Goodbye: Sweeney Todd
Sweeney's Reaction
"Way to listen your heart, Nellie."
Strange, how truly, you don't really know what you got 'til it's gone. Like when I was sent to prison, I never fully appreciated my life as a lucky man should have. I had a lovely wife and daughter, and an unimaginably perfect life, until Judge Turpin took it all away from me. Then, when I returned from prison, no longer Benjamin Barker, Mrs. Lovett explained how what I left behind with the dead Benjamin Barker, was dead as well. Vengeance pretreated my heart, and on account my Judge obsession, I lost yet another thing I loved.
True, Mrs. Lovett had never really appealed to me. Sometimes she was quite pitiful, but if any other man were to describe her as such, I'd give them a nice "shave". What was it about Nellie Lovett that changed my life around? She got me back on my feet, planted razors in my hands, and proposed a cannibalistic food chain, all for me. She sacrificed a lot for me, including sanity. I'm sure Mrs. Lovett's tolerance level was probably on the brig, no doubt since she had left me. Dwelling in my remorse, self-hatred, and vengeance I lacked the one true emotion that I needed to stabilize my life, to save any relationship I would hold with Nellie. Love. And I wanted to show her love, honestly I did, but there was something holding me back. A yellow haired beauty clogging my mind and blocking my view of a beautiful, pie-baking goddess who stood in front of me all along. Was I really blind?
Nellie showed me so much affection and love, yet I never took the hints. Or I did take the hints, and waved at them as they passed by absent-mindedly. Poor, naive thing of a barber, eh? I could've took a hint, kept it in my pocket and pulled sweet Nellie to the side, retrieving it from my pocket and showing her that I got the message. That would've been the smart thing, but then again, my mind is far from stable. Left me a letter, she did, explaining why she left. Safety. To save herself and that Italian's slave boy from me. To save myself from me? To save her shattered heart from breaking further more, if that was even remotely possible, which I'd beg to differ upon. I didn't blame her, of course. Lately, I'd been kind of scary, scared myself sometimes, and even happened to stumble upon suppressed anger, taking it out on my poor baker. My poor, sweet baker who cared for everyone before she put herself, who put me before each of those everyone's.
Happiness is what she wanted of me, is what she wrote in her letter. Happiness with Lucy. Lucy was still alive, she wrote, the beggar woman. Nellie wanted me to live happily ever after with my Lucy, to save my Johanna, but to never forget her. Not like I could ever forget such a bloody wonder as was Mrs. Lovett. How could I even dream to forget someone who stopped any suicidal accomplishments from happening. She was my reason and my life, pushed past Lucy in my heart, even over-came my Johanna whom I've never had the pleasure of meeting. Mrs Lovett was my way of life. And I let her go.
The door to the pie shop opened despite the remarks on the closed sign. That's where I was sitting, in the pie shop. Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie Emporium, at the only table in the room aside from the counter, right where she left her letter, and may have left about an hour before the door opened. Speak of the devil with the opening door, in stepped the beggar woman. In stepped Lucy.
"Sir, sir, the witch, Satan's wife, has left the resting place of London." she spoke. Her words were those of an obscenity. Maybe she really had poisoned herself. Corrupted her mind with poisonous, crazy things. She was probably more psychotic than myself. Her clothes were tattered and worn out, and a veiled hat covered her face. But I could see that dampered yellow hair of hers.
"Lucy." I wasn't asking, simply stating. Honestly, I hadn't even realized anything came from my mouth. I hadn't controlled the words coming from my mouth, I thought it, but never intended to say it out loud. Without any control, I walked over to her, sort of hovering, and she looked up at me. Lucy removed her veil and looked up at me with those ever so blue eyes.
"Hey," she said smiling. "Don't I know you Mister?"
I smiled weakly, and half-hearted for about a split second, and then nodded. A bit stiff I handed out my hand to her. "The name's Benjamin Barker, ma'am. Or it was. I go by Sweeney Todd now."
With widened eyes, she looked up at me and a weird screaming sound erupted around the walls. It was more of a strange exited squeal rather than of terror. Before I knew it, she was hugging me and kissing my face. "My Benny!" that psychotic tinge to her voice still predominant. I hugged her back a little and patted her back.
"Yes, Lucy, it's me." I said quite monotone. I was with my Lucy again, but it would never quite replace my love of Mrs. Lovett. Funny, it was like my coming back to London was restarting all over, but this time, I was taken away from Nellie, and Lucy was there in the pie shop below our old home.
She looked up at me beaming, a bit strained, like she hadn't smile din over 15 years. "The Judge has Johanna." she said worriedly, and was about to cry.
"Don't worry, love, I have a plan." But I couldn't tell her my plan, she was to Pius to ever understand. I'd get revenge on the Judge for making me lose whatever was ever close to me. We'd get Johanna back, and she would marry Antony. I'd be back with Lucy, and Mrs. Lovett would finally be living her dream: by the sea.