Hallo, hallo, hallo! Luckily and stupidly we didn't leave as soon as I thought! It's offical that we are leaving tomorrow, however. GOOD NEWS is that I was able to work on a chapter while we were packing. I'm sorry this is going to be the longest one!
DISCLAIMER: Never in my lifetime will I own Phantom. (tear)
Part 66:
"She hid her face at all times, and the mask was always on. We had bought another house, much smaller than our last, and time passed slowly. My little sister was born, but she died a month later from fever. Mama had to bury her along with Papa in the graveyard, and she sang the same song. We had bought a new home, like I said before, but it was a new town. There were too many painful memories for Mama to stay in our old one. My brothers….they took care of everything. The management, money, food, and I and Mama were all under the care of my four brothers. But then….Luke died, in a bar fight when he was doing business with the man that sold us our house. They took him to us, and Mama was the first one to answer the door." Lark shuddered, "Oh I will never forget her cry of grief! That was the first time anyone else outside our family saw her and her mask. When she saw Luke dead on the stretcher, she started to scream and cry. We all came running downstairs me and my other brothers. It was too late, and she had already torn off her mask in grief and the few men that took Luke's body back to us saw her face. They were alarmed and frightened, but my brothers told them to leave before they could question us."
"Freiderich and Peter had to hold my mother back from the door because she had begun to scream at the men. Saying over and over that it was their fault her son was dead. Charles had to send them all away after they gave us our brother's body. Once again, we traveled back to the old graveyard and buried him next to Papa and my little sister. This time, Mama and Charles sang the song. It was….tramatizing for Mama. She went for days not eating unless one of us forced her to eat something. Other times she would just go outside in the backyard and cry. Her mask was kept on at all times now. She never even removed it to sleep and it hurt her face. It bled sometimes but she would not let us help her clean out the sores or cuts. All seemed to be back in order when summer came along, we liked to swim near the river by the old stone bridge outside the town." Lark's fogged eyes seemed far away now. Erik stared at her expressionless and waited for her to start again. With a sigh of sorrow, the child opened her mouth.
"This seemed almost typical, but….Peter couldn't swim. He stayed on the bank with Mama and talked to her while Charles and Freiderich taught myself to swim. Only sometimes, the other boys from town would come along to swim in the lower banks. Normal people, especially the other children in our town avoided our family as much as possible because of the few mens' gossip about 'a hideous beast'. Mama ignored the townsfolk and the townsfolk ignored Mama but they loved to talk about her behind their hands when we had to go to Mass. Yes, we still went to Mass as Mama was Catholic like Papa was. Anyways, the town's boys' loved to tease Peter about how he couldn't swim and how he avoided water at all costs. He ignored their taunts but Charles and I could tell it bothered him. One day, they pulled Peter away and talked, laughed, and joked with him like they became his friends." Lark smiled mornfully here. "He was elated at dinner that night and boasted that they were all going out that night to do something fun. Mama was suspicious and forbad him to go, saying that she needed him here with us. What would that do but fuel his needs to go join the other boys? Charles didn't forbid him, but warned him of their tricks. I guess Peter was insulted because he argued and yelled at Charles, saying that he didn't trust his choice of friends."
"He said that they accepted him and wanted to be friends with him, truly. Charles disagreed and then started to say that he should stay home. Peter refused, and claimed that nothing would stop him from joining the 'real world'. Mama heard this and began to scream at him, telling Peter that if he didn't want to be part of our family, then he could go off with 'those stupid boys'. Peter got angry and said that he would and he ran out of the house. Mama was still mad because she headed off to the music room and began to play the piano furiously." Lark paused to take a deep breath. "Peter never came home that night, though Mama was far from angry anymore and even waited long for him to apear. Charles and Freiderich then got too worried and went out to find him. They…they didn't have to go far, because the boys came running up our lawn screaming that Peter was dying. Mama fainted while Charles and Freiderich ran after them. I was so scared and I waited outside in my sleeping garments even though it was a cold night."
"I saw my brothers in the distance and I shrieked with glee and ran to them. But….it was for not for when I got closer, I saw that….that they were carrying Peter in their arms. He was dead. Drowned. I screamed, and Mama had somehow got out –we lock her inside for her safety- and when she saw Peter she screamed so loud! She didn't stop either!" Lark rocked back and forth, arms tight around her chest. "She screamed and screamed until I came up to her. Then she threw herself into my arms and began to weep. Later, after Peter was buried and after my two brothers and Mama sang, we learned that the boys he had went out with had dared him to cross the river. It had rained the night before, and the current was too strong. Had it been a dry summer, the river's current wouldn't have been able to harm him and he might have been able to cross. The water's power had dragged him under and….the others never helped him! A few weeks later was the worst because that's when Freiderich passed away from some sort of food poisoning. The doctor Charles called said it did something to his intestines and they burst. That wasn't what was the scariest part. What scared me the most was that Mama didn't cry anymore. She never cried."
"Me and Charles were the last, but Mama barely recognized that we were even living. Charles was having a lot of trouble with the townsfolk because the gossip got worse and worse every month. I….I heard someone in church whispering that Mama killed her own children and that she planned all these accidents because she was a…a maniac. They fear her because of her rage and her face." Lark's face hardened and she became unreadable to Erik. "They were rallying slowly, this I now know. Before it had seemed innoccent enough with the town getting together. Filthy lies were spread faster during these meetings and they came up with horrible things! Finally….finally merely a few months later, they came for her. They came straight to our door in the middle of the night. Charles and I were up only trying to figure out last months payments at the table. He got the door….and they demanded he bring the 'monster' out to them. He asked why. They wanted to kill her and be rid of the wicked demon that feasted on its own young. That made him so angry….it made me so angry…" She bit her lip. "I will leave out any details, as they…they are too horrific for me to…to voice. I shall make it simple. Charles refused, they dragged him out and shot him. I screamed and they came in to get me as well. Mama had heard and she had a gun when she came downstairs."
"She never screamed or cried out when she saw Charles' dead body on our doorstep, but she lifted the gun and shot anyone who was coming in. She grabbed me and we ran, her shooting behind us and them shooting at us from the back. It was horrible. Horrible. To know we left Charles cold and dead behind, and our house with everything inside…they clipped her arm only but somehow…we got out of there. For a couple of days we kept traveling farther and farther from our home. Mama never cried nor spoke." The child traced a rose petal that had fallen on her hand. "We found somewhere new and we were…happy. For the while we only had each other and even though we lived in a shack, the village left us alone as they only saw me now since it was too dangerous for Mama to go out. We lived like that…for only a half a year. Then the village heard about us from the gypsys that had visited there for a festible. I was gone from the house and from Mama in the village market. I heard the mob and saw it rally. The lady behind the counter recognized me as the 'demon's child' and held me back. I fought her off." Lark's voice was breaking but she stopped to take a quick breath. "I got free and ran as fast as I could….the house was burned down. Mama was inside last time I left her and I searched in the ashes."
"In finding only a trail of what seemed to be blood, I followed it until it came to Mama. But….she was dead. Everyone….all seven were dead in the end. They searched for me but they were only looking for a girl. I became a boy." Suddenly she turned and grabbed out to Erik's hands and in catching them, stared up at him with foggy eyes filled to the brim with tears. "I think you know the rest…Monsuier Erik!"
I will be gone a month for the whole but seek comfort in reviewing and making death threats to me!
Erik: I give you permission to do whatever to the authoress you would wish, reader. She deserves it as she is leaving you at such an inconvienent time.