A brilliant smile lit Christine's pale features. She slowly said, "I always thought you were a mere myth conjured up by my father to help me sleep after night terrors." The Swede glanced around the seemingly empty chapel again. "Have you heard my prayers these last months?"

"Every single one," the angel replied. Christine's smile slowly faded.

She twisted her hands into the course material of her rehearsal tutu then whispered, "Can you communicate with my father in Heaven?"

"Angels have their limitations just as mortals do. I do know your father is content. But Christine, you've come to the Opera Populaire for a reason."

His voice was the prettiest thing Christine had ever heard but she still smirked then said,"Yes, I've come here to earn my supper. Even so, I believe I'm coming to love this opera house."

"You've come here for more then a job, Christine. I am going to teach you to sing like no

mortal has before. Your voice will be the future of opera and music itself."

"Oh...oh goodness. Teach me? I adore singing but I fear my voice doesn't have the potential of which you speak." Christine was blushing with embarrassment while she stuttered out her reply to the angel's proposition. She eventually raised her eyes from the stone floor after a heavy silence had filled the air. "Angel?"

"I believe you should let my be the judge on whether your voice holds potential or not, Christine. You must come to respect my decisions. After all, I am your Angel of Music." The angel's voice was still beautiful, but his tone was reproachful and severe. Christine frowned.

"Of course. Please forgive me...I nearly forgot I was talking with an angel. Oh, how that sounds! I'm talking with the angel of music! And you wish to teach me to sing. This is something I've dreamed about for years!"

"I know. It gives me much joy to fulfill your desires. Now we must discuss business – you will come to this chapel every night at seven o'clock unless a performance schedule interferes. If that should occur, we will practice here at seven in the morning. Do you understand?"

Christine nodded with wide eyes. "Should I bring anything?"

"Just your lovely self. Now, I must go. Christine, if you find that you should ever need me, just call out." And with what felt like a gentle breeze, the presence of the angel vanished.

~~~~~~~~~~~ One Month Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Christine? Are you alright?" Meg sounded concerned the next morning during the usual stretches before rehearsal. Christine remained oblivious, smiling at nothing and looking around the large stage with eyes full of wonder. "Christine?"

"Oh. Yes?" the Swede quickly straightened her back and went over to get some powder for her pointe shoes.

"These last few weeks you've been rather...giggly and secretive. I know we haven't been friends for a lifetime, but it's as if you've completely changed from when I first met you." Meg joined Christine and powdered her own white ballet shoes. To soften her blunt words, she playfully pulled on one of Christine's brown curls and smiled. To the blonde's surprise, Christine immediately blushed and looked away.

After that monumental moment the Angel first spoke to Christine, her lifestyle had drastically changed. Every morning she would report to the chapel for voice lessons. At first Christine had felt awkward and strange when she tried to sing to an invisible angel, but as the days passed her confidence rose and she eventually became comfortable around the Angel. Christine's voice began to drastically improve, as did her comprehension for music theory and her appreciation for music in general. The Angel not only taught her about music, but also quickly became her dearest friend. Christine felt like she could be completely honest around her invisible guardian, and would often tell him her most intimate thoughts. Whenever she wasn't around him, her mind would tend to drift in his direction, or she would think about the music he had given her to learn. Her generally gloomy nature began to fade until Christine was a new girl. She had always been a dreamer, but with the Angel in her life, nearly all who came across her agreed that her head was always in the clouds.

Meg, Christine's closest visible friend at the opera house, had noticed Christine's behavioral changes almost immediately after Christine had met the Angel, and had delayed talking to Christine for over a month about them.

The Angel had told Christine to keep their interactions a closely-guarded secret, so when Meg confronted Christine, she blushed and avoided meeting her friend's eyes. She had always been a bad liar.

"Christine? Are you in love?" Meg persisted. She finished powdering her shoes and adjusted the tight bun that kept her wavy blonde curls from spilling out.

Christine's head popped up and she burst into an awkward laugh. "No...no. Of course not." Though she had secretly began to imagine her Angel as being tall, dark and handsome. In her fantasies, he would sweep her away to a paradise where they could sing endlessly. After such daydreams, she would immediately feel guilty and dirty. He was an angel! Having such thoughts was surely blasphemous. To make matters more complicated, he had also begun to act as a father-figure in her life. He was protective of her, and made sure she was only in safe situations. Whenever Christine would do something remotely dangerous or not well-thought out, he would proceed to scold her during their next music lesson

"I'm not in love. I'm just...trying to move on. My father wouldn't want me to have mourned him for the rest of my life." Christine gave Meg a sad smile. There was truth to her words. Had the Angel not entered her life, she wouldn't have been able to start moving on. Her father's death had been a tragedy which she felt she could never recover from, but the Angel had began to help her remember what it was to be truly happy again.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say!" Meg grinned cheekily at Christine, and both straightened when Madame Giry entered the stage. Rehearsals had begun.