Erik's POV

I wasn't sure how I woke the following morning. Usually, waking up is when you open your eyes and you realize that morning is finally here. When you're blind, it's hard to tell what time of the day it was. It didn't matter anyway, I was stuck in this hell of what was to become the life I was to live for the remainder of my life. I had to stay on my side because of how much pain my back was in, and then switch sides when the one I would be laying on began to hurt me. It wasn't anything that I wasn't already used to. When I was living with the gypsies, there were many a nights when I would be limited to sleeping on my side because of the lashings I had been given all throughout the day.

Ayesha was still laying in my arms, giving me comfort and keeping me calm. My fever was still high, but Christine's quilt had kept me warm throughout the night. It smelled like her, every patch comforting my body as I laid there inhaling the wonderful scent of roses, the same scent she always had lingering around her. Oh, how I wouldn't love to bury my face into her soft curls and inhale the rosy fragrance forever more.

I suddenly heard footsteps, only to assume that it was Christine and the doctor approaching me. I still feared the doctor, just as much as I feared the entire world. He placed his hand over my forehead, feeling the intense heat of my fever. I pretended to be asleep, just to see if he would say something to Christine.

"His fever is higher than it was last evening." he said.

I laid there, feeling him pulling away a part of the quilt that was covered over my back. His boney fingers traced around my stitched up wound, causing me to groan. It was such an uncomfortable feeling and when his fingers made contact with it, a stinging sensation burned into my flesh. No, there was no more pretending that I was asleep, it was apparent that his examination had woke me.

"Erik, how are you feeling?" I heard Christine's concerned voice and felt her fingers lightly brushing away a few sparse hairs that were in my face.

How was I feeling? Exhausted for one. I knew this fever was taking a toll on me. I was completely exhausted, which, exhausted is something I never am. I could go for days without rest, but recently, I've been having trouble staying awake for more than a few hours.

"Tired." was all I said.

I was also having a hard time breathing comfortably. Was it because of my punctured lung? What ever it was, I didn't like the sensation.

"I'm going to wash up for his procedure." I heard the doctor say. "I'll get the chloroform."

My heart skipped a beat, but Christine was there to stop him from going any further.

"No, Erik told me last night that he would cooperate with you."

"I don't know if he'll want to be awake during this procedure. It's rather painful."

Anything but the blasted chloroform! No, I wouldn't have it! Not now and never again!

"I've suffered worse." I replied. "I don't want the chloroform. If you have some morphine, that would suffice."

Not another word was said and the doctor went along with his business. I was in enough agony as it was without having to be put out, back into an empty darkness. Yes, I would contain my anger for the time being in order to stay awake. When he retuned, I felt Ayesha being pulled out of my arms; something that angered me beyond anything. Ayesha was my security blanket, my sanity, and yet, she was being taken from me. She hissed and meowed in anger as the doctor pulled her away.

"How did a cat get in here?" he questioned.

"She belongs to Erik." Christine answered. "Please, don't throw her out."

"She can't be on the bed while I'm working."

"Then just put her outside in the hall for a while."

I heard something scratching across the wood of the floor and then Christine's petite hand caressing my own.

"You're going to be all right, Erik." she cooed. "Just lay there and relax."

I felt the doctor's hand touching my wrist. Something cool was being wiped there, and I knew he was preparing to inject me with the morphine I had requested.

"You're going to feel a slight pinch."

The pinch was no different than the thousands of pinch's I had caused myself from injecting my own body with morphine over the years. Morphine was one of the only thing that calmed me when I couldn't sleep.

Warmth filled my body and I relaxed against the blankets. I could feel the doctor probing around my back again, until I felt him make an incision. Searing pain tore through my entire body as his scalpel sliced into my flesh. I groaned and pressed my eyes shut, Christine's hand squeezing my own.

"Stay still, monsieur." I heard him order, as he began shoving a long tube into the opening in my back. I've felt every pain ever known to man, but never this….Never this unbearable sensation that was ripping through my body at the moment. I couldn't breathe! My body was screaming for air, but I couldn't get the amount I needed. I gasped and opened my mouth, but nothing was allowing me to suck it in.

"Erik?" Christine's voice was concerned. She must have noticed me trying to gasp for air.

"It's draining now." the doctor said.

"He can't breathe!"

Was this the end? I felt myself getting light headed. My chest get as though it had the weight of the world on top of it. Pressure, so much pressure prevented me from breathing.

"Hold him still!"

And then I blacked out. I must have died, surely that's what had to happen.

"Erik?"

I heard her voice. She was calling to me. She was calling to me to wake up. I opened my eyes only to be met with blackness again. I could breathe easier now, my body throbbing and my head pounding. I opened my voice to say something, but nothing came out.

"Erik, the doctor wants you to eat this. Could you eat something for me? You need to eat so you can take your medicine."

I couldn't speak, but I nodded.

Christine must have seen me, because a few moments later, I felt a soppy, moist substance against my lips. I wasn't hungry, but I did as she asked and opened my mouth. I knew this familiar taste, apple with a tad bit of cinnamon mixed in. This was applesauce.

"The doctor said I should feed you plain old applesauce, but I spiced it up with some cinnamon I found in the kitchen. Just don't tell anybody. This will be our little secret."

My angel, my Christine….sneaking and spicing up my food to make it taste better. She was certainly an angel sent from heaven.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, thank you." I managed to murmur in between swallowing the applesauce.

"I could sneak other things." she offered. "The doctor said you are to stay off solid foods for a while. Just until we leave here. I could whip something special up for you."

"What could possibly be both in liquid form and special?"

"Well, do you have a favorite drink?" she questioned. "I mean, I've never seen you drink or eat anything on your own accord before."

Eating and drinking were never important to me. The only time I would ever eat was when I absolutely had to, which wasn't often. Perhaps a piece of bread here and there, but, other than that, nothing. I was never allowed to eat as a child, and it was just a terrible habit that followed me all through adulthood. The first home cooked meal I actually had was when Christine cooked me dinner just the other night. So, what did I enjoy? I lay there, thinking extra hard about what I liked. I couldn't come up with much, but there was once a time when I was a small boy and came down with a brief illness. I came down with the chills and a slight fever which left me in bed for quite a few days. My mother always wished I would die, but when I became ill, that wish simply faded away and for the first time in my life, she cared for me. She gave me an extra blanket, read me stories from the end of my bed, even made me stew to make me feel better. Yes, the stew was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. I lay there trying to remember everything that was in it…..Carrots, peas, strips of beef, beans, and broccoli. Yes, that stew was my favorite.

As for a favorite drink, there was only one thing I drank, if ever. It was a herbal tea. Back when I lived in Persia, I had many sleepless nights. At the time, I had a friend who recommended a tea to help me sleep. It was full of herbs and antioxidants. I thought he was crazy, but after drinking it once, I wound up drinking it on all my sleepless nights. It usually eased my worries, and made me drowsy within minutes. The only downside to drinking it when I was buried within my work was the fact that I always wound up falling asleep hunched over my organ, which is why I hardly drank it. But now that I was sleeping in a bed, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to have a cup or two.

"There's a herbal tea," I began. "It helps me sleep."

"All right. Tell me how to make it, and I'll do the best that I can."

"There's a stew my mother made me once when I was ill. It was a beef broth with vegetables in it. That's the food Erik likes most."

"I'll see what I can do." she was whispering now, so soft that it began to lull me to sleep.

"You should rest, Erik. You've had a hard day."

"Erik is in so much pain." I didn't like to complain, but I couldn't help it. My body was screaming and as much as I wanted to sleep, I couldn't.

"My poor angel. Where does it hurt the most?"

"My ankle."

I felt the blankets being folded back over my bare feet, only to have her gently lift up my wounded ankle and place it into what I assumed was her lap.

"The doctor said the healing will be a bit painful."

Her fingers brushed over my sore flesh…..Oh, what heaven this was! Christine, massaging my ankle! Now, if she would only-

"Erik, would you like me to sing for you?"

My prayers were answered! God! This must be heaven, it must be! Why else would the girl of my dreams be here with me, massaging my feet and offering to sing for me? Heaven, pure heaven!

"You would sing for me?"

"If that would make you feel better."

But no, I couldn't let her sing for me. Her voice is like sweet nectar, nectar which draws the hummingbird to taste its sweet flavor. The hummingbird becomes obsessive, coming back again and again just to taste that same nectar. I was that hummingbird, and Christine was the nectar. I had spent days without hearing her voice, days starved of my angel singing for me and only me. My obsession for her had worn off, and for the first time in my entire existence, I knew where she belonged-it wasn't with me. My world was cold, dark and lonely. Christine deserved to be with her handsome fop, warm and in the public eye. I still loved her, oh, how I loved her, but I knew where her heart lied. Which was why I couldn't let her sing for me. She would only be teasing the hummingbird, calling him back for another sweet taste, a taste that would certainly seal her fate forever more. I knew if she continued singing for me, and only me, I wouldn't be able to let her go…..But, who was I kidding? How was I ever going to let her go when the time came? I was blind, after all. She was all the eyes I had left. At least with her, she shed some light on my situation.

"No, Christine." I murmured. "I'm not feeling too well. Perhaps singing isn't the best thing to do for me at the moment. Perhaps another time."

But I knew that time would never come.

"It won't be long now, Erik. We'll be out of here soon enough."

"I'm in so much pain. I don't think I'll ever be able to leave here."

"Don't be silly. The doctor said you're doing much better."

"If only I could feel that way."

"I could ask the doctor to administer some more morphine?"

"No, morphine only makes me sleep."

Christine giggled. "You should. The doctor said you need to get as much as you can."

"If only sleeping were easy for me. My nightmares keep me up at night."

"Perhaps this will help."

I stayed quiet after that, laying there feeling her rubbing my sore feet. Oh, how wonderful it felt to have her doing this to me. Indeed, it did help, for I fell into a fitful sleep, only waking to the pitter patter of rain hitting the window. I wasn't sure what time it was, but I didn't care either. Ayesha was in my arms again, my fingers gently stroking her fur. It was quiet, too quiet. Was it night? I wasn't sure, but if Christine was asleep, I didn't want to disturb her by calling her name.

"What time is it, Ayesha?" I questioned, continuing to stroke her fur. "Do you know?"

I patted her back.

"Of course you don't know. Oh, Ayesha, if only you could speak. You could be my eyes. Christine won't stay with me. She's engaged."

Ayesha crawled into the crook of my arm, pushed her head against my chest.

"Jealous are we? Of course you are. But Christine, she's a living being, my soul mate. I just wish she'd feel the same way. She could give me the pleasure I've been yearning for my entire life. I could show her that I am a man, a loving, caring man."

But I paused, feeling my coldness of my mask, knowing the monstrosity that lied beneath it.

"Who am I kidding? What woman would ever want to be bound with this hideous monster?"

Ayesha purred against my palm, her paws whacking my hands as if playing with a ball of yarn. I smiled for the first time in weeks, moving my fingers away to tease her. But, she always found my hands again, slightly gnawing on my knuckles. I laid there playing and teasing my only friend, that was until I heard a terrible scream and a loud smash. This startled me and I sat up.

"Christine?" I called her name, but didn't get a reply.

Once again, the scream occurred again, this time, I knew for sure that it was Christine's.

"Let me go!" she was pleading and screaming to be let go of.

"Just give us the Phantom!" came a strange voice.

Someone was here for me! I could smell smoke and hear the scream again. I knew if I stayed here, I would be caught. Quickly, I stumbled out of bed, my ankle screaming as I limped across the floor, my arms outstretched to feel around. Ayesha was circling my legs, meowing as if she was trying to guide me to safety. I tripped and stumbled over furniture, clung to the walls to break my falls until I reached what I believed to be a door. The screams were far away now, making it clear that this door was a way to safety. I felt around for the door knob, turning it, and falling through to the other side. I groaned in agony, as Ayesha circled my body, pushing up against me, as if coaxing me to get up. I groaned and forced myself to get up, hobbling out in the cold. It was raining hard and I was blind. I kept my body up against the side of the building, keeping it close to me, using it like my eyes.

I heard screams, screams of passing people, screams of fright. I reached up, hoping to feel my mask in place, but it wasn't there. My fall must have knocked it out of place.

I was weak, I was exhausted, and to make matters worse, I couldn't breathe. When I couldn't walk any farther, I collapsed to my knees, collapsing my bare chest to the cold, wet ground. I lay there, feeling gravel stabbing my flesh and rain pelting me. Was this how I was going to die? I was shivering now, shivering and gasping for breath. Ayesha crawled on top of my chest and laid there, as if she were trying to keep me warm.

"Erik?"

I thought I heard Christine's voice, but it wasn't. This wasn't my Christine.

"Erik?"

I was nearly unconscious, but I could still hear her calling my name. It was a woman….and I knew this voice.

"Christine…" I murmured her name as I lay there gasping for air.

Did she get out all right? Oh, where was my Christine? If something happened to her, I would never forgive myself. Never would I ever forgive myself! Oh, curse this monster that I am! Curse him to hell!

"Christine," I called out her name again, a little louder this time, hoping she would answer me.

"Erik?" but that voice occurred again. This was not the voice that belonged to my Christine. But before I could answer, I blacked out, death was probably awaiting me.

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