Chapter 16: Her Greatest Treasure
Claire found her street sweeping pointless due to the fact that only earth dust from people's shoes and the odd tiny collection of small stones were all she had to brush aside; A king man whom ran a small cafe nearby brought her a cup of tea and piece of cake now and again,
"How is your day going so far, my dear?" he asked, earning a smile from her,
"Very well, so far. Thank you, Mr Johnson... I was wondering if you knew of any theaters nearby. I always like to attend a show before sending a playbill to a friend of mine back in France" Claire explained and saw Mr Johnson develop a thoughtful expression,
"Hmmmmm... Let me think... Well, I know that Mr Oscar Hammerstein has an opera house a few streets away but unfortunately that isn't due to open for the next few months i'm afraid. However there is a concert hall upon the isle of Phantasma" the old man informed her, pointing towards the isle that Claire had noticed now and again but had never really given it that much thought,
"There's a ferry that takes people there every hour. It's sailed by a man named Doctor Gangle... He's quite the odd fellow; Extremely attached to a top hat he always wears" Mr Johnson explained with a light chuckle that made Claire smile before once again looking towards the isle of Phantasma curiously as she mentally made plans to go there and see a show at some point.
Have you ever been walking up the stairs and missed a step causing you to feel that sickly terror in the pit of your stomach?... Well if you have then you will have felt the exact same way that Antoinette felt when she found a letter from Erik within her pigeon hole one morning; Upon seeing his name above the return address on the back of the envelope; The ballet mistress ripped it open and retrieved the letter within,
'My Dearest Madame Giry,
I am writing to make you aware that Little Giry has arrived here safe and well. She shall be joining my chorus line of dancers here within Phantasma... I must admit it saddened me that I did not receive a reply to the letter I sent you but giving the fact of Meg's sudden arrival I can only come to the conclusion that your response was lost during transit.
... I find the next part of this letter very difficult to write due to having learnt of Claire's passing from Meg... I pray that she did not suffer and I find that I am unable to forgive myself for not being by her side during her final moments.
Meg's first show within Phantasma shall be occurring at the beginning of next month and I have enclosed a cheque so that you might travel here to Phantasma and watch the performance... I believe Meg would be overjoyed if you were there to see her debut...
I ask you if you might bring yourself to look through Claire's belongings for me... There is a black rook from a chess set we used to play with together... It meant a great deal to her and it would mean a lot to me if you could find it and perhaps bring it to me... It would be a great comfort to have something that meant so much to her.
I hope that this letter finds you well and I wish to let you know that I look forward to seeing you again.
Best Wishes,
Erik'
Antoinette had grown more and more confused with each of Erik's written words... Meg was working for him?... She had told him that Claire was dead?!... The ballet mistress was not sure what exactly was going on but her face grew firm due to the knowledge that Meg had disgustingly told Erik a most terrible lie by telling him that Claire was dead!... The ballet mistress found herself packing her suitcase as quickly as she could so that she could catch the first ferry to America the next morning... It was also that very same morning before her departure that she found another letter within her pigeon hole... A letter she knew that Erik would be most intrigued to see. A letter that had apparently come from 'beyond the grave'!
MEG'S IN HOT WATER! QUICKLY REVIEW FOR CHAPTER 17!
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996