with the first one, "This is where I lived, above that little pastel city". He then turned to the second one, "This is of the man who made me, he was going to give me hands, but he didn't wake up." Madam Giry placed a hand on his shoulder. He moved to the third, "This is what if I had my life would have ended up perfect, and I could have been with. . ." He trailed off as he went to the last one. "I could have been with her. This was when I was carving an angel for her family and she danced in the ice shavings, she's beautiful".
Madam Giry admired his work told him to come back in, since it was getting colder. They went inside and she sat him down while she got some warm tea, she brought it back and they sat drinking it. She had to help him though since he couldn't hold the cup.
"Why do you think if you had hands your life would be perfect?" She asked him out of nowhere.
"I would have been able to hold her, and I wouldn't have been shunned by the town."
"If you had hands though, you wouldn't have been able to make some beautiful creations."
"They don't help at all, everyone in the town loved them in the beginning, but when their little world was all shaped up perfectly, they wanted nothing to do with me anymore."
She looked at him with sad eyes, "Don't worry nothing can hurt you here."
He smiled weakly, and then asked if he could tour the rest of this place. He would like to become familiar with it if he was going to stay there. She agreed, but told him she'd help him with the cloak since it does get cold in some areas of the opera house. They walked back to his room and she helped him get the cloak on. She went back to her room, and he just wandered down the hallway.
He wandered into where the stage was; some of the seats looked burnt and a huge chandelier was laying it pieces on the ground. He walked around it and up to the stage, everything looked so different from up there. Maybe if he had hands he would have been able to be on stage. He wondered to the back and seen a lot of old costumes and such everywhere, then he seen a big wooden door. It was slightly opened so he was able to slip his hands into it and pull it open. He walked inside, the room was gigantic, he looked around in awe. Then he seen a mirror, he hated them so bad. He remembered when he walked into the bathroom, so angry seeing Kim with that boy, Jim. When he seen his reflection and those hands he scratched up the mirror. To hopefully destroy the person that was staring back at him.
His anger built up and he took his scissor hands across the glass. He made dozens of scratches all over it. He hated himself, he loved her. He drew his hand back then threw it into the mirror sending glass everywhere. He turned his head so not to get hit in the face with any. When he turned his head to look back at it he noticed he seen a dark hallway. He didn't know what to do, but he stepped through. He walked down several dark hallways. He wondered what could be down here, the darkness reminded him of his home. The home he was forced to live at alone for all eternity. He turned a corner and was met by a body of water. He put one foot in, and didn't feel the water. The suit he wore blocked out the water from reaching him.
He trudged through the water; keeping his hands up he knew if he got them wet they would rust. Atleast that's what Bill had told Kevin that one time. He hoped the water didn't go any deeper, because he didn't think he would be able to swim. He kept walking in the water. He noticed a little cave, he kept walking through. Everything was nothing, but darkness then he seen a dim light up ahead. He got closer and realized there were candles all over the place. His face lit up as he looked around, "Did someone live here?" He thought to himself. It seemed like they did, but no one could be found. He walked around admiring everything. He went up to the huge organ sitting in the middle of the room. He wished he could play something, but his hands stopped him.
He walked around some more, till he heard a noise. It sounded like a boat coming up to this place. He quickly hid behind the organ, it wasn't the best place to hide, but it was the only place he could think of. He closed his eyes tightly as he heard the stranger move in.
AN: I wonder who the stranger could be.