Loreena and Christian had been avoiding eachother since the incident. This kind of distance between them was causing too much grief for Christian because he was very fond of her, and it hurt him to not be able to talk with her as they once did. He couldn't help but feel guilty for what he had done. Meanwhile, Loreena was feeling guilty too for being so selfish and allowing herself to become vulnerable. She still loved him, but was deeply under the impression that he resented her. Whether or not they wanted to admit it, they were both missing eachother very much.
However, in place of Loreena's abscence came something else for Christian. The popularity of his book had brought a high demand for the revival of the Moulin Rouge. His foreign readers who had read all about the has-been dance club and it's star became intrigued to know if it had actually exhisted, while those readers that had lived in Montmartrewho had known of it's exhistance, wanted it's return. Cominghome from a walkone evening, Christian ran into someone he least expected to ever see again.
Out of the shadows came the man, still as bulky as ever, dressed in a simple coat and hat. He ran into Christian, rather forcively as if on purpose, almost knocking Christian off balance.
"Hey! Watch it!" Christian said, but upon stepping into the light of a night lamp, the other man exposed his identity.
"Zidler?...Harold Zidler"
He nodded quietly, "Christian,... hello."
He didn't know what else to do, so he responded politely back to Zidler with a hello. Seeing him standing there was almost too surreal for him. He coughed into his fist.
"Zidler, what are you doing back here?...You know there's nothing for you left."
Zidler gave a sly grin. "I came back for the Moulin Rouge. I want to start running it again."
"Zidler, no. You can't."
"Christian, you and I never had the chance to talk face to face, but I knew how you felt about Satine. I know how you feel about her still." Christian rolled his eyes as his temper was beginning to flare.
"Oh, do you now? Zidler, I loved her. Something I wouldn't have expected you could've ever felt for her. She was just a source of income to you, wasn't she? She was just the hoar that went out and brought you your money every night so you could live in all your riches surrounded by all your wealthy powerful aristicratic friends, all while you let poor Satine waste away doing your dirty work. You were the reason she stayed, weren't you? You wouldn't let her go!" Christian had enraged himself, but was trying his best to keep calm.
"Christian..."
"I don't want to bloody hear it." His back was to Zidler and he was walking away.
"Christian, would you listen? She chose to stay!"
Chrisitan paused, back still facing Zidler.
"You don't think I don't ALREADY KNOW THAT?" he shouted back.
"I only told her that if she gave you up, then the Duke wouldn't have to kill you. I never told her she had to stay with me at the Moulin Rouge."
Christian turned around looking puzzled. Harold continued.
"You know, I never forced her to stay. She could've gone with you."
"Zidler, how am I supposed to believe that? She stayed because you made her believe that she had to stay and protect me."
"Yes, I know, that was part of it. But there's hardly a doubt in my mind that you two couldn't have run off without the Duke finding you. You would've been fine."
"Zidler, what are you getting at? I don't understand."
"I'm saying that maybe she didn't want to go live a fairytale life with you, or maybe she thought that she'd always have to live in fear all the timewhile running from the Duke. Who knows? Whatever the reason, she chose to stay, and I believe it wasn't just to protect you."
"I can't beleieve that Zidler, you know I won't. Satine loved me and I know if she could've, she would've come with me in a heartbeat. We loved eachother!"
"But how can you be so sure that's how she felt Christian? How? If she loved you so much, than how did she lie to you the way she did? Huh? Christian, I told her that same night that she was dying. I told her in the hopes that she would go and live with you. I knew she was happy with you, but I was rather surprised when she didn't take the opportunity and just leave. Instead, she chose to live the rest of her days here. I don't know the exact reason whether it was for her career or what, but she had a reason for her choice."
There was some truth to what he was saying. If Satine had told Christian that she was so unhappy at the Moulin Rouge and that she wanted to leave, why hadn't she? If she had loved Christian as much as she said she did, why did she still want to remain anywhere near the Duke? Any woman who had been as sick as Satine would have wanted to live her life the way she truelly thought was best. She had told Christian she wanted to leave with him, but she didn't. Had she really loved him then?
Zidler and Christian were at a loss of words.
"Christian, why shouldn't the Moulin Rouge be allowed to come back?"
"Because Harold, it belongs the way it is! Abandoned! Forgotten! It took everything away from me that I loved! Seeing it again would just be too painful."
"Then leave Christian. Just leave. You've been here too long wasting away on these memories."
"How would you know why I'm still here huh? Zidler, Christ! I've spent the last year and a half trying to get rid of Satine! You bringing back the Moulin Rouge would just be too much. It'd be almost like Satine never happened to you isn't it? Like everyone just forgot about her."
"Christian, it's not just me. Your story, I've read it. It's why I knew how much you felt for Satine. It's a wonderful story, and the people who've read it want to have something of that story that's real. They want the Boheimian Revolution to come back! Just think, with the Moulin Rouge back, Montmartre will be as it once was! Full of life!"
"Harold, I just don't know..."
"Whether you want this or not, the Moulin Rouge will be back, and I'll personally see to it that it is."
Christian knew this arguement was getting nowhere. He didn't want the Moulin Rouge back, but he knew that he had to start letting Satine go. Publishing his story had been the first step, but now with the possibility of the Moulin Rouge returning, he had to step further away from what he knew, which was in his case, holding onto that memory of her for as long as he could. While in his thoughts, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest and he placed a hand across it, trying to catch his breath. He was feeling a little fatigued and was wondering if he should just leave Zidler to his malicious ways.
"Harold, I should go now."
"Christian, wait for a minute."
"What?"
"I have something for you that I found. I thought it best if you have it." Zidler handed Christian a stained white envelope. He opened it carefully, trying to gently take what rest inside. Into his hands fell a pair of earrings and a small photograph. It was of Satine.
"Zidler how...how did you get these?"
"I had them after they buried her. There's an address on the other side of the photo where her grave is."
Christian was speechless. For one of the few times in his life he was without words.
"Thank you. This means a lot."
"Christian. Think of this as a gift of someone who's apologizing for the pain they've caused and from someone would really want your support for the Moulin Rouge. Christian, I want to be your friend, thats all."
Christian held the picture in his hands, tears urging to swell from his eyes. He was thinking.
"Ok, Harold, I can't do this for me. I won't do this for me. But, I'm going to do this for someone who would appreciate your intentions." With his free hand he shook Zidlers. He was beaming with a look of achievment, and Christian felt as if he just gave his soul to the devil.