Erik's POV

I was brought inside a tent, dark shadows scattered about. It was very loud, everyone was obviously working. Miss Fleck pulled me along, until we were in front of the boss. I couldn't see anything more than his outline, but from what I noticed, he was an extremely tall man.

"Monsieur D'Loofe, I found a man looking for a job. He is a great magician, monsieur."

"What's wrong with his eyes?"

"Oh, he's blind."

"A blind magician?" he questioned. "Well, that does seem interesting. All right, magician, show me what you can do."

Without a word, I began doing tricks, hoping that my blindness wouldn't cause me to mess up. I made a coin disappear, pulled a cloth from an empty hand, even did a simple card trick. All of these had turned out like they were supposed to.

"Impressive, magician." he growled. "Now take off your mask."

Why? Why was it always about the mask? My body quivered as I refused, but monsieur D'Loofe wouldn't give me the job without seeing my face.

"What are you hiding?" he impatiently asked. "Remove your mask or else you won't have this job."

"I'm warning you, monsieur." I said. "It's not something you will want to see."

"Remove it!"

And so I did. I waited for him to scream, but instead, he gasped as if he had just found his new money maker.

"Ah, this is what I've been looking for! Oh, you are so hideous! People would pay out their ears to see someone like you."

"Monsieur, what about-" Miss Fleck paused, her voice trembling with fear. I knew my face had frightened her. It was meant to frighten everyone. "The magic tricks?"

"The hell with that! His face is something to be gazed upon by paying customers! No one will want to see magic tricks when they can see…." he paused, thinking about what to call me. "The Living Corpse! Yes, it's perfect! The walking dead of Coney Island!"

"No!" I snapped. "I will not show my face to the scum of Coney Island!"

I turned to start walking, when monsieur D'Loofe stated the obvious.

"Who else will give you a job, monsieur? Surely you'd be making the biggest mistake of your life by refusing to take this job. I'll pay you ten dollars a day, twenty if you allow yourself to sit in a coffin."

My heart was aching. He didn't care that I was blind and could perform magic tricks. No, all he cared about was that I looked exactly like a corpse. Perhaps Coney Island was no different than Paris after all. But what could I do? Twenty dollars a day was something so foolish to give up. With making twenty dollars a day, I could be out of Madame Giry's house in no time. This was something I had to do.

"I….I accept, monsieur."

This made him extremely happy. He was so happy about all the money he was going to make off of me, that he didn't even care to ask what my real name was. No, all he knew was that I was his new headliner-the Living Corpse.

"Be here first thing tomorrow morning!" he snapped. "You, my money making friend are going to be a star…all mine!"

And so, with a heavy heart, I began to walk away.

"Erik, wait!" Miss Fleck was at my side within a matter of moments, interlocking her arm with my own again. I pulled away from her, disgusted over her and her boss.

"Just leave me be!"

"Erik, you don't know your way back home. Let me help you."

"I've had enough of your help! Your help got me nowhere but on display!"

"Erik, I didn't know he was going to do that, honest." she paused. "I…I didn't even know you looked like that."

"Was it hideous enough for you? Now you know why I haven't any family!"

"If it makes you feel any better, I've seen worse."

This took me by surprise. She had seen worse? How could anything be more hideous than me?

"Really?"

"Yes, but they work at other fairs on Coney Island. Monsieur D'Loofe has been searching for someone like you for years. What happened to you? If you don't mind me asking?"

"God simply decided to have some fun, that's what happened."

"I beg your pardon?"

"In other words, I was born this way."

Once again, the woman round up enough courage to interlock her arm with my own. She obviously wasn't giving up on escorting me back home.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. "I know a great place. Feltman's serves just about the best hotdog this side of Coney Island."

"Hot what?" I questioned, never hearing such names before.

She giggled. "A hotdog. It's really good."

As much as I wanted to be left alone, I didn't want to return home. Not yet anyway. I'd rather be in the presence of Miss Fleck, than Madame Giry.

"All right."

"Good, I'm starving."

I wasn't sure where this girl was taking me, but a few moments later, she was situating me with sitting down on some sort of bench. Behind me, I could hear seagulls cawing and people laughing. I could even smell salt water…was this the beach?

"Stay here." she told me. "I'm going to order our lunch."

"You don't have to buy me lunch." I argued. "I can pay."

"No, it's on the house, Erik. It's the least I can do after the ordeal with monsieur D'Loofe."

I wanted to continue arguing, but I knew she had made up her mind and wasn't changing it. When I saw her approaching me again, she placed something down in front of me, her hand taking my own and placing it down on the warm bun.

"Your hotdog is right there, Erik."

"Thank you."

"You know, Erik, you could stay with me if you'd like? I live with two other freaks; Dr. Gangle and Mr. Squelch."

"Oh, that's very kind of you, but the whole reason I wanted a job was to make enough money to get out on my own. I'm not comfortable living with strangers."

"Understandable. I'm just trying to help."

"Thank you, and you've done a wonderful job already."

"Do you think you'll be all right living on your own?"

I bit into my hotdog, savoring the taste of this delicious new treat.

"I'm hoping not to be alone for long."

"Oh, you're looking for a woman?" she questioned. "There's a lot of people who come to Coney Island in search of love."

"No, I…I already have a woman." I said. "I'm waiting for her to come here."

"Is she your wife?"

"If only she were. No, we're more like good friends."

"Well, are you in love with her?"

"Yes, extremely. It's so hard to live without her."

"And does she love you?"

Did Christine really love me? I wasn't sure.

"I…I don't know."

"Oh, mysterious love. Those kinds of relationships are the best."

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"The mystery is anything but fun, it hurts."

"Have you ever told her how you feel?"

"Only everyday that I was with her. Though, I believed she thought it to be obsession and nothing more."

"You should tell her. Perhaps if she knew how you felt now that you're apart, she'd realize what she has."

I just nodded, and finished my meal.

"So, what's so great about Coney Island?" I asked. "What makes it so special?"

"The attractions." she said. "They are wonderful, and unlike anything ever seen before. It's such a wonderful place."

"If only I could see it."

"You do, in your head." she assured. "You smell the scents, hear the exciting screams. You can see it in your head."

I thought a lot about what Miss Fleck said, all the way home. When I was back in front of the front door, Miss Fleck opened it for me.

"I'll come by tomorrow in the morning to escort you to your first day of work." she said.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." I said.

"At least let me do it for the first day. That way you can count the steps and remember how to get there."

I didn't like being babied, but I agreed. At least for the first day I would need help.

"All right."

"I'll be here first thing in the morning."

"Ok."

"Do you need help to your room?"

"No, I'll manage."

And with that, we parted. I began my trek up the stairs, when I heard Madame Giry.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little lost boy. Come home empty handed did you?"

I paused in place, my hand squeezing my staff.

"I got a job."

"Really? Magic is it?"

"No, something else."

"Showing off your face then?" she teased.

Oh, she was making me so angry!

"It's a paycheck, and a one way ticket out of here."

"And you have yourself an escort whore walking you around? What payment are you giving her?"

"She is a friend!"

"And Christine is still coming back, right?"

This was the final straw! I ignored her, and continued up the stairs, with Madame Giry taunting me the whole way up, until her voice disappeared once I slammed my door shut.

"That vile woman! How dare she taunt me like that!"

I plopped down on my bed, tears already streaming down my cheeks. Oh, how I missed Christine with my whole heart. Ayesha crawled into my lap, already trying to comfort me.

"Oh, Ayesha, I miss Christine. I had such a terrible day. I thought I'd be able to impress people with my magic, but the truth of it all is that everyone wants to see nothing more than my face. A living corpse! That's what I'm to become."

I laid back against my pillows, staring endlessly up at my ceiling. How dark and dreary it was.

"Miss Fleck told me I should tell Christine how I feel. How could I ever tell her that I love her without sounding like an obsessive feign?"

Just then, a knock occurred at my door. If this was Madame Giry again, I'd simply kill the woman.

"Go away!" I snapped. "Haven't you done enough damage!"

"Erik? It's Meg."

Meg? What did she want? I sat up, and made my way to the door using my staff to lead the way. Once my hand was around the cool knob, I opened it, the smell of bath soaps surrounding me. Oh, how I missed Christine's rosy scent.

"What do you want?" I kindly asked.

As much as I wanted to be cruel to Meg, I couldn't for the simple fact that she has been the only one in this household who has been kind to me.

"I heard mother yelling at you. I just wanted to come and make sure that you got back to the house all right?"

"Yes, I had a woman escort me here."

"So you got a job?"

I stepped aside, letting the girl enter my room. It was the right thing to do.

"Thank you, Erik."

I felt her move past me and I closed the door.

"Yes, I got a job today." I said. "It might not have been the one I was hoping for, but I can't stay here any longer and without money, I'm trapped."

"I'm sorry if mother has been a little harsh on you. It's simply not like her to treat you like this."

"I know, but don't apologize for her actions, Meg."

"You don't deserve the abuse."

I stood at my window, bracing its sill with my hands.

"I deserve everything I get. Even Christine left me. I thought that perhaps she could love me just the slightest bit, but even she left me."

"I'm sorry Erik, I-"

"She's coming back though!" I interrupted. "She promised me!"

"I know how much you miss Christine, Erik. I miss her too. But you have to face the fact that she left."

"There has to be a reason why, Meg!" I cried. "If only you knew what we shared with one another the night before she left me!"

Meg gasped. "What? You're lying."

"Oh, Meg, it was so wonderful!" I was in tears now. "I had gone to bed and we talked for a while afterwards in darkness. Later that night, she crawled in beside poor Erik and she was wearing no clothes! She touched me, oh, how she touched me!" I wrapped my arms around my body, pretending that she was touching me now. "We made love, sweet, passionate love, Meg! Why? Why would she leave me in the morning? I woke, ready to express my true feelings to her, and she was gone! Gone!"

"Erik, I know how much you love Christine, but-Oh, she wouldn't have made real love to you. She told me time and time again that she feared you. She even told me how she couldn't wait to marry Raoul. I know you don't want to hear this, but someone has to tell you or else you'll go on thinking that she is going to return to you. Erik, Christine only pitied you."

"No!" I wouldn't believe it, I wouldn't! "No, she did not pity me! She wouldn't have rubbed my feet if she pitied poor Erik! She wouldn't have given him her virginity!"

"I know you don't want to believe it, Erik, but sooner or later you will come to see that it's true."

"No, Meg." I sobbed. "Christine did feel something for me. It might not have been love, but it wasn't pity either. She promised to come back, and I am holding her to her word."

"But is she?"

And without another word, Meg left me alone. I stumbled to my desk, fumbling around for my pen. I couldn't take another moment of wondering what Christine was feeling for me! She would know how I felt about her, she would know how her morning flee made me feel! I began writing away on a piece of paper, writing to my angel who was millions of miles away. How hard it was to write when I was blind, but at least Christine would know about my feelings. The words were probably crooked and meshed together, but this was a letter, my love letter to her.

"Christine,

Not a day goes by that I don't think about you or that night-that night, oh, what a wonderful night. Never had any woman touched me like you had. It took me by surprise, sheer surprise! Your body was like soft silk, our joining like prince charming finally finding his true love. I swear to you that I was going to wake in the morning and tell you everything, confess every ounce of my love to you. Why did you leave me? What horrible sight of my body made you flee like a prisoner escaping from jail? If it was my face, I apologize, my love. Erik never meant to scare his little angel away. He would have never taken the mask off again if it meant that you would have went to Coney Island with him. Erik is currently living with Madame Giry and your friend Meg, but I cannot linger here much longer. Madame Giry does not kiss my wounds like you do, nor does she care about Erik's well being. She has threatened him with being sent to a insane asylum. Erik has found a job. With this job, Erik will have money to live on his own. Oh, please, Christine, please tell me that you are happy. Erik worries about you every night. He has terrible nightmares about horrible things being done to you because of the gift you gave me. But Erik can only wonder why his Christine gave him such a gift? If your promise to return to me was a lie, Erik would understand. I'm sure what ever you did was all for Erik's own good. But because of your wonderful nursing, my eye sight has improved slightly. Now, instead of darkness, I see shadows. I can see outlines of people, shadows of my belongings, even see light when the sun shines in through my window. How Erik wishes he could see your outline, if only for a few moments.

Until we meet again, my love. But if he never sees you again, just remember that Erik shall always love you until the day he dies. Even in death, his love for you shall never die.

Your angel of music

Erik."

By the time I was finished writing, my tears were dripping onto the paper, probably causing the ink to smear. I didn't care, at least Christine would know the reason why the ink was smeared. My heart ached for her everyday, and until I got to see her again, my ache would only increase. It boggled my mind when I thought about why she left me? Just hours before, she had crawled willingly into bed with me, made love to this hideous body until we climaxed nearly an hour later. For a whole hour, my angel made love to me as if there was nothing wrong with me, as if I were a normal man. She had called out my name, kissed my decaying flesh, even rode me like a stallion. She had enjoyed what we shared as much as I did….so why did she leave? It had to be my face. Why else? I sobbed even harder, as I folded the letter and placed it aside. But what good would I be doing if I sent this letter to the DeChagny Estate? What if Raoul got a hold of it first? If Christine were happy, surely my stupid love letter would ruin her life. And after receiving such a gift from my angel, who was I to turn around and make her life a living hell?

No, the opera was done, the last notes have been played. My angel made her decision to leave. I could only hope that she would return to me when the time was right. If she didn't, then I hoped that her boy would watch over her now and give her the life I wished I could have gave her…somehow.

Ok everyone, please review. I'll try to get a few more chapters up before next weekend. I'm gonna be away for 5 days to go kayaking and there is no internet at my campsite. I hope to not keep you all waiting too long for a chapter...