Chapter 7—Past The Point Of No Return

It was the opening night of Aminta Triumphant, and Christine had to admit to herself that she was excited. She thought as she twined roses in her hair, and knew that she was making a choice that mightn't seem good, but she had a feeling, and usually her feelings turned out correct. The final scene, the one she planned to intrude upon, was the scene she had written after watching Erik fall asleep in her bed.

"You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge…"

She smiled as she sang to herself. It was a dry smile, and she knew it. She put the finishing touch on her costume—the black mask that she had written in for Aminta to wear. She pulled back one of the hangings that covered the various mirrors and shuddered. She hated looking at herself, but she must, if she wanted this costume to be perfect. She grinned uncannily at her reflection, and burst out in a line of song.

"Seal my fate tonight—I hate to have to cut the fun short,

But the joke's wearing thin, let the audience in,

Let my opera begin!"

k

Erik was nervous. Before the performance even started, he sought comfort from Meg, although she gave him little. His thoughts strayed back to Christine, and the look in her eyes that night in the boat.

"Meg, I'm frightened, don't make me do this!

It scares me—don't put me through this ordeal by fire!

She'll take me, I know. We'll be parted forever. She won't let me go!

What I once used to dream I now dread! If she finds me, it won't ever end,

And she'll always be there, singing songs in my head

She'll always be there, singing songs in my head..."

He sat with her in his dressing room. He had only minutes before he must begin to go down to the stage, but he was torn all the same. Meg offered few words for him.

"You said yourself she was nothing but a woman,

Yet while she lives, she will haunt us till we're dead."

He couldn't deny her correctness, and yet…

"Twisted every way, what answer can I give?

Am I to risk my life to win the chance to live?

Can I betray the one who once inspired my voice?

Do I become her prey? Do I have any choice?

She kills without a thought, she murders all that's good

I know I can't refuse and yet, I wish I could!

Oh God, if I agree, what horrors wait for me

In this, the Phantom's opera?"

Meg grasped his hand.

"Erik, Erik, don't think that I don't care,

But every hope and every prayer rests on you now!"

He knew she was right. The problem was, he didn't know if he could stand the sweet seduction that surely lay before him.

k

"Here the sire may serve the dam, here the mistress takes her meat!

Here the sacrificial lamb utters one despairing bleat!

Poor young master! For the thrill on your tongue of stolen sweets

You will have to pay the bill, tangled in the winding sheets!

Serve the meal and serve the master! Serve the maid so that,

When tables, plans and men are laid, Aminta triumphs once again!"

Erik's heart beat faster. His emergence was upon him, and he knew what would happen in this, the final scene of the Phantom's opera.He strolled onto the stage in his sweet, innocent shepherd's costume—a pair of soft, brown breeches and an equally soft, white, blousy shirt that was open to reveal his chiseled chest. He entered to one side with Passarino as Aminta entered at the other. She sang.

"No thoughts within her head, but thoughts of joy!

No dreams within her heart, but dreams of love!"

Her face was turned from him, but he knew perfectly well from her voice who stood there with her basket of roses.

"Passarino, go away for the trap is set and waits for its prey!"

Aminta looked over to him. She was, of course, being played by Christine, but who could tell, except Erik? And though he knew, it was already too late to stop her. She began the song in a high, alluring voice.

"You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge!

In pursuit of that wish which, till now, has been silent, silent…

I have brought you that our passions may fuse and merge!

In your mind you've already succumbed to me,

Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me…

Now you are here with me, no second thoughts, you've decided, decided..."

Christine had moved toward him almost without thinking, and he had done the same. The movements had been rehearsed, but the two felt nothing, as though their bodies simply needed no commanding. They met center-stage and entwined their arms, twisting around each other. Christine's entire body burned with their contact, as did Erik's. She sang on, even more lustily.

"Past the point of no return, no backward glances!

Our games of make believe are at an end!

Past all thought of 'if' or 'when'—no use resisting!

Abandon thought, and let the dream descend!

What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire unlocks its door?

What sweet seduction lies before us?"

Christine knew she meant every word of the song for Erik, and Erik alone. She had written it for him, as he slept just a room away.

"Past the point of no return, the final threshold!

What warm, unspoken secrets will we learn,

Beyond the point of no return...?"

It was finally Erik's turn. He took his teacher's hand and drew it out so that her arm was extended. He kissed her knuckles, his eyes never leaving her face, even as he sang to her.

"You have brought me to that moment where words run dry,

To that moment when speech disappears into silence, silence...

I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why!

In my mind, I've already imagined our bodies entwining,

Defenseless and silent…now I am here with you,

No second thoughts, I've decided, decided..."

They separated and moved toward the spiral staircases on opposite sides of the stage that led up to the bridge, high above.

"Past the point of no return, no going back now!

Our passion play has now, at last, begun!

Past all thought of right or wrong, one final question:

How long should we two wait, before we're one?"

As they reached the top of the stairs, Erik suddenly realized that he sang, not to Christine, but for her. He meant the words with all his heart. He forgot Meg.

"When will the blood begin to race, the sleeping bud burst into bloom?

When will the flames, at last, consume us?"

They sang together as they met in the middle of the bridge. They must not only touch now. They must embrace with passion, and they did, every bit of it heartfelt, their bodies on fire. Her back was pressed against him, and he buried his face in her hair, his hands going to her waistline and throat.

"Past the point of no return, the final threshold!

The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn!

We've passed the point of no return..."

Erik and Christine both knew they had. She pulled away slightly so she could look her student, and love, in his deep blue eyes.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime!

Lead me, save me from my solitude!

Say you want me with you, here, beside you!"

Erik never knew what his hand had in mind as it trailed up Christine's neck, subtly reaching for her mask.

"Anywhere you go let me go too!

Erik, that's all I ask of..."

He pulled it off.