A knock at the door tore me away from my arrogant reverie. Madame Giry opened the door slowly, bringing tea. I whirled around to face her, forgetting my new face for a split second. I remembered when she gasped and almost dropped the saucer. I grinned despite myself.

She stared. "Erik, how..!"

I took a step closer and said, matter-of-factly, "Ah, Madame, I've been craving a second opinion. Do you feel this look suits me? I've been thinking on it for quite some time now, and I daresay it's complimentary… do you agree?"

It was the first time I could remember in a long time that my sarcasm had a softness to it.

I could hardly believe what happened next. I'd always known the woman had cared for me while I was living in the opera house, and one might even consider us close- she had taken care of me and protected me far more than my true mother ever had, even when I was clearly dangerous. But still, I never expected her to cry- or worse- throw her arms around me.

I stiffened, feeling truly awkward and unsure of how to react to such a gesture.

"Madame, please…" It was no use; the woman was hysterical. Eventually I felt myself relax and I began to try to comfort her gingerly.

Nadir walked in on this, and when he saw my face, he merely nodded and smiled.

"I wondered if this was what you were up to…"

He then grinned and embraced me as well as Madame Giry sobbed quietly and wiped away her tears. Nadir spoke into my ear:

"You look spectacular, my friend. I hope you can do great things in this world now that you are free."

When he let me go, I saw that he, too, was close to crying. I suddenly felt guilty and backed away.

"I'm not free, Nadir… I'm not…"

My friend sighed. "But Erik, you i are /i … my God, look at you… A man with half your incredible intellect and talent and even a decent face would be seducing all the women of Paris. But your art is never only satisfactory, is it? My God, this face you've created, this new persona… Erik, you could take over the world! Think of the good you can do, now that the world may listen."

I shook my head. "No, no, it's stupid to believe that a face changes everything. For too long it's been my excuse for the terrible existence I've created for myself- as well as others. My friends… How can I ever repay you?"

The words came out hollow and cold sounding, not at all as I had intended. But Mme. Giry touched my hand gently. I shivered.

"You look very handsome, my dear…but I want you to know, this changes nothing. You have always been a good man inside, no matter how you've looked."

I felt the guilt again; this was way too much attention, far too much praise that I didn't deserve.

"Let us go to sleep now,'' I said quickly, "And tomorrow morning I shall look into finding us a better residence- all the fortune I have is yours now, my friends. We will talk tomorrow over breakfast. I need rest."

Giry nodded and took my hand. "And we will perhaps talk about Christine, my dear."

I felt my throat tighten as the old woman left. Nadir paused at the door. He put his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.

"Are you badly burned?" he inquired in a low voice.

I didn't say anything at first. Finally, I replied, "I'm fine, Daroga."

He sighed. "It is sad that we live in such a world where one must go to such… extreme measures."

He gave me a grim smile, and I returned it. He then exited, leaving me to my chamber.

I pulled off my robe and climbed carefully onto the old mattress that served as my bed. As I stared out the window at the moon rising, I realized that I had never been embraced, aside from that brief moment with Christine. The thought made me feel strange and almost guilty once more, but I do believe that I fell asleep feeling a sort of brand new comfort, a foreign, yet quite relaxing sensation. At least I wasn't alone.

I awoke in sunlight, bright and yellow in my eyes. I squinted and rose to shut the blinds, catching sight of myself in the mirror again. I sighed and flattened my hair, glancing at the abandoned mask on my dresser. It was hard not to feel vulnerable without it.

I dressed myself in a white dress shirt, black pants, and a brown overcoat, then took one last look in the mirror. I put my black fedora under my arm, turned on my heel and made my way into the living quarters of the apartment.

Nadir and Giry were already awake and sipping tea at the kitchen table. Nadir had the newspaper open and was reading it, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth. He had dark circles under his eyes and several new lines creased his dark face.

He looked up as I entered, giving me the same grim smile he had the night before. Giry's smile was much softer.

"Sit down, dear, let me have a look at you." I did as I was told, and the older woman examined my face with keen eyes. She told me to open my mouth, touching the resilient material that stretched over my jaw.

"This is incredible, Monsieur Khan…" she said to the Daroga, "you can hardly tell, have a look at this…"

I did not like to be closely examined, so I drew away swiftly.

"That's enough of that," I whispered dangerously. "Daroga, let me see the newspaper when you are finished."

Nadir nodded and handed the paper across the table. Giry read over my shoulder.

"Why, it says something about you…"

Indeed it did. Nadir chuckled to himself. "I believe that is my doing. Not exactly doing my duty as an officer, I will admit, but there was little else I could do."

I saw a glimmer of shame in his dark eyes, but it disappeared quickly. I looked down at the newspaper again. b Erik is Dead /b .

Nadir looked at me somberly.

"The paper lies, in a sense. The Phantom of the Opera is indeed dead. But perhaps now, Erik can begin to live."

I shrugged. I didn't appreciate Nadir and his talks of morality, especially this early in the morning. He continued nonetheless.

"I once told you, Erik, that if you ever killed again, I would have to turn you in."

I sighed. "Nadir, I-"

"Let me finish. I have, of course, gone back on my word. But let me make this clear: one toe out of line, and I swear to you, your faithful box-keeper and I will have you locked away for good."

I fidgeted uncomfortably. Madame Giry sighed.

"Enough of this. Erik, I'm sure you are prepared to turn over a new leaf."

She paused, as if suddenly recalling something unpleasant.

"Also, there is one other thing I must say. I do not want you looking for them, Erik."

There was no need for me to ask to whom she was referring. I scoffed.

"Why, Madame, do you really think I would do something as idiotic as that? You have always felt I was a genius, so I've heard. Why would I do such a thing? I'm not foolish."

Giry raised an eyebrow. "Love makes fools of even the most brilliant men. I would think you would know this, of all people."

I set the newspaper down and stood. "I am very busy; I have to go work on a few-"

"Erik, sit for God's sake," Nadir said, putting a hand on my arm.

I shook my head and backed away. I didn't deserve this hospitality. "I'll leave a check for you on the bed. Use it to buy yourselves a decent home. I will keep in touch."

I strode into my room, packed up my few remaining belongings recovered from the mob, and left as quickly as possible. My friends knew better than to try to stop me.