Darlings! I am happy to have acquired a few new readers. However, I must apolgiese to all of you, as I was not very clear on the ending of the last chapter. By left I meant…the room! Hee! Sorry dears, but, this melodrama still has a ways to go. Btw, I owe my first born child to Elisa for beta'ing this for me. I hope the narration changes aren't confusing to all of you, I simply have a fear for writing in third person. I'll try to note who is speaking from now on.
Nadir
"You've worked yourself into an attack, my friend," I nearly scolded, slipping back into Persian.
"It is not…an attack!" Erik hissed. He sank into a chair and took gulps of air in before I continued.
"Now, just how long are you going to keep her here?"
He did not respond.
"Better yet, why have you thus far?"
He turned sideways, as if trying to end this one-way conversation.
"She is not going to turn into Christine, you know," I waited to see what effects these words would have on him. "Christine is dead."
Erik turned to me, slowly, upon that. "Oh yes," he said in a laughing tone void of all humor, "Christine is dead…just as Erik is dead." Erik mocked the newspaper clipping that I had posted by his request.
"Why are you keeping her here? The Madame has done nothing wrong."
Erik completely ignored the question. He put his head in his hands and began breathing quite audibly again. For a moment, I wondered if I was watching Erik attempt to come up with an answer himself.
"Tell me, old friend," I tried to reach him from a different aspect.
He stood slowly and stalked over to his organ and thumbed through sheets upon sheets of handwritten music violently. "I want to know …I want someone to know!"
I stood, puzzled. "Know? Know what, Erik?"
As if he had just been shocked, he went rigid and threw the music to the ground. "Leave," he barked, "leave us in peace!"
Seeing now that I had done absolute harm and no good, I made my way to where I knew the exit would appear.
"Do not harm her, Erik," I left as my only warning, "I am your loyal friend and will be forever, but?…do not be ridiculous."
Nearly growling, Erik snatched up an ink pot as if he would throw it in my direction and I quickly left.
Walking down the Rue, to my own apartment, I began to attempt to piece together what he had said. However, to try to understand Erik's mind was to try to understand the enigma of the gods. Impossible.
