This story takes after the Phantom of the Opera...
The last thing Erik remembered was crawling into his coffin in his home, ready to die. Now he found himself in darkness sitting on the ground. He looked around seeing a fog slowly roll in. Fear ran through his mind, as he forced himself up. All he could see was nothing but darkness except for the odd fog that rolled in. He started to breath heavily looking around for something anything he would recognize. His heart felt like it stopped as his childhood home formed in the fog.
Erik could not stop himself from slowly walking into the home. He stopped, hearing his parents talking in the darkness. His heart sunk as he followed the voices. He stopped in front of his parents' room hearing the voices talking to each other.
"What did I do to deserve such a creature as a son," his mother nearly wailing to his father.
Erik turned to see his parents looking down at him as they were just as tall as if he was a child looking down at him with cold lifeless eyes. Those eyes that he knew so well. A tear fell from his eye as he looked at them.
"Mom," Erik asked reaching his arm out. "It is me Erik".
His mother pulled her body away keeping a horrified look on him. His father quickly followed. Erik could feel another tear fall from his other eye. He could feel the icy air as he heavily breathed in.
"Mom, Dad, I am home," he tried to smile through his tears.
Once again as he tried to reach for them, they jerked away. Erik's heart started to ache as their eyes went back to the cold lifeless eyes. Eyes of no hatred or sadness just eyes of not acknowledging that he was their son.
"I will make you something to eat. Just stay there," his mother said. "I will set it down for you".
"Just stay over there," his father repeated.
"Why," Erik shouted clenching his fists.
His mother jumped into her husband's arms as he wrapped them around her. Erik didn't understand why she always acted like he was a monster. He wasn't a monster, he was her son, whether she liked it or not. Erik never understood why she acted like that.
"Why won't you…" Erik trailed off falling to his knees.
He held his head in his hands as he wept as his parents only watched. His mother and father never abused him physically. They never touched him. He was never held. He watched his mother hug his siblings, but once he went to do the same, she flinched away. No matter how bad he acted his father never scolded him just looked at him. Instead both parents seemed to keep as safe as a distance that they could leaving a lonely Erik.
One time he watched a boy around his age hold his mother's hand as they walked down the street. He looked up to see his own mother looking forward not interacting with him. He reached for her hand. As soon as she felt his small hand she jerked away glaring at him.
"You are too old for that," she nearly shrieked.
He never remembered holding her hand. His father never wanted to take him out. He never got goodnight kisses or anything. Behind him he heard his parents talking as the ones in front of him only watched his reactions.
"I feel like we are cursed," his mother said.
He remembered trying to learn things and show how smart he was to impress his parents. It did nothing.
"One day when he is grown, we will never have to see him again," his father said. "We just have to make it through till then".
He tried to be strong like his father, but that did nothing.
"But why us," his mother wailed.
Erik felt like nothing made them like him. He ran away that day to never return. He looked down at his hand seeing the slits going down his wrists as blood started to pool out. He held out his arms wanting his parents to save him but instead they only stood watching him just like the last time.
"Please," he begged.
"Just die already," his mother said under her breath.
Tears ran down his face as he felt his head start to feel light. Maybe his parents where right. His smile stopped as he could swear he could almost hear a soft voice talking to him. It was innocent and sweet, but he couldn't understand what it said. He felt glad as he heard the muffled voice almost begging for something. He looked down the see the deep gashes slowly disappear as if time was rewinding. His eyes shifted to the now wailing parents before him that slowly faded into the fog around them. Erik wept in his hands as the building collapsed into the fog.
His eyes opened to light, but his eyes were too used to being closed to allow him to focus. He could make out colored silhouettes of two people.
"Hello," a fading male voice said. "Someone has a job for us".
He felt himself shake his head in agreement before he blacked out. He looked around to find himself in his own torture chamber. He felt hotter and hotter as the room spun. The fog returned. He banged on the hot walls feeling the heat of the wall burning his flesh. He remembered thinking of using this room to finally give him courage to end his life, but he couldn't. As the room started to feel like a boiling pot of water the fog started to take shape.
"Please don't," he begged on his knees with his head on the ground.
"My poor Erik," the fog Christine spoke.
"Please," he begged.
"My poor, poor, ugly Erik," she called again.
Erik looked up at her. Her face was cold as she wore a wedding dress. She was beautiful. He remember how she tried to sing that night they first met and how she begged for anyone or anything to help her. She said she would do anything, but that was a lie. She told him how he loved him, but that was a lie. His heart grew when he trained her and thought she was doing the same thing. He never noticed her face of love was not love for the man but love for the music. He had a whole future dreamed out for them. He wanted to take her out every Sunday, to play the violin for her to help her to sleep, to invite Nadir, Madam Giry, and other friends they would make over for meals or parties, and so much more. He didn't realize they were all just dreams and her eyes looking back were not full of love for him. Those eyes looked back at him, no love for him only the love of the music. Erik's heart dropped as he heard three words.
"You are loveless".
"You said you loved me," Erik said. "You told Erik you loved him".
"But did I mean it," she asked.
Before he could say a word the fog formed Raoul. He gently took her hand making her give a happy full of love expression towards Raoul. Erik felt the pain deep in his heart as the two exchanged a deep kiss. The two turned away from him and she laid her head gently on Raoul's shoulder. Erik clenched his chest trying to keep his heart together.
"I finally got away from that monster," she told Raoul.
"You will never have to see him ever again," Raoul said.
Erik reached out begging for her to come back. They faded into the fog. The heat from the room got to him. He held his head feeling like he was about to black out. He could hear the muffled voice again. If he didn't know better he could feel something brush against his forehead.
He looked out seeing two silhouettes forming in the fog. Madam Giry was standing watching Meg dance. Her shadow moved just as gracefully as ever. He forced himself to stand walking up to them. Meg was always cautious of him, telling the ballet girls stories of him. Madam Giry was different as she would talk to him almost like a normal person. As he walked up to them he saw her giving him a disgusted look in the corner of her eye before turning towards Meg.
"Madam- "he was cut off.
"No," her voice boomed.
Erik nearly jumped back. Meg screamed loudly feeling like his ears would break.
"Mother the monster," she called.
"Yes Meg," Madam Giry told Meg. "It is".
Erik froze as her cold eyes locked on to him. He looked at Meg as she was frozen in fright. Madam Giry looked at him with a disgusted tone. Erik was not use to that.
"You cost us everything," she screamed.
"What, why," Erik asked.
"They knew I knew you," Madam Giry stated.
"I didn't think," Erik started to say.
"That is the issue," she stated. "You never do and now…"
The fog that was Meg faded into the fog.
"You cost us everything," Madam Giry said. "You are always selfish".
Before he could say his response, she vanished into the fog giving out a blood curdling cry. Erik never thought that she would have anything done to her. He didn't think about how he dragged her into things.
"I didn't mean to," Erik wept.
He felt a rush of coolness hit his face like water. The fog rushed him like a wave causing him to sink below. He watched as the bubbles lifted towards the sky. He tried to swim up, but he found he could not. A boat sailed over him before disappearing he could hear happy cheers before they faded.
His eyes opened slightly to see a soft silhouette. It brushed the hair away from his face before trying to feed him honey milk. His body reacted automatically shallowing it. As he felt the liquid run down this throat his eyes closed again.
"Failing again," a voice asked under the water with him.
Erik turned to face Nadir. He tried to call for help, but only water rushed into his mouth. He could feel his body rock. Nadir stayed in one spot. He acted as if the water was not there.
"I am done with you," Nadir said. "I am sick of watching you. I am not your nanny".
Erik pushed himself to the surface finding it just as dark as before. Nadir floated up as if he was a spirit. Erik found treading this water was difficult.
"But you are my friend," Erik pleaded trying to keep his head up.
"No one can be friends with you," Nadir stated. "I pitied you once and it cost me everything. I lost everything for nothing".
Erik tried to reach for him wishing for any type of help. He stopped once he realized he wasn't getting any closer.
"No one wants you Erik," Nadir told him. "It is time for you to stop telling yourself otherwise".
"You had one task," the sultan he knew said fading in and out of the fog. "And you couldn't let yourself die and save everyone else a headache".
"It was a mistake that I saved you," Nadir said. "I have regretted it as soon as I did so and you know it".
The humming echoed as he felt something brush against his cheek somehow under his mask. Nadir and the sultan disappeared into the fog. The water rushed away in an explosion of fog leaving Erik to gasp for breath on the ground. Slowly the images the fog created came back.
"You are done," Christine said.
"No one loves you," Raoul said.
"No one ever could," the sultan said.
"Time to just stop," Nadir said.
"Stop fighting," his mother spoke.
"And let the world be happier," his father ended.
"Monster, monster," the children of his childhood town chanted. "Don't let him touch you".
Erik loudly wept on the ground and the images got closer repeating what they were saying.
"Don't I deserve any happiness," he asked.
"No," they all answered back. "You have never known it and shall never know it".
The voices stopped chanting as a soft humming started to echo. It was not from a future opera singer, but it was still nice and sweet. Erik forced himself to focus on it. The fog people disappeared as the fog started to vanish leaving Erik alone.
"I will do whatever it takes," Erik said. "I just want to be happy. Everyone else gets to be happy".
