It wasn't long after my arrival that the mysterious ghost presented itself to me. In fact, it was merely 5 minutes after Monsieur Armand left that I got the first note from him.

"Fondest greetings to the new manager of the Opera Populaire,
I hereby welcome you to my opera house and present to you this list of demands that thou shall honour in order to keep peace between us.

Number 1: I demand to be given exclusive viewing rights in box number 5; you shall keep the box empty for my personal use and never have another sit there

Number 2: My salary, you shall pay a monthly summary of 20,000 francs a month in cash. The money will be placed in a sealed envelope in box 5 every month.

I remain, Monsieur, your obedient servant,

O.G."

I was a bit confused when I got the letter and decided to ask around for more information.

"The opera ghost? Quite harmless if you answer to his demands" many said, others replied with "Don't mess with the opera ghost" but most answers came in fact from a young man by the name of Joseph Bouquet, assistant to the head of the fly department. "I've seen him once or twice" he claimed "His skin was yellow like parchment, he had a black hole where his nose should be and occasionally he was wearing a black mask"

Another source was Gustave Daae, the renowned violinist, "I've never seen his face, but I have heard his voice. Some might say it was angelic"

The third source in my quest for answers was ballet coordinator Emilia Giry, a tall and terrifying woman who seemed to know more about him than she was letting. "He's been here for many years, a gifted spirit that lives in this house. He is truly harmless once you accept his demands and learn to live in peace with him"

The more I heard about that ghost, the more intrigued I got. As this was my first day, I've decided not to take any risks and accepted the ghost's terms, I did get a chance to meet him a month later.

It was the beginning of my second month as manager and time to pay the mystery occupant.

I took the 20,000 I was asked to deliver and brought them to box 5. I was warned to drop the envelope at the door and leave, yet my curiosity got the better of me and I stepped inside the box. That's when I met him

"Just drop the cash and leave" The man said as he turned to face me for the very first time.

He looked nothing like the descriptions I heard. Instead of the expected ghastly wrinkled demon, I was facing a young man dressed to the nines with short slicked-back brown hair and a porcelain mask covering the right half of his face.

"So you're the famous opera ghost" I said. "I'm known by that name occasionally, others refer to me as the Phantom of the Opera, but mainly, I ask people to LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed at me. Rage filled his face but his eyes were sad. "Listen, I'm sorry for disturbing you" I said when realization struck me. "You know, you've been here for a while. I'm sure you appreciate good culture and fine opera. What if you'd become my advisor?" the Phantom wasn't ready for my suggestion. Clearly he was taken by surprise.